Now You're Playing With PORTABLE POWER!

As you might have guessed from my lenghty Pokèmon memories, I have a special connection with the Game Boy line of consoles, in particular with the Game Boy Color. Obviously, with mainline and the majority of spinoff games of the first and second generation of collectable monsters getting published for the portable brick, it's no surprise that it quickly rose to the top of my favourites list during childhood; as I grew up and I could access to both more games for the system and more info about its history and peculiarities, this interest grew even further! Nowadays I actively collect Game Boy consoles, cartridges, accessories and documentation and I try to review or at least talk about the backstory of every new addition to my collection on my gaming blog, BlastoiseMonster. But one site is never enough for a big passion, so here's a little shrine- which you can consider an introduction to Game Boys, if you've never come across these pocket marvels!

It Almost Started With Pokèmon
As mentioned in my Pokèmon shrine, Blue version was one of my first games for the GBC, but not the very first one! When I went to buy the console (I got a Berry GBC on that day!) in order to also acquire the first mainline adventure of Pocket Monsters, my local shop still didn't have that game available. Promising to keep a copy for me on the next restock, the seller convinced me (and my parents' wallet) to get another title in the meanwhile. I don't remember much variety in the available stock (no Mario titles either, for some reason, because otherwise I would've gone straight for that) so I went for the next thing that felt more recognizable to kid me: Disney characters.
My first game was Rare's Mickey's Racing Adventure, which actually isn't that bad! Not only the cartridge was enhanced to run only on Game Boy Color consoles (giving out full colour and even more features) but the gameplay was decent as well, mixing a racing Story Mode with simple RPG elements and a couple action puzzles sidegames. I mean, it's a pre-Microsoft acquisition Rare game, the same guys behind Conker's Bad Fur Day! That's gotta be good!
However, it's only when Pokèmon Blue arrived at the shop that I really became obsessed with the GB. I remember getting back from school the first day after buying the cartridge and wanting to finish my lunch as soon as possible as I wanted to explore more of Viridian Forest xD Even though I kept getting only new Pokèmon games from then on, these titles were designed to be the ultimate Game Boy games, allowing players to experience their little consoles in all their features; obviously the Link Cable accessory comes to mind, but also Gold and Silver's double compatibility between GB Classic and Color, the use of GBC's infrared port for exchanging gifts in Crystal, the many ways players could use their GB Printers in Pokemon Trading Card Game, Pokemon Pinball's rumble feature! Not to mention how this trend continued in the GBA era with Pocket Monsters inspiring even new technologies such as the E-Reader.
In short, while the Game Boy library is undoubtly immense, it's no surprise that many fans of the console are also long term Pokèmon fans: the franchise was made to thrive on the Game Boy and the many titles of that era clearly reflect this affinity.

Pocket Family
Game Boys started appearing on shop shelves in 1989; during decades, new models have been produced that expanded its life and kept the line relevant up until the mid 2000!

Best VS Favourite
Until DS Makes Us Part
The King Of Creative Collecting
My Own Stash!