The Game Boy Color was released in 1998, and today marks the 52nd birthday of McDonald’s furry purple mascot Grimace. So, what did McDonald’s decide to do with the information? Make him some purple meatloaf?No, the fast-food chain does better than that by releasing a ghost face birthday Pranks for the Game Boy Color.
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Honestly, McDonald’s is way cooler than winning the competition for the McCrispy gaming chair late last year, and almost as cool as the chicken nugget-shaped Tetris handheld that McDonald’s released in China last month.
The Grimace game called Grimace’s Birthday was developed by Krool Toys using GB Studio (via RetroDodo). If you want to give it a try but don’t have a Game Boy Color handy, you can try the game on the Krool Toys website or on your phone. Although McDonald’s doesn’t advertise it as a way to play, owners of a physical Game Boy Color can download the game as a ROM file via the Internet Archive and play it on the go.
Grimace’s Birthday is a side-scrolling platformer set in – you guessed it – Grimace’s Birthday. During the game, he calls all his friends (and plenty of milkshakes) in time to blow out the candles on the birthday cake. You’ll also walk around on Grimace’s green skateboard, which you can fiddle with in Freeskate mode.
One look at Grimace’s Birthday and it’s clear that some real passion and hard work went into developing the game, and it’s usually enjoyable to see a brand new Game Boy Color game release in 2023. Someone at McDonald’s clearly already has a keen eye for the retro gaming medium, and I hope they keep this collaboration going.
Those who are Grimace superfans, or who just love McDonald’s burgers and fries, will be happy to know that Grimace’s birthday comes with a Grimace’s birthday meal at select McDonald’s locations. The meal comes with the signature purple “Ghostface Milkshake” and your choice of a Big Mac or 10 Chicken Nuggets. Perfect for playing Grimace’s Birthday with you!
