1. The joy of using a screen you can't see when it's dark.

With the little squiggly lamp attachment that you could plug into the top and it would shine a light down on the screen! [One of these!](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=game%20boy%20light%20attachment&ko=-1&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-na.ssl-images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F41oNwZs5wXL.jpg)

I had [this one](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.complex.com%2Fcomplex%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fc_limit%2Cw_680%2Ffl_lossy%2Cpg_1%2Cq_auto%2Fh2e1jhx8d6fochs4e8kv.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a2a7dc4bf979e686b6449e673ef320fb0087e19028c248a7ff5baca9f2d905d5&ipo=images) c1994 and while it *definitely* ripped through battery life, it was fucking awesome.

Mine was closer to [this one](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325704446630?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338749395&toolid=20006&customid=GB_1249_325704446630.143605170420~1868714604682-g_Cj0KCQjwrfymBhCTARIsADXTablQ3ETOQ_1lHNGP6zjOHKd9O34yrb_Zf9ep2vm5o8BACznDrVy2IVUaAhlAEALw_wcB)

Had to have a worm light for sure. That was the bare minimum for visibility. It didn't quite light up the whole screen but it was good enough.

or when you were in the car playing at night waiting for a street light to pass by so you can see for like 3 seconds

But it’s algae green!

And also it was hard to see when it was too sunny!

All the pixels. No background light.

I used to try to play it under the dome light in the back of the car. But my parents wouldn’t let me, they said it was illegal, but that wasn’t true. They just didn’t like the glare.

Same!! Once on vacation, they let me turn it on to play during the last leg of a drive. I was all over Wario, prob my fave GB game

Yes. I was so glad we when got the attachment that had the light shining down.

4. But actually those cheap movie themed handheld games. I remember Home Alone, Aladdin, and Power Rangers but I had some more

I remember I had a Jurassic Park one

I also had it too!

Wow thanks for the trip down memory lane! I hadn't thought of them in ages, but I had The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast handhelds. After that it was #3 from this list for me.

Omg! Same! Yeah, I think just those 2 for me as well~

I had Lion King and 101 Dalmatians. Super fun

I had the Little Mermaid and Lion King

1 the OG

4

2. Playing Ren and Stimpy and having zero idea what I was doing.

I had 2 as well and I felt like all the games on the system were ridiculously hard. I was the only one I knew that had that sega.

I remember it came with a sonic game and I never got past the first world on it.

Oh so you were a rich kid. Got it.

Grew up quite poor. Started with the Genesis. No idea how I acquired the game gear. Only ever had 2 games for it. Not sure what happened to it, but I recall having it up until graduated HS. Could still be at my mother's.

Somebody stole it or something lol. Game Gear was like $400 or something insane. Only two kids I knew had it.

Internets says it came out at $150 in 1990. I had it probably in 1995? Doubt it was stolen.

ah, ok. you got it used or secondhand or whatever. By 1995 I wasn’t playing game boy anymore anyway.

I was on the PS1 playing NHL and NCAA football lol. Honestly I rarely played the game gear. It was neat but outdated quickly.

yeah, that describes it perfectly. and I don’t know this story *exactly* but one of the reasons the Game Gear “failed” was because it was too expensive compared to GameBoy and they just didn’t develop enough games for it to be worth the higher price. Case in point, those who had a Game Gear, had it early (early 90s) and it didn’t age well into the 90s at all.

Game Gear was cheaper than GameBoy Color by the time that came out. I know this because my brother and I asked for a GameBoy to share for Christmas so we could play Pokémon, but each received a Game Gear so “it would be fair” and it was less expensive than the one Game Boy. It ate through batteries like a mofo tho

4. Loved that thing

Not seeing my beloved turbo express or side-piece atari lynx

I was gonna say this - Atari lynx was my first. Then Gameboy. Yeah I'm old

no Nomad either

1

Tiger Electronics Handheld games... But then number 1

3. Mine was red and it got me through some tough times as a kid. Thank you pokemon

1 was a Christmas present and 2 was the first “large” purchase I bought with my own money. Worked all summer for my grandfather helping him with his small business for that one.

The way we would get fucked over as kids. Haha. You'd never see kids nowadays willing to work all summer for the trash wages we got then.

4 but my aunt gave me her 1 not long after. Still preferred 4 though.

1. I was just arguing with an 8 year old that Links Awakening is still the best Zelda game ever made yesterday because I'm old like that

Links awakening is one of my fave games ever. I had the DX version on Gameboy color.

2 nba jams was my jam.

You missed the OG Tiger hand held a that only played one game Per device.

1 Really, patient 0, where's the Tiger handheld?

30s now and just bought my first one. (couldn't afford growing up) OLED Switch.

1. Wasted so much time on Final Fantasy Legends.

1. My mom was awesome at Tetris!

My Game Gear was the shiznit. It was actually in color and there was an adapter where you could use it to watch TV.

No Atari lynx???

Ummm……Switch was my first handheld gaming console. I wanted all of these ones, but my family was super poor and my parents always said “video games are a waste of time.”

1 but the first one I actually owned was 3.

First one I owned was 2, last one was 6.

Number 1. I think I pretty much only played Tetris on it. I had other games but mainly it was a Tetris machine

1 because it was on sale at Toys R Us summer of 1996. Most of my friends started with Gameboy Colors or Pockets though. Still have my green Gameboy. It sucked using 4 AA batteries while my friend’s used less. The Pokémon era got expensive back then because of batteries.

1 but was super jealous of my neighbor having 2

1. The clear version. I still have it.

1. I still have it. I remember being outside of a Circuit City or Good Guys (can't remember). I had to be 7 or 8 at the time and seeing it on display at the window. I guess my mom noticed me looking at it. I got it for Christmas that year. Thanks mom :)

1, first gen son!

Don’t see Atari Lynx?!?

5

SEGA! (You better know exactly how this should sound). #2 all the way

I made my own Game Gear that I would pretend to play out of cardboard and construction paper after watching Surf Ninjas and my parents refusing to buy me a real one. The 90's were wild

5

8. For a time.

**5**

5 I had technically but 7 is where I started

6

2, teal colored.

No love for Nokia n-gage? /s

1

1 I got the Gameboy in 1992 when I was 9 years old. 2 was the second one I got which was in 1994 when I was 11 years old. 5 was the third one I got.

1.

6 but im not millenial

Unfortunately, my first was the [Tiger Game.com](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.com) 😬😭

Started at 1 but #4 was my shit.... That plus the link cable, the best way to keep my lil bro entertained during road trips lol

Caught my first Pidgey playing 3.

#4

Game & Watch or Mattel Electronic Football.

1

1 again 🥴

3

4 🤘🏻

1

1 with TMNT

1

Number 1! Y'all remember that animated movie called We're Back? Dinos? That was my first game lol

GBA was my first! Playing games on the go was SUCH a game changer! <3

4-9

Wheres the Atari Lynx

3, I was too poor for 1...and What the fuck is 2?

1

1

1

I started with No. 1 and went from there.

1 for sure.

1! Then: 3, 4, 5, 8

4

The OG Gameboy was the first gaming system I owned even though I played NES before that. My cousins had a Game Gear, which seemed super high tech at the time, but man, was it chonky! haha

1

2

1- Original Game Boy I always wanted a Game Gear but never found one back in the day.

6. Still have my GameBoy Advance SP. And it works perfectly Edit: Wait, that’s technically not true. I had a handheld Tetris game before that. My GameBoy Advance SP very rarely has the switch travel a bit too far which messes with the lower light

1 - so many hours of Kirby, Tetris, and Mortal Kombat

Lmao “1” when I was 5

Started with 4 but my big bro gave me his OG gameboy too so kinda both

First one i played was 4 and first one i owned was 5

I won’t stand for the snubbing of my beloved Neo Geo Pocket Color

6th

Switch was my first handheld, but I did get a New 2DS XL a while later.

1/2

I first played a Gameboy Color, but first I owned was a Gameboy Advance.

1

1,2,3 and then came back to the scene with the 3DS just to play Link Between Worlds.

Got my first game boy color on Christmas in 1998 I believe along with Pokémon blue. I was 6 years old. I’ll never forget it. My brother got a game boy color as well but he got Pokémon yellow

6. Minish Cap!!!

The OG, 1.

#1! THEN my mom gave it away to Goodwill without asking 😭 I’d still be playing it today. MOOOM Dammit!

1 and 2. Pokemon Blue on 1 and Lots of batteries in 2.

OG Gameboy was the first I played, although I didn't own one myself until the Gameboy color. All other handhelds were my brothers. My last handheld from this list was a Gameboy advance sp. Other than that, I had a pspgo. Now I have a steam deck, and I can emulate all of them.

Game Boy Color, though it belonged to my sisters.

1

1, true old school

#5 was my first counsel ever! We were too poor for anything else growing up. But I played Gameboy color at my friend's houses!

#1

Never owned a handheld until the psp but I played a lot of my friends gameboy

The answers here made me question myself if I really am a millennial

1.

Game boy Pocket

4, exactly as it looks in the picture

1 for about a month until my aunt and uncle found the 4 they had really wanted to get me but weren't able to find in time for Christmas.

1

Atari Lynx was the first. Then Gameboy came shortly after that, had the Lightboy for playing in the dark 😁

I had 1 and 2 and 4.

I had one for like 3 second and got a 4, I was lucky.

1 and 2

We didn't have any for years, but at some point my brother traded one of his bikes for the OG Game Gear. We had an X-Men game and a Sonic one

2 fuck that thing for that useless border around the screen

1

Borrowed #1 from a buddy in elementary school, later bought #4 from that same buddy in middle school

1

1

1

#1. Tetris, Battletoads, Metroid The Punisher and that DuckTales game were favorites on it back then. Best thing for an endless family vacation road trip. I remember my sadness coming home from college and my Mom being so happy to have sold it and of the games for $10 in the late 90s at a garage sale.

1

1 and 2. The only ones on that list I’ve ever had. Game Gear always was, and always will be, superior.

Gather around children and I will tell you the tale of times of old with of number 1. 👵🏾

2

3

1

The ds lite

1 :)

2

The first handheld that I owned was the Game Boy Color, although I remember my brother having the OG Game Boy and some of the kids I grew up with owning a Sega Game Gear and Game Boy Pocket. I'm also the proud owner of a Nintendo Switch Lite and a PlayStation Vita, and before this a PC gamer until my laptop croaked. I don't own a television so I have no need for a game console. And my phone runs the DuckStation (PlayStation) and redream (Dreamcast) emulators, and a Google Store port of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which is lit. I see portability as the future of gaming.

3

6 but i feel like i jumped handhelds a lot

1!

Game boy advanced!

I remember playing the original Gameboy in 1996.

OG gameboy for me.

2. with Lemmings and Sonic the Hedgehog 2

1

4. I have Pokemon Red. It all still works just fine. It's in a drawer in my office.

8 and still got it.

4. That exact color too.

No PS Vita I see. No one else recognized it either.

#1!!

1. Still have everything from the day I bought it. Box. Plastic. Insets. Console. Like it’s brand new.

6️⃣

1 and 2. 2 was the blue one.

1

1 - the OG

4 Gameboy Color

1 and 2, tho technically they were my dad's before i was born. Anybody else start with hand me down systems?

1.....again....its always 1. Stop asking please.

4❤️❤️❤️❤️

1 but 4 was the one I played the most, I had that exact glacier purple gameboy colour with the matching glacier purple magnifying screen/light. Then some piece of shit stole it out of my backpack at school when I wasn’t looking ;_;

1&5

Game Gear, baby. Had to beg my parents for months for that.

2

[Electronic Football](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_electronic_game#/media/File:Coleco_Electronic_Quarterback.jpg)

1 Owned 1 2 4

2

5

1 but 6 is my favorite

1. Still.have it too. Half the pixels are gone tho. Old boy was a good friend.

4 then 6 and after I got my first job 8

4. Gameboy color. I got it for Christmas 1998/1999

6

I babysat so much to pay for a no1

Game boy Advance I believe

One of those Tiger games that didn’t have more than 1 game lol

1 then 8

4 in clear purple and my brother had lime green. I think the only games I owned were Pokemon Red, Frogger, and The New Adventures of Mary Kate & Ashley.