Highlights
- A Pokemon fan creates stunning custom Game Boy Advance consoles themed after Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, showcasing the continued popularity of the Generation 3 games.
- Many Nintendo fans enjoy personalizing their consoles, with hardware customization projects often involving custom paint jobs and body swaps.
- The creator of the Pokemon-themed GBAs used third-party shells and button covers, as well as modded screens, with the total cost of the customization project being under $200. They plan to create more custom Nintendo consoles in the future, including one themed after Pokemon Emerald.
A talented Pokemon fan recently went through the effort of designing some absolutely stunning custom Game Boy Advance consoles themed after their favorite games in the series, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Their impressive achievement is just the latest example of the Generation 3 games' continued popularity, which is also evident in frequent calls for select Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire features to make a comeback.
Many Nintendo fans have found enjoyment in creating custom variants of the company's consoles over the years. Some of the most extreme examples of such efforts even involve extensive engineering skills, as previously illustrated by one Nintendo fan who built a functional jumbo Game Boy. That said, hardware personalization projects are a much more frequent occurrence among hobbyists, with most of those undertakings revolving around custom paint jobs and body swaps.
The latest example of such a comprehensive customization effort comes from Reddit user Isidar, who recently painted two Game Boy Advance handheld consoles in the style of the third-generation Pokemon games. One of their GBAs is hence themed after Pokemon Ruby, while the other flaunts the colors of Pokemon Sapphire. The end result of their personalization project is an incredible pair of GBAs that could go toe-to-toe with some of the best special edition Game Boy consoles out there.
The creator of this Pokemon-themed GBA duo didn't paint the handhelds' original bodies, having instead opted to color third-party shells and button covers. The systems are also modded with laminated IPS screens, which offer better viewing angles and slightly higher brightness levels compared to the console's original 2.9-inch display panel. Based on the author's rough parts recap, these unique GBAs cost under $200 in total to make, with their custom screens accounting for over half of that figure.
Though Isidar didn't reveal how long it took them to complete these modding projects, they did confirm that they're planning to undertake more such modding efforts in the near future. Their next goal is to put together a Game Boy Advance SP themed after Rayquaza, the legendary Dragon- and Flying-type pocket monster that's also the mascot of Pokemon Emerald. The author said that they want to complete a trio of custom Nintendo consoles in the styles of all three original Generation 3 games before moving on to other projects.
First released in Japan in late 2002, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire made their way to the West by the following spring. Game Freak's RPG duo marked the start of the third Pokemon generation, introducing 135 new pocket monsters. The English version of Pokemon Emerald unifying the contents of Ruby and Sapphire launched in mid-2005.