We have seen a number of awesome revamped consoles over the years and the best of them leave us feeling slightly heartbroken that we can’t get one of our own. In the case of this fully functional LEGO Game Boy Advance SP, you can consider our hearts well and truly shattered.
This project was taken on by YouTuber Retro Stash Repairs, who decided to give the brilliant little GBA SP a brand new lease of life, brick by brick (thanks, Kotaku). To be clear, this isn’t just a standard version of the console with a bunch of LEGO pieces stuck to the outside, this is a bespoke casing made entirely out of LEGO, with the interior workings of the console added in.
In the above video, you can see how the designer went about building the casing, cutting out the necessary sections for buttons and installing the screen and original motherboard (trust us, you’ll want to stick around for the moment that the brand new screen gets its protective plastic peeled off the front).
It’s true, with all of those bricks, the SP’s clamshell design is that little bit chunkier, but we can’t deny just how cool it looks. And the best part? It actually works! You can check out the above post for a taste of what the build has to offer, but the full video shows a little more of Super Mario World in action, as well as demonstrates how all of the buttons work as intended.
It’s a fitting celebration of a brilliant console that just reached its 20th birthday. We at Nintendo Life recently got together to share our love for the GBA SP and you can check out some of our stories down below.