The wonders of miniaturization never cease to amaze in the tech business. A case in point is provided by a new video demo of the Nintendo Kawaii project – a GitHub project that had successfully shrunken a lumpen boxy GameCube down to a keychain. That’s just 2.36 × 2.36 × 0.62 inches (60 × 60 × 15.8mm). Moreover, the project has been completed in cool blue anodized CNC aluminum style.
In the above video, Tito from retro gaming channel Macho Nacho Productions goes hands-on with an original Nintendo Kawaii as created and fabricated by YveltalGriffin, Wesk and Ding. At the heart of this project is not the Raspberry Pi Zero, or similar, you might typically expect. Instead, the Kawaii relies on original Nintendo-used processors and ICs.
Vintage Nintendo console lovers will be aware that the firm’s Wii retained backward compatibility with the GameCube. Because of the former’s renowned extreme trimmability among the modding community a trimmed Wii motherboard is used in this project. Specifically, the Kawaii packs in the Omega Trim Wii. The GitHub source doesn’t compare the original and Omega motherboards, but the video shows the original GameCube next to the Kawaii.
Other tech tweaks to make this a successful project include the NAND Flex mods, to stack certain motherboard features / ICs. Then, the Thundervolt mod is used to undervolt the CPU so it doesn’t boil in the confined case. Thankfully the Wii processors can still handle GameCube titles with aplomb, even when power constrained.
A nice touch in this build is the CNC aluminum shell which elevates the finished look above similar projects, and on one side we’d like to think the organically ribbed metal fins might help a little with the passive cooling. It is still gratifying here to have original silicon to run your GameCube (and some Wii games that work with GC controllers) titles. Users are expected to load games onto a microSD card. One drawback of this neat design is the flash card becomes captive with the case assembled.
Clearly, the Kawaii isn’t a self-contained console. It has an elegant docking method, though, with discrete pogo pins. The dock actually looks larger than the keychain, and then you’ll need the hefty GameCube controller, a USB power brick, two sets of dongles, and a TV to plug it into.
Though the GitHub page is complete with MCAD, ECAD, and BOM files, the team hasn't gotten around to putting together instructions. Those wishing to replicate this meisterwerk are directed to a thread on BitBuilt that follows the assembly of two Kawaiis.
We previously reported on the Kawaii project, ahead of this hands-on demo, in July 2024.
