Jayro's GAMEBOY™ Test Cartridge
This is the world's first test cartridge for the Gameboy Color!
Nintendo made an official test cartridge for the original Gameboy, but let's face it... It sucks. The tests work, but they aren't geared to test Gameboy Color specific hardware.
My test cartridge has set out to fully replace Nintendo's official one. I created this ROM using GB Studio v3!
Mario is a registered trademark of Nintendo Co., Ltd. This test cartridge is not officially licensed, sponsored, nor supported by Nintendo Co., Ltd.
This project is public domain, and may be freely distributed.
PHYSICAL COPIES ARE AVAILABLE HERE:
https://JayrosModShop.etsy.com
FEATURES:
- Gameboy hardware detection between Classic Gameboy, Super Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy Advance.
- Includes an easy to navigate menu system for the user to choose the type of tests they want to perform.
- The cartridge can intelligently detect the proper tests for the screen and buttons for the hardware it's being run on, seamlessly and transparent to the user.
- Endless button testing lets you test the buttons as long as you'd like!
- Extensive sound testing and a 8-key piano. (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C)
- Test the left and right stereo channels together, or independently of each other.
- Includes tests for modern IPS screens, such as testing for dead pixels, ghosting, screen tearing, image retention, and even attempts to safely repair stubborn or stuck pixels.
- TV test patterns for calibrating your Super Gameboy or Gameboy Player.
- Comes with a screen lens alignment tool, to aid Gameboy modders in properly aligning their LCD kits and screen lenses. (Not needed for laminated screen kits) Also useful to fix overscan and aspect ratio issues in emulators.
- Comes with link port and link cable pinout documentation. Pinout is colorized on color Gameboy systems. Gameboy+Color, Gameboy Advance, and Gameboy Micro ports are covered.
- Additional documentation for power pinouts is also integrated, for all Gameboy models supporting power input.
- Designed specifically for Gameboy Color hardware, yet is fully backwards compatible with original Gameboy hardware too!
- Works on Gameboy Advance systems using the GBC ROM, or the Goomba Color emulator. Additionally, it also works with the GB Boy Colour (a Chinese hardware clone) and the Analogue Pocket (An FPGA-based Gameboy device). It has not been tested on the Funnyplaying FPGA Gameboy Color clone, to my knowledge.
EPILEPSY WARNING:
Colorful test patterns and flickering graphics may cause seizures in people with epilepsy. Use with caution at your discretion.
IF YOU LIKE MY WORK, YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE A TIP:
Changelog for v1.5.0 Stable:
(This update was mostly adjustments to the Platformer Button Test section, and reflect that below.)
- Added simple sound effects to the main menu, and the main 4 sub-menus.
- Added some tile animations to the backgrounds of the main menu and sub menus, and each one is color-coded.
- Ditched the flashing arrow sprite on the main menu, to just use the word sprites for a cleaner overall look.
- Sped up the menu controls, so they aren't as sluggish as they once were.
- Edited the menu triggers so that when you exit a submenu, you return on the main menu in the category you first selected, instead of always landing back at the LCD Menu being highlighted. If you exit the Sound sub-menu for example, you'll be back on the main menu with the Sound sub-menu highlighted.
- Fixed the Stereo Channels test slowdown in monochrome mode by reducing the overall sprites on screen. No more dancing music notes, but the left and right speakers still animate for visual cue to which channel should be playing music.
- Edited some sub-menu text in order to fit the new animated tile borders.
- The Credits screen now does a slow crawl and you can exit with the (B) button when it's at the bottom.
- Moved the "Read This" stone out of the player's way under the Platforming Test, in case they don't want to read it. Completely ignore it if you wish.
- If you wait at the titlescreen for a full 30 seconds without pushing the Start button, a screensaver will kick on. Useful for the new OLED GBC screens to prevent burn-in. Please note however, that the screensaver is only activated on the titlescreen, and not anywhere else on the cartridge. So please be mindful of your screen brightness and usage patterns with OLED displays.
- I moved the crates the cat sits on back a couple of tiles so when the train comes to a stop, the electrical pole behind him is gapped and not touching the back of the train. I also colored the cat's emote with a pink heart.
- Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.
Known Issues:
- If used with Goomba Color, pushing L and R at the same time during the Button Test will bring up the Goomba Color menu (still confirming that L and R are working for you). The screen size won't change like it would if it was running from a Gameboy Color cartridge in a GBA, despite the text telling you it would if the "GBA Detect" option was enabled.
To-do list in the near-future:
Make an on-cartridge instruction manual, with some common tips and example slides.Done, but continuously adding stuff!Add actual graphics. Done!- Add music to the menu system.
Updated | 16 days ago |
Status | Released |
Category | Tool |
Platforms | HTML5 |
Release date | Apr 09, 2021 |
Author | Jayro Jones |
Made with | GB Studio, Adobe Photoshop |
Tags | button-tester, Game Boy, Game Boy ROM, gb-studio, gbstudio, jayro, screen-tester, sound-tester, test, test-cartridge |
Code license | Unlicense |
Average session | A few minutes |
Languages | English |
Download
Install instructions
You will be downloading Gameboy ROM files that end with .gbc and .pocket, which are playable on any Gameboy flash cart that supports a minimum of 512KB flash space, and supports the MBC5 mapper, or the Analogue Pocket, respectively. Cheap bootleg carts from AliExpress work, as well as emulators.
Tested on Everdrive GB and EZ-Flash Jr flash carts, and plays fine on both. Should work flawlessly with EDGB, DIY Jack, and other Everdrive+EZ-Flash Jr clone carts too. Hardware compatibility is 100%. Works on GB Boy Colour too, with no issues.
For the Analogue Pocket, put the .pocket ROM in your GB Studio folder, and you're ready to use it.
Development log
- v1.2.0 is now out of Beta!Nov 28, 2023
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