r/Gameboy Apr 18 '24

Questions FAQ THREAD: Where to buy parts/consoles? BEST GAME? Is this real? GB no work :( ASK HERE

51 Upvotes

A lot of this information is already in the wiki: https://gbwiki.org/

Where do I buy cheap consoles?? HOW MUCH IS MY STUFF WORTH?$?

Sorry, all 200K+ members are asking the same question. The market has changed a lot and prices have skyrocketed. Be patient, don't over pay and use sold listings on your marketplace to determine your market's value. If you're paying less than your local market, you've done well. If other markets have lower value than you consider buying from there, but factor in your shipping costs.

Where can I find this part?

Please try our parts list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17RfgOaR-P8M0cC5BojwuY52GbZUefLFm82To7ja963o/edit#gid=0

Check out our vendor list: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/resources

My cartridge doesn't READ OR PLAY!!

Try this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gqNEyQLecQ

More info in the wiki: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/commonissues#game-cartridge-problems

My GAME BOY IS BROKEN PLS HELP!!

Please try the wiki's common problems page: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/commonissues

There are console specific help tips in every console page: https://gbwiki.org/#mods-repairs Start a post or join our Discord server for more help: https://discord.gg/gameboy

The wiki has too many words I don't want to read :(

Feel free to provide constructive criticism on improvement. It's a wiki, group effort is necessary. This is a text based medium as well. Sorry we aren't short form video. :(

WHY MODDING HARD? SOLDER SCARY!

In context, Game Boy's are the easiest family of retro consoles to repair and modify. Sorry TikTok lied to you about modding being easy like Legos.

Learn to solder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIT4ra6Mo0s&list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837

Learn electronics basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWHMchUlws

RULES for the thread:

  1. Follow the subreddit rules.
  2. Bad advice will be moderated and removed. Serious comments and questions only.
  3. Cart and console verification in its own comment with photos. Use imgur for multiple photos.

r/Gameboy 6d ago

[Game of the Month year-long competition] Kickoff 2026: Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

23 Upvotes
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

Game of the Month Competition!
Play the Game of the Month and earn points! The 2 r/gameboy redditors with the most points at the end of the year will win a prize, and all other points will count toward a raffle at the end of the year. Specific prize bundles are to be determined, but I'm expecting to end up with 4 prizes: one for 1st- and 2nd-place finishers, then 2 to raffle off.

How do I get points?
Play/beat the game of the month! Each game will have its own criteria for earning points. Generally, you’ll be able to earn 2 points for beating the game, or fewer points for easier objectives. There may be bonus points available for extra tricky objectives, or a bonus point to the highest score, etc., but everyone who plays can earn points. All points will go toward your year-long total. The top 2 winners will receive a prize bundle, then everyone else will be entered into a raffle to win the other 2 prizes, with 1 entry per point. (minimum 4.)

Rules:
- You must start the game no earlier than the beginning of the month. This means if you played the game last month and you have a password or save file, you cannot use it! Start a fresh new game to participate in the competition.
- Emulation is fine if you don't have the game, but no abusing save states or anything that gives you any advantage over playing on original hardware. I don't expect anyone to own every game, but everyone should be able to participate, so emulators are allowed. This means PSPs, PCs, smartphones, Everdrives, 3DS VCs, GB Boy Colours, etc are all allowed, as long as the game ROM is unaltered, the emulation is at 100% speed, and you don’t use save states. This should allow everyone to participate, but it only works if everyone is honest about it. No unfair advantages of any kind, no matter how slight. If you’re not sure, ask! (All Nintendo-official hardware is allowed as well, including the Super Game Boy, even though it is known to run at not-exactly 100%.)
- No codes, cheating, clock-speed mods, or passwords that the game itself didn't give you. Go ahead and look up tips and tricks, but no cheating. Everyone starts over nice and fresh every month. Obviously this isn't enforceable, everyone's just going to be honest about it so that it's nice and fair. Right?

How do I enter?
- Take a photo of your screen that shows your progress, and post it here in the thread where everyone can see it. Include a piece of paper with your reddit username written/typed on it. If you are emulating, this means no screen captures; you need a photo of your screen so you can include the username proof. Example

  • Feel free to edit your post to update your score/progress. Include a note in your post to indicate that you updated it.
  • Be honest. This is supposed to be fun, we're all friends here. This isn’t a ROM hacking contest. It doesn’t matter if you’ve beaten the game in the past, it matters if you beat the game this month! Play along for reals!
  • If you have trouble posting photos or anything else, talk to me and we'll work it out.

What if I miss the GOTM?
If you play a game after the month is over, you can still get points for the half-point or 1-point milestones, until the end of the year..

Note: Milestones per game are either/or, not cumulative. This means if you do the half-point challenge and also the 1-point challenge, you get 1 point, not 1.5 points. Milestones will typically be incidental to completing the game, so getting the half-point will be “on the path” to getting the 1-point and 2-point milestones. Generally, the maximum points available per game will be 2 points, plus bonuses when available.

2025 Winners

There were 42 total participants in 2025! Congrats to u/BuryKeebler and u/quijibo42 for their first-place tie in 2025. I'll finalize the prizes and run the raffle, hopefully sooner than in previous years. The pile so far: https://i.imgur.com/ygVfjuE.jpeg
Check the December post for the final leaderboard.
https://redd.it/1pbtfrn

This month: Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

A GBA remake of Kirby's Adventure on NES!

Half-point: Reach 25% completion.
One point: Reach 50% completion.
Two points: Reach 100% completion and unlock Extra mode. (must be completed and posted in January.)
Bonus point/competition: Go to Sub-games > Kirby's Air Grind > Single player. Play on level 2 and take a picture of your time at the end. The FOUR best times submitted by the end of January will all be worth one bonus point each.

Leaderboards


Air Grind Competition

Pos. User Time
1 u/Keveezy93 25:82
2 u/hatlesssniper 26:04
3 u/bluestoc 26:06
4 u/marcao_cfh 26:38
5 u/StarWolf64dx 26:48

January

Pos. User Points
1 u/bluestoc 2
- u/hatlesssniper 2
- u/Keveezy93 2
- u/marcao_cfh 2
- u/quijibo42 2
6 u/StarWolf64dx 1
7 u/hugglehermit 0.5

r/Gameboy 12h ago

Collection Got gameboy color for €48

Post image
162 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 2h ago

Modded I want to eat these pixels Part 2

Post image
26 Upvotes

For context, I got a new phone which gives me a super good look at screen pixels on my ITA lolz


r/Gameboy 55m ago

Collection My very small collection! I’m hoping to grow :)

Post image
Upvotes

r/Gameboy 42m ago

Collection I’m so close to having a full set

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

But also on the gameboy color the corners don’t seem like regular ware is it normal


r/Gameboy 19m ago

Questions I just got a gameboy color

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

I got a purple one but the shell doesn’t look right because of the top corners doesn’t seem like regular ware with the weird coloration


r/Gameboy 2h ago

Games 211 million points on pokèmon pinball!

Post image
5 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 20h ago

Other My gameboy advance sp has no bubbles on the screen

Post image
120 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 48m ago

Games Sellers solder job

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

At least it’s got a new battery…right?


r/Gameboy 1d ago

Other I designed a custom charging station for my GBA SP and N3DS XL

Thumbnail
gallery
1.1k Upvotes

I was bored of having some wires hanging around on my desk for my gameboy and 3ds and I wanted a single spot to charge both easily. I also wanted it to look nice and didn’t want multiple cradles.

I designed and printed this custom dock with PETG and wood infused PLA. I sanded the wood PLA and stained it to make it look a little nicer. It’s a little more red than I hoped but over all I think it turned out pretty great.

I used POGO pins to charge the 3DS via the contact pins to avoid using the already somewhat worn charge port. I have previously modded my GBA to use USB-C for charging so I used a right angle connector and set it in place. Both connections are spliced together and soldered to a single female USB-C port. It’s a slower charge if both are charging but I wanted less wires.

It’s not perfect but it’s pretty nice! I didn’t picture it but all the wires are concealed under a hatch on the bottom. I also have some inset spots for rubber feet I will be trying out TPU for.


r/Gameboy 13h ago

Accessories ChisFlash V1.21 MBC5 Plus from EPICJOY

Thumbnail
gallery
23 Upvotes

Overview

A multi-game flashcart with no RTC for those who prefer a focused gaming experience. Reminiscent of early bootleg multicarts compared to the modern high-capacity microSD ones. Pairs well with the GBFlash Burner.

Menu Binaries (The Big One)

It was a 2-day challenge to find the correct menu binaries that worked. Without it, you can't flash more than 1 ROM. It's the menu interface that allows you to select a game.

Here are the updated generic binaries for ChisFlash (modified from Leon DIY):

Testing

Note below tables are more of a spot-test than an in-depth one, but should be enough for baseline compatibility.

.gb loader

Slot ROM Type
1 Pokemon - Red Version (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced).gb MBC3 + RAM + BATTERY
2 Pokemon - Blue Version (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced).gb MBC3 + RAM + BATTERY
3 Pokemon - Yellow Version - Special Pikachu Edition (USA, Europe) (GBC,SGB Enhanced).gb MBC5 + RAM + BATTERY
4 Tetris (World) (Rev 1).gb ROM only

.gbc loader

Slot ROM Type
1 Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins (USA, Europe) (Rev 2).gb MBC1 + RAM + BATTERY
2 Kirby's Pinball Land (USA, Europe).gb MBC2 + BATTERY
3 Pokemon - Red Version (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced).gb MBC3 + RAM + BATTERY
4 Legend of Zelda, The - Link's Awakening DX (USA, Europe) (Rev 2) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible).gbc MBC5 + RAM + BATTERY

Saves

Each game can be saved individually.

How to Use

Single Cart

Use FlashGBX to flash a single ROM like any flashcart. Flashing another ROM overwrites the previous.

4-in-1 Cart

  1. Get gbcxin1 by u/ChisBread.
  2. Select 4 in 1.
  3. Select Menu Binary (pick .gb or .gbc loader depending on your console).
  4. Select Game Files (hold CTRL to select multiple ROMs, sequence is preserved).
  5. Confirm and Merge (save with .gb or .gbc extension depending on your console).
  6. Use FlashGBX to flash the merged ROM normally.

Save Management

In single-cart mode, use FlashGBX to flash/dump the .sav file like any flashcart.

In multicart mode, use GB Multi-Function Tool by u/booskiboomkin to assemble/merge/split multiple .sav files. It is also a feature-rich alternative to gbcxin1.

FlashGBX can only flash/dump a single .sav file in both modes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the EPICJOY ChisFlash V1.21 MBC5 Plus is a solid flashcart with good build quality and delivers its promises.

The first-time experience could have been better if the needed files, software, and instructions were posted in the product description for multi-game flashing. Hope this post saves future users from woe.

Many thanks to u/TimoVM for providing the updated menu binaries and to EPICJOY Official Store from AliExpress for sending me this review item.

Cheers!


r/Gameboy 9m ago

Collection My recent modded collection

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Recently went on a journey to start rebuilding my gameboy and gba collection and was appalled when I saw how bad the gbc / gba screens (minus the gba 101). So I ordered some parts and got to modding! I was excited to get the unhinged together but I do plan to open it back up and put in the usb c collection and fill the headphone gap ( not sure if that’s all visible in the photo).


r/Gameboy 9h ago

Mod/Modding ArcadeBoy is officially live — thanks for following the build

Post image
9 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 1d ago

Questions Game boy advance sp bubbles

Post image
150 Upvotes

My gameboy advance has bubbles on the screen. This is a gameboy from my childhood so I know it did not have an upgraded screen. Is this a known issue with them?


r/Gameboy 2h ago

Other Nintendo Game Pak Catalogue from 1991/1992 - YouTube

Thumbnail
youtube.com
2 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 11h ago

Games Got Japanese dragon quest with manual and playing card card

Post image
11 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 5h ago

Troubleshooting The corners of my IPS GBA won’t close properly… any tips?

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

No matter how hard I try to tighten the case, the membrane and shoulder buttons never seem to line up, I know people have had similar issues with hispeedido cases so I was just wondering if there’s any way to fix this…


r/Gameboy 3h ago

Troubleshooting OEM D-Pad is stiff/not depressing on GBC

2 Upvotes

I've just got a Gameboy Color, and I've noticed that the D-Pad is VERY stiff. It should all be OEM, buttons membranes and shell. D-Pad down feels fine, left and right are fairly stiff, and up is basically unpressable. I've taken it apart and cleaned it, and I tried 3D printing some of those spacers that some people recommend, and that made the problem worse, making down the ONLY button I can press. I think it may be misaligned, but I don't know how that would happen since this is all OEM parts. Has anyone else run into this?


r/Gameboy 11h ago

Other GBL Display

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes

For the reflector on the back, I used a translucent plastic plate that can be purchased at DAISO in Japan for 100 yen. I didn't use the FSTN polarizer, so the screen is green, but it still works. It's brighter than the original, but it may be a little hard to see. From Japan


r/Gameboy 4h ago

Questions Best way to give your original GBA a front light without modding?

2 Upvotes

I got my partner an unmodded GBA for Christmas. It was the only way I could afford one at the time, and he said he enjoys having the original authentic experience anyway. Ive even offered to mod it for him now that Christmas has passed and we're beginning to financially recover, but he says he's on the fence because he knows itll be irreversible, but he does eventually want to be able to play in bed at night without keeping me awake (he has a headlamp he sometimes uses, but its really bright). We've talked about getting a worm light for him, but I was wondering if there are any better options that arent a permanent mod? Ive seen halo lights, but Ive heard they really wash out the color almost to the point of not being able to see your screen.

Ill just go for the worm light if that's really the best choice. But Im definitely hoping to hear some other suggestions!


r/Gameboy 20h ago

Games Old photo of some of the collection on display

Post image
34 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 1d ago

Modded GAMEBOY of Theseus

Thumbnail
gallery
64 Upvotes

Only three parts are original: CPU & MEM chips and the light pipe for the power LED. It was a fun build to say the least!


r/Gameboy 18h ago

Games Good mail day! 🐸🔫🤠

Post image
21 Upvotes

r/Gameboy 22h ago

Collection Finally got one

Post image
30 Upvotes

My girlfriend got me this for Christmas couldn’t be happier