Why wait for a “Game Boy Classic” when you can fix up your old stuff instead? This interest has been spurred in part by official hardware releases like the NES and SNES Classic Editions, tiny replica consoles that have more in common with your smartphone than with the original hardware. But lots of people still want to dig out their old cartridges and play games on actual hardware, as evidenced by the Analogue NT, the Super NT, and Hyperkin’s unabashed Game Boy Pocket clone.
It’s that last one I want to focus on. Nintendo’s retro revival has so far focused mostly on the classic boxes that you hooked to a TV, ignoring the portables that buoyed Nintendo when home consoles like the GameCube and Wii U faltered. But Hyperkin’s backlit Game Boy clone and the rumors about a Game Boy Classic Edition suggest that people want to relive their long childhood car trips just like they want to relive hours in the basement parked in front of a TV and an NES.
If you don’t want to wait around for Nintendo to start re-releasing old portables, the good news is that there’s a vibrant repair and modding scene out there for anyone who wants to make their old Game Boy hardware as good as (or even better than) new. I’ve spent the last month researching the subtle differences between different Game Boy production runs, watching dark blurry YouTube videos, learning to solder, and spending more time crawling through Reddit and forum posts than I care to remember. And I have returned to share my trove of knowledge with you, so you don’t have to try quite as hard to enjoy these old games on the hardware that originally played them.
If it had come with any kind of front- or backlight, the original Game Boy Advance would inarguably be the best Game Boy that Nintendo ever made. The console’s wide horizontal layout made its shoulder buttons more comfortable to press than those on the more cramped Game Boy Advance SP; it has a regular headphone jack where the GBA SP requires an adapter dongle; and it’s also the only Game Boy or DS model that can play every single Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance game on the original hardware with no software emulation or screen scaling.
The absence of a backlight is really hard to overlook. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color could both get away with this, since their more limited capabilities lent themselves to games with simple backgrounds and high contrast; the extra detail of the GBA’s superior SNES-caliber graphics gets completely obliterated even with direct light focused on the screen. But technology marches on, and time (plus an active modding scene) has made it relatively easy to do what Nintendo didn’t or couldn’t back in the day—to add an attractive, efficient backlit screen to the original Game Boy Advance, creating the best hardware on which to enjoy portable Nintendo games from 1989’s Super Mario Land all the way up to 2006’s Mother 3.
Repair and Modding Tips
This guide will focus mostly on the original GBA, since it plays the widest range of games and is supported by a variety of retailers who sell a wide range of parts. But since many of these shops also sell parts for other Nintendo portables, and everyone has their own favorite systems, I’ll also include slightly less-detailed tips for fixing and modding the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Pocket, the Game Boy Color, and the Game Boy Advance SP.
If you have a Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, or even a DS Lite or most 3DS models, it’s easy to find replacement shell and button kits for less than $15 or $20 if you just want to fix up a scuffed exterior. You can also easily replace the scratched plastic covering the LCD with a new plastic or glass lens. These shells are generally available in all the same “standard” colors as the original consoles as well as some custom colors that were never officially available.
All of the repair advice here will require you to take your Game Boys apart. It may seem intimidating, but unlike today’s electronics, Game Boys are all relatively easy to take apart and work with. For most repairs, you’ll just need a pair of screwdrivers—one Phillips head, one tri-wing, plus maybe a security bit if you want to replace the batteries in some games—and almost any replacement parts you buy on eBay will include a set of tools.
Follow these directions, keep track of where you put your screws, work slowly, and you’ll be fine. All of the advice below will apply to all the different Game Boy models (referred to, collectively, as “Game Boys”) unless otherwise stated.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The buttons, button pads, and power switch in your old Game Boys might be grungy, but they usually clean up OK. Using the original pads is the best way to recapture the feel of the original, even if you swap out the buttons themselves. Make sure the button contacts—the places where the rubber touches the motherboard—are clean and shiny so that every time you press a button, the game knows you pressed a button.
Depending on what kind of shape your Game Boy is in, you might just need to clean it a bit. All kinds of stuff—dirt and grit, food, drinks, corrosion—can get inside these handhelds and make them work worse or not at all. If you buy any old Game Boys off of eBay in the hopes of fixing them up, you’ll run into all kinds of things.
Once you’ve taken the Game Boy apart, cleaning the plastic buttons themselves is easy—a soak and a scrub will get rid of a lot of the grime. But what you’ll really want to pay attention to are the gold button contacts on the motherboard and the rubber button pads sitting in between the buttons and the contacts. If your Game Boy’s buttons are unresponsive, one or both of these problems is usually to blame.
Advanced Modding: Backlight Installation
Making a 30-year-old Game Boy look and work like it did when it was new is fun and all, but there’s also a lot you can do to make them work better than they originally did. The first thing you can do is install a backlight. You can buy backlight kits compatible with the original Game Boy (or “DMG”) and the Game Boy Pocket (“MGB”) for around $10, and they’re relatively easy to install with a few basic tools.
Now let’s talk about putting a backlight in an original Game Boy Advance (“AGB”). The very earliest versions of this mod involved harvesting a screen from a late-model Game Boy Advance SP (“AGS-101”), which came out in late 2005 and replaced the earlier front-lit GBA SP (“AGS-001”). While the GBA SP’s light and rechargeable battery made it popular at the time, I would argue that the comfortable horizontal layout, larger shoulder buttons, and headphone jack all make the original GBA more comfortable and convenient, at least once you get rid of the horrible un-lit screen.
Luckily for us, modding old Game Boy Advances is popular enough that you don’t need to buy a perfectly fine GBA SP and destroy it just to upgrade your old version. Buying compatible backlit screens from eBay costs around $40, but don’t go buying things willy-nilly. There are a few things you need to know first.
Installing a backlit screen requires an adapter cable, often sold in a bundle with the screen and some screwdrivers. Pop off your GBA’s battery cover and look at the tiny sliver of exposed motherboard—if the number starts with a 1, you need a 32-pin adapter. If it starts with a 0, you need a 40-pin adapter.
When you buy these little ribbon cables, get the version with a small red pre-soldered cable. You’ll need a soldering iron during installation so you can solder this cable to a part of the GBA’s motherboard, boosting the backlight’s brightness.
You will need to cut some of the plastic inside the GBA’s case to make room for the larger screen assembly. When done properly, you won’t be able to tell when the GBA is closed back up, but the translucent GBA shells are less forgiving than the opaque ones. An Xacto knife or—for the more confident—a rotary tool can do the job.
If you have the equipment and you’re comfortable doing all of this yourself, great! If not, there are plenty of sellers on eBay and Etsy who will sell you an already-backlit Game Boy Advance in just about every possible combination of colors for a modest markup (usually less than $120, unless you use a build-to-order service).
Conclusion
The Game Boy Advance is painfully outdated hardware by modern standards, and it’s not powerful enough to do much beyond its intended purpose: playing old Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. Nevertheless, there’s an appeal to being able to revisit one’s childhood or adolescence without totally giving up on modern amenities like backlit screens.
While I’m not a fan of cheap nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, there’s a comforting rhythm to playing these old Game Boy games. Deeply embedded muscle memory comes back without even realizing it; popping off the battery cover, prying out the AAs, taking one cartridge out of the system and inserting another one with a satisfying click is its own version of memory lane. There are no menus, no updates, no settings, no disk or SD card to fill up, no Internet, no distractions. It’s a relic, but it’s also a revelation. And, since it’s now easier than ever, it’s worth revisiting.
