Why Old Game Boy Games Actually Look Worse Than You Remember

The original Game Boy launched in 1989 and went on to sell 118 million units alongside its successor, the Game Boy Color. The foundational Nintendo handheld was home to some iconic games like "Super Mario Land," "Tetris," and of course, "Pokémon." If you dust off your old Game Boy and slap in one of those nostalgic cartridges, you'll realize that the classic games stand the test of time, but you might also notice that they look worse than you remember.

It's not a matter of remembering your childhood favorites with rose-tinted glasses; your Game Boy games actually do look worse than they once did. The fault lies with the Game Boy hardware itself. The original Game Boy is equipped with an STN dot matrix LCD, and as with any LCD screen, it has unavoidably degraded over time. Luminance decreases with use, and organic materials within the display break down with age, especially if the device is exposed to heat or humidity. STN displays also suffer from poorer contrast and slower response times compared to other types of LCD screens. This can make the flaws of an aging device stand out that much more.

The result is a noticeably dull image, and your 30+ year-old Game Boy certainly doesn't have smart settings to fix washed-out colors. The original Game Boy has a monochrome display, but even without a full range of colors, your eyes will still notice when a lack of contrast is hindering your gaming experience.

If you want to relive the joy of playing Game Boy games with the original hardware in your hands, the best thing you can do is replace the old, degraded screen with a new one. However, this process requires some technical know-how and the willingness to track down some very specific replacement parts. Paying an experienced modder to handle the job may be an option, but likely an expensive one.

Emulation is another option for enjoying those classic games, and it's a solution you can access right here and now. If you own a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, you can download the official Game Boy emulation app that comes with a selection of the best Game Boy games from that bygone era. If you're comfortable with tracking down fan-made emulation software and game ROMs, you can instead play those games on your PC, smartphone, or even other old gaming consoles. Through emulation, you never have to worry about losing access to your favorite games, and you certainly don't have to worry about them looking worse, either.