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Retro Fresh! 👾

A new Retro Mag

A new retro gaming mag is in the works! Raiders of the Lost Arcades - Battle Plan! Vol. 5 Unfortunately, the arcade is becoming extinct as a gaming platform, so we take a trek back through time - using MAME's random generator - to relive some of the arcades greatest, worst, and indifferent games. Retro Respect - Jill of the Jungle We've all missed a minor classic during our time. we resurrect… Read more

Pac-Man: The Insatiable Hunger

I laughed a little... Who knew Pac-Man was a junkie and wife-beater? Or that Frogger is a terrorist, and Donkey Kong and Mario are pitted in an epic manage-a-trois of princess passion? From creators Frank Meyer, Scott Chernoff and BJ Guyer, the TV pilot Videogame Theater delves into the world of classic videogames, supplying twisted, darkly comedic behind the scenes back-stories to iconoclastic characters. You'll love it, and it may even freak… Read more

5 Good Games You Forgot About (Retro-ish)

There are quite a few games out there that were awesome growing up that you have not played in years I am sure. There are thousands of classics, and many have slipped your mind. Here are some titles that you have forgot about. 5. Kid Icarus for the NES. (Nintendo Entertainment System) Everyone has fond memories of timing a jump wrong and falling to your death, Fudge, it was tough after the… Read more

Ultimate Lego Donkey Kong

Ultimate Lego Donkey Kong

Just when you thought that it was safe to say Retro Gaming Geeks couldn't possibly get any geekier with game related cupcake designs.... someone breaks the mold and re-creates a static image of the original Donkey Kong Arcade game out of nothing but Legos.  The Ape looks a little cartoonish and not all that mean but who cares right? My favorite part has to be the hammers in mid air. Not sure… Read more

Interviews 🎤

Louis Castle Interview: Building Westwood, Command & Conquer, and Blade Runner

Louis Castle interview collage with his portrait, Red Alert gameplay, and Kane

Interview by David, Retro-Replay. Before there was Tiberium, before Kane stepped in front of a camera, and before players began building bases on Arrakis, there were two friends in Las Vegas finding out what they could make together. Louis Castle was working at a computer store when he met Brett Sperry. An invitation to use a printer led to a conversation about computer art, then to a creative partnership. In 1985, that… Read more

Philip Oliver Interview: Dizzy, the Oliver Twins, and a New Chapter in Adventure

Philip Oliver interview cover with the Oliver Twins, early computers and Dizzy cover art

Interview by David, Retro Replay Dizzy began with a problem small enough to fit inside a sprite: how do you give a game character a face that can actually express something? Philip Oliver's answer became one of the most recognisable figures of the British home-computer era. With his twin brother Andrew, he built a world of enchanted forests, peculiar objects, needy neighbours, and puzzles that could turn a humble bean into a… Read more

Steve Ince Interview: Broken Sword, Beneath a Steel Sky, and the Art of Game Writing

Steve Ince interview collage with his portrait, Broken Sword, and Beneath a Steel Sky

Interview by David, Retro-Replay. An adventure game can begin with a painted cityscape, a conversation, or a mystery the player cannot leave alone. Steve Ince has helped shape all three. Across his career, he moved from creating artwork to organising production and then writing and designing the stories players would uncover for themselves. Ince spent eleven years at Revolution Software, moving from artist to producer to writer and designer. His work on… Read more

Barry Leitch Interview: The Music Behind Lotus, Top Gear and Beyond

Barry Leitch portrait with Top Gear and Lotus II racing scenes in a red, yellow and black Retro Replay interview collage

Sometimes a game stays with you as a tune. The television is gone, the controller has changed, and you can barely remember the last race you won. Then a few notes bring the whole afternoon back. For players who grew up with Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 or Top Gear, Barry Leitch is part of that memory. His music gave small cars and distant horizons a sense of occasion. You could be having… Read more

Exclusive Interview with Mustin of The OneUps

Exclusive Interview with Mustin of The OneUps

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

Interview: Developer Gridattack on Super Mario Kart Horizons

Interview: Developer Gridattack on Super Mario Kart Horizons

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

Emulator News 📰

The Week in Emulation: September 28–October 5, 2026

September 28–October 5, 2026. This week brought a substantial shadPS4 release, a fresh DOSBox-X build, and a coordinated set of Gear emulator updates. There are 162 notices, many of them successive development snapshots of the same project. The dated log below groups every notice; the analysis here covers changes confirmed by project releases or source repositories. The releases that matter shadPS4 0.19.0 moves PS4 compatibility forward shadPS4 0.19.0 is a tagged release,… Read more

The Week in Emulation: September 21–28, 2026

Week of September 21–28, 2026. This is Retro Replay’s first weekly emulator briefing: one place to follow meaningful releases, nightly builds, arcade work, classic PC changes, and library tools. We reviewed this week’s release notices, then checked the highlighted changes against project release notes and source repositories. A dated build in the log below is a development snapshot, not necessarily a stable release. The week at a glance The four feeds carried… Read more

Eden Version 0.2.1

Eden Version 0.2.1

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

ES-DE Version 3.4.1

ES-DE Version 3.4.1

ES-DE 3.4.1 is a substantial update to the popular multi-platform emulation frontend, expanding Android system support, adding experimental Linux AArch64 support, improving multi-user compatibility and adding a long list of new emulator configurations across Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. Android users searching for the ES-DE 3.4.1 APK or EmulationStation APK 3.4.1 should note that ES-DE's Android release is distributed through the project's official Android channels rather than Google Play. If you are… Read more

x360ce version 4.18.7.0

The x360ce v4.18.7.0 update for the Xbox 360 Controller Emulator has been released. This software translates XInput calls to DirectInput, allowing diverse controllers to function as Xbox 360 ones on Windows PCs. Notable fixes include preventing crashes during device refresh and handling unplugged controllers more efficiently. The interface was improved for device detection and redrawing frequency. Several features have been updated, including a new debug panel and removal of unused tabs. The… Read more

NgpCraft Emulator Version 3.3

NgpCraft Emulator v3.3 has been released, featuring a Neo Geo Pocket/Color emulator with a fast C++ core. It ensures accurate timing against real hardware, allowing games to run at true 30 fps. Key features include a library with thumbnails, sorting, and tracking play stats; a console boot mimicking actual hardware; various video scaling options; and enhanced color support for monochrome cartridges. Users can save states, utilize speed control, and enjoy customizable controls.… Read more

Editorial Reviews 🌟

Rayman Review: Beautiful, Charming and Brutally Hard on PlayStation

Rayman — Retro Replay PlayStation review thumbnail with neon city, green falling code and colorful Dream Forest artwork.

When people remember the original PlayStation, they usually remember polygons. Tekken. Ridge Racer. Resident Evil. Tomb Raider. The entire industry was racing toward 3D, and suddenly traditional 2D games were starting to look like something from the past. And then there was Rayman. Released in 1995, the original Rayman completely ignored the rush toward polygons and instead delivered one of the most beautiful hand-drawn platformers of the entire generation. Bright colors. Huge… Read more

Crazy Taxi Review: Pure Arcade Chaos on Sega Dreamcast

Crazy Taxi — Retro Replay Dreamcast review thumbnail with neon city, green falling code, yellow taxi and the game logo.

Some games take a while to explain. Crazy Taxi is not one of them. You drive a taxi. You pick up passengers. You drive as fast and as recklessly as humanly possible. And somehow, more than twenty-five years later, it's still ridiculously fun. Originally released in arcades before making its way to the Sega Dreamcast, Crazy Taxi is one of those games that perfectly represents Sega during that era. Fast. Loud. Colorful.… Read more

World of Illusion Review: Disney Magic on the Sega Genesis

World of Illusion — Retro Replay Sega Genesis review thumbnail

During the 16-bit era, Disney games gave Sega owners several memorable platformers. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck belongs beside Castle of Illusion, QuackShot, and Aladdin as an example of a licensed game with care behind it. Developed and published by Sega, it builds an adventure around a magic show gone wrong: Mickey and Donald discover a mysterious box, climb inside, and find themselves trapped in a fantastical world.… Read more

Shining Force CD Review: An Essential Sega CD Tactical RPG

Retro Replay Shining Force CD review thumbnail with neon Sega CD and Review labels, the game logo and a throne-room gameplay scene.

The Sega CD is often remembered for full-motion video, but Shining Force CD shows how much stronger its traditional games could be. This tactical RPG rebuilds two Game Gear adventures and adds content made for the CD release. Sega’s official game overview identifies it as a remake of two handheld installments. The result is a generous, battle-focused Shining Force package. Its defining change is the removal of most traditional exploration—a choice that… Read more

Super Mario Kart – Horizons SNES Romhack Review | The True Sequel Fans Deserved

Gameplay of Super Mario Kart on Super Nintendo

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

Smoked Fish and Cabbage Review – A Beginner Friendly Kaizo Journey

Smoked Fish and Cabbage Review – A Beginner Friendly Kaizo Journey

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

Satire & Humor 🤡

Nintendo Wants You to Spend $150 on Mario Galaxy Again, and You Absolutely Will

Super Mario Galaxy game covers with characters.

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

Childhood Ruined: Mario Was Always Punching Yoshi in the Head

Mario interacting with a distressed Yoshi cartoon

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

Every Controller I Have Smashed In Rage, Ranked By The Quality Of The Meltdown

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

Leonardo DiCaprio Refuses to Play Final Fantasy IX After It Turns 25

Leonardo DiCaprio Refuses to Play Final Fantasy IX After It Turns 25

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

Nintendo Threatens Legal Action Over $20 Garage Sale Copy of Super Mario Bros. 3

Man holding Nintendo letter outside with video games.

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

Joy-Con Drift Marketed as “Immersive Gameplay Feature”

Three upset children playing video games indoors.

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

Recent Posts

Arnold Schwarzenegger Passed on King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.

Distressed Retro Replay editorial collage: Arnold passed on Koopa, with a monochrome Schwarzenegger portrait and a production-inspired scene.

Arnold Schwarzenegger could have been Mario’s movie villain. He was approached to play King Koopa in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, but passed. Dennis Hopper got the part instead, leaving us with a casting what-if that’s almost as strange as the finished movie. Try picturing Arnold in Dinohattan for a moment. This was already a Mario adaptation with a human-looking reptilian ruler, so a different leading villain could have taken it… Read more

How Indiana Jones Helped Inspire The Legend of Zelda

Indiana Jones inspired Zelda: Miyamoto, Raiders poster art and a Zelda dungeon in a distressed Retro Replay collage.

Link never needed a fedora, but Indiana Jones helped get his adventure started. Shigeru Miyamoto wanted some of that excitement in a game: the ruins, the danger and the feeling that something worth finding was waiting inside. Years later, he named the films when Nintendo asked him about the beginnings of The Legend of Zelda. Once you know that, it’s hard not to think about it when you enter a dungeon. There’s… Read more

The MGS4 Blooper That Almost Stole Old Snake’s Dignity

“Shriveled Snake” almost made the cut: David Hayter and Old Snake in a distressed Retro Replay collage.

David Hayter says a joke about Snake’s “Shriveled Snake” almost slipped into Metal Gear Solid 4. The cast had been messing around during recording. Someone caught the take before release, sparing players a very unexpected moment with Naomi Hunter. It’s an easy blooper to remember. Naomi is supposed to be worried about Snake’s health. In this take, she was apparently worried about something rather more specific. “So… shriveled…” In a 2012 interview,… Read more

Nintendo Wasn’t Hiring Designers. Then Shigeru Miyamoto Walked In.

Editorial collage of Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo Color TV-Game 15 and Donkey Kong artwork, with the heading Nintendo Wasn’t Hiring Designers.

Before there was a plumber clearing pipes, there was a young designer trying to get someone to pay him to make interesting things. Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to create toys. Nintendo looked like a place where that ambition might fit, except for an inconvenient detail: it was not hiring designers. The familiar internet version turns this into a neat rejection story. Nintendo supposedly passed on the man who would create Mario, then somehow… Read more