Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color was Nintendo's third portable Game Boy system, after the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Pocket (the Game Boy Light was just a Pocket with a backlight and was only available in Japan). The main selling point of the system was obviously the fact that you could now play games in colour while on the move, however its backward compatability with original Game Boy games meant that owners of the previous systems didn't have to worry about spending lots of money on new games for it. It also featured a new infrared communcations port to transfer information between GBC systems, as well as twice the memory and processor power of the original Game Boy.

Zelda games for the Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color had three Zelda games released for it, more than any other Nintendo system. (Until the release of Twilight Princess for the GameCube). However one of these was Link's Awakening DX, which was just a re-release of Link's Awakening in colour and with a couple of extra features. The first brand new Zelda game for the GBC came with the simultaneous release of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, which also saw the first non-Nintendo developed Zelda games since the disastrous attempts on the Philips CD-i system. This time Capcom's Flagship studio stepped into the brink, and produced two games that met with a mixed, but overall positive reaction.

Specifications

 * CPU: 8-bit Z80, ran in single mode (4 MHz) and double mode (8 MHz)
 * RAM: 32 kbit (plus 128 kbit on cartridges)
 * ROM: Catridges up to 64 Mbit were made
 * Video RAM: 16 kbit
 * Sound: 4 Channel FM stereo
 * Video: Highly reflective TFT LCD, 160x144 pixels made by Sharp
 * Color Palette: 32,768 colors; Supports 10, 32, or 56 simultaneous colors on-screen
 * Controls: 8 directional D-Pad, A, B, select, and start buttons.
 * Communication: Serial or Infrared
 * Serial: 512 kbit/s; up to 4 consoles at a time
 * Infrared: Less than 2 metres at 45 degrees
 * Power: 2 AA batteries provide ~13 hours. An AC Adapter (DC 3V) was also available.