Game Boy Advance IPS Modified Prestige Shell - RetroSix

I liked the initial look and feel overall after I purchased the pearl versions of the shell. Decided to wait a bit, around five months, and give a better review after I used it. My hunch was right. The finish while it felt good, started to yellow around the screen and the buttons. Now if this was around just the buttons I could chalk it up to me not using then with clean hands, but it yellowed all around the screen, even where my hands didn't touch. The back was another issue with this "transfer"? I did put a key chain on it and left it next to my desk when not in use, but the pattern on my key chain got imprinted. The color of the key chain was black and the transfer was black so it might have been that, but nonetheless it had black patterns on it after awhile. I guess if you do get the matted finish, take good care that you don't leave anything around it. I did like the color and the finish but I couldn't take the yellowing and the marks on the back. Other then that everything fit perfectly and the buttons felt legit like it was a new Gameboy. Bought the white shell with gold tempered screen to replace it.

I installed this shell over the weekend and it seems like a quality shell. The coating feels very nice honestly but I have a few issues with this case.

1. The pictures did not capture this but the logo says "For Nintendo" instead of "Nintendo". From a legal perspective this makes sense because this is custom molded for IPS mods, and they don't want to get in legal issues I am sure. But from the drop-down selection the picture did not indicate that this is what it would look like. This is a minor issue but I wanted to mention it.

2. The coating seems to have some drawbacks. It definitely feels like a coating that is potentially going to have some wear issues in the future. I wanted to make sure I didn't scratch it anything. I laid out a microfibre cloth to lay it on top of for protection. Now this is a black microfibre cloth I have had for years and I have never had any sort of issues with it, but somehow some black color from the cloth transferred onto my brand new shell. Sure you can blame the cloth, but given that I have left this cloth every where (on bare wood, white quartz countertops, light colored fabrics, etc) and never had any sort of color transfer I can't help but this is related to the weird coating on the pearl prestige shells.

Overall I think the pearl prestige shell is a very nice product, but after having it in my hands I just don't think this is the shell for a daily driver.

i said what i said

The plastic itself is of OEM quality, the finish is from it. In many places the coating was to light or missed entirely. On mine, the inside of the power switch was missed, the inside of the accessory attachment holes, and inside the screw holes on the rear. For this price I can understand rushed finish. The worst part is the buttons that come with the shell, the edges are sharp and the recessed arrows and letters are much deeper than the originals. After playing for extended periods of time this would cause discomfort in my thumbs. I swapped the buttons and membranes out for the originals and it has solved my complaints. The coating is different (as described by several folks after holding it), it is smoother than the coating Logitech uses on it higher end gaming peripherals and as for the durability, it has held up well so far but as I keep my system stored in a felt lined canvas pouch so it is not been torture tested. With all things considered I would recommend this shell to anyone doing an IPS screen upgrade. My complaint about the buttons is probably a personal preference issue and the defects in the finish are only noticeable if you know where to look (It is very difficult for an automated process to flip and rotate for 100% spray coverage, so hand painting would be the only option, and that would greatly increase the cost.)

After about 4 hours with the new case and its already showing signs of wear. Customer support only offering a discount on another case. It's sad I'm on my 3rd build with handheld legends, first time trying this case and there's little to no support. I guess ill be taking my business elsewhere.

This was a really convenient alternative to editing my existing shell and there were many colors to choose from. I do feel the screws stripped rather easy and I recommend doing all your work in one go as reopening multiple times might not be an option. As it was, I reopened mine twice and had to leave off a screw because I don't think I could get it out again. The battery cover that came with the shell was slightly poor fit but does close. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.