The Game Boy Color was first released in Japan on October 21, 1998. The follow-up to the extremely successful original Game Boy brought the world of color to Nintendo handhelds for the first time, and the console lasted through March 23, 2003. But even with the handheld having ended its run over eighteen years ago, a brand new Game Boy Color game is on the way.
First Press Games is releasing the new game called POWA! to the Game Boy Color. The game is being developed by Aiguanachein. POWA! is an action-platform title that may draw comparisons to games like Kirby's Dream Land and other platformers or classic forgotten games on Game Boy handhelds.
The gameplay is simplistic in nature, but the levels are designed to have a certain element of challenge, like the old-school Game Boy Color titles. The music and sound effects sound instantly nostalgic, as games from the era have such a precise tune to them. Along with being playable on the Game Boy Color, POWA! is backward compatible with the classic Game Boy.
Many games have been released in recent years that tap into the home console vibes of games like Megaman or Castlevania. Mega Man 9 is considered one of the best Mega Man games ever, for example, and the game was released decades after the first. It was specifically designed to feel like an NES game. This style of game has become more popular, but perhaps the handheld variation of this has been disregarded. Game Boy games have a very distinct look and feel to them, and POWA! is a game that remembers that.
First Press Games is shooting for a November release of the game, and preorders are up now so that as many copies as needed are made available (avoiding becoming one of the rarest Game Boy games ever). For those who have fond memories of road trips and Kirby or late-night sessions of Wario Land under the covers, POWA! may be a great buy.