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Part 4: Pokémon to Present Just kidding! Of course, the real kicker came in September 1998, when one of the most popular games of all time, Pokémon Red & Blue, was released. It featured a (mostly) loveable cast of 151 characters, though the incredible marketing campaign didn't hurt either. Within months, Pokémon had all but handed the portable gaming market to Nintendo. Pokémon was not the only reason, however.In November, gamers finally got whet they had wanted since day one. Game Boy Color was released, and it sold like hotcakes. With an Active-Matrix screen, faster link port, and a plethora of other enhancements, Game Boy Color delivered the best portable action ever seen. The only complaint? It didn't support SGB enhancements, so Pokémon players would just have to make do.
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In an ironic twist, Nintendo fulfilled the Game Boy's original purpose to be a portable NES by releasing SMBDX, a Game Boy version of the original Super Mario Bros. More recently, Mario Golf was ported, with astounding results. This raises the question, should games from consoles be ported to Game Boy? In this writer's opinion, yes, but not too many. Even so, with Mario Kart Advance as a title for the upcoming Game Boy Advance, it seems like it'll never stop completely. I'd love to see Super Smash Bros. on Game Boy myself. Whether or not that happens, Game Boy is a system in its own right.