The Nintendo Recreation Boy could have been a easy system technologically, however in some ways it’s that simplicity that rocketed the console to over 100 million models offered. With tons of of addictive video games like Tetris out there that anybody can perceive and choose as much as play for a couple of minutes right here and there, the Recreation Boy nonetheless has a big fan base, regardless of being over 35 years outdated.
Followers are nonetheless utilizing that very same fundamental Recreation Boy design to create and innovate to this present day. Take Omer Hasanov, for instance, who needed to design a Recreation Boy-like handheld with a contemporary twist. And happily for us, he documented the method in a current video in order that we are able to all play alongside at residence. Slightly than a Sharp SM83 processor with 8KB of RAM and a grayscale show, Hasanov added in some large upgrades in order that the gadget can play a wider vary of video games.
Assembling the {hardware} (📷: Omer Hasanov)
The construct just isn’t particularly difficult — it consists largely of economic improvement boards and add-on modules. Though the ESP32-WROOM improvement board Hasanov had available didn’t have sufficient RAM, so the ESP32 was eliminated and changed with an ESP32-WROVER module with 8MB of PSRAM. This board was paired with a 3.2-inch shade TFT LCD show with a 320×240-pixel decision.
This base was wired to an SD card reader protect for loading video games, a battery charger and voltage regulation module, and an exterior DAC for producing sound. Energy was provided by a chargeable 18650 Li-ion battery. Normal push buttons had been used for the controls. The {hardware} was all fitted into an appropriately chunky 3D-printed case.
With the {hardware} design labored out, all that was left to do was fireplace up an ESP32-compatible emulator and play some basic video games. Hasanov went with the well-known Retro-Go platform, which makes it doable to not solely emulate the Recreation Boy, but additionally the NES, Grasp System, Recreation Boy Coloration, and extra.
In fact nothing to do with electronics ever works completely the primary time, so Hasanov had loads of debugging to do. One of many largest issues needed to do with the selection of SD playing cards, of all issues. Be sure you try the complete video for some ideas that can assist you to to keep away from the identical pitfalls.
