Retro handhelds have a habit of hiding modern electronics inside shells that pretend time stopped decades ago. ModRetro’s transparent Chromatic does the opposite and pays homage to a specific past era, letting the circuitry show through while you slide in an actual Game Boy cartridge. The familiar shape and chunky buttons are still there, but Smoke, Purple, Green, and Red shells turn the hardware underneath into part of the attraction.
Although the majority of electronics of the past did hide their inner workings inside opaque plastic, there was a point in time when colorful transparent shells were in fashion. Traces, screws, and the battery compartment share the stage with the D-pad and face buttons, rather than disappearing behind a fashionable color. Each translucent finish changes how much of that detail catches your eye, without changing the familiar way your thumbs find the controls.
Designer: ModRetro
Pull a vintage Game Boy cartridge from a drawer and the Chromatic lets you play it directly, rather than hunting down a digital copy. Its FPGA-based hardware supports Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, along with ModRetro’s own releases. That physical slot matters: swapping games still feels like changing games, complete with the ritual of choosing which cartridge deserves the trip in your bag.
The 2.56-inch backlit screen follows the original Game Boy Color’s 160×144 resolution, giving old games the space they were made for instead of stretching them across a giant display. Scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass covers it, while a D-pad and PBT buttons keep navigation pleasantly tactile. It’s a small screen by current standards, but that’s the point when you’re revisiting pixel art.
Then there’s the wonderfully old-fashioned matter of power. Three AA batteries come in the box, so you can replace them when a train ride outlasts your plans. If you prefer charging, ModRetro sells a separate Rechargeable Power Core that charges through the console. The transparent back even leaves the batteries visible, making an ordinary maintenance task part of the handheld’s character.
Of course, a trip back to cartridge gaming can involve another player. The Chromatic retains a link cable port and an infrared link, while its speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack give you options for listening without bothering everyone nearby. USB-C video output to a computer offers a route when you want to share what you’re playing, although this is still a pocket-sized machine.
The transparent ABS plastic shell is also designed to come apart for modifications, which gives tinkerers another reason to care about what’s inside. At 5.2in x 3in x 1.2in and 6.2oz, the Chromatic isn’t trying to pass for a modern phone. Its squared-off proportions leave room for physical controls, a cartridge slot, and the sort of grip you remember from childhood.
For $149.99, the transparent Chromatic comes with a Tetris cartridge and three AA batteries. It won’t make a game feel new, and the shell won’t do much for someone who prefers downloads to collecting cartridges. But sliding a game into a machine whose workings you can see has its appeal. The game stays on the cartridge, while the machine wears its personality on the outside.
