Game Boy: 35 years of Game Boy

Last weekend marked the 35th birthday of a very special video game console: The Nintendo Game Boy came out on April 21, 1989 onto the Japanese market and really ushered in the era of portable video games.

With ber 118 million copies sold (which always includes the Game Boy Color, which was released in 1998), it was the most successful portable console in the world for a long time, until one of its descendants, the Nintendo DSoutdated became. After all, Nintendo's little gray box of wonders is still in fourth place among the best-selling video game consoles today.

Nintendo Game Boy: From a gray pocket toy to a color wonder weapon

In the fall of 1990, the time had come in Germany and Europe and the Game Boy began its triumphal march – a short time later also in my home. I don't know exactly when I the first time this fascinating device I was allowed to hold it in my hands, but I couldn't have been older than six years old. My father had bought the Game Boy and was playing games comfortably Tetris (which was always included when you bought the console and automatically became one of the best-selling video games of all time). I quickly realized that he had actually only bought Super Mario Land for me because he hardly ever played it himself.

From then on I was addicted to video games; an NES console only came into the house later. Super Mario Land was my first real video game: twelve levels, without a save option, and it was already available back then ein New Game Plus with more opponents. I was annoyed by the Pionpis that kept resurrecting and the auto-scrolling last level on the plane. I think I was never able to beat Hiyoihoi, I was always just able to get around it and the Chai Kingdom Theme is still one of the best tracks on the Game Boy today… and didn't it always look to you as if Mario was wearing a baseball cap wear it upside down?

From platformers to action adventures

Many games followed that came and went, sometimes I bought them at the flea market because they looked cool, but sometimes I didn't understand them because they were in English, or they were too difficult for me. Gargoyle's Quest, Fortress of Fear or even Castlevania Adventure and Metroid II always remained only sketched out. And while my father continued to play puzzles and skill games like Dr. Mario, Kwirk or Pipe Dream sat, I completed jump'n'runs like Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Duck Taleswhich unfortunately is far too short Kirby's Dream Land (which found a worthy successor on the NES) or Mickey's Dangerous Chaseuntil at some point I move on to more complex titles like The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Mystic Quest and Pokémon (Blue, but my starter was Bulbasaur).

Snapshot from 1995: The Game Boy was my constant companion, the Club Nintendo magazine was my specialist reading.

The Game Boy was fr Part of my video game world for a long time – even when I later owned a Super NES and the Nintendo 64. If my parents wanted to watch TV and the screen was busy, I could at least use the handheld. When the Super Game Boy was released in 1994, it was once again a real game (boy) changer. Thanks to a connection module, this allowed me to now my favorite Game Boy games in color could play on the Super Nintendo and therefore on the big screen. And that's not all: I was even able to color it myself in four individual colors. From there, I sent Link into the Poison Green and Brick Red Worm Palace or floated with Kirby through the sunshine yellow and cotton candy pink Bubbly Clouds.

At some point, however, the Game Boy disappeared more and more from my focus – perhaps after I had my own television in the room and no longer had to rely on a second screen. This was followed by the GameCubeone PlayStation 2orthe Xbox 360,with which I gradually traveled to new, great worlds that a Game Boy simply couldn't offer me anymore: Dark Chronicles, Final Fantasy X, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, BioShock, GTA V… but I never owned a handheld again.