Game Boy

(April 21, 1989-March 23, 2003)

Logo: On a green (original Game Boy) or white (Game Boy Pocket) background, we see the Nintendo logo in black (or dark green), slowly moving toward the middle from the top of the screen.

Variants:

If the cartridge is not inserted, the Nintendo logo is replaced with a black rectangle.
If the cartridge isn't all the way in or is corrupted, the Nintendo logo is a mess of pixels.

FX/SFX: The logo moving.

Music/Sounds: Just a two note "bling" sound when the logo stops in the middle.

Availability: Common. Seen on Game Boy games when they are played on an original Game Boy an Game Boy Pocket, and a Game Boy Light. However, the Game Boy Color logo is used when starting up an original GB game on any other console Game Boy console (excluding the Super Game Boy, which uses the logo below). The best way to find an original Game Boy game is look for a gray banner on the left side of the box with the "Nintendo" logo on top and GAME BOY filling the entire rest of the banner. Also intact on Generation 1 Pokémon games when played on the GB Tower mode in the Stadium games.

Editor's Note: One of the most iconic logos in the history of Nintendo.

Super Game Boy

(June 14, 1994, Mid-1998)

Logo: On a black box surrounded by a Game Boy border, we see a white Nintendo logo on the bottom with the "registered" symbol. Sparkles fly from left to right to write in "Super" in a cursive font, and "GAME BOY" fades in below.

Variants:

On the Japanese exclusive Super Game Boy 2, a number "2 also fades in with "GAME BOY".
If there is no cartridge or the game is corrupted, the Nintendo logo is replaced with a white bar or a mess of pixels, and the SGB logo is replaced with a Game Boy cartridge with a big "X" on top of it, which blinks.

FX/SFX: "Super" writing itself in, and "GAME BOY" fading in below.

Music/Sounds: Some whooshing sounds, and a different "bling" sound, almost sounding similar to the first part of the GBA jingle. The cartridge variant has two quick buzzes.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Game Boy games when played on the Super Game Boy add-on for the SNES. The variant is only seen on the Japanese-only Super Game Boy 2.

Editor's Note: None.

Game Boy Color

(October 21, 1998-July 18, 2003)

Normal variant
Variant with blacked-out Nintendo logo

Logo: On a white background, we see the text "GAME BOY" appearing letter-by-letter, with rainbow colors scrolling through. When a cartridge is inserted, the Nintendo logo appears below it in black.

Variants:

Like the original Game Boy, if the cartridge is not inserted, the Nintendo logo is replaced with a black rectangle.
Like the original Game Boy, if the cartridge isn't all the way in or is corrupted, the Nintendo logo is a mess of pixels.

FX/SFX: The letters appearing.

Music/Sounds: The "bling" sound from the first logo when it is complete.

Availability: Common. Seen on all Game Boy Color games. This logo is also unfortunately used to plaster over the original Game Boy logo when starting up an original GB game on the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube. Also used while playing classic Game Boy games on the Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance (SP). The best way to find a Game Boy Color game is look for a gray banner on the left side of the box with "GAME BOY COLOR" filling the rest of the banner. Also intact on Generation 2 Pokémon games when played on the GB Tower mode in Pokémon Stadium 2.

Editor's Note: None.

Game Boy Advance

(August 24, 2000; March 21, 2001-November 7, 2008)

Regular variant
Commercial variant (Golden School, Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Battle Network 2, Pinobee's Great Adventure, Sonic Advance, Super Mario Advance, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Wario Land 4, Tactics Ogre Gaiden)
Commercial variant
Superimposed commercial variant

Logo: We see the same "GAME BOY" text as before flying in rainbow colors letter-by-letter (a la Nickelodeon Movies) from the bottom right corner of the screen. A sparkle goes across the words. When a cartridge is inserted, the Nintendo logo appears below it in pink.

Variants:

The print logo forms via flashing, blurring, and rainbow effects. Once it fully forms, it changes to white and blue.
On several Pokemon commercials, two streaks come in from both sides of the screen and intersect to form the print logo.
If you don't insert a cartridge in, the Nintendo logo never appears. If the cartridge is corrupted, again, it's a mess of pixels.
A still of print logo (consisting of the white text "GAME BOY ADVANCE" with a thick blue outline) is seen superimposed on various backgrounds.
The print logo is seen fading in as the letters appear one-by-one in rainbow colors and a lavender GBA console zooms out from the top center.
The print logo wipes in and fully appears when a shining red light strikes through it on a black background. A version of this was seen on the Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation and Summon Night: Swordcraft Story commercials where the logo is superimposed.
On the advertisement for Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the print logo is seen on a white background before transforming into a Tanooki Leaf.
On the Japanese commercials for Yoshi Topsy-Turvy/Yoshi's Universal Gravitation, the print logo is seen in black and white. Above it is a red screen that reads "An interesting control method!" in Japanese. An apple falls from above and knocks down the letters.
A special WarioWare: Twisted! variant exists where the letters jump higher than normal. This was used for the souvenir of the same name as usual as it's unlockable when you complete all games in the Spindex.

FX/SFX: The letters appearing.

Music/Sounds: A harp-like sound when the text flies, and the "bling" sound in higher notes when the twinkle appears.

Music/Sounds Variants:

A variant exists where the harp-like sound is replaced with additional notes, and the bling sound is heard like in the 1st logo. This was used for the SpaceWorld 2000 and Debug BIOS for a short time.
The special WarioWare: Twisted! variant has the sound of Wario driving his car and crashing in, and we hear Wario say "Yeah!" like in the WarioWare games.
Japanese commercials from 2001 to 2005 omit the "bling" sound and feature a shorter, higher-quality version of the harp-like sound accompanied by an announcer saying "Game Boy Advance." The 2004-2006 ones have the "coin" sound effect from Super Mario Bros. instead.

Availability: Common. Seen on a Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Micro, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo DS Lite. Also seen on Game Boy Advance games when played on the Wii U or 3DS's Virtual Console. The commercial variants are extinct and were only used in Japan.

Editor's Note: None.