Game Boy Color
Colour at last, and a whole new library to go with it.
Market price
Loose $80
Boxed $200
Checked on 2026-11-05. Not live, a rough guide only.
The story
The Game Boy Color kept the entire back catalogue playable while adding a colour screen and a faster processor. Old Game Boy carts even gained tinted palettes, and a new wave of colour-only and 'dual mode' games arrived to show off the hardware.
It is compact, it comes in a rainbow of translucent shells, and it runs for a very long time on two AAs. The downside is the same one that haunts every Game Boy of the era: no backlight, so you still need a lamp.
This is the single most popular console to mod. A drop-in IPS screen transforms it, and because it is the author's own daily player, it is the base for the first mod guide on this site.
Specs
- CPU
- Sharp LR35902 @ 8.39 MHz (double speed)
- Screen
- 2.28" reflective TFT, 160 × 144, up to 56 colours on screen
- Power
- 2 × AA (about 10-20 hours)
- Plays
- Game BoyGame Boy Color
- Headphone jack
- Yes
Special editions
- Atomic Purple (clear)
- Berry, Grape, Kiwi, Teal, Dandelion
- Pokémon editions (Gold/Silver, Pikachu & Pichu)