Updating the age-old Game Boy with a speedier CPU and a rather substantially generous colour palette proved to be a shrewd move back in 1998, but even with this hardware upgrade, certain games - such as the iconic Wolfenstein 3D - would always seem out-of-reach. Yet that is exactly what Anders Granlund is pulling off as you can see from the most recent WIP of the game build.
So how did Anders manage this homebrew miracle? He took the Star Fox approach and designed his own special co-processor (aptly codenamed "Wolf") that takes care of all the extra magic needed to perform the deed.
Sadly it looks like the standard 128 kilobytes cartridge ROM will only be able to fit the first episode of the game, with ten levels and three enemy types already taking 123 of those 128 kilobytes in the most current build. That doesn't tarnish the fact that he has accomplished something no one would believe possible on such restricted hardware.
[source happydaze.se]
Comments 27
Now we just need DOOM to come to Game and Watch.
@TossedLlama He had a dream, a vision... and he made it real. For that, he deserves all the respect in this world.
@TossedLlama It's a bit like that "Let's run DOOM on any piece of electronics we can get our hands on"-thing (I've seen videos of DOOM running on the menu-screen of a copying machine once ), it's mostly to show that it's possible...ish... :3
Next step: create a version of Super Smash Land that actually runs on the GameBoy.
@TossedLlama
Sure, the fact we finally have a portable Smash (nevermind the Dreamland stage) makes the demake kind of irrelevant, but that would still be awesome.
Regardless, before @Shiryu rips me a new one for completely forgetting about this little miracle, yeah, it's outstanding to see what the guy has accomplished. I'm still weirded out by the need of an additional processor, though, as some GBC games did recreate a pretty impressive, if also pretty barren, faux Mode-7 effect.
@TossedLlama http://www.supersmashland.com/
@TossedLlama
As @Shiryu said, no. It's a Windows game.
Why wasting time and money on a 20 years old handheld ? I don't get it ... why kickstarter funds to make a sega or snes game after 25 years ? Why ?
OK so I know that GB emulators for PSP are great but since I have a ton of original carts across all GB devices what is the best portable way to play them?
For GBA the best screen seems the Micro one to me (but it doesn't play GB and GBC games) but I don't have the GBA with brighter screen. Any other suggestions? I just want a proper backlit system...
@belmont That would then probably be the second generation Game Boy Advance SP, which has the superior screen and lighting.
Alternatively, you could also get a light-modded GBA, and then you have the best of both worlds, because compared to the GBA SP, it's more comfortable to hold and has better L & R buttons.
EDIT:
The improved GBA SP is very hard to find, though, so expect to pay a good amount for it if you can even find one...
@ThanosReXXX This GBA is the so called GBA bright or SG-101?
@ThanosReXXX There are reconditioned GBA SPs on eBay with the improved brighter screen in abundance, just do a search for AGS-101. As long as having a rebuilt device isn't a deal breaker they're very good value. You can also get the regular non-SP GBA with the AGS-101 screen too.
@belmont Yep, that's the one. The modded original GBA's also use the same lighting. There are do it yourself kits but you can also send in an original GBA and have it modded for you. Alternatively, you could also buy a completely modded original GBA.
@BulkSlash @ThanosReXXX OK friends, thanks for the info!
@BulkSlash I know. That's what I meant when I said "a modded original GBA".
Impressive!
The cartridge case is wrong though. A black case tells that the game can be played on a normal game boy and a game boy color, whereas GBC exlcusive games are on the clear case.
You can also get one of those portable Super Nintendos (SupaBoy or RGP) and then use a Super Game Boy 2 (for GB) or Super Retro Advance (for GBA) in the portable Super Nintendo.
I have no idea if the system is that "perfect", but it works reasonably well for me. (Although a more reasonable person would tell me to hack a PSP or get a Raspberry Pi and load it with ROMs).
@TossedLlama
You're welcome! ^^
@vincentgoodwin GB,GBC,GBA emulators work great on PSP. There is no need to hack it though, there are versions of the emulators that have been patched to work with official firmware.
I will look into what you said for original cards.
I checked ebay, there are modded original GBA's and GB's as well as the so called GBA bright. I may have to invest in whatever is cheaper.
@vincentgoodwin That last solution (aside from the fact that I don't think a "reasonable" person would say that to you) is no option for him, since he already explained he has a bunch of cartridges that he wants to be able to play.
@ThanosReXXX OK, when you said "light-modded" I took that to mean the old front-light mods.
@peeks Because it's a fun challenge (you will learn more about Assembler and memory optimization routines than you'd ever wanted to know that way) and there are still people out there playing on their retro consoles, who are willing to get a fresh game/nice port, even though the official support ended years ago.
I, for example, still play my trusty Dreamcast (it's his 17th birthday soon, still alive and kicking! Now that's quality!), and I'm very excited for some new indie titles coming on my favourite console soon!
@BulkSlash Yeah, I should have phrased that differently. Which was my exact thought after I placed that comment. But I decided to leave it like that, hoping the message would come across either way.
Awesome people doing awesome things. Way to go dude!
I like it
What's next? Wolfenstein 3D on the GameCom?
Wow! That's looks incredible for a GBC port. I love me some Wolfenstein. Now make a good portable DOOM port.
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