Color me impressed!
After last year’s release of Paul Murphy and Ninty Media’s GAMEBOOK: The Unofficial DMG Companion, now is the time GAMEBOOK COLOR: THE UNOFFICIAL CGB COMPANION. Much like how Nintendo was quick to retake the handheld market by releasing a successor to the Nintendo Game Boy, Ninty Media have followed suit by announcing a book dedicated to the Nintendo Game Boy Color and following a very successful Kickstarter campaign, the book is finally in the wild.
Having got our hands on a copy of GAMEBOOK COLOR: THE UNOFFICIAL CGB COMPANION, it is our absolute pleasure to share with you an assortment of images, all relating to the new work, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, first, let’s take the time to talk a little more about this new book, which incidentally is not the last in the series as a third work has also been announced and like its predecessors, the GAMEBOOK ADVANCE: The Unofficial AGB Companion, has also already smashed its Kickstarter goals, thanks to 565 backers who pledged £42,568 to bring the third book to life.
For a quick comparison, GAMEBOOK COLOR: THE UNOFFICIAL CGB COMPANION had 501 backers who pledged £34,295, whereas the GAMEBOOK: The Unofficial DMG Companion had 631 backers who pledged £37,415. But what of the book itself? Laden with high-quality photographs and bespoke artwork that is simply divine, an ensemble of writers and freelancers have banded together to create an assortment of articles and features about the many games that released on the Nintendo Game Boy.
Among the all-star cast of wordsmiths and gaming journalists, the GAMEBOOK COLOR is home to words and artwork by Aaron Potter, Ashley Day, Ethan Hunt, James Doherty, Jordan Humphries, Josh Goldie, Marc Kaliroff, Megan Bidmead, Nathan Ball, Nick Thorpe, Paul Murphy, Shaun Hughes,, Thomas Chaplin, Aryel Meirless, Gabriel Coelho, Gabriela Tozati, Gregory Alecsander, Jay Cobs, Jonathan Traynor, Mary Violin, Paulo Gazola, Raphaela Silva, Steve Gregson, Ulisses Mateus, Wil Overton and many more.
No matter what page you flip to, there is always something worthwhile to read or look at as the GAMEBOOK COLOR is an absolute passion project that honours the gaming past that inspired its creation and now for the moment you’ve been waiting for, an extensive look at the GAMEBOOK COLOR: THE UNOFFICIAL CGB COMPANION:
When speaking about the creation of the GAMEBOOK COLOR and what promoted its creation, Ninty Media provided the following on Kickstarter:
After taking the portable gaming world by storm in the early 1990s, The GameBoy started running out of steam. More powerful home consoles were arriving, and gaming experiences were beginning to expand beyond what the diminutive platform’s limited architecture could handle. Rumours had abounded that Nintendo were working on a new handheld to take over the reigns, which – when launched alongside the Western release of the Pokemon franchise – saw players snap up the new console in a flash. Once again seeing off more powerful handhelds with ease, this newer portable system also amassed a huge library of games in the process. But which of these games are the best? Do they still hold up today? Do you wish there was a hardback book dedicated to the device that fawns over the platform like you do? That’s where GameBook Color: The Unofficial CGB Companion comes in.
Having already covered the original GameBoy platform in 2023’s GameBook: The Unofficial DMG Companion, Paul Murphy is back with a follow-up book, dedicated to the GameBoy Color and revisiting many games from the vast repertoire available. What you get here is pure, unadulterated love for the successor in the GameBoy line.
Whilst unofficial projects like this can be considered fair use, the use of trademarks is what usually causes trouble. GameBook isn’t a trademark. It’s just two words put together. Also, the GameBoy Color model was labeled CGB-01, which stood for Color GameBoy. That’s why it is The Unofficial CGB Companion.
For those of you who have liked what you have seen and read so far and wish to add the GAMEBOOK COLOR to your collection, be sure to click on the store link below to see all available options:
GAMEBOOK COLOR: The Unofficial CGB Companion
