DF Retro Play: Game Boy Classics Revisited - The John Linneman Collection

[@DougHolmes]

We used the GBs screen latency to create 'transparent' windows. The player could walk in front of a shop window, enter the shop, then they would appear 'behind' the glass. In reality, all we were doing was flickering the player sprite to appear transparent.

[@ActionButton]

i had hernia surgery at age 21, a couple days after the release of skies of arcadia on dreamcast. and let me tell you . . . . . . that was a LOT of random battles for a guy who had just had hernia surgery

[@nategreatgames78]

It's still just amazing to me the quality of games we got on this device and how they were able to make such compelling and convincing games with such a limited color pallet

[@Canadian_Gamer]

That thumbnail is clickbait - the beard is gone. 🧔‍♂️

[@thestigsdutchcousin]

Of course, because he's playing Game BOY games.

[@elderpleasure4927]

@@thestigsdutchcousin Or because this video's 9 months old.

[@Saif0412]

​@@thestigsdutchcousin😂

[@Gingerlion777]

That’s stubble not a beard😅

[@hellomiguel_]

😢

[@retroreplay1980]

My OG DMG-01 Game Boy and all my games were stolen in 1991, my heart has never healed.

[@Michael.Reilly]

My condolences ❤️ I wonder what percentage of people had a game boy stolen in their youth

[@bakedbakinbacon]

Get revenge!

[@retroreplay1980]

@@bakedbakinbacon oh trust me, I have like 10 game boys now (and I hope the person that stole my original is in prison or worse) 😈

[@bakedbakinbacon]

@@retroreplay1980 winning.

[@leinadreign3510]

I feel with you: My entire videogame collection was also stolen. The entire N64-GCN and GBA/ DS collection and stuff. This was around 7 years ago and still makes me sad. All the memories of my childhood. Just gone.

[@pipgoesthepossum]

Great to see Audi back! Missed his presence!

[@PunchKickBlog]

Completely agree, that man is a treasure

[@thorocomments]

Right! That’s my guy!

[@Michael.Reilly]

Absolutely love this format. It gives you guys the chance to just talk about the games without having to focus on just the tech side

[@marc_max]

Thank you a lot for mentioning Mega Man World 5 DX! 😍 I know John is a huge fan of MMV, hope he enjoyed it as much as we did while developing it ^_^

[@banboosy]

Just grabbed this to try it out. Never played a mega man game before, so this will be my first. :)

[@MagisterHamid]

Marc you are a legend. Your colorization works are amazing! Are you working on any future colorization projects?

[@JGRICH61]

How to get said MM V DX?

[@banboosy]

@@JGRICH61 if you google mega man 5 dx you'll get a rom hacking link, just follow it and all the instructions are in the readme when you download the patch

[@AFourEyedGeek]

@@JGRICH61 there is a trailer with links. Search for Mega Man World 5 DX teaser trailer.

[@InFlamesor12]

nice to have audi back, next time bring back your old pal kia and suzuki John. Also dont forget your overseas friend the general motors

[@MoonSarito]

It's so cool to see what the developers managed to do with such limited hardware, the Game Boy was a handheld from 1989 that didn't even have colors but still had excellent games with incredible visuals. This makes me want to see a video of the most impressive Game Boy games.

[@rickylovesyou]

Great content. Would appreciate a JLC update every quarter or so on the games you're currently playing instead of waiting an entire year for it!!

[@TrepeGB]

I kind of wish they’d found a way to use Gameboy cameras to film themselves doing this.

[@leinadreign3510]

That would be brilliant!

[@MrSpineduke]

That's such a great idea! Missed opportunity

[@skycloud4802]

That thing only took photos not videos right?

[@TrepeGB]

@@skycloud4802 I could take a short video, more of an animation really, but if they’d found some way to connect it to their computer (I know there are devices out there that can do that) they’d have been able to stream from the camera.

[@randybobandy9828]

​@@MrSpinedukenot a missed opportunity.. in implausible opportunity

[@Kiyuja]

hey John, amazing idea behind the video. I really like the idea of the other one playing your games.

[@doh4828]

Link’s Awakening is a masterclass in design. I bought this on holiday back in the day and still to this day I don’t have any other example of how so much pure magic could be condensed into a few MB’s. I’ve replayed it literally dozens of times.

[@RushJet1]

Neat, did not expect to get a mention in this video 😅

[@Gounen]

When I learned of the "Link's Hijynx" I completely broke the game as well! I completed every dungeon but never picked up any instruments so the flags that progress the game didn't always progress and had to find ways around it to still get into the next dungeon. One time I made it so the NPC's that follow Link at various points never left. So once I had Bow wow, Marin and then the ghost following me their graphics started glitching out. Could clone heart peaces so I had more hearts than the maximum and when I was at full health the game would beep as if I was at low health as it probably looped back around bit-wise.

[@joshanton2259]

I appreciate this even more bc I recently got into the Anbernic, Miyoo and Retro Pocket handheld emulators.

[@Harjawaldar]

Good stuff, Audi! Keep on rockin' in the free world!

[@chrisbent5734]

"Gib mir deinen Saft, ich geb dir meinen... NIEMALS ohne Kondom!" - Link Zelda, 1993

[@iCaramba0815]

Darauf ein gesegnetes „Holerö!“

[@BurritoKingdom]

I'm amazed by the Game Boy's longevity. Nintendo was already developing the GBA by 1996 but the success of Pokemon caused Nintendo to shelve the GBA and develop the GBC. Which was the first mid-gen refresh, which all Nintendo handheld consoles had. GBC, DSi and the New 3DS all had updated specs and ever some exclusives, I'm really surprised the Switch Pro was never released.

[@AceFondu]

That's crazy, I also had hernia surgery as a kid and my parents got me 007 on Gameboy. I played the crap out of that, love that game to this day.

[@randybobandy9828]

I had that game too. Interesting game for sure

[@IZMAUS]

John talking about the warp bug triggered something in my brain from when I was developing Deadeus. A really similar glitch was leading to *minutes* long speed runs of the game and we weren't sure if we could fix it! The composer of Deadeus, Stoo Busby and I are both massive fans of Digital Foundry and John Linneman so to see these episodes on the Game Boy is really great and inspiring me to jump back into that world and make something new

[@Jenaxu]

Top tier format honestly, would love to see this for pretty much every console! Playing each other's choices is such a great backdrop to just yap for 40 minutes lol The stuff about Link's Awakening being timeless is so true, especially with the context of Nintendo's own remake. Being able to bring forward a ~25 year old game with relatively few changes to the core gameplay, and have it not feel much out of place at all, is a great testament to the fundamental game design.

[@moshmosh26]

About links awakening - there is a pc port that makes the scrolling run smooth and allow you to zoom out and see more of the map. It's very cool, definitely recommended to fans of the original GB release

[@mmarshfairc3]

I forgot which episode it was but the DF crew did talk about that one time

[@AdamMcKinlay-q5r]

Unfortunately, the Nintendo Ninjas got them with their C&D shurikens. It’s the internet so nothing truly is gone for ever but it might be more difficult to find now. 😓 Good luck!

[@GaminylGames]

I see a DF video when I'm busy I watch it when i get home. I see a DF video with John and Audi and I drop everything i'm doing to watch. Audi brother, glad you're still around it's been a minute

[@Nnamz]

What a fantastic video! I've recently gotten an Analog Pocket, so this is helpful!

[@tyo101]

Audi and Linneman are a potent mix!

[@philosophyoftrucking]

Good to see Audi back for an episode.

[@thejuiceweasel]

Oh boy that German localization, I remember that... if you sprinkle magic powder on the jelly enemies, they say "gimme your juice, I give you mine" and "never without a condom!".

[@tyraelhermosa]

I love this format. Great video, guys.

[@BubblegumCrash332]

Love these videos. Learning the history and design of each game is so interesting

[@lassesuurmunne8340]

One of my favourite retro episodes you guys have done 🙏 can't wait for part 2! I also had the Tiny Toons games, they are also amongst my favourite GB games and Contra/Probotector. The Amazing Spiderman was great, Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle, Mickey's Dangerous Chase, Bart's Escape From Camp Deadly, Fortified Zone, and I actually loved the Terminator 2 game... There were so many gems, so many. Thank god for the Super Game Boy, I still play em

[@carlosnascimento9269]

Great to have Audi back.

[@gray41462]

This is a great series, and I love to hear about your curated GB list, having always been a GB onlooker as a kid I’m catching up with all the games I missed.

[@chriswaters834]

Audi is the man. Wish he was on KZbin more often. Was really fun when he was sort of making the rounds and being interviewed on a lot of retro-themed channels a couple/few years ago.

[@SuperBearPoo]

Belmont's Revenge has an official Gameboy Color release, just FYI. I think it's "Konami GB Collection Vol. 4". It also has a movement speed hack if you're using a flash cart. It increases Belmont's movement speed so that it's similar to the NES games.

[@MetalJody1990]

I got my DMG GB on Xmas of '94 and it was the coolest thing ever. I had a lot of great games, but sadly none of the ones shown in the video. I grew up with Kirby's Dreamland 1 & 2, Kirby's Star Stacker, Super Mario Land 1 & 2, one of the Atari compilations with Asteroids & Missile Command, Battle Arena Toshinden, Toy Story, Pokemon Blue Version, Chase H.Q. Secret Police, and like 1 or 2 other games I can't think of right now. But man... Castlevania 2, Mega Man 5, and Link's Awakening would have made my childhood a great deal more sweet. Eventually I did play them on an emulator. They're awesome. I'm absolutely loving the fan-made DX editions. They add instant replay value.

[@Str0b0]

A bit more obscure Game Boy titles I liked a lot were Kwirk and Motocross Maniacs

[@tdome3000]

Excellent video. Please keep doing retro stuff on youtube for us!

[@martinalexaas]

I must admit, this is one of the most enjoyable DF content i have had the pleasure of enjoyibg.

[@Azorpatch]

This series is amazing! I hope it keeps going or maybe even takes retro recommendations from the people like me!

[@Lovelime_]

Mega Man V is a god damn fine game, bought it back in the day, played the hell out of it as a kid, still got my copy CIB in really good condition to!

[@NueThunderKing]

This was my first GB game, it holds a special place in my life, and it being actual good is just cherry on top.

[@eraerrordotcom]

No better way to spend a Sunday than with Bubsy & CRT. Thanks fellas! Loving the gameboy DX titles coming out. What a time to be alive.

[@WeWantBears]

Nothing but classics with this series, I'm a fan of nostalgia.

[@Graczula]

Great episode. Castlevania was my fav GB game when I was a kid...and actually it is still my fav Castlevania game to this day, thanks to its music. So glad that we have Analogue Pocket now and we can replay those mastepieces in full glory. There was so many great GB games which are still so fun to play. I would love to see some re-releases. Limited Run are you listening? :)

[@StiffAftermath]

Final Fantsy Adventure, Zelda Links Awakening, Gargoyles Quest, Bionic Commando, Makaimura Gaiden the Demon Darkness, Cosmic Tank...true gems, in my opinion.

[@ISSO1407]

The german version basically treats the electric thingies in the forest as living Vibrators after you sprinkle them with the magic powder... If you were wondering.

[@rolandsmash]

Please please please do an Atari Lynx retrospective. It was a fascinating system from a hardware perspective, in many ways ahead of its time but also constrained by the technological limitations of its time.

[@Arcad3n]

Check out Cave Noire! It’s a bite sized roguelike that holds up super well today, it’s not just good for a game boy game, it’s just straight up a good game!

[@metsallica]

The GOAT DF pairing!

[@crosvetijuraj]

Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge is my frist game in life ,i get it like a kid with a gemboy and since I only have it, i finished it over 20 times.Since then, I have played thousands of different games but this one stayed in my memory forever,you finish 4 castles and the fifth one opens in the middle, when i remember..i love this game ❤

[@katsup_07]

Link's Awakening is such a good game!

[@Th3James]

I've been playing James Bond on GB via PS2 on my SD CRT and HD projection CRT. I remember playing that via street light in the car, now I can bask in the glory of my CRTs and OLED displays. Feels like a better experience now with all my modern controllers and whatnot.

[@paweldurczok]

Perfect timing. I recently got a few gameboy and gameboy color games to play on a Analog Pocket that I'm be receiving today :D

[@neojeets]

Playing LInk's Awakening DX on Game Boy Color was absolutely incredible back in the day. I remember having one of those bendable light accessories that stuck out of the side of the GB Color and playing it on an airplane as a kid.

[@polskastylezz187]

cool stuff nice to see audi again❤

[@RetroSegaDev]

Oh love love love Belmont's revenge it was one of the first GB games I owned ☺️ music rocked too!

[@PongbyAtari]

Game Boy never gets old its like fine wine it gets better with age its been in my weekly gaming rotation for years with my Analogue Pocket being the perfect way to experience it.

[@retropolis1]

I bought a game boy from my first paperboy salery in 1991. We had crazy tetris tournaments under street lights and played obscure games that we rented from the video store. There was this one crazy good japanese F1- game in top down view... from Konami I think. We loved that game for the soundtrack.. Ah , the memories.

[@StreetfighterTips]

Zelda for the Gameboy has a special place in my heart, my favorite one and DX was my first Gameboy Color game I got after Christmas.

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

Love to see the Gameboy getting some love!

[@zatramander]

39:31 The owl was indeed first seen in Link's Awakening, and I'd think it's one of the many things in it that were inspired by Twin Peaks.

[@lassebongo126]

The Game Boy is my childhood! Love it! ❤

[@zidane6520]

Just getting started and John’s got Castlevania II out, and he’s also giving props to its soundtrack. That is top-tier taste!

[@WusijiDoctor]

casually mentioning that story of the nurse offering you their gameboy, but it was enough to get me choked up 😭 that was so sweet

[@norbosneogeo558]

Your videos are just awsome...this is the YT entertainment i need and i like :D!

[@rabiroden]

There's a density to these games' visuals that seems antithetical to the Game Boy, but the grayscale palette combined with the dot matrix filter makes for a very striking image. They use the full gamut of colors to create a densely shaded foreground and a faintly shaded background to create contrast. Castlevania in particular uses a lot of "implied" detail in the backgrounds, peppering things like bricks, cracks, and mountains in between the swaths of blank space.

[@Nolasco.]

I remember just as you John selling some great cib games when i was young for some stupid reasons. One didn't know better in those times, the sad part is that the same games are insanely expensive nowadays, it's gonna hurt my wallet to get them all back 😅 Thanks Hermanos, great DF Retro Play ❤

[@sandman8920]

So many fantastic gameboy games that the world has kinda forgotten about because of time and accessibility.

[@Swisshost]

Emulators on PC, my friend.

[@sandman8920]

@@Swisshost not everyone knows how to emulate

[@anthonymckenna9296]

Links Awakening feels so different, has those weird bits (mario characters) but also has such a feeling of love (for the series) because of its development. It was basically done by members of the main Zelda team, in secret, in their own time and when they had something to show they presented it to Miyamoto. Also i mat be wrong but i belive it was the game that introduced weapon combinations into the game, Arrows on A, bombs on B, push A&B and you get a bomb arrow!

[@geminijinxies7258]

Back in '89 I tried the Atari Lynx with for its time nice color screen and was impressed. Then in 1990 after trying the Game Boy I just knew Nintendo had failed miserably. Looking back I can now say I was a bit wrong..

[@pobbityboppity1110]

It’s remarkable these guys built a big Game Boy, crawled inside, and then filmed themselves playing the big Game Boy

[@NeoTechni]

re: Link's Awakening using single screen areas, that was done for 2 reasons: 1) to reduce scrolling on a very bad/blurry screen 2) it means the maps fit entirely in RAM (as opposed to streaming off the ROM) so that every tile can be edited (ie: cutting bushes, then digging up under where it was)

[@kaylee42900]

That warp trick if used in the cave that leads to the mushroom as you enter the heart room will put you into a room your normally can't get to with a chest that has a power bracelet and if you exit the screen and come back it have a lvl2 bracelet in it. I definitely took advantage of that to explore places before I was able to.

[@townsjim]

Welcome back Audi, return of the King.

[@akaimizu1]

I remember when I got my Game boy. It was my first videogame system, of that generation. The first I could say I personally owned. My first two games were Tetris and Super Mario Land (the first Mario game I owned). The first gameboy games were rather short in length. I also got Megaman, the first one. But then I got Gargoyles Quest, and that was incredible. Great gameplay, and suddenly I was playing a Gameboy game with lots of length. It was huge, in comparison, and I had no idea what I was getting into when I first started playing. I still consider it an impressive piece of work.

[@wads80z]

Link's Awakening and SML2:6GC are both near-perfect examples of their franchise, which is amazing for the power of hte hardware they were designed for.

[@timothykirby4406]

Yes! The old screen warp in Links Awakening! Yeah it's select when the screen begins to transition. Can get to all sorts of screwy places doing that. Loved that trick as a kid.

[@deucemcallister13]

my first gameboy experience was also in a hospital! i broke my foot and a friend of mine had an OG gameboy in an official suitcase with a ton of games. So i got to play it for the whole day but I didn't get to keep it lol.

[@joshuaDstarks]

John nearly sheds a tear for us all. One of my hugest regrets growing was getting rid of my game collections.

[@nicholasallen9035]

Watched part 2 first and definitely some games between the two. I really wish I still had my boxed GB game collection, sold it in a bit of desperation unfortunately. One deep cut I always love I wish I heard more people talk about is Mercenary Force, really different kind of shooter with multiple party members, etc.

[@timroberts]

I don’t have the box but I still have the cart for the original Links Awakening. Such a great game. I feel like I need to get a gameboy to play the old games.

[@G.Freeman92]

I’m wearing my purple and black DF shirt today.

[@JGRICH61]

John talking non stop during castlevania and Augi getting lit up.

[@GreatistheWorld]

Glad you guys mentioned stereo separation in GB music, something that makes some soundtracks incredible and truly headphone-worthy. Konami was one of the best at it

[@HeavyMetalSonicRM]

I spend a lot of time in the hospital with asthma in the early '90s and they would always let me use their NES with Super Mario Bros. 3. Good times, actually.

[@MrLeo34]

Love the focus on the GB. Some real interesting stuff if you dig into the library. Trip World and Mercenary Force are two of my favorites

[@tylerdurden783]

What is the overlay setup you used to play these?

[@tpg81]

I'm wondering exactly the same thing. What emulator and filters are they using too?

[@neonswift]

I first played a game it while in hospital too. It was such a great way to distract the fear from me at the time.

[@IAMBrenner]

The GameBoy…such an amazing handheld device!

[@Scimarad]

I did have one of these back in the day but I'm surprised how great these look on the console's display.

[@killerhertzmercedes]

What is this being played on/emulater? looks great with the visble pixels & correct colour.

[@yetanotherfloridaman]

It's so cool to see Audi!

[@daysgone3950]

Zelda The Dreaming Island landed on GB like a dream. Again John's choice of games is so smiliar to mine.

[@TheNerd]

I played through Zelda - A Link to the past 56 times. The only game I tried "speedrunning" (as a kid). My fastest 100% completion time (without glitches because I was a kid :D ) was around 6hrs.

[@SENATORPAIN1]

Is this a reupload? Positive ive seen john tslk Castlevania gb before

[@MrCaerbannog]

You're thinking of the video they did to tie in with Castlevania Anniversary Collection. John talked about all the games in that collection, including both Game Boy entries.

[@eSKAone-]

45:42 the art is out of this world dude 💟🌌☮️

[@lewishamilton3557]

Question for you guys. Why do certain titles offer Dolby Atmos on select platforms? Example Diablo IV ps5 does not, and xbox series x does.

[@Judex1963]

You'd probably appreciate Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS. That game is a game boy shmup with parallax scrolling and transparency layers.

[@nimamarufi]

Hello to the successful team of Digital Foundry, please tell me if I should put the PlayStation 5 vertically or horizontally?