A modder called Rodrigo Alfonso has shown off a Game Boy Advance that can run PlayStation games.
Well, as Gizmodo notes, technically Alfonso demoed a modified GBA cartridge that uses a Raspberry Pi 3 and a PlayStation emulator to allow the handheld to leave its roots as a 16-bit console behind so it can enjoy 32-bit goodness. But that’s close enough to a GBA capable of running PlayStation games that we’ll allow it.
The modded cartridge isn’t limited to PlayStation games—it can also be used to play Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis (which was released as the Sega Mega Drive outside North America) titles. Here’s a video Alfonso published showing the GBA running a number of classic games from those consoles:
Alfonso explains in the project’s GitHub repository that the GBA is actually streaming games being emulated on the Raspberry Pi via the Link Port that was previously used by Nintendo’s own Game Link Cable to enable multiplayer games. The project is said to allow the connected GBA to play any game that RetroPie can emulate.
That repository appears to be a master class on GBA hacking that explains how the ROM that’s running on the handheld works, how data is transferred between the console and the Raspberry Pi, and more. It also includes additional videos showing the project in action, and explains how an overclocked GBA can offer better performance.
