A retro console modder made an unusual fusion of theNintendo DSand Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy line of systems had always been successful, but theNintendo DSwears the crown for the highest-selling Nintendo console to date.
Handheld systems have been a significant part of Nintendo’s catalog since the release of the Game Boy in 1989. It set the standard for portable gaming and showed that it was more than possible to make engaging experiences that people could enjoy on the go. The Game Boy line continued with the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance but ended there as its successor, the Nintendo DS, took on a different form of branding and naming convention. The DS line of systems experienced massive success in its lifetime, partly because someNintendo DS launch titleswere among the first 3D games playable on handheld systems.
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The DS and Game Boy Advance are often closely associated, partly because the first two models of the DS werebackward compatiblewith the GBA. A prominent shared feature was the clamshell design first seen in the Game Boy Advance SP, something that seems to have inspired YouTube retro console modder Gameboy Custom to fuse the GBA SP with the DS. The modded console has the appearance of two GBA SPs in a DS Lite shell. The most prominent aspect of it is the fact that both screens are on the top half with the bottom reserved only for buttons, something sure to confuse those familiar with the iconic design of the DS.
Gameboy Customs went the extra mile and used shells designed after the classicGame Boy Advance gamesPokemon RubyandSapphire. They uploaded a full build video in which they say that production of their “most outrageous” handheld lasted over a year and uses a DS R4 flash cartridge that can emulate games from the DS, GBA, SNES, and many others. Unlike other consoles they make, Gameboy Customs will not make this console for sale and instead keep it as part of their own collection.
In the current Switch era, Nintendo is at a point where its primary focus is crafting home console-like experiences rather than handheld ones. This in turn has led to theabsence of certain Nintendo franchises on the Switch. Additionally, many games of these older handheld games tend to get limited rereleases, so fans wanting to play these games often resort to emulators, hunt down original hardware, or in this case, do a combination of the two. It is further proof that Nintendo is missing out by not making these games available on the Switch, but whether it will remains to be seen.
