Game Boy Color

The release of Dragon Warrior I & II serves many purposes aside from making more money for Enix. Obviously, it is a wonderful trip down memory lane for older gamers, but it also serves as a history lesson of sorts for newbies and a stark reminder that things haven't really changed that much in the last couple of decades. As a newcomer to the game, I was surprised at how non-linear the game really is.

Game Description: Back in 1989, Dragon Warrior was one of the first titles to introduce the concept of role-playing games to the world of video game consoles, which was then almost exclusively populated by arcade spin-offs and action games. Now, more than 10 years after its initial release,Dragon Warrior and its first sequel have been spiffed up with enhanced graphics and are now united together on one cartridge for the Game Boy Color.

The main reason why Pokémon flourished—single-handedly elevating portable gaming to a new plateau in the process—was that it was simply a great game. It's still hard to believe that with all the catchy "gotta catch 'em all" jingles, feature films, Saturday morning cartoons, collectible toys and trading cards flooding the market, at the end of the day, innovative design and addictive gameplay prevailed above all else.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Language, Violence

Game Description: This popular series continues to add new innovations and features with each release. The object of Pokémon Gold is still to become the "World's Greatest Pokémon Master" by capturing, training, and battling different creatures, this time with all-new creatures and moves. Also, elements such as day-and-night gameplay and the ability to breed and mutate Pokémon add an exciting new dimension to the game. You'll be able to transfer Pokémon from the Red, Blue, and Yellow editions—even train them for new tricks--but you won't be able to transfer your newly caught creatures to any previously released games. Also, expect special, limited-edition gold and silver Game Boy Color units decorated with Pokémon characters.

After more than a year of Nintendo's persistent Pokémon marketing blitz, the fact that Pokémon Gold/Silver had me glued to my Game Boy Color's LCD to the extent that it did is quite amazing. As Chi said in his review, the game is not that much different from Pokémon Red/Blue, but it is such a solid overall game that it picks up where its predecessor left off without much of a hitch.

Without a doubt, the first thing that drew my attention was that despite the game being presented in a tiny little screen with 2-D sprites, virtually nothing was lost in the gameplay department. The perspective of the game is now locked down to a three-quarters overhead view (more like the original NES game) without the benefit of any 3-D camera panning or close-ups.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence

I agree with Chi's statement that Metal Gear Solid is a technical achievement for Game Boy. Konami did an excellent job porting an elaborate 32-bit 3-D game down to an 8-bit portable system. With that said, I felt the game was far less compelling than Chi did. I would find myself putting the game down after a game session and later having to force myself to pick it up, only because I wanted to get my money's worth.

Game Description: A group of terrorists has captured an American cargo plane containing Metal Gear, the most dangerous weapon on the planet. It is now up to one man to infiltrate the terrorist base and destroy Metal Gear.