The Nintendo Game Boy is why I love handhelds so much. I got mine for Christmas in 1992 and the feeling at the time was indescribable. To this day this feeling from back then has hardly been surpassed. ❤️ DMG89 - Pure passion ❤️
I may be a bit younger than yall, but my first console was my gameboy pocket that I got for christmas in 2009 with pokemon yellow. Still have it and play it fairly often :)
WHAT GREAT TIMING! I found an old DMG at a garage sale for $1 last year and I played it for a couple minutes and lost interest pretty quick. So, I gave it to my friend and he modded it with a backlit display, as well as a blue shell and an EZ Flash Jr. He said he was thinking about selling it, so he charged me for parts and I've been playing it EVERY day for the past month. It's fun to casually play it at different friends' houses and even better when one of them had it in their childhood and realize what I'm playing! Donkey Kong, Wario land 2, and monopoly are my favorites! I almost never comment but thought I'd share. Thanks for reading and happy retro gaming!
I just got one on eBay and modded it with the backlight and love playing it now. I decided to keep the shell cause I love the retro look. I played through Zelda links awakening and Metroid 2 and not only did they hold up well they kept me hooked the whole time
I still have my original DMG from 1990. I got it on my 4th birthday, I've kept it for 33 years and I have been keeping close with it, I still play on it every now and then!
@@chphoto37 That thing used SO many batteries. I could almost never play the friggin' thing. Getting six AA batteries was hard enough on its own, let alone ones that were powered up and for it to just suck them dry so fast was pretty lame.
Pokemon Red on the original DMG that I borrowed from my neighbour is a memory that will stay with me forever. It even had some huge magnifying add-on with a light it's hilarious to think about these days. Thanks, Russ!
Dude same her with Pokémon blue. My friend/Neighbor was like “here you wanna borrow this?” He clicked new game and handed it to me. I went straight home and sat in my room. I remember it being so amazing!
"This panel may have aged...". No, it was always pretty bad. One of the big reasons I upgraded to the Gameboy Pocket back in the day was the screen. Besides not being green, contrast was noticeably better.
I’m always thankful the first image of GameBoy in my life was the pov of the GameBoy Pocket. Always saw the DMG in the world but Pocket was the first I got to play.
when i first played game boy i was blown away at the visual leap over game & watch. gameplay/graphics no longer twitchy but smooth (trust me it was a sight to behold), music and sound effects, no more static backgrounds! love the dmg so much i've collected every play it loud color along with several classic grays all still work like new
I remember having a magnifying glass + light addon for the OG Gameboy. And bootleg cartridges with 100 games on them were a thing even back in the 90-ties.
Just found one a few days ago stored for like 15 years at our old property. The batteries left in still worked! I’m happy I can add a handheld retro device to my collection!
What throws me every time I pick a DMG Gameboy up is just how big it is. Even when I was little and had much smaller hands I don't remember it being so big! I think I've just gotten so used to modern handhelds which are a bit diminutive compared to late 80's tech.
Absolutely. It’s such a chunky boi. The good news is you get really toned arms by holding it above your head trying to keep natural light on the screen 😂
Weirdly enough I actually find it pretty comfortable because of how chunky it is. Vertical handhelds for me tend to induce cramp in my hands because of how thin they are when holding, whereas the original Gameboy doesn't do this to my hands.
My Italian motorcycle Aprilia requires hooking up an original Game Boy to switch between Novice/Expert mode that allows tweaking air/fuel ratio and so on. Can't believe it's told on manufacturer's official service manual and recall letters. I guess they must be thinking why reinvent the wheel just program the system on a Gameboy cartridge. It's an 2016 bike and on recall paper those Italians suggested me to get a gameboy, buy their cartridge, and deal with the recall issue myself.
I did a 30 Day Gameboy Challenge last year. It was refreshing. I grabbed a couple of games each day. One thing I enjoyed about it was that it curbed my decision paralysis. What I grabbed in the morning was all I had. I also enjoyed not having to charge a new device. Between phone, AirPods, wearable tech, we have so much to charge every day. It was nice being able to throw a few batteries in the back and you were good to go. Overall, it was a good 30 days that allowed me to reconnect with my childhood and appreciate old tech. For anyone wanting to play an OG gameboy in 2024, I’d suggest going with a MGB (Gameboy Pocket) or GBC (Gameboy Color) as both have better screens with less (MGB) or no (GBC) ghosting. This makes the experience a lot better than you’d have on an original DMG.
Id like to see reviews of other older handhelds, this was pretty cool. I miss this fat brick, played catrap, solar striker and super mario land all the time on it.
Nintendo World Cup for me. Had a copy of it and I think Pokemon Silver which I barely played (probably had a save on it already so I couldn't save myself or maybe I just didn't get into Pokemon until I got my own copy of Sapphire, idk). I played a *lot* of it on random days. I figured out the exact right spot to stand so you would almost always score when kicking the ball into the goal and I liked doing it over and over.
I am 40 years old. Actually, I have played the original Gameboy by whole day recently. Although the green screen is so dim, it is a best awesome handheld console in my life .
I remember playing my DMG in the back seat on a family car trip and as it got dark in the last few hours, trying to track the light from the passing street-lights. Such a struggle.
Still have my Pocket and Color and ziploc bag full of games I would tote everywhere with me. Amazingly they all work just fine, still. They’re a blast to play, but I do wish I had kept an Advance SP. Been waiting on an Analogue Pocket since December and that will probably take until this time next year.
When I pulled out my original GBA a few months ago and had similar complaints about the screen and the required lighting to even see anything that lead me down the rabbit hole of modding old handhelds, which led to emulating on old handhelds, which lead to emulating on a Raspberry Pi, which lead me to Retroarch, which lead me to Retro Game Corps, which lead to emulating on an Ambernic device. It's been a fun few months!
For me, this is the video of 2023. It is such a perfectly balanced, informed, clear and instructional video. I simply love it. I've used emulators for years but have never ventured into handheld emulators outside of my phone and I have always wanted to. A month ago my partner said "I want a gameboy for xmas! I want to play the games I played as a kid!" My first thought was... yeah, me too, sounds great but... gameboys are surely a bit crap now? This video is the perfact answer to this dilema and I really feel she will be able to make the best decision after watching it. Thank you for adding 34.3% more happiness to xmas this year!!!
I will never forget the day I bought my original GameBoy soon after launch. As soon as we got in the car at Toys R Us, I got everything out of the box and fired it up. It sounds so remidial but hearing the stereo sound "ding ding" when I fired up Tetris was pretty awesome.
I still have my DMG. It still works just as well as it did back in 1990 when I got it for my birthday. I still have all of the thirty games I collected up till about 1996. That gameboy has been on many airplane rides, and I can’t even tell you how many hours in hotel rooms. It’s been to twenty of the fifty states, Europe, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. It’s so special to me just because of how much it traveled with me and my parents. I miss those days so much.
The buttons were just like that. Same for PS1 controller and all systems of that age. It's why we have the Nintendo thumb on the right hand that can angle backwards. If you grew up with later controllers, they didn't destroy your tendons anymore.
I love the DMG the best. I secretly want Anbernic to make a DMG clone w/ that awesome monochrome Sharp LCD that is in the Playdate. Or have the option for a color IPS LCD, but keep the same size. The battery life would be amazing.
I didn't have a gameboy when it came out (I was an atari lynx owner). So when I got older I decided to buy a gameboy. I also upgraded the screen and replaced the batteries with a rechargeable battery pack. I love it. First off I love the simplicity of the games and it amazes me what developers where able to make the system do. The second thing that I really love is the size of the machine. Yes it's bulky, but to me that is part of the charm.
The original DMG or the pocket is really the way to play those old games. Technically, the screen of the old DMG gameboy is crap, but its crappiness smoothes out the appearance of the sprites. You can barely notice any jagged lines at all, and it gives everything a weirdly organic feel, almost like it's one of those e-ink screens. Not being backlit is also a technically a drawback, but when you go retro, you're really going for a package of experiences, only one of which is the game itself. Another is the complete anachronism of needing some good daylight to play, or else one of those night light things.
I grew up in the 80's, and the Gameboy was a revelation that can't be understated, practically the entire hand held gaming industry was built on the foundations that the Gameboy laid. Other hand helds such as SEGA's Game Gear and the Atari Lynx although more powerful and in colour just couldn't compete with the simplicity and wealth of games and price point that Nintendo's box of tricks had, and that battery life more than made up for any faults the Gameboy had. It's still a cool console to have today, if you want to start a conversation with your friends about retro gaming, just bring out the Gameboy and watch what happens lol. Cool video. Cheers.
It's hard to articulate to people that never experienced it firsthand. I tell them to a imagine a world without smartphones or even consumer mobile phones at all. When the original Gameboy dropped, it was groundbreaking. Absolutely a juggernaut.
@@skycloud4802 Yeah, the impact of the Gameboy was immense, now we could finally play home console type games on the go. I still enjoy the odd play session on the Gameboy, good times and great memories. Cheers.
Great video and fun perspective from you. Another point I think gets lost on some people in this community is the "only $80". I know some people here aren't lucky enough to say that but you and I both are. It's cheaper than a night out, cheaper than a LOT of other things, and if you're old enough these originally came out when you were a kid we've got enough income to pick these up for fun. So for me I've ended up collecting anything I think I'll enjoy. I sell the ones I don't like and keep what I use. Emulator wise I really enjoy my 35xx/MM+ & flip. But I'll probably grab a nano just because it's so small. I'm old enough I got the DMG for xmas the year it launched. I LOVE(d) that thing. I never got the color but did get the GBA and SP and micro as they came out. I now have one of every gameboy made (DMG, color, light, pocket, GBA, SP (ags-101), micro, unhinged and AP). Some are modded some aren't (DMG and light). I'll say of my "gameboys" only 3 get use. My modded color (IPS screen), my unhinged GBA with an AGS-101 screen, and my analogue pocket. My biggest complaint about the AP is it's size? It's just big enough it doesn't leave the house. Yes I have emulators as well and the 35xx/MM+ are both great for taking anywhere between their size and the fact they have ALL the games I want on them. Personally there's just something about using actual carts. Yes I have an EZ flash but I also have ~100 carts between GB/GBC/GBA and that's why I really love my "gameboys".
what color MM+ do you have? I have the gray 35xx, but I'm really at odds with what kind of MM+ I should get. I love the retro gray color on the MM+, but then again I already modded my 35xx to look like a Game Boy. But then again I could two retro looking consoles, one for home and one for portable? But then again the black and purple are nice colors. I NEED HELP PLS LOL
I still use an unmodded Gameboy Pocket pretty regularly, the upgraded lcd panel makes a world of difference, and the very basic, no UI, no connectivity, is so nice. It's just such a fun experience. Of course if someone offered me an analog pocket I'd take it in a heartbeat
I went on a run yesterday and had the idea to make a video: I got my first original Gameboy. I kind of have the reverse motivation… I started doing these videos to fill a childhood void of not affording any handheld consoles.
Been into hendhelds for the last year. I restored a dmg and also a advanced sp. I love the form factor of the dmg, i might upgrade the screen someday. Lovely upload !
I never actually owned the original Gameboy but I used my older brother’s constantly, he didn’t care he wasn’t really into gaming. After I got a little older and knew the concept of money, I think I was like 8, I bought my first gameboy color on my own. I played the s*** out of that thing too I remember first seeing the difference in screen and game quality, it was a HUGE deal to have color back then on a portable device.
Just picked up a pocket flip and I've been having a blast with it. The setup was a little difficult but thanks to your guides pretty good. The last original handheld I played for any amount of time (not counting my Switch) must be my N-Gage QD somewhere in '06 or '07. Before or maybe at the same time I also had a GBA. I have such fond memories of playing my GBA on long car rides and plane trips.
Russ, you made a small but significant point: the clearest way to play a Gameboy or GBC is outside!! While modern LCDs are a nice convenience, I spend hours outside playing pokemon silver. You can’t say that about modern screens today - direct or diffused sunlight is a no go.
I find this pocket sized beast of a handheld is just a relevant now as it was in the late 80’s/90’s especially due to its very portable pocket size vs anything new offered in 2023
Got one for my birthday a few years back (replacing the one I stupidly sold in a garage sale for $20) and wow. What a trip to hold it and play it again. It brought back so much joy, but DANG that screen is PAINFUL. Not just green and black as I remember, but blurry, dim, and the terrible shadow from the deep bezel. The ergonomics, sound, and fun factors are all still there. It's just crazy how spoiled for screen quality we are now a mere few decades on.
thats exactly how i felt when i tried to replay it several years ago.. its insane how as kids we took that crappy screen for granted. i wonder how the screen was like on the gameboy pocket or Gameboy color..
@@heyjeySigma I still have my DMG and pocket. The pocket has a slightly better screen. Higher contrast, less blur and a black vs green tint. Still hard to see in low light conditions. But I prefer it over the DMG screen.
I remember working at Stone Age Gamer when the GameBoy Everdrive first came out... what a pain it was because back then we use to Goo Gone old game shells and cut them by hand to fit the Everdrive board.
"This panel may have aged..." No, no. The screen was always that bad and the aftermarket game lights/magnifiers were a whole other animal you should consider exploring. I think average battery life back in the day was 10-12 hours. I remember having an AC adapter for mine.
Recently repaired my original GB from battery acid damage. Works great now, definitely great if you aren’t accustomed to all the extra stuff that comes from modern emulators like save states and better lighting, lol. Good stuff! 🍻
I have a couple of original DMGs and a Game Boy Pocket. Although I can happily play puzzle games like Tetris and Dr Mario on the DMG with no issues, anything involving scrolling is TONS better on the Game Boy Pocket. Much sharper display with less ghosting. I just fired up Super Mario Land on the Pocket - great experience!
Some good advice there. Only thing I'll say to that though, is that if somebody has large hands, then they may prefer the original big one. I've used both aplenty, and the pocket makes my hands cramp a bit after a while, whereas the classic over doesn't ever do that. But excellent points though. I really like that the pocket uses less batteries. Both very good variations.
Oh the memories of smacking the contrast wheel down to get an extra second to see what you were doing to get a save off in Pokemon Blue before the Gameboy shut off, good times!
I ended up buying a Lithium ion battery with a type C charging port for my DMG and it’s so nice not buying batteries. I charged it once and it’s been 3 weeks of playing off and on and it’s still going strong 😂
Man, I'm sitting with an Old Original Gameboy Only. :(. I So want a Retro Emulation Handheld!!.. :). Awesome Collection Dude 😎. Happy Gaming. 5/4/24!!.. 8:46 AM.
I have literally just bought one. Looking forward to it, never had one as a kid, but I want to just play Tetris with no damn adds like there is on my phone.
This felt like a great refresher. With emulators it’s easy to forget how the og hardware felt to use even if we spent tons of time with it. I did something similar recently where I took time just playing my Gameboy Advanced SP and it felt wonderful even with the flaws
Great video, Russ! Really brought back the nostalgia. Oh, that hunt for the bright lamp and the right screen angle...good times 😂 Next review, how about GameGear with a battery pack, of course😊
It's neat to play on an old machine, but I don't get how people at least signal that they prefer some original hardware. The original GB screen was so bad. I noticed the same bleeding on the TI-85. But I do understand the situations when original hardware was better--most times, the original controllers best pretty much any modern recreation. I don't get screen filters for scanlines or bleeding, unless perhaps if it's for Atari 2600 or Apple II, where the artifacts between pixels was part of the original color effect. I cannot get the sound of the NES triangle waveform playing through a wooden console television I picked up 10 years ago (which I shortly had to get rid of).
Game boy was first mentioned in the Pink Floyd song "Have a Cigar". 14 years before it came out. The Japanese creators probably named it with this song in mind. Look it up. 🤪
Those Everdrive cartridges are neat. I wish they had done the obvious and made a grey version, however, as it would fit much better with the system. There's a nice version for the GBA, though, which might be a fun idea to pick up sometime if I ever *have* to play on GBA. Quite expensive, though, at $100 just for the GBA one. I like that kind of tech, though. Stuff that makes your old gaming hardware work better or adding convenience. I'd still use the regular cartridges, but sometimes you want to keep your collection a bit more pristine or just not have to pop out cartridges all the time and wear on the cartridge and system itself.
@RetroGameCorps I was watching another video recently about how the first Gameboy came out before alkaline batteries. When alkaline was used it greatly increased the battery life of a typical AA battery, which is why the Gameboy revisions only used 2 batteries instead. This would explain why you would remember going through batteries more as a kid. Video reference with chapter link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jlNBSOzKu7g.html&si=yH6Z4BgNOuLIsTED
One of the biggest problems with the screen is that the light needed to shine on it perpendicular to your eyes, so under studio lights it is much harder to see, compared to if you were ourdoors, or even in a well lit room, where light is reflecting from all over. (sorry for the multiple comments, I am just doing my best to chime in with my thoughts as I progress through the video)
Everyone I knew used a power adapter to play without batteries 99% of the time. All you need is a 6v DC adapter and some alligator clips. We also had 12v to 6v adapters for the backseat of the car.
The Gameboy is one of my favorite game systems of all time, but man does playing an original one suck. Mine has an ips screen and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The pick up and play nature of the Gameboy really does it for me. If I have 10 minutes to spare, I love playing some Dr.Mario or Tetris. They’re simple turn off your brain and play games.
The only thing that's dated very badly is the screen, but I think everything else has held up surprisingly well. It's also neat to swap out batteries instead of charging it up. No sorry of dead or expanding internal batteries as the rear door can be pulled off in a pinch.
I'm in a place now with my retro emu handhelds that I'm basically good w my devices until something dramatically new comes along. But I've gotten very interested in those souped-up modded vers of class hardware - considering buying a refurbed and screen-modded GBC or GBA. Where's the best place to find those these days?
When you were a kid, the screen actually was a lot clearer. These screens all degrade over time so none of them look like they used to. It’s an experience that’s lost to time 😞
I didn't save up to buy my Gameboy till probably '95. I played the DMG till 2009 when I got a DS. DMG is still the most comfortable Nintendo handheld for me.
Good video man! 👍 Just to have that proper nostalgic *_Feel_* again after +30 years would be awesome! I miss my GB. I'm starting to think that getting a dedicated Original GB (w/ flashcard) or GB shaped emulator may be the way to go now. GameSir just isn't right
The Link Cable connector can just be pulled out, it is a bit hard to get a grip on it, but if you grab the bottom with something like a screw driver or a fingernail it should come out.
The irony for me is that the DMG has held it's value for 33 years. That, to me, is something that cannot be said for any other console. Truly an amazing story!
Consider that the battery probably was greatly fixed by the invention of Alkaline batteries. Your memories i think were correct since early batteries did drain rather quickly
Alternative GB/GBC flashcart, grab the EZ-Flash cart, much cheaper than the overpriced EverDrive carts. It does the same thing, plays your backups. Dont leave cheap batteries when your not playing, these batteries will start leaking, I noticed the expensive big known brands dont, but regardless, always remove batteries when your not playing, it goes for any device.
This was the granddaddy of handheld gaming and it was a blast to play as a kid. We've certainly come a long way, but it's good to look back and appreciate what we had and, honestly, it wasn't that bad!
Your anxiety with batteries was much more legitimate in the 90s. They just weren't as powerful. In fact, the Gameboy Pocket owes its existence to the breakthroughs made in battery power at the time it was made.
Great video, Russ! This is amazing! I played a lot of the original GameBoy (never owned one) during my childhood and it is great to see all the different ways to revisit many of these classic games! I forgot how much a brick the original device was as I haven't played an original GameBoy in probably like 30 years as well. For me at least, many of the old GameBoy/GameBoy Color games still hold up quite well today and some have even been given new life with rom patches.
My GameBoy was damaged beyond repair (whatever was used to make the screen was "liquified" and spread itself everywhere in the device) and my GameBoy Color blue/yellow Pokemon Edition is so damaged I wonder if anyone still has parts to fix it...
I found my old gameboy recently, the screen fell off and made me sad, and the screen colour was so faded it made it almost impossible to enjoy it, so I ordered an IPS panel and can hardly wait to rebuild it
Hi! I am a game dev and i love your videos. Just a general comment: imo, input lag is one of the most important aspect along with the framerate. Some handheld emulator have a descent framerate but horrible input lag, destroying the experience. For instance, the RG35XX input lag is generally very bad. I would love if you could include this topic in your reviews :) have a great day!
I bet the mushimess on the buttons and dpad is because they replaced the original rubber pads with aftermarket ones, those are thinier and shorter than originals
Interesting video, one notable thing is that the Gameboy uses the exact same dpad membrain as the NES controller, so it should feel exactly like an NES controller, the fact that yours is super mushy probably meens that the membrains were replaced, and its hard to get good feeling ones.
i remember when i was 10 and had a gameboy (8:43). YES the screen was exactly like this when i was young and yes it was really annoying even back then 😀
The other day I sold 10 Brand New Game Boys still in the Box for 20 Bucks what those Guys didn’t know is I totally ripped them off You see I had those from the early 90’s nobody doesn’t even play those games anymore I can’t figure why they were so eager to take them off my hands lol
Vintage as the handheld system is in the current days of the Switch and so on. The original Game Boy was revolutionary back in 1989. Tetris, Kirby, and Pokemon all debuted in that legendary sucker.
