Game Boy Color FAQ v2.24 (Beta), 1/11/99 Created and maintained by Utils (utilstaiwan@hotmail.com)
** Note: This document is NEITHER a Game Boy FAQ nor is it a Super Game Boy FAQ. It's a Game Boy COLOR FAQ. If you need info on the Game Boy or have questions about it read Marat Fayzullin's FAQ at GameFAQs.com If you have any Super Game Boy inqueries read Jeff Bogumil's FAQ at GameFAQs.com
COPYRIGHT: This FAQ is Copyright (C) 1998-1999 Utils. Permission is given to ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ distribute this FAQ in whole (NOT in part), given that NO PROFIT is earned from the distribution (whether considered minimal "Shareware fees" or otherwise), and proper credit is given to me, Utils, the author of this FAQ. If you wish to copy it in part or quote from it, please contact me by e-mail.
Introduction ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ The Gameboy is the longest lasting game sytem to date. It has surpassed many other game systems in terms of longevity. Gameboy has been supporting Nintendo company ever since it's official Japanese release in 1988. It was released to the US in 89'. Gameboy has sold over 60 million units worldwide and Over 1000 (close to 2000) games have been programmed for the Gameboy. That number grows daily.
CONTENTS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1. How do I use this FAQ? 2. My printout looks crappy!! 3. What's inside the Game Boy Color (GBC) ? 4. Does the GBC have any built-in support for Super Game Boy (SGB) ? 5. Is it backwards compatable? 6. Will the new GBC games be backwards compatable with the old GB? 7. What colors does the casing come in? 8. Any other features? 9. Is it possible to link a GBC to a GBP? 10. How do I link a GBC to a GBP? 11. Will my Game Genie work with it? 12. I don't like any of the new colors, can I change them? 13. How do I change colors? 14. How much does it cost? 15. What is the IR used for? 16. Does it come with a pack-in? 17. Is it backlit? 18. Do the printer and camera work in full color? 19. Is it true that Nintendo is re-releasing old NES games to play on the GBC? 20. How will that work? 21. What's the best palette to use with _____? 22. Release Dates (American) 23. Links 24. Thank-you 25. Credits
*1* How do I use this FAQ? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Every section has a number that goes with it. For your convenience I have put an asterix around each number. This way, when you want to go to a certain section, all you need to do is type the number enclosed by an asterix in your "find" option. The best Resolution for view is 800x600 or greater. This FAQ is in ASCII format, to make sure your viewing it right, the 2 lines below should be equal.
Monospace ---------
If the lines above are not lined up I suggest you use notpad or a 4.0 browser to view it.
*2* My printout looks crappy!! ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ For some reason Notepad makes really crappy printouts. When it comes to printing out FAQ's a 4.0 browser is the best way to go.
*3* What's inside the Gameboy Color (GBC)? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ CPU: 4/8-bit Z80 work-alike at 8MHz (MAX) It has 2 modes, Single (4MHz) and Double (8MHz); designed by Sharp
RAM: 8kB; For carts: 64KBit, 128KBit,
ROM: 256kBit, 16MBit, 32MBit, 64MBit (not all are listed)
VRAM: 16Kb
Sound: 4 Channels FM stereo, Single speaker (it turns off when headphones are plugged into the headphone jack), Stereo headphones jack
Video: Display - 160x144 pixels (dots), Highly reflective Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) color liquid crystal display made by Sharp Colors - 32,000 colors; Supports 10, 32, or 56 colors on-screen at once Sprites - 40 sprites of either 8x8 or 8x16 [switchable]; 10 Sprites per line; Sprites are 4 color with one always transparent (3 diff. colors max on 1 sprite)
Serial: 512Kbps; up to 4up at a time
Power: Indicator LED - it fades as the battery power runs low 2 AA Batteries (Duracell) - 30+ hours AC adapter (DC 3V IN) - Infinite
Input: 8 way D-Pad, 4 buttons, volume dial, power switch
Infared: Have not tested the distance yet...
Size: Slightly larger than Gameboy Pocket (GBP)
Tiles: 512 on screen (? in memory, I'll find out)
*4* Does the GBC have any built-in support for Super Gameboy (SGB)? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ I wrote to Nintendo with that question. They said no. It makes no use of the SGB color presets. I think this was smart, it would be kinda redundant to do so. Instead, most first-party SGB compatable games should have support built into the GBC.
*5* Is it backwards compatable? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Yep. Your old carts will work fine with the new system. You can choose from almost 13 different color palettes (depending on what game you are playing), to play them in. The palettes range from 7-10 colors. Games designed for the new system will, of course be more colorful than those 12+ palettes that you choose from.
*6* Will the new GBC games be backwards compatable with the old GB? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ I asked Nintendo. Here is what they told me:
"That depends. It is possible for developers to make games which work for both systems, but they will be limited in the amount colors that they can use. To take full advantage of Game Boy Color's capabilities, some developers may choose to make games which only work with Game Boy Color. Be sure to check the packaging for these compatibility issues before purchasing a new game."
*7* What colors does the casing come in? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1)Red 2)Purple 3)Yellow 4)Light Blue 5)Clear Purple 6)Clear
*8* Any other features? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ It does a lot of cool stuff for a Z80 run machine. Rastar effects are possible. They were possible on the original Gameboy also. The old GB also did polygons but they weren't shaded, only vectors. They added IR. Read more to find out what it's for. As for the screen. It's designed to last longer on batteries and not drain them like Game Gear does. It can connect to the Nintendo 64. I think the GBP does too, not sure about that...
*9* Is it possible to link a GBC to a GBP? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Yes.
*10* How do I link a GBC to a GBP? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Contrary to what people say about a Universal GameLink Cable (UGC), all you need is the cable you used to hook up to GBP. But if you don't have ANY cables THEN you should get the UGC.
*11* Do Game Genie and Game Shark work with it? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Game Genie works, i don't know know about Game Shark since I don't have one. Someone please tell me if it works on Game Shark.
*12* I don't like any of the new colors, can I change them? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Nope, the 12 (plus the default), palettes is all you have to play with. I suggest you use Left+A which makes the screen go back to it's original gray color. You can't go wrong with gray :)
A cool feature of new games would be to let you edit the color of sprites and such like that but I doubt developers will spend their time doing that.
*13* How do I change colors? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ You should read your game manuals. Seriously. It clearly states:
1. To change the color palette, first insert a Game Pak and turn on the power.
2. When the Game Boy logo appears, press the + Control Pad and button combination shown below for the desired color pallet.
(Authors Note: You are not limited in time. You can keep rotating the D-Pad till the cows come home and you'll still be able to change colors. But choosing a color should be a snap with the chart I'm compiling in section 21.)
Combo Background Sprite1 Sprite2 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Default Green/Blue Red Red Up Brown Brown Brown Up + A Red Green Blue Up + B Dk. Brown Brown Brown Left Blue Red Green Left + A Dk. Blue Red Brown Left + B Original Original Original Down R/B/Yellow R/B/Yellow R/B/Yellow Down + A Red/Yellow Red/Yellow Red/Yellow Down + B Yellow Blue Green Right Red/Green Red/Green Red/Green Right + A Green/Blue Red Red Right + B Negative Negative Negative
*14* How much does it cost? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Canada - 99.95 Canadian Dollars Japan - 8900 Yen Spain - 300,40 Peso Taiwan - 2800 NT United States - 79.99 Dollars
* Prices listed are the cheapest I know of
*15* What is the IR used for? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ I asked Nintendo. They were quick to reply:
"The Game Boy Color comes equipped with an infrared communications port located at the top of the case. It allows you to exchange data from one Game Boy Color to another without purchasing or carrying a Game Link cable. It will be used for such things as trading items, sharing custom characters, and exchanging other types of statistical information. The infrared communications port will only work with games specifically programmed to take advantage of it. You will still have to use the Game Link cable for head to head action, but the cable works much more efficiently on Game Boy Color than on regular Game Boy."
The manual states the following:
Note: The systems must be kept between 1.5" and 2" (4-5 cm) apart for the communication to work propperly.
The triangular marks on the front of the Game Boy Color systems above the display must be aligned and pointed toward each other. The infared connection will be more reliable if both Game Boy Color systems are placed on a stable surface such as a table.
When using the Communications Port feature, please note the following:
- No more than 2 Game Boy Color systems can be used at one time. - Do not use in direct sunlight, because the bright light will interfere with the infared transmission. - The lens over the communication port must be kept clean and free from scratches. - Do not place tape or material such as stickers over the communication port. - Do not place any object between the communication ports. - Do not use around any other infared devices, such as a TV or VCR remote, because they can interfere with each other. - If the batteries get low on power, the communication feature may not work properly. Replace the batteries if the Power Indicator LED starts to become dim.
*16* Does it come with a pack-in? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Mine only came with a Gameboy and 2 crappy batteries. Nope, no pack-in :(
*17* Is it backlit? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Nope. It's still reflective LCD. There is a backlit Gameboy called the Gameboy light if you REALLY feel like playing in the dark. Another thing is the screen is smaller. I don't know why Nintendo did this...
*18* Do the printer and camera work in full color? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Well, I'm not sure. I'm guessing at least the printer won't be in full color. It's black and white to begin with no? The camera, I guess you can have colors, but not like a real camera. In other words the color mode will work like any other old cart you plug into the GBC. I'll get more info on this soon.
*19* Is Nintendo re-releaseing old NES games to play on the GBC? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Yep
*20* How will that work? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ No idea. Here's the specs of the NES. As you can see, GBC is WAY superior in terms of raw power. I hope NOA/NOJ re-release Super Mario Bros. 3 to play on the GBC!!!!!
CPU: 8-bit Custom Motorola 6502 class running at 1.798 MHz
RAM: 2K (Snicker!)
ROM: ????
VRAM: 2K (HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!)
Sound: ????
Video: Display - 256x240 pixels (dots) Colors - 52 colors; 16 on-screen at once Sprites - either 8x8 or 16x16
Serial: None silly :p
Power: Plugs into the wall
Input: 8 way D-Pad, 4 buttons, On/Off, Reset
Infared: HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Size: Um.... Bigger than Dreamcast....
Tiles: ????????
*21* What's the best palette to use with _____? ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ (J) - Japanese Version Automatic - A different color than the default built into the GBC Bios, specifically for that game. Color - This game was programmed for GBC. Default - The color you get without pressing anything. · nameofgame - This means the game is bootleg (In other words, a homebrew) ·· nameofgame - This means I played it from a '200 in 1' type cart and if the game has an automatic pallete I would not know.
·· All Star Challenge - Left+A [Players have real skin tone :)] Baseball - Automatic [Team1 = red; Team2 = blue; Amazing!!] Bomberman Pocket (J) - Left [Blue BG, Green Bomberman] ·· Bouken Jima 2 (J) - Left [Do I always have to write something] ·· Bubble Bobble - Right+A [The hero is pink like he should be] ·· Bubble Bobble Junior - Up+A [Enemies turn blue when pissed off :)] ·· Chase HQ - Left+B [Nothing works with this game, too dull] ·· Roger Clemens MVP Baseball-Right [Looks like Baseball to me :)] ·· Detective Conan 1 (J)- Down+B [Dressed as he should be...] ·· Detective Conan 2 (J)- Up+A [Same as Above :p] ·· Dodge Ball (J) - Up [Technos makes the best games, I love SD] ·· Dodge Danpei (J) - Up [Same as above :D] ·· Doraemon 2 (J) - Left+B [Doraemon is _supposed_ to be blue...] ·· Dr. Mario (J) - Left+A [Clearer to see] ·· Felix The Cat - Left+A [Sprites are better highlighted] Final Fantasy Legend III - U+A [Green Fighters] ·· GB Genjin 2 - Up+B [Well, rocks are supposed to be brown] Kirby's Star Stacker - Automatic [All Brown] Kirby's Pinball - Automatic [Yellow/green BG, pink sprites] ·· Kureyon Shin 4 (J) - Right [This game is the template of SMario 4] ·· Maruko Dxsiata (J) - Left [Do I have to describe EVERY SINGLE ONE?] ·· Master Karateka - Right+B [Black uniform, James Bond Looking :)] Megaman II - Down+B [Blue Megaman sprite!!!] Mole Mania - Automatic [Slightly darker than default] Nettou King Of Fighters 96' (J)- Up+A [P1 = green; P2 = blue] Pokémon Blue (J) - Automatic [Red sprites, Blue BG] Pokémon Green (J) - Automatic [Lighter than default] Pokémon Yellow (J) - Automatic [Yellow&Red Sprites/BG (like Down+A)] ·· Puzzle Bobble GB (J) - Right [The only combo that works, besides grey] ·· Real Bout Special 3 (J) - Left [You're red... "BANG!! Blue Mary wins!!] ·· Rockman World 1 (J) - Down+B [Same game as Megaman Diff. name] ·· Rockman World 2 (J) - Down+B [Capcom has made over dozens of comics] ·· Rockman World 3 (J) - Down+B [based on the adventures of Rockman and] ·· Rockman World 4 (J) - Down+B [his sis Role. In fact, she came from] ·· Rockman World 5 (J) - Down+B [the comic book. Very well drawn too :)] ·· Sailor Moon R (J) - Left [This pallette seems to work the most] ·· Snow Brothers JR - Left+A [Really looks like you are in the Arctic] ·· Sonic 3D Blast 5 - Down+B [Sonic is blue, what else is new?] ·· Space Invaders - Right+B [White monsters, Black BG] · Super Mario 4 (J) - Right [Clearer sprites, the trees flash] Tetris Attack - Automatic [Sprite 2 blue, sprite 1 green] Tetris DX - Color [The demos are cool, great effects] ·· Ultraman Ball (J) - Right [Looks like he does on the show :p] Wario Land 1 - Automatic [Flesh Colored Wario, Light green BG] Wario Land 2 Color (J) - Automatic [Everything has been apropriatly colored]
*22* Release Dates (American) ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ * These release dates were copied from NOA's Website *
TBA: 10-Pin Bowling (Majesco) Aladdin (THQ) Re-release Bust a Move III (Acclaim) Centipede (Majesco) Daedalian Opus (Re-release) Flying Dragon Frogger (Majesco) Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Titus) Jungle Book (THQ) Re-release Lion King (THQ) Re-release Little Indian Big City (Titus) Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo) NBA In the Zone '99 (Konami) Quest Challenge (SunSoft) Shanghai Pocket (Sun Corporation) South Park (Acclaim) Super Breakout (Majesco) Taz-Mania (THQ) Re-release V-Rally (Ocean) Xena: Warrior Princess (Titus) Yoda Stories (THQ)
December: Blaster Master Boy (Re-release) Carrot Crazy (Infogrames) Gex: Enter the Gecko (Crave Entertainment) Las Vegas Cool Hand (Take 2 Interactive) Looney Toons: Carrot Crazy (Infogrames) Men In Black (Crave Entertainment) Montezuma's Return (Take 2 Interactive Software) Mortal Kombat 4 (Midway) NBA Jam 99 (Acclaim) NFL Blitz (Midway) Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle (Activision) Power Quest (SunSoft) Rampage (Midway) Rats! (Take 2 Interactive Software) Shanghai Pocket (SunSoft) "Twouble" (Infogrames) V-Rally (Ocean)
December 14: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Nintendo) Quest For Camelot (Nintendo)
January: Titus Jr. (Titus)
January 25: Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 (Nintendo) Shadowgate Classic (Nintendo) Wario Land 2 Color (Nintendo)
February: Top Gear Pocket (Kemco)
Winter: Arcade Hits: 720 Degrees (Midway) Arcade Hits: Defender/Joust (Midway) Arcade Hits: Spy Hunter/Moon Patrol (Midway) Asterix (Ocean) Caesars Conker's Pocket Tales (Rare) Déja Vu 2: Ace Harding (Kemco) NBA In the Zone (Konami) NHL Blades of Steel (Konami) Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA (Midway) San Francisco Rush Extreme Racing (Midway) Spawn (Konami)
* These release dates were copied from NOA's Website *
*24* Thank-you ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Marat Fayzullin - My inspiration for writing this FAQ. Although it isn't as detailed as his FAQ is, I hope to get more info in the future.
Nintendo (US) - They helped me out a LOT in getting this info.
Karl - Corrected my spelling errors and explained Raster effects and Vectors to me.
Everlyn - A girl that's into videogames as much as I am!! Hey, thanks for explaining to me how to translate Japanese games!! And also for haveing your friend translate Pokémon for me. Now I can do it on my own! Kick Ass!!!
GameFAQs - For letting me put up my FAQ and helping me out in over 100's of games. I hope GameFAQs is around forever.
Arturo - For showing me GameFAQs.com HEY, I still have that dumb site at Angelfire!! They never deleted it!! Yo e-mail me. You can tell Mike that I give him permission to give you the 10 ten bucks he owes me. :)
??? - Who have I missed???
*25* Credits ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Nintendo - Copied the release Dates from their website. And like I said before, I got a lot of info by e-mailing them.
Nintendo Japan - For info on the diff. GBC casing colors.
Nintendo Spain - System Specs. I was wrong on some thing the last time.
Marat Fayzullin - Copied his format for displaying system specs. Got NES info from his old FAQ.
GBOB MSG Board - I got many of the questions from the Game Boy (oh boy!) message boards.
*@* Other Stuff ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ "For years, our players have asked us for a Game Boy that could play their favorite games in color. But the technology, and the high demand on battery life, made it impossible. As the first to surmount the technical obstacles, were able to introduce a whole new generation of color games to the millions of people who love Game Boy." - Howard Lincoln, chairman, Nintendo of America.
"Since its initial release in 1989, Game Boy has dominated the worldwide market for handheld video game units, selling more than 60 million units in less than 10 years time. In North America, Game Boy products claimed nearly 90% of all category revenues in 1997." - Nintendo Of Canada, Ltd.
"Note: a few monocrome Game Boy games may not work properly when used with the Game Boy Color system" - GBC Manual [Author's note: I'll try to find out which games these are]
The manual mentions a Wrist Strap Attachment... I'll find out what this is soon enough.
The manual also says that AC adapters aren't sold or used in Taiwan. Not true. That's where I got mine for Pete's sake!!!
More crap from the manual:
"Caution: Leaving used or dead batteries in the Game Boy Color for extended periods or time may result in damage to the system."
"Note: Because of differences between the Game Boy Color and other Game Boy systems, a few two player games may not work propperly. Only connect the cable when you are using twoo player mode games." ******************************************************************************* * * * DISCLAIMER: Nintendo of America nor affiliates neither endorses This FAQ. * * All information is provided without guarantee, nor is the information * * under warranty. I am not responsible for any damage done to your Game Boy * * after reading this FAQ. All trademarks and copyrights are recognized. I * * take no responsibility for any false information contained in this * * document. If any of this information is false, do tell me immediately. My * * intentions are neither to mislead nor to withhold the truth. * * * *******************************************************************************
NOTE: This FAQ is way overdue. I put this stuff at the last minute, I been busy lately, I'm sorry about that. The FAQ will be updated weekly (hopefully), from now on. I have TONS of info on the thing now so i now I can go on weekly. Also I got many emails with info so those corrections will be added in 3.0 and the people will be credited. I still need to update the release list. The biggest change was incorporating the manual and adding motre color codes. - Later
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