this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2024
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Play GB games (lemm.ee)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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So I have these old, original Game Boy (like, the grey one with the maroon buttons) games I wanna play again (original Pokemon Blue). What can I get to do so?

I bought a GB on eBay but the screen was barely visible. I'm comfortable partially building/programming something myself, and would also be fine with an adapter or some such that allows me to play the cartridge or copy its contents so I can play on my laptop or Raspberry Pi or whatever.

Suggestions sought!

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Many options exist, depending on your budget:

  • IPS screen mod for your GB, these are usually not too costly iirc ($60 USD?)
  • GBA SP (AGS 001 is frontlit and AGS 101 is backlit), around the same budget for the former, the latter is more coveted and expensive. (EDIT - initial mistake, the GBA is not front/backlit)
  • Open source cartreader to dump your carts and saves (and play ROMs wherever you want) - no idea about the budget tbh
  • Analogue Pocket, it's great but very likely overkill if all you want to do is play some GB games ($220 USD)
  • Depending on how comfortable you are with downloading ROMs (and how ethical you feel that is, given you already have the games), you could just do that without spending a penny since GB games have been preserved and are easily accessible.

There's also a handful of other options (GameCube GB Player, SNES Super GameBoy, etc), but that's likely more consoles and accessories for you to purchase so I didn't mention those in detail.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)
  • GBA or GBA SP, you'll get a backlit screen as well (around the same budget?)

Careful! The original (landscape) GBA had a similar, unlit, reflective screen to the Gameboy Colour, and even the GBA SP was frontlit for most of its run. Only the later GBA SPs had the bright, backlit screens.

I modded an original GBA with an aftermarket frontlighting kit back in the day. I didn't like the GBA SP as it made my hands start to cramp up after only a few minutes.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

You're absolutely right, only the AGS 101 is backlit, my mistake!