FunnyPlaying FPGB Mini Teardown Reveals Impressive Game Boy Compatibility but Some Frustrating Firmware Problems

A detailed teardown by RetroRGB examines FunnyPlaying's FPGB Mini, praising the 800x720 display while cautioning against firmware bugs and manual save steps.

Retro-gaming hardware specialist RetroRGB has published an extensive teardown and hands-on evaluation of FunnyPlaying's FPGB Mini, revealing a promising miniature FPGA handheld that still needs considerable software refinement. The device measures approximately 64 by 113 millimetres and is only 22 millimetres thick, making it barely wider than an original Game Boy cartridge. Despite its compact dimensions, the machine contains a three-inch display with an 800-by-720 resolution, providing an exact five-times integer scale of the original Game Boy's 160-by-144 output. RetroRGB's testing found that ordinary Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges worked successfully, alongside approximately thirty ROM files loaded from microSD storage. However, accessory compatibility was considerably less convincing. Neither the EverDrive GB X7 nor the EZ-Flash Junior flash cartridge booted successfully during testing, and the physical cartridge opening prevented convenient use of some larger accessories. The internal hardware includes a Gowin GW5AS-EV25 FPGA, 16MB of SDRAM, flash storage, a dedicated audio DAC and an 1800mAh battery. The teardown also identified several problems with the current firmware. File browsing is limited, ROMs stored in subfolders may not appear, and volume adjustments are unnecessarily coarse. More seriously, users must manually trigger an additional menu command after saving inside a game to ensure the save data is written to the microSD card. Forgetting that step could result in lost progress. Several advanced accuracy tests also failed, although ordinary gameplay appeared generally reliable. FunnyPlaying lists the device at approximately $69, but the reviewed unit was not available for immediate purchase at the time of publication. The conclusion is encouraging but cautious: excellent display, promising hardware, and firmware that urgently needs some additional attention. The Game Boy survived decades without demanding much from players. Its modern descendants should ideally avoid making the simple act of saving a game more complicated.