History Main / GreenBoyColor

Let's face it: as great as the Platform/GameBoy is, the screen has always been a pain in the neck for everybody. You had to contort yourself while [[IHaveNoIdeaWhatImDoing randomly adjusting the contrast]] until you find the ''exact position'' where the source of light would be ''just right'' without it reflecting on the screen. [[LittleDidIKnow Little did you know]], but Nintendo was well aware of the problem even before its 1989 release, and after multiple internal tests, they realized that lime green would actually bring the best contrast with the LCD overlay. It was not ideal, but it was the best they could make to [[BoringButPractical keep the system effective with an attractive price]]. The best solution, as history would eventually prove, would have been to have a [[BackThatLightUp backlit screen]], but the short-lived Platform/GameGear showed that this was way too energy-consuming at the time. Several years later, in 1996, the Game Boy Pocket would finally get rid of the infamous green screen in a ProductFacelift attempt, while the backlit screen would be integrated to the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] Game Boy Light in 1998.

Now that the history lesson is over, let's talk [[ShapedLikeItself good old nostalgia]]! The Game Boy had some of the most awesome games of the time, even by arcade and console standards: ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', ''VideoGame/WarioLand'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', and let's not forget the debut of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' juggernaut. Between that and the almost 120 millions units sold in a decade, let's say that it probably shaped the childhood of many [[TheNineties 90's kids]]. Then decades passed, people grew up, technology advanced, and games became more and more impressive. But for some, something was lost in the process. In other words: ''"[[NostalgiaFilter it was better before]]"'', a feeling that kick-started retro gaming and waves of {{Retraux}} games made for (and often by) this new--and yet old--audience.

But sometimes just making a game "pixelated" is not enough to tickle the nostalgia of the informed consumer. Then try this simple trick: make the game look like a good ol' Game Boy game simply by making it green! This artistic choice will not only save you the cost of a colorist, but also catch the eye of the aforementioned 90's Kid [[MobilePhoneGame scrolling the app store]] in search of a "real game". The simple view of those shades of green will ensure him two things: it will be SimpleYetAwesome and NintendoHard. Obviously, this is not entirely true. Although games looking like that are often made by other retro-feeling seekers and might actually be really good, it does not make them automatically better [[SerialNumbersFiledOff (or any different for that matters)]] than its competitors.