Building Nostalgia: How a LEGO Designer Brought the Game Boy Back to Life
Remember the feeling of popping a new cartridge into a classic Game Boy? The satisfying clunk, the iconic startup sound, and the hours of fun that followed. It’s a core memory for a whole generation. Now, the LEGO Group has captured that magic in their stunning new LEGO Game Boy set, a nearly perfect 1:1 replica of the legendary handheld.
But how do you translate a piece of beloved gaming hardware into a pile of plastic bricks? It turns out, you need a designer who is just as big a fan as the rest of us. We’re taking a look behind the curtain with Carl Merriam, the Senior LEGO Designer who poured his own childhood memories into this incredible build.
A Project Fueled by Passion
You can’t fake this kind of love for a project. Long before he was a professional LEGO designer, Carl Merriam was just a kid desperate to play on his sister’s Game Boy. He even recalls his sister charging him a dollar an hour for the privilege!
That early passion shines through in the final product. His favorite game was The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, so getting to design the tiny LEGO cartridge for that very game was a full-circle moment for him. It’s that personal connection that elevates a set from a simple model to a true tribute. When the person designing it has the same fond memories you do, the details are bound to be perfect.
It’s All About the Feel
Anyone who owned a Game Boy remembers the little things: the feel of the D-pad, the resistance of the volume wheel, and of course, that unmistakable power switch.
That Satisfying Click
For Merriam, his favorite part of the entire set isn’t the screen or the game cartridges. It’s the power switch. Think about it. It would have been easy to make it a static piece that doesn’t move. Instead, he worked tirelessly to replicate the haptics—the physical sensation—of the original. He wanted it to slide and click just like the real thing. It’s a tiny detail, but it shows an incredible commitment to authenticity.
A Screen Full of Magic
One of the coolest features is the screen, which appears to show a scene from Super Mario Land. It uses a special piece called a lenticular sheet. If you’ve ever had a toy or a bookmark where the image changes as you tilt it, you know exactly what this is. While LEGO has used this technology before in sets like the Harry Potter house banners, its use here is genius, perfectly mimicking the classic dot-matrix screen in a way a simple sticker never could.
Why No Tetris?
Many fans immediately asked about the most famous Game Boy game of all: Tetris. The decision to exclude it wasn’t an oversight. This set is a celebration of the powerful partnership between LEGO and Nintendo. By focusing on first-party Nintendo games, the set remains a pure homage to the company that started it all. It keeps the focus squarely on the Nintendo universe.
From a fan who built LEGO models in his spare time to a professional designer at the LEGO Group, Carl Merriam’s journey is an inspiration. His work on the LEGO Game Boy proves that the best creations come from a place of genuine passion. This set isn’t just a toy; it’s a love letter to a gaming icon, built by someone who truly understands why it mattered.
So, what piece of retro gaming tech would you love to see get the LEGO treatment next? Let us know in the comments