LEGO Game Boy has been in the rumor mill this year, and finally, the nostalgic recreation of the iconic handheld has arrived. The life-sized replica of the pocket-sized gaming machine released back in the late 1980s ushered in the era of portable gaming, long battery life, and a huge library of games. True to the original form factor, this 421-piece LEGO set comes with buildable Game Boy Game Pak cartridges for Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
Measuring 5.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches, the dimensions are very close to the real thing. The semi-functional handheld console’s realism is pitch-perfect with the D-Pad, Start, Select, and the fuchsia A and B buttons. LEGO Group has even managed to replicate the curves and the button recess, which makes this collectible highly desirable. To keep the authenticity going, the alphabets are printed on the tiles rather than going for the sticker labels.
Designer: LEGO Group
The set, officially named the LEGO 72046 Nintendo Game Boy, is all set to arrive on 1 October 2025 for $60, with the pre-order window already open. It comes with the handheld’s mono speaker grille, serial number on the rear (which is an easter egg), battery housing latch, contrast adjustment button, volume dial, and the “Dot Matrix With Stereo Sound” inscribed on the top. The reason I say the LEGO set is semi-functional is that it displays one of the three preset start screens or Game Paks of either of the two included games.
To initiate one of these lenticular screens, just slide in the cartridge and flip the power switch. There’s the still from World 1-1 of Super Mario Land, and the cutscene in Link’s Awakening where you sit next to Marin on a log and have a pretty strange (one-sided) conversation. The third one is the tilting of the console, creating the illusion of the moment of the pixelated Nintendo logo, just like the real boot sequence. Tiling in the other two also creates the sense of movement as Link’s Awakening cutscene (briefly) comes to life and Mario moves across the side-scrolling level to add a sense of realism.
The only thing missing is the light and sound effect, or most importantly, the ability to play your favorite pixelated title on the LEGO-fied console. Since this GameBoy set is ideally meant to be displayed on your desk or living room shelf, it comes with a brick-built stand. The other included stand can be used to display the cartridges of the respective games.
To get the fun going, LEGO and Nintendo have also recreated the Game Boy’s original commercial aired in the US and posted it on Instagram. It goes without saying, putting together the set will be an enjoyable weekend activity for both creative people and kids.
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