CONTENTS Introduction to the Game Boy.............4 That Tetris Effect.....................................14 Pokémon Red Version/Blue Version.. 20 Super Mario Land...................................22
ARTWORK: JAY COBS
3
INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME BOY
intendo’s Game Boy wasn’t the first handheld gaming console, that honour lies with Milton Bradley’s Microvision. With a paltry 12 games and incredibly limited technology (well, it was released in 1979), the Microvision was ultimately discontinued in 1981. It did, however, inspire those within Nintendo that portable gaming could be viable and would pioneer interchangeable software a full decade before the Game Boy would launch. Of course, Nintendo would first experiment with the Game & Watch: single, portable experiences using similar technology that you’d find in watches and calculators. The Game Boy would be their second bite of the cherry, and it was the natural evolution of the primitive Game & Watch line. Following the same strategy of taking cheaper elements and components and fusing them together, this new device would take advantage of removeable game cartridges, called Game Paks. This ability to change the game you want to play was a revelation. d Coming in at 14.8cm x 9cm with
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a depth of more than 3cm, the Game Boy was certainly a chunky and heavy, erm, boy. Weighing in at 335 grams (including batteries), the Game Boy features an off-white colour and instantly recognisable grey bezel surrounding its “pea soup” green monochromatic display. That basic, iconic look is still imitated in gaming devices to this day. Where the Game & Watch used a printed liquid crystal display (LCD) with the images pre-set, the Game Boy utilised a dot-matrix LCD which featured individual picture cells, or pixels. The screen itself displayed just four different shades of green and was 6.4cm in size diagonally. With a ratio of 10:9, the screen has visible pixels measuring 160x144. That means it was tiny, especially by today’s standards, and almost impossible to see... unless you had some light. The Game Boy also utilised four input buttons like its older sibling, the NES, with A and B buttons alongside a Select and Start pairing. There is also that trademark Gunpei Yokoi eight-way directional pad on
WORDS: PAUL MURPHY
INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME BOY
the face of the unit. On either side there are dials, one for contrast adjustment and another for volume: that volume would blare out of a solitary speaker on the curved bottom end of the handheld, or in stereo through headphones as proudly noted on the top of the display. Other features on the platform were a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a 6-volt D/C adaptor input, a port intended for the multiplayer cable (with a cover) and an on/off switch which also doubled as a security lock to prevent the removal of Game Paks whilst in use. On the reverse of the Game Boy, you’ll find the battery compartment, which takes four AA batteries, as well as the cartridge slot. Unlike the NES (or indeed the Game Link port) there is no cover, the Game Paks just slide in and out. The recommendation was to keep a Game Pak in place to avoid dust and dirt from getting into the internal mechanisms of the handheld. Speaking of internals, underneath the shell the Game Boy featured a multitude of chips and processors,
the main one being a custom 8-bit Sharp LR35902, which ran at 4.19 Mhz. The processor itself was based on the Z80 and 8080 processors which were popular at the time and supported by memory chips and a sound processor with five channels. You may be surprised to learn that the fifth channel, which took a signal from a Game Pak, was not actually used in any game that was released for the system. All the components contained within the device were relatively affordable. This cost saving not only aided in keeping that launch price down significantly but also caused ire within Nintendo internally, with it reportedly being named “DameGame”, where the word dame suggested it would be hopeless. Or useless. Of course, we know that despite its limitations, it would go on to sell over 100 million consoles, become a worldwide phenomenon and absolutely dominate the handheld gaming space. As well as wiping the floor with any other device of its time. Quite the feat for a diminutive grey brick.
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1 2
3 Dot-Matrix LCD Screen 160x144 pixels 2 Contrast Dial 3 Speaker 1
10
4
5
6 2
1
8 3
7
9
Sharp LR35902 4.19 Mhz CPU 2 VRAM 3 WRAM 4 Power Switch 5 Link Cable Port 6 DC In Port 7 Volume Dial 8 Amplifier 9 Game Pak Slot 10 Headphone Jack 1
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11
12
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Words: art:
W
Mike
Paulo
Diver Gazola
hen you’ve worked in and around video games long enough, you’ll
inevitably
around
review
find
yourself
caught
scores.
Whether
that’s
up
in
in
discourse
person
or
on
social media, you’ll either silently witness or actively engage in
discussion
about
PlayStation
title
eyes
simply
can’t
star
rating
really
perfect
video
whether
really say
game,
no
is to
a
the
represent
a
or
not
the
9-out-of-10 new
shiny
new epic
thing.
100% percentage?
first-party or
if
Does And
magpie a
five-
what
is
a
anyway?
15
Tetris if
an
is
a
answer
perfect is
video
needed
to
game,
a
and
mostly
is
usually
rhetorical
my
response
question.
It’s
a game where nothing more is needed to ‘improve’ what’s already there.
Ever
since
its
creator
block-dropping,
line-clearing
Soviet
Academy
of
appeal
and
Sciences
clear
as
game
in
just-one-more-go
strikingly
Alexey
Pajitnov
to
his
June
1984,
quality
of
achieving
a
previewed
colleagues the
at
the
instant-click
Tetris
has
‘Tetris’
four-line
his
been
as
move.
So
obsessed were staff at the Academy, and at other Moscow-based organisations
that
was
response
banned And
in
the
Game
perfect
take
on
marriage
of
the
Boy’s
the
on
a
infiltrated,
falling
Tetris
game
elegant
generations
game to
and
that
playing
Tetris
productivity.
1989
perhaps
of
there’s
accessible
device
that
employee is
ever
gameplay
specifically
–
been
a
that
designed
the
most
beautiful
transcended
to
be
enjoyed
anywhere and by anyone. The complicated story of who owned the game's is
rights
well
worth
Nintendo
and
the
portable
And
with
prior
to
this
exploring; the
senior
version
coming
together
but
the
most
important
is
that
the
Japanese
sub-licensed
via
Bullet-Proof
Software.
–
the
Game
rights,
handheld
Boy
staff
at
the
company
takeaway giant
including
for
secured
then-
president of Nintendo of America, Minoru Arakawa – well aware of
the
huge
existing
popularity
and
future
potential
of
this
game, it was decided that Tetris would be the pack-in cartridge for
its
America With
16
brand-new and the
handheld
system
when
it
launched
in
North
sales
the
home
Europe. Famicom
and
NES
achieving
huge
in
console
market,
Nintendo
was
confident
that
the
Game
Boy
would follow its 8-bit system’s success. But it didn’t want to only
reach
players
already
familiar
with
Mario,
Zelda
et
al
– which is why Tetris made for such a brilliant bundled game. You
could
held
a
pass
your
controller
effortlessly, tetromino
Game before
guiding
pieces
shades-of-green
Boy
a
family
they
of
its
chute
screen
a
and
each
down
to
was
and
an
member
who’d
never
enjoy
this
game
could
seven into
differently
place.
ideal
The
vehicle
shaped
Game
for
Boy’s
Tetris’s
moment-to-moment play, which demanded no colour variation for differentiating interactive elements, and whose 160x144-pixel display
perfectly
8x8-pixel the
Game
squares. Boy
was,
pieces
Guided
by
and
built
specifically
every
kind
of
fitted
Nintendo’s
remains,
to
fit
comprising
its
four
R&D1
portable hardware,
team,
magic, a
individual
an
box-in
Tetris
on
experience delight
for
player.
Today, I can pick up my Tetris cartridge, slide it into one of
my
Game
(thank
Boys
goodness
for
modern
backlit
screens),
and lose myself in score-chasing action for 20 or 30 minutes, easily.
Whatever’s
and
these
it
doesn’t
pieces
going and
matter.
on
that
And
elsewhere, number
that’s
the
away
getting Tetris
from
higher
effect,
this
screen
and
higher,
truly
–
this
game can become all-consuming, with some players even claiming to
see
its
Addictive negative
shapes is
a
criss-cross
tricky
connotations,
word but
to
their
vision
outside
of
use
around
gaming,
with
Tetris
always
will
be
a
game
play. its that
players can’t resist coming back to. I see this regularly when
17
my
wife
will
version
of
games
years
on
be
next
Tetris
video
drawing
sit
on
to
her
generally,
from
me
on
the
smartphone.
but
Tetris
has
Pajitnov’s
prototype,
away
whatever
people
from
sofa She her
and
else
playing
a
doesn’t
care
for
Almost
40
hooked.
this
they
game
could
newer
is or
still should
doing. As
the
Game
Boy’s
first
bundled
game
in
the
West,
this
monochromatic Tetris has a monstrous sales figure beside its name:
over
35
million
of
these
carts
are
out
there,
many
still delivering the same nerve-jangling thrills they did so many the
years Game
ago.
Boy
However,
isn’t
its
my
favourite
commercial
thing
might,
about
Tetris
on
licensing
muddle
or
its meticulous production – it’s the fact that it’s a game you only
ever
play
Mode
(B-type
to
lose,
offering
space
shuttle
except
that
a
launch
which
at
least
on
countdown
upon
comes
its
of
lines
completion).
from
classic
parameters
to
A-type
clear,
There’s you
set
no
Game
and
a
triumph
yourself:
a
certain number of lines, a higher score, a time you’ve survived for
at
a
level
congratulations message:
“Game
little
heart
way,
visual
a
that screen
used –
to
just
intimidate
an
you.
electronic
Over,
Please
Try
Again.”
I’ve
beside
“Again”
–
suppose
that’s
appreciation
of
I
you
playing
There’s
gurgle
always a
this
no
and
the
loved
the
reward game
at
in
a
all.
There’s something very pure in there being no real end to this game. Perhaps that’s why it has such incredible staying power – however video games evolve, Game Boy Tetris will forever be eternal. And it’ll always be a 10/10, no ray tracing required.
18
Always
aim
anything
for
difficulty
‘Tetris’
a
but
the
at
highest
levels.
This
is
If
you
play
want
cleared
to
–
fast
score
the
lines
high,
bonus
goes
up
The best strategy for this is
for
to position the empty channel
the
to
the
extreme
left
of
the
where you clear four lines at
higher your difficulty level
Game Boy screen. If you want
once, most likely by stacking
is
to
pieces leaving a single-square
clear
to
Tetris Curve, which explains
channel
playing don’t
fast,
try
go
deeper,
the
how you can keep things neat and
and a tidy score bonus.
as
overthink
‘wrong’ but
straight
–
but
down,
long
If
achieve a Tetris every time,
the
a
at. fast
piece to fill. Voila: ‘Tetris’,
Don’t
for
set
things:
if
you
you’re
forced pieces
what’s
up
next
mound
shape,
higher of
dangerous. be
it
current
won’t
be
Chances
clearable
later.
piece overly
are
it’ll
low
the
tidy
before
the
line
piece comes into play.
irregular
the
as
can.
heading
just
somewhere
stack
is
the preview window is useful, drop
your
piece
in
If
keep
do
pieces
in
screen.
to
so
stack
into
a
with
the
the
centre
This
will
Game Boy Tetris can throw up some
awful
combinations
tetrominoes,
due
to
how
of its
randomiser is programmed. So if
you’re
having
bad
even
game,
work
best Game Boy Tetris players
pieces
into
the
sides. What you don’t want is gaps
inside
that
have
those
it
–
don’t
future
sweat
a
allow greater opportunity to
the
too.
mound.
19
POKÉMON RED VERSION / BLUE VERSION
aving already spoken about Pokémon at length in this book it should come as no surprise to see these two here. One part turnbased strategy and one-part JRPG, this franchise is not only an incredible phenomenon, it also rejuvenated the Game Boy market. Tetris may have sold the Game Boy to consumers, but Pokémon kept them playing it. Tasked with attaining eight gym badges and tackling the Elite 4 and becoming the Pokémon champion, you’ll need to master the huge variety of Pocket Monsters available to do it. Brute force won’t work when you have level and type disadvantages to consider. Once you’ve completed the main game, you’ll keep playing as you attempt to catch them all! ddd
H
Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Nintendo Released: 1996 TOP TIP
In the Japanese release of Red and Green, Mew was initially hidden in the code and even Nintendo didn’t know that there was a 151st Pokémon!
With some incredible character designs, a solid story and of course the ability to trade and battle your friends, Pokémon was like nothing that had come before and even in the years since, the competition still doesn’t come close. Released in 1998 in the USA and 1999 in Europe, the two versions played identically, but with a small number of exclusive critters on each cartridge. This ensured that you would need to have a friend send you the ones that your copy didn’t have. Or maybe you'd be tempted to buy both iterations... perhaps that's why it sold over 30 million units! This generation has been remade twice now, but it’s still quite interesting to experience it in its original form, even if the series has better instalments these days.
WITH SOME INCREDIBLE CHARACTER DESIGNS, A SOLID STORY AND OF COURSE THE ABILITY TO TRADE AND BATTLE YOUR FRIENDS, POKÉMON WAS LIKE NOTHING THAT HAD COME BEFORE 21
SUPER MARIO LAND
uper Mario Land is notable for many things. It bore no connection with Bowser, or the Mushroom Kingdom or even Peach. Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't involved in its development. And it was very short. This off-beat Mario adventure is set in Sarasaland, and you are tasked with rescuing Princess Daisy — making her debut in this 1989 title — from the villainous alien, Tatanga (who wants to marry her, or something). It falls to Mario to best twelve levels across four kingdoms, all with a different feel and theme in order to reach the dastardly alien. With a selection of regular and new tropes to aid the famous plumber, this adventure manages to feel both familiar and unique at the same time. There are platforms, critters that look like (but aren’t quite) Goombas and Koopa Troopas, pipes,
S
Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Released: 1989
TOP TIP
The fire power-up is actually the Super Ball, which makes its only mainline Super Mario appearance. As well as beating baddies, it can also collect coins!
mushrooms, super stars, coins and flowers. But there is also a submarine, an aeroplane, floating cloud baddies and ninjas. Oh, and you take control of the submarine and the aeroplane during certain stages as well. It certainly is the most surreal Super Mario experience outside of Super Mario Bros. 2. Visually, the game looks like a condensed version of Super Mario Bros., with some of the sprites being instantly recognisable escapees from the NES title. There is just the right amount of challenge for its length, and you can extend Mario’s lifespan (i.e. your play time) by accumulating coins and winning extra lives in the end-of-level minigame. I'll be frank: this game isn't as good as Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. But it IS an iconic part of Game Boy legend, and despite being inferior to its sequel, Super Mario Land still deserves your time.
WITH A SELECTION OF REGULAR AND NEW TROPES,THIS ADVENTURE MANAGES TO FEEL BOTH FAMILIAR AND UNIQUE 23