Contents
How to Identify Super Game Boy?
Friends, there’s a new article on the site: EZ-Flash Air Review: Features, Limitations, and Comparison with Other Models.
ChisLink - a revolution in the GBA world.
Friends, AliExpress now has:
Cool metal labels for Game Boy Advance consoles. Important: the OMEGA series will no longer be produced — it is being replaced in the lineup by the EZ-Flash Air.
Cool eXtremeRate cases for GBA SP.
Friends, help me buy (if you have) various old stuff: Help me buy.
In Nintendo’s history, it’s rare to find an accessory that was released in four variants — and where each revision differs not only by region, but also by construction.
Super Game Boy is exactly that case. The American, Japanese, and European versions of SGB 1 differ both on the outside and on the inside. And Super Game Boy 2 is a different story altogether: a transparent shell, a Link port, and it was Japan-only.
To avoid a bad purchase, it helps to know how to tell one version from another by appearance.
SGB 1 (US region)
Let’s start with the most obvious one. The US SNES had its own unique shell, unlike the Japanese or European consoles. So the US Super Game Boy matches it: no rounded corners — everything is strict, boxy, and even a bit rough-looking.
See it? The shape is completely different. You can’t confuse it with the other versions — the US SGB 1 stands out immediately thanks to that “boxy” design.
SGB 2 (Japanese region)
In 1998, Nintendo released the improved Super Game Boy 2. You can spot it right away by the transparent blue shell, and it also adds Link Cable support (a Link port), which the earlier model didn’t have.
If the accessory is transparent with a blue tint, it’s definitely SGB 2 — it was never officially sold outside Japan.
SGB 1 (Japanese and European regions)
Now the confusing part. The Japanese and European SGB 1 look almost identical from the outside: the same smooth shape, everything seems the same. What’s more, a Japanese SGB 1 fits into a European SNES and vice versa — even though inside they’re completely different devices, and there’s no compatibility.
Why is that? In the 90s, nobody was thinking about global sales and online auctions. People bought what was available in their local store. Nintendo didn’t see a reason to make regional accessories look different. But today, when most purchases happen online, these small details can matter a lot.
Let’s figure out how to tell these two SGB 1 variants apart.
Front view:
Left is the Japanese version, right is the European one.
The only difference is the text. The Japanese version says Super Famicom in small letters, while the European one says Super NES.
Rear view:
Left is Japanese, right is European.
Here the difference is the language: the Japanese SGB 1 is covered in Japanese text, while the European one is in German or another European language. There are no other noticeable differences.
Epilogue
Overall, it’s not complicated: the US SGB is easy to spot by its shell, the Japanese SGB 2 stands out because it’s transparent, and the difference between Japanese and European SGB 1 is quite subtle — if you don’t look closely, it’s easy to mix them up. So be careful when buying.
