Despite being considered one of the best handheld consoles of all time, every version of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance had a problematic design flaw, from missing headphone jacks to screens that were too small or too dark. All of them can now be solved with mods, and one new aluminum housing from Boxy Pixel can even make the GBA SP fit your Apple MacBook.
Of all the versions of the GBA Nintendo has released, the company seemed determined not to make it look like the original Game Boy. The closest version was the folding clamshell GBA SP, and if you happen to have one lying around, Boxy Pixel’s new Game Boy Advance SP Unhanged housing is roughly the closest thing to a Game Boy Advance Game Boy, or GBAGB for short.
The housings are machined from solid blocks of aluminum using a CNC cutting machine in a similar process to how Apple currently makes its laptops and mobile devices, and although you can get anodized colored options of the Unhinged housing in red, blue, pink and black, it feels like a crime to go with anything other than the natural aluminum silver. At $ 94, plus $ 20 + for a matching set of machined metal knobs, it’s not a cheap mod considering it’s BYOGBASP too, but you’ll never have to worry about an aging hinge again either.
YouTuber Macho Nacho Productions managed to get hold of the Unhinged enclosure and shared a detailed how-to for anyone who wants to tackle this mod. itself According to Boxy Pixel, if you start with a standard version of the GBA SP (even one with an upgraded screen), you can drop all the parts into the aluminum case without soldering, although everything but the shoulder buttons will need to be upgraded and your need a special 3D printed adapter to keep the original battery securely in place.
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But if you’re looking for some other upgrades in the process, including improvements like a bigger battery, a USB-C port, a wireless charging coil, and a proper headphone jack, you’ll need to break out the soldering iron and make some minor adjustments to the case On. (Which shouldn’t be too hard, it’s aluminum, not vibranium.) If you go to all the trouble of sacrificing a GBASP and give the Game Boy Advance a well-deserved OG Game Boy facelift, it looks like you can do that just as well. go the extra mile and upgrade everything you can.
And while it waits to fill out all pre-orders for the Unhinged case first, Boxy Pixel has revealed that it will most likely also offer custom pre-built units, but don’t expect them to be cheap in any way. A fully upgraded Game Boy Advance (backlit screen, speaker booster, rechargeable battery, etc.) with a plastic case can cost you over $ 500, so expect an aluminum version to be closer to the cost of a smartphone.