Nintendo Super Famicom Super Gameboy SKUSFM15

Nintendo Super Famicom Super Gameboy SKUSFM15, is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for the Super Famicom / Super Nintendo. It was the first Game Boy-based add-on to a Nintendo console. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Gameboy to be played on a TV display using the Super Famicom/SNES controllers

The Super Game Boy is compatible with the original monochrome Game Boy cartridges, Game Boy Camera, and the black Game Boy Color cartridges although it would display the latter in their monochrome compatibility mode. The unit could map the four shades of green to various colors on the screen. Later Game Boy games that were optimized to use the Super Game Boy had additional color information and could over-ride the ability to change the on-screen colors, and the ability to display a graphical border around the screen as well as the ability to display special background sprites on the screen. Those games would have printed a small “Super Game Boy Game Pak” logo on the box and cartridge. The adaptor could support up to 64 colors for the border, and 12 colors for the screen. Colorization is applied to the screen itself, and did not scroll with the background. Static screens could display all 10 colors.

It is also possible for Super Game Boy games to make use of the SNES hardware for extra effects, as demonstrated in Contra, Donkey Kong, Kirby’s Dream Land 2, A Bug’s life, Animaniacs, and Toy Story. These games had expanded sound when used with the Super Game Boy. Wario Blast, the Game Boy version of KIller Instinct, and several other titles even allowed the second Super NES controller to be used for two-player action, and the title screen changed to show that these games had a two-player option, rather than a connection status. The original Super Game Boy does not support game link multiplayer.

The Game Boy version of Space Invaders allowed players to access a Super Nintendo version of the game as well as a coloured version of the Game Boy game.

Some black Game Boy Color cartridge games also have Super Game Boy enhancements, although there isn’t any logo indicating this on the cartridge or on the front of the box as there are for original Game Boy releases. Several GBC titles do have a small Super Game Boy compatibility icon located on the back of their packaging.

Actual item pictured.