ModRetro has brought us some amazing games and products revolving around their Chromatic Handheld. In this article, we are going to take a look at the ModRetro Link Cable.
Simply called Link Cable, this cable is pretty awesome. The material the cable is made out of is a fabric-braided cable that is pretty durable. Not only is it made out of a tough material, but it’s also a staggering six and a half feet long! I mean that’s a pretty long cable for a link cable, but then I suppose that might have been the standard length for cables back in the days of the Game Boy Color.
The cable states that it is designed to work with the Chromatic handheld and allow you to link two of the handhelds together. This will let you play multiplayer games just like you would back in the 90’s. Now despite it being advertised for use with the Chromatic, the cable does support the Game Boy Color without issue. In addition to the Game Boy Color, the cable also works with the Super Game Boy and Super Game Boy 2 without issue. The only Game Boy that the cable doesn’t support is the original Game Boy. This is because the port was changed and became standardized with the release of the Game Boy Color and every handheld after it.
I tested the cable between my Chromatic and my modded Game Boy Color. I battled myself with some Pokemon in Pokemon Silver (pictured above), played some rounds of From Below Pocket and the bundled Tetris game that came with the Chromatic. In my testing, the cable was very easy to use and was very snug in the ports of both handhelds. I half expected it to fall out or to otherwise have issues with it. But to my surprise, there were no issues with the cable at all.
I can’t say the same for my 3rd party Game Boy cable I have had since the late 90’s. The cable pictured above is that cable. The cable is a cool blue color which I really like. The material of this cable looks to be a foil type material on the inside with it being encased in a plastic or rubber type hose. While the cable seems durable enough, due to its age, it doesn’t work well at all anymore. Not only is the likelihood of it not working due to its age, the material it’s made out of also is a factor in this. On top of it not working correctly most of the time, it’s also sticky which is in part due to the material it’s made out of and it breaking down due to age.
So while I really like the blue color of the 3rd party cable, the Link Cable from ModRetro is definitely a must have if you plan on playing some multiplayer games with your Chromatic or Game Boy Color friends. I mean sure, the cable is a third party cable, but it’s a premium third party cable; a modern cable.
To recap, the Link Cable from ModRetro is six and half feet long, made of fabric-braided material, it’s a brand new modern cable, and it just works right out of the box. I highly recommend picking up the Link Cable from ModRetro. If you need to trade Pokemon between your games, want to battle your friends’ Pokemon, or you want to challenge your friend to a game of Tetris, you really can’t go wrong with this amazing and must have accessory!
Disclaimer: We were provided with a review unit.
Those interested can purchase here.
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.