(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))

The current retro gaming trend has resulted in a huge selection of different devices and handhelds, which come in all shapes and sizes. Some are pretty bizarre, while others are so powerful that they can even run Nintendo Switch games.

I've pretty much seen them in in recent times – own many of them personally, in fact. However, I've not encountered anything quite like the Mobile Boy before. It's definitely a one of a kind.

Currently going through a crowd funding phase on Campfire (via Hiconsumption), the device by Japanese tech firm Oscar Japan is not just a retro gaming handheld with 300 games preinstalled, it also acts as a 5,000mAh MagSafe compatible powerbank.

The idea is that if you run out of battery power on your iPhone or Android device with wireless charging, you can pop it on the back and enjoy a game or two while you wait.

It comes with Game Boy style controls – a D-pad and A, B, X, Y buttons – and you can play any of its games on the full-colour LCD display. An LED panel on the side also tells you how much juice in left in the can, so to speak.

(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))

The Mobile Boy comes in black, silver or pink, and is actually very reasonably priced. It'll cost ¥11,200 when fully released in December, but is currently offered at ¥8,960 during the crowd funding phase.

That's around £44 / $58 / €50 at today's exchange rate. Even when the final prices come into affect, that only raises to around £55 / $73 / €63.

(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))

Sadly though, there's no guarantee the device will ever make its way out of Japan. And as it doesn't seem you can add or replace any of the preinstalled games, it's almost certain that many of them will be Japanese language only.

Still, it's nice to see a company trying something a bit different with the form factor. Both in the gaming handheld space and wireless charging.