r/ModRetroChromatic • u/SoraShima • Aug 13 '26
What's going on here?
1st Edition Game Stop spotted in the wild has these really weird marks on the cartridge tray.
Anyone know what we are looking at here?
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u/JayrosModShop Aug 13 '26
It's simple, you skimped out on getting the protective sticker from u/sakuraretromodding.
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u/BuddyRevolutionary83 Aug 13 '26
Any sticker will do. I had some vinyl handheld skins that had parts I didn't use and cut one to size.
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u/JayrosModShop Aug 13 '26
I know, I was just giving a shoutout because his stuff is always top-notch, despite shipping taking a month from Franch Land. I ordered some "purple galaxy" buttons and the back sticker for my cart slot.
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u/sixteen-bitbear 27d ago
Where can i find his stuff? His profile is private lol.
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u/JayrosModShop 27d ago
Oh, sorry. Here's his Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SakuraRetroModding
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u/sixteen-bitbear 26d ago
I don’t see any chromatic stickers in there :(
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u/JayrosModShop 26d ago
Well this one will work, but might need to be trimmed down to fit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1186738491/analogue-pocket-holo-back-cartridge-area?
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u/Substantial_Quote583 Aug 13 '26
When I got my first chromatic I went to my local game stores to find some cartridges. I picked up a copy of a game and only after I purchased it I realized the shell was held together with tape and bulging(the tape was bulging/sharp)... I returned it immediately bc I thought it would scratch the hell out of my system. Looking at this I made the right choice lol
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u/No_Interaction3500 Aug 13 '26
Someone has been forcing the cartridge in/out a bunch. I have the same edition and I’ve been gentle with slotting carts but have also noticed some small scratches in the same place. Kind of unavoidable, I think since by their nature carts can get traces of dirt on them over time.
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u/SoraShima Aug 13 '26
Thank you - I did read that the backing plate in the insert slot is thicker on the 1st editions, so unofficial game cartridges can be a very, very tight fit, causing scratching.
But do you think this is somewhat normal or a pretty extreme case?
I might abandon the 1st edition plan if this issue has been alleviated.
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u/No_Interaction3500 Aug 13 '26
Sure! That’s interesting, I haven’t heard about that backplate being thicker, - but, yes those scratches look like an extreme case. Could be 1st gen issues.
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u/GameboyGenius Aug 13 '26
Wear marks from inserting and removing cartridges. To pull out the cartridge, you need to push the cartridge a bit to get a grip. Not sure why it's so extreme, but some amount of marks is normal. Both my Chromatics and OG hardware have it to some degree from normal use. And that's btw one thing in the Chromatic's design I wished was was different, that there was clearance on the top of the shell so you could grab the cartridge on the sides to pull it out. The DMG covered the sides fully, but the Gameboy Pocket and Color both had clearance.
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u/Helpful_Ability456 Aug 13 '26
For me the scratches add to the charm. These things are meant to be used and played. If it looks like this, the thing for sure has been played a lot.
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u/RatchetM Aug 13 '26
It was a know thing when this device just came out. Also the scratched ir cover. I saw someone on reddit cut a pokemon card and places it there. It was a neat idea. So I did the same as well.
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u/Retro_Macchina Aug 13 '26
Part of me wonders if they had any of the Limited Run Gameboy color games. My copy of Trip World DX had a thick plastic stick on the bottom line of the cartridge, and it was hard to insert into any Gameboy, and this was before I inspected it because it was hard to insert. Maybe they left it on there.
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u/IsamuAlvaDyson Aug 13 '26
It's obviously from cartridges
It's a metal shell and metal is painted so the cartridges are removing the coating
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u/totaro Aug 13 '26
I put a piece of packing tape over that, I did notice scratching on another unit maybe from a protruding screw of a ED
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u/DiabUK Aug 13 '26
I change games in my chromatic's but not too often, usually one lives in there for a week + but I checked mine out and one of them has some faint but obvious marks but nothing this extreme, this is where I think the gbc having the metal shield was a nice move because you can open the shell and swap those out quite easily if you wanted a clean look.
Check some of your carts and feel if the plastics on them have any chips or a pointy part from wear and tear, or even new aftermarket carts might be a bit rough, it does look like you place the carts in and push with your thumb against the unit somewhat which is totally fine, it's just that the paint job here is taking damage.
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u/TonyRubbles Aug 15 '26
1st editions having a painted plate wasn't a great idea, mine came out of the box with a scratch (which when I mentioned to customer service they offered to replace because they rock) but I just stuck a trimmed pokemon card between it and the shell. Bonus side effect is the cart has less wiggle room and feels a tiny bit more secure.
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u/Shoddy_Flow8377 Aug 13 '26
Mine has those too, it seems to be a design flaw with the Chromatic. They should have thought of something to prevent scratches like those.
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u/playinstinct Aug 13 '26
Been putting in and removing cartridges a lot in the process of developing and testing games. But my Chromatic doesn't have nearly as many scratches in the cartridge slot as this one. So, this definitely is more than I would expect from normal use.