Special Cartridges

Throughout the history of Nintendo’s cartridge-based consoles and portables, there have been rather unique cartridges that add a new level of gameplay that can’t be found with a normal cartridge. This page is the place where you can find out about all these “unique” cartridges…

Game Boy Camera

The Game Boy Camera was released in 1998, allowing you could take grainy black-and-white photos with your Game Boy and print them out on thermal paper using the Game Boy Printer. The built-in software was developed by Game Freak and contained many stamps that you could use to enhance your digital pictures. The actual hardware came in many colors: yellow, red, blue, green, teal, violet and gold in promotion of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In 1999, it held the title of being the world’s smallest camera according to Guinness World Records. There were plans for a GBA successor called GameEye with connectivity to Stage Debut (an unreleased GameCube game), but it never happened. The Game Boy Camera is still a popular hacking tool, with people transferring their pictures to their computer and using it to record video.

http://www.gieskes.nl/gb_camera_video_out_tutorial/

http://drx.a-blast.org/~drx/projects/gameboy/index.en.html

Pokemon Pinball

Pokemon Pinball was released for the Game Boy Color (though it can work on the original Game Boy as well) on June 28, 1999 in the U.S. Based upon Pokemon Red and Blue for the Game Boy, you play pinball (as if the title wasn’t obvious enough) using a Poke Ball as the ball while filling up your Pokedex. The game had support for the Game Boy Printer and the built-in infra-red port on the GBC (you could share high scores with friends.) But the most interesting part about the game was actually the cartridge.

Powered by a AAA battery, you could get rumble feedback during certain parts of the game, like when you got “Pikachu Kickback”, and Pikachu shouts “PIIIKAAA!!!” while the cart vibrates uncontrollably. There was a sequel for the Game Boy Advance called Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, and like the original, you caught Pokemon. Except you caught the Pokemon from Ruby and Sapphire instead of Red and Blue and since the cartridge was like any other GBA cart, there was no rumble support (it didn’t even come in a specially-colored cart like other Pokemon games.)

http://www.answers.com/topic/pok-mon-pinball

Pokemon Pinball was not the only Game Boy Color game that had built-in rumble. Here’s a complete list of GBC games with rumble and a cartridge that required a AAA battery, courtesy of Wikipedia:

• 10 Pin Bowling
• Disney’s The Little Mermaid II: Pinball Frenzy
• Hole In One Golf
• Missile Command
• NASCAR Challenge
• Perfect Dark
• Pokémon Pinball
• Polaris SnoCross
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
• Star Wars Episode I: Racer
• Test Drive Off-Road 3
• Tonka Raceway
• Top Gear Rally
• Vigilante 8
• Zebco Fishing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_Pak#Game_Boy_Color_games_with_built-in_rumble

WarioWare: Twisted!

Chosen as the best Game Boy Advance game by IGN, it also had a very unique cartridge that contained a piezoelectric gyroscope that tracked movements, affecting gameplay and even rumbled slightly when tilted. Minigames required you to literally twist and turn the Game Boy (or Nintendo DS or even an entire GameCube/Game Boy Player if you so desired) to light a fire, fly a flying car and more. Unlike the GBC games with rumble, it did not require a AAA battery since power was drawn the GBA itself.

Drill Dozer

The only other GBA game with built-in rumble. It is it much smaller than the WarioWare: Twisted! cartridge, but still bigger than your average GBA cartridge which means it will stick out of your GBA, DS or Game Boy Player. It was developed by Game Freak, the company known for developing the popular Pokemon titles and released in 2006. You play as Jill, a schoolgirl who became the leader of the Red Dozers gang after her father was attacked by another gang called the Skullkers who stole the precious Red Diamond from them. Using your Drill Dozer, you can break through walls and defeat enemies on your way to get the Red Diamond back.

It’s a nice little game, and was released towards the end of the GBA’s life which meant it probably didn’t get the recognition it deserved. I’m just glad Game Freak doesn’t limit themselves to making Pokemon games.

Capture Cartridge

Released only in Japan, the Capture Cartridge was used in the Mario Artist suite of programs for the Nintendo 64DD that included Paint Studio, Polygon Studio, Communication Kit and Talent Studio, to transfer video and audio through either composite cables or a standard microphone. You can then use your VCR for example and take snapshots of the video then use them to put faces on characters made in Talent Studio or Polygon Studio. You could also use it to make pictures in Paint Studio.

http://web.mac.com/sebangulo/64DD/64DD_Games.html

http://web.mac.com/sebangulo/Multimedia_64/Index.html

DS Rumble Pak

Taking the form of a GBA cartridge, the Rumble Pak for the DS and DS Lite provides rumble feedback for the following games:

• Air Traffic Chaos
• Clubhouse Games
• Custom Robo Arena
• Diddy Kong Racing DS
• Elite Beat Agents
• Ferrari Challenge
• GRID
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215
• Iron Man
• Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
• Magnetica
• Mahjong Fight Club DS: Wi-Fi Taiou
• Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
• Metroid Prime Hunters
• Metroid Prime Pinball
• Need For Speed: Undercover
• Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2
• Orcs & Elves
• Picross DS
• Power Pro Kun Pocket 9
• Power Pro Kun Pocket 10
• Professional Fisherman’s Tour: Northern Hemisphere
• Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary
• Race Driver: Create and Race
• Sega Superstars Tennis
• Space Invaders Extreme
• Star Fox Command
• Star Trek: Tactical Assault
• Super Princess Peach
• The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
• The Wild West
• Tomb Raider: Underworld
• TrackMania DS
• Wario: Master of Disguise
• Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
• WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008

The DS Rumble Pak is compatible with both the DS and DS Lite, though when it is inserted in the DS Lite it sticks out slightly any other GBA cart. It will not be compatible with the DSi since it lacks a GBA slot. The Rumble Pak was packaged with Metroid Prime Pinball in the U.S. and Actionloop (Magnetica) in Europe. It can also be bought off the online Nintendo store for $9.99. It was criticized for being “broken” and making a “squealing noise” or “electronic chirp” while rumbling by IGN.

Super Game Boy

Image credit: kafka4prez of Flickr

The Super Game Boy was released as an accessory for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 and could play Game Boy and certain Game Boy Color games on your TV (the black ones and possibly Pokemon Gold and Silver.) Inside, is basically the same hardware as a regular Game Boy since the Super Game Boy’s CPU processed the game while the SNES provided user-input, video output and limited colors.

Many games were optimized for the Super Game Boy and had extra features enabled when put in one. For example, some games contained color data and special borders only accessible when played on a Super Game Boy. Games that had such extra info included Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow. In addition, some games had better audio when played in a Super Game Boy. These games included Toy Story, Donkey Kong ‘94, Kirby’s Dream Land 2 and Contra: The Alien Wars.

It was later replaced by the Super Game Boy 2 and Game Boy Player.

Super Game Boy 2

Image credit: PiaCarrot of Wikipedia

Released in 1998 for the Super Nintendo only in Japan. The Super Game Boy 2 was the direct successor to the original Super Game Boy, also released for the SNES. The major difference was the the SGB2 had a link port which meant it is compatible with multiplayer Game Boy games like Pokemon and accessories like the Game Boy Printer. It still could only play Game Boy or black-cartridge Game Boy Color games, however. Minor differences including a different casing, two LED lights (a green one for when the link port was in use and a red one for when it was on) and 7 new borders. Other than that, it was pretty much the same thing as the first Super Game Boy.

Boktai, Boktai 2 and Boktai 3

Image credit: dianer9201 of eBay

These three games, developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance all had very unique cartridges – each one contained a solar sensor. The game measured the amount of UV-rays and then gave you in-game energy measured in blocks (8 in Boktai, 10 in Boktai 2) that could be used to power your Gun Del Sol. If the Sun’s light was not available, then you could store energy in a solar station or solar bank. The games also have a built-in clock that changes the enemies that appear in the game depending on the time of day. Boktai 3 was released only in Japan, and Lunar Knights released for the Nintendo DS is technically a Boktai game but the main characters were renamed and it lacked a solar sensor.

Koro Koro Puzzle: Happy Panechu!

A game exclusive to Japan that features a tilt sensor like WarioWare: Twisted. Developed and published by Nintendo it was released on March 8, 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. Gameplay consists of filling the screen with colored blocks called Panechus. Then you have to arrange them into groups of 3. Bombs will get in your way, but when you combine bombs you have make bigger bombs and use them to your advantage.

Star Fox

Image credit: freemarketintheworld of eBay

Equipped with the Super FX chip, Star Fox was one of the few games on the Super NES that had 3D graphics with fully-rendered polygons. It was released on March 1, 1993 and received generally favorable reviews. Next Gen Magazine even said it helped pioneer the use of 3D graphics in games. The game focused on Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team of space pilots who are defending the planet of Corneria from Andross.

A sequel called Star Fox 2 was planned, but was cancelled and ideas from the unreleased game were recycled into Star Fox 64. A nearly-finished version of the game was released on to the Internet with an English translation, minor bugs removed and other features that were never completed. It is possible to download the ROM and play it on a SNES emulator. Takaya Imamura, designer of the Star Fox games, was asked whether or not Star Fox 2 would ever be released on either the Wii Virtual Console or the DS. He answered, “Probably not.”

Other Super FX games include Vortex, Dirt Trax FX and even Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island which made use of the Super FX 2 chip that allowed the game to have better 2D effects like sprite scaling and bosses that took up the entire screen. Super Mario 64 began as a project called Super Mario FX that would of course, take advantage of the Super FX chip. The game was cancelled, and ideas from it were reused in Super Mario 64.

Yoshi Topsy-Turvy

Image credit: missourigems

Using the built-in tilt sensor, you can manipulate the game environment and have enemies and objects tilt in that direction. You can use this to Yoshi’s advantage by using it beat levels and solve puzzles. It was released in 2005 for the Game Boy Advance. The plot can be compared to the N64 game Yoshi’s Story. Hongo, a book spirit, traps Yoshi’s Island in a book after Bowser wrecks havoc. Yoshi can only convine Hongo to release the island if he locks Bowser away.

And here’s an honorable mention…

The Pokemon Games

I have Red, Blue and Yellow too. I used to have Ruby and Sapphire but sold them because I assumed Emerald was enough.

While they don’t have any special features, you could say the Pokemon cartridges are special in the fact they are colored. Each corresponds to what version it is, but you already know that (at least I would hope so.)

Finally…

I hope you enjoyed my look back at the many unique cartridges for Nintendo’s consoles and portables. There are probably many, many more so I’ll update this page when I find enough information on them.