Landscape Game Boy Mod Makes it Look Like GBA

Although the original Game Boy is considered an iconic piece of hardware in the annals of gaming history, one talented modder recently showed us what it would look and feel like with the Game Boy Advance’s landscape design. But instead of churning out a fancy 3D render, they instead went and built a fully functional prototype.

Some would argue the original Game Boy’s portrait design (with the controls below the screen) was perfect, although in terms of ergonomics, the original Game Boy Advance’s landscape design (with the controls located on either side of the display) provides better ergonomics and improved balance in the hands, making it more comfortable to hold for longer gaming sessions. It was just a shame that the original GBA still dropped the ball with an impossible-to-see color screen that had no lighting.

A handheld with a landscape design often also affords more room for a larger screen, but in this case, modder Obirux wanted to carry over as many authentic features of the original Game Boy as possible to their custom creation, with the only obvious upgrade being the use of better screen tech with a proper backlight and the ability to easily change a game’s color palette.

According to Obirux, two original Game Boy shells were sacrificed to create the custom body for this prototype, which is why it looks so much like the classic handheld console—just flipped on its side. The power switch, volume wheel, link port, headphone jack, and original buttons and directional pad controls were all carried over to the redesign, which looks so incredibly polished that many would suspect it’s a long lost prototype cooked up by Nintendo itself.

Unfortunately, fans of Obirux’s latest creation can only drool over the prototype, as they seemingly have no plans to sell a kit with the necessary parts for others to make the same modifications. That’s unfortunate, but we hope they plan to share a more detailed breakdown video of how they customized the OG Game Boy shells, so aspiring modders have a better idea of how it all came to be.

Although the original Game Boy is considered an iconic piece of hardware in the annals of gaming history, one talented modder recently showed us what it would look and feel like with the Game Boy Advance’s landscape design. But instead of churning out a fancy 3D render, they instead went and built a fully functional prototype.

Some would argue the original Game Boy’s portrait design (with the controls below the screen) was perfect, although in terms of ergonomics, the original Game Boy Advance’s landscape design (with the controls located on either side of the display) provides better ergonomics and improved balance in the hands, making it more comfortable to hold for longer gaming sessions. It was just a shame that the original GBA still dropped the ball with an impossible-to-see color screen that had no lighting.

A handheld with a landscape design often also affords more room for a larger screen, but in this case, modder Obirux wanted to carry over as many authentic features of the original Game Boy as possible to their custom creation, with the only obvious upgrade being the use of better screen tech with a proper backlight and the ability to easily change a game’s color palette.

According to Obirux, two original Game Boy shells were sacrificed to create the custom body for this prototype, which is why it looks so much like the classic handheld console—just flipped on its side. The power switch, volume wheel, link port, headphone jack, and original buttons and directional pad controls were all carried over to the redesign, which looks so incredibly polished that many would suspect it’s a long lost prototype cooked up by Nintendo itself.

Unfortunately, fans of Obirux’s latest creation can only drool over the prototype, as they seemingly have no plans to sell a kit with the necessary parts for others to make the same modifications. That’s unfortunate, but we hope they plan to share a more detailed breakdown video of how they customized the OG Game Boy shells, so aspiring modders have a better idea of how it all came to be.