The premium game boy always wanted

Do you remember the last time you felt that joy just looking at a box? Looking at the pleasant doodles, smiling at the burst of color and details and the detection of your excitement is increasing in the thought of eventually opening it? That’s exactly what I felt after buying it Modretro chromic recently. And I could only wonder: If the simple packaging caused such positive emotions, the redefined game of the game could wait inside the interior to deliver the blow of Nostalgia Retro Lucky Game, the box so strongly hints at?

Yes, it can be absolutely. And that’s why I have chosen to write a review of this wonderful body without any exhortation or communication from the company behind it. I bought the color as part of my personal deep diving in retro gambling and I have become so in love with what I want to shout at the praise of anyone who will hear.

It is as close to perfection as any device as it will ever get.

What is the Modretro Chromic?

Chromic is essentially a modern, premium game boy color made to lift the best features of Nintendo’s original, while defining its shortcomings. It’s not like licking cheap plastic rectangles that you can buy for $ 50 in Aliexpress based on simulation to play different roms from retro console gaming libraries.

Color feels designed to do just one thing and do it extremely well: play your natural boy game and color boy game. No simulation here, just cartridges. It is compatible with every well -known boy game and a color boy game ever released.

But there is another layer of fun over it. Modretro also publishes its own composition of exclusive games For color, making this feel like a genuine console launch. Best of all, these new color cartridges (such as updated, official empty new version of Tetris connected to each box) will also work in your original boy and color boy game – or any other trolley compatible device.

Is Modretro Chromatic is worth it?

So we have created what the color is doing. Let’s talk about why this thing costs $ 199. Can it be a sufficient premium to justify this price?

This is a matter of opinion, but consider this: When it started in 1998, Nintendo’s Boy game game had a proposed retail price of $ 79.95. Adapted to inflation, it will cost about $ 155 today. The game’s game had a plastic shell, moderate battery life and an extremely scratch, non-rear screen.

The color is built as a horrifying tank. It has a magnesium-aluminum alloy shell, not cheap plastic. (The box says it is proof, I will let someone else put this claim to the test.) This makes it feel like that, so extremely good in your hands. It has a blotch. The species that makes it feel durable and expensive, but at 273 grams is not heavy enough to cut you off.

I love how it is cool to touch every time you get it. And honestly, sometimes I’ll only pick it up to keep the thing!

D-pad feels it will last forever, and is very sensitive. Basically, diagonal inputs are accurate, which are important for fighting games or run-n-guns such as Contra. The A and B buttons are clicking on a good trip and overall it is just extremely satisfactory to sit and use these controls.

The unique pathway is just as amazing. It is louder than the Nintendo switch and has a clean, clean sound. But if you want stereo, you can of course attach a pair of wired headphones.

But the screen in the color is the real star of this show and is apparently designed to fully reproduce the GBC home screen with perfect accuracy. To this end, it has the same 2.56 -inch LCD display, 160×144. Well, not the exact same. There was no screen with the same specifications, so Modretro created one from scratch, even until it fits GBC’s color temperatures.

The company then slapped a crystalline sapphire screen at the top to make scratches impenetrable. And he gave it too good viewing angles. And he gave him the very necessary backlight. It is so bright, in fact, that I will never turn the brightness to the maximum, unless I play out in direct sunlight. I have made, and this particular claim 100% true ring.

Since Chromic intends to be the best way to experience these game boy games, it includes the other features one would expect. The IR transceiver window is here. So is the connecting cable port, which means you can still try the intense fun of Multiplayer Tetris, or some double dragon co-op. Your original game accessories will also work. Go ahead and shoot your game camera, but you will definitely not need the worm light!

Each 1st version color ships with 3 AA batteries, and they lasted about 18 to 20 hours playing a mixture of a tart and dragonyhm. After dying, I changed my rechargeable batteries. But the battery space will also host a special rechargeable package, which Modretro has not yet been released.

There is my only act for this portable. While I definitely appreciate that it does not have a built -in battery package that can be swollen over time, it is disappointing that I cannot receive the rechargeable Modretro package at the moment. All I know is that “comes soon”. It is sure to be a little bad, because I really get to one.

On the bright side, you can also feed the color via USB-C. So if you get this low battery warning, you can connect and remove your old batteries without having to supply the system.

Speaking of the USB-C, the color supports the video out, although it is a somewhat primitive application. You have to go through some OBS configuration wreaths and currently only works on Windows, although MacOS and Linux support is on active growth. It is a specialized feature for such a device, but one will definitely appreciate streamers and retro gaming content creators.

Given all of the above – the premium Build, the excellent quality of appearance, the long battery life, the satisfactory controls and the extensive toy and accessories compatibility – I strongly believe in $ 199 is a fair price it asks. It is about $ 45 more than the original color of the game that will cost today after inflation.

I recognize that there are many cheap toy clones that you can buy for a fraction of price, based on simulation instead of real material and natural cartridges. I have bought many of these budget devices from Anbernic and Powkiddy, and I am constantly disappointed with them. They do not cost much because they are moderate, not built to last, and the companies behind them thrive in an endless cycle of repetitive upgrades with no attention to quality and details.

How many times have you bought some cheap cheap retro manually only to be tempted by his inevitable successor 6 months later? This is because you are not satisfied with the product sitting in your hands.

But my color threw me out of this cycle. I have fallen in love with the experience of hitting a cartridge in the reception and enjoying exactly this game, rather than endlessly tempted by the infinite selection of ROM libraries on an SD card. This device was such a pleasure to use that it inspired me to start rebuilding my game library.

I think he speaks volumes and I will encourage you to take at least one in your hands before you reject it (the exact model I consider is available in gamestop).

Looking forward: The Modretro Game Library

What is especially tempting for color is that it is more than the material. There is a whole ecosystem built.

In addition to the fantastic version of the Tetris included in the box, I currently play a brand new The game called ActingOne of Chromatic’s launch titles. It is a modern return to classic RPGs like Final Fantasy, with an emphasis on exploration and some really provocative but rewarding the Dungeon Crawling. If you don’t have a color, you can still buy the game and play it in your game or play game.

And this is his beauty. Modretro seems to dig for a long time, creating a vibrant gaming library around the color.

In fact, Modretro has confirmed that she is working for re -examination and remasters of existing game boys, although details have not yet been mentioned. The company has even teased that it will be released games that were canceled behind the Boy game era and have never been revealed to the public.

The bottom line, at least from where I stand, is that Modretro Chromic has rejuvenated my love for playing Boy and My charm with the retro lucky game. It has achieved this because, like the best applications and services, it does one thing and does it extremely well: it offers this premium game boy experience you’ve always wanted.