Gameboy Zero Plus

Ever since Raspberry Pi announced Pi zero 2, I have been planning to build a new Gameboy handheld based on this new board with a performance boost. However, there is still no sign that this popular single board computer will get restocked in Australia. Therefore, I decided to thin down one of my Pi 3a on hand to fit into the original Gameboy DMG case. Given that Pi 3a and Pi zero 2 are using more or less the same chip, the gaming performance should be more or less on par.

To make enough space for the slightly bulkier Pi 3a, I have to shave most ports off the board, i.e. HDMI, USB, audio jack. And I also have to design a mount bracket to hold various electronics inside the case. Thanks to a great design by kapakahi http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2311662, I did some very simple remix in https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5327549 to get everything aligned.

Before closing the case, I had a quick test connecting to an external power supply. Everything works so perfectly that I could resist to run GTA 5 through SteamLink. The game runs surprisingly well except that the texts are too small to read.

Although this gameboy is more or less functional, there are still a few modifications before calling it a completed project. I still need to setup the save shutdown script to enable shutting down retropi system by flipping the power switch. I would also like add a new design of four “shoulder buttons”, i.e. L1 L2 R1 R2, that sits flush with back of the case. I was using https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2865730 for the old gameboy, however, the buttons protrudes out quite a lot.