---EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a review of the Touch Boy Game Boy Color Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and NOT a review of the ROM Handling Device of the same name.--- Touch Boy Game Boy Color PDA Made by Dual Star Interactive (I think..) Reviewed by Gaseous Snake Size: 8 megabits Save: Battery (1 CR 2032 that is replaceable) Released: 2000 - 2001 Rated: Everyone as long as you don't type anything profane. Works with: Untested on GB, but made for GBC Reccomended: Game Boy Color to be on the safe side. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: I saw this at a local game store that usually doesn't sell gameboy imports. The guy there assured me that even though the box text was in Japanese, the game itself was all in English. The instructions are in Japanese as well, but oh well, I figured I'd give it a shot. Let me warn you though. Have some CR 2032 batteries with ya. I saved (or thought so) 3 addresses and set the time only to find out that my wonderful PDA was holding a dead battery. I was delighted to find that it houses a CR 2032 which should be familiar to you Dreamcast owners, it's the same type of battery found in VMUs. The cartridge opens easily. Since it is a offbrand Japanese invention, there are no security screws to mess with. All you need is a Philip's (heh heh) head screw driver and some steady hands. (Not recommended for those who easily break stuff) After cursing repeatedly and replacing the $3.00 battery (bought at Target), my PDA cartridge worked fine...Just be careful. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: Not a game, it is a Gameboy Color PDA that let's you keep addresses, a schedule, time, a calendar, and also has a calculator and a world time function. Pretty nifty. The instruction manual did not indicate in any way how many addresses this baby can hold, but I am sure it is a lot. There is a find button in the address book that lets you single out addresses with common letters (like typing in "john" would yield all nameswith "john in the beginning, like, John, Johnston or Johnson). Liked: Seems more suitable for addresses and phone numbers unlike Mission: Impossible which was a game in addition to a remote and address book. Hated: Typing in things can sometimes be a pain. Oh well, it is Game Boy after all. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: One thing that bugged me about MI's address book and extra crap was that it lacked color. This PDA has varied colors depending on what feature you are using which to me is more pleasant to the eye. It even let's you choose a picture for what the people in your address book look like! This is very fun because there are many hairstyles and faces to choose from. The only draw back is figuring out what button does what. Liked: Good use of color! Hated: See Control/Game Design section. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: Not much to say here. There is a song that plays at the main screen that is nice, but other than that, it's mute. Liked: Nice song at main menu. Hated: Could have been more sounds used in other parts, i.e, some sort of click when you make a letter selection (it's hard to tell if it came out sometimes). **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Here's where are lovely PDA for GBC loses. I suppose that if the instructions were written in English, this wouldn't be so bad, but, the layout of the buttons operations are inconsistent. Sometimes, the Select button means "Select" Other times, it means "Cancel" This is very confusing. I'd explain what the buttons do, but it is too hard to remember all the things that our poor over worked Game Boy buttons have to do in this PDA Liked: At least it works! Hated: Maybe make each button have a property that is universal throughout the PDA. This was attempted with the usual A is confirm, B is cancel, but it was not always followed. **************************************************************************** Improve: Make an English manual. Heck! They got a freakin' USA site for christ's sake! RIYL: Mission: Impossible, Those twins from Full House's planner thingie. **************************************************************************** Final Words: A neat Game Boy gadget! If you are a fan of Game Boy gadgets, look no further. Although it may be hard to figure out at first, this PDA is fun to use and let's you keep track of stuff. I haven't seen this neat GBC utility on any import websites, but look around, somebody is bound to have it! **************************************************************************** Score Functionality: ***** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: **** (really shouldn't be applicable, but hey, I'm nice) Play Control/Game Design: ** Personal Opinion: ***** Total: 20 out of 25, baby! Final Score: 90% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: GET THIS! If you type in someone's name as "SECRET" and give them some bogus address in the address book, it will unlock a secret address for this person named "SECRET" with that same address! SWEET! ...aright...so there aren't any codes for this game...and if there were, what the hell would they do anyway? And another thing, why is it referred to as "Touch Boy"? There is no touch screen or selection stylus in this thing. It's just a name so I'll shut up now.