GBAConsolizer
Image: Game-Tech

The Game Boy Advance was a wonderful handheld with a huge library of brilliant games, many of which still stand up today. Although they were designed for the non-backlit successor to Nintendo's all-conquering Game Boy, many of its classic titles look and feel fantastic when played on a TV. There are various options available to accomplish that, each with their own pros and cons, but now there's a new alternative which appears to offer the best possible solution for playing on a modern telly at the best possible quality.

The GBA Consolizer comes from Game-Tech in collaboration with developer Woozle, the USB-powered console 'mod' uses actual GBA hardware and upscales to 720p digital output via a mini-HDMI cable. It features the 3.5" audio out from the original console, plus the Link Cable port, and the unit also has a Super Nintendo controller port which is compatible with the 8Bitdo wireless varieties.

As you can see, the device's design is a little rough-and-ready, but the gameplay results sure look impressive. The video below by Metal Jesus gives an overview of the console and its functions, highlighting the crisp visuals and options available:

As you can see, the results are impressive. The original resolution scales up beautifully and looks crisp and vibrant on the TV. In direct comparison to the Retron 5, the GBA Consolizer exposes the lag of that system's emulation solution.

There are also plenty of options for adjusting the picture to more accurately reflect what you saw on your original hardware, too. Many developers ended up 'pushing' the colours in their games to make them more easily visible on the non-backlit original GBA (something the SP and Micro variants remedied). This was a good workaround back in the day, but playing on a TV reveals just how strange the colour choices in, say, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow actually are when you don't need a worm light to see the screen. If you're happy with those overblown colours, no problem, but the GBA Consolizer enables you to play about and find your own 'accurate' hues.

Of course, the Game Boy SP also plays all the games this console does and arguably represents the pinnacle of the Game Boy line, but seeing games like The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Metroid: Zero Mission looking so lovely on a TV, it's got us considering this kit. As a kit, it'll cost you $170, although a fully-assembled version will set you back a hefty $349.95. You can customise your case colour, but that's still a sizeable outlay, even if you're handy with a soldering iron.

Our thanks to all the people who sent this in. Let us know if this retro console floats your boat with a comment below.

[source youtube.com]