Games & Preservation

Backing Up Game Boy & Game Boy Color Games

Game Boy dumping is the friendliest entry point into game preservation: the readers are small and affordable, the software is genuinely good, and the same device covers the original Game Boy, the Color, and the Advance. It is also the most urgent library to back up — Pokémon-era save batteries are dying every day. The ground rules apply: own it, dump it yourself, keep it private.

Media
Game Pak cartridges — original (gray), Color-enhanced (black), and Color-only (clear/colored shells).
Hardware
GBxCart RW (~$45), Epilogue GB Operator (~$60), or BennVenn Joey Jr.
Output
.gb (Game Boy) / .gbc (Game Boy Color).
Typical size
32 KB – 1 MB (GB); up to 8 MB for late Color releases.
Save data
Battery-backed SRAM in most save-capable games — the most at-risk saves of any console generation.
An original Nintendo Game Boy handheld
The original Game Boy. Every Game Pak — original, Color, or Advance — can be read by the same family of USB dumpers. Image: Evan-Amos, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

What You Need

  • GBxCart RW v1.4 Pro (~$45) — the community standard, designed by insideGadgets (also at the official shop). Pair it with FlashGBX, the excellent free companion app (Windows/Mac/Linux) that identifies the cartridge, dumps ROM and save, and verifies checksums automatically.
  • Epilogue GB Operator (~$60) — the most polished experience: plug the cart into a little USB-C reader and its Playback app walks you through backing up the ROM and save with one click.
  • BennVenn Joey Jr — a long-trusted alternative that mounts carts like a USB drive; no app required.
  • Already own an Open Source Cartridge Reader for consoles? Its Game Boy slot reads these too.

Dumping, Step by Step

ROMSRAM + batteryGame Pak1GBxCart + FlashGBXsave FIRST, then ROM,checksum-verified2Game.gb+ Game.sav32 KB – 8 MB3OWL media libraryplays in the browser — save states synced
The Game Boy dump: (1) the Game Pak’s ROM is permanent but its save lives in battery-backed SRAM, so (2) the reader dumps the save before the ROM, and (3) you end up with a .gb/.gbc file plus its .sav. Diagram: NDEVR.
  1. Clean the edge connector with isopropyl alcohol — corrupt Game Boy dumps are almost always dirty contacts.
  2. Insert the cart and open the app (FlashGBX for the GBxCart, Playback for the GB Operator). It reads the cartridge header and identifies the game and its memory controller automatically.
  3. Back up the save first. One click produces Game.sav. Do this before anything else — see the battery note below.
  4. Back up the ROM. A minute later you have Game.gb or Game.gbc, checksum-verified by the app.
  5. Re-dump to confirm if the app reports a checksum mismatch — clean again, reseat, retry.

The Save-Battery Clock

★

Pokémon saves are on borrowed time

Generation 1 and 2 Pokémon carts (and most other save-capable GB/GBC games) keep saves alive with a CR2025 coin cell soldered in at the factory — many are already dead, and the rest are close. Dumping the save copies it to safety; the readers above can also restore it to the cartridge after you replace the battery. Battery holders and replacement kits are stocked by the same shops that sell the dumpers.

A detail worth knowing: Generation 2 Pokémon games (Gold, Silver, Crystal) use the same battery for their real-time clock, so those batteries drain fastest. If a game still holds a save today, treat that as luck — not a guarantee for next year.

Playing Your Backup

Upload the .gb/.gbc file to your OWL media library and the Games collection picks it up with box art and settings. The player’s Game Boy core runs in any browser — phone, desktop, or the TV app — with save states synced between devices, all inside your own end-to-end encrypted storage.