Building the Ultimate Gameboy Advance

[@brikokujin]

My entire body withered up, crumbled, and blew away on the wind when I heard "a surprise find from a local antique store"

[@brianstuntman4368]

When the games/systems you grew up with are considered 'retro' or 'vintage', so are you!

[@akawhut]

@@brianstuntman4368PS4 is retro now

[@DigitalDiabloUK]

We're old, Bront 😂

[@AdversaryOne]

The GBA was sitting right next to a moth-eaten quilt, a tarnished tea kettle and a stamp collection. Feels bad, man...

[@theharbingerofconflation]

Not that deep really, when you think antique store you think bespoke furniture from the 50s or fancy home appliances and sinage from the 70s. But consoles and computers become obsolete much faster than a toaster and while nobody will pay extra for a 90s microwave people will absolutely pay extra for a handheld from the early 2000s. And where do you think consoles go when their prices become ridiculous? Thats right to the antique store and the retro games shop and they will scalp you worse than the guy on ebay because they can. An antique store will buy anything he can make a large profit on. They take a risk on inventory and compensate by screwing you over pricing their stuff double and triple what it should be worth. Because at this point we're willing to pay 300 bucks for something that was worth 150 new and can be emulated by your phone, that's why it's in the antique store. Not cause you're an antique. You are 30-something max, thats nothing, you'd be antique if your first car was a then new 70s corolla, not if your first console was a gameboy color or advance

[@YouTube]

what an upgrade! loving the pink 💖

[@Thegategaurdian]

Ra 😊

[@Just_Daisy.777]

KZbin!

[@mansurbm_]

TIL youtube comments.

[@AverageUser-]

No way KZbin

[@noxdova]

fix your shitass website

[@kenm.7651]

For someone so young, it’s clear you’ve had both dedication and good teachers along the way. You should have a good long career ahead.

[@randomactsofgaming845]

I have to say your soldering skills are on point! That was some clean work.

[@pigglewiggle175]

OK boomer

[@Ephicx]

​@@pigglewiggle175 yes only old people can give compliments?

[@markkilborn512]

I’m glad I found your channel. Some fun tutorials here. And I think I’m going to have to do this project myself. My wife and I, both gamers, have a little girl who also loves playing games. I think she’d be ecstatic for a pink GBA. Thanks for this!

[@pjsines4705]

Come for the tech, stay for the t-shirts! Great video!!

[@mdkramster]

Yes. The t-shirts are great, aren't they? Every video, every t-shirt, I'm reminded of some point in my past. Thank you for the casual nostalgia trips.

[@DerkuiDerkui]

The shirts you wear are always awesome!

[@RobertPayne556]

I am the lawesome. 😂

[@juliashenandoah3965]

This is the best and most advanced soldering station I have ever seen! Almost all other people still use magnifying glasses and a flashlight between the teeth when modding circuit boards but you have a macro camera and a big screen. Impressive! You really deserve this awesome new modded GameBoy.

[@wildzeke]

Your younger brother is lucky to have such a cool sister.

[@sean89-wc2ch]

such a strange comment .just say you find her attractive and get on with it lol

[@juliashenandoah3965]

Imagine having an uncool sister that is dumber than a sack of straw, only interested in drinking, partying, boys, and gossip, and you having nothing in common with her plus nothing to talk about! 75% of all people will now nod and get a sad and reminiscing expression on the face - hey don´t get too sad, maybe in your next life you will get a more cool and tech-savvy sis... ;D

[@quattrocity9620]

@@sean89-wc2ch Pretty sure your comment was stranger...

[@hamzachaudhry9058]

??????

[@hanh9982]

Y’all head stuck in the gutter. He wishes he had a cool older sister, he either didn’t have a sibling or his older sister sucks , 🤷‍♂️worded just fine yall just make anything seem weird and wanna take it there first

[@Rhodyreefer]

This was a great video! I really enjoy how descriptive you are, not skipping any steps and a great angle to show everything being done. Thank you!💖

[@edwardreichard3852]

Well done Kari, I’ll looking forward to more videos from you, The pink color case looks real nice!

[@akr4s1a]

A few weeks ago I finally ordered a replacement battery and shoulder buttons for an old Gameboy Advance SP. I was really worried I'd break it, I'm not good with hardware, dealing with software is much more my alley but this video has inspired me to order a case and screen mod for it and give it a go, thanks!

[@8bitbrit_8bt]

Wow, Kari, this is fantastic! I just came across your channel and can’t wait to watch more of your content. I also have a Game Boy Advance and plan to do a similar build. Thank you for sharing this!

[@freudinator]

Coincidentally, I just did this to my GBA earlier this week. I also bought a liion battery pack + USB charging circuit from ali express. It all fits where the 2xAAs would usually go, and it came with a replacement battery panel, with a hole for the USB-C connector. Very convenient. (edit: I should add, the pack that I had didn't even need soldering. It just makes use of the existing AA contacts on the GBA).

[@karilawler]

Yea, a Lithium-ion battery pack is next on my list to do. Thanks for the info 👍

[@Trimzee]

Man... It's that RetroSix quality, that menu that comes up, and the ribbon cable that gets soldered in the board so nice. I've actually pulled those testing point pads off the select and L on 2 GBA's, so those ribbon cables make going in and out so much easier without having to unsolder them off and weaken the joints and glue holding those testing point pads.

[@TheRealBobHickman]

So much struggling with the original GBA screens. There were magnifiers and lights that helped, but the technology wasn't great back then. For games, I have to recommend Namco Museum and Pac-Man Collection since I worked on both of those :)

[@AltCutTV]

There was some system with much discussion about whichever screen was in specific production time units, region or something. Wonder how common that was, or how much difference it made. Maybe there is an original colour handheld out there one can actually see what is on even when all conditions aren't optimal. 😅

[@TheRealBobHickman]

@@AltCutTV I had various devkits and a launch day GBA, so I imagine I had the very earliest of screens. Fortunately the devkit game with a ribbon cable and cart that plugged into an N64 so I could develop for it on a regular TV.

[@Sronmar]

Now you just need Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Golden Sun 1 and 2, Klonoa, and Super Mario Bros. 3 to go with that awesome mod. Great job Kari. 🙃

[@DenisSolaro]

Brilliant, love the new colours !

[@-Astro--]

Great job Kari. The pink and transparent case look cool 👍

[@karilawler]

Thank you ... it turned out a lot nicer than I thought it would. Very pleased with the result 🤓

[@0rDinaryRob]

I bought a GBA recently, and I cant wait to upgrade the screen to IPS!!! Great video!!

[@KyojinKaiju]

A fascinating process! You certainly know your stuff, and seeing the deconstruction/reconstruction was a treat to see!

[@Smitty8998]

Thought I was the only one who like Stallones Dredd, even if it isnt remotely close to the comics. Still a fun watch.

[@karilawler]

"I am the law"

[@Smitty8998]

@karilawler now say it out loud in Slys voice. You know you did 😂🤌🏻

[@robertlawrence9000]

@@karilawler "Lawler" 😂

[@Smitty8998]

@robertlawrence9000 ohhhhhh lol. Kari you've just been dubbed "Lawler". 10 points for Rob 👌🏻

[@jamesytez6639]

​@@robertlawrence9000 kari "the Queen" lawler 😂

[@KremBotop]

Found your channel through random feed recommendations and I'm glad I discovered this. Great videos!

[@alanedwards8834]

The microscope is a great tool!

[@steve81937]

I like the screwdriver more.

[@greekpowerellas]

@@steve81937 😃😃😃😃😃

[@ryanfowlow8034]

I never would have thought of an antique shop for retro tech, great idea, thanks.

[@Crystal.Computersuk]

Fantastic work Kari, loving the pink!

[@antonnym214]

Kari, that was your first? You did it like a PRO! Well done! Most impressive the change in brightness! Massive improvement. Epic. All good wishes.

[@jspencer89yt]

Love the variety of content. Might need to look into this microscope I've been considering a new one.

[@najtrows]

Always interesting to see what you are modding next!

[@GoranObal]

I enjoy all of your videos, it's really nice to see a young person so interested and skilled in old tech! I have one question for you, it always pops up in my mind and it's not about tech, haha. What accent do you speak? To my untrained ears you sound Australian, although you are UK based. Only answer if you're comfortable, of course. Keep it up! :) Oh, favourite GBA games... :) - Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land - F-Zero: Maximum Velocity - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - Wario Land 4

[@danimayb]

It's a Midlands accent. Central area of England, More specifically I'd say she is West Midlands (I couldn't tell you which district). Yes England (And UK in general) is diverse with accents, I suspect anyone who is only familiar with English accents from people in the media, Or only visited London, will be quite shocked if they personally travelled around England or the British isles.

[@michaelfuller34]

So glad to see an exhaust fan in use.

[@BlueSur1]

me encanta ver como te apasiona reparar consolas. Apenas comencé a coleccionar videojuegos y encontré tu canal por casualidad. Gracias por tus videos …

[@Grant-H2O]

Metroid Zero Mission for GBA really hooked me and i actually beat it! Usually i get pretty far in a game and end up moving on.

[@NickC84]

Nice Judge Dredd shirt! That's a throw back. lol

[@bghoody5665]

The difference in brightness and colour is amazing - a very worthwhile mod.

[@FictitiousCtrlGames]

This is so neat! Got a good setup too.

[@Omri_Makes]

lovely mod and fantastic bit of kit, cheers

[@zzhoward]

That digital microscope is a great addition to your setup! Provides more detail and interest, thank you!

[@amartin3893]

Great video Kari. Couldn't help noticing your Judge Dredd T shirt. You wear it well! That Stallone Dredd movie was great, but the more recent one with Karl Urban from 2012 is much better. It's much truer to the source material. Amazing result from the screen swap too. Hard to believe the original devices had such a dark screen.

[@aryamanbandhu]

You are one of the coolest channels I've found in a while

[@Premchand-cd6ci]

The production quality is really good.

[@hetoriaansverbond5944]

Well done! Your knowledge is better than mine actually - good educational video.

[@erick103]

So crazy! I'm about to mod a GBA SP I ordered broken from Japan with an ISP screen. So this video dropped at just the right time!

[@manoelkiritosilva8021]

It was excellent, a screen with its own light is much more interesting for a GBA. Congratulations

[@vinicius401]

Great video as always. The ending time lapse with you playing the game is a subtle nice touch :)

[@markmuir7338]

Nice video! Recommendation for those following at home: Don’t use sharp tools on ribbon cables. A plastic spudger (looks like a pencil) is the best tool for the job. One comes with that same iFixit kit.

[@KC-kp4vh]

I still have the GBA sp’s we had in the 00s. The screens are still bright to this day, probably helps that we weren’t real gamers

[@Lacermonia]

Great work! You make me feel like soldering and console mods are actually something i can try again.

[@retrostashrepairs]

Awesome video and channel! Keep up the great work! 😊

[@RoboCop-zn8bt]

The SEGA game gear is, and always will be the king of the handhelds. It's just a fact of nature. The GBA is pretty cool though. Great video as always.

[@wettuga2762]

Agree to disagree. It's not all about graphics/performance but also about usability,. Batteries were expensive back then, and if you played GG on the go frequently, you would either burn through your allowance very quickly or you had very understanding/wealthy parents that bought you 6 pack batteries very frequently, because they would last around 3.5 hours, while the GBA would last 5 times more with only 2 batteries, and it could play the entire GB/GBC library too. With current day NiMh Eneloop Black batteries and replacement screens, you can squeeze over 13 hours of gameplay on the GG, which NOW makes it a real contender for one of the best retro handhelds to play with.

[@elistrogen2001]

No Atari lynx is the king!😅

[@gavinbruce6656]

Nice mention in This Week in Retro.

[@edubs9828]

11:58 - I believe the phrase "The difference is night and day" applies for sure!

[@TsiolkovskySportingLocks]

great video. as always you make this so accessible to those contemplating doing similar mods..

[@OmniAtom]

That was so cool! Great build.

[@robertlawrence9000]

Amazing mods! It's like a brand new improved system! I played a lot of Gameboy Advance back in the day until the PSP came out.

[@nickosinit]

the recargable battery mod is a really good, with the USB charging

[@Iron_Condorr]

I had a red Gameboy with Pokémon red. When i look back and think how simple but fun these games were. But now my standards for gaming are higher, like having "color" and a "backlight" hahaha 😆. The pink screen border was a great choice to finish off the build 👏 👌

[@kanishkgupta5898]

Nice screen upgrade, the clear shell is fantastic as well. For games I'd recommend DBZ Buu's Fury, Beyblade G-Revolution and both Battle B-Daman games.

[@spazandies]

Retrosix sorted my Sega GameGear and I have not put it down. its great giving renewed life into our old systems.

[@twich31]

By the way nice work! You got a following very quick. Keep up the good work Miss =)

[@crawlstockrc]

A really great video. There are so many other where you can’t actually see what they are doing. I have modded an Original, Pocket and Color. My Advance is the next one to do. Thank you and keep up with the great videos. 😊

[@hawkeye454]

Really cool to see this game given a new life! Great work

[@naviamiga]

Love the colour scheme, great upgrade.

[@MIKEYROB84]

Thats a super clean GBA. Nice find! I did the same mod to my spice orange Japanese GBA.

[@jamesp2719]

Fantastic video as always, you made that look so easy

[@zuldaftw4534]

An audio amp is really helpfull and a rechargeable battery with usb c is clean, i have done them in the past and it makes the experience better

[@aidanmac2002]

Keep up the great work, really love these videos

[@ModernClassic]

It seems like GBA screen replacements have come a long way since I did mine only about 2 years ago. Mine never quite fit right and in fact I ruined my first one after reopening the case to try to reposition it, since it didn't come with a bracket like yours did. It just never worked again after that. I have a second one in mine now but it's still not quite even on one side vs. the other, which just bothers me! I'll have to look at one of these kits that you used.

[@thesausage351]

Agreed, a buddy of mine used to fix consoles and crap and I was going to build up a GBA or colour for myself but I couldn’t justify the (heavily discounted) price, basically just core and components he was asking for because they were just a bit ordinary. This was probably 10ish years ago and the only thing I really liked was a rechargeable battery mod, everything else just felt a bit cheap.

[@lxs077]

sweet gba!! i replaced the shells and screens for 2 gba sps a few months ago, just need new batteries cause the screens drain the old batteries way too fast. now im just waiting to replace the screens for 2 regular gbas, then ill be ready for 4 player final fantasy crystal chronicles and zelda 4 swords on the gamecube!!

[@flukadamus]

Definitely digging the GBA screen upgrade. Job well done! You mod these devices like a pro for someone so young. Jealous. lol One of the first games I had with the GBA back in the day was F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. Though maybe a bit repetitive, still loved that game. The others was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and Metroid Fusion.

[@jack3dan]

Not an antique store I feel old now thanks for that.

[@thepetiteotaku]

it turned out so well! Nicely done! :)

[@duality4y]

okay! this just inspired me massively !

[@TexasSilverStacker]

Love your mod vids ❤️‍🔥

[@DCFC1200]

I love watching your channel , your electronic skills are so wonderful , I am very impressed

[@stef97110]

This mod looks really nice, I'm planning to do a clear with crystal blue button. Also I noticed that you didn't change the silicon button, it could be a great addition with pink start and select button

[@lethalgeek]

I'm one of the crazy people who installed the Afterburner mod into my "very dark screen" GBA. I've also forgotten but don't doubt it!

[@WhiteInk47]

“Rundown” - shows pristine glacier shell. Pain

[@schlarptarf3675]

Nice mod! I also replaced the screen of my GBA SP but with the ITA screen from FunnyPlaying. What I dislike about all these new screens are the colours, they are too saturated in my eyes. However, without a new screen, i wouldn't use my GBA at all. About games, I enjoy playing Avatar

[@lord_nikon_010]

Awesome upgrade!!

[@alan_wood]

Those Andonstar scopes are great, I use mine a lot.

[@arzhuleen_nity]

Nice video ! You can also change the speaker for one with better quality and add batterie with usb-c charge. I just find your channel in my recommandation and I enjoy your video. Keep going :) Sorry for my approximated english, i try my best ^^'

[@eskimo1000]

Where was this when I was a child? 💯 That's pretty cool

[@GameMusicFinland]

Respect for that, keep up these videos

[@Venison_0904]

Lovely build 👌🏻 I have a GBA I've been meaning to mod for a while now, so might have to go with one of these clear shell options! Amazing! Think I'm steering towards a FunnyPlaying screen though; I've used that brand for GBC and GBA SP and they're fantastic 😁

[@StephanHaewss]

wow, great work, this was really an upgrade!

[@rob55mn93]

Totally Amazing Kari you deserve a medal 🥇 for what you do Spot On 👍®️

[@rrivillox]

"Shhhhh! Be quiet boy! Queen Kari is bringing a GBA fabolous again ". :8)

[@Ultra-Violet]

Microscope worked well, great video Kari 👍🏻

[@darrenstrange2244]

Great mod and video! My fav console is the Sega Master System, and I think you can mod it with an FM sound board, which makes it sounds amazing. I would love to see how easy or hard this would be to do. :)

[@That_0ne_Dev]

If I remember correctly there are just drop in IPS screens you can get so that there is no soldering required

[@sjfsr]

Great work! I love doing this type of think too.

[@AllenTheWanderer]

The IPS V5 Drop In Laminated screen, and the funnyplaying kit are my favorites for the GBA. For my personal GBA I went with the funnyplaying kit, and USB-C battery kit. It is great so far.

[@organicio]

Games to check out: Kuru Kuru Kururin. You control a spinning stick through a maze, trying not to hit the walls. There's also a sequel, Kururin Paradise. Mario vs Donkey Kong - Fantastic puzzle platformer Crash Bandicoot - The Huge Adventure - Not very graphically impressive, but a really solid and fun platformer nonetheless

[@BrunoidGames]

What a beautiful GBA! DIY \m/

[@runawayitsarm]

Great channel, great content.

[@nocapvisualz]

That was the newest gameboy advance ive ever seen, you should have used a beat up one lol. still really cool.

[@mr0zk]

2 thumbs up on the new microscope

[@VIRACYTV]

Neo Geo Pocket Color is a good one for mods. Ultra simple but lots of improvements that can be done.

[@PixelatedStacey]

super cute color. Personally, I'd look at getting a rechargeable battery for it, because that screen is gonna eat those AA batteries like nobody's business.