In 2000, Burger King gave away an adorable plastic Game Boy Color toy that had analog games built into it. Flash forward to 2016 — the Burger King toy has transformed into a functional plastic Game Boy Color that is able to run Pokémon FireRed version.
Reddittor ChaseLambeth is the enterprising individual behind this feat, which turns the plastic Game Boy Color toy that came with fake Pokémon cartridges into a working device.
The modder took the Raspberry Pi Zero — the $5 mini computer — and revamped the dummy unit into a full-fledged working console. Lambeth's attempt to repurpose the Game Boy Color is not the first time someone tried to reinterpret one of the most-loved handheld gaming devices.
Lambeth was working on achieving the goal for several months but kept hitting a dead end. That is when he chanced on an Instagram user who had the same idea and had been successful in getting three units of the Game Boy Color Nano toy running and was okay with selling one for $250, which Lambeth purchased.
The DIY project took shape thanks to the Game Boy Color Nano — as Lambeth calls it — being teamed up with a 2-inch LCD screen and emulator RetroPie. While technically the modded toy can run games that are not Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance titles, they would not feel right with this form. The Burger King toy works fabulously thanks to the mod — the sound and the buttons all work!
This is not the first time a modder has converted a Nintendo device into something incredible by using the Raspberry Pi Zero. Earlier in April, we reported that wermy took an original Game Boy cartridge and modified it into a Game Boy Zero, which could play pretty much any retro game from Nintendo.
To get a detailed look at the Game Boy Color Nano, check out the Imgur gallery from ChaseLambeth.
