Tag: Game Boy

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Lego recreation of Nintendo’s Game Boy has fans calling for an official release

Leave it to Nick Lever, video game editor and Lego Masters Australia finalist, to create an incredible replica of the iconic Nintendo Game Boy handheld using Lego bricks.

The build is shockingly accurate to the original handheld’s design, which is made even more surprising considering the lack of expensive or complex materials used by Lever. The entire creation consists of 364 pieces and only 115 parts, but they work together to capture the Game Boy’s design perfectly.

The build features the classic angled Start/Select buttons, the rounded edge on the right side, and the distinctive Game Boy tinted screen, accomplished by placing green tiles underneath a trans-blue window. Even the D-pad is tactile, alongside the A and B buttons, and there’s also a slot to pop a cartridge in.

 

Lever is selling the instructions for the build for $5.65 on Rebrickable. The site is capable of automatically adding to your BrickLink shopping cart, another website that acts as an online marketplace for Lego pieces and sets, giving those looking to create their own Game Boy an easy start.

With Lego already selling a build for the Nintendo NES, many fans are hoping that an official Game Boy build will be released sometime soon.

This set could be made possible by Lego Ideas, a program run by The Lego Group that allows users to submit ideas for Lego products to be turned into potential sets available commercially. The original designer even receives 1 percent of the royalties if their idea goes up for sale.

Until then, nostalgic 90s gamers will have to show off their creativity and building prowess and take a shot at re-creating Lever’s model.

Image credit: Nick Lever

Source: Nick Lever Via: The Verge

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Kirby’s Dream Land 2 is the next Game Boy title coming to Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo is adding several new games to its Switch Online library, including Kirby’s Dream Land 2 and BurgerTime Deluxe, bringing the catalogue of Game Boy titles to 11 games.

On the SNES and NES side, the pool game Side Pocket is coming to the Super Nintendo, while top-down shooter Xevious is coming to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Out of this lineup, I’ve only played Kirby’s Dream Land 2, the first title in the series to give Kirby the various powers the series is most known for now. Back in 1995, it was a technical marvel that the game could run on the rapidly aging Game Boy.

All of the above titles are available with a standard Switch Online subscription ($4.99/month), while the Expansion Pack tier offers access to Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance titles ($63.99/year). Last week, Nintendo brought GBA side-scrolling classic Metroid Fusion to the Switch.

Upcoming Game Boy Advance titles include F-Zero Maximum Velocity, Golden Sun, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons and more.

Image credit: Nintendo

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Game Boy and GBA games are finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo has confirmed that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles are coming to Nintendo Switch Online.

It’s been rumoured for a couple of years that the handheld games would join Nintendo’s subscription service catalogue, but it’s only now been made official during the latest Direct presentation.

What’s surprising, though, is that they’ll be available starting today, February 8th.

The Game Boy titles will be available as part of a base Nintendo Switch Online membership, which costs $24.99 CAD/year. However, GBA games are exclusive to Switch Online + Expansion Pack, priced at $63.99/year. This membership includes all of the perks of the base Switch Online subscription.

Some of the Game Boy titles available at launch include:

  • Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
  • Game & Watch Gallery 3
  • Gargoyle’s Quest
  • Kirby’s Dream Land
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX
  • Metroid II: Return of Samus
  • Super Mario Land 2: 6 Gold Coins
  • Tetris
  • Wario Land 3

You can also choose between Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color filters.

Meanwhile, the Game Boy Advance launch line-up is as follows:

  • Kuru Kuru Kuruin
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  • Mario Kart: Super Circuit
  • Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
  • Mega MicroGames
  • Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
  • WarioWare Inc.

Nintendo says more games will be added to both the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance catalogues over time. In supported games, multiplayer for up to two players will also be supported locally or online.

Image credit: Nintendo

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Check out this re-imagined horizontal Game Boy

Video game console and handheld modder Obirux created a re-imagined original Game Boy sporting a horizontal orientation similar to Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance handheld.

As reported by Gizmodo, Obirux wanted to keep the modded Game Boy as authentic as possible, so they sacrificed two original Game Boy shells to make the custom handheld, which helps lend it that authentic look. Obirux carrier over the power switch, volume wheel, link port, headphone jack, and original buttons and directional pad controls.

Still, there are some much-needed upgrades in the prototype. For one, Obriux added a better screen with a proper backlight and the ability to change a game’s colour palette.

Overall, the modded Game Boy looks like a long-lost authentic Nintendo prototype. Unfortunately, it also looks like it won’t be readily available for fans. Obirux reportedly doesn’t plan to make a kit with necessary parts for people to make their own horizontal Game Boys.

So is the horizontal Game Boy hype? I’d say so. I loved my Game Boy Advance as a kid — the horizontal form factor felt incredibly ergonomic. The only real complaint I’d make about the Advance was its lack of a backlit screen (that, and the flip on the Game Boy Advance SP had me very jealous). While I never found the original Game Boy that comfortable to hold, the form factor might have been better.

You can check out the horizontal Game Boy on YouTube or through Obirux’s VSCO page.

Images credit: Obirux

Source: Obirux (YouTube) Via: Gizmodo

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Reddit user is making an 8-bit Elden Ring ‘demake’

An Elden Ring player is working on a demake of the popular action RPG.

Reddit user Shin shared their plans for a “demake” on the game’s subreddit, showcasing the 8-bit Game Boy era visual style.

Shin goes on to say that the game will work on real Game Boy hardware.

I’m making an Elden Ring demake for the Game Boy! It will work on real hardware! from Eldenring

The short video shows the player starting out in Elden Ring’s ruined chapel and fighting the first boss, the Grafted Scion, and getting very quickly demolished. The character uses familiar rolling and sword attacks, staple Elden Ring combat moves. And like the actual game, after dying, that oh-so-familiar ‘You Died’ screen appears.

Shin is using GB Studio 3.0 to create the demake. They say that they plan to launch the Limgrave area of the demake by the end of May, but you can follow along with the development progress on their Twitch channel.

Image Credit: Reddit

Source: Reddit Via: Gamesradar

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YouTuber makes Wordle playable on Game Boy

If the once-daily limit on Wordle is too restrictive, one YouTuber might have a solution for you.

Over the weekend, stacksmashing posted on Twitter that he’d gotten the popular word puzzle game up and running on a Game Boy. You can see the fruits of his labour below:

However, his version of Wordle isn’t exclusive to a Game Boy; while it’s available on the retro handheld and Analogue Pocket as a ROM, you can also access it online in a browser. The browser version works on mobile as well. He’s also published the code, should you wish to peruse it.

That said, Wordle is a bit limited due to ROM size, which prevented him from having a big wordlist of “‘real’ words,” says stacksmashing. “Instead I’m using a bloom filter to check (with, admittedly, currently a very high error rate) whether an entered word is one of the 8000 most common English words,” he explained.

As it stands, it’s unclear what the future is for the real Wordle. Last week, it was announced that The New York Times had acquired the game from creator Josh Wardle. The company confirmed it would eventually shift the game over to its own platform, at which time it would be free. However, it’s unclear whether it will remain free permanently.

Image credit: stacksmashing

Via: The Gamer

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YouTuber makes Grand Theft Auto V playable on original Game Boy

Grand Theft Auto V is renowned for having a sprawling Los Angeles-inspired sandbox to play around in, so naturally, someone wanted to try to squeeze all of that onto a Game Boy.

Enter Sebastian Staacks, who runs a YouTube channel called “there oughta be.” In this case, he figured: “there oughta be GTA [V] for the Game Boy.”

And sure enough, he managed to pull it off. As Staacks explains in a YouTube video, he built a custom Game Boy cartridge using a wireless ESP8266 microchip and custom PCB. This gave the Game Boy streaming functionality and, through that, made GTA V playable on the system.

Of course, “playable” is a bit debatable here as the game is extremely difficult to make out on the Game Boy’s all-green, low-quality screen. The limited buttons certainly don’t help, either. Still, it’s impressive to see it even running at all on the retro handheld.

What’s more, Staacks has made the project open-source and posted instructions explaining his work so others can try a hand at it. You can read more on that here.

Image credit: Sebastian Staacks

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Analogue’s Pocket will soon let you dump Game Boy Camera photos to its SD card

Every few months, I think about finding a way to get photographs off my Game Boy Camera and Game Boy and onto my computer or smartphone

Why? I don’t really know, but some part of me wants to share those grainy, colourless pictures with the masses. While it is possible to get the images off the Game Boy Camera’s cartridge, the process isn’t exactly straightforward.

That will soon change.

Analogue’s Pocket, a high-end recreation of Nintendo’s classic Game Boy that recently went up for pre-order, is already capable of working with the Game Boy camera. However, according to Gizmodo, it will soon be possible to dump the low-resolution, grayscale photos that the 1998 accessory snaps, to the Pocket’s SD card.

Analogue

Image credit: Analogue

This makes moving the 30 photos (yes, the Game Boy camera could only save 30 photos) to your PC/mobile device far easier than it ever has been before. Gizmodo says that there’s no release date yet for the Pocket’s ‘1.1 firmware update’ that adds the feature.

Of course, using this method also requires you to actually get your hands on Analogue’s Pocket, which currently requires a lengthy wait period.

The $219 USD (roughly $278 CAD) handheld will be released in three waves depending on when you pre-ordered the device. The first group can expect Pocket devices to arrive sometime in Q1 2022, while the second group will need to wait until Q4 2022. Finally, those unfortunate enough to land in group three won’t get their hands on the Pocket until 2023.

Image credit: Wikipedia 

Source: Gizmodo 

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Analogue’s Pocket to finally start shipping December 13

Analogue’s Pocket handheld has been given an exact release date by the company. The unique handheld console capable of playing retro Game Boy, Neo GEO Pocket Color, and Atari Lynx games will start shipping on December 13th.

Following several delays, Analogue is committed to begin shipping most pre-orders before the end of the year. Announced via Twitter, the company says that an email has been sent to all who pre-ordered the device. Details on address updating can also be found via a link provided by Analogue.

For those who may be away from home for the holidays, Analogue suggests customers hold their orders. In this case, the Pocket will be shipped early next year, around January 3rd. Last-minute updates to an order must be made by November 28th.

Analogue first announced the $199 USD (approximately $252 CAD) Pocket back in October 2019. The device was first expected to ship in 2020 but faced multiple delays as the company struggled with supply chain hurdles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analogue’s Pocket has been met with a fair amount of anticipation. The promise of playing Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx games all on one device was enticing for nostalgic players.

The Pocket features a 3.5-inch backlit screen with a resolution of 1600 x 1440 pixels. ROMS can also be played on the device via the MicroSD slot. Additionally, the Pocket is selling a dock to play games on a TV through HDMI support. This is an additional cost as it is not included alongside the Pocket.

Due to Nintendo’s hesitation to support many of its Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles on Switch, Analogue’s Pocket is a way for those games to be enjoyed within modern conventions, especially if players don’t want to bring out their Super Nintendo and Super Game Boy to play on their TV.

Image credit: Analogue

Source: @analogue Via: Engadget

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N64, Genesis games are officially coming to Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo has confirmed that N64 and Sega Genesis games are coming to Switch Online in October.

During its Direct stream, the company confirmed that a new ‘Expansion Pak’ tier for its paid Switch Online service will be added to include games from these systems.

Some of the N64 games include Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64, while the Genesis titles include Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps.

As with Switch Online’s existing NES and SNES catalogues, new N64 and Genesis titles will be added periodically.

Nintendo says Expansion Pak details, including specific pricing and release timing, will come at a later date. For now, though, Nintendo Switch Online costs $4.99 CAD/month, $9.99/three months or $24.99/year.

More to come…