In the ever-expanding world of retro gaming handhelds, we’re always on the lookout for exciting new hardware to give us that hit of nostalgia. The latest piece of kit to pop up on our radar is the Game Bub, an open-source Game Boy lookalike prototype developed by Eli Lipsitz, which looks like it could give the likes of the Analogue Pocket and Retroid Pocket 5 a run for their money, not to mention all the Nintendo-inspired Anbernic devices with similar form factors.
The big difference between the Game Bub and a lot of the options from our list of the best retro handhelds is that it can run both game cartridges and ROMs. Given the name of the device, it isn’t a surprise that Lipsitz has designed it to run Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, which covers a pretty broad spectrum, including a lot of our favorite retro games. If you’ve got an old copy of something like Pokémon Yellow or Warioland 4 but nothing to play it on, the Game Bub could come really in handy.
While the Game Bub has a very similar form factor to the original Game Boy Color, it comes with a few perks that would have seemed almost unimaginable when the Nintendo console first arrived back in 1998. For a start, it has an HDMI out, so you can play the best GBA games on your big screen via a dock, plus a real-time clock, Wi-Fi support, an SD card slot, and even a rumble motor. It also has a 15-hour battery and works with the original Game Boy Link Cable. Honestly, what more could you ask for?
Unfortunately, the Game Bub isn’t available to purchase right now, but it seems as if its inventor is currently gauging interest from potential customers via a form on his blog. If you’re something of a tech tinkerer yourself, though, the blog also includes all the instructions you need to build the device from scratch, provided you own a 3D printer, and you’re willing to pick up all the components. Sadly, I’m not that handy with a soldering iron, so I’ll just keep playing my Retroid Pocket 5 and hope that Lipsitz garners enough interest to officially launch the Game Bub at some point in the future.
If you’re looking for something a little more modern than the Game Bub, be sure to check out our guides to the best handheld consoles and the best gaming tablets while you’re here. Or, if you still haven’t indulged in the massive library of Apple Arcade games, see our list of the best iPhones and the best iPads for gaming to check out some of our favorites, including Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Hello Kitty Island Adventure.