Taming of the Screw

 

If you've been following the blog, you'd know I'm a fan of the Chromatic, the overpriced Game Boy clone from ModRetro.  And speaking of price, they've just released a new, cheaper line of Chromatic handhelds.  Replacing the metal casing of the original models with see-through plastic to match ModRetro's version of the Nintendo 64.  Already owning 2 Chromatics--both setting me back $200 a pop--I questioned whether I wanted a 3rd Game Boy enough to cough up the dough.  Even if they're $50 cheaper.  Just then, I remembered I already had a 3rd Game Boy.

Years after missing out the first time around, I got this Game Boy Color for cheap from the weekend garage sales in my neighborhood.  Then I flipped it on eBay.  Years after that, I bought it back as a permanent addition to my collection.  I've always meant to replace the screen with a backlit one to play my GB cartridges on the original hardware.  But having struggled with modifying consoles before, I've put it off.  This time around, I wanted to challenge myself for a change.

Searching for a replacement shell in the color closest to the Cheapo Chromatic,  I happened upon an online store that could ship everything I needed at once.  On the upper left next to the shell is a drop-in backlit screen that didn't need soldering or trimming the shell.  Though the shell had its own face buttons, I added a Hot Pink set to match the buttons on Cheapo.  Everything down to the cover for the battery compartment was also included.

The main reason modding was such a hassle for me was that I almost always ran into a striped screw I couldn't unscrew, often on the motherboard.  Through years of online shopping I've accumulated a pile of tools to be sure I always had the right one.  I've even bought ModRetro's brand mod kit for when I messed around with their consoles.  Sure enough, I already had the right screwdrivers for taking apart the device.  Of note, I wouldn't find out until after all's said and done that the speaker on the lower left of the motherboard was busted.  But since I mostly play on mute and replacing the speaker would've required soldering, I let that go.

Here's my GBC with the new shell and screen installed.  The screen also included wired sensors to stick inside the shell to toggle the brightness and color palette by tapping the console itself.  While not an exact match to the Chromatic, the shell was more vibrant compared to the old one, and its matte finish made it smudge-free.  While testing a game, however, the new face buttons were jammed.  So I opened up the Game Boy again and sanded the A button so it fit flush into the shell.  I kept the old D-Pad along with the Select and Start buttons and the controls worked great.  No rechargeable battery upgrade; between having both rechargeable AA's and USB packs for my other handhelds, that part's covered.

For the modders you'd see on YouTube, this is light work.  This being my first successful mod, I can't put it down with how good it all looks (even if the screen's slightly misaligned).  With plenty of ModRetro carts in my backlog, I'm playing my next one exclusively on this, and hanging the included charm.  But what do you think?  Let me know if I did a good job in the comments.  And join me next time as I try out more games from the Game Boy library.  See you then!

Special thanks to Hand Held Legend for providing the products and resources that made this project a success.