The batteries in old Gameboy and Gameboy Color cartridges last for around 10 to 20 years because slowly, over time, they lose their charge. Adam's Game, Donkey Kong Land 2, was released in this country in 1997 when Adam and I were 4 and of course the battery is now flat. Games can still be played because they of course draw power from the Gameboy, but the save function fails. We set out to replace the battery and restore the save to the game.
The first thing that needs to be done is for the cartridge case to be opened. On the back is a special security screw used solely by Nintendo, and to open this, equally special security tools are needed, which Adam went and bought online. GB and GBC games are screwed with the Inverted Hex Screw, whereas GBA games are locked with a tri-wing screw which requires a different screwdriver.
The battery itself is attached to two metal arms which are soldered to the circuit board. It needs to be popped away from these arms with aid of a flathead screwdriver or other such tool. It is a little fiddly to detach the battery, particularly from the bottom arm which is difficult to get to from underneath. The arms then need to be bent back into shape and flattened out.
At this point, it is possible to solder the new battery into place with a soldering iron. I do not own one of those, and also used to find them rather frightening at school; probably due to the frightening - and incomprehensibly Welsh - teacher I had to go with it. So an alternative method is to sandwich the new battery between the two arms under which is placed some electrical tape. With the tape wrapped tightly in place, all that needs to happen now is for the casing to be screwed back into place.
Adam had to take out the game and reinsert it a few times because it is rather old, and then he had to whizz through a few levels of the game before it let him save. He switched it off and we waited a while. On switching it back on, the save file was available on the screen, and so this was a success. After this, Adam and I went to play Super Mario World on the Wii...
It's a testament to the wonderful Nintendo that games are still being played this far into their futures.
It's a testament to the wonderful Nintendo that games are still being played this far into their futures.