News that Nintendo retired the Game Boy name, or at least put it in cryogenic sleep, filled us with sadness. The almost twenty year old portable is the ultimate success story, an underpowered machine that, despite facing competition from more powerful devices, managed to emerge victorious, thanks to the company's unparalleled ingenuity. We also have fond memories of the system, from playing Tetris for the first time to enthusiastically rushing Toys R Us when Nintendo launched the Game Boy Advance. Therefore, let's take a look back on the world's greatest hand held to celebrate the good times.

Nintendo in our pockets

As kids, picking up the original Game Boy for the first time (yes, in 1989) sent our brains into sensory overload. The concept of a portable NES blew our minds. Forget that it displayed various shades of gray and the screen made us cross eyed. The fact that it played a Mario game (Super Mario Land), came with this funky puzzle game called Tetris and used cute little cartridges (before Game Boy, we played Tiger Electronics limited handhelds) had us jumping up and down like lemurs on speed. We wanted one immediately, despite our parents' refusal to plunk down the $89.95 (chump change, compared to today's console prices) to buy one. Naturally, we played at friends' and relatives' houses, and when things got desperate, we turned to the most generous people in the world at the time, our grandparents.

Although the original Game Boy captured the hardcore audience's attention, it did for video games what the DS and Wii accomplish today: it attracted the non gamers, uptight businessmen, shriveled grandmas and housewives. Tetris led the charge, offering an addictive puzzle experience shared by millions of people.

From here (Game & Watch also deserves a mention), Nintendo built its hand held empire, creating hundreds of imaginative games based on existing intellectual properties while introducing us to new franchises. Super Mario Land brought everyone's favorite plumber to the portable arena, letting him ride in a submarine. Metroid fans in need of their next fix needed a Game Boy to experience the sequel, Metroid II: Return of Samus.

Kirby, the company's loveable pink puffball, first made its appearance on the Game Boy. At the same time, numerous third party publishers brought popular arcade series to the system, including Double Dragon, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II. Other companies took popular Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) brands and created a new line of Game Boy adventures to complement their console counterparts, such games as Capcom's Mega Man I-V and Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles offerings. By doing this, Nintendo didn't make its Game Boy an option, but a necessity.

This also helped the company trounce its competitors more powerful systems, including Sega's Game Gear, Atari's Lynx and NEC's Turbo Express, all of which boasted larger screens and the ability to display colors. Crappy battery life and weak software libraries helped Nintendo brush aside these bothersome gnats.

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