If you’ve ever collected any of the best 90s toys, then you’ll be a massive fan of the LEGO GameBoy.
Can you remember turning on the television and seeing the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers kicking Putty ass and trying to stop the evil Lord Zedd from wreaking havoc across Angel Grove?
The original MegaZord still fills me with excitement today, and I’ll never forget what it was like to put all of the individual Dinozords together myself when playing with the action figures at home.
I was always excited by robots as a kid, especially toys that transformed into other shapes by flicking levers or moving hidden parts.
If like me, you’re still finding it hard to grow up, then this article will make you feel like a nerd in a microchip store (or something like that at any rate).
A few years later, the Power Rangers figurines took a back seat when the GameBoy dropped into my life. I would spend hours trying to beat my high score on Tetris and working to ‘catch ’em all’ on Pokemon Red.
If I had put in as many miles on a real bicycle as little Seb did in the game, then I’d probably be built like a pro athlete now.
It’s safe to say that these two toys defined the early years of my life and shaped me into the fine figure of a man that I have now become (or at least that’s what my grandma tells me at any rate).
Now, you might be wondering what any of this waffle has to do with a LEGO GameBoy. Well for once, I’m not trying to up my word count by telling you all about my life story (although that would be a really really really really…really good idea).
I’m actually gearing you up for something that I have always dreamed might happen but never thought I would actually see. I’ve come across a product that not only combines two of my favourite childhood pastimes but one that is also made out of freaking LEGO.
Get ready to meet Domaster, TetraWing, and Moltron; make sure you have a dustpan and brush at the ready because your mind is about to explode!
LEGO Gameboy Action Figure Is Every Big Kid’s Dream Come True
Welcome to the world of the LEGO Gameboy, a transforming LEGO masterpiece created by fellow robot and gaming enthusiast Baron von Brunk. Made from LEGO pieces, the Baron’s folding GameBoy is jam-packed full of surprises and retro-goodness.
To start with, let’s have a look at the console itself. For those of you that are still wondering, the answer is no; this is not a real GameBoy.
That being said, it does have all of the key features of our favourite classic handheld including all of the original buttons, a power switch in the right location, and the same stone grey colour with the GameBoy branding. You can see from the picture above that with a few well-placed flicks and twists, the console quickly starts to take on the shape of a crime-fighting super robot; ‘Domaster’.
The attention to detail that our nerdy Baron has put into this project is phenomenal. For starters, the LEGO GameBoy comes with two of the best GameBoy games of all time and even has a place that you can stick them in, just like the actual console.
There’s also space for two AA batteries to sit, both of which can be removed and used as weapons by Domaster.
The front screen stays in place when the robot has been constructed; in console mode, it looks like a LEGO version of the Nintendo game Tetris, but in Domaster mode, I imagine this to be the place where the robot’s power comes from. Man; this is one awesome toy!
Every Hero Needs Backup
Everyone knows that superheroes and crime fighters work better with a sidekick, and our transforming LEGO GameBoy robot has two that he can call upon to help save the day.
Not only does the console itself fold and twist into a badass action figure, but the two games that come with it also pull apart and morph into two robotic birds, each with their own unique weapons for when Domaster needs aerial assistance.
The Tetris game cartridge transforms into ‘TetraWing’, a vulture-like bird with two spiked cannons and the patience of a puzzle-solving champion.
Two razor-sharp (smooth-plastic) talons fold out of the middle of the game, and the iconic artwork splits into three as you pull the wings out to one side.
Baron von Brunk has undoubtedly taken inspiration from the Pink Ranger’s Pterodactyl Dinozord from the first series of Power Rangers, but I’m not complaining! Hell, he could have called it ‘PterodactylWing’ and I would still be hooked.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this collection and the item that most retro-handheld lovers everywhere will be excited to see is the transforming Pokemon Red cartridge.
Complete with the original Charizard artwork, the game morphs into ‘Moltron’, a LEGO version of the legendary firebird ‘Moltres’.
With a flaming tail and a head cannon that makes military missile launch pads look like $1 fireworks, Moltron means serious business. I for one can’t get enough of these designs and think that the ‘ol Baron has done a cracking job.
Now, For The Sad Part . . .
It is with a heavy heart that I have to inform you that this LEGO GameBoy will not be going into mass production any time soon.
LEGO opened up an ideas section on their website for people to put concepts for new games and toys to them, designs for new models that would help them to reach new audiences and the like. Baron von Brunk put the LEGO GameBoy up on the site along with detailed information as to how it could be designed and changed if LEGO were to take on the project.
In the same way that people can back Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects, so too can people show their appreciation for individual ideas on the LEGO site.
The LEGO GameBoy received 4,070 supporters before LEGO archived the post in 2014, and I’m confident it would have reached greater heights had it been allowed to gain momentum.
After congratulating the Baron on attracting so much positive attention to his design, LEGO made the decision that it wasn’t worth their time trying to obtain a license for the Pokemon element of the LEGO GameBoy design and therefore would not be pursuing the idea.
Guys, do you realise how much money you could make if you said yes to this concept? Every Retro Dodo reader the world over would be scrambling to get one of these, and if the Pokemon part is too hard to sort out then at least you can work with the Domaster design.
A robotic GameBoy is what every 90s kid dreamed of seeing and now here it is before our very eyes. Don’t let thousands of gaming hearts break; think of the children (and adult nerds)!
Final Thoughts . . .
If I’m being brutally honest, which is after all what I’m paid to be, I would have to rebrand the name of the robot.
‘Domaster’ does sound a little like ‘dumbass’ or ‘dumpster’ when you say it out loud, and no robotic GameBoy of mine is going to be branded a dumbass that smells of garbage; not on my watch!
We could go with something like ‘Nintentron’ or ‘Gameblaster 5000’, both of which are up for sale if the Baron decides to put his idea into production.
The concept, the design, the accessories, and the robotic aerial overlords are all, in my opinion, perfect. It would be great to see more games being produced, each one morphing into a different animal that you could collect and build into a grand cartridge-based army.
It’s a shame that LEGO doesn’t want to take this project to the next level, but perhaps one of our readers might want to give Baron von Brunk a ring and make a sizable donation to the cause.
Until then, we can go back to dreaming about this gaming action figure becoming a reality; sometimes the excitement and the waiting prove to be the best bit! And who knows, you might just see a video of us unboxing Domaster (or Nintentron) over on our YouTube channel in the next couple of years.
Watch this space (and also watch out for flying cartridge vulturezoids).
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Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 31 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
