The Game Boy Pocket is known as probably the most difficult of the Game Boy systems to backlight. While it is true that most of the good kits for the Pocket require soldering, recently some ‘drop-in’ kits have become available from companies like Hispeedido. Drop-in kits are so much more convenient and basically mean that anyone can upgrade their Game Boy system. The Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance have numerous good kits available that are ‘drop in’. For the GBA and GBC there are also ‘laminated’ kits available where the screen and lens are one and the same and these kind of kits usually look more impressive and are easier to install. There was no ‘laminated’ Game Boy Pocket screen kit. Until now. Here, I review the new Laminated Game Boy Pocket screen kit from Hispeedido. Is it up to the standard of the Game Boy Color ‘laminated’ screen kits? Read on to find out.
Installation
The screen kit was well packaged in the trademark hard plastic box that Hispeedido products come in. The box is sturdy and becuase of the good packaging, it is very unlikely that the products will be damaged. There’s not much in the kit. The laminated screen, the board, ribbon cable, and some wires are in the portion that contains the screen kit. Then seperately, the shell (that is specifically designed for the laminated screen) comes in a plastic bag, with screws, buttons, and rubber pads. Once I got a donor Game Boy Pocket and removed the motherboard ready for the mod, it was a simple process of getting the new shell ready with buttons, and rubbers.
The main action that you will have to do to get this kit to work, is to solder one cable from the BAT (short for battery) part of the screen’s board onto the C solder point on the donor motherboard. It is a simple solder job that a beginner can do. Interestingly, one of the recent Hispeedido GBP kits was ‘drop in’ so maybe they weren’t able to make this kit ‘drop in’ because of technical limitations. Once I had completed the solder, I took off the covers from the touch pads and placed them in easy to reach spots on the inside of the shell. You have the option to do more soldering to let you control the screen options with buttons. I didn’t do this because it involves soldering to vias which I can’t get the hang of. Overall, it is a simple installation process.
Performance
Once the unit was all assembled, I proceeded to test it with some classic Game Boy games. Interestingly, the Game Boy Pocket logo doesn’t light up like the logo does with many Game Boy Color laminated kits. Maybe this was a missed opportunity. I haven’t found a way to make it light up in the settings. What I have been able to do is adjust brightness with the contrast wheel, and change color filter with the touch pad. There are around thirty different filters and most of them look great. I’ve been having a problem with power consumption on this system. The batteries need to be placed just right, and sometimes the system doesn’t boot up properly and I have to attempt to boot it two, or three times. This is probably linked to the capacitors on the motherboard not the screen itself, although the screen obviously consumes a lot of power.
The games I tested were Alleyway, Pokemon Blue (reproduction cart), Zelda: Link’s Awakening (reproduction cart), and Super mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins. Generally, the system runs great and the screen ‘pops’ with brightness. The color filters really do look great. The screen kit looks really awesome, even when the console is turned off. Unfortunately, where I am, I don’t have another modded Game Boy Pocket to compare it to, but when I get a chance to compare I’m sure that the laminated screen will be the better looking of the screens (all my other modded Game boy Pockets do not have laminated screens). However, like I said, this build is having power problems and I wouldn’tbe surprised if one day soon, it just decides not to turn on. Capacitors all have a life expectancy, and it is worthwhile to re-cap all your old handheld systems at some point soon.
Conclusion
Overall, the Hispeedido Game Boy Pocket Laminated Screen Kit is the first Game Boy Pocket laminated kit available on the market. The laminated kits have the lens and the screen on one piece of hardware rather than having a screen under the shell and then, a lens over the top. The ‘laminated’ screens usually look better, and are easier to install. This kit only needs one wire to be soldered for it to work. It is very easy to install. It looks great, and will make your old games ‘pop’ with brightness. However, it sucks a lot of power, and Game Boy Pocket’s are old systems and problems are going to become more common as capacitors die. Of all the Game Boy Pocket screen kits, this one is in the top quarter, as a screen kit that is easy to install, and will give your game boy that premium feel.
BongoBongo123 is an avid Zelda fan who also likes the odd game of Smash. His interests in gaming are broad but he loves a good Metroidvania or action RPGs.