Chromatic review: The best new way to play Game Boy games

We’ve seen plenty of gaming handhelds that are meant to be the new portable vessel through which you play your Game Boy cartridges, but none have attempted to replicate the look and feel of the Game Boy as much as ModRetro’s Chromatic.

This device is squarely aimed at those nostalgic for Nintendo’s iconic 1990s gaming handhelds, which helped define mobile gaming for the entire industry. The Game Boy Advance was my first handheld, but I always enjoyed using it to play games for the original Game Boy or Game Boy Color, such as the first two generations of Pokémon and Paperboy. The Game Boy app is the Nintendo Switch Online bonus I use the most; I find myself particularly drawn to the more arcade-centric puzzle games like Tetris or Alleyway. Looking back, the Game Boy might have the greatest game catalog of any handheld system, so there’s reason to still want to play those games today.

While Nintendo Switch Online is handy for that, its catalog of games is at Nintendo’s whim. Nintendo is also cracking down on players who emulate its games, which creates a market for handhelds like the Chromatic that can play original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges. ModRetro’s Chromatic succeeds at that role with flying colors, all while being able to play original game cartridges of its own, even if it does trade some of the broader functionality of similar handhelds, like the Analogue Pocket.

Just like Game Boy

The Chromatic is built to replicate a classic Game Boy’s look and form factor. It sports a durable magnesium alloy brick shell that juts out in the back to provide space for batteries. It feels like a Game Boy in my hands and pocket, but it isn’t so weighty that it puts a strain on me. It takes AA batteries, but doesn’t guzzle them up, lasting over 8 hours at its default brightness.

ModRetro didn’t add additional buttons to the front of Chromatic; it just has the A, B, Start, and Select buttons and D-pad that Nintendo’s old handhelds have. Its PBT buttons feel durable, which sets the Chromatic apart from some other Game Boy-inspired handhelds with comparatively low-quality buttons. There’s a place to plug in a link cable and a small wheel to adjust the volume on either side of the handheld.

When it comes to what’s improved, the Chromatic supports USB-C video out to PC, sports a 3.5mm headphone jack, and features a backlit screen. Its 2.56 inch, 160 x 144 pixel screen is custom and particularly impresses, as it authentically recreates the feeling of looking at a Game Boy Color screen, albeit with the benefit of having a strongly backlit display that plays just fine outside. There’s also a menu button on the side to access system settings.

If your Game Boy or Game Boy Color isn’t working anymore and you don’t want to seek out a working one, the Chromatic is a worthy alternative for playing all of its games.

Specs

Playing games on Chromatic

Chromatic’s field-programmable gate array architecture allows it to play three different kinds of game cartridges: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Chromatic. Original Game Boy games get a color filter, which can be customized on bootup. Game Boy Color games retain their look and feel on a similar screen. Chromatic cartridges are made specifically for use with this handheld.

The first wave of Chromatics are packaged with a unique version of Tetris made specifically for Chromatic. Tetris for Chromatic quickly became the default cartridge I kept in my handheld, as I could boot it up for a quick hit of classic Tetris whenever I was bored. The handheld gave me the renewed vigor to try out some other classic games, too, and I ran into no problems testing out games like Pokemon Gold, Paperboy, Yoshi’s Cookie, Alleyway, and Tomb Raider: The Nightmare Stone.

At any time, I could hit that Menu button to adjust brightness, enable frame blending for Game Boy Color games with transparency effects, and more, although I rarely found that I needed to. If your game cartridges work, the Chromatic will run them without issues. The Chromatic will be the primary way I play Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges in the future, and I’m excited to see new games being made for the handheld.

Only for Game Boy

The Chromatic delivers precisely what it intends to, but is less ambitious than similar handhelds like the Analogue Pocket. At release, it retails for $200, which is pricey for the limited scope of what it offers. For just $20 more, the Analogue Pocket offers easy access to playing GBA games, more advanced display mode options, PocketOS features, and the option to purchase a dock or cartridge adapters for Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, TurboGrafx-16, and Atari Lynx cartridges to enhance the handheld’s functionality further.

That prevents it from becoming the ultimate retro handheld gaming machine like the Analogue Pocket. Unless you have a backlog of Game Boy and Game Boy cartridges, plan on buying some, or are interested in upcoming Chromatic games like Chantey, ModRetro’s handheld probably won’t appeal to you. Still, I can appreciate a piece of technology with a specific, narrow focus that executes that without getting bogged down by other things. If you’re handheld gaming interests go far beyond Game Boy, though, the Chromatic probably isn’t the best cartridge-playing handheld for you.

Thankfully, Game Boy and Game Boy Color’s library of games is strong, and there are plenty of people with nostalgia and tucke- away libraries of games just for Nintendo’s handhelds. We’ve also only got a small taste of what Chromatic-exclusive games can deliver. Those realities provide the Chromatic with enough of a reason to exist. If you don’t own an Analogue Pocket, but are looking for a new way to play your favorite Game Boy classics on a similarly built handheld with a backlit screen, then the Chromatic is a high-quality, well-built option.

Digital Trends tested the Chromatic with a unit provided by ModRetro.