Say Hello To The Super Retro Boy, An All-In-One Game Boy Solution

What are the games that come with the bundled 10-in-1 cartridge?

Looks great & as diehard handheld gamer this is something that I could see myself carrying around (and would be a cheaper way to play GBA games rather than upgrading my 3DS).

I'd want to see a picture of the actual product rather than a 3D rendering though, it looks like they've made a few basic mistakes like not having the screen slightly sunk into the body to further help reduce scratching. You know... the things Nintendo get right.

If it plays GBA games, where are the shoulder buttons?

@FatAlbert1 They're the X and Y face buttons apparently

@FatAlbert1 The top pair of buttons have L and R on them. I could see that working OK for GBA ports like Mario World and Zelda III but I'm not so sure how it will play on the F-Zero games.

Once again junk and won't make it to launch if Nintendo steps in which I hope they do

@BulkSlash @FatAlbert1 It looks like the button setup is pretty poor, it would have made more sense to have some "shoulder" buttons on the back, where most people will hold the thing. It's also weird that the speaker style & location makes the thing look like it has age-lines.

That's pretty sleek. Somewhat interested.

So...it's a GBA SP in a GBC body?

Would have to have Rom compatibility for me to be interested! Fair to say L/R seem to be "slightly" misplaced!!

can it play gba games and why does it need a high resolution when gamboy games are like 144p

Backlight?

Meh, I'll just softmod my 3ds instead in the future.

It looks kinda naff also.

"Scratch and Shater Resistant", eh...

... challenge accepted.

There is literally nothing to be found on the internet about this, which seems crazy. Nothing posted on their social media or blog, no other write-ups. When you Google "Super Retro Boy" this is the only article that pops up. At least NL is on it.

@kamikazilucas The article states "This all-in-one solution plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games" so yes, it can play GBA games.

@DarthNocturnal It' appears to take cartridges from the article so it's likely a GBA "clone" running on cheaper, more modern hardware.

@fluggy Retro-Bit can likely sell this handheld legally because it doesn't allow ROMS to be loaded. Though even if it did, without actual shoulder buttons mapping GBA ROMs would be a pain.

EverDrive compatible?

I think the L and R button placement will be less than ideal for a lot of Game Boy Advance games, but I like that they went with the classic Game Boy form factor. At the MSRP of $80 I'll buy one if it can display Game Boy / Color games in their native aspect ratio and doesn't stretch them to fit the GBA screen ratio.

The rechargable battery pack does worry me slightly, since it may be proprietary and require some ingenuity to replace when it eventually wears out after a few years, but since I'm kind of a fanatic for all things Game Boy I'd be willing to give it a shot as long as they get the aspect ratios right.

If it plays GBA games, it should run the Everdrive. If it does, it would be cool if it could do so without the cartridge hanging out like it does on GBA.

Wait it doesn't say its backlit... okay really hope they just forgot to mention it.

Hm... Those L & R face buttons really don't work out very well. Imagine trying to play F-Zero or Mario Kart with that... Nope, nope, and nope. Better to just find a used GBA SP or GBC if it can't even run ROM's to use mods with.

Why, oh why would they model it after the original Gameboy with the vertical layout when the original GBA model has proven to be so much more appreciated and desired with the horizaontal layout, especially when your device needs L and R triggers.

Putting L & R on the face seems like a definite mistake... and we really need more info on the screen. If it's backlit AND the same resolution as the GBA (or even a direct multiple), then this may be worthwhile. Otherwise, it's junk. If I wanted a GBA clone with an off-resolution screen I'd pick up the K101.

Please don't suck like the Retro-bit Generations.....Please don't suck like the Retro-bit Generations.

It attempts to solve the "problem" of the GBA not having a SNES layout even though the GBA is not intended to be the successor to the SNES but instead the Game Boy/Game Boy Color.

I might buy one out of curiosity but I'll be repairing my GBASP to use as a main Game Boy.

Oh well I was hoping it would outmatch the Revo, it's too bad the L and R buttons aren't shoulder buttons. As a Metroid Fusion, F-Zero GP Legends, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit player, it's really difficult playing those without true shoulder buttons.

Whoa! Very cool! Lets get a review!

My birthday is in August! I might get one, depends if it has all the features I want.

Looks great, but ruined with the LR on the face. For GBA at least which, I think it's fair to say is the main draw for ppl

$70 on this or slightly more for an Everdrive. Given retro-bits checkered quality I'd rather pay a little more and use original hardware and Goomba Color to take care of GB+GBC...oh and well throw in SMS, GG, Coleco, PCE, PCE CDs, NES, a few SNES(no audio) and more.

Maybe retrobit finally will have sourced a solid entity for their hardware finally then I'd consider it.

@PuppyToucher Check the other post on the controllers and game paks. The cartridge of 10 is on there and it costs $20 otherwise.

@PuppyToucher
5 tetris clones and 5 snake clones

@FatAlbert1 It has four buttons on the front. The GBA Only has two buttons on the front and two shoulder buttons.

Omg, why on earth didn't they put L and R on the back, or even the sides. That's just stupid. I'll keep using my gba with ags101 screen. I really hoped they wouldn't screw something this easy up, but obviously that didn't happen. Why not just use a gba similar form factor at least?

this reminds me of the GameKid, I backed it on Kickstarter but unfortunately the creator is having issues hence the delay. Cept the GameKid runs raspberry Pi, meaning Nes, Snes, N64, GBC, GBA, etc. Cool concept though

All those complaining about the L/R buttons- we don't see the back so it could very well have a second set of buttons there.

Just a heads up to everyone: someone at CES posted a shot to Instagram of demo units in the case and sad there are buttons on the back, presumably a set of L/R buttons.

VERY COOL, IM BUYING ONE.

I feel like the folks at RetroBit are prioritizing nostalgia over usability with the controls on this. I know that a lot of gamers had their first introduction to handhelds and gaming in general with the original GB, but just because nostalgia makes us see things in a different shade doesn't mean that the design should overtake the comfort of the controls. The LR buttons being more like XY buttons is definitely a deal breaker for me, just because I see it as something that could easily have been fixed or engineered around (look at all the Raspberry Pi-Girl projects that have soft bumpers on the back). I also think the price is a little steep for what it is, and considering the questionable quality of Retro-Bits other works...

I'm holding out for a Mini Game Boy from Nintendo themselves.

Nothing beats the original equipment with original cartridge. Cool concept tho. I'm too old for these newfangled doo-hickys.

Do you need to change batterys or is this a plug in rechargable like the SP to 3ds

I doubt the GBA models became pricy enough to make this interesting (even without taking in account the bizarre way of playing GBA games it comes with). Maybe it has the battery longevity's advantage? (though I remember playing around 20 hours of GBA games with a bit of sound on the Advance)

@DanteSolablood To go from 3DS to new3DS doesn't allow to play Advance games since only the ambassador program offered some.
And by using a hacked console, both models are able to run GBA games (encapsulated in a VC program).

I think I might pick this up. My GBC hasn't worked properly for over a decade now, and I miss how it felt in my hands.

Been calling for Nintendo to release something like this for years but with downloadable/inbuilt games.

Lack of shoulder buttons kill this for me.

Has this system been tested to run with boktai?

Hopefully, this isn't the final build and more of a concept...

Still no.

It really looks cool but retro bit makes garbage. I bought the retroduo portable snes and it worked for maybe 6 months. Now when i turn on it just makes a hissing noise. No video or audio. just hissing.

@DarthNocturnal

Exactly. Looks horrible!

@Ralizah it wouldn't work with gba games. Drifting in mario kart super circuit would be awkward

Can't the GBA itself play all the Gameboy line games already? Don't see the point in this if that is your concern in that case.

Great, so I won't have to go to a scalper for a GameBoy Classic.

I've had every model and iteration of Game Boy since Game Boy (except the Timex-green backlit G.B.) and my favorite is New 3ds xl.

Clamshell-design for protection with sleep-mode if I can't play. Rechargeable battery because, the enviroment (and I dislike springs.) Powerful processing. Innumerable features, (thanks to homebrew) including: connectivity to Wii/U, no link cables/functioning IR, NFC, and so, so much more.

From someone who's been enjoying video games since pre-K, this (N3DS XL) is the highest echelon of handhelds until Super New 3ds XL U comes out. Thank you, Nintendo.

@Qun_Mang Nope- no second pair of shoulder buttons on the back. Too bad.

@dadajo A nice sharp screen, backlighting (Only a few GBA SP editions had that) and a 10-hour duration rechargable battery are plenty of "point" for me, and i still have my old gameboy advance...

I...... Kinda want this.

Well the one thing they did got right is that cartridge no longer stick out of the slot unlike Nintendo. That's one good improvement, though I still had second thoughts about the L & R buttons being on the face instead of as shoulder buttons.

@retro_player_22 I read somewhere that this is a prototype, and that they're considering moving the L/R buttons to the back instead for the final product, but i forgot where i read it, i read a lot of articles about the super retro boy. :3

Day one purchase for me. I want an old style Gameboy with a backlight and rechargable battery in a compact form factor. Haven't seen anything online with both.

Did anyone notice the top right of the screen showing the speed and timer on the F-zero game? The screen doesn't seem to be big enough to display the whole image of the game. It's trimmed on the right side. HUGE deal breaker for me. The retro-bit retro advance that I have does that, too, but trims a little off the top and left of the screen.

Come on, Retro-bit! Make a GBA clone that will display the whole image on the screen.

It needs shoulder buttons.

These are what the handheld should have featured:

Aspect ratio options for both 4:3, pixel perfect, and widescreen mode.

HDMI port for HDTV support.

Link port for multiplayer (I don't see any in the video), seriously if the RevoK101 has one there's no reason this one lack it as you'll need one for the Pokemon games.

Shoulder buttons, they can still keep the L & R buttons on the face, just put additional ones on the sides so we can configured it (similar to on the Revo) for other games like F-Zero GP Legends and Metroid Fusion.

Support GB, GBC, and GBA flash cartridges and cheat devices (GameShark, Codebreaker, Action Replay, etc.). The Super Retro Advance's mistake was that it doesn't support any flash cartridges or cheat devices at all.

A headphone jack (the photo show what looks like a miniUSB port underneath, probably for charging the unit but I see no headphone jack for private stereo audio wtf).

@headfirstslide "X and Y buttons"... Which isn't ideal, unfortunately.

If thing supports Everdrive flash karts I'm sold.

For that price, I'd rather just have a GBA SP. Plays the same games, but "perfectly".

@retro_player_22 its blurry, but the box in the photo says "aux port for speakers or headphones"

I'd rather not go back to the clunky block design of the original GameBoy, least of all when the GBA's shoulder buttons are turned into face buttons. It should be GBA shaped, but at that point you might as well just use a GBA.

@headfirstslide if that's the case then this is not for me, the shoulder buttons are on the shoulders because they can be pressed with the index fingers whilst you can use your thumbs on the standard buttons at the same time, imagine trying to drift in f-zero with that setup!

No reason at all to get this (legally questionable) device. A GBA with an AGS101 screen is a much better value.

Well, considering that it was Destructoid (which is a blog, lest we forget) that made the decision to give this monstrosity their "award," instead of being given an award by anyone who actually makes the decisions for procedures at CES 2017, getting an "award" in this case is a fairly worthless accolade. It's more like getting a bold-faced advertisement; although I like to think of it as getting the "Dumbest Design" award, for the atrocious decision to put the L & R buttons on the face.

And sure enough, look at the video Retro-bit posted (commissioned?) about it on Twitter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MSduB70Sv0&feature=youtu.be&a

https://twitter.com/ShawnLong85/status/817922986036658176

They loaded F-Zero: Maximum Velocity into it... and only showed still shots. Not just in the pictures on their Twitter, but even the video explaining the device! Of course they didn't show it in action... Because it would have played like crap!

Oh yeah, and check out the super-sized NES pad in action:

https://twitter.com/nerdist/status/817543617329786881

Might be fun at parties! But in the practical sense, that's an ergonomic nightmare...

@Damo https://twitter.com/RetroBitGaming/status/817913199781560320

I think it's worth pointing out that Destructoid presented this "award." It's more like a personal award, not an official presentation by those who make the decisions for CES 2017. The tweet's wording makes more of it than it really is; just look at the picture.

Why buy this when you can just buy a backlit GBA SP?

@amishpyrate https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Game-Boy-Advance-SP-Platinum/dp/B000087H7T

@Mega_Yarn_Poochy want one with a traditional Gameboy shape. I don't like how the cartridges stick out the bottom of the SP. Unfortunately online most people only sell Gameboy pockets/colors with backlights but not rechargable batteries. I haven't looked hard though, just something I'd purchase if I found it.

@headfirstslide well THAT will be annoying.

I love seeing retro consoles resurface in new iterations like this one, although I think they should've gone with a design that's more reminiscent of the original GBA. There's already a GBA clone called the Revo K101+ that does just that, although unfortunately, that one plays GBA carts only and doesn't play GB & GBC cartridges at all as it's a GBA clone only (you can still load GB & GBC roms onto a flash cart that comes with it, but I always prefer playing off of a real cartridge).
I'd love to see a hardware clone come out that's similar to the Revo K101+ that also supports GB & GBC cartridges. In the meantime, I'll just stick to my Revo K101+.