History Main / BorderOccupyingDecorations

** ''Kirby's Dream Collection'': The game features emulated versions of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'', ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'', and ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards''. Because ''Dream Land'' and ''Dream Land 2'' were Platform/GameBoy titles, they're too small to fill up even a 4:3 monitor; consequently, playing these games brings up a specially-designed border depicting sprites from them against a pink backdrop. A baby blue version of this border is also used when playing ''Adventure'', ''Super Star'', ''Dream Land 3'', and ''64'' on a 16:9 display (as they were designed for a 4:3 one).

During the 1990s and the 2000s, this was done for accessories that let players play handheld games on the TV screen, like the UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyPlayer for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube. They would both have a selection of premade borders, but the former would also theme designs for games made with such functionality in mind (potentially changing based on location or other factors). With the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS's and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS's touch screen and other gimmicks making such accessories impossible, or their aspect ratios also going widescreen like with the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, or just straight-up hybrid consoles like the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, doing so became pointless.

* ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'' was one of the last fighting games designed for a 4:3 aspect ratio SD display. The UsefulNotes/Playstation3 releases added animated sidebars to preserve this aspect ratio when playing on a widescreen HD display, along with a trophy for seeing all possible variants of the sidebar animations. Averted in the eventual UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} release, which was instead rebalanced for widescreen play.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' wasn't designed for a 16:9 aspect ratio until ''Xrd''. Thus, ports of older entries to widescreen systems, such as the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable, UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, and HD systems added decorative sidebars to keep the fighting in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

* The UsefulNotes/GameBoy version of ''VideoGame/{{Animaniacs}}'' features a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy border depicting an old TV set, dotted with portraits of the Warner siblings, Pinky and the Brain, and Ralph Theodore Guard.

** The ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongLand'' games feature their own custom borders when playing the games on a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy, done in the pre-rendered pseudo-CG style of the SNES games. The first game features a row of palm trees, the second game features a wall of bananas, and the third game features a wall of stopwatches (which serve as the game's main collectible).

** ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'' features a custom UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy border depicting Kirby, Rick, Coo, and Kine against a green checkerboard backdrop.
** ''Kirby's Dream Collection'': The game features emulated versions of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'', ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'', and ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards''. Because ''Dream Land'' and ''Dream Land 2'' were UsefulNotes/GameBoy titles, they're too small to fill up even a 4:3 monitor; consequently, playing these games brings up a specially-designed border depicting sprites from them against a pink backdrop. A baby blue version of this border is also used when playing ''Adventure'', ''Super Star'', ''Dream Land 3'', and ''64'' on a 16:9 display (as they were designed for a 4:3 one).

* ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'' sports a custom UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy border depicting Wario and his riches at the top as well as the location he's currently in filling the rest. If you're playing the Flagman D-D minigame, it uses a UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch console as its background.

* ''VideoGame/KirbysStarStacker'' features two UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy borders, both depicting Kirby and the Animal Friends. The first border features them against the various blocks that appear in-game, while the second depicts them, a bunch of stars, and a rainbow against a blue checkerboard.

* ''VideoGame/PanelDePon'': Because the playing field occupies only the centermost vertical area of the screen, the rest of the display is used for borders themed around the various characters, with the score and time limit being placed there as well. The UsefulNotes/GameBoy version of ''Tetris Attack'' (a DolledUpInstallment themed around ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'') even features UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy borders that replicate the ones seen in the SNES release.

** The [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Generation I]] games and the early [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]] games feature custom borders when playing on a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy. ''Red'', ''Green'', and ''Blue'' feature various Pokémon against a backdrop whose color matches that of the game's title[[note]]going clockwise from top-left, ''Red'' features Pidgey, Clefairy, Rhydon, and Kangaskhan; ''Green'' features Shellder, Pikachu, Kangaskhan, and Rhydon; ''Blue'' features Charmander, Squirtle, a pair of Poké Balls, and Bulbasaur[[/note]]. ''Yellow'' features various Pikachu playing against a green backdrop. ''Gold'' and ''Silver'' feature a Poké Ball pattern against a colored backdrop matching the game's title.
** The ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' games include a Game Boy Tower feature, which allows the player to use the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 Transfer Pak to play the mainline games in UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy mode, complete with custom borders. ''Pokémon Crystal'' is incompatible with the Super Game Boy, but ''is'' compatible with the Game Boy Tower; as such, it uses the Super Game Boy's default border.

* The first three ''VideoGame/GameAndWatchGallery'' games feature dynamic UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy borders based around the various included games. Playing them in modern mode presents borders depicting lush landscapes, many of which imitate the visual style of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland''. Playing them in classic mode, however, bring up borders based on the original UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch devices. The original ''Game Boy Gallery'', meanwhile, only features the Classic borders.
* ''VideoGame/KirbysBlockBall'' features a custom UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy border depicting King Dedede and Kirby's Spark, Burning, Needle, and Stone abilities against a lavender checkerboard.

* ''[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics]]'' is a commercial compilation of emulated games -- players may either play by watching a simulated TV or switch to a full-screen mode -- but the aspect ratio is different for modern computers. Instead of vertical black bars, the sides of the screen are filled with a grid.

* Some LetsPlay videos on [=YouTube=] will have borders around their gameplay, usually because the game's original aspect ratio doesn't fit on a 16:9 display, with these borders sometimes filled with relevant statistics or art. This is most evident on playthroughs of games on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS or UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, where after both screens are fitted onto a single horizontal video, the remaining negative space will be filled out by custom borders.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'': The ''Donkey Kong Land'' games feature their own custom borders when playing the games on a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy, done in the pre-rendered pseudo-CG style of the SNES games. The first game features a row of palm trees, the second game features a wall of bananas, and the third game features a wall of stopwatches (which serve as the game's main collectible).

* ''VideoGame/{{Blackthorne}}'': In the MS-DOS version of the game, the sprite and tile graphics were based on those used in the SNES version[[note]]though [[BloodlessCarnage blood was censored out]] of the SNES ones[[/note]], and had the same sizes as measured in pixels. However, whereas the SNES version ran using a screen resolution of 256 × 224, the MS-DOS version ran using a 320 × 240 screen resolution instead, leaving a thin border at the bottom of the screen and a much wider border at the right side of the screen. The MS-DOS version displayed the item inventory within the right-side border and the name of the currently-selected item within the lower border, whereas the SNES version (which didn't have any on-screen borders) put the item inventory in a menu that was accessible by pressing the Select button but which was not visible the rest of the time.

* ''RaySeries'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'': The 3DO version always has a brown border around the action. This is done not due to gameplay not taking up enough space, but because the port's quality results in the game lagging at larger screen sizes. The two highest options have to be enabled with a cheat code, and even the largest has some brown on the sides.

* Some LetsPlay vidoes on [=YouTube=] will have borders around their gameplay. This is most evident on the DS/3DS in order to fit both screens onto a single horizontal video. These borders sometimes are also filled with relevant statistics or art.

* Steve Turner's 8-bit games ''Avalon'', ''Dragontorc'' and ''Astroclone'' all have a 16-pixel border round the playing area. ''Avalon'' and ''Dragontorc'' fill this with fantasy-themed images, ''Astroclone'' with the game title and a relief design resembling circuitry.

* Music/GladysKnight's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1iRaS3gqws music video]] for "Licence to Kill," theme song to the [[Film/LicenceToKill James Bond movie]] of the same name, is presented letterbox-style. Occasionally a video girl appears in the top margin, laying across the screen seductively. This is one of the very few pieces of any media to incorporate the letterbox margins this way, but once you watch the video, it becomes easy to understand [[SpecialEffectsFailure why it's not done more often]].

Today, this is frequently used for emulators of pocket/standard home systems due to their screens not entirely fitting on widescreen displays. This often results in a border surrounding the sides, mostly from left and right but sometimes from above and below as well. The border usually incorporates some elements from the game, like the characters or locations, similar to a wallpaper. Developers usually offer players the option to scale the game to fit both the top and the bottom or just go widescreen, but as the aspect ratio change makes the game look distorted, many players consider it an unoptimal solution.

* ''[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics]]'' is a commercial compilation of emulated games - players may either play by watching a simulated TV or switch to a full-screen mode - but the aspect ratio is different for modern computers. Instead of vertical black bars, the sides of the screen are filled with a grid.

* Some LetsPlay streams also used borders, although in this case the border is usually for the purpose of keeping the screen neat and making sure the elements don't overlap (for example, a few Twitch Streamers do not like it when their chat and Webcam feed blocks out the game screen).

During the 1990s and the 2000s, this was done for accessories that let players play handheld games on the TV screen, like the UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyPlayer for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube. They would both have a selection of premade borders, but the former would also themed designs for games made with such functionality in mind (potentially changing based on location or other factors). With the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS's and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS's touch screen and other gimmicks making such accessories impossible, or their aspect ratios also going widescreen like with the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, or just straight-up hybrid consoles like the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, doing so became pointless.

Today, this is frequently used for emulators of pocket/standard home systems due to their screens not entirely fitting on widescreen displays. This often results in a border surrounding the sides, mostly from left and right but sometimes from above and below as well. The border usually incorportates some elements from the game, like the characters or locations, similar to a wallpaper. Developers usually offer players the option to scale the game to fit both the top and the bottom or just go widescreen, but as the aspect ratio change makes the game look distorted, many players consider it an unoptimal solution.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastNinja'' is a corner case due to it's functional border, showing status information to the bottom and right of the main game window. However, the bottom-right corner is a simple logo, replaced in the sequels to show the top of the ninja's head.

* ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'' was one of the last fighting games designed for a 4:3 aspect ratio SD display. The UsefulNotes/Playstation3 releases added animated sidebars to preserve this aspect ration when playing on a widescreen HD display, along with a trophy for seeing all possible variants of the sidebar animations. Averted in the eventual UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} release, which was instead rebalanced for widescreen play.

* ''VideoGame/KirbysStarStacker'' features two UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy borders, both depicting Kirby and the Animal Friends. The first border features them against the various blocks that appear in game, while the second depicts them, a bunch of stars, and a rainbow against a blue checkerboard.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'': Playing the Japanese Game Boy Color release on the Super Game Boy gives the game a border with a brick wall, ''GB Monopoly'' graffiti at the top and the official ''Monopoly'' logo at the bottom.
* ''[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics]]'' is a commercial compilation of emulated games - players may either play by watching a simulated TV, or switch to a full screen mode - but the aspect ratio is different for modern computers. Instead of vertical black bars, the sides of the screen are filled with a grid.

* In Japan, ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' was aired with a border depicting several of the characters alongside the series logo thanks to the aspect ratio. It's part of the reason the Japanese DVD releases are considered [[BadExportForYou an inferior version]], since not only are the live action Otoboto Family skits cut out (resulting in OrphanedPunchline and OrphanedSetup situations), the aspect ratio still wasn't fixed for the DVD releases.
* Some LetsPlay vidoes on [=YouTube=] will have borders around their gameplay. This is most evident for on the DS/3DS in order to fit both screens onto a single horizontal video. These borders sometimes are also filled with relevant statistics or art.

* ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'' sports a custom UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy border depicting the wall of Wario's castle, which is where the game begins.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'': Playing the Game Boy release on the Super Game Boy puts four skills on the sides and the game's logo at the top.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

!!TLP Note: This draft is the result of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16753308850.48943000 this TRS thread]] that decided to change VanityWindow into a better trope with examples.
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