Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance Cartridge Compatibility Table

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This is a short compatibility table covering three cartridge families: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. It helps you quickly see which cartridges work on different Game Boy models, Nintendo DS systems, and modern FPGA-based handhelds.

Three types of cartridges: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance

If you need a more detailed explanation of region lock, menu language, and backward compatibility, see the main article: “Nintendo Handheld Compatibility, Region Lock, and Menu Language.”

Quick Summary

The most versatile models are the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP, as they can run Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. The original Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket are limited to older GB games and some black dual-mode GBC cartridges. The Game Boy Micro works only with GBA cartridges, while the Nintendo DS and DS Lite support only GBA cartridges through Slot-2.

Table

Console / cartridge	Game Boy cartridges	Game Boy Color cartridges	Game Boy Advance cartridges
Game Boy	Yes	Partial¹	No
Game Boy Pocket	Yes	Partial¹	No
Game Boy Light	Yes	Partial¹	No
Game Boy Color	Yes	Yes	No
Game Boy Advance	Yes	Yes	Yes
Game Boy Advance SP AGS-001	Yes	Yes	Yes
Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101	Yes	Yes	Yes
Game Boy Micro	No	No	Yes
Nintendo DS	No	No	Yes²
Nintendo DS Lite	No	No	Yes²
Nintendo DS ML	No	No	Yes²
Analogue Pocket	Yes	Yes	Yes
FPGBC	Yes	Yes	No

Legend:

Yes — the cartridge works normally;

No — the cartridge is not supported;

Partial — there are exceptions.

Notes

¹ On GB, GBP, and GBL, only Game Boy Color games released in black dual-mode cartridges work, since they also support older monochrome Game Boy systems. Transparent GBC-only cartridges do not work on these models.

Game Boy / Game Boy Color cartridge

² Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, and Nintendo DS ML support only GBA cartridges through Slot-2. GB and GBC cartridges do not work on them.

This table applies only to standard original cartridges. Flash cartridges, pirate boards, rare cartridges with additional hardware, and modified consoles may behave differently.