Difference between revisions of "Older games with compatibility issues with newer Game Boy models"

Revision as of 23:22, 4 December 2022

Nintendo's handhelds are generally compatible with games from 1 to 2 generations back. However, some games fail to work (wholly or partially) on newer Game Boy revisions, typically due to very specific hardware quirks.

GB games with compatibility issues on GBC and later hardware

Barcode Boy (Accessory used by Monster Maker: Barcode Saga and Battle Space)

The Barcode Boy is a Game Boy accessory that reads barcodes on special cards. The accessory connects to the Game Boy using a short link cable. This link cable is using the DMG style link plug, which doesn't fit in the smaller link port used by the Game Boy Pocket, Color and Advance. The link cable that comes with the accessory is likely special in that it probably connects the power supply pin of the link port to power the Barcode Boy. The accessory could probably work with newer Game Boy models in principle if you built a suitable adapter, however it's incompatible by default.

Legend of Zerd

This game relies on the STAT bug, which sometimes triggers a spurious LCD interrupt when the STAT register is written. This issue was fixed on the GBC, but its absence can cause issues for some games. In Legend of Zerd it causes the game to crash during the intro screen.

Pocket Sonar

Pocket Sonar is a special Game Boy cartridge that connects to a sonar device that help you fish. It is reported to not work on Game Boy Color and newer, however it's not known at the time of writing this article why. It may potentially be due to a power problem where electrical interference the sonar is causing something to misbehave.

Road Rash

The original release by Ocean relies on the STAT bug, which sometimes triggers a spurious LCD interrupt when the STAT register is written. This issue was fixed on the GBC, but its absence causes Road Rash to lock up with a white screen after the level selection. A GBC-only rerelease by EA is available.

GB and GBC games with compatibility issues on GBA hardware

Chee-Chai Alien

Chee-Chai Alien is using the IR sensor of the GBC as a light sensor, which is a core gameplay mechanic in the game. For this reason, the game includes a lockout screen, similar to the one many GBC games show when run on a pre-GBC console.

Kirby Tilt'n'Tumble (on the GBA SP)

This game is using an accelerometer to control aspects of the gameplay. While it will still work on a Game Boy Advance SP, the controls will be inverted because the cartridge is located upside down on the bottom of the console.

Pocket Music

Pocket Music is a DAW (digital audio workstation) for the Game Boy. One of its features is sample playback. Unfortunately, sample playback sounds really bad on the GBA, because of a quirk that produces a spike in the waveform every time the wave buffer is reloaded. For this reason, the game includes a lockout screen, similar to the one many GBC games show when run on a pre-GBC console. A patch exists that both fixes the wave playback issue, and removes the lockout screen.