RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login

    Gameboy Build

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Projects and Themes
    gameboybuildprojectcm3+
    8 Posts 5 Posters 3.2k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • AndersHPA
      AndersHP
      last edited by AndersHP

      After enjoying my arcade build for a couple of years, whilst also using my Nintendo Switch more and more, I decided I needed a handheld addition to the retrogaming family.

      Here's my photolog of my second retrogaming build: an (almost) original Gameboy!

      alt text

      I stumbled upon the Sudomod forum, and in here is truly some great handheld builds, some of which is getting pretty close to minor assembly/plug n’ play.

      The Kiteretro Circuit Sword is one of them, and I must say, this board is like a piece of jewelry.

      alt text

      Having built-in arduino for controls, sound amplifier, wifi and a Raspberry Pi Compute 3 Module, this kit fits (almost) directly into an original Gameboy case. Teaming up with a childhood friend with a 3d printer at his disposal, getting this kit was a no-brainer.

      First, testing the board. The screen is a 320x240 LCD, and battery is a 5200 mAh LiPo - should give around 10 hours of gaming between charges.

      alt text bb07d235-a5d8-4a7b-96d1-5166d66f91dc-image.png

      I needed to salvage 2 original defective Gameboys for this build, so that I had the original buttons on front, they just have a special deep burgundy color that the reproduced ones doesn’t quite match.

      Assembling this kit into the original casing requires a bit of Dremeling and a little bit of soldering, but not much.

      alt text

      Since I always found the original Gameboy to be sexy as hell, I wanted the build to look as close to an original as possible. Only changes to the formfactor is 2 additional buttons on the front, 2 on the rear to mimic shoulder buttons, and the bigger screen. The screen protector glass looks as original as possible, same text “DOT MATRIX WITH STEREO SOUND” , and same grey color.

      alt text alt text

      I attached a big heatsink onto the CM3 module, as this baby will be pretty closed in the end, with a cartridge fastened to the back. 3d-printed parts is partly hotglued/partly screwed into the original case. Hotglued the few wires here and there, to keep things just a bit tidy.

      alt text

      All set and all functional; my Gameboy build even has an analog volume controller on the side, so everything is as close to the original Gameboy as can be. The Link port is replaced with a USB port for connecting keyboards or such, microSD is where the contrast wheel used to be, and on the side is a USB-C port for charging the battery.

      alt text

      alt text

      Please feel free to comment! Big thanks to Kiteretro for providing this kit, and remember to also check out the many other cool builds at Sudomod.com
      Also a shout out to @fluffypillow for his Pegasus Frontend, which now supports small screens via the Micro theme :)

      My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
      My Gameboy

      M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
      • mituM
        mitu Global Moderator
        last edited by

        Look really nice, it looks like a work of love ! Enjoy your new GameBoy !

        AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • AndersHPA
          AndersHP @mitu
          last edited by

          @mitu thanks - it definitely is!

          My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
          My Gameboy

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • chubstaC
            chubsta
            last edited by

            That is a beaut, definitely the most authentic looking build i have seen!

            Raspberry Pi 400 - overclocked to 2.3GHz
            Theme - Comic book
            Emulators: All of them...
            Roms: Pretty much all of them...
            Favourite games: Circus Charlie, Gorf, Gauntlet Legends
            Controllers: Mayflash F101

            AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • M
              MetalManTN @AndersHP
              last edited by MetalManTN

              @AndersHP that is beautiful! I've got a PiGrrl that my brother-in-law made for me while back. I recently upgraded it from the original Pi A to the RPi 3 A+ and the thing runs like a dream now. (For anyone interested, the Adafruit project link says the RPi 3 A+ is not compatible, but I assure you that it is. I have the pictures to prove it.)

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • AndersHPA
                AndersHP @chubsta
                last edited by AndersHP

                @chubsta @MetalManTN
                Aww, thanks guys! :)

                My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                My Gameboy

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • ClydeC
                  Clyde
                  last edited by

                  Breathtaking build. I admire your manual skills.

                  AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • AndersHPA
                    AndersHP @Clyde
                    last edited by

                    @Clyde
                    Thank you for the kind words :)

                    My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                    My Gameboy

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • First post
                      Last post

                    Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                    Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.