By: Mike Martin-Banks

In these past few months, I've had to walk… run… jump to catch the R5 train into downtown Philadelphia everyday to get to that great higher educational opportunity we call College (what I commonly refer to as "The Nation's Most Money-Hungry Institute" where a person can find out many things about himself, his future profession, and his body with alcohol poisoning).

First allow me step back for a minute and more formally address you outsiders to this God forsaken City of Brotherly Love. SEPTA is the lovely transportation company responsible for all means of public transport in and around the city - buses, trains, subways; you name it. Unfortunately, they suck, and most of the employees working for them are about as helpful and courteous as female grizzly bears in heat.

So I get on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at eight AM (Tuesdays at one PM), sloppily dressed in the pajamas I wore the night before and enraged with caffeine and a volatile bladder. Into one of the train cars I step to, onto a train packed to the gills with a crowded fishbowl of black suits and skirts. After politely asking someone to please move their briefcase which is blocking the last available seat next to them (sometimes when the exchange is made, the owner eyes me up and down, determining if my worth is comparable to their leathered bag), I take the partially taken seat. Moments after the train begins moving, I then realize that I've once again chosen the same section as the loud Asian woman furiously shouting Chinese into a cell phone, causing any chance for a final remaining few minutes of shuteye naught. (Why does she sound so angry…?)

Recently, however, these train rides have been fun! Not Thomas The Train Engine and drugged up George Carlin conductor fun, but nonetheless a little more enjoyable and a whole lot more bearable. Thus was my triumphant reunion with the Gameboy Color.

I know all about the SP; its sleek appeal possessing the amazing ability to stir up infinite debates about the sexual sensuality of technology products. I'm just as aware of the GBA dev cart prospect in emulating NES classics on the go too. However, like waking up alone in a cold Holiday Inn suite after a passionate one night stand, noticing the room bill stuck to your chest in the morning, the SP is a beautiful thing but in the end leaves you kind of empty inside. (And yes, there have been reported Ipod fondlings as well. An intolerant sexual act crime that I'd never thought our civilized society would ever have to address. For shame on us all, nerds. For shame.)

Of course, lugging around whole game cartridges with me, as is called on by such devices as the Game Axe or GTA, makes me look even more suspicious than normally. If I wasn't a non-threatening looking, Celtic, white boy (God forbid), the Nintendo cart might just look like an advanced homemade explosive tool jutting out of a detonator that beeps and bloops and plays the Russian Dance whenever I have Tetris plugged into the slot. Even worse, in the case of the SP, I might have Doki Doki Panic playing on a flash cart, when a bored, but concerned, citizen behind me witnesses my on-screen movements. He sees me controlling a fat man wearing a turban in an Arabian setting and throwing red, flashing bombs at a three-headed snake. He might then imagine in his tiny head the significance of the number three, and think it is referencing the Christian God's trinity, while portrayed as a snake, a common image used in the Bible to show Satan. He might then use his ingeniously incorrect state of induction to arrive at the wild notion that I was learning from a terrorist training module computer how to attack America!

GB/GBC Quick Game Recommendations (For the Classic Player):

	Blaster Master Enemy Below (NES remake)		Bionic Commando Elite Forces (NES remake)
	Dr. Mario (NES remake)		Dragon Warrior I & II (NES remake)
	Dragon Warrior III (NES remake)		Duke Nukem - "Old school, side-scrolling shooter/platform greatness."
	Kirby's Dream Land (NES remake) - "The quintessential Kirby-to-go."		Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX - "Classic overhead, overworld, dungeon-crawling Zelda adventure."
	Magi Nation - "Old school styled RPG."		Mario Golf - "Very reminiscent of the classic Golf on the NES... minus the bad parts. Mario Tennis is also another Nintendo sports title to seek out, and is similarly reminiscent of its NES Tennis counterpart."
	Metal Gear Solid (NES remake) - "Uses the same formula as the first Metal Gear on the NES to create one hell of a stealthy adventure."		Penguin Wars (Famicom remake)
	Pokemon (Blue Version) - "Don't be turned off by the silly franchise. This is a worthwhile experience for all ages."		Pokemon Pinball - "This and Kirby's Pinball Land are tied for the best pinball title on a handheld. Fans of the NES Pinball need to pick them both up."
	Pokemon Puzzle Challenge - "One awesome Tetris Attack clone."		Pokemon Trading Card Game
	Power Quest - "A traditional fighting game disguised in an RPG format. The gameplay is a more of an advanced clone of Konami's Yie Ar Kung Fu game."		Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (NES remake) - "The whole classic SMB1 experience with a ton of bells and whistles. Along for the ride is a welcomed addition of Japan's SMB2, The Lost Levels."
	Super Mario Land 2 Six Golden Coins - "The most impressive and fun of the GB Mario Land series; classic 2-D Mario through and through."		Tetris (NES remake) - "The best version of the original Tetris out there."
	TMNT: Fall of The Foot Clan - "Classic side-scrolling action, dudes!"		Toy Story Racer - "I'm a sucker for Pixar and the computer generated, racing Mr. Potato Head. It's really a Mario Kart clone in a Rad Racer shell."