In addition to ROM, cartridges could also include random-access memory (RAM) chips that could be used for increased performance or to save game progress.

Later cartridges could also include real-time clock functionality that could keep track of time even when the device was off or a Rumble Pak to add vibration feedback to enhance gameplay.

The Game Boy Advance was the last major handheld device to use cartridges as its primary storage format.

[2] Nintendo overcame this limitation with a chip called the memory bank controller (MBC) placed within the cartridge.

Using this technology, Nintendo was able to create cartridges that used up to 8 MB of ROM,[3][4] vastly expanding game size and complexity.

On the original Game Boy a plastic tab slid across into a notch at the top of the cartridge when the console was powered on.

[3] The Game Boy Advance used a significantly shorter standard cartridge design at 3.5 centimeters (1.4 in) high.

When inserted into a Game Boy Advance, these notches avoid pressing a switch (called a shape detector) within the slot, allowing the device to boot into its native mode.

When an older Game Boy cartridge was inserted, this switch would be pressed, triggering the device to boot into its backward compatibility mode.

To accomplish this, the button was replaced with a solid piece of plastic, preventing older Game Boy cartridges from fully inserting.

[12] A dedicated palette option replicates the original Game Boy's grayscale experience.

[13] Additionally, a limited number of cartridges released between 1994 and 1998 feature enhancements compatible with the Super Game Boy.

[16] They lacked the notch in the top-right corner, and thus physically prevented the power switch of a monochrome Game Boy from being turned on when one was inserted.