This Was The Only Game Boy Game That Allowed 16-Player Multiplayer
While Nintendo's Game Boy handheld is most known for entertaining solo players, it also did its part in offering multiplayer fun.
Thanks to the machine's Game Link Cable peripheral, two and even four Game Boy users could link two cartridges of the same game together and engage in some additional activities. Classic titles such as Tetris, Pokemon Red/Blue, and rare gems like Yoshi's Cookie relied on the Game Link Cable for the following features: head-to-head competition, trading, co-op play, and even feature unlocking.
There's one particular title on the Game Boy that went above and beyond the max limit allowed for multiplayer gaming. Its arrival on Nintendo's miniature hardware gave it the ability to be compatible with yet another Game Boy multiplayer enabled peripheral. It also holds the distinction of being the only first-person shooter to ever see a release on the Game Boy.
The game in question is the little known yet still monumental Game Boy experience, Faceball 2000.
Faceball 2000 offered a massive multiplayer experience on Nintendo's handheld console
Faceball 2000 is purported as the spiritual successor to an Atari ST prototype title named Midi Maze.
Like its predecessor, Faceball 2000 placed players within a maze-like arena in the form of floating drone-like characters. In order to eliminate the other smiley faces on the board, players could shoot out large orbs at them to "tag them out." Faceball 2000's single-player Cyberspace mode let players compete against A.I. controlled drones, plus its head-to-head multiplayer mode could be enjoyed while using the Game Link Cable.
If players really wanted to raise the multiplayer stakes, a peripheral called the Four Player Adapter had to be used. By getting 16 players together, all of them could play against each other at the very same time by using up to seven Four Player Adapters. It's worth noting that this particular adapter could be only be obtained as a part of a bundle package for another Game Boy release known as F-1 Race.
Faceball 2000 ended up making its way over to the SNES, PC Engine, and Game Gear after its Game Boy debut. Nintendo Life awarded it with an 8 out of 10.