Hey guys, this is Austin and today I’m here with a review of the Nintendo Game
Boy Light.
As the first Game Boy with a backlit screen it’s definitely interesting so
let’s take a look.
This was a Japanese only release from 1998 and was mostly
based on the Game Boy Pocket.
Comparing the two you’ll see the Light is both
taller and a bit thicker.
Up front you’ll find the same 2.5 inch monochrome display
with a resolution of 160x144.
As this is still a Game Boy it will play all original
Game Boy carts but not the newer Game Boy Color games.
In fact the Game Boy Color is the reason why the Light never made it outside of
Japan.
When it launched the original Game Boy was coming up on it’s 9th
birthday and the Color proceeded to be released only six months later, effectively
killing the Light before it even got started.
That said it still was a solution to one
of the biggest drawbacks to Game Boys, the lack of a lit screen.
Anyone playing
Game Boys in the 90s can attest to the black hole like tendency of Game Boy
screens to suck in light while still being dark.
With the Light you’ve got a
electroluminescent backlight which gives a fairly dim and green light but it is still
playable in the dark.
Beyond the screen it’s a normal Game Boy.
You can still use
it without the backlight to improve the battery life and the addition of AA batteries
means the rear gets some grips which are actually fairly comfortable.
Unfortunately you can still run into ghosting issues on the display but overall it’s
still a solid choice and a great Game Boy.
They are a bit hard to get your hands
on these days as most are still in Japan and cost quite a bit more than ordinary
Game Boys but regardless they’re definitely an interesting look at how Nintendo
was working on a lit screen years before they hit the mainstream.
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