2026-10-06
I really want to keep this project, and this site up as long as I can, but it comes at a heavy, heavy cost. I was fortunate to stumble upon a $15 Wii at a garage sale just a few doors down, but I've had no luck finding a spare gameboy. I have two of my own but only one working charger. Hosting this site sacrifices both of my Gameboys.
And I have played a lot, a lot of Gameboy over the years.
I grew up with one in my hands. For the last 10 years I have kept one in my backpack, always ready to play at anywhere and anytime. Part of the reason I have dragged my feet on this project is my reluctance to give it up. And I am really worried about leaving one plugged in 24/7. It will certainly kill the battery.
So we will see how long this lasts. Right now my goal is to get this up, and to keep looking for a crappy one online. I dont even need a working screen or buttons. Once I get another one my goal is to try and power it without a battery. I am not great with electrical engineering but I think I can hook something up to downstep a usb charger.
Until then I will be sacrificing my original GBA SP. In honor of it I am sharing a picture of one of our many, but greatest achievements. Here is my personal record for Pokemon Red glitchless speedrun:
Ha! That tiny little picture is still 4KB! But to honor my Gameboy it is worth it. If you dont feel like squinting, my PR is 3:41. 94 Pokemon seen. 6 pokemon owned (I think three of them were squirtle's evolution).
It was a squirtle run, and my first time even trying to do a speedrun. I remember beating the whole game a week prior to make sure I had my exact plan - the order for the gyms, which tms to grab. The strategy was to stock up on TMs for blastoise and save them for the elite 4 depending on the matchup and my remaining PP. I think I went out of my way to get Zapdos for insurance. I also didnt know about the Pokedoll trick to skip the silph scope at the time. Since then I have tried to recreate the magic. Call it beginners luck but that first run was still my best.