Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (GB) Premium Edition

The Empire Strikes Back on a Game Boy cartridge in 2024. Not a reprint, not a ROM dump on a modern console, but a fully functional retro cartridge for your original Game Boy hardware. The Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back GB Premium Edition for Nintendo Switch compatible retro handhelds is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide, and it's one of the most thoughtfully assembled retro releases we've seen.

The Premium Edition packaging is where this set separates itself from everything else on the shelf. An individually numbered, foil-stamped rigid book-style box that opens gatefold to reveal the contents. Inside: the cartridge in a snapping dust case, a collectible coin, a retro enamel pin shaped like a handheld cartridge, a full-color manual, an individually numbered certificate of authenticity, and a reversible 18" x 24" poster. Every piece feels intentional.

This is the fourth entry in the Premium Edition retro lineup, and the Star Wars license elevates it into a different stratosphere of collectibility. We're talking about a Game Boy game, one of the earliest portable Star Wars experiences, given the kind of presentation that most modern AAA collector's editions can't match. The foil stamping, the numbered certificate, the gatefold box. It's a museum piece that also happens to be playable. Two thousand copies for the entire planet. For Star Wars collectors and retro purists alike, this is the one you don't pass on.