My GB to GBC hack wishlist and my thoughts on existing ones

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Titney

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Remember when I said that it's not a good idea to play monochromatic Game Boy games on a Game Boy Color? Well, look at this screenshot from Kirby's Dream Land 2.
iMe8pic.png

The colors are, without any shadow of doubt, really horrible.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 is one of a few games that have custom palettes built into the GBC bios.
https://tcrf.net/Notes:Game_Boy_Color_Bootstrap_ROM#Assigned_Palette_Configurations

The Gambatte emulator should be able to run it in properly in GBC mode using the bios palettes. Or you can run the game on actual hardware in a way that the GBC sees the Kirby header when the game starts.

This was the only screenshot I was able to find and most people seem to screenshot it in SGB mode.
s3vf1urihw351.png

https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroArch/comments/gzozsn/sameboy_vs_gambatte_a_comparison_using_kirbys/
 
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ScarletDreamz

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Probably not a "GB TO GBC" but there was a "FAN" project for MMX2 recolor on the idea of "What if the Specs for the GBC were doubled", and its by far, my most favorite thing that could exist as a project, take in consideration that MMX2 (for the gbc) is my favorite game on that system:

upload_2021-9-15_14-9-52.png

upload_2021-9-15_14-10-43.png
upload_2021-9-15_14-10-6.png
eU7zaKs.png
 
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Titney

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Remember when I said that it's not a good idea to play monochromatic Game Boy games on a Game Boy Color? Well, look at this screenshot from Kirby's Dream Land 2.
iMe8pic.png

The colors are, without any shadow of doubt, really horrible.
Here are some (crappy) pics to give an idea of what it looks like on real hardware. Looks like whatever emulator you're using might be going overboard with the slight yellow tint of the white on the real GBC screen.

OPykP8B.jpg
5Piu2Wz.jpg
I4MspGj.jpg
eEz8Qo7.jpg
yEUe6Ob.jpg
 

SDA

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To all the people playing the 1.0 version of Super Mario Land DX, did this happen to you?
rtDSCMb.png

It crashed when I was hitting a multi-coin block and while equipped with the Starman. I already reported this bug to Toruzz and I hope it will be fixed in the imminent 2.0 version.
 

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Uh, yeah. Donkey Kong '94. Put it on the list. Doesn't matter if it's "obvious". If it's so obvious, why hasn't it been done yet? The more that people clamour for it, the more likely someone will put in the work, gift it to us, and it'll happen. To my knowledge, no one is even working on it. Yet we got a colorization of WHAT? Faceball 2000?? Really? And Donkey Kong Land, a notoriously crappy game. Not to knock the hard work of these hackers, but they should really get their priorities straight.

Donkey Kong '94 is the absolute best game for the original Gameboy, next to The Return of Samus. I got it with my Super Gameboy back in the day. It was real cool in 1994, but the SGB colors are crap outside of the menu screens.

Then someone can get on colorizing the TMNT trilogy. I had those games as a wee one as well, so it would be nice to see them in color.

But, priorities. Start with the obvious, and then work backwards. Want to play this in color on my 3DS or GBA.

Thank you in advance for the honorable hard work to which ever hacker takes on this project.
 

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@Thee_Stranger someone already complained with me about that I didn't put Donkey Kong '94 on the list.
Also, I think you misunderstood my last post because when I said "review list" I meant the list where I personally review the already existing colorization hacks. You were likely looking at my wishlist where I instead put games I want to see colorized but no such hacks for them exist yet.

Anyway, here you go. I added Donkey Kong '94 to my wishlist. -_-"
 
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Thee_Stranger

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@Thee_Stranger someone already complained with me about that I didn't put Donkey Kong '94 on the list.
Also, I think you misunderstood my last post because when I said "review list" I meant the list where I personally review the already existing colorization hacks. You were likely looking at my wishlist where I instead put games I want to see colorized but no such hacks for them exist yet.

Anyway, here you go. I added Donkey Kong '94 to my wishlist. -_-"
Yes, I know. I read the entirety of your OP, as well as the entire thread. I didn't misunderstand anything; the title of your thread is literally "My GB to GBC hack wishlist and my thoughts on existing ones". Though your actual OP has the wishlist at the end, the actual title of your thread begins with it.

Somewhere along the way, after whichever user complained about it, you replied that you didn't include it simply because it was too obvious a choice. I simply don't agree with that logic. I mean, I was basically being a tad hyperbolic with my last post, and it's perfectly OK if you personally don't really care to see Donkey Kong '94 colorized above other titles, but I think if it really, genuinely was such an obvious choice, it would have already been done by now. And I don't think being an obvious choice is a good reason to omit it from the list.

Then someone else chimed in that such an undertaking would basically be superfluous since Donkey '94 already received an elaborate color treatment with the Super Gameboy. I think anyone under that impression is simply going off screenshots like this:
1730702-donkey_kong__ju___v1.1___s_____20110313_140207.png
DKs+9+Worlds.png
When the actual gameplay looks like this:
Donkey_Kong_95_-_Ingame_9.gif
Which is only a slight step up from this:
images.png
When it could look like something this:
unnamed.png
I'll miss those sweet SGB borders, though.

Anyway, I thank you for acquiescing to, and appeasing us DK '94 complainers here, and I feel like we should keep this thread and discussion going to raise awareness and build consensus among the community for the GBC color hacks we want.

This is obviously my #1.
 
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kkzero

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Hi, I made the color hacks for Kirby's Pinball Land and Faceball 2000.
If it's so obvious, why hasn't it been done yet? The more that people clamour for it, the more likely someone will put in the work, gift it to us, and it'll happen. To my knowledge, no one is even working on it. Yet we got a colorization of WHAT? Faceball 2000?? Really? And Donkey Kong Land, a notoriously crappy game. Not to knock the hard work of these hackers, but they should really get their priorities straight.
Please do not chastise people for not doing color hacks of the games you want. People are generally motivated to hack the games they feel like hacking, not what they get asked to make. That's not to say your requests aren't considered at all, but this is a free-time process, people have their moods. And yes, I agree wholeheartedly that Donkey Kong 94 needs a GBC hack, and I even started technical research on it a while ago. But I suggest you show a little more respect for the people who make these hacks.

With Faceball in particular, I decided to do a GBC hack of it because I'm weird and really like that game. I was always fascinated by how it was an FPS on the Game Boy out of all systems, and one that came the year before Wolfenstein 3D at that. The main issue with it is its abysmal framerates, so I felt I could take advantage of the GBC's extra hardware to help fix that. And for the most part, it helped. Albeit with me having to make a version with the original game's slower renderer, because the new one didn't play well with certain hardware revisions (still got more speed either way though).

Anyway, I want you to know that I appreciate the demand for color hacks for more monochrome GB games, because I enjoy working with this system, and said demand does help me with where I want to go next with my hobby. However, I found your tone here very off-putting, because, again, you're putting down people for hacking games they find interesting, but you don't.
 

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Hi, I made the color hacks for Kirby's Pinball Land and Faceball 2000.

Please do not chastise people for not doing color hacks of the games you want. People are generally motivated to hack the games they feel like hacking, not what they get asked to make. That's not to say your requests aren't considered at all, but this is a free-time process, people have their moods. And yes, I agree wholeheartedly that Donkey Kong 94 needs a GBC hack, and I even started technical research on it a while ago. But I suggest you show a little more respect for the people who make these hacks.

With Faceball in particular, I decided to do a GBC hack of it because I'm weird and really like that game. I was always fascinated by how it was an FPS on the Game Boy out of all systems, and one that came the year before Wolfenstein 3D at that. The main issue with it is its abysmal framerates, so I felt I could take advantage of the GBC's extra hardware to help fix that. And for the most part, it helped. Albeit with me having to make a version with the original game's slower renderer, because the new one didn't play well with certain hardware revisions (still got more speed either way though).

Anyway, I want you to know that I appreciate the demand for color hacks for more monochrome GB games, because I enjoy working with this system, and said demand does help me with where I want to go next with my hobby. However, I found your tone here very off-putting, because, again, you're putting down people for hacking games they find interesting, but you don't.
Hi. I'm sorry I offended you. If you had read my second post, I already stated that I was being hyperbolic in my first post. In other words, in regards to my off-putting tone, it was never meant to be taken seriously or literally.

At the end of the day, we're talking about ROM hacks for damn near 30 year-old Gameboy games. So, when I say such a thing is a "priority", or that "hackers need to get their priorities straight" by hacking the games that I want hacked, I would figure such a statement is patently ridiculous on its face. That's because it was supposed to be interpreted as me just being silly. Though I'm well aware that intended sarcasm doesn't necessarily transmit well through text.

While I would certainly like to see Donkey Kong '94 receive a proper DX treatment, I certainly don't feel a sense of entitlement to it, and I'm certainly not of the belief that you should be doing anything other than what you want to be with your own free time. I certainly admire the time, talent, work, and wizardry that goes into these type of things, and the fact that they are made available for free to guys like me.

That said, while I'm sure the three people that are actually playing your Faceball 2000 color hack are really enjoying it, a lot more people would be playing your Donkey Kong '94 hack, and you're wasting your talent. And life. xD

... I'm kidding! Relax.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.
 
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kkzero

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@Thee_Stranger Thank you for your response. I guess it was hard for me to parse the extent of your sarcasm. I wouldn't say I was offended, more just felt it would be beneficial for me to provide insight to how the whole color hack thing works. But it seems like you were pretty well aware to begin with, and just opened up with the more hyperbolic side. I appreciate your clarification on this.

No hard feelings from me. :)
 

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Two more games added to my wishlist. Bomberman GB is one of my favorite games of all, and it has even got a Super Game Boy function. However, the way this SGB palette is done is like, strange, ala Donkey Kong '94. You've got some wonderfully colorized screens like these...
nuDa9ax.png
lGXPooE.png
v6hggLd.png
Y7FQTkN.png
tYTLoM6.png

...and then, when it comes to the game itself, you get these?!
h5uEekD.png
vnkSSAG.png
kJSo0aK.png

No, this cannot be any serious.
 

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Two more games added to my wishlist. Bomberman GB is one of my favorite games of all, and it has even got a Super Game Boy function. However, the way this SGB palette is done is like, strange, ala Donkey Kong '94. You've got some wonderfully colorized screens like these...
nuDa9ax.png
lGXPooE.png
v6hggLd.png
Y7FQTkN.png
tYTLoM6.png

...and then, when it comes to the game itself, you get these?!
h5uEekD.png
vnkSSAG.png
kJSo0aK.png

No, this cannot be any serious.
Huh. I was never aware that any other game ever got the Super Gameboy DK'94 kind of treatment. DK'94 is generally considered to be the only SGB title that they actually put and time or effort into, or that wasn't half-assed.

However, yeah. I'm pretty sure they were still limited to 4 colors with that thing. So, they could do some nice things with static images or menu screens, but that's where it begins and ends. Gameplay, they just had to try and choose the best pallet.

Sidenote: I have now downloaded and played Faceball 2000. Definitely a marked improvement over the original Gameboy version. So, I believe I have now downloaded and played all the homemade, homebrewed Gameboy DX hacks that have been produced so far.
 

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Huh. I was never aware that any other game ever got the Super Gameboy DK'94 kind of treatment. DK'94 is generally considered to be the only SGB title that they actually put and time or effort into, or that wasn't half-assed.

However, yeah. I'm pretty sure they were still limited to 4 colors with that thing. So, they could do some nice things with static images or menu screens, but that's where it begins and ends. Gameplay, they just had to try and choose the best pallet.

Sidenote: I have now downloaded and played Faceball 2000. Definitely a marked improvement over the original Gameboy version. So, I believe I have now downloaded and played all the homemade, homebrewed Gameboy DX hacks that have been produced so far.
Well, Donkey Kong '94 wasn't the only game to be "colorized" in this way. Hudson Soft also had to give Bomberman GB slap-dash palettes on the game field when it came to enhancing it for the Super Game Boy.

Maybe there are other Game Boy games with an SGB function out there that do the exact same thing, but I'm not sure. And - this has some spoilers - I've seen that not only kkzero is going to update Kirby's Pinball Land DX but has also started working on a colorization for Kirby's Dream Land 2.
 

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