If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a Nintendo fan who grew up during the Game Boy era, the newly released ModRetro Chromatic is one of the coolest retro gaming gadgets of 2024. The Chromatic is a modernized Game Boy Color that looks, plays, and feels like the real thing. Unlike most retro handhelds that aim to do a little bit of everything, the Chromatic is unabashedly committed to the singular goal of replicating the GBC experience as you fondly remember it. For the subset of retro gamers who crave authenticity, the Chromatic is an undeniable success. It’s also one of the best-built portable devices I’ve ever used.
There’s no shortage of retro gaming handhelds on the market today, including many that mimic Nintendo’s iconic Game Boy family. Most are emulation devices that can offer solid experiences for budget prices. But whereas most of these devices resemble the general look of the Game Boy, the Chromatic is one of the few that truly replicates the experience of playing on one. It takes “paying homage” to the next level. If you prefer original hardware, whether stock or modded, the Chromatic is the closest approximation to the Game Boy I’ve ever played. But if you slapped a Nintendo logo on it and told me the Chromatic was Nintendo’s jump into the premium retro hardware space, I wouldn’t believe you. Not because it’s inauthentic, but because Nintendo would never mass produce a handheld built with such pricey components.
ModRetro was founded by Palmer Luckey, who is best known as the creator of the Oculus Rift. He sold Oculus VR to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion and went on to cofound Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, in 2017. Anduril Industries manufactures AI-powered military devices such as drones and sells them to the Department of Defense. It appears ModRetro is a passion project for Luckey, and based on the Chromatic’s build, he spared no expense making it happen.