Misplaced Pages

#318681

55-728: The Game Boy versions of Mega Man were originally released in Japan under the Rockman World title. All Game Boy titles have an original plot. Each game in the Game Boy series, excluding Mega Man V , features four bosses from its corresponding NES version and four bosses from the succeeding NES game in the series. I.e: the Game Boy version of Mega Man III features bosses from the NES versions of Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4 . The Game Boy Mega Man V features an all new set of antagonists called

110-404: A Game Boy Printer . The Game Boy continued to experience strong sales well into the 1990s, as popular games continued to increase interest in the handheld. This commercial success was something of a double-edged sword for Nintendo; the device was seen as aged, but the company was unwilling to abandon it. Instead, the company embarked on a series of improvements to the Game Boy in an effort to keep

165-483: A "continue countdown" screen, in which the player has a limited amount of time (usually 10, 15, or 20 seconds) to insert additional coins in order to continue the game from the point where it had ended; deciding not to continue will result in the displaying of a game over screen. The continue feature was added to arcade games in the mid-1980s due to arcade owners wanting to earn more money from players who played for longer periods of time. The first arcade game to have

220-479: A March 14, 1994, press conference in San Francisco, Nintendo vice president of marketing Peter Main answered queries about when Nintendo was coming out with a color handheld system by stating that sales of the Game Boy were strong enough that it had decided to hold off on developing a successor handheld for the near future. In 1995, Nintendo of America announced that 46% of Game Boy players were female, which

275-628: A Memory Bank Controller (MBC) inside the cartridge. This chip sits between the processor and the ROM chips. The CPU can only access 32 KB at a time, but the MBC can switch between several banks of 32 KB ROM. Using this technology, Nintendo created Game Boy games that used up to 1  megabyte of ROM. Game Paks could also provide additional functionality to the Game Boy system. Some cartridges included up to 128 KB of RAM to increase performance, which could also be battery-backed to save progress when

330-485: A continue feature was Fantasy , and the first home console cartridge to have this feature was the Atari 2600 version of Vanguard . As a result of the continue feature, games started to have stories and definite endings; however, those games were designed so that it would be nearly impossible to get to the end of the game without continuing. Salen and Zimmerman argue that the continue feature in games such as Gauntlet

385-493: A fan game by Hui, Capcom funded the project and provided creative direction and QA support. The game has been released as a free download on December 17, 2012. Sports games: Fighting games: Other: Re-releases/Remakes: Collections: Fighting games collections: Capcom of Japan has released several Rockman games for mobile phones in Japan. Only the first two games, Rockman Space Rescue and Mega Man Rocket Christmas were ported for international cell phones; on

440-534: A power LED, different case colors (red, green, yellow, black, gold metal, clear, and blue) and dropped the price to US$ 54.95 (equivalent to $ 104 in 2023). By mid-1998, just months before the Game Boy Color went on sale, prices had fallen to US$ 49.95 (equivalent to $ 93 in 2023). The Game Boy Light was a Japan-only revision released on April 14, 1998. Like the Game Boy Pocket, the system

495-477: A powerful healing spell may affect anyone within a certain range of the caster (often only if they are a member of the caster's party ). Some games also have what are referred to as "aura" abilities that will affect anyone in the area around the person with the ability. For example, many strategy games have hero or officer units that can improve the morale and combat performance of friendly units around them. The inclusion of AoE elements in game mechanics can increase

550-479: A resolution of 160 pixels wide by 144 pixels high in a 10:9 aspect ratio . The SoC also contains a 256 B "bootstrap" ROM which is used to start up the device, 127 B of High RAM that can be accessed faster (similar to a CPU cache ), and the Audio Processing Unit , a programmable sound generator with four channels: a pulse wave generation channel with frequency and volume variation,

605-408: A result of this philosophy, to keep costs low and extend battery life, the Game Boy was designed without a backlight and used a simple grayscale screen, despite potential concerns about visibility and the lack of color. The approach was ultimately vindicated as rival units with full-color, backlit screens were panned for their dismal battery life, making the Game Boy more appealing to consumers. In

SECTION 10

#1732791759319

660-560: A second pulse wave generation channel with only volume variation, a wave channel than can reproduce any waveform recorded in RAM, and a white noise channel with volume variation. The motherboard also contains a 8 KB "working RAM " chip. The Game Boy features a D-pad (directional pad), four buttons labeled 'A', 'B', 'SELECT', 'START', and a sliding power switch with a cartridge lock to prevent removal. The volume and contrast are adjusted by dials on either side. The original Game Boy

715-502: A specified area. For example, in the role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons , a fireball spell will deal damage to anyone within a certain radius of where it strikes. In most tactical strategy games artillery weapons have an area of effect that will damage anyone within a radius of the strike zone. Often the effect is stronger on the target than on anything else hit. See also: Splash damage Area of effect can also refer to spells and abilities that are non-damaging. For example,

770-633: The Atari 8-bit computers of the late 1970s and 1980s, the term attract mode was sometimes used to denote a simple screensaver that slowly cycled the display colors to prevent phosphor burn-in when no input had been received for several minutes. Attract modes demonstrating gameplay are common in current home video games. Also aim-assist . Also bunny hopping . Also backfilling . Also achievement . Also banhammer . Also beta testing . Also story mode and campaign . Also character select . Also clutching

825-809: The LR35902 by its manufacturer, the Sharp Corporation . Within the DMG-CPU, the main processor is a Sharp SM83 , a hybrid between two other 8-bit processors: the Intel 8080 and the Zilog Z80 . The SM83 has the seven 8-bit registers of the 8080 (lacking the alternate registers of the Z80), but uses the Z80's programming syntax and extra bit manipulation instructions, it also adds new instructions to optimize

880-459: The Taiwanese market. The game features a group of new robots led by Apollo and Luna and named after the western Zodiac as well as a new ally named Fan, with the former being tricked into serving Dr. Wily. Role-playing video games : Platform games : Battle games: Collections: Game Boy The Game Boy is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo , launched in

935-435: The 2.0 panned the system due to its black-and-white display and motion blur , while his three co-reviewers praised its long battery life and strong games library, as well as the sleek, conveniently-sized design of the new Game Boy Pocket model. The Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color were commercially successful, selling a combined 118.69 million units worldwide: 32.47 million in Japan, 44.06 million in

990-518: The Americas, and 42.16 million in all other regions. At the time of its discontinuation in 2003, the combined sales of the Game Boy made it the best-selling game console of all time . In later years, its sales were surpassed by the Nintendo DS , PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Switch , making it the fourth-best-selling console of all time, as of 2024 . XGP Pack-in game Since

1045-517: The Game Boy, excluding cancelled and unlicensed games. Additionally, more than 300 games developed for the Game Boy Color were forward compatible with the monochrome Game Boy models. Games are stored on cartridges called the Game Boy Game Pak , using read-only memory (ROM) chips. Initially, due to the limitations of the 8-bit architecture of the device, ROM size was limited to 32 KB. However, Nintendo overcame this limitation with

1100-530: The Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-game handhelds, Nintendo developed the Game Boy to be more like a portable console , with interchangeable cartridges. The concept proved highly successful and the Game Boy became a cultural icon of the 1990s and early 2000s. The Game Boy

1155-676: The Japanese market in April 1989, followed by North America in July, and Europe in September of the following year, backed by a $ 10 million marketing effort. Sales of the Game Boy and its successor variants (including the Game Boy Color ) continued until March 2003. The Game Boy uses a custom system on a chip (SoC), to house most of the components, named the DMG-CPU by Nintendo and

SECTION 20

#1732791759319

1210-469: The Soviet Union-made game, Tetris , to the attention of Nintendo of America . Despite its simple graphics and lack of a well-known brand, Tetris' s suitability for a handheld platform convinced Nintendo president Minoru Arakawa to port and bundle it with the Game Boy. As a result, Tetris was bundled with the Game Boy in every region except Japan on its release. The Game Boy launched in

1265-596: The Star Droids, whose members are named after the planets of the Solar System . Mega Man & Bass , known as Rockman & Forte in Japan, is well known for being the first playable appearance of Mega Man's rival, Bass. Street Fighter X Mega Man is a project developed by Zong Hui, combining Mega Man 's gameplay with characters and settings from the Street Fighter series. Initially developed as

1320-466: The United States within weeks. More than 118.69 million units of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined have been sold worldwide, with 32.47 million units in Japan, 44.06 million in the Americas, and 42.16 million in other regions. By Japanese fiscal year 1997, before Game Boy Color's release in late 1998, 64.42 million units of the Game Boy had been sold worldwide. At

1375-496: The belief that the appeal of a gaming system was primarily determined by the quality of its games. With this in mind, Okada pushed to make development tools available for third-party developers , a shortcoming of the launch of the NES. R&D1 also developed Super Mario Land , a portable adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. game, intending it to be the flagship title for the Game Boy. However, Henk Rogers brought

1430-472: The company a Game Boy mockup. After seeing the device and wanting to keep Nintendo as a client, Sharp offered competitive pricing and secured the contract. Sharp originally proposed a twisted nematic (TN) display, but after seeing a prototype Game Boy, Yamauchi rejected the TN technology as too hard to see. Sharp then suggested super-twisted nematic (STN) technology, which had better viewing angles and contrast but

1485-416: The console relevant. The first revision to the Game Boy came on March 20, 1995, when Nintendo released several special edition Game Boy models with colored cases, advertising them in the "Play It Loud!" campaign, known in Japan as Game Boy Bros. Play It Loud! units were manufactured in red, yellow, green, blue black, white, and clear (transparent). The Play It Loud's screens also have a darker border than

1540-519: The creation of the "battle" and "trade" gameplay features in the Pokémon series , first released in 1996. A prototype Game Boy was unveiled in 1987 and later exhibited at multiple industry trade shows. The device incorporated a key design element developed by Yokoi and his team at R&D1 for its Game & Watch predecessor: the directional control pad, often referred to as the " D-pad ." Yokoi had recognized that traditional joysticks might hinder

1595-482: The device's small size, and said that the screen's visibility and pixel response-time had been improved, mostly eliminating ghosting . However, other reviewers were dismissive of the device, with the Los Angeles Times saying Nintendo was "repacking the same old black-and-white stuff and selling it as new." The first version came only in silver and did not have a power LED. A revision in early 1997 added

1650-512: The early 1980s, Okada had worked on an electronic game from Nintendo called Computer Mah-jong Yakuman that allowed cable communication between two devices, he thought it would be possible to implement a similar feature in the Game Boy. Despite concerns within the team that the feature would be too difficult to use and thus a waste of resources, Okada pushed forward and developed the Game Link Cable technology himself. This effort led to

1705-531: The fourth- best-selling console ever. The Game Boy received several redesigns during its lifespan, including the smaller Game Boy Pocket (1996) and the Game Boy Light (1998). Sales of Game Boy variants continued until 2003. The Game Boy was designed by the team at Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1), which had previously developed the Game & Watch handhelds and video games including Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong . However, early in

List of Mega Man video games - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-447: The game and coming in clutch . A common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning. There may or may not be a penalty for doing this, such as losing a certain number of points or being unable to access bonus stages. In arcade game s, when a player loses or fails an objective, they will generally be shown

1815-412: The game is not being played. Originally built into arcade games , the main purpose of the attract mode is to entice passers-by to play the game. It usually displays the game's title screen , the game's story (if it has one), its high score list, sweepstakes (on some games) and the message " Game Over " or "Insert Coin" over or in addition to a computer-controlled demonstration of gameplay . In

1870-470: The green hues of the original Game Boy. The Pocket also has a smaller Game Link Cable port, which requires an adapter to link with the original Game Boy. This smaller port design would be used on all subsequent Game Boy models. Internally, the Game Boy Pocket had a new SoC, the Nintendo CPU ;MGB, an improved version of the DMG-CPU. A major change was that the device's 8 KB of Video RAM

1925-511: The handheld was off, real-time clock chips could keep track of time even when the device was off and Rumble Pak cartridges added vibration feedback to enhance gameplay. The top-selling franchise for the Game Boy were Pokémon Red , Blue , and Yellow , the first installments of the Pokémon video game series , which sold more than 46 million copies. The best-selling single game was Tetris , with more than 35 million copies shipped, it

1980-441: The normal Game Boy. A major revision to the Game Boy came in 1996 with the introduction of the Game Boy Pocket, a slimmed-down unit that required just two smaller AAA batteries , albeit at the expense of providing just 10 hours of gameplay. The other major change was that the screen was changed to a film compensated super-twisted nematic (FSTN) LCD. This film compensation layer produced a true black-and-white display, rather than

2035-683: The ongoing development of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , the Game Boy team chose a less powerful CPU from the Sharp Corporation . Sharp initially showed reluctance to engage in the project, particularly for the LCD technology, which was a critical component. The team considered buying displays from the Citizen Watch Company which was already using LCD screens to build portable TVs. However, talks continued with Sharp, with Yokoi and Okada showing

2090-484: The origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry , the players , and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. Also isometric graphics . Also triple A . Also badge , trophy , medal , cheevo . Also aim down sights . Also control stick and thumbstick . A term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or other effects that affect multiple targets within

2145-625: The other hand, Mega Man Rush Marine was created specifically for international audiences. In 2017, Capcom released ports of the first six NES Mega Man games to iOS and Android devices. In 1990 , Hi-Tech Expressions (under license from Capcom) produced a DOS game based on the series simply titled Mega Man . It was followed by a second DOS game titled Mega Man III in 1992 . Both games were released exclusively in North America. Despite their titles, neither games are ports of their corresponding NES counterparts, but original games. There

2200-495: The portability of handheld devices. As a result, he designed the D-pad – a flat controller that extends just slightly beyond the device's casing. A similar layout had been used on the NES, making it easier for owners to transition to the handheld. Yamauchi estimated that the console would achieve sales exceeding 25 million units in its initial three years, a claim that was regarded as bold at the time. Nintendo's philosophy centered on

2255-477: The process, deep disagreements arose between Gunpei Yokoi , the R&;D1 division director, and Satoru Okada , the assistant director. Yokoi's original vision was for a simpler device, akin to an advanced Game & Watch, while Okada strongly advocated for a more powerful device with interchangeable cartridges, like a portable version of the successful Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Their differing visions for

List of Mega Man video games - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-654: The processor for certain operations related to the way the hardware was arranged. The Sharp SM83 operates at a clock rate of 4.194304 MHz. The DMG-CPU also incorporates the Picture Processing Unit , essentially a basic GPU , that renders visuals using an 8 KB bank of Video RAM located on the motherboard. The display itself is a 2.5-inch (diagonal) reflective super-twisted nematic (STN) monochrome liquid-crystal display (LCD), measuring 47 millimeters (1.9 in) wide by 43 millimeters (1.7 in) high. The screen can render four shades with

2365-573: The project led to frequent clashes, heated meetings and high tensions, with Okada ultimately convincing Yokoi of his vision. The team was encouraged to pursue the project by Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi . However within Nintendo, many were skeptical that such a device would be feasible. Some employees even gave the project the derogatory nickname " Dame Game" ( dame (だめ) meaning "hopeless" in Japanese). The codename for this nascent project

2420-403: The role of strategy, especially in turn-based game s. The player has to place units wisely to mitigate the possibly devastating effects of a hostile area of effect attack; however, placing units in a dense formation could result in gains that outweigh the increased AoE damage received. Also display mode and show mode . A pre-recorded demonstration of a video game that is displayed when

2475-515: Was "Dot Matrix Game" (DMG), reflecting its intended display technology , a stark contrast to the Game & Watch series, which had segmented LCDs pre-printed with an overlay, limiting each model to only play one game . The initials DMG came to be featured on the final product's model number: "DMG-01." Originally, a Ricoh -manufactured CPU, similar to the one used in the NES, was considered for compatibility. However, due to resource constraints amid

2530-571: Was a pack-in game included with the purchase of many original Game Boy devices. When the Game Boy was released in Japan in April 1989 alongside four launch titles : Alleyway (a Breakout clone ), Baseball (a port of the NES game), Super Mario Land (an adaptation of the Mario franchise for the handheld format) and Yakuman (a Mahjong game). When the console was introduced in North America, two more launch titles were added: Tetris and Tennis (another NES game port), while Yakuman

2585-470: Was designed by the Nintendo Research & Development 1 team, led by Gunpei Yokoi and Satoru Okada . The device features a dot-matrix display , a directional pad , four game buttons, a single speaker, and uses Game Pak cartridges. The two-toned gray design with black, blue, and dark magenta accents sported softly rounded corners, except for the bottom right, which was curved. At launch, it

2640-620: Was higher than the percentage of female players for both the Nintendo Entertainment System (29%) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (14%). In 2009, the Game Boy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame , 20 years after its introduction. The console received mixed reviews from critics. In a 1997 year-end review, a team of four Electronic Gaming Monthly editors gave the Game Boy scores of 7.5, 7.0, 8.0, and 2.0. The reviewer who contributed

2695-423: Was more expensive. To reduce cost, the team reduced the screen size, however, it was too late in the development process to shrink the console's overall size. Within R&D1, Yokoi had long promoted " lateral thinking with withered technology", a design philosophy which eschewed cutting-edge technology in favor of using mature technologies, which tended to be more affordable and reliable, in innovative ways. As

2750-509: Was moved from the motherboard to the SoC for faster access. The Game Boy Pocket was released in Japan on July 20, 1996, and in North America on September 2, 1996, for US$ 69.99 (equivalent to $ 136 in 2023). The Game Boy Pocket revitalized hardware sales and its release was ultimately well-timed as it coincided with the release of the first Pokémon game, which catapulted the Game Boy into uncharted realms of commercial triumph. Reviewers praised

2805-567: Was never released outside of Japan. Though it was less technically advanced than the Sega Game Gear , Atari Lynx , NEC TurboExpress and other competitors, notably by not supporting color, the Game Boy's lower price along with longer battery life made it a success. In its first two weeks in Japan, from its release on April 21, 1989, the entire stock of 300,000 units was sold; a few months later on July 31, 1989, 40,000 units were sold on its first release day. It sold one million units in

SECTION 50

#1732791759319

2860-648: Was no PC game titled Mega Man II . Aside from handing the license to Hi-Tech Expressions, Capcom themselves were not directly involved in the PC games. Both games were programmed and designed by Stephen Rozner. In 1999 , Chinese developer Strawberry Soft created a game very similar to Wily & Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise called Rockman Gold Empire . In 2001 , the Dreams Comes True corporation released under license from Capcom an original Microsoft Windows game titled Rockman Strategy exclusively for

2915-454: Was powered internally by four AA batteries . For extended use, an optional AC adapter or rechargeable battery pack can be connected via a coaxial power connector on the left side. The Game Boy has a single monaural speaker and a 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack . The right side offers a Game Link Cable port for connecting to another Game Boy for two-player games or, notably in Pokémon , sharing files. This port can also be used with

2970-438: Was priced at ¥6,800 (equivalent to ¥6,892 in 2019). The Game Boy Light is slightly bigger than the Game Boy Pocket and features an electroluminescent backlight allowing it to be played in low-light conditions. It uses two AA batteries, which give it approximately 12 gameplay hours with the backlight on and 20 with it off. It was available in two standard colors: gold and silver. More than 1,000 games were released for

3025-445: Was sold either as a standalone unit or bundled with games like Super Mario Land and Tetris . Despite mixed reviews criticizing its monochrome graphics and larger size compared to competitors like the Sega Game Gear , Atari Lynx , and NEC TurboExpress , the Game Boy rapidly outsold them all. An estimated 118.69 million units of the Game Boy and its successor, the Game Boy Color (1998), have been sold worldwide, making it

#318681