There’s one thing in life you can be certain of: if it has a screen and some type of CPU, someone is going to run Doom on it. We’ve seen it countless times before, from McDonald’s cash registers all the way to pregnancy tests. Doom has been playable on a number of Nintendo handhelds in the past, but this is the first time we’ve seen it running on a Game and Watch. Move over, Super Mario Bros – it’s ripping and tearing time.
Bringing Doom to Nintendo’s new Game and Watch system was a joint effort from Swedish hardware tinkerer, Konrad Beckmann and YouTuber Stacksmashing. The pair created a method that allows you to back up your Game and Watch firmware and replace it with custom code.
Most people wanted to see whether the Game and Watch could run other NES games other than Super Mario Bros, but Stacksmashing decided to port Doom over instead. After getting over the first big hurdle of reverse engineering the device, Stacksmashing had to figure out how to get Doom running on this seriously underpowered handheld.
Getting Doom to run on a device that features just 1.1MB of storage was no easy task, but the hardware magicians managed to find a way. Utilising a downsized version of Doom that removes all textures and replaces them with block colours, the Game and Watch was finally able to run Doom. You can find all of the steps to recreate this on Stacksmashing’s YouTube video below.
The YouTuber explains that this is just the first step in hacking the Game and Watch, with more projects set to be released at a later date.
Meanwhile, if Doom’s your thing, keep a lookout for part two of Doom Eternal’s DLC, as it should be out in the next seven months.’