In 1989 Nintendo released the Game Boy handheld system which revolutionised portable gaming. Well sure that large brick had a dark screen that was hard to see, but the games on it were awesome specially Pokemon, Tetris, Super Mario Land and many other Game Boy Classics. 7 Years later when companies wanted to jump into the portable fan-wagon Nintendo fought back against Tiger’s short lived Game Com console with the Game Boy Pocket. This was a smaller device which you can place easily in your pocket.
The first and main thing to note about the Game Boy Pocket is that the device was not a new type of game console; it was a refined Game Boy system that played the same amount of Game Boy games as the original system. The build for the Game Boy Pocket is that the screen focuses on being a true Black-and-White rather than the greenish display that the original system had. Also the screen size I believe is the same size as the original. There’s no backlight available for it but however I used to have a screen magnifier which allowed the user to have lightning to be able to play a game in the dark but though not very effectively.
They did improve the battery life for the release of the Pocket by requiring 2 AAA Batteries and giving out 10 hours of gameplay before the batteries go out. There do exist third party battery chargers that can give you the ability to either play your Game Boy from the AC Adapter or by charging the console up with the charger equipped onto the device.
Most of the Game Boy features are the same as the original like the LED Lighting which shows how much battery that your console has and the main controls themselves including the power switch, volume, contrast and game buttons. The buttons are simple to use and very responsive for gameplay.
How the device feels in my hands is quite neat but it does feel a bit cramped when playing most of the time. This device feels more for kids with little hands then for most grown-ups. I actually do recommend this device for most people who wish to relive their old Game Boy memories without consulting to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. According to Ebay the console can sell for about £15 or more on the buy it now range depending on the condition.
The only drawback with the pocket is of course the light which you have to be in the right contrast level and be at the right sunlight to be able to see the game which can be a thing for nearly every early handheld device. One important not that you cannot play selected Game Boy Colour titles which really isn’t a big deal but might be for those people who want to play Game Boy Colour games on it. If you want to play all your favourite standard Game Boy games then I can easily recommend the pocket to anyone who has memories of the old system and for those who want to play the Game Boy games without resulting to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.
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Game Console: Game Boy Pocket
Year: 1996
Developer: Nintendo
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Console Score: 8.0/10
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The Goods
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Small and Light
You can carry it in your pocket
The screen contrast is improved
The Bads
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Cannot run some selected Game Boy Colour games
Might need to be within sunlight to see the game
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