Random Mission Impossible Cartridge Turns Your Game Boy Colour Into TV Remote

It's probably safe to say we haven't thought about Mission: Impossible for the Game Boy Colour since it originally came out back in the year 2000, but recently we stumbled across an incredible demonstration of the game that appears to use its cartridge to turn the handheld into a TV remote. Now, all of a sudden, this licensed spy game that we haven't thought about for roughly twenty-two years is all we want to talk about.

On a basic level, how this trick works is that the Game Boy Colour, in contrast to the other variations of the Game Boy, came packaged with an infrared (IR) port. This allowed the device to send and receive IR signals between Game Boys, and also learn signals from other contraptions with IR ports - say, for instance, a television remote.

So, as part of this largely forgettable Game Boy Colour game from the year 2000, Rebellion Developments took advantage of this feature to create what they called the Agent Action kit. This was a gimmick that allowed users to store names, addresses, and phone numbers; send and receive messages between different Game Boys; and perhaps most impressively, train your Game Boy Colour how to recreate other signals (as the musician and video game composer Christa Lee demonstrates above).

We don't know about you, but we absolutely love the novelty of this strange mechanic. It feels right at home here, especially given the game's subject matter, which deals with themes of international espionage. It's probably worth noting, however, that Mission Impossible wasn't the only game to use the Game Boy's IR capabilities, with around 17 other games taking advantage of it to our knowledge. This includes Donkey Kong Country, which let you exchange printable images, and Pokémon Pinball, where you could swap high scores with other players.

Did you ever use this Game Boy Colour feature back in the day? We'd love to hear about some of your memories!