The first console I could ever call mine was the Nintendo Game Boy. In fact, we had some Pong clone console at home before I got the beloved Game Boy. But since this was my Dad’s (some random gift, lottery win, or loot from the last pirate tour), I cannot call it my first own one. And even though I would consider the first PlayStation my all-time favorite, I have to admit that in a certain focus, there is nothing that can beat the original Game Boy. Especially playing secretly under the blanket. Yeah sure, with a flashlight since there was no backlight on the screen. But that’s not the point. The immense library and the portability of the system. Amazing. And there is a load of great titles that are still fun to play. The best thing from a modern point of view would be the homebrew scene. There are people still making games for the little brick and after over 30 years there is still a fresh breeze encasing the machine. However, playing these homebrew titles gives it a bit of a complicated off-taste. Either you get a special cartridge that allows you to load roms (game files) on it to play it with the original Game Boy, or you use an emulator. But who wants to play a handheld game on a laptop? I already had a RetroPie instance for regular console emulation. And this one was packed into a Retroflag NESPi case. Easy leads the path from there since the same company offers a complete case for a Raspberry Pi Zero in form of a Game Boy. Well, not exactly a one-by-one copy of a Game Boy, but pretty close.
The first encounter with the product was pretty … disappointing. I set up everything correctly. The Raspberry Pi Zero is mounted in a game cartridge, SD-card loaded with the RetroPie installation (EmulationStation and RetroArch), scripts loaded and we are good to go. Hoping for a nice Game-Boy-like experience from the first button press on, frustration hit hard. The boot time of the system is not really an issue. And it should be familiar anyway when you used a Raspberry Pi before. But as soon as the screen turned on my smile dropped. It was flickering, the colors seemed not to be appropriate and you could even recognize complete rows of pixels intermitting. Ah hell no! First thought: I did something wrong. So I double-checked the whole system and all contacts. Could have been the connection between the Pi Zero in the cartridge and the main system. But no, success not in sight. Next step: online research. And it didn’t take long to find a few reports about the same problem, which seems to be a common fault. Only chance to solve it: get a replacement from the seller. I hate that. You are so excited about a new toy or tool and then this happens. But since there was no alternative, I went to the shop I bought the case from and they immediately exchanged it for another one. And there we go, now it worked like a charm.
From that point on, I was pretty amazed. It almost feels like a real Game Boy, but with a few not-so-minor advantages. It has a 2.8 IPS screen. No more flashlights under the blanket are required. I love the option to power it via USB, even though you require the included adapter cable. I immediately connected a power bank and didn’t have to worry about the AA batteries required otherwise. But the best of course is the variety you get with RetroPie. All handheld console emulators are running without issues on the smaller Raspberry Pi Zero. And that’s what I wanted it for. That said, I don’t play any NES, SNES, or other stationary consoles on it. Doesn’t make sense to me. At least for the feeling I wanted to get from it. No one would have played his Super Nintendo Entertainment System on the bus or under the blanket back in the day, right? So wouldn’t I. And for my purpose, I’m a bit annoyed by the four action buttons, instead of two. And especially by the shoulder buttons. I mean, the idea is great and in the end, it lets you play a huge variety of emulators. However, it just feels super unnatural and strange. But since I don’t use it anyway, I’m most likely just ignoring it. Apart from these issues, which are very subjectively constituted, this case does everything right. And I really enjoy all the nostalgic moments from “Solar Striker” to “V-Rally” and all new discoveries from “The bouncing Ball” to “Neighbor“.
It is not only the dress that makes this RetroPie housing haute-couture, but also the tech specs and its integration into the system. Dressed as a Game Boy, recognized as a powerhouse.

In case you are interested in building your own GameBoy-lookalike emulation device, you can find the Retroflag GPiCase here: https://retroflag.com/GPi-CASE.html