Restoring this nasty GameBoy I bought

[@domramsey]

I'm glad you bought a GameBoy, I know you needed one.

[@TheRetroFuture]

Hahah well it provides tens of thousands of people with entertainment! So that’s why I bought it.

[@domramsey]

@@TheRetroFuture I know, I'm being silly. I'm here for it.

[@kleann]

lol

[@DrewpieDrew]

Plot twist: he throws them all away after each video but has a hella stash of Game Gears

[@domramsey]

@@DrewpieDrew He's a filthy Game Gear lover! I knew it!

[@mastercpu2]

So..I have 2 of those cases from my childhood and during the early part of last year I decided to get back into video game stuff and repairs. Anyway, I had this same issue with my cases. What a mess...I kept mine though..sentimental attachment and all...but I get why you’d chuck that. 👍🏻 Love the content on both channels.

[@brainhag]

Same here! Mine was making a mess on all of my GB stuff. Decided to take everything out of it, but still keep it. That thing made a lot of trips to grandma's with me.

[@randomisus8711]

6:49 as dankpods would say, "SOMEONE'S BEEN IN 'ERE"

[@vallhallamedia3161]

At least 10 of us get the reference! This is a good sign

[@LanHikari]

haha

[@antonrickert9427]

GEIR!

[@EmilySucksAtGaming]

I was just thinking last night how cool would a dank pods/retro future colab be

[@akiwiwithaface8911]

That’s exactly what I was thinking lol

[@Retrocatone]

Bring back childhood memories to see prices in francs (French currency before Euro began a thing around 2000/2001) and the hand writed bill from a tiny local shop is stunning. Big nostalgia vibes for me, as a 90’s French kid. Keep up the good Work Elliot !

[@MonsieurPopu]

every time you say IPA, my brain thinks of beer.

[@centurioneyt9235]

Me too hahaha

[@Tripp-y9b]

Ipa stands for International Phonetic Alphabet

[@totallybonkers76]

Likewise 🙂

[@Lexilove2016]

Finally, another guy that restores stuff and commentates. I don't like restorations that are just music and the things being fixed and cleaned up.

[@AquaawesomeYT]

Their always fake pretty much. Thx Elliot

[@calvinmiller3959]

Dude, everything i know about refurbs comes frome your two channels, thanks for being my fav youtuber.

[@Witchling86]

My favorite part of these videos are the cleaning of the contrast and volume wheels. So oddly satisfying.

[@penniesnnickels]

I can listen to that robocop soundtrack all day! Great video, thanks for the upload!

[@8bitbubsy]

Just a tip @ 14:27. You want to make sure that the plastic screw holes don't have water in them before screwing together the chassis. The screw will compress the water and the plastic will eventually crack. Water will often stick to those holes and it can be a little hard to get it out. I usually blow into them with my mouth to make them dry (make your mouth dry first too).

[@elliotcoll]

I cleared them!

[@8bitbubsy]

@@elliotcoll Great! :)

[@leowatley]

i've had that same black carrycase since the early 90's. i love it.

[@Mindartcreativity]

Oh man! Back in 1996-97 I got my first gameboy pocket for my 6th birthday and Mole Mania was the first game I got! Seeing this game cardridge brings back so many memories!

[@SirJoel]

"Oh no, I said 'fantastic' twice" is a sensation I'm all too familiar with.

[@moonlighght]

Oh god, when you first open the pack. I struggled to hold down my breakfast. You did a great job Elliot!

[@SweetBean92]

Honestly, if that had been real mold, like fungus grossness, I'd have done that whole thing wearing a P100 respirator and nitriles. Definitely prefer dealing with disintegrated plastics than mold

[@archkull]

microplastics are very bad for you

[@premo8564]

@@archkull eh, we havent gone extinct yet. micro plastics are everywhere, and although i dont suggest intentionally ingesting or inhaling them, im sure we all have a fair share of it inside of us.

[@Inlinetodie]

Thats black mold...this kids gonna die of a lung disease 😔

[@agent109g8]

FYI, this video is a fake restoration....a lot of these types of videos are.

[@mikki45643]

@@agent109g8this guy is legit

[@TomUsher]

A major improvement! How do you keep track of the history of each GameBoy once you've restored them and they all look so similar?

[@williamharris8367]

I would guess that he tracks them by serial number. That is the most obvious solution. Many years ago, I actively collected and resold Atari 2600 consoles. Somewhere in storage, I still have the records of the serial numbers, what I paid for each unit, etc.

[@mdog1678]

When i repaired NES consoles for a game store I would always write on the inside of the shell with a marker the year it was repaired, and what was repaired. Just a nice little easter egg if someone fixes another problem years down the line, like watch makers marks.

[@premo8564]

@@mdog1678 youre an awesome person for that. also reassuring for whoever opens it next, sometimes you can tell when things have been opened and messed with, but you cant always tell what they messed with.

[@unojonjero2415]

I want that robocop soundtrack to be the outro on all vids in the retro future...

[@Andoryuuu]

The fact every single one of these games was in the case upside down drove me insane... There's even an indent that lines up exactly with the top of the cart... It's so infuriating.. Lol.

[@ExpandDong420]

Imagine how they'd look if they weren't in them, though... the annoyance is definitely the lesser of two evils here

[@MatSpeedle]

I have the same bag from childhood and the foam is broken down in the same way. Loved that case it went everywhere with me as a kid :D

[@Blood-PawWerewolf]

Same for me. It ended so bad that I decided to trash it.

[@Decipher13]

Same. I took that top foam piece out and gave it a vigorous brushing until all the black stuff was off. It came clean and the bag still holds my games etc to this day.

[@manueldi_77]

1:47: Next game we got here is "Mould Mania" 🤣

[@juiceeesteve2586]

I love these types of videos. Great work! Can’t wait to see more videos from this channel and your main channel too.

[@TheRetroFuture]

Thank you!

[@gameguy73]

I had the same thing happen to the case I had since 1991 for. my Game Gear. Just disintegrated all over my (thankfully) cased games and console. Not too bad to clean. Had to send it out to get new capacitors, but it was fine after that. Just some banding on the aging screen that will have to be replaced at some point.

[@GolfTechie79]

I love a good restoration, soooo satisfying. I got one of these for Christmas 1990, that Robocop game is nostalgic.

[@thatgunskid]

Hearing the Robocop soundtrack brought back some good memories, Ocean games really had amazing soundtracks

[@DreamDaddie]

I love watching a good long Let's Refurb right before work. Put's me a good mood

[@jmac79ers]

Kudos to you for keeping it the way it is, nice to see the little guy getting some tlc. I've recently acquired an original gb in a box of stuff, but it's in worse condition. The snes console that I keep out for use is really yellow and alot of the plastic is broken. I nicknamed it "the tank" because it works perfectly, and I kept the $29.99 thrift store price sticker on it for added bling. Gotta go check out that sountrack now!

[@andrejwalilko634]

that gameboy looks... fantastic :) its interesting that ive seen maybe a dozen videos like this from you but i learn a new thing about gameboy restoration every time

[@hi_tech_reptilez]

Look great, especially for a stock DMG! I am partial to glass lenses but a good plastic one does keep it looking original. Great job.

[@taohu928]

Please tell me that you washed your hands, like.... 7 times 😳

[@cjjuszczak]

Why he's not using latex gloves and a mask is beyond me, does he WANT to get infected lungs ?

[@dillonsnyder1172]

Black mold isn't a joke. Spores are invisible.

[@JuicyJakeRepairs]

did you at least salvage the tray from the bag? could be quite handy!

[@Rynelan]

Yes I'm here even before the HD version of the video is available! 360p team! I'll be back later when I got the time to actually watch :P

[@TheRetroFuture]

Thanks Ryan

[@kindasus7024]

@@TheRetroFuture lmao

[@Rynelan]

@@TheRetroFuture Watched it! Great vid as always. You should definitely play Mole Mania if you haven't.

[@jordankuo6662]

12:47 You can also use this method for fixing crunchy noises coming from the headphones, and sound coming from the speaker when muted.

[@zynaps666]

There's nothing quite like the feeling of "Clean button confidence"

[@SparksNZeros]

i've put bags like that through a baby clothing boil wash and they've come out looking great, it helps to put some towels or bedding you don't care about in with it so it doesn't get too beaten up but worth a try :D

[@Jennifer_helen]

I sneezed looking at the dust 🤧

[@TheSuperuser49]

Legend has it, if you've ever owned a GameBoy you manifest a copy of WWF Superstars somewhere in your home....Also, Robocop is a banger of a game

[@RavenWitchShade]

I know that from experience, somehow I had two copies of WWF Superstars appear out of nowhere when I had my old Game Boy

[@lordcrayzar]

I have this exact problem! Bag turned to dust and now gameboy is all fucked up! Godamn. Crazy seeing this.

[@kuddel928]

Thanks! This is like "how to clean a Game Boy" video with neat tips, just what I was looking for before cleaning my own Game Boy :)

[@milesfernandez1753]

I love your channel I've watched most of your videos! Keep up the great work and super jealous of the gameboy collection you got going on!

[@ChrisMX9]

Always great to watch a regular game boy restoration :)

[@bbay1977]

I picked one up probably 10 years ago and just stored it in a closet in my game room. I see now I need to get it put and restore it as well. Mine needed a new case cause some idiot took white out and used it like paint and painted it. I'll probably pick up a new case for mine though. It did come with about 8 games and a small carrying case but not a big case like you have in the video. Great content.

[@deanx78]

Loved that you you played robocop I've not heard that into since I had my original gameboy back in the early 90s, absolute blast from the past!

[@fromthegamethrone]

This video has been in my watch later for months. I just watched it today, (07/05/2021) 3 weeks ago tomorrow, (16/04/2021) my younger brother died from a huge heamorage just hours after being told he'll be going home from soon (from hospital). Every friday for the last year, we played games together and the last time he was here, we both sat and listened to the Robocop theme track for the Amstrad Version. When you mentioned the theme song at the end, I couldn't believe the theme was the same. It's one of our favourite video game theme tracks of all time. Amazing. My brother didn't deserve to have his life cut short, I'm so heart broken that he'll never get to listen to that music ever again. 33 years old and to spend his last month in hospital, that's no way to go. Scott, Brother, I love you and miss you. Elliot, thank you very much for this video and letting the song ring out.

[@effvee8100]

I used to have that bag!!

[@samazard596]

Never seen more dust in my life 😂

[@TheRetroFuture]

It’s rough ey.

[@samazard596]

Yes

[@IanC14]

my bed room says hi

[@samazard596]

@@IanC14 hello 😂

[@Stevethepokeface]

omg the ending holy moly i was almost in tears that sound track is fire

[@DomenicEXP111]

I got something EXTREMLY similar to this at a garage sale. It came with the SAME EXACT bag, disintegrating and everything, a Gameboy, and a few games. I tried to save the bag, but ended up throwing it out. The Gameboy wouldn't turn on at first, but after giving the battery contacts a good clean, it flickered on. The screen had a lot of lines on it, but I fixed it with my old soldiering iron, which I threw out a few days later because it melted itself and no longer heated up. The games worked great, after cleaning them, of course. I later accidentally tore the speaker out and, with no soldering iron at the time, had to live with it. I haven't soldered the speaker back on yet, but it works!

[@joethompson11]

Just plugged my Gameboy Color into my headphones, stuck in that 61 in 1 multicart you reviewed once and put on RoboCop just to listen. Banging tune mate!

[@TheRubyGamesOG]

My cousin's Gameboy case and games has this same exact issue! So I guess it's a case defect overtime

[@serixskylark]

Take a drink every time he says “nice”, “clean”, and “fantastic” lol

[@ItsABassDammit]

I actually did buy a DMG from eBay that came in the same case, same situation. I wound up having to chuck the case, the DMG aside from the mold was in pristine condition, and cleaned very nicely. Overall was a great deal

[@N-MCMXCIX]

Ya it is annoying when when the foam in an old carrying case disintegrates. A few years ago, I found a case of audiocassettes hiding under the desk in the storage room. And when I opened it to find out which audiocassettes were inside, I discovered that everything was covered in foam dust. It had even gotten inside the norelco boxes! At the time I thought it was mold due to the fact that this trailer has a mold problem, among other flaws. Perhaps there was also some mold, but a year ago I found out that the dust was most likely what's left of the foam. I still find foam dust in that case! One of these days, maybe I should vacuum out the remaining dust and put in some archival foam. But the question remains: Why did COAST use a cloth with circular holes to hold the foam padding in place? If it was the industry standard, why? At least Case Logic had the common sense to use cloth without holes _and_ better foam. All you have to worry about with those cases are corroded zippers. I would say to just use leather briefcases, but then you have to worry about cracks in the leather...

[@ImagineABear]

You best put some RESPECT on the name of WWF Superstars.

[@MrJunk78]

Hope you copped that logo patch off the outside of the bag. Could re-sew it onto something!

[@vs_v0ld092]

Totally a shame that you don’t have more subscribers! I’m not big in the community, basically because I’m the hugest lurker in existence, anyways, imo you’re one of the retro modding ogs. At least on KZbin, and sure you haven’t been around since the beginning but you’re incredibly knowledgeable and it’s obvious you appreciate the significance of the items that come into your hands. I would absolutely trust you with restoring any of my consoles or handhelds. It would be like a badge of honor to me if you repaired or even modded my N3DSXL.

[@dreamwonderin]

damn gotta give the robocop soundtrack a listen

[@DangerQ42]

You lucky dog. Id love a cache like that!

[@MarioSratss]

Great Gameboy and cool games. And a nice cleaning. Much love.

[@flygti03]

Best thing to use to get the corrosion off the battery contacts is a brass bristled brush, I do that and then clean up the whole thing with IPA. Edit: best short of unsoldering and soaking in vinegar.

[@MaryArts]

Can I use water on the battery contacts? When I was younger, I forgot to take out the batteries and one spilled acid. The Gameboy is fine but I think, I should clean it now. So, you recommend water or vinegar on the dried up acid?

[@flygti03]

@@MaryArts I would clean them with some vinegar and a tooth brush to get the build up off. Once you’ve used the vinegar (an acid) to clean off the battery acid, mix up baking soda with a little water making it a paste like consistency. Place the contacts into the paste and coat them well and let sit for a few mins, it will neutralize the remaining acid to stop further corrosion. Then clean the baking soda paste mix off with 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, this will clean them without introducing water which will cause corrosion while drying super fast.

[@TheOneHamster]

Last year I bought the exact same case with a gameboy and games. First look inside I thought it'd be mold. Luckily just the case desintegrating. Pretty easy clean 🙂

[@austins1817]

I may be wrong but isn't Isopropyl alochol bad for rubber? The black conductive pads on the buttons are rubber I believe and the black residue left on the cotton bud is the surface of the pad being removed, rather than cleaned?

[@Kumimono]

Robocop theme goes dun dun dun dun du dun dun du dun dun.... There's a joke there...

[@blakemcmillan1]

Hey Elliot I have a question I have a little bit of corrosion on my battery contacts on my game room should I clean them up or just leave it

[@stevedave106]

I have that same bag. And the foam padding crumbled as well as yours. I feel your struggle

[@Th3OmegaPoint]

Ah yes the infamous 'dilbert 3' music!

[@luisfelipegonzalez4423]

Wow, 20 years ago the same box was stolen from me. Specially for the two tetris.....one was from a friend, we was gaming in our school anual trip using the link cable on a bus....great memories. Missing it....

[@eyiss7236]

Thanks for making this video, it helped me repair a "broken" GameBoy.

[@FusedCord]

Is it bad that I knew EXACTLY which case that had been sitting in from the preview photo? Those foam inserts are notoriously bad. Loved the video!!!

[@chickensauna]

You seem like the kinda guy that could fix something rare like a nintendo virtual boy, mine bust after moving home so has been boxed for a year or so now

[@ThatMattGoodMusic]

You're like the guy from Toy Story 2 that fixes Woody but with Game Boys - it's a nice vibe

[@RavenWitchShade]

20:42 And on.... and on... and on... and Ariston... Thanks, that's now stuck in my head again XD

[@dallazthedutch714]

Brilliant, just in time for lunch!

[@TheRetroFuture]

Enjoy! The lunch and the video.

[@TragicAyk]

@@TheRetroFuture yeah but not both at the same time lmao

[@udon601]

It’s 6:45 am over here lol

[@dallazthedutch714]

@@udon601 Central European Time it's 12:55 my friend :)

[@weirdkd54]

Same thing happened to my gameboy. Left it in the same case, forgot about it as I grew up. Looked exactly like this when I opened it 20 years later.

[@KevinArcade87]

Are you mad? Don't throw stuff in the bin! Keep and sell later in lot on eBay

[@Cobra-lp4ei]

@Mrsuperking KZbin631 XD

[@SWPLGAMING]

You got an awesome pitch up there, lucky. Awesome video as always 👍🏾

[@joeydee9788]

I've just re bought WF Superstars! put SO many hours into it as a kid. It's the foundation of me recollecting amd playing 🤘😁

[@TVcasualty42]

Robocop will always have a place in my gaming library. I turn it on for the menu music alone from time to time.

[@gundalfx]

Great video! Just my 2 cents but a new glass lens and gently using magic eraser around the discolored spots and the GameBoy would look 100% like new while still being totally original.

[@kitsophrenik]

it looks like sumts youd find laying around in the last of us

[@tacofiesta11495]

The looney toons game is awesome! Each level is a different style of platforming done really well.

[@Stijn_DC]

@Hey Elliot, Just a question. I've seen you fix vertical lines a few times now, but I've never seen you fix Horizontal ones. I've recently got a GameBoy with a Horitzontal line, but i've got no idea how I should go about fixing that. Could you point me to a video where you fix it? Anyway, thanks for the video's! :)

[@calvinmiller3959]

I Hope Eliot sees this. I wish for the same. Horuzontal is really hard from what I've heard

[@MrFixiit]

Thats soot not mould.. If that was Mould the the paper on the manuals would have been warped and curled.

[@duckula316]

Clickbait

[@ChicagoMel23]

*mold

[@MrFixiit]

@@ChicagoMel23 but its not mold its soot so therefore im still in context lol

[@WhtKenny]

that Robocop music totally reminds me of the C64 SID chip music.

[@ssmelche]

I used to have that same Gameboy case as a kid and it did the same thing with all those dots getting on everything.

[@spartonberry]

Noticing on those Game Boy game manuals, the little green triangle on the Game Boy logo is a EU or UK indicator. The ones without seem to be USA version manuals. I think I have exactly one UK manual of my own that maybe I should go find it and a check (Batman).

[@MightyKombat]

WWF Superstars just has a habit of materializing in the collection of every single Game Boy owner without exception even if they're not actually collecting shit.

[@ScruffyLookinRGB]

Elliot you are a brave sole my friend. That DMG was a horrible mess you did it justice! Cheers!

[@doohansmith4327]

Hey Elliot, what might interest you is the fact the Gameboy screws are not in fact Philips, but JIS (Japanese Industry Standard). There are quite significant differences and this is also why it's so common to find Gameboys with rounded screws. Philips head and JIS screws are not a perfect match :)

[@wendysremix]

My uncle had the same bag and it disintegrated like that. We threw out the same bag with the game boy but I kept all the games. This was well over 10 years ago so it must have been sitting like this for a long time.

[@EtrainMMA]

I had the same case and the exact same thing happened to mine.

[@Kanshario]

In this bag is my childhood.

[@BernonMurillo]

"Oh no I said fantastic twice." Best quote.

[@SPG685]

4:44 So, I did a little bit of digging regarding the manual, and based on the product number of the manual on the upper right, I can tell you that it’s the original one.

[@Ryanoceros06]

Can't wait for the Switch unboxing/restorations here in 30 years or so!

[@jtj_6252]

When you restored it did you just clean it really good or did you have to get parts?

[@inklingswtf]

he just cleans it good and if there's something broken he trys to fix it. If it not fixable he just replace it.

[@zachmoore6405]

His realization of saying fantastic 2 times in a row was hilarious

[@Wheels8504]

The foam in my bag did the same thing and it really upset me

[@tails64dsntchannel8]

Too bad you didn't save the bag, it could have been easily saved

[@tails64dsntchannel8]

@@Boss-Crow idk i would have kept it anyways, to be fair i keep a lot of stuff just for the sake of preserving it, like C64 paper RF shields, even though i know i'll never install them in the computer ever again

[@sidc64]

I have the same case and it did the same thing, haven't touched it for 20 years and was welcomed to this powder mess upon opening it.

[@wyldelf2685]

That's a really decent haul , , good score Elliott 👽👍