Garlic OS Customization

Various overlays, boot logos, themes, etc for Garlic OS on the original RG35XX. Please let me know if you run into any bugs or have suggestions. You can also find me on Reddit (u/mugwomp_93).

Contents

1. Perfect Overlays for Garlic OS
   → New GBA border option added 2026-03-04
2. Game Boy Bivert
3. Game Boy Metallics Overlays
4. Other Overlays
5. Boot Logos & Animations
6. Battery Charging Animations
7. Themes

Perfect Overlays for Garlic OS

Adaptations of 1playerinsertcoin's brilliant DMG-EX, GBC, and GBA overlays to correct for minor alignment issues on the original RG35XX. Please refer to the included README files for important settings information.

Not for use with the Miyoo Mini (Plus)! - See the linked Reddit posts for the original MM files and recommended settings. Some versions are also preloaded in Onion OS.

See my muOS repository for the RG35XX Plus/H/SP/2024 and other 640x480 devices.

Note that the zip file linked above does not contain the newest Perfect GBA border option added 2026-03-04. See the Perfect GBA section below for details and download links for the new overlay.

Perfect DMG & GBP overlays

Perfect GBC overlays

Perfect GBA overlays

Original border options:

New border option:

This option has a better foil effect and a more subdued shadow than the original versions. I'll likely revise how these overlays are collected some time in the future, but for now I've provided the new overlays in separate zip files. There are two options (regular and centered), each of which includes Perfect GBA, Perfect GBA bright, and no grid overlays, all with and without shadows (6 overlays per zip file). See below for descriptions of the two options so you can select the best version for your device.

 Perfect GBA New
 Perfect GBA New Centered

Centered vs. Non-centered

The GBA logo on the overlays in the non-centered versions is offset toward the bottom of the screen to take advantage of black bezels. It makes for a more even look, as opposed to having the logo crammed toward the top of the border; however, the offset looks odd on devices without black bezels. For example:

On a device with a black bezel (ignore the banding; it's exacerbated by scaling and compression issues):

(Note that this is an RG35XX Plus running muOS; however, the vertical resolution has been altered to reflect Garlic OS (i.e., 424p) and the Garlic OS overlays are used.)

Compared with a device with a gray bezel:

Game Boy Bivert

Since I'm too paranoid of messing up to bivert my Game Boy Pocket, I thought I would make an overlay instead. This overlay works in combination with a custom palette and has an orange-purple gradient effect to help simulate more realistic lighting. The zip file includes versions both with and without the power light.

Configuration

Click for installation and settings

Installation:

• Download GB_Bivert_640x480_garlic.zip.
• Copy the contents of the overlays folder to your retroarch > overlays folder.
• Copy the palettes folder (containing default.pal) to your BIOS folder. Note that this will overwrite any custom palettes you are currently using, so make sure to rename or back them up if you don't want to lose them.

Settings:

1. Core Options

Quick Menu > Core Options:

    GB Colorization > Custom

    Manage Core Options > Save Content Directory Options

2. Apply the Overlay:

Quick Menu > On-Screen Overlay

     Display Overlay > ON

     Overlay Preset...
       > Navigate to retroarch > overlays > mugwomp93 and select GB_bivert_640x480_garlic or GB_bivert_640x480_garlic_nolight
                      
     Overlay Opacity > 1.00

3. Scaling Settings:

Main Menu > Settings > Video > Scaling

    Integer Scale > ON

    Keep Aspect Ratio > ON

    Crop Overscan > OFF

4. Save an Override

Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Content Directory Overrides

Notes:

• The colors aren't intended to be 100% true to real life. Consider them "inspired by" instead of accurate representations.
  
  

Game Boy Metallics Overlays

These overlays are identical to the ones found in my muOS repository

This is the culmination of a couple of projects I've wanted to work on for a while: revisiting my first attempts at integer-scale Game Boy overlays and seeing if I could improve the default Game Boy palettes in Retroarch (which I've never been happy with on my RG35XX). These overlays are the result. They use colored grids to tweak the appearances of the internal Gambatte Game Boy palettes.

The final versions were a compromise of color, grid line visibility, and contrast within the constraints of the existing internal palettes (e.g., changing the overlay opacity affects also affects the color and contrast). As a result, I ended up creating some optional custom palettes to help improve the contrast and in some cases (DMG, GBL) further refine the color schemes.

Note that these are likely oversaturated on better screens

The screenshots used in the pictures above were taken on an RG35XX Plus and edited to match (at least as closely as possible) what I see on my original RG35XX. Given the difficulties in conveying accurate colors (my display isn't calibrated, your display likely isn't calibrated, your handheld likely doesn't display accurate colors anyway, etc.), it's difficult to say whether the colors you see are representative of what these overlays and palettes will look like on your device; however, each image is internally consistent with the colors on my RG35XX, so you can likely compare the raw palette images with what those palettes look like on your device to get an idea of how the overlays will look.

If you just want the four overlays featured in the images, you can download my preferred pack. Otherwise, I've uploaded all combinations of the borders x overlay grids, with and without power lights, as well as borders-only and no-borders versions, here. You'll need to download the custom palette(s) from the relevant subfolders if you decide to download individual overlays, or you can download a zip file with all of them here (make sure to read the readme for instructions).

Recommended settings and instructions for the custom palettes can be found in the readme files in both the preferred pack zip file and the top-level Game Boy Metallics folder.

Other Overlays

1. Neo Geo Pocket Color - An integer-scale NGPC overlay that uses a repeated 3x3 pixel section of 1playerinsertcoin's Perfect GBA overlay to create an lcd effect
   
   
   
   

Boot Logos & Animations

1. Garlic Gradius - Imaginary Gradius instruction manual
   
   
   
   
2. Wizardry - Apple II-style Wizardry intro screen
   
   
   
   
3. Chrono Trigger - A couple of Chrono Trigger-themed boot logos. There's also a white variant of the 1995 Square version.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Super Garlic Bros. 3 - Super Mario Bros. 3 boot animation
   
   
   
   
5. Purple Neon - Lower brightness purple boot logo
   
   
   
   
6. Game Boy Box Art - Original Game Boy box art for the RG35XX. Why did I make this? Who knows. But it was fun.
   
   
   
   
7. RG35XX All-Stars - Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) title screen logo
   
   
   
   

Battery Charging Animations

1. Chrono Campfire (adapted from/inspired by huor_fashmir's cute and cozy charging animation for the Miyoo Mini)
   
   
   
   

Themes

1. Arcade Invaders - An arcade classic that never was. A work in progress.
   
   
   
   

2. Super Mario Evolution - Follows the graphical progession of SMB1 (NES) through SMW (SNES). This one was a lot of fun.
   
   
   
   

3. Moving Dungeon - Wizardry-inspired theme based on Minimal Dungeon theme by 420AM. I had to figure out how Garlic OS displays oversized icons and other theme elements (see Garlic OS theming notes and/or Moving Dungeon readme if you're interested).
   
   
   
   

4. GBMini for Garlic (adapted from GBMini Miyoo Mini theme by Kitsuvi)
   
   
   
   

5. GBOnion for Garlic (adapted from GBOnion Miyoo Mini theme by Kitsuvi)
   
   
   
   

6. GBOnion Multicolor (remix of the above two themes: dark background with multicolored active icons and logos)