I appreciate the use of standard AA batteries. IMO the use of AAs simply allows for more options including hot swapping for fresh AAs available almost everywhere and the use of economical rechargeable AAs. Even my original GameBoy still fires up with fresh AAs to this day. I preordered the Midnight & Logan Paul Chromatic and looking forward to them. Again, love options but pretty confident the Analogue Pocket will remain my got to for “retro” games.
Yeah on my previous video. I'm sort of surprised at just how divisive. The choice to go with AA batteries was. Honestly I could see myself getting the battery pack as soon as it's available. But as you can see in my video I use rechargeable batteries will my Game Boy handhelds. I'm actually enjoying the dangly cell phone charms more than I expected. I didn't even realize that the Game Boy Color had a dangly charm connector on it
Thanks. I mean it's really tough because I like all three of these systems. They all have a different feel and design. Ethos and they're all pretty darn good. Fun fact, if you listen to the review and you hear these little metal clicking sounds, that's the dangling chimes against the body of the unit.
This is the best review I've seen yet. I like how you compared three devices. I'm seriously considering getting this. So, with the usbc cable, will the image will display on a monitor?
So The chromatic will display as a web camera or an external image source to a computer. I believe it's a different kind of communication method than having a monitor via USBC. But I have a portable monitor. I'll test it out and get back to you. Yeah I wanted to have all three of them. Head-to-head.
Thanks for covering the Analogue vs Chromatic difference. It seems straightforward on paper but in reality it’s more nuanced and the value of a focused device will really resonate with certain people!
Well longer i've been doing this TH-cam channel the more I believe that the experience of playing games is intrinsically tied to the hardware. It's not really necessary for the chromatic to have a higher resolution to draw a game that was created at a set number of pixels. It instead has a screen that does a better job of displaying those pixels since resolution is set and everything is nice and crispy. But it's all highly subjective, they're all quite good, and everyone's subjective opinion is valid.
I own an analogue pocket and reserved one of the gamestop grey ones. I have passed my pocket to non-gamers so they could play tetris with me and the extra buttons throw them for a loop. I like how this device has the exact buttons required so other people can play with me.
Well, there's something to be said about the simplicity of a dedicated device. You turn on. It works. That's it, easy peasy. You can also put it in your shirt pocket without ripping your shirt.
I'm definitely intrigued by the Chromatic! The screen especially. I like that they offer so many color variants but I'm not that big on the graphics they printed on the shell. I prefer it clean and simple
Honestly, I sort of thought that having the the black bezel around the screen sort of caused me to only focus on the screen and other decorative flourishes painted on the case were nice, but not terribly distracting. It's colorful without being tacky.
It probably will get sorted. The Analogue Pocket didn't work with the everdrive when it first came out. They should send a unit to Krikzz. He actually updated the software on the GBX7 to fix an issue on the Analogue Pocket. I saw that John Hancock tried the Ez Flash and could not get it working. The weird thing is they said some everdrives work and some do not.
Thanks, my hardware videos always seem to be popular. I mostly started this channel to talk about games but end up talking about game hardware.. I can live with that.
Apparently they called this color leaf which is probably a reference to Pokémon but it's also not quite mountain dew color or lime. Lime would work. I'm just glad that they're actually colorful because I have too much electronics that's either white or black, so I appreciate some actual color
I'm always worried about my reviews either not going into enough detail or being too long. Well, I believe they are taking pre-orders right now and the gray is a GameStop exclusive color. They're also going to be carrying all the games there published by ModRetro.
I was quite excited they put me on the review unit list. This is actually the 2nd time I got an early review. My first was "Year 2031" and it was a Game Boy game actually! th-cam.com/video/LAwX3kOOuNk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XQBkneWQzJjPFqqR
The Chromatic would be exactly what I'm looking for if it worked with the EverDrive GB X7 I already own. If they do get EverDrive support working with a firmware update though I'll absolutely buy one!
The thing is that it works for some other reviewers but not me. here is a video from Game Junction and they got it working! th-cam.com/video/Dy5ysuasLSE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lqhdxhELWPKK8v_x&t=412
I'm torn I have a Analogue Pocket & Dock which I love with updates the GB & GBC games look great in LCD and LCD+ mode. The Chromatic is designed to play GB & GBC which it does quite well from everything I have seen. The fact that the Everdrive GB X7 doesn't work at least with the pre release Chromatic I hope that gets fixed in the retail version I think it's going to be the final decision maker for me 15:31 buying the Chromatic. I appreciate your video if you have any Chromatic updates we.need to know about please let us know 😊
Well the thing is Metal Jesus and Immortal. John Hancock had the everdrive working on their systems so it looks like it's just me. Besides, I let the company know about it and they're working on it.
Well I know they're going to be sold on gamestop. They're doing pre-orders right now so go to their website and see if you can get one shipped to the UK. If not you'll have to get one off Amazon. But it's not like you have to worry about PAL vs NTSC with this.
The new tech Game Boys being created is re igniting the game boy market. Everyone wanting to get a good library for their Game Boy Color we dreamed of as a kid
so the reason im not gonna get the analgoue pocket is for the dpad and buttons that people said it aint feel right i want to askyou that the chromatic dpad feels just right like the original gameboy and i think im gonna get the pink one
The start select and the A&B buttons were just perfect. Also, this can be opened up with a Game Boy screwdriver so when I was talking to the engineers at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, they hope that modders will make replacement buttons and parts for it. I would love to find a d-pad with the circular indentation and the arrows, but they probably don't want to infringe on Nintendo's patents. I thought it was interesting that their website had the option to have the button text in Japanese. Considering Japanese consoles have their button text in English, but it's retro. It's fun and that's what matters. By the way, did you see that they're bringing back cute dangly cell phone charms? Hell now I want that on my actual smartphone
I don’t own the Chromatic (yet), but I do have the Analogue Pocket, the Funnyplaying Game Boy, and the original DMG Game Boy. Out of the three, the Analogue Pocket’s D-pad and buttons feel the best to me. It’s much easier to hit diagonals in Contra and pull off precise button combos in rhythm games with the Analogue. The Funnyplaying has been hit-or-miss for me-I bought 12 as Christmas gifts, and 3 of them had buttons that felt off. The Analogue Pocket also has a massive, high-resolution screen and supports save states, which is a huge deal. That said, I imagine the Chromatic might feel better for quick play sessions, so I’m still considering getting one. If the Chromatic supported save states and offered a forced DMG mode (to keep original Game Boy games in black-and-white), it could easily take the crown as the best option.
@@TimRoot-dotcom There are a greyscale and two different green OG GameBoy modes in the Chromatic but access them by holding down buttons during boot up. Not from a menu like the FPGBC. Apparently there is enough internal memory on the Chromatic to do save states but it is not supported in the current firmware. Personally I am glad I waited a year to get a Analogue Pocket since it had significant software updates after launch. The Chromatic may get some more features after launch but I would make your choices based on the systems as it is. Choosing the Chromatic is a bit tough if you already have the FPGBC. I sort of see them going after folks that have neither than trying to get "Converts"
Yeah, I found out about that after I published my video. I'm going to make a follow-up video with a timed comparing the boot up time between the three game systems also I'm going to zoom in on the screen and have them side by side.
Except for Japan. In Japan they never bundled games with systems and Tetris was sold separately. But still almost everyone who got a Game Boy purchased it in Japan and it's an incredibly common cartridge. I should have had a reference to the Tetris movie and the fact that the idea of pairing the Game Boy with Tetris was such a bright idea that they actually made entire movie about it
Oh my gosh I had no idea about the Tetris cart - that's SO COOL! PS: It was so nice meeting you outside Hawthorne Game Exchange yesterday! Did you find any gems shopping?
Yeah I should actually do a video just on the new version of Tetris. I'll try and do it later on this week Hey it was super cool meeting you yesterday again. Thanks for talking to me even though the weather was being a little insane. We should have went inside. I didn't find anything this time but got some really great stuff there last week including some out-of-print anime. I love Hawthorne Game Exchange and I think that we are spoiled by having awesome shops like it. They are good people.
Well I hope Santa has connections at ModRetro and they can make enough. ha ha. My cat is annoyingly cute and annoyingly loud. I sort of embrace putting him in the videos because I can't really keep him out of the videos. He's pretty much right there during the writing process, the filming process and the editing process but then again he lives here.
I ordered one. I'm not sure why the Chromatic is so controversial. I never pulled the trigger on the Analogue Pocket. I know it's great, but I prefer a more focused playing experience. It's like playing a Gensis game with a SNES controller. You can do it, but it's not the same. Thanks for the heads up on the Everdrive. I still have my GB/GBC library so I'll be fine, I just hope it works. I've seen others that used theirs with no problem. Thanks for the video.
@@woprdroid I think that all these different systems have their own unique advantages. If your priority Is to play game boy and game boy color games on cartridges with a deluxe experience Then the Chromatic is an excellent pick. If you wanna put together your own system and ypu prioratize efficency then the FPGBC is a good pick. If you want the biggest possible screen and want to play the most systems then I would go with the Analog Pocket. They're all really excellent options. I bet the Everdrive will get fixed with updates to either the drive or the Chromatic
Double a batteries isn't as big of a deal as I originally thought. For example I was at Costco just the other day and they sell a pack of four AA and four AAA rechargeable batteries that have usb-c ports on each indovidual battery for $20. It's an additional cost but once you have those it's arguably preferable to having a lithium pack. I really love my funny playing Game Boy Color, the only real downside being that the d-pad is pretty small and starts to cut into your thumb after longer play sessions.
The AA batteries that I'm using in my original Game Boy systems are Amazon basic rechargeables and it is $12 for a rechargeable pack of eight batteries. Personally, I have both a USB charger and a regular wall charger and the wall charger does a great job and actually has a display That shows the status of the battery. I should have mentioned the battery life in my review, but apparently it has about 6 hours of gameplay to a charge so that's good.
I can hardly wait to have the grey color one soon. I will probably get another color but can’t decide which one. Gamestop website says it will be available december 1st
Well they are currently manufacturing them right now. The company is quite focused on making that deadline and that's why I didn't want to bug them too much with my questions during my review. Well, if you're already getting a gray one, I would pick a bright far out there color to contrast it
Thanks, great review, one if not the best. I tried to order one ASAP but my country is not listed on the shipping list although Chile is listed and we are right next to the border between each other. I sent an email to support to see if they will add Argentina at some point. I can't decide between the Orange Inferno or the Yellow Volt. Initially I wanted the Volt because the yellow reminds me of the Play it Loud or the yellow GB Color, but when I see it on camera it still doesn't convince me, I don't know if it's a color really similar to those two Nintendo consoles or if it's something different.
Well hopefully they will be able to ship them to more countries. If not hopefully they will sell them on Amazon and you could buy one from Amazon us. I have purchased several video game systems from Amazon Japan that way. I think this would be a great system to sell all over the world since the Game Boy itself was region free. I am tempted to buy some GameBoy games from Japan right now I got to see more colors at the gaming expo. The colors are definitely Pokémon inspired. th-cam.com/video/-WamJS0I-L0/w-d-xo.html
Yes. If you hold both the buttons down and plus left and right on the d-pad when you Power on the unit. It will load a color palette including ones that represents the original Game Boy and the Game Boy pocket. There's also like a dozen other color palette choices and personally I wish that these were accessible in real time and you can set them and save them from the menu. But they really wanted to have it be just like the Game Boy Color with the button combinations when you turn it on.
How does the screen compare with the Analogue Pocket if you turn on the GBC+ display mode? Is it noticeably better? I thought the 10x scaling would make that display mode nearly identical to the Mod Retro screen, but it would be nice to hear a firsthand comparison.
So both look pretty darn good. Rather than trying to go into the details I made a video to answer your question in the comments. th-cam.com/video/eZgEJP4I-ZY/w-d-xo.html So the analog pocket seemed really saturated and the the chromatic really felt natural but it's all super subjective. But here's a video of my phone on a tripod and I have both systems under the same lighting and zooming into the same game
Nope, mine is not the final version, But one of the latest prototypes. I don't have any Sapphire branding on the screen. Also, the IR blast port doesn't work yet.
6:29 So this feature works the same as on the original Game Boy Color? If so, then great! 6:37 My suggestion: An option in the menu to choose a default palette.
There is optional color pallets that you can trigger by holding down buttons when powering on the unit. Go to the manual and check out the Hot Key section. I agree I want these available from the on screen and saved. modretro.com/pages/chromatic-manual
Game Boy Light beat it to backlit original game boy games. Still really want this for that brighter, yet still accurate display though. Emulating and my modded GBC just don't feel quite right.
The Game Boy Light really was not bright compared to modern displays. It was nifty. I got to see one at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2024. Well I think there is something to having a grid pattern to your pixels that makes it feel extra "Game Boy"
@8bitjoystick That's true. It's more meant to be used in dark environments or at night wear it becomes readable enough combined when paired with the contrast wheel. Definitely not as good as modern backlights, but has a charm of its own. I love the pixel grid but another reason I want Chromatic is that ik told its colors are very accurate unlike some other devices with over saturation
Great review, but I don't think you've mentioned the battery life of the Chromatic. In fact, I've yet to see a single review that talks about how long the device lasts on typical AA batteries, wich seems baffling to me as that's pretty important to know for a handheld system.
Well it came with three batteries and it lasted about a week. I switched it to some rechargeable batteries. Apparently it gets between 6 to 8 hours depending on screen brightness and use. I thought the battery life was decent
@8bitjoystick Thanks for the reply! 6 to 8 hours seems fine to me, though of course it doesn't beat the DMGs ridiculous 30+ hour battery life. I did end up ordering a Chromatic, and I'm looking forward to testing how long it lasts with different battery cell types (a bit of a bummer that the rechargable battery pack isn't offered yet). Here's hoping it gets to me before the end of the year..
@@leonbabic7185 is my understanding that FPGA systems are relatively power efficient when handling the system like the game boy. Most of the power draw is on the screen and the brightness of it. I didn't do any comprehensive battery tests. But perhaps I should in a new video. They're all pretty good and I've never had any of these suck down power to the point that I couldn't play all the games that I wanted to on it. Battery life is actually gotten so good these days not an issue which is great because I had a SEGA Game Gear back in the day and it sucked down batteries. I would have to give it some thought as to how I would even do a battery test. Like charge everything up. Put Tetris on it and then come back to it and record video at various times and talk about the time and see you when each system ran out of juice. The chromatic isn't even out yet, but it's expected to launch in December 2024, which is almost here and then the company is planning on unveiling the battery pack and accessory like the headphones and such.
A little hyperbole never hurt anyone. My butt has been hurt by my love of spicy Korean food.... But in a good way. It is really really tough to go back to original Game Boy once you get used to the modern IPS display systems. These modern systems look as good as you wish the Game Boy Color did back in the day.
All the colors looked pretty good. Since the screen has the big bevels like the original Game Boy Color and you don't really focus on the color of the case while you're playing the game, but the metal case feels pretty good in your hand.
Well I also like my FPGBC. Quite a bit. Now that I have both systems, I'm tempted to take my fpgbc and leave it in my bag so that I will always have a Game Boy compatible system with me. th-cam.com/video/BS0IWx4CaJw/w-d-xo.html
But that's the crazy thing. Apparently some everdrives do work on it. But granted my unit is running v0.11.2 with FPGA version 13.4 debug. So hopefully there'll be an update at launch and the team is aware of it and they're probably working on it. Also, when I was at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, put the engineers on the spot and ask them to make a Macintosh updater program and one of the guys says that they were going to do it because he was a Mac user.
Well apparently some other reviewers had their everdrives work just fine. Hopefully it will get fixed in a update to either the system or the everdrive
I've heard some people say the screen is not as good as they say! Plus I don't see the appeal in copying the one thing that made the original so bad and that was the screen! In my opinion the analouge pockets screen is as close to perfection as you can get other than it not being oled it is the best screen out there! Who wants a small crappy resolution screen that copy's all the originals flaws. They should of made a custom 3.0 inch oled screen with some awesome filters like the pocket. It's funny the one thing everyone does with the original is upgrade the screen and now they are trying to copy the originals crappy screen. I understand it's good for purists but we are spoiled nowadays with good high rez screens why not make something with a more modern beautiful high res screen instead. I think some people are probably not going to like this screen.
Nah. They copied what was good about the The Game Boy screen and improved it a thousand times by making it incredibly bright. They kept what is good and upgraded what needed to be updated. You want an original resolution to play classic Game Boy games. It actually felt like original Hardware and not playing on a cell phone. A lot of the emulators just come across as cell phone games. Besides, if you have nice crisp pixels, you don't need higher resolution when you can play them at the original resolution.
All i can say is an oled with good filters would still look awesome with wayyyy better contrast and if done well would look glorious! Plus the screen as well as the original is too small! The original besides the lack of backlighting wasn't that great in my opinion too much ghosting and the screen technology back then just sucked! I understand the pixel perfect and being authentic to the original but I'm just too used to all the really nice modern displays we have now.
@@ericochoa4034 well I do respect that the analog pocket has the correct aspect ratio as the original Game Boy. It is at 10:1 integer scale. I also love that it has a ridiculously good ability to play systems like the NeoGeo and TurboGrafx-16 as well as a ton of awesome arcade games. The Analogue pocket is quite good at general retro games. I made a 26 minute video about the analogue pocket. th-cam.com/video/Y-GrbPphDHs/w-d-xo.html And a 19-minute video about the adapters for it th-cam.com/video/w_k-9yjiVtM/w-d-xo.html I also made a 20-minute video about the fpgbc th-cam.com/video/BS0IWx4CaJw/w-d-xo.html And a 13-minute video about putting them together th-cam.com/video/Qm-N9lJvu-k/w-d-xo.html
The reason I mention oled is look at what some scalers like the retrotink4k have done at making old consoles look really good with excellent looking crt filters. All I'm saying is an oled while not being able to mimic that sub pixel grid completley would would still come close plus you would still get all the benefits of oled like excellent contrast. Imagine an analogue pocket with its screen resolution in oled that would be even more glorious.
@ericochoa4034 well this is where I respectfully disagree. I currently own four CRT TVs and once I went back to playing retro video games on a CRT you just can't beat the brilliance of pixel artwork being drawn by a CRT gun on a vacuum tube. But I'm glad that there is a discussion about accuracy and respecting the original graphics intent of the artist who made the games in the '80s and '90s. I remember when some retro game collections were almost ashamed of pixels and they blurred and smeared them almost apologetically. I guess it's one thing that I can thank the indie retro game industry is a there is a new respect for pixel artwork.
![Top 20 Game Boy Color Games! - [DMG & GBC]](/img/n.gif)
Glad you got one in the end. Scouring YT for Chromatic videos is what brought me to your channel. :)
Well I've had it for about a week and now I can publish my video. Let me know if you have any questions. Overall I really like it
I appreciate the use of standard AA batteries. IMO the use of AAs simply allows for more options including hot swapping for fresh AAs available almost everywhere and the use of economical rechargeable AAs. Even my original GameBoy still fires up with fresh AAs to this day. I preordered the Midnight & Logan Paul Chromatic and looking forward to them. Again, love options but pretty confident the Analogue Pocket will remain my got to for “retro” games.
Yeah on my previous video. I'm sort of surprised at just how divisive. The choice to go with AA batteries was. Honestly I could see myself getting the battery pack as soon as it's available. But as you can see in my video I use rechargeable batteries will my Game Boy handhelds.
I'm actually enjoying the dangly cell phone charms more than I expected. I didn't even realize that the Game Boy Color had a dangly charm connector on it
but they could have a least added rechargable AAs for that price...
I had no idea there was a Logan Paul Chromatic until this post. Is it only in black?
@@philfriethegamingguy7759it’s darker than the Midnight color, charcoal colored and retains those color line graphics one of them is yellow
@@nuclearbeebermanI kind of agree with you on that point
Just ordered one after this review. Super excited about getting one!
It really made me feel excited to play my Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. It feels pretty good in your hands.
Thanks for your honest review. I might be getting the Game Stop version for Christmas. 😉
Thanks. I mean it's really tough because I like all three of these systems. They all have a different feel and design. Ethos and they're all pretty darn good.
Fun fact, if you listen to the review and you hear these little metal clicking sounds, that's the dangling chimes against the body of the unit.
@8bitjoystick 😀
This is the best review I've seen yet. I like how you compared three devices. I'm seriously considering getting this. So, with the usbc cable, will the image will display on a monitor?
So The chromatic will display as a web camera or an external image source to a computer. I believe it's a different kind of communication method than having a monitor via USBC. But I have a portable monitor. I'll test it out and get back to you.
Yeah I wanted to have all three of them. Head-to-head.
Thanks for covering the Analogue vs Chromatic difference. It seems straightforward on paper but in reality it’s more nuanced and the value of a focused device will really resonate with certain people!
Well longer i've been doing this TH-cam channel the more I believe that the experience of playing games is intrinsically tied to the hardware.
It's not really necessary for the chromatic to have a higher resolution to draw a game that was created at a set number of pixels. It instead has a screen that does a better job of displaying those pixels since resolution is set and everything is nice and crispy.
But it's all highly subjective, they're all quite good, and everyone's subjective opinion is valid.
I own an analogue pocket and reserved one of the gamestop grey ones.
I have passed my pocket to non-gamers so they could play tetris with me and the extra buttons throw them for a loop. I like how this device has the exact buttons required so other people can play with me.
Well, there's something to be said about the simplicity of a dedicated device. You turn on. It works. That's it, easy peasy. You can also put it in your shirt pocket without ripping your shirt.
I'm definitely intrigued by the Chromatic! The screen especially. I like that they offer so many color variants but I'm not that big on the graphics they printed on the shell. I prefer it clean and simple
Honestly, I sort of thought that having the the black bezel around the screen sort of caused me to only focus on the screen and other decorative flourishes painted on the case were nice, but not terribly distracting. It's colorful without being tacky.
great review, really hope the everdrive compatibility gets sorted out soon
It probably will get sorted. The Analogue Pocket didn't work with the everdrive when it first came out. They should send a unit to Krikzz. He actually updated the software on the GBX7 to fix an issue on the Analogue Pocket. I saw that John Hancock tried the Ez Flash and could not get it working. The weird thing is they said some everdrives work and some do not.
Thanks for the comprehensive review
Thanks, my hardware videos always seem to be popular. I mostly started this channel to talk about games but end up talking about game hardware.. I can live with that.
That green one was the one I was gonna pick up. That's really nice. I ended up pre-ordering the gray one from gamestop, though.
Apparently they called this color leaf which is probably a reference to Pokémon but it's also not quite mountain dew color or lime. Lime would work. I'm just glad that they're actually colorful because I have too much electronics that's either white or black, so I appreciate some actual color
I went through GameStop too. Can't wait
Excellent review. This thing is really nice. I don't know if I'll bite but if I see one in a Game Stop I might not stop myself.
I'm always worried about my reviews either not going into enough detail or being too long. Well, I believe they are taking pre-orders right now and the gray is a GameStop exclusive color. They're also going to be carrying all the games there published by ModRetro.
It is great seeing you able to review a pre-release product. Great review!
I was quite excited they put me on the review unit list. This is actually the 2nd time I got an early review. My first was "Year 2031" and it was a Game Boy game actually! th-cam.com/video/LAwX3kOOuNk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XQBkneWQzJjPFqqR
@8bitjoystick I did see that video. Another good one. 😀
The Chromatic would be exactly what I'm looking for if it worked with the EverDrive GB X7 I already own. If they do get EverDrive support working with a firmware update though I'll absolutely buy one!
The thing is that it works for some other reviewers but not me. here is a video from Game Junction and they got it working!
th-cam.com/video/Dy5ysuasLSE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lqhdxhELWPKK8v_x&t=412
You and me both I only have a couple gbc carts and maybe 8 gb carts so it has to be compatible with my ED HB X7 to really make it worthwhile for me 😊
I'm torn I have a Analogue Pocket & Dock which I love with updates the GB & GBC games look great in LCD and LCD+ mode. The Chromatic is designed to play GB & GBC which it does quite well from everything I have seen. The fact that the Everdrive GB X7 doesn't work at least with the pre release Chromatic I hope that gets fixed in the retail version I think it's going to be the final decision maker for me 15:31 buying the Chromatic. I appreciate your video if you have any Chromatic updates we.need to know about please let us know 😊
Well the thing is Metal Jesus and Immortal. John Hancock had the everdrive working on their systems so it looks like it's just me.
Besides, I let the company know about it and they're working on it.
Would be great if we could pick these up in the UK.
Well I know they're going to be sold on gamestop. They're doing pre-orders right now so go to their website and see if you can get one shipped to the UK. If not you'll have to get one off Amazon. But it's not like you have to worry about PAL vs NTSC with this.
The new tech Game Boys being created is re igniting the game boy market. Everyone wanting to get a good library for their Game Boy Color we dreamed of as a kid
Agreed. I'm actually more excited about Game Boy and Game Boy Color now than I have been in years
so the reason im not gonna get the analgoue pocket is for the dpad and buttons that people said it aint feel right i want to askyou that the chromatic dpad feels just right like the original gameboy and i think im gonna get the pink one
The start select and the A&B buttons were just perfect. Also, this can be opened up with a Game Boy screwdriver so when I was talking to the engineers at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, they hope that modders will make replacement buttons and parts for it. I would love to find a d-pad with the circular indentation and the arrows, but they probably don't want to infringe on Nintendo's patents.
I thought it was interesting that their website had the option to have the button text in Japanese. Considering Japanese consoles have their button text in English, but it's retro. It's fun and that's what matters.
By the way, did you see that they're bringing back cute dangly cell phone charms? Hell now I want that on my actual smartphone
@@8bitjoystick thanks dude that only think that matters to me is the response of the dpad and great video review
I don’t own the Chromatic (yet), but I do have the Analogue Pocket, the Funnyplaying Game Boy, and the original DMG Game Boy. Out of the three, the Analogue Pocket’s D-pad and buttons feel the best to me. It’s much easier to hit diagonals in Contra and pull off precise button combos in rhythm games with the Analogue. The Funnyplaying has been hit-or-miss for me-I bought 12 as Christmas gifts, and 3 of them had buttons that felt off.
The Analogue Pocket also has a massive, high-resolution screen and supports save states, which is a huge deal. That said, I imagine the Chromatic might feel better for quick play sessions, so I’m still considering getting one. If the Chromatic supported save states and offered a forced DMG mode (to keep original Game Boy games in black-and-white), it could easily take the crown as the best option.
@@TimRoot-dotcom There are a greyscale and two different green OG GameBoy modes in the Chromatic but access them by holding down buttons during boot up. Not from a menu like the FPGBC. Apparently there is enough internal memory on the Chromatic to do save states but it is not supported in the current firmware.
Personally I am glad I waited a year to get a Analogue Pocket since it had significant software updates after launch. The Chromatic may get some more features after launch but I would make your choices based on the systems as it is.
Choosing the Chromatic is a bit tough if you already have the FPGBC. I sort of see them going after folks that have neither than trying to get "Converts"
You can set the pocket to boot automatically to the cartridge, the option is in the settings
Yeah, I found out about that after I published my video. I'm going to make a follow-up video with a timed comparing the boot up time between the three game systems also I'm going to zoom in on the screen and have them side by side.
AP has option to load stream into game in startup
Oh shoot! I just realized that after I finished my video. It still has a faster boot up process.
As a heads-up, Chromatic has a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip built in. Mod Retro said they’ll activate it later.
Can’t wait for mine
UPDATE! YOU ARE RIGHT! Wow. I didn't know about that. I would freaking love bluetooth support.
and like you said the tetris its a bundle like back in the days
Except for Japan. In Japan they never bundled games with systems and Tetris was sold separately. But still almost everyone who got a Game Boy purchased it in Japan and it's an incredibly common cartridge.
I should have had a reference to the Tetris movie and the fact that the idea of pairing the Game Boy with Tetris was such a bright idea that they actually made entire movie about it
Oh my gosh I had no idea about the Tetris cart - that's SO COOL!
PS: It was so nice meeting you outside Hawthorne Game Exchange yesterday! Did you find any gems shopping?
Yeah I should actually do a video just on the new version of Tetris. I'll try and do it later on this week
Hey it was super cool meeting you yesterday again. Thanks for talking to me even though the weather was being a little insane. We should have went inside. I didn't find anything this time but got some really great stuff there last week including some out-of-print anime. I love Hawthorne Game Exchange and I think that we are spoiled by having awesome shops like it. They are good people.
@8bitjoystick excited to see more of your content and hopefully I run into you again! I super enjoyed our conversation
Looks nice, might have to see if ol' Santa can get me one of those. Also, cute cat!
Well I hope Santa has connections at ModRetro and they can make enough. ha ha. My cat is annoyingly cute and annoyingly loud. I sort of embrace putting him in the videos because I can't really keep him out of the videos. He's pretty much right there during the writing process, the filming process and the editing process but then again he lives here.
I ordered one. I'm not sure why the Chromatic is so controversial. I never pulled the trigger on the Analogue Pocket. I know it's great, but I prefer a more focused playing experience. It's like playing a Gensis game with a SNES controller. You can do it, but it's not the same. Thanks for the heads up on the Everdrive. I still have my GB/GBC library so I'll be fine, I just hope it works. I've seen others that used theirs with no problem. Thanks for the video.
@@woprdroid I think that all these different systems have their own unique advantages.
If your priority Is to play game boy and game boy color games on cartridges with a deluxe experience Then the Chromatic is an excellent pick.
If you wanna put together your own system and ypu prioratize efficency then the FPGBC is a good pick.
If you want the biggest possible screen and want to play the most systems then I would go with the Analog Pocket.
They're all really excellent options.
I bet the Everdrive will get fixed with updates to either the drive or the Chromatic
Double a batteries isn't as big of a deal as I originally thought. For example I was at Costco just the other day and they sell a pack of four AA and four AAA rechargeable batteries that have usb-c ports on each indovidual battery for $20. It's an additional cost but once you have those it's arguably preferable to having a lithium pack. I really love my funny playing Game Boy Color, the only real downside being that the d-pad is pretty small and starts to cut into your thumb after longer play sessions.
The AA batteries that I'm using in my original Game Boy systems are Amazon basic rechargeables and it is $12 for a rechargeable pack of eight batteries. Personally, I have both a USB charger and a regular wall charger and the wall charger does a great job and actually has a display That shows the status of the battery.
I should have mentioned the battery life in my review, but apparently it has about 6 hours of gameplay to a charge so that's good.
I can hardly wait to have the grey color one soon. I will probably get another color but can’t decide which one. Gamestop website says it will be available december 1st
Well they are currently manufacturing them right now. The company is quite focused on making that deadline and that's why I didn't want to bug them too much with my questions during my review.
Well, if you're already getting a gray one, I would pick a bright far out there color to contrast it
Thanks, great review, one if not the best.
I tried to order one ASAP but my country is not listed on the shipping list although Chile is listed and we are right next to the border between each other.
I sent an email to support to see if they will add Argentina at some point.
I can't decide between the Orange Inferno or the Yellow Volt. Initially I wanted the Volt because the yellow reminds me of the Play it Loud or the yellow GB Color, but when I see it on camera it still doesn't convince me, I don't know if it's a color really similar to those two Nintendo consoles or if it's something different.
Well hopefully they will be able to ship them to more countries. If not hopefully they will sell them on Amazon and you could buy one from Amazon us. I have purchased several video game systems from Amazon Japan that way. I think this would be a great system to sell all over the world since the Game Boy itself was region free. I am tempted to buy some GameBoy games from Japan right now
I got to see more colors at the gaming expo. The colors are definitely Pokémon inspired.
th-cam.com/video/-WamJS0I-L0/w-d-xo.html
On the FPGBC you can set the core to Gameboy mode and play original GB games in black and white. Can you do this on the Chromatic?
Yes. If you hold both the buttons down and plus left and right on the d-pad when you Power on the unit. It will load a color palette including ones that represents the original Game Boy and the Game Boy pocket.
There's also like a dozen other color palette choices and personally I wish that these were accessible in real time and you can set them and save them from the menu. But they really wanted to have it be just like the Game Boy Color with the button combinations when you turn it on.
How does the screen compare with the Analogue Pocket if you turn on the GBC+ display mode? Is it noticeably better? I thought the 10x scaling would make that display mode nearly identical to the Mod Retro screen, but it would be nice to hear a firsthand comparison.
So both look pretty darn good. Rather than trying to go into the details I made a video to answer your question in the comments.
th-cam.com/video/eZgEJP4I-ZY/w-d-xo.html
So the analog pocket seemed really saturated and the the chromatic really felt natural but it's all super subjective.
But here's a video of my phone on a tripod and I have both systems under the same lighting and zooming into the same game
Is yours the final version? I notice it doesn't have the "saphire" branding on the screen. I find that additional branding a bit distracting.
Nope, mine is not the final version, But one of the latest prototypes. I don't have any Sapphire branding on the screen. Also, the IR blast port doesn't work yet.
6:29 So this feature works the same as on the original Game Boy Color? If so, then great!
6:37 My suggestion: An option in the menu to choose a default palette.
There is optional color pallets that you can trigger by holding down buttons when powering on the unit. Go to the manual and check out the Hot Key section. I agree I want these available from the on screen and saved.
modretro.com/pages/chromatic-manual
Game Boy Light beat it to backlit original game boy games. Still really want this for that brighter, yet still accurate display though.
Emulating and my modded GBC just don't feel quite right.
The Game Boy Light really was not bright compared to modern displays. It was nifty. I got to see one at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2024.
Well I think there is something to having a grid pattern to your pixels that makes it feel extra "Game Boy"
@8bitjoystick That's true. It's more meant to be used in dark environments or at night wear it becomes readable enough combined when paired with the contrast wheel. Definitely not as good as modern backlights, but has a charm of its own.
I love the pixel grid but another reason I want Chromatic is that ik told its colors are very accurate unlike some other devices with over saturation
Great review, but I don't think you've mentioned the battery life of the Chromatic. In fact, I've yet to see a single review that talks about how long the device lasts on typical AA batteries, wich seems baffling to me as that's pretty important to know for a handheld system.
Well it came with three batteries and it lasted about a week. I switched it to some rechargeable batteries. Apparently it gets between 6 to 8 hours depending on screen brightness and use. I thought the battery life was decent
@8bitjoystick Thanks for the reply! 6 to 8 hours seems fine to me, though of course it doesn't beat the DMGs ridiculous 30+ hour battery life. I did end up ordering a Chromatic, and I'm looking forward to testing how long it lasts with different battery cell types (a bit of a bummer that the rechargable battery pack isn't offered yet). Here's hoping it gets to me before the end of the year..
@@leonbabic7185 is my understanding that FPGA systems are relatively power efficient when handling the system like the game boy. Most of the power draw is on the screen and the brightness of it. I didn't do any comprehensive battery tests. But perhaps I should in a new video.
They're all pretty good and I've never had any of these suck down power to the point that I couldn't play all the games that I wanted to on it. Battery life is actually gotten so good these days not an issue which is great because I had a SEGA Game Gear back in the day and it sucked down batteries. I would have to give it some thought as to how I would even do a battery test. Like charge everything up. Put Tetris on it and then come back to it and record video at various times and talk about the time and see you when each system ran out of juice.
The chromatic isn't even out yet, but it's expected to launch in December 2024, which is almost here and then the company is planning on unveiling the battery pack and accessory like the headphones and such.
Which revision is your EverDrive-GB X7? C or E?
I have a Rev E with a Sandisk 32 GB Card.
EverDrive--GB, Model 17, Rev E
Cart:ED-GB-X7
OS ver:1.86
FPGA:06
Burned into your eyeballs! 👀 🔥 but in a good way 😃
A little hyperbole never hurt anyone. My butt has been hurt by my love of spicy Korean food.... But in a good way.
It is really really tough to go back to original Game Boy once you get used to the modern IPS display systems. These modern systems look as good as you wish the Game Boy Color did back in the day.
Waiting on my green one
All the colors looked pretty good. Since the screen has the big bevels like the original Game Boy Color and you don't really focus on the color of the case while you're playing the game, but the metal case feels pretty good in your hand.
Does it emulate "screen ghosting" effect?
Yes. And you can toggle it on and off.
The funnyplaying is great I love mine
Yeah I really like the FPGBC. I hope they make a GBA next.
cool cat!
He was seriously into the dangley cell phone charms. He is almost 20 pounds.
As someone who already owns an analogue pocket, im not sure if this product has any appeal for me.
@@tylerfox5003 That is totally valid. I actually like both systems quite a lot.
Chocolate all over my face
Scrambled eggs all over my face. What is a boy to do. th-cam.com/video/yPj-pNBfOJQ/w-d-xo.html
Yeah at $351.43 CAD after shipping, I think I'm gonna stick to my FPGBC unfortunately. Closer to the original hardware look and feel anyway.
Well I also like my FPGBC. Quite a bit.
Now that I have both systems, I'm tempted to take my fpgbc and leave it in my bag so that I will always have a Game Boy compatible system with me. th-cam.com/video/BS0IWx4CaJw/w-d-xo.html
What's up.. AZAZEL! INK....
Well..I got a Chromatic. it is pretty cool
Okay, now I know that the Everdrive... might not work on the Chromatic.
Granted, that's just a firmware-update away.
But that's the crazy thing. Apparently some everdrives do work on it. But granted my unit is running v0.11.2 with FPGA version 13.4 debug. So hopefully there'll be an update at launch and the team is aware of it and they're probably working on it.
Also, when I was at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, put the engineers on the spot and ask them to make a Macintosh updater program and one of the guys says that they were going to do it because he was a Mac user.
Can you believe that shit hahaha a mfing light in your house
Well there's the sun coming in from outside and I try to use a fill light because that's some cinematography
No everdrive support is a shame
Well apparently some other reviewers had their everdrives work just fine. Hopefully it will get fixed in a update to either the system or the everdrive
Did you know how many mfing decibels are in LCD... Hahaha
Well it's pretty bright. It's totally possible to use it in sun. Usually screens are rated in nits and I don't know how bright it is
I've heard some people say the screen is not as good as they say! Plus I don't see the appeal in copying the one thing that made the original so bad and that was the screen! In my opinion the analouge pockets screen is as close to perfection as you can get other than it not being oled it is the best screen out there! Who wants a small crappy resolution screen that copy's all the originals flaws. They should of made a custom 3.0 inch oled screen with some awesome filters like the pocket. It's funny the one thing everyone does with the original is upgrade the screen and now they are trying to copy the originals crappy screen. I understand it's good for purists but we are spoiled nowadays with good high rez screens why not make something with a more modern beautiful high res screen instead. I think some people are probably not going to like this screen.
Nah. They copied what was good about the The Game Boy screen and improved it a thousand times by making it incredibly bright. They kept what is good and upgraded what needed to be updated.
You want an original resolution to play classic Game Boy games.
It actually felt like original Hardware and not playing on a cell phone. A lot of the emulators just come across as cell phone games.
Besides, if you have nice crisp pixels, you don't need higher resolution when you can play them at the original resolution.
All i can say is an oled with good filters would still look awesome with wayyyy better contrast and if done well would look glorious! Plus the screen as well as the original is too small! The original besides the lack of backlighting wasn't that great in my opinion too much ghosting and the screen technology back then just sucked! I understand the pixel perfect and being authentic to the original but I'm just too used to all the really nice modern displays we have now.
@@ericochoa4034 well I do respect that the analog pocket has the correct aspect ratio as the original Game Boy. It is at 10:1 integer scale. I also love that it has a ridiculously good ability to play systems like the NeoGeo and TurboGrafx-16 as well as a ton of awesome arcade games.
The Analogue pocket is quite good at general retro games.
I made a 26 minute video about the analogue pocket.
th-cam.com/video/Y-GrbPphDHs/w-d-xo.html
And a 19-minute video about the adapters for it
th-cam.com/video/w_k-9yjiVtM/w-d-xo.html
I also made a 20-minute video about the fpgbc
th-cam.com/video/BS0IWx4CaJw/w-d-xo.html
And a 13-minute video about putting them together
th-cam.com/video/Qm-N9lJvu-k/w-d-xo.html
The reason I mention oled is look at what some scalers like the retrotink4k have done at making old consoles look really good with excellent looking crt filters. All I'm saying is an oled while not being able to mimic that sub pixel grid completley would would still come close plus you would still get all the benefits of oled like excellent contrast. Imagine an analogue pocket with its screen resolution in oled that would be even more glorious.
@ericochoa4034 well this is where I respectfully disagree. I currently own four CRT TVs and once I went back to playing retro video games on a CRT you just can't beat the brilliance of pixel artwork being drawn by a CRT gun on a vacuum tube.
But I'm glad that there is a discussion about accuracy and respecting the original graphics intent of the artist who made the games in the '80s and '90s. I remember when some retro game collections were almost ashamed of pixels and they blurred and smeared them almost apologetically.
I guess it's one thing that I can thank the indie retro game industry is a there is a new respect for pixel artwork.
Sorry maybe it's Ukraine lol been uttering a projection lamp and there's an insane amount
ok....My Everdrive is from Ukraine. my lights are not
Dump that Tetris and share it. 😂
Well the system should hopefully ship next month.
Ewwew
What?