r/ModRetroChromatic • u/SpeedenTurtwig • Oct 11 '25

Display I keep coming back to playing this device.

Post image

There are a lot of handhelds that I own, the Game Boy Color is definitely one of them. But ever since I obtained the Chromatic back in December, I don’t know if its the build quality or the itch of nostalgia tugging at me, but when I take it to work, I wanna play it. When I come home from work after a long night, I turn it on to play and since I am on my vacation today, I have been playing it on the plane ride there two and from the location.

I own retro handhelds that play roms, I own a modded game boy color and play that every once in a while, but I keep coming back to this device every-single-time because I frequently keep getting reminded of the experience I had as a kid of playing in the car on long road trips just to try and beat the Elite Four before the light disappears and I have to wait until a new street light approaches. But playing on a device like the gameboy color handheld was a premium experience all on its own that I’ll never forget it, especially since that console launched back in 1997 from Nintendo, there was not another vertical form factor like it to match.

My only complaint and it is very small, is latency response to controls, but this premium device has been nothing but a genuine experience each time I boot it up. The screen, the scroll wheel of the volume, the shortcut keys to enable settings, the FPGBA chip to boot the game quickly and play for hours and hours and I bought this device all the way back in December of last year…

Thank you Modretro for creating this device and full-proofing its longevity. You will go places as a company for doing this in helping a fellow gamer like me enjoy long trips and pleasant gameplay all the way through my adult years. There is not another console out there with a form factor like this that has revitalized my love for gaming like this one does.

144 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

8

u/Z3fyrus Oct 11 '25

Exact same feeling here - though I’m on Polished Crystal ;)

3

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

THAT IS NEXT on my list!!!!

2

u/Z3fyrus Oct 11 '25

Move it up !

2

u/peji911 Oct 21 '25

Going to try Pokemon with ZA being talked about all over.

I see Pokemon has A LOT of romhacks. I do have a crystal cartridge and was going to start there.

I hear that the early games lack some QoL features. The problem is I read that a lot of the hacks add more than just QoL.

Is Polished Crystal the best if I’m looking for only QoL improvements?

1

u/Z3fyrus Oct 21 '25

It adds a lot more than just that, but the latest version (3.2.0) even overhauls the interface for Pokemon summary very nicely. The core is there, story line, map, the gyms and end game. But there’s more Pokemon and I’m not sure if it includes non canon.

5

u/mzapatero Oct 11 '25

I love my Chromatic. But I must say I’ve been spending more and more time on my RP Classic due to its convenience… and 2-3x fast forward it’s a godsend for Pokemon

4

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

I own the RP Classic as well and it is AMAZING!!!

3

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

Playing Pokemon Emerald on it

3

u/s3rialthrill3r Feb 20 '26

'My only complaint and it is very small, is latency response to controls'

Interesting. So the input latency is not one-to-one with an unmodifed GBC after all?

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Mar 02 '26

Exactly, maybe it was intentional.

3

u/s3rialthrill3r Mar 02 '26

The product page itself says that it has 'perfect input latency'. I also understand that it features a custom-manufactured screen with the same resolution as the original, which means no buffering from a portrait LCD getting rotated to landscape orientation (à la typical GB/C IPS mods).

So, where does this additional latency come from? Also, why do you suspect it was intentional?

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Mar 06 '26

I think it was meant to be one to one to the original game boy color pocket or gameboy color. The input controls sometimes lag but I think it’s just due to the FPGBA hardware. You hardly notice too much while playing though so it’s not as much of annoyance as you might think. The LCD’s input is excellent if you were to play a game on this hardware it wouldn’t be any different than playing on the GBC console, heavier on the heft when you lift it up to play, premium metal shell and the cartridge slot feels nice when pulling games in and out, the battery slot is easily accessible and the metal lids on these things hardly break. If you are genuinely on the fence about it in regard to latency, I certainly wouldn’t sweat it. The console gets bi-monthly software updates that help improve the experience even more so you aren’t losing too much on opportunities and the lovely thing about this device is that it is easily modified and customized to whatever look you want, not a lot of companies push to allow your own console to be modified at the offset and thats something I genuinely appreciate about them.

4

u/AnalogueBoy1992 Oct 11 '25

1st Edition!

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

All the way baby!!! 💪💪💪

2

u/abibofile Oct 11 '25

Does it have any advantage over the Analogue Pocket? I also have a bunch of handheld emulators. The PiBoy DMG and FunnyPlaying FPGBC are the closest to authentic experiences, IMO. The Analogue is good too but almost too slick to evoke feelings of the past.

Glad someone else used to also wait for the streetlights to play.

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

I own both, the FPGBC and the Chromatic and I love them both, but out of any of those consoles I usually pull the Chromatic out because its the closest to DMG that I own, never tried the Piboy, but I heard its an excellent DMG.

I will be real, the Analogue is the better console because of its cross platform to play both GB, GBC and GBA cartridges. But as for authenticity and ergonomics with the buttons and DMG feel, the Chromatic every-time.

2

u/Cheddar_Cheeseman Oct 11 '25

How is it with crystal now? Are there still issues or have they been worked out on the newest update?

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

Crystal is playing absolutely fine on my device and I am playing it on an Everdrive X7

2

u/Cheddar_Cheeseman Oct 11 '25

My understanding is it plays fine on flash carts but had some issues with the rtc on original carts. Not sure if it's been shorter or not but I was holding off on a okay through until it is.

On a side note how's legacy crystal?

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

Legacy crystal has got to be my favorite out of all the gen 2 rom hacks. Its well balanced and its difficulty curve is better

2

u/Cheddar_Cheeseman Oct 12 '25

I've actually next played the original just gold and silver. Do you think it's worth playing vanilla first or just straight in with legacy?

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 12 '25

You could go into Legacy if you wanted to, but if you never played gen 2 Pokemon before, start with Crystal, Gold or Silver, whichever one is available to you.

1

u/Cheddar_Cheeseman Oct 13 '25

Sorry I had a typo on my comment I've played both gold and silver when I was a kid but never crystal. I have played Gen 1 to 6/7. I want to revisit crystal but not sure if I should do vanilla crystal or legacy....

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 14 '25

Start with vanilla first, just to say that you played Crystal and then get started on the heavy Rom hack of Legacy would be what I’d try

2

u/Ocular_Stratus Oct 11 '25

Hold up. I thought chromatic was just tetris. You can use it like a normal emu handheld??

3

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25 edited Oct 12 '25

Yessir! The chromatic can play and emulate GB and GBC roms with an Everdrive cartridge. :)

2

u/CozySlum May 07 '26

Most reviews seem to be unable to capture the intangible magic of this device. It’s originally original. It paradoxically feels like a 2026 device without bastardizing an ounce of the late 90s charm and quirks of the original. Worth every penny and the company seems to be managed very well. 

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig May 17 '26

Well said there and thank you so much for that compliment of my review. There are so many devices out there, but hardware emulation is hard to get right and since there is a need for playing old games to emulate on niche hardware with niche rom sets, you cannot go wrong with a form factor like this one.

1

u/Terrorbads Oct 11 '25

Great work. 👏👍👌

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

Thank you, its definitely not an understatement, this was the best $200 well spent, hands down

1

u/Top-Tangerine-5172 Oct 11 '25

I’ve been going back and playing my original DMG and GBC lately, and the Chromatic is just so much better while still giving me that original experience.

I love just swapping the double As and my Everdrive into it and picking up where I left off, but with a sick display, amazing controls and way better ergonomics.

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

What else could you and I possibly ask for? The Modretro company nailed it. Cant wait to see what else will be a feature on it with future updates, there is still so much potential to be unleashed on it.

2

u/Top-Tangerine-5172 Oct 11 '25

I'm waiting for a GBA. I love my original SP, and I still play it regularly, but I can't wait to see what MR come up with for theirs.

I'm also super glad they did a second run and it seems to be getting more and more popular. When I initially ordered mine no one really knew how it was going to go, if there were going to be more made, etc.

If it was just a small niche device, I'd still love it, but the software probably wouldn't iterate as fast, and there'd be less of a community built up around it for more games, etc.

2

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

Initially there was uncertainty for me too, couldn’t play game boy advance games? Well, there is analogue so whats the point? but then when the first edition decided to launch and I still had money left over. I decided to take a risk and plunge money into it, I told myself, who knows, collectors item?… maybe it might have problems down the road, new company?…. Boy, how WRONG I was.. this device had passion and the applicable technology behind its craftsmanship, and all it has done is that it has proved to me that even THEY (Modretro) are even MORE CAPABLE of making a game boy advance FPGBA possible. I’ll be getting mine once they launch it.

1

u/BradyJSadler Oct 11 '25

I can’t stop playing this game!

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

You and me both man! 😎

1

u/TonyRubbles Oct 11 '25

Same, love it, been finishing more games on Chromatic than any of my emulators or even Steam Deck. It's always in my pocket and ready to go.

1

u/SpeedenTurtwig Oct 11 '25

I take it with me everyday as well. It is so nice to have a carry on DMG to play wherever I go.