My favorite GameBoy photos (so far)

While prepping yesterday's post about the GameBoy's 25th anniversary, I spent some time wading through all of the photos I've taken of my GameBoy "acquisitions" over the last few years.

Although I think the shots I've snapped of, say, my DS, Game Gear and even WonderSwan games are more appealing (in general) than the ones I've snapped of my GameBoy titles, I like enough of the latter to share a smattering of them here--you know, so we can keep the GameBoy anniversary train rolling for at least a few more hours.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland

Kitchen Panic

Japanese Tetris box, cartridge and manual

Wario Land II + GameBoy Pocket

Balloon Kid cartridge and case

BurgerTime Deluxe's Japanese packaging

Top flap of Painter Momopie's box

Pokémon Red

If you'd like to see a couple (OK, a lot) more photos of GameBoy and other handheld carts and systems, head over to this Flickr album of mine at your earliest convenience.

Who wants a Charizard-branded 3DS LL when you can have a Charizard GameBoy instead?

OK, so it's extremely possible I'm alone when it comes to preferring the custom-painted system below to the official one that was released in Japan late last year.



Of course, I've always appreciated dramatic-looking consoles, and this Charizard-branded GameBoy certainly fits that bill.

As for who's responsible for this colorful concoction, that would be artist and blogger Oskunk, of custom-art.blogspot.fr.



The backside of this particular GameBoy is nearly as beautiful as its front, in my opinion--although I think it would look even better with copy of Pokémon Red stuck into it, don't you think?

See also: other posts about Oskunk's stuff

Did you know that Japanese Game Gear boxes are about the same size as WonderSwan boxes?

Well, you do now--courtesy of the following pair of photos that I recently snapped with my trusty digital camera.

For those who are curious, the games included in these photos are (clockwise from the upper-left): Pokémon Red (GameBoy), Engacho! (WonderSwan), Ganbare Gorby! (Game Gear), Guru Logi Champ (GameBoy Advance), Balloon Kid (GameBoy), Tane wo Maku Tori (WonderSwan), Magical Puzzle Popils (Game Gear), Rhythm Tengoku (GameBoy Advance) and Flash Koibitokun (WonderSwan Color).

I decided to take these photos when I discovered that the boxes that house Game Gear games are nearly the same size as those that house WonderSwan games. Also, I thought some of you might like to see how those boxes compare in size to the boxes of other portable gaming systems, like the GameBoy and the GameBoy Advance.



I'm planning to take more photos like the ones above (and these) in the coming months as I continue to acquire additional 3DS, DS, GameBoy, Game Gear and WonderSwan titles, by the way, so be on the lookout for them if you're curious about that sort of thing.

See also: 'WonderSwan cartridges (and boxes) in context'

Beware the Bulbasaur

Although I've played a number of Pokémon games over the years--including Red, Blue, Emerald, Diamond and Black--only the original pair entranced me to the point that I played it from start to finish.

Oddly, although I played the hell out of both Pokémon Red and Blue as a youngster, I don't remember ever picking Bulbasaur as my starter.

I now find that kind of crazy, as every time I see an illustration of the little bugger these days I can't help but think, "aw, what a cutie!"

That thought certainly crossed my mind when I happened upon the drawing above, which was conjured up by artist Reed Bond.

"Always seems to me like every Pokémon is hiding in the grass waiting to pick a fight," Bond says about his creation over on Flickr. "I imagine that's what is going through this guy's head."

See also: 'The most adorable (and interesting) Pokémon illustrations you're ever likely to see'

From the back of my boyhood closet, part four

I know what many of you will think when you read what my fourth "find" was while digging through my childhood closet a few months ago: That's it?

Yes, that's it. For some reason, though, finding a complete-in-box copy of Pokémon Red really made me happy. Not "I've just won the lottery" happy, mind you, but definitely "oh, cool, a game I used to like when I was younger" happy.

I think part of my happiness can be attributed to nostalgia (I played the hell out of this game, y'all) and another part of it can be attributed to the fact that the game's cartridge is a most wonderful cherry red.

One final reason for my over-the-moon-ness upon finding the copy of Pokémon Red in the photo above: Its instruction manual and supporting brochures were stuffed inside the box, just where I probably left them however many years ago.

That's important because I had forgotten how extensive this game's manual was. It's huge! Not only that, but it includes a ton of information and illustrations. I guess we all know which game will serve as the focus of a future "Manual Stimulation" post.

See also: Previous 'from the back of my boyhood closet' posts