Mega Memory Card
Device by InterAct
Reviewed by Why Wing (why_wing@yahoo.com)
Released: 1999
Use with: Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Opening Snide Remarks: (insert resounding "WHY DIDN’T THEY THINK OF THIS
BEFORE???" here)

If you’re sensible, or just plain paranoid, InterAct’s Mega Memory Card is
right up your alley. First, let’s just say you have a younger sibling who
wants to play your Pokémon game. Knowing that Pokémon games have only one
save file and that getting your progress deleted is like playing Seven
Minutes in Hell (go into a closet with your worst enemy and start beating
the living daylights out of each other for seven minutes straight), you’re
naturally afraid. Using the MMC, you can store up to 1 megabyte of backup
game saves. So now you plug this little baby in and copy the file onto it
for later use. That’s basically what it does, but I’d better not explain
all it here; otherwise, there’d be no review. Here we go. I’ll refer to
Game Boy Pocket as GBP, Game Boy Color as GBC, and the Mega Memory Card as
MMC.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Impressions: The thing is shaped like a Game Shark Pro; in fact, it’s of
almost equal size, shape and weight, except it doesn’t have the button. I
got it a little while after Christmas, even though it was on my list first,
and I had to pay the whole $30. :( Well, anyway, I used my Pokémon Red game
as a lab rat. It was simple even without the manual. Plug the game into the
MMC. Plug the MMC into the GBP or GBC and turn the MMC on, then the GBP or
GBC. Choose "Backup" and give your file a name. Select "End." The unit
COPIES, not CUT/PASTES, the saved game(s) to the memory card, and ends up
in the "Restore" menu. Should you want to start over with a clean slate,
select "Erase Game Save" and at the next prompt, select "Yes." Turn the
GBP or GBC off, then turn the MMC off. Turn on the GBP or GBC on, which
starts your game up, or if you have a Game Shark in, it will load the GS
first. Yes, it is possible. Now, in your game, you, or a younger person,
can play to his/her heart’s content. When he/she is done, you can save
that file to the memory card, using the same process as explained above.
Now, to get back to your old (good) file, choose "Reload," then choose the
name that you gave your file. Simple as that. This can also be used if
someone wants to do something that they couldn’t do initially but can do
on yours. Just copy the file, but don’t erase the game’s saved memory.
You can reload your original data when they’re done. Finally, keep in
mind that the MMC doesn’t work with games that use passwords or don’t
have any battery back-up options, such as progress, high scores, or the
like.

Liked: Game Shark compatibility, as well as the durability of the unit
itself. Another neat little trick is that you can clone Pokémon by saving
the data to the card, trade with a friend, and then upload your previous
data with the good Pokémon. Think on this, though. You can also trade back,
if you’re willing, or if you own two Pokémon games and two GBP or GBC units
as well as a Game Link, to get the clone of your Pokémon back, provided that
you use something puny in the trade like a Rattata (lab Rattata, heehee).
How about a team of six identical level 100 Mewtwos? Yes, it’s possible,
and the MMC makes it possible.

Hated: The unit is an ugly transparent yellow, but that’s not much to hate.
You must make an entirely new backup file if you decide to have two, say,
Pokémon Blue games, and you want to trade files without losing the one you
were previously playing. Then, you must delete the older backup file, which
was made before you added the progress. And so on. Get the gist? Sound is
also limited to a simplistic "ting" when you press any direction on the
Control Pad.

Now we get on to the compatibility flames. It’s for Game Boy Pocket and Game
Boy Color ONLY. Why? It’s because InterAct made a fool of itself by
forgetting to include the little notch for older Game Boy units. When you
turn on an older Game Boy (the big whopping 6-volt one) a little gray thing
slides over a notch (or into it, in the case of dual-compatible Rumble Pak
games) for reasons unknown. Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color didn’t have
that notch-filler. As for Super Game Boy, the SGB tries reading it like a
cartridge, but a "cartridge error" symbol pops up if you try it. Hopefully,
InterAct will come to their senses and put one in the new version.

Also, note that InterAct contradicts themselves on the label of the unit.
For Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color use only.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Improve: An overwrite option for identical game cartridges and game save
files, a little more SFX, and a nicer color. And pray that there’s a notch
in the next one.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Final Words: This is a nice buy if you’re afraid that just by chance, your
game will be erased, you want to do the cloning trick, or you’d like to do
certain things all over again. Unfortunately, this is it, and it will have
to do until a new version is released (take a look at Improve to see what I
mean.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Score: 92% 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Secrets: Clone Pokémon: See Impressions: Liked. And that’s about it.