There is no single perfect all encompassing Game Boy flashcard that both gives access to the entire library of the Game Boy systems while also including all the built in extra features to make every game the complete experience they were made to be. So what would it take to have such a device? Well I'm here to imagine it and if I have some free time, to make a photoshop mockup of what it might look like.
First things first, the flash card needs to be able to handle GB/C and GBA roms natively, not just native GBA reading while running GB and GBC roms via an emulator like Goomba Color. So give the cart a physical switch that you hit before putting it in your Game Boy that puts it in either GBA or GBC mode to handle all roms natively.
Next we need to look at all the known features built directly into Game Boy games, obviously a real time clock needs to be supported which most modern flashcards do already. But the cart would also want built in gyro for games like Wario Ware Twisted or Kirby Tilt N Tumble. Furthermore, rumble would be desired for the many GBC games that had it as well as the one GBA game that had it (Drill Dozer), ideally if this cart were in GBA mode in a DS (Lite), it would also be recognized as a GBA rumble cart for the DS games that utilized it.
Now we get to the real specific features: a camera head like the Game Boy Camera's would need to be included to properly play Game Boy Camera on the device. And Robopon utilized a built in IR sensor for use in game. It seems dumb to include when the GBC has a built in one of these, but this game only uses the built in cart sensor, and maybe it could somehow be programed to replace the GBC's sensor for games like Pokemon GSC, that used it, when played on a GBA which did not have that sensor.
I'm picturing a bit of a monstrocity at this point lol and I can still take it a step further. You could work the E Reader into the device, but, you'd have to design the device in such a way where it doesn't jut over the front of the Gameboy and have an additional port on the side with a small disconnectable cord that could connect the device to with a GBA or GBA SP multi-player link port. This would also ensure the device could still be put in a DS or DS Lite thanks to not being designed like the actual E-Reader.
Even if such a device could ever exist, it would be ugly lol. So remove the camera and E-Reader functions, but keep everything else and you could probably have a nearly feature complete Game Boy cartridge in a reasonably sized shell. So who wants to go make it lol. I can dream, right?
First things first, the flash card needs to be able to handle GB/C and GBA roms natively, not just native GBA reading while running GB and GBC roms via an emulator like Goomba Color. So give the cart a physical switch that you hit before putting it in your Game Boy that puts it in either GBA or GBC mode to handle all roms natively.
Next we need to look at all the known features built directly into Game Boy games, obviously a real time clock needs to be supported which most modern flashcards do already. But the cart would also want built in gyro for games like Wario Ware Twisted or Kirby Tilt N Tumble. Furthermore, rumble would be desired for the many GBC games that had it as well as the one GBA game that had it (Drill Dozer), ideally if this cart were in GBA mode in a DS (Lite), it would also be recognized as a GBA rumble cart for the DS games that utilized it.
Now we get to the real specific features: a camera head like the Game Boy Camera's would need to be included to properly play Game Boy Camera on the device. And Robopon utilized a built in IR sensor for use in game. It seems dumb to include when the GBC has a built in one of these, but this game only uses the built in cart sensor, and maybe it could somehow be programed to replace the GBC's sensor for games like Pokemon GSC, that used it, when played on a GBA which did not have that sensor.
I'm picturing a bit of a monstrocity at this point lol and I can still take it a step further. You could work the E Reader into the device, but, you'd have to design the device in such a way where it doesn't jut over the front of the Gameboy and have an additional port on the side with a small disconnectable cord that could connect the device to with a GBA or GBA SP multi-player link port. This would also ensure the device could still be put in a DS or DS Lite thanks to not being designed like the actual E-Reader.
Even if such a device could ever exist, it would be ugly lol. So remove the camera and E-Reader functions, but keep everything else and you could probably have a nearly feature complete Game Boy cartridge in a reasonably sized shell. So who wants to go make it lol. I can dream, right?
Last edited by MikaDubbz,
