The Game Boy Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color

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  1. If you’re into gaming history or a fan of the Game Boy, you need this book
    The Game Boy Encyclopedia is the latest in the long running series of retro game encyclopedia’s by game journalist Chris Scullion. And it very much lives up to the high standard that he has set for himself with previous entries in the series. This is probably may favorite book of his so far as I have a deep emotional connection to the Game Boy. The Game Boy became my life for a number of years as a kid as I was suddenly able to take my games with me whenever we’d have a long road trip, or hell, even a short one. I could now get lost in a game’s world without being tethered to my bedroom TV.This book covers the history of the Game Boy and (amazingly, given the sheer quantity of games released for this system) every game released for the it and it’s pseudo-successor (again, amazingly) the Game Boy Color in the West. And does so with the same wit and relatable, intelligent commentary that Chris has made a name for himself for. I usually read these books cover to cover first, then I will just open up to a random page whenever I need a quick pick-me-up after a difficult work day. I’ll also use them as reference guides of sorts for when Nintendo, or another game publisher does a re-release of a classic game and I need more information on it. With Nintendo now releasing Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online, and with other companies finally paying attention to their classic back catalog, this book is the perfect companion for these re-releases. But on top of it being a fantastic reference guide, it, like its predecessors, succeeds in bringing me a good injection of joy whenever I need one. And that is really why I love these books so much. This is no exception. In fact, it might be the best in the series so far. At lest for me. I can’t recommend it enough.

  2. Amazing Work!!
    This book is amazing. Mr. Scullion clearly put in a massive amount of time in creating this. If you have any interest in Game Boys/ video game history than you will love this book. It has information on EVERY Game Boy/ GBC game released. As the owner of a retro video game company I cannot recommend this enough!

  3. Good Resource, Worth the Price, but ….
    Quick Thought: This is a solid resource that lists the North American, Australian, and European releases for the GameBoy (GB) and GameBoy Color (GBC). It is worth the price and a good resource for these games. I would recommend this resource, but I do think that it could be improved upon.This is the first Scullion Encyclopedia that I have purchased, but I do have a lot of gaming books. When I compare it to the NES and SNES Omnibus books (by Weiss) this is poorer quality in terms of both content and binding. Those books, of course, cover different systems. I will likely pick up some of those books by Scullion, but only when they go on sale. I purchased the GameBoy Encyclopedia because there are not very many books like this that cover the GameBoy.What I Like:1. It appears to be comprehensive. I have not checked it against my list of all the GB and GBC games, but I am sure that it is very accurate if not completely so.2. The short content/description of each game is good overall, but with some minor caveats (see below).3. It includes obscure games that were not even available in the UK or the US like Janosch: Das Grosse Panama-Spiel.What Could be Improved:1. Design Quality: The design quality is good, but not great. There is a lot of white space on the opening pages, the binding and material are mid-grade, and the page designs are monotonous. The design on the content pages were also very formulaic. I liked the “FACT” sections, but the pages were not put together with aesthetics in mind. With this, there is no box art of any of the games, but only screenshots. This will probably be something that several retro gamers mention, since box art tends to be important. Bitmap Books has a book of GB box art, but it is mostly the Japanese versions so this would have been great to see since this book largely covers the English versions. Also, the first three words of each review are capitalized, but they are inconsistent in their presentation. Some cover the first line, some go into the second. It would have been better to only capitalize one word or for the first line to be capitalized.2. Content: The author gets oddly political at times, which is unnecessary (see the entry for Harry Potter for GBC). I have read this in the reviews of the other encyclopedias. My big question is simply, why? It would have been good to see more description on some of the games. Every once in a while a game, like Tetris and Metal Gear Solid, will receive twice the space, but some games, like these two, probably deserves a whole page. While I can figure out the region designations that he gives, it would be good to have a key and explanation of this in the front matter of the book.3. Japanese Games Playable to an English Audience: I would have liked to have seen him also discuss the Japanese games that are playable for an English speaking audience. Some lists exist on Reddit and other places, but I have found these lacking content and context. This probably would be one of the most helpful resources I could think of for an encyclopedia like this since all GB games are region free and because he is writing to a Western audience. Some Japanese games are the exact same board for every region (the easiest way that I have found to identify this is the opening screen on my Analogue Pocket).

  4. A really comprehensive book that covers every single game released for the Gameboy and the Gameboy Colour. There’s screen shots of every game. Overall a triumph.

  5. Great book in great book series. With this my nintendo classic console/games colection books are now complete. Now i have where to look for games when i want play something unknown. Now i only hope there will be gc encyclopedia from this author. Any way as all in series great book

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