Ryuker.com: Game Boy Micro: Special 20th Anniversary Edition

Portable gaming isn't always as portable as I'd like it to be. I don't have many pants that have pockets large enough for a PSP or a Nintendo DS, and carrying around a man-purse to hold all my gear isn't always my favorite option. Enter the Game Boy Micro. Released on September 17th of 2005, the Game Boy Micro is small enough to fit in practically any pocket.

The general release versions of the Micro come in black or silver, and on November 28th of 2005, Nintendo released the 20th Anniversary Edition pictured here. 20th Anniversary of what though? The package doesn't really say, but Nintendo Power states that it celebrates the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America...which is odd since this Micro is modeled after the Japanese version of the NES, the Famicom. On the package there is a sort of crest that has an image of Mario from Super Mario Bros., but that is the only clue for those who don't who don't know their history.

The Japanese release of the 20th Anniversary version isn't quite as vague--their package has a similar image of Mario but with the words "Happy Mario!" with it, referring to the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. This should be a familiar image for Japanese gamers, as there was a slew of Mario related items released that had this image printed on it somewhere--all part of the anniversary. In fact, the major difference between the Japanese version of the 20th Anniversary Micro and the American version is that the Japanese version has the "Happy Mario" image printed on the back of the system itself.

But back to the system, I didn't actually go out and buy the Micro because I wanted it, no, I only bought it because I thought the 20th Anniversary Edition looked cool. I mean, I've already got a Game Boy Advance SP and a Nintendo DS, so why should I buy the Micro? But when I got home and opened up the box and held the unit in my hand, I fell in love. My first surprise is that this this thing is made of metal and not the usual plastic casing. The metal body makes it feel durable, tough and all the more sleek. Just look at those shoulder buttons! Sexy. My second surprise was how clear the screen is. I figured, it's small and it's not going to be that great. Wrong! This thing is bright and crystal clear, and you can even adjust the brightness. Other cool touches are the way the start and select buttons light up (the actual words light up blue, and also red when power is low), and the interchangable faceplates.

Sure, now there's the new Game Boy Advance SP's with the brighter screen, and yeah, there's the recently released Nintendo DS Lite which also probably has a screen of similar quality as the Micro's, but neither of those are as small as the Micro. Just check out the comparison pic to the left. The micro is smaller than my old Nokia cell phone, and only slightly bigger than my Motorola RAZR. Now that's small! If you have room for a cell phone, you have room for the micro. And that is its greatest strength. As a testament to that strength, I think I actually play with the Micro more than my DS and PSP because of its superior portability.

So is the Micro worth buying? Only if you want a portable game system that you can have on you at all times. I tend to think of it as a hardcore gamer's system since it's a bit of a luxery item. I mean, you can buy the GBA SP for cheaper, or you can spend a little bit more for the DS and still have access to the same games that the Micro plays--only a somewhat hardcore gamer would choose the Micro over those.

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