When the Super Nintendo officially launched in North America on Aug. 23, 1991, Nintendo immediately set to work proving the hardware could offer ambitious experiences the original NES simply could not. Games took advantage of new capabilities, including many more colors on-screen, as well as Mode 7 visuals that allowed them to spin and rotate backgrounds to create the illusion of three-dimensional depth.

For a long time after its release, the Super Nintendo played host to some of the most visually stimulating games of its era. Then came the Super FX chip and the prerendered visuals of Donkey Kong Country and its sequels. But there was still room for experiences that didn’t rely on cutting-edge visuals and new franchises, or indeed, anything new at all.

Introduced in mid-1994, the Super Game Boy was an oversized cartridge with a slot that turned the Super Nintendo into another device to play your library of Game Boy and supported Game Boy Color games (clear cartridges exclusive to the newer handheld simply displayed........

© Polygon