After months of rumors and speculation, Lego has fully unveiled its brick-built recreation of the Nintendo Game Boy. Slated for launch October 1, the Lego Game Boy is available to preorder now at the Lego Store; it’s not marked as an exclusive, so preorders should open at major retailers soon, too. The 421-piece replica is almost exactly the same size as the handheld that quickly became a worldwide sensation when it hit store shelves in Japan and North America in 1989. The Lego Game Boy looks awesome, and it has multiple interactive features that are sure to make Nintendo fans nostalgic for that wonderful era of handheld gaming.
Part of Lego’s display model series geared toward adult builders and collectors, the Game Boy building kit was announced back in January, but we’re getting our first official look at the highly anticipated release as part of Lego’s San Diego Comic-Con reveals. The Game Boy is tied with the Super Mario Piranha Plant as the most affordable display model in the Lego Nintendo lineup. It will be the eighth Nintendo-themed kit designed for adults since the pair kicked off their partnership with a replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Lego Game Boy (421 Pieces)
$60 | Releases October 1
Lego’s Game Boy looks like an authentic ode to the Game Boy DMG, all the way down to the font of “Dot Matrix with Stereo Sound” on the screen lens and the colors of the A/B buttons, D-pad, and Start/Select buttons. The switches and dials on the top and sides of handheld are located right where you’d expect them: power switch on the top left, contrast wheel on the left side next to the battery indicator light, volume dial across from it on the right, and the 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom.
Along with the Game Boy itself and a buildable stand to display your model, the set includes replica Game Paks (cartridges) of two timeless classics: Super Mario Land (1989) and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993). The cartridges can be loaded into the Game Pak slot just like a real Game Boy. You can display the other cartridge on a second buildable stand.
The Game Boy doesn’t have any electronic components, so it won’t interact with the Mario/Luigi/Peach figures from the Lego Super Mario starter courses, but it can be displayed as if you are actually playing these games. The set comes with three different screens: the boot screen that greets you each time you flip the power switch, a 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.
Lego Nintendo Display Models for Adults
The Lego Game Boy’s interactive features such as loading carts and displaying scenes from actual games is reminiscent of the Lego NES. Released back in August 2020 to launch Lego’s partnership with Nintendo, the 2,646-piece set included the console with a functional top loader, a Super Mario Bros. cartridge, a wired NES controller, and a CRT TV with a stand. There’s a crank on the side of the TV that moves Mario through a side-scrolling level. Even five years later, the NES is arguably the coolest gaming-related Lego set.