is the gameboy or gbc as powerful as the nes?

[mas]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if the gameboy or gameboy color is as strong or more powerful as the nes. I know the gba is pretty much a snes but that made me think of the gb or gbc as the nes. If it is as powerful then why do the games on the gb or gbc dont look as good as the nes versions of the same game?. Just curious that's all

[dtrack]

because of the resolution. Look at the super mario dx or ghouls and ghosts on the GBC. Essentially the same but the screen is cropped. GBC is even more powerful than the NES.

[Gunstar Green]

The original Game Boy is not as powerful than the NES which should come as no surprise since it's doing a lot less. It still is an 8-bit system using a modified Z80, I hear people on the internet calling it a 4-bit system sometimes but it's not (maybe they're confused because it does have 4-bit sound). The Game Boy Color is a little better than the NES in some regards.

As already stated the resolution, and in the case of the original Game Boy the monochrome graphics, is why it doesn't always look as good. There are some really impressive looking games though. Check out the list on this site.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/nintendo ... hics-sound

The GBA is more powerful than the SNES, it's a actual 32-bit system. This should be most apparent in games with textured polygons. The SNES could barely chug out flat shaded polygons with in-cartridge processors helping out.

[Flake]

Nintendo's strategy has usually been to take technology that was already a few years out of date and build their systems around that, banking on game design and a low retail price to edge out the competition.

So no, the Gameboy was not as powerful than the NES. Portable devices back then were still in their infancy. Great game design and a low resolution screen made it possible to produce NES like experiences on a weak processor, though.

The GBC was just an expansion of the original Gameboy's hardware. I think the processor was a little beefier and of course the screen had more going on. If the GBC was not on par with the NES, it must have been VERY close.

[mas]

o.k i was just curious. It's just when I see any capcom ports from the nes and gameboy i.e mega man 3, ducktales, ghost n goblins or something like that it looks like the nes game sometimes even the sound. But I also wrote this because someone wrote thru the net asking what was better a nes or gameboy? Even though my thoughts are for the nes i also thought that the gameboy had great games and some games look like nes games or thier counterparts

[Gunstar Green]

Speaking of Capcom ports the later Mega Man games do a really good job of looking just as good as the best NES Mega Man games. They trade-off is that they have a lot of slowdown at intense moments however.

The first Bionic Commando is another really awesome Capcom port if it's even fair to call it that since it's basically a remake. The Game Boy game looks even better than the NES one in my opinion.

[mas]

true that the mega man games are great but ducktales 1 and 2 look good also. I just wish punch out came out for the gameboy line.

[Luke]

ducktales 1 and 2...

I prefer the GB DT games. Just something about 'em.