This completely transparent Game Boy Color is a genuine work of art
Don't plan on playing hours of Tetris on it, though
😍 One ambitious Game Boy modder has created a true work of art
🤯 Natalie the Nerd, an Australian modder, has created an entirely transparent Game Boy Color
🔨 This includes both the chassis and motherboard, which needed to be reverse engineered to make it work
🙌 It seems we're at a high watermark for retro gaming for mods and new consoles, including the sublime ModRetro Chromatic handheld
The practice of modding a Game Boy, either for aesthetic or performance purposes, has been around for a long time, but I think this completely transparent Game Boy Color might be the best I've seen yet.
It comes courtesy of Natalie the Nerd on X, a self-taught console modder from Melbourne, Australia. She's created a Game Boy Color that has both a transparent housing and, even more impressively, a transparent motherboard.
As she detailed in a further post, this required some serious work – nothing short of reverse engineering the inner workings of the handheld. The circuit board itself is made of a clear acrylic-type plastic with fine copper traces across it. The trade-off is that the PCB's ground layer is removed, although the console remains functional.
It's more of a museum piece than an actual usable handheld. As Natalie said in a reply to her original X post, it isn't "practical at all" and is "just art work TBH". Natalie also sells RGB lighting kits and other aftermarket components for Game Boy modding purposes, and offers repair services, too.
Retro revival
Nonetheless, it is very cool what's become possible with retro consoles, and their associated modding scene.
For instance, we've seen not only clever modifications such as Natalie's, but also some sublime attempts to modernize the console, including the highly praised ModRetro Chromatic.
In his ModRetro Chromatic review, Adam called the handheld the "best way to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games... ever." and gave it a perfect 5/5 score. It provides an authentic Game Boy experience with modern touches such as an IPS screen with the option for Gorilla or Sapphire Glass coating, as well as a USB-C port.
ModRetro recently announced that the Chromatic is a permanent addition to its lineup after being out of stock for several months. It’s also teased it’s working on a modern N64 called the M64. Creator Palmer Luckey called the M64 “the best and most authentic way to play your favorite N64 games, bar none” on X. We’ll have to see if that’s true when it’s revealed later this year.
Up next: ModRetro Chromatic vs Analogue Pocket: which retro handheld is right for you?
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.