// 9TO5GOOGLE — MOBILE & WEB
Modretro’s Chromatic is more transparent and cheaper than ever; how could I not love it?
As a retro gamer, I’ve tried all manner of consoles aiming to replace my OG Game Boy Color, but not many that scratch the itch of the recently released Chromatic Transparent from Modretro. It’s, honestly, the best way to replicate the feeling of the original hardware while improving in so many key ways.
I have a decent number of original gaming consoles from the 90s, but the Game Boy is arguably the handheld that I covet the most. I was a little too young to really enjoy the DMG model, but the Game Boy Color was the first EDC I ever owned. It still has a special place in my heart that very few things can match.
Luckily for me, my parents didn’t throw my original clear “Atomic Purple” Game Boy Color away under the guise of ditching clutter at home. It’s a piece of art, one that I love dearly, but it’s missing out on the fundamentals of a good gadget by 2026 standards.
Using original hardware isn’t always ideal. You miss out on a backlit display, the battery longevity is often subpar, and, in the interests of hardware preservation, I don’t want to break something that means so much to me.
That’s kind of why I picked up the original Modretro Chromatic last year. That is a high-end FPGA Game Boy clone that replicates software emulation with hardware-level logic recreation. You’re able to play original cartridges with supremely accurate visuals, sounds, timing, all that good stuff.
The original Chromatic was kind of pricey at over $200 with the Sapphire glass display and all-metal chassis. Sure, those are “nice-to-haves,” but the new Modretro Chromatic Transparent lowers the price of entry and adds back in the transparent tech highlight of my youth for under $150 – with a copy of Tetris. Maybe you need to be a 90s kid to truly understand the appeal. I’m just glad that brands are at least offering us these kinds of options again.
I’ve been carrying this thing for a few weeks in my sidebag in place of my orange Chromatic, and it’s a different beast in many ways. Being able to play all of my favorite Game Boy games isn’t anything new, and sure, I could use an emulator on my phone, but there’s nothing quite like playing as Nintendo intended.
From a purely holistic standpoint, you’re going back to the slow, intentional gaming that is completely vanilla. Mod-free, methodical gaming that feels intentional. I love emulation as much as anyone, but playing at 1x speed rather than trying to speedrun the grinding of Pokémon is a throwback.
Okay, it’s not a gadget for everyone. It’s more of a fancy thing that old heads will adore because it literally does one thing exceptionally well. The screen is 1:1, and includes the all-important backlighting. It does downgrade the scratch protection to Gorilla Glass, but that is far better than what the original Game Boy could ever claim.
By default, it takes three AA batteries, or you can pick up a rechargeable battery pack that charges up through the USB-C port. The port does a little more, like letting you stream to Discord and update on-device firmware. Make no mistake, the Chromatic Transparent is made for the modern era, despite doing one thing and one thing only.