How To Change the Screen Filter on Game Boy Games on the Nintendo Switch

Last week, Nintendo finally announced that classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games were finally coming to the Nintendo Switch as part of their Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. While it is very exciting to be able to revisit these beloved classics on the Nintendo Switch, the coolest part of this announcement is not the list of games, nor is it even the possibility of future games that could be added down the line. To me, the coolest part is that you can change the screen on the original Game Boy games so that you can play the games as they appeared on the original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, or Game Boy Color. It’s a small thing, for sure, but it really helps ramp up the nostalgia factor that Nintendo is so well known for.

However, figuring out exactly how to change the screen can be a little complicated, so here is a quick and easy guide on how to swap out those filters.

Once you are in the Game Boy app on your Nintendo Switch, on the red bar to the left of the game options, select the gear icon for ‘settings’

In settings, you’ll see three options for ‘Game Screen’: Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color. Select whichever one you want to see, and then navigate back to whichever game you want to play.

That’s it! It’s really that simple, albeit a little cumbersome because you have to exit the game you are playing and go back into the settings to change the screen. I’ve been spending some time revisiting the excellent Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, so here is an example of the game with each of the different filters turned on: