How many of you ever stop to think about keyboards? No, I’m not talking about the ones that Rick Wakeman or the guy from Dragonforce use to make rip-roaring synth riffs, I mean the keyboards that we use to type on every day. Back in the golden age of gaming, they were a necessity for playing video games, eventually giving way to the rise of the controller for a more compact and easy-to-use setup.
I use a keyboard every day of my life whether writing articles or books, but I’m guilty of taking this little piece of tech for granted. My keyboard isn’t exactly a showstopper; it’s functional and gets the job done, but it’s in no way worthy of its predecessors that helped to shape the gaming world. I’ve discovered a keyboard over on Kickstarter that certainly is, however, a keyboard that has been inspired with the Game Boy in mind, a keyboard that channels the spirit of the Retro Gaming world into every click of the keys and one that has a DIY LED screen that can show off your favourite characters while you type.
The AM RGB 64 keyboard from Angry Miao looks exquisite; that’s a word that they’ve used to describe the feel of the keyboard, and I’m stealing it as a blanket term for the whole thing. There are a few keyboards that I look at and go ‘woah’ (8BitDo’s line being one of them), but this one has so many features that make me feel like a kid living in a world of Nintendo Gashapon machines!
Credit: Angry Miao
I mean, just look at how amazing this thing is; there’s no wonder that it’s already surpassed its goal of £4,967 and amassed a total of £95,180 with 30 days to go at the time of writing! Each keyboard has adjustable leaf spring mounts to customise the resistance when you’re typing, and the noise this thing makes is unbelievable. It sounds just like every old movie where you hear a computer scientist hacking into a mainframe; music to our ears.
The Galaga Pixel window covers the antenna window which allows wireless and Bluetooth signals through the metal body of the keyboard. And the ’65’ in the name, well that’s because it’s a 65% layout keyboard. It comes in Cloud White, Cyber Grey, and Violet Fury, the last one being a great name for a metal band if ever I heard one. You can see Cyber Grey and Cloud White in the image above, with Violet Fury appearing below.
‘Nintendo is often hailed as one of the most playful companies in the world’ says Angry Miao’s Nan Li, ‘Its iconic classic gaming console, the Game Boy, has brought us countless fond memories.’ It’s certainly something we agree with here at Retro Dodo, and the fact that the keyboard has a programmable LED screen that users can upload LED effects of their favourite characters to as well shows that this is certainly an item Nintendo lovers (and writers who write about Nintendo on a regular basis) need in their lives.
In my opinion, Cloud White has the most DMG vibes surrounding it, giving it that classic Game Boy feel from the very first handheld I ever owned. Violet Fury looks inherently retro too, giving me feels of the transparent GBCs and to some extent the GBA. Cyber Grey feels a little like an Apple Product, which isn’t a bad thing if you use a Macbook or iMac for work every day and want something that fits into your aesthetic.
The cost of these keyboards is going to be expensive, however. Gamers can pick up a bare-bones unit without keycaps for around £320/$449 and a full Cloud White bundle for £398/$514. It’s a premium price to pay, that’s undeniable, but if you have the money and want a nostalgic reminder about the good-old-days every time you type, than check out the official Kickstarter for more information and to back the campaign!
