The Frog Boy Color Project
The nostalgic appeal of the Game Boy Color is enormous, especially across the ocean. Entire generations grew up with this handheld console, but even its most hardcore defenders recognize that the original format isn't ideal. YouTuber LeggoMyFroggo is one of them, and his Frog Boy Color project seeks to rebuild the Game Boy Color, drawing inspiration from the Game Boy Advance's form factor.
Why the Game Boy Advance Form Factor?
If we compare it with the original model, the Game Boy Color took quite a while to reach the market. However, the evolutionary leap was big enough to revolutionize the portable space yet again, and its original price (USD 79.95 in 1998) helped with adoption. Two and a half years later, the Game Boy Advance appeared with a more ergonomic design and backwards compatibility with previous generations.
Obviously, that backwards compatibility demands some compromises, in the form of a smaller screen when loading GB/GBC games, and cartridges sticking out from the back. For these reasons, the YouTuber LeggoMyFroggo decided to combine the best of both worlds in his Frog Boy Color: Game Boy Color hardware with the Game Boy Advance form factor.
Five Essential Rules
This new design follows five essential rules: it must use original hardware to preserve compatibility with games and accessories, follow the wide format of the Game Boy Advance, add support for the Q5 LCD panel (very popular in conversion kits), convert audio to stereo (only possible with headphones on original hardware), and adopt a USB-C port to simplify charging of its batteries (plural, because there are two).
As expected, LeggoMyFroggo used 3D printing to reach the final shell design... after going through about 50 prototypes. The PCB was created from scratch (the filtered circuits from the GBC are very useful at this point), making some cuts along the way. Of course, LeggoMyFroggo found several issues (noisy audio, a reset circuit for the finicky CPU, etc.), but they all disappeared with later revisions.
The Result
The final work is impressive. Even with the right tools, manipulating so many components is not a task for beginners, but it's definitely worth the effort. LeggoMyFroggo shared all the relevant details on GitHub, and some are already wondering when the kit will appear.
Official site on GitHub: Click here
