Zelda Turn's 40 Years Old in 2026
Can you believe that Zelda has turned 40 years old this year? It really has been around for such a long time, it’s actually the same age as me or a couple months younger since I was born in December 1985. Zelda first came out on the Famicom in Japan on the 21st of February 1986 and it has been a hit ever since, with every iteration of the game being extremely popular among gamers. The Zelda ZL-35 Game & Watch, which can still be purchased today (see our webstore), was released in 2021 on Zelda’s 35th anniversary. Therefore it would be appropriate for Zelda enthusiasts to celebrate the 40th anniversary by modifying the ZL-35 to expand it’s capabilities.
The "Retro Go" / SD Card Modification
The ZL-35 is a small LCD handheld console which was extremely limited, it can only play the first two Nintendo NES Zelda titles as well as Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy DMG. So it had 3 games in total as well as the usual watch and alarm functions in-keeping with the Game & Watch tradition. It was one of the very few Game & Watch consoles produced since the original lines were discontinued. The ZL-35 has the same form factor as Mario’s Cement Factory and Octopus G&W handhelds – only one small screen with a d-pad on the left and A & B buttons on the right and other specific function buttons. Despite it’s simple interface the attractive little device is actually capable of a lot more then you would think.
With a few small upgrades the device can emulate more consoles then just NES and DMG including more advanced ones. With an upgrade to the flash chip from 16MB to 64MB together with a custom Retro Go firmware and SD card slot the humble Game & Watch console is capable of playing Super NES, Game Boy Color, PC Engine, MSX, Sega Game Gear and Sega Mega Drive. This upgrade really super-charges the little handheld and makes it a very powerful calculator sized handheld. In order to modify the LCD console for this capability you need advanced soldering skills which is beyond a lot of people, myself included. However I have really good news if you want to have this handheld console but don’t have any experience with doing console mods involving soldering.
Where You Can Get a Fully Modified ZL-35
Does this console sound like something you would like to have? To me it’s very appealing to have a cheap little handheld to travel around with in my front shirt pocket that I can whip-out in places where I have to wait like appointments or while commuting on the bus or train. When I’m travelling around with my ModRetro Chromatic I’m always worried about losing it, having it stolen, dropping it or somehow damaging it. Additionally I don’t always feel like playing a DMG or GBC game, sometimes I feel like playing a Super NES or Sega Mega Drive game. Some of you might have a ZL-35 on your shelf with it’s box and you probably don’t want to modify it as it would lose it’s “originality value”. That makes a lot of sense, I’m in the same boat and buying another one which you then have to pay to get modified can end up being very expensive and a lot of effort with finding a technician and then having to send it to them, email them, pay them, etc.
What if I told you there is a much easier and cheaper way to get your hands on one of these already fully modified? By following the link I’m posting here you have access to a special deal on Ali-Express. By following this link you can buy the fully modified console for less than the cost of buying one and paying to have it modded. You also have the option of just buying the mod kit, which is a lot cheaper but not useful to people who don’t have soldering skills.
Relevant Links
- Purchase Fully Modified ZL-35 Game & Watch [https://tidd.ly/4cTuhwvht] Affiliate link to a special deal on Ali Express.
- Files for Retro Go Bootloader [https://github.com/sylverb/game-and-watch-bootloader] If you are purchasing the modification kit you will need these open source firmware files.
- Retro Go Bootloader [https://github.com/sylverb/game-and-watch-retro-go-sd/] More required files for the Retro Go SD firmware.
