Toronto Thumbs

UNDERRATED: Game Boy Micro

With the Game Boy now ending its reign as the portable system champion, I find myself looking back on its career with a great fondness as a parent would recall a child’s academic success. The Game Boy has been a part of my life for just about 19 years now and to be honest it freaks me out a little that it has already been that long.

My first Game Boy was the original grey brick with the yellow-green screen and I loved that thing like it was part of my family. I took it with me on family trips, to friend’s houses, and on days when I was feeling more adventurous, to school.

The monochromatic graphics never bothered me. How else could I play Tetris? I didn’t have an NES and even if I did, taking it to play in the car wouldn’t have been realistic. I also had the Nuby Game Boy light so I could game in the dark, which made the Game Boy trump my then-loved Sega Master System as my favourite gaming device.

Today my original Game Boy sits housed in a Rubbermaid container underneath my living room sofa with all its games and its sleeker cousin, the Game Boy Color (which I bought in 1999 when my obsession with Pokémon caused me to go through AA batteries too quickly for my budget). It still works.

I skipped over the Game Boy Advance entirely and instead picked up its successor, the Game Boy Advance SP and enjoyed many hours with it. The first game I bought for it was the excellent Phantasy Star Collection and I was immediately blown away by the idea that a system as tiny as the SP could basically take the power of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo and put it into my hands.

But little did I know it would get even smaller.

The Game Boy Micro was first released in Canada back in September 2005 and at the time, the Game Boy Advance SP was still the cheaper of the two. Because my recreational budget had dwindled to make room for things such as bills and food, I didn’t pick one up until they were marked down for clearance for $50. Even at that price, I was a little hesitant to do so, but did moreso for the fact that I had begun collecting video games instead of Star Wars and Transformers toys.

The 20th Anniversary Famicom Game Boy Micro.

So imagine my surprise when I switched it on for the first time. I had previously seen Michael Pugliese’s Game Boy Micro in action, but it wasn’t until I had my own that I realized how amazing it really is. At about the size of a cell phone, it’s the most portable one can expect a game system to be. Add to that the remarkably huge Game Boy Advance library and you’ve got a system that has a game for you no matter what mood you’re in. Sadly, it doesn’t play older Game Boy games, but that’s a very small sacrifice, all things considered.

I’d go so far as to say the Game Boy Micro is the best Game Boy ever by virtue of the facts that it’s ridiculously portable, that its screen is crisp and bright, and because its game library is simply outstanding. A lot of its games happen to be ports of Super Nintendo classics, but that’s all right with me. There’s something to be said for being able to play The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the GO Train in the morning, and that something is “awesome.”

Speaking of awesome, the battery life is just that! I can’t remember the last time I charged mine and I’ve been playing it all week without so much as a blinking red “low battery” indicator light.

All things Game Boy are being cleared out of stores now to make room for newer game inventory. So if you have fond memories of gaming on the old grey brick, or if you really like Super Nintendo, it may very well benefit you to pick up a Game Boy Micro if you don’t already carry your DS with you everywhere. After all, you never know when you’ll feel the need to vanquish Ganon from Hyrule.

Posted in Editorial, Game Boy, Nintendo |