Why this archive exists

I’m Álvaro, a Brazilian product designer living in Zürich, Switzerland.

I grew up in a family that couldn’t afford a Game Boy. It was the thing every other kid at school seemed to have, and the one I didn’t. That little grey machine stayed a small, specific ache for years.

As an adult, I finally started a small collection, the console I never had, and then the mods, the cartridges and the games that came with it. Pocket Archive is where I keep what I’ve learned along the way.

So many friends and strangers kept asking me the same things, which Game Boy to buy, which mod to try, which games are actually worth it, so I decided to write it all down here, in plain language, with the exact parts I use.

Being honest with you: some links here are affiliate links, so a purchase may support the project at no extra cost to you. And a few items are reproduction cartridges. I don’t recommend piracy and I’m not here to promote it, but when the original games are nearly impossible to find, a good repro can be a quiet, beautiful way to bring a childhood dream back to life.