Playing Gameboy Color games on a TV?

[c0ldb33r]

I searched for this topic and didn't find anything...

Is it possible to play GB Color games on a TV without using the Gameboy Player for the cube?

The SNES of course had the Super Gameboy, which plays original GB games - The Cube's got the GBPlayer, which will play GBA, GBC and GB games.

But it seems there should be something for the n64 - they had the transfer pack - could you use that to play GBC games on a TV? I seem to remember you could use the transfer pack in conjunction with pokemon stadium to play Pokemon on the big screen, but would this work with other GBC games as well?

[InsaneDavid]

I use my Dreamcast along with the DCGNUBoy emulator to play GB / GBC on my TV. :)

http://www.classicplastic.net/digitalpress/DCGNUBoy01.jpg

These are pictures from the build of it I created myself but if you search around you should be able to find some tutorials.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

There's two Super Gameboy-like devices for the N64, though both of them were unlicensed Hong Kong products. One of them used emulation and one used a GBC-on-a-chip technology. The latter one could play Gameboy Color games, but form what I heard it was really buggy and unsatisfactory. I don't think the first one (that used emulation) could play GBC games and even with original GB games the emulation was shoddy, to, from my experience, which was not with the adapter cartridge itself, but the emulator used in it that could be obtained from the cartridge and could be used through N64 backup units like the Z64, though only with GB ROM images not original cartridges obviously.

The emulation one was called the Gameboy Hunter. I can't remember what the other one was called.

...word is bondage...

[c0ldb33r]

Its too bad the transfer pak couldn't be used for more games than just the pokemon ones :( I checked around and it seems that you can only use pokemon ones with it.

Oh well, I'll just stick with the GB Player for now.

InsaneDavid, do you burn all your roms to a disc or could you hold some on a VMU?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

While DC GNUBoy could probably be altered to load ROMs off a VMU, the VMU can only hold a maximum of 120KB (about 1 Meg in video game terms) which would just barely be big enough for the first generation Gameboy games, but definitely not big enough for any commercial GBC games.

The Transfer Pak can be used for a few other games like Mario Golf and Magical Racing Tour, but Pokemon Stadium is the only one that lets you play the Gameboy game on an N64 using the Tranfer Pak. It doesn't actually play the Gameboy game that you've inserted in the Tranfer Pak, though. There's just a port of Pokemon built into Pokemon Stadium that only becomes available for play when you use the Tranfer Pak and the Gameboy game.


...word is bondage...

[InsaneDavid]

InsaneDavid, do you burn all your roms to a disc or could you hold some on a VMU?

All on the disc. I ended up making one for GB games (417 titles) and one for GBC games (373 titles) due to CD size limitations. I really don't play these compilations much anymore except when I'm going to do a review or something since being able to use savestates yet still play on a full size TV while sitting in a comfortable chair is nice.

I only wish I had remembered to put Lunar Lander (JPN) on the GB disc since I play the cartridge all the time and the later stages are a pain in the ass. Oh well, I don't feel like reaquainting myself with how to build these discs (and copying the files back over from my archives) just so I can add one game I left off.

[MrRoboto19XX]

From Tips & Tricks, issue 50, April 1999 from the "cool Zone" section:

"This is one crazy, insane device! By inserting Innovation's GB Hunter into your N64. you can play Game Boy games on your television! We tested several games and they all worked, although a few titles displayed various glitches such as out-of-whack colors and pixels. Only thing is, no matter which game you're playing, the device belts out the same static-laden, I-wanna-pound-my-head-in-with-a-ball-peen-hammer tune. There are no sound effects, either. At one point, the infinate looping noise generated by the device was so maddening, Jim went into a zombie-like state and started dancing around the office until he finally blew his top. Available now. MSRP:$49.99"

A bit hyphen-crazy but other than that an informative review, this is why I love T&T so much, almost no one else covers stuff like this nowadays and yet they still do.

Of course now this device has been added to my list of things I need to hunt down, adding to this newfound craving I remember seeing one in an EB around the time of this article.

Alas, I wanted actual N64 games at the time, which were expensive and far between...

[rbudrick]

Those pirate devices ony worked via emulation so BLAH.

If you want the official Nintendo device, it was only available to developers. It is called the WideBoy and plugged into your N64. I have one and they are pretty cool. Iirc, there is a GBA version of it too. You can find them on ebay for $75-$150 every 3 months or so.

It was made by Intelligent Systems, just like, oh, pretty much everything Nintendo "makes."

It is basically an SGB for the N64.

-Rob

[c0ldb33r]

If you want the official Nintendo device, it was only available to developers. It is called the WideBoy and plugged into your N64. I have one and they are pretty cool.
Cool, do you have pics? :)

[c2000]

You'll be needing this:
http://www.yamatoku.jp/game/description.asp?tno=91230164

[fishsandwich]

You'll be needing this:
http://www.yamatoku.jp/game/description.asp?tno=91230164

I do not believe this device plays the later GameBoy Color games... this is a regular Super Gameboy variant with a clear blue casing and the ability to link up to an actual Gameboy with the link cable.

[rbudrick]

The super Gameboy did not play GBC games, though it did play the first GB games enhanced with color especially for the Super GB. Plus, SGB games had special borders and such added to the screen.

Pics of the WideBoy? Here you go:
http://www.intsys.co.jp/tools/agb/wideboy/system.html

Staright from the manufacturer's site. Sorry, developers only. That's the GBA version, btw.

http://www.intsys.co.jp/tools/cgb/wideboy/system.html

CGB version. Yes, I know those are just mockups.

Here is a rarer version with a modified CGB to attach to it:

http://www.ngfusa.com/everything_else/wideboycgb.jpg

I don't have that version (no port on the front), but I imagine that's just so you can put the cart in either the CGB or the WB (not sure which, maybe either?) to see it on both. Description just mentions using the CGB as a controller, but that'd be kinda dumb.

http://www.geocities.com/hoppymister2003/wideboy-agb01.jpg
http://www.playright.dk/covers/nintendo64wideboycgb_n64_-.jpg
There's one with the official NOJ flash cart.
http://www.geocities.com/hoppymister2003/wideboy64_02.jpg
Just Tetris in there.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Stupid edit doesn't work. Argh.

Anyway, here's the rare GB-only Wideboy for N64:

http://www.ngfusa.com/everything_else/wideboy64gb.htm

Nintendo used to charge $1400 for these?! What a ripoff!

Here's a site to links of many versions of it, someof which I posted earlier:

nfgusa.com.

Click on "everything else' in the left column.

-Rob

[j_factor]

The Super Game Boy can play those black GBC carts, in full color. Just not the transparent carts.

[MarioMania]

Any screenshots of the Game Boy Color games running on the WideBoy

[rbudrick]

I'll try to get some pics now that I own a digital camera. I'll see what I can do.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Ok, got the pics last night. My camera kind of blows for close ups, but here's pics of the board:

Front:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030033.jpg
Back:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030032.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030031.jpg
Front of cart:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030027.jpg
Back of cart:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030030.jpg
Side of cart showing link port:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030029.jpg
The New Batman Adventures: Chaos in Gotham:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030010.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030011.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030012.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030013.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030014.jpg
For some reason, I couldn't get this game to start. Dunno why. But anyway, Not that some screens are zoomed in. Pressing up or down on the analog stick zooms you in our out. You can stop at anypoint in between zooming to fit whatever screen you have.
Zelda DX:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030015.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030016.jpg
Donkey Kong Land:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030017.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030018.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030019.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030020.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030021.jpg
Street Fighter II:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030022.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030023.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030024.jpg
Metroid II:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030025.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/rbudrick/S5030026.jpg

If you need anything else, let me know.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250028792039&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1


Pssst.

-ROb

[Jorpho]

And of course there's the unlicensed "TV de Advance" device for the original GBA which basically functioned as the Game Boy Player.

[rbudrick]

And of course there's the unlicensed "TV de Advance" device for the original GBA which basically functioned as the Game Boy Player.

Oh, good call, dude! I can't believe I forgot about that and I own one.

-Rob

[Nature Boy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250028792039&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1


Pssst.

-ROb

Gotta love the pic he used. The cart is a b/w GB cart (it's grey) - you'd think he'd at least put a black cased GBC game in it or something :)

[rik1138]

Here's some pics of my Wideboy stuff (these all have the system mock-up attached to them so you can see the game on a 'real' GB LCD and the TV.) These all use N64 except for the first one:

Original old-skool Gameboy Wideboy:
http://devkits.handheldmuseum.com/GB_Wideboy.htm
(Made for the Famicom system)

Gameboy Color:
http://devkits.handheldmuseum.com/GBC_Wideboy.htm

Gameboy Advance:
http://devkits.handheldmuseum.com/GBA_Wideboy.htm

They are kind of neat to play with... There's also a device called IS-AGB-Capture that will capture stills and video from a GBA. Shiggsy's site has a lot of this as well:
http://shiggsy.gbadev.org/

Rik

[Jorpho]

That must be what I saw in the Nintendo "Power Pod" at Ontario Place all those years ago. (They had Game Boy games running on TV monitors, with Game Boys as controllers, and the Super Game Boy was several years from release.)

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

There's actually one really neat feature with the Wide-Boy that I hardly ever see documented. During the Pokémon craze when they had tournaments in malls across the US, I went to one and was checking out the kiosks of varios Pokémon games. They had Pokémon Pinball playing on a TV through one of these devices and it actually read the rumble data and transfered it to the rumble pack in the controller! I was blown away and have wanted one of these ever since.

[rbudrick]

I've wanted one of those original GB Wideboy's for Famicom since I heard of them in '89. THey're a real bitch to find, so if anyone has one for sale, lemme know, please. :-) Iirc. they had color filter selections, which is why you see those pastel screen images in old mags.

-Rob

[MarioMania]

Any Pics of Game Boy Games running on the Famicom

[rbudrick]

The closest thing I can think of is the old early 90s gaming mags, but even those clip the border so you only see the pastel screens.

Like I said, I would love to find an original GB Wideboy. What I'd like even more is the prototype that Camerica was working on that was the size of a NES cart that was their version of the Wideboy. It woulda been so sweet. Anyone got any former Camerica contacts we can ask about this unreleased device?

-Rob

[rik1138]

Any Pics of Game Boy Games running on the Famicom

I didn't have a Famicom when I took all those pictures... But I have one now. I'll see about getting some pics of it in action...

[Iron Draggon]

More importantly, is there any way to play GBA games on TV without a GameCube and a GameBoy Player? I'd love to play all my GBA games on TV, but I don't wanna have to buy a GameCube and a GameBoy Player just to be able to do it. I wouldn't use those devices for anything else, and even now they still cost too much, just for that function.

[Jorpho]

Have you been following the rest of the thread? :hmm:

[rbudrick]

More importantly, is there any way to play GBA games on TV without a GameCube and a GameBoy Player? I'd love to play all my GBA games on TV, but I don't wanna have to buy a GameCube and a GameBoy Player just to be able to do it. I wouldn't use those devices for anything else, and even now they still cost too much, just for that function.

Yes, TV de Advance does the job. It involves replacing the back of an original GBA with a new back and connecting an easily breakable ribbon cable into a connector on the board.

Once this new back is on, you place it ona docking station type of thing with rca and svideo on one cable and power on the other. GB Player is far better, though because you aren't stuck with that horible little cross pad and you get your choice of controller. The Hori pad is my favorite.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Another interesting link I came by:

http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/secrets8.html

Biederman Labs GB-NES adapter. I want it!

-Rob

[koster]

Has anyone successfully accessed the bonus dungeon in Legend of Zelda DX using any of these methods (emulation or devices), or is a Gameboy Color still required?

I was disappointed that I couldn't do it using the GBA Player on the Gamecube.

[MarioMania]

You could Access the Color Dungeon on the GB Player..But not on a Super Game Boy

There's a trick you could go in the Color Dungeon with a Game Boy..But buy beating the Boss in the Dungeon, But I have done that..it won't let me in

[c0ldb33r]

There's a trick you could go in the Color Dungeon with a Game Boy..But buy beating the Boss in the Dungeon, But I have done that..it won't let me in
what's the trick?

[rbudrick]

You could Access the Color Dungeon on the GB Player..But not on a Super Game Boy

Yeah, that's what I thought...so logic follows that if you can do it on a GBA, you can do it on a GB Player. But you can't do it on a GB Player? WTF? COnfused. I should load up my DX cart on my Wideboy GBC to see if the saved dungeon is still there.

-Rob