Flashback Fridays: Game Boy Color

Game Boy in Atomic Purple
Photo Credit: Nintendo 

My Mom recently asked me what favorite christmas gift of all time was. I think she was slightly surprised when I answered the Game Boy Color of Christmas '98. Like many girls, I typically asked for Barbies, dress-ups, and all that jazz, but that christmas was different. Game Boys had recently re-entered the market--and this time in color! (Hence the name, duh.) I had to get my hands on one.

This was back during the Christmases when I had to still retreat to my room and go to sleep before Santa would magically arrive. I can still distinctly remember dreaming about the Game Boy color that night. You know when you have something big like a presentation due the next day and you just dream about it over and over? Yeah, that happened to me with the idea of receiving my Game Boy color.

I finally awoke, probably somewhere around 6 am much to my mother's dismay, and I eagerly rushed down the stairs. Unfortunately, this was the first Christmas after my parent's divorce, so I had to sit and wait for my Dad to arrive so he could join in the festivities. (I have an oddly specific memory?) Eventually, he arrived, and I was free to do what American children do best: tear open all of my presents in record speed.

I remember getting excited about my various other toys, but in the back of my mind wondering if my parents, er, Santa, had in fact fulfilled my number one wish. (Not gonna lie the same thing happened this Christmas with a Testudo Pillow Pet. Don't judge me; it's so fluffy). Finally the moment arrived, and I found the box that contained that awesome Atomic Purple Game Boy Color with the see-through plastic shell. 

Now, by today's standards, the Game Boy color pales in comparison, but at the time it was perfect. Its equivalent counterpart today has not one but two screen and even has a 3D feature. Nintendo has now dropped the "Game Boy" name, but the concept is still the same: handheld gaming system with a wide variety of games.

If you're currently missing some of your favorite handheld games, I've found a great online resource with ways to play them on your computer.

And for my fellow English majors out there, I present to you the greatest game that never was: The Great Gatsby Video Game. (WARNING: It's addicting)

Great Gatsby Video Game!