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The handheld gaming scene has been dominated by Nintendo since the days of the Game & Watch, but Sony's foray into this market has left an indelible mark. The PSP is a testament to that, a device so ahead of its era that even as I pen this in 2024, it remains a beacon of handheld gaming excellence. The PS Vita, on the other hand, didn't quite hit the same high notes,… Read more

Publisher: Square Co., Ltd. Platform: PlayStation Release Date: November 20, 1997 (Japan); May 5, 1998 (North America) Genre: Shoot 'em up Introduction Einhänder, a side-scrolling shoot 'em up (shmup) released by Square during the golden era of the PlayStation, is a game that remains a cult classic among retro gaming enthusiasts. In an era dominated by RPGs and 3D platformers, Einhänder stood out as a unique offering with its cyberpunk aesthetic, a… Read more

Mega Man in the Mushroom Kingdom"Mega Man in the Mushroom Kingdom" is a ROM hack of the original "Mega Man 1" for the NES that marries the tight platforming action of Mega Man with the iconic world of Nintendo's Super Mario series. Crafted by a creator known as alexAR in 2006, this hack offers a unique blend of two beloved universes that many of us grew up with. Story and Concept The… Read more

Sylphia - A Mythical 8-Bit Shoot 'em Up That Still Delivers Fun The TurboGrafx-CD was home to some great shoot 'em ups back in the day, and Sylphia stands out as one of the more unique entries in the system's library. Developed by Compile and released in 1992, Sylphia is a vertical scroller that feels heavily inspired by the NES classic Legendary Wings, and that's a very good thing. In Sylphia, you… Read more

Sol-Feace – A Solid Sega CD Shmup with Slick Style   When the Sega CD launched in 1992, players were still figuring out whether the pricey add-on would become the next big leap in console gaming or fade into a niche experiment. Sega promised cutting-edge audio, animated cutscenes, and larger, more ambitious experiences than the cartridge-based Sega Genesis could handle on its own. Among the titles chosen to showcase the new format… Read more

"Super Mario 64 Randomizer" takes the classic Nintendo 64 adventure and injects a fresh dose of chaos and unpredictability that will delight fans of the original. With each playthrough, the randomizer algorithm shuffles the location of stars, items, and even levels, ensuring that no two games are the same. This not only breathes new life into a beloved classic but also provides a unique challenge for veterans and new players alike. The… Read more

The 90s were an era of transformation for the JRPG genre, with each title delivering not just captivating narratives but also pushing the envelope in terms of graphics and gameplay. 10. Wild Arms               "Wild Arms" introduces players to a unique blend of fantasy and Wild West themes, where ancient technology and magic collide. The story follows a group of adventurers seeking to prevent the demon… Read more

Retro Review: Abadox – The Deadly Inner War In 1990, Natsume released a title for the Nintendo Entertainment System that would become known for its blend of grotesque visual flair and approachable gameplay: "Abadox – The Deadly Inner War." This side-scrolling shooter takes players on a perilous journey through the guts of a colossal alien organism that has consumed an entire planet, including its orbiting space colony. Gameplay and Difficulty "Abadox" is… Read more

When it comes to video game bands, The OneUps have been doing this longer than most. Their official site says they have been performing since their first show in 2002, and over the years they have played events like PAX, MAGFest, and GDC while building one of the most recognizable sounds in live VGM. Their catalog on Bandcamp stretches from Volume 1 all the way to later releases like Volume 4, Arkadia… Read more

Super Mario Kart Horizons is one of the most ambitious ROM hacks in recent years, reimagining the classic SNES racer with twenty brand new tracks, four custom battle maps, an original soundtrack, and presentation elements like a custom manual and box art. The project, available at RomHacking.net and RomHackPlaza, represents the culmination of over a decade of tinkering, iteration, and dedication from its creator, Gridattack. Horizons has also been the subject of… Read more

The Arkadian was born in 2015 as the brainchild of Jon O’Neal, a musician with a passion for both heavy rock and the timeless soundtracks of video games. Influenced by artists like Stemage, Viking Guitar, Mega Beardo, and Master Sword, he began crafting arrangements that fused 70s and 80s-inspired metal with the melodies gamers grew up with. What started as solo experiments in a basement studio quickly grew into something bigger... a… Read more

When people talk about the greatest ROM hacks ever made, Super Mario Bros. 3Mix almost always comes up. Created by Southbird, this hack was more than just a simple remix of Nintendo’s NES classic... it became a sprawling tribute to Mario’s entire history. 3Mix included new mechanics like gravity flips, Yoshi integration, secret star coins, alternate exits, and even bosses and themes inspired by later entries such as Super Mario World and… Read more

When it comes to fusing heavy metal with the 8-bit sounds of classic gaming, few names resonate louder than VomitroN. The project is the brainchild a Massachusetts-based musician, producer, and lifelong gamer whose work has turned the nostalgic bleeps of the Nintendo Entertainment System into sprawling metal epics. What started as an experiment in the late nineties while playing Contra in a college dorm became a full-blown passion project, and by the… Read more

The Super Mario World hacking scene is filled with passion projects, but few creators have managed to balance accessibility, creativity, and ambition quite like xMANGRAVYx, the driving force behind LetsTalkGames. I first came across his work through Castlemania II, a gothic and atmospheric sequel that brought Castlevania inspired storytelling into the Mario universe. That game opened my eyes to how far a ROM hack could push the SMW engine. The final boss… Read more

Xenia Manager v5.0.0 has been released to enhance the Xenia Emulator experience for Xbox 360 games. Key features include a new Game Files Explorer for easier navigation of game data, improved achievement handling, and an artwork pipeline for better visuals. The Big Screen Mode offers a console-style interface accessible via a gamepad. The update also introduces streamlined library management, enhanced file format support, and various bug fixes. Documentation is now available on… Read more

Sandopolis v0.1.0-alpha.9 has been released as a portable multi-system Sega emulator supporting Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and SG-1000. This pre-release includes numerous bug fixes, performance enhancements, and improved accuracy. Notably, it also adds support for Sega CD emulation. You can download the latest version of Sandopolis from the provided source. Sandopolis v0.1.0-alpha.9 has been released. It is a versatile multi-system Sega emulator compatible with Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and SG-1000.Sandopolis… Read more

FB Neo Git (2026/09/23) is a newly compiled emulator for arcade games and select consoles, based on FinalBurn and older MAME versions. The latest changelog includes preliminary support for the game "After the War" and an update for the Speccy from gab75. You can download it from the provided source link. FB Neo Git (2026/09/23) has been compiled. FinalBurn Neo is an emulator for arcade games and some consoles, drawing from the… Read more

Eden 0.2.1 is now available as a stability-focused hotfix for the open-source Nintendo Switch emulator. Rather than introducing a huge new collection of features, this release focuses on problems discovered after Eden 0.2.0, including large-library crashes, issues affecting 12th-generation Intel CPUs, Windows updater problems, a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe controller-related freeze, and several smaller stability bugs. If you are looking for general information about Eden rather than this specific release, visit our… Read more

VisualBoyAdvance-M Git (2026/09/22) is a Super Game Boy Color/Advance emulator available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. This release includes updates such as dropping _Float16 support on riscv64, ceasing the build of the DLSS NR Vulkan layer, and linking static MoltenVK dependencies. New additions include shaderc, glslang, and Vulkan to the dependency lists, and Metal DLSS NR support for macOS. Linux DLSS NR has also been fixed. Users can find information on the… Read more

Ymir Git (2026/09/22) is a work-in-progress Sega Saturn emulator featuring support for various game file formats (BIN+CUE, IMG+CCD, MDF+MDS, ISO), automatic BIOS detection, automatic region switching, and support for up to two players. It offers customizable keybindings, backup RAM management, save state functionality, and capabilities for rewinding, turbo speed, and frame stepping. The latest changelog includes fixes for color gradation, VDP hardware issues, graphic documentation, and enhancements for screenshot downloading and GPU… Read more

What if Super Mario Kart got the sequel we always dreamed of on the SNES? Horizons delivers 20 new tracks, new music, and pure nostalgia. From grassy plains to abandoned mines, Super Mario Kart – Horizons takes the SNES classic to new places. It feels like Mario Kart 2.0… and you can play it today! Super Mario Kart – Horizons: The Romhack That Feels Like a True Sequel. Watch the video or… Read more

The Super Mario World hacking community has produced everything from sprawling cinematic adventures to bite sized experimental projects. Smoked Fish and Cabbage, created by LetsTalkGames and the coder known as xMANGRAVYx, stands out as a compact yet polished introduction to the Kaizo style. Released in July 2023, the hack is short by design with seven carefully crafted levels, but within that small footprint it manages to deliver challenge, variety, and accessibility in… Read more

The Super Mario World hacking scene has always thrived on experimentation, but few projects push the envelope as boldly as Castlemania II, created by LetsTalkGames and coder xMANGRAVYx. Released in July 2025, this sequel builds upon last year’s Castlemania with even more ambition, blending Super Mario World’s platforming with Castlevania’s gothic spirit. The result is a hack that feels familiar in its controls but completely fresh in its tone and structure. From… Read more

When it comes to ambitious ROM hacks, few projects can match the scale and polish of Super Mario Bros. 3Mix, created by the talented developer Southbird. Released more than a decade ago (2014), 3Mix is not simply a reworking of Super Mario Bros. 3 but a complete overhaul that pays tribute to Mario’s past, present, and even future. The hack introduces new mechanics, new worlds, and a staggering amount of secrets while… Read more

Pacnsac Games, the prolific ROM hacker known as pacnsacdave, has built a name for transforming beloved NES titles into something wholly new while staying true to the spirit of retro gaming. In March 2020 he released The Crow, a complete hack of Sunsoft’s Batman: The Video Game. Rather than a simple cosmetic swap, this project reimagines the 1994 cult film starring Brandon Lee as if it had received its own 8 bit… Read more

When you talk about hidden treasures on the Nintendo Entertainment System, few games are as respected and mysterious as Mr. Gimmick. Released in 1992 by Sunsoft, this platformer was known for its stunning physics, demanding level design, and a soundtrack that pushed the NES sound chip to its limits. While it never reached wide audiences outside Japan and Scandinavia, it has become a cult favorite among retro enthusiasts. Fans have been asking… Read more

Nintendo has announced the boldest, most innovative move in gaming history: charging you up to two hundred dollars for the privilege of replaying a pair of Wii games you already own. Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are officially coming to the Switch 2, and the bundle clocks in at a cool $150, edging toward $200 once you factor in collector’s editions, amiibo, and whatever random plastic accessory they force… Read more

An Innocent Gesture with a Dark Twist For more than two decades, fans of Super Mario World believed Mario was simply pointing forward when Yoshi stuck out his tongue. It looked playful and harmless. Mario gave the signal, Yoshi obeyed, and the duo worked together as partners. That illusion shattered in 2017, when Nintendo veteran Shigefumi Hino, the designer who created Yoshi, revealed that the original concept was very different. According to… Read more

Every Controller I Have Smashed In Rage, Ranked By The Quality Of The Meltdown There are difficult games, and then there are the ones that melt your brain until the only solution is to weaponize the nearest controller. We tell ourselves it’s just a game, but anyone who has stared down Alma in Ninja Gaiden Black, crawled across spikes in Celeste, or been betrayed by the blue shell in Mario Kart Wii… Read more

A Consistent Cutoff Leonardo DiCaprio has built a reputation for consistency in his personal life, and it appears that this rule now extends to his gaming habits. According to sources close to the Hollywood actor, he has officially stopped playing Final Fantasy IX after the game reached its 25th anniversary. Released in 2000 for the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX is widely regarded as one of the greatest entries in Square Enix’s… Read more

A Garage Sale Becomes a Legal Battlefield What began as a quiet Saturday morning in Saratoga, New York quickly escalated into what some neighbors now refer to as “the day Nintendo declared war on suburbia.” Local resident Robby Thompson held a simple garage sale in his driveway, offering old household items, clothing, and a box of retro video games. One of those games happened to be a sealed copy of Super Mario… Read more

A Feature Masquerading as a Flaw Since its release in 2017, the Nintendo Switch has been celebrated as one of the most successful consoles of all time. It blended handheld convenience with home-console performance, revitalized franchises like Zelda and Mario, and sold over 140 million units. But along with this success came something else: the infamous Joy-Con drift. What began as a flood of user complaints, characters walking off cliffs without input,… Read more

You are moving comfortably through a level, a jump goes wrong, and suddenly the Kong following behind becomes the one you need to keep alive. Donkey Kong Country makes that small change surprisingly effective. A mistake has a face, and so does the chance to recover. Rare's 1994 SNES platformer is easy to remember for its distinctive graphics. Nintendo's official retrospective description emphasizes the pre-rendered visuals, animation and music that helped establish… Read more

You know the room. You have walked through it three times, checked the map twice, and become convinced that the next doorway is hiding out of spite. Then you remember a narrow passage you could not use earlier. Suddenly, being lost in Super Metroid turns into having a plan. That change of feeling is one of the best things about Nintendo's SNES adventure. The game gives you places to remember, reasons to… Read more

There is a particular kind of confidence to putting a banana peel on a corner and assuming your friend will drive straight into it. There is an even more particular kind of embarrassment when you come around again and hit it yourself. Super Mario Kart understands both. That is a good reason to return to Nintendo's original kart racer. The spectacle is small enough to follow, the rivalry is personal, and a… Read more

Flight simulator. CD-ROM spectacle. First-person shooter. Fighting game. Desktop adventure. In the 1990s, nobody seemed entirely sure what a Star Wars game was supposed to be. That was half the fun. There was a wonderful period when asking “What kind of game is Star Wars?” did not produce a sensible answer. It produced another question. Which year? In 1993, Star Wars became a demanding space-combat simulator that expected players to manage shields,… Read more