Rare's Conker before he went adult. Game Boy Color, a friendlier adventure, and the first handheld Conker game.
Conker's Pocket Tales was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for Game Boy Color in June 1999 — a Game Boy Color action-adventure featuring Conker the squirrel in a family-friendly adventure. Players rescued Conker's girlfriend Berri from an evil acorn who stole the birthday presents. The game used top-down dungeon exploration with simple puzzle solving. Conker's Pocket Tales was released before Conker's Bad Fur Day, when Conker was still a family-friendly Rare character. The contrast between this GBC game and the later N64 title is often cited as an example of how dramatically a game franchise can change direction.
About this game
Conker's Pocket Tales (1999) is the Game Boy Color debut of Rare's mischievous squirrel, and the only entry in the series aimed at a family audience. Designed as a Zelda-style top-down action-adventure, it predates the notorious Conker's Bad Fur Day by two years and shows the character as originally conceived — charming and wholesome — before Rare decided to take the N64 version in a radically different adult direction. Composed by Robin Beanland and never released in Japan.
Key Features
Top-down Zelda-inspired action-adventure across multiple themed worlds. Conker must recover his birthday presents stolen by the Evil Acorn. Combat uses a slingshot as Conker's primary weapon. The game features puzzle-solving, NPC interactions, and item collection typical of the action-adventure genre. The complete score was composed by Robin Beanland, with Eveline Fischer handling the technical programming for the GBC sound chip.
The Story Behind
Development on Conker's Pocket Tales began after Rare completed Donkey Kong Land III in 1997. Initially conceived with a darker gothic tone, the project shifted to a family-friendly fantasy aesthetic once early builds of Conker's Bad Fur Day — then called Twelve Tales: Conker 64 — revealed that the N64 version was heading in an adult direction. Pocket Tales thus became a preserved window into Conker's original character conception, before the franchise became synonymous with adult humor.
Tricks & Tales
Conker's Pocket Tales was the first Game Boy Color game developed by Rare. The original character design for Conker was deliberately made cute and family-friendly — a complete contrast to the cigar-smoking, foul-mouthed version that would appear in Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001). The game was published by Nintendo in North America but by Rare themselves in Europe — a split arrangement common in Rare's Nintendo partnership era.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Never released in Japan. North America (June 1999, published by Nintendo) and Europe (July 1999, published by Rare) only.
Maintenance Tips
Standard GBC cartridge maintenance. The game uses battery-backed save RAM — check the battery if saves are not retained. Clean contacts with isopropyl alcohol.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Conker's Pocket Tales copies regularly.
Is this a region-free game? Will a Japanese Game Boy cartridge work on any Game Boy console?
Yes. The original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color have no hardware region lock — a Japanese cartridge plays on any Game Boy or Game Boy Color console worldwide without modification. The game itself is in Japanese, but the hardware accepts it freely. Game Boy Advance consoles are also backward-compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges and share this region-free status.
How should I clean a Game Boy cartridge?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion. If the shell needs to be opened for deeper cleaning, Game Boy cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws. The contacts are small; clean with a gentle wiping motion rather than abrasive pressure.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Conker's Pocket Tales
A short checklist for buying a used Game Boy Color cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
-
Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
-
Good news — Game Boy Color is region-free
These cartridges are not region-locked, so a Japanese copy plays on any compatible Game Boy worldwide.
Confirm whether the title is Color-only or also works on the original Game Boy.
-
If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
-
Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
-
Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what we have in stock →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Conker's Pocket Tales sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
Share your memory ↑