Big ModRetro Store Stock Update Including Chromatics
Just as I suspected from the beginning, the reason that they printed “1st Edition” had to be because they planned subsequent versions. I’m pretty sure that I stated this logic in my first article on the Chromatic, unless I deleted it but I don’t think I did. Other people speculated it was because they planned to release their own version of the Gameboy Advance as the reason for the 1st Edition labelling as that would be considered the 2nd Edition. For a while I bought into that reasoning, ignoring my initial feelings but as we can plainly see on the website the new ModRetro Chromatic’s don’t have 1st Edition or any edition written anywhere. I guess they can’t call it the 1st Edition since it’s not the 1st Edition. You might say that it’s just a second factory run of 1st Editions however that is not the case because they are now charging extra for Chromatic’s with the sapphire crystal glass screen which was standard. Selecting the option of sapphire glass screen now adds nearly a cool $200 to the total purchase price going from $354 to $534 AU. So for those unlucky people that missed out on the first run of them (like me) you now have another chance to get one, however, unless you are willing to shell out that extra $180 you are going to get an inferior (to the 1st Edition) gorilla glass screen. When I heard that ModRetro was re-releasing the the Chromatic I was kicking myself for paying $520 from an eBay scalper auction until I learned about the sapphire screen option. It sucks that they are charging so much for it but I guess it really is an expensive and premium part. I don’t feel as bad for paying that much now as it’s essentially the current retail price. However I didn’t get a choice of colors, I had to be happy with Inferno which is one of the more attractive colors.
ModRetro have also released another great new color scheme to the lineup which they are calling “Cloud” but it clearly mirrors the North American Super NES color scheme. That’s not a bad thing of course, it’s quite an attractive looking unit wearing that skin. It is definitely one of the nicer color schemes, I would probably still get Volt if I could swap my Inferno for any color. But wait there’s more, not only have they released more Chromatics and a new color scheme but they have also released new accessories as well as new games. Firstly they have released several new accessories, the most exciting of which is probably the “rechargeable power core” which fits into the Chromatic’s 3x AA battery holder and is itself a battery which is charged by USB-C. Now all the people that had a problem with the Chromatic using regular AA batteries (which I think is brilliant) should be satisfied as the option of USB charging exists now too. What an ingenious idea, Palmer really has some smart engineers down there. The other exciting new accessory which is nearly as exciting as the battery pack is the “Chromatic Mod Kit”. This customization kit contains a bunch of different elements of the Chromatic in different colors that can be easily swapped out with the included driver’s. Basically it’s all the A + B button colors for all the color schemes with the addition of clear to the range. Included also are replacement d-pad and dual button membranes as well as dampened options. So for all those people who complained about loud clicky buttons, they’ve got a solution for that too now. They have also included an extended D-pad and standard replacement buttons in addition to the membrane. They have also included replacement power switch, start and select buttons and even a IR window. It’s a good “re-build kit” to have on hand in case any buttons start to wear out over time. And when you have gone to the trouble of opening it then you have a chance to do some customization.
ModRetro Adds Five New Games to Their Cartridge Range
This is really cool because ModRetro already had a nice healthy post-launch library of 10 games bearing their logo with uniquely printed branding. Each cartridge generally has a different color theme going for it except for the Gameboy Color only games which are clear. The games that are compatible with the DMG Gameboy are either colored or black. ModRetro, with their nice library of brand new DMG and GBC games are bringing back that feeling us 35+ year old video game consumer’s grew to love of buying a physical copy that we owned forever. This is important because companies that we trusted like Nintendo are trying to take away our right to physically own games. Things didn’t get much better as a kid then getting taken to the store by your parents and coming home with a brand new game for your console then opening the box on the car ride home and reading the manual then slamming it straight into your console the second you got home. That was most definitely one of the best feelings ever evoked by retro gaming which is why so many of us love the nostalgia so much. The new games are: Sabrina: Zapped, Gravitorque DX, Self Simulated, Wicked Plague, First Contact Protocol.
Relevant Links
- ModRetro Online Store Games [https://modretro.com/collections/games] Includes the latest addition of 5 games to the ModRetro range.
- ModRetro Online Store Accessories [https://modretro.com/collections/accessories] They are offering 3 new accessories for sale including the “Mod Kit”.
