It’s finally that time of year! You know what I’m talking about. The leaves start turning colors, the corn starts to get harvested, and pumpkins begin to dot around your neighbors’ porches. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for fall. What comes with fall? The greatest season of the year: Spooky Season!

Now, we here at The Pixel Parlor love our spooky season for many reasons. From the horror films always playing on our TVs, the ghosts and skeletons decorating our homes, and a warm cup of Mad Goat Coffee to sip on as you’re enjoying a cool fall day. Just thinking about it is getting me so excited about it. You guys know what I’m talking about.

You know what comes with the greatness of spooky season? Spooky gaming! This year, I’m really focusing on retro handheld titles to enjoy on the amazing porch of my midwestern home. I’ve recently downloaded a Gameboy Color emulator for my phone to enjoy the absolute BANGERS that exist in its library. Honestly, have you looked at the awesome horror games that were brought to that little thing? It’s actually quite impressive. Anyway, here’s the two games we’re focusing on for Spooky Season 2025!

Alone in the Dark – The New Nightmare, GBC

Oooooooh boy, am I excited for this one. I’m a HUGE survival horror nerd, and discovering that the legendary Alone in the Dark was ported to the Gameboy Color absolutely has me PUMPED. I was simply browsing for Roms to fill my newly purchased GBC emulator when I stumbled upon it. Great horror games on a handheld from this time period are so rare, I’m actually puzzled how I’ve never heard of this before.

The only horror title I know of that was released for the GBC was Resident Evil Gaiden, which I actually played back on the day. I don’t care what anyone says; that game is awesome. That one deserves its own article one day…

Getting to experience one of the grandfathers of survivor horror in the comfort of my cozy porch has me more excited than I probably should be. Of course, something like that can only be enjoyed on an overcast day with a little dash of a fall storm for ambiance.

Dragonball Z Legendary Super Warriors, GBC

Now, I know what you’re thinking: How can DBZ be related to anything fall? It’s simple! Any kid from the late 90s and early 2000s knew that there was nothing better than rushing home from school to catch the latest episode of DBZ on Toonami. The latest episodes would usually come out in the fall just as the school year was really starting to get into full swing. The real unfortunate thing was that I’m from Mississippi, so it wasn’t like there’s much memory of watching it with a nice cozy sweater on. No, it was more like the time of year for me and my sister. Pair that with some Pizza Rolls, and we were all set.

That being said, I’ve always heard such amazing things about this gem on the Gameboy Color, and from someone who simply salivates at the thought of a new turn based RPG, how could I resist? Now is as perfect a time as any to mash the incredible, legendary action of Dragonball Z with the turn based RPG that is what I believe makes all Gameboy consoles what they are.

Issue… Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, GBC

I felt like this was worth mentioning. On my original list I had this at the top because of its gameplay being a turn based RPG set in the Wizarding World. However, there appears to be a well-known glitch that, funnily enough, I wasn’t aware of. At one point early in the game, you are tasked by Snape to retrieve some potion ingredients from his office, but one of the ingredients is glitched in the wall where you can’t obtain it. They say you can restart your game and reload to get it, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to work.

I was incredibly frustrated by this. Being a huge fan of the Prisoner of Azkaban on GBA, I was all in on another turn based Harry Potter game, but it seems it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps one day I can find a physical cartridge and get through it, but that’s not at the top of my list anytime soon. However, the little I did get to play, I must say, was a great experience! Nothing better than Harry Potter in the fall, just not this one.

What are you playing this spooky season? Let me know in the comments!

For all things Nerd Culture, be sure to keep it right here with your pals at The Pixel Parlor!