I never thought I’d see the day where I review a Gameboy Color DS, never! But thanks to the retro modding community, it has now become a reality.
We’ve had our hands on a wide number of crazy modded consoles such as the Boxy Pixel custom Gameboy and a kitted out Game Gear by retrogearcustoms, but this one here has to be one of the best Gameboy mods out there, if not the craziest.
The Gameboy Color DS was crafted by the made man known as GameboyCustom on Instagram, and has been called the world’s first Gameboy Color DS, beating the popular modder HaiHaiSB, who is also well talented in the role of modding.
GameboyCustom has moUlded together three different consoles. The Gameboy Color, the Gameboy Advance SP and the internals of a Nintendo DS LITE.
The GBC shell has been used to house the Nintendo DS Lite internals, and the Gameboy Advance SP clam shell screen has been used alongside the DS Lite displays in order to give it that dual screen aesthetic.
GameboyCustom has told me to inform Retro Dodo readers that this is in fact his first attempt and first draft at creating the Gameboy Color DS, so you’ll notice that there are some unfinished areas and “unpolished” parts that won’t be in future builds.
To create this meant a lot of dedication, patience and time. Like many retro modded creations, there’s no guidebook, nobody telling you how to do it step by step, instead there’s simply trial and error, making this piece even more incredible.
Inside you will find a multi-cart that has been hooked up to an SD card with the ability to add your legal ROM files or your best Zelda ROM hacks if you’re into that. This is great because we no longer need to carry around all of our cartridges with us when we go on holiday.
On the face of the Gameboy Color DS, you’ll notice a sweet Kyorgre illustration that has been added to the SP’s clam shell, this can be changed to whatever you want and the same goes for the GBC shell because it’s basically UV printed.
When flipped open you’ll see both DS Lite screens, four action buttons, and your classic GBC D-PAD and start/select buttons.
Unfortunately this first draft does not have touch screen capabilities due to the glass screen cover on the front, so playing your best Nintendo DS games is only through the action buttons. This can be a pain, but a lot of Nintendo DS games can still be played.
Oh, and because of the multicart used, you can also play your best Gameboy Advance games too!
Playing Nintendo DS games on a handheld of this aesthetic really confuses the nostalgic brain, but in a good way, it’s like our mind isn’t sure what year we’re in and why Mario Kart DS is being played on a Gameboy Color while looking at an SP screen…
The Gameboy Color DS is a look into where the modding community are going, they’re turning crazy concepts into a reality by using their skill and determination to build something nobody has ever seen, and we can’t wait to see what GameboyCustom does next!
The video above gives you a deeper insight into the handheld, and how it eventually broke while reviewing it. Whoops!
A 29 year old fella that’s had a Gameboy addiction ever since he was a child. Brandon is the founder of RetroDodo and created a YouTube channel with 240,000 subscribers dedicated to retro gaming products. He now wants to create the No.1 site to showcase the latest retro products from around the globe.
