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Will Gameboy Advance Games Work On Gameboy Color? (What Gameboy Games Are Compatible?)

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Do you own a Gameboy Color and wondered about playing the Gameboy Advance games on your device? Maybe one of your friends has extra games that you want to play, but you want to make sure they work. Well, in this article, we will answer all of your questions about the Gameboy Advance and Color games. 

So will Gameboy Advance games work on the Gameboy Color?

Although Gameboy Color games work on the newer Gameboy Advance, the Gameboy Advance games do not work on the Gameboy Color as that system is older. 

If you want to know more about the Gameboy advance games and Gameboy color games working, you will want to keep reading. You can also watch this video that compares the Gameboy Advance to the Gameboy Color. 

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What will the original Gameboy games work on? 

Original Gameboy Games are known for their compatibility and functionality during the Gameplay. The games will smoothly work on Gameboy, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and Gameboy Advance SP systems. On the other hand, Gameboy Advance games will work on Gameboy Micro, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, DS, and DS Lite Systems. They will also not run on the DSi, DSi XL, or the 3DS.

Clone Games and Clone System Compatibility

Over the past few years, many types of game consoles have been released. Many clone games have recently come into existence and were bought by people. Many clone systems were released after the original Nintendo system was released. Some of the clone systems were the Yobo, GEN-Nex, FC Twin, and others.

However, some of these systems games do offer some great features and they were reliable at a low price, they were not compatible with all Nintendo games. Some of the manufacturers do claim that they don’t have 100% similarities, yet a couple does make that guarantee even though it is not true. 

None of the resellers meet all the requirements of the games as they produce low-quality sound and video. On the other hand, they were extremely close that a reasonable person wouldn’t even notice that it’s a clone game besides the extremely low price. 

Below we’ve mentioned a list of Nintnendo games that are not compatible with any of the new Gameboy systems.

  • Battletoads
  • Castlevania III
  • Gauntlet
  • Paperboy
  • Bandit Kings of Ancient China
  • Challenge of the Dragon
  • Cheetahmen II
  • Crystal Mines
  • Gemfire
  • Incredible Crash Dummies
  • Jordan vs. Bird One on One
  • King Neptune’s Adventure
  • Krion Conquest
  • Laser Invasion
  • L’Empereur
  • Menace Beach
  • Nobunaga’s Ambition II
  • Pipe Dream
  • Rad Racer II
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
  • Uncharted Waters
  • WWF King of the Ring
  • WWF Wrestlemania Challenge

Can Game Boy games be played on the Game Boy Color?

You can play Gameboy games on the Game Boy Color. They’ll work fine. We have tried and tested these games on Gameboy color and have never had any problems. If it is a dual-mode cartridge (Generally that come with dark grey or black plastic housing, in the same size and shape like the original Gameboy cartridge) it ought to have color to it (a 56 color palette), on the off chance, that it is the regular light gray plastic housing on the cart, it will have a 4-10 color palette.

Below we will go over what Gameboy games work with what system. 

  • Game Boy Advance Games

Some of the games display up to 512 colors from a palette of up to 32,768 colors. On the other hand, some game packs are about half the size of all other Gameboy game packs. Cartridge size does matter in this regard. To clarify, the packaging of these games also justifies that these games are only for the Gameboy Advance.

  • Game Boy Color Games

Games that use up to 56 colors from a palette of 32,768 during Gameplay. Gameboy game paks do have transparent plastic housing and cover. The packaging of these games also indicated clearly that these games are “Only for the Gameboy Color.” Although these games will also work on the newer Gameboy systems as well. They will run on a Gameboy Advance and Gameboy Advance SP.

Screen size can be easily switched between standard Gameboy size and Gameboy Advance while playing these two games. You can easily switch in between screens by pressing the L & R buttons from your control. It may distort the image size on your screen, which may seem annoying to you sometimes.

  • Dual Mode Games

These will run on all Gameboy systems, excluding the Gameboy micro. While playing the Gameboy Advance or the Gameboy Color, they may have 56 colors out of a palette of 32,768 at a time. While on the other hand, when utilizing the original Gameboy or Gameboy pocket, they will run four shades of gray.

These game packs have a dark gray or black plastic housing/coverage. Screen size may be switched in between. You can change the screen size by simply pressing L & R buttons.

Original Gameboy Games

The original Gameboy games may work on all systems, but it will lack some of the great features of the game. Except for the Gameboy Micro, these game paks will work with all Gameboy systems and will only display 4 – 10 colors while being used on the Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, or Gameboy Advance SP. Color schemes can be changed by using the distinctive palettes.

To clarify, when these games are run on a Game Boy or Game Boy Pocket, they will appear in 4 shades of gray. These Game Packs have a grey color plastic housing.

Except for the Gameboy small scale, these game paks will work with all Gameboy frameworks and will show 4 – 10 hues when used on the Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, or Gameboy Advance SP.

When these games are played on the Gameboy or Gameboy Pocket, they will show up in 4 shades of dim.

An extremely modest number of older games may not work appropriately on the Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, or Gameboy Advance SP. Essential manifestations include mixed pictures, blur images, missing graphic designs, or sound quality issues.

When playing these games on a Gameboy Advance or Gameboy Advance SP, the screen size can be switched by pressing the L or R buttons.

Conclusion

Now that you know the old Gameboy games will work on the newer systems, you can be sure to buy a newer system to play all of your older games. The downside is that if you have newer games from a newer system, they do not work on the older Gameboy systems. This is because the new systems are backwards compatible, but the older systems can not play the newer games as they have more technology in them that the older console cannot understand. 

So if you own a Gameboy Advance, you can play all of your Gameboy Color games, but if your friend has some Gameboy Advance games that you want to play on your Gameboy Color, they will not work. 

Nintnedo has done a good job of giving their customers what they want. They have made all of their Gameboys backwards compatible which is something most companies do not do today as it makes them more money when you have to buy new games. 

No matter if you own the Gameboy Advance or the Gameboy Color, both of these devices are fun to play, and a blast no matter how old you are!