How would you like to hold a bona fide retro gaming Transformer in your hands? We’ve been drooling over this amazing new handheld prototype from Hairo Satoh @haiahsb on Instagram and discussing how the culmination of all of our favourite retro gear in one package is essentially everything our childhood selves dreamed of.
If you haven’t discovered Hairo’s work before, he’s a modder who specialises in making amazing handhelds and evolving our favourite devices from yesteryear, adding extra screens, modern features, and tonnes of quality-of-life additions that revolutionise the handheld space. His newest creation is a Game Boy Advance SP Screen with slots for retro controllers to plug into. It’s a neat little device that allows you to use that muscle memory holding the controls you’ve grown up using while playing your favourite Game Boy games called the Game Boy Advance Cube, and man does it look amazing!
Check out the video above; Hairo has already worked on compatibility for Famicom and SNES controllers, with each controller slotting straight into the bottom of the Game Boy Advance Cube to create a transforming handheld worthy of Optimus Prime or the Mega Zord. The video also shows Hairo toying with the idea of adding a Wiimote into the mix; could that mean the prototype could be about to receive motion control compatibility too? Slotting in older iconic controllers into the base of what I consider to be the final form of the Game Boy just feels like the best DIY kit of all time, and being able to swap controllers for different emulated titles really allows for a greater sense of nostalgia.
I love seeing the amazing creations that the Retro Gaming community come up with and Hairo’s work is some of the best in the business. We recently covered his epic modded PS1 controller turned handheld which made huge waves within the modding community, and his Pokémon-themed handhelds evoke the same feelings as Harry Potter standing in Honeydukes with a pocket full of Galleons. I’m looking forward to seeing how Hairo’s latest creation turns out and if we get more controller compatibility such as the N64 and GameCube – sticking this thing on a WaveBird would be a dream come true!
