Hi! I’m Pat—well, not my real name, but the gaming alias I’ve used since 2010 (inspired by Patapon, my favorite PSP game). Welcome to RetroBox!
💾 How It All Started
Back in 2003–2004, I was just a kid in Vietnam, surrounded by the booming popularity of the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation—but I couldn’t afford either. My first GBA wasn’t even mine; I got to borrow it long-term from a friend… in exchange for doing his homework.
Most of the time, I had to borrow or swap cartridges with friends. That meant I rarely played the popular stuff—no Pokémon for me. Instead, I got hooked on titles like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Mega Man Battle Network. Those games shaped my love for GBA. Even though I later played on the PSP, NDS, 3DS, and Switch, nothing ever matched the nostalgia of GBA.
📼 Why I Started RetroBox
In early 2025, I finally bought a modded GBA to relive those memories… and realized how wild the market of authentic carts is. I turned to repro or re-shelled carts so I could actually play my favorite games, but I still wanted a nice way to display them.
That’s when I discovered cassette-style cases, something I always thought was cool but couldn’t find locally in Vietnam. So I made one myself. Then a few collectors and Reddit folks saw it and asked, “Are you selling these?”
And just like that, RetroBox by Pat was born.
My very first cover design of FFTA
🛠️ A Passion Project
I run this project while working a full-time job. My friend helps with designing and printing the inserts, and my wife takes care the logistics; but everything else—cover designs, printing, setting up the site, handling orders, marketing—is done by me, slowly but with passion.
From one cover to over 30 designs in just two months
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure people would like my designs. But then, some customers from across the world put their trust in our tiny shop and even sent such heartfelt feedback. It gave me the motivation to keep going.
💬 Thank You for trusting us
Thank you so much for supporting RetroBox. We might be a small shop, but we put passion into every single case we make.