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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