News & From the Web 🌐

Gezine spends a few seconds on the PS5’s version screen, then opens ★Debug Settings. That’s the video. No game, no lengthy explanation, just a trip through two menus that most owners would scroll past without a thought. But the number on the first screen is 14.10, and that makes the second screen a much more interesting place to end up. This is current PS5 software, the version on Sony’s official system-software page.… Read more

Christmas dinner may need to make room for a few grudge matches this year. Super Mario Kart Deluxe is targeting December 25, 2026, bringing a huge fan-made expansion to the SNES racer that started it all. For anyone who spent afternoons trading shells, missing shortcuts, and demanding one more race, this is a very tempting reason to pick up the controller again. The date appears in the new teaser shared by ScouBsmk… Read more

A $4.5 million judgment can sound like a precise measure of damage. In Nintendo’s case against James C. Williams, known online as Archbox, it was something different: the maximum statutory award the court granted for each of 30 selected games after Williams did not defend the lawsuit. Retro Replay covered Nintendo’s original lawsuit against Williams before the court entered this default judgment. On September 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge Lauren King of… Read more

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is one of the NES’s most daring adventures, and seeing Hyrule return with sharper art, a wider view, and a second Link is a rush. This is what makes modern game technology so exciting: dedicated fans can bring a familiar classic to today’s PCs and add possibilities the original hardware could never offer. The HD art is still a work in progress, but this early release… Read more

Edia is bringing the CD-ROM² versions of Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes I and II to modern systems worldwide in 2027. The Trails series did not spring into existence as a fully formed encyclopedia of nations, political factions and recurring heroes. Its roots stretch backward through The Legend of Heroes, and those roots stretch into Nihon Falcom’s even older Dragon Slayer family. In 2027, players outside Japan will receive an unusually… Read more

At Retro Replay, our passion is digging into the pixels, cartridges, and code of classic gaming. We explore the histories of virtual worlds. But every so often, a true story from that same era emerges from the real world that is so profound it demands our attention. The story of Damien Echols is one such case. It's a significant departure from our usual retro-tech fare, but his history is a powerful and… Read more

If you thought emulation drama ended with Yuzu’s takedown, think again. A brand-new project called Oboromi is shaking up the emulator scene with one bold claim: it’s a proof-of-concept Nintendo Switch 2 emulator built entirely in Rust. Yes, Switch 2 — not the current one. Developed by 0xNikilite, this open-source powerhouse focuses on clarity, correctness, and traceability over raw performance, meaning it’s not here to run games just yet… but it’s already… Read more

Nintendo’s Most Recent Alleged Hack Explained: What Happened, What Is Known, And What To Watch Next Flashpoint overview. A hacking crew calling itself Crimson Collective has claimed it breached Nintendo and walked away with a trove of internal material. Reports say the cache could include production assets, developer files, backups, and other folders, with early chatter centering on a headline number of about 570 gigabytes of data. Nintendo has not confirmed an… Read more

Flashback to the golden age of 16-bit gaming, where pixel art, catchy soundtracks, and side-scrolling adventures defined childhoods everywhere. Nintendo has just dropped three more SNES classics onto the Nintendo Switch Online service, giving fans another reason to dive back into the nostalgia of the Super Nintendo era. Watch Nintendo’s official announcement trailer here on YouTube. This new update for October brings a mix of action, puzzles, and competitive fighting into the… Read more

Nintendo tracked down an alleged Switch pirate by following a trail of posts and repair orders, and now it’s asking a court to award $4.5 million in damages. According to court filings, Nintendo of America accuses James “Archbox” Williams of running multiple piracy storefronts, moderating forums that promoted pirated games, and offering paid access to stolen libraries. Investigators tied the Archbox name to email addresses linked to Nintendo repair orders shipped to… Read more

On September 2, 2025, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company were officially granted U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. What brilliant piece of groundbreaking technology does this cover? A method of summoning a character to fight on behalf of the player. In other words, Nintendo has now patented pressing a button and calling in backup. If you play games, this mechanic should sound familiar. It is Pokémon’s bread… Read more

Nintendo’s Latest Legal Victory Against Modding Nintendo has once again proven that it will aggressively defend its intellectual property from anyone who attempts to undermine it. A federal judge in Washington recently ordered Ryan Michael Daley to pay the company $2 million in damages after he was found guilty of selling modded Nintendo Switch consoles, flash cartridges, and modchips through his site Modded Hardware. The ruling also permanently bans him from engaging… Read more

A Platform Built on Freedom For more than a decade, Google’s Android operating system has been the backbone of the handheld emulation scene. Devices like the Retroid Pocket, AYN Odin, and countless other retro handhelds have leaned on Android because of its flexibility. What made the operating system so attractive to both developers and users was not just its adaptability but also its openness. Android allowed sideloading, which meant that users could… Read more

When Wings of Death hit the Atari ST back in 1990, it quickly carved out a reputation as one of the system’s most intense and stylish vertical shooters. Developed by Eclipse Software and published by Thalion, the game threw players into the boots of Sagyr, a sorcerer cursed to transform into a series of winged creatures in order to battle his way through wave after wave of enemies. Across six lengthy and… Read more

One Of The Web's Oldest ROM Sites Removes Games By Nintendo, Sega, And Lego Emulation site Vimm's Lair – which has been running since 1997 – has announced that it has been asked to remove many games from its archive. God speed, old king. Takedown Requests In a statement on the site's main page, Vimm's Lair said: "Vimm's Lair has been asked to remove many games from The Vault on behalf of Nintendo, Sega, Lego, and… Read more

Former Senator Joe Lieberman Passed Away Former Senator Joe Lieberman passed away on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at the age of 82. His family announced that he died in New York after suffering complications from a fall, with his wife Hadassah and other loved ones by his side. Joe Lieberman: The Senator Who Waged War on Video Games As a passionate video game enthusiast, I can't help but feel a mix of emotions upon learning about the… Read more

Indie developers Broke Studio and GGS Studio Creation are set to release a new game for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive called 'The Cursed Legacy'. This upcoming title is a sequel to their previous action platformer, 'The Cursed Knight'. A Unique Blend of Run-and-Gun and Innovative 2D Gameplay 'The Cursed Legacy' promises to deliver a fresh take on the classic run-and-gun genre by incorporating unique gameplay elements. One of the most notable features is the ability to… Read more

Ex-Sega Staffer Confirms "Secret" Dragon Quest Demo For Saturn Yuji Naka, a former Sega employee, mentioned some time ago that Sega had created a demo of Enix's Dragon Quest for the Sega Saturn console. Now, another former Sega staffer, Yumiko Miyabe, who served as art director on the Space Channel 5 series and worked on games like NiGHTS, Clockwork Knight, and Panzer Dragoon Saga, has confirmed its existence on social media. https://twitter.com/gosokkyu/status/1766329365552635930 According to Google Translate, Miyabe said: "At the time, it was said… Read more

The Quintessential Sega CD Games for Each Year of the Console's Lifespan The Sega CD, released in 1991 as an add-on for the Sega Genesis, brought CD-ROM technology to console gaming. Despite its limited success compared to the SNES, the Sega CD had a notable library of games that showcased its unique capabilities. Let's take a journey through the most quintessential Sega CD games for each year of its lifespan. 1991 Sol-Feace… Read more

The premier Sega Genesis Game for Each Year During the Console's Heyday The Sega Genesis, also known as the Mega Drive in regions outside of North America, was a 16-bit gaming console that competed head-to-head with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The Genesis had its own unique library of games that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in gaming at the time. Let's take a look at the most quintessential… Read more

Unveiling the Controversy: The Quest for Super Monkey Ball's Lost "Adult" Levels Super Monkey Ball, a long-standing franchise known for its family-friendly puzzle-platforming gameplay, took an unexpected turn in 2012 with the release of "Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz" for the PS Vita. The game, which usually catered to a younger audience, suddenly found itself in the midst of a controversy due to a set of levels featuring adult-oriented content. Sega's "Banana… Read more

SEGA's nostalgic gem, Vay, initially released in 1993 for the SEGA CD and subsequently earning its place as a JRPG cult classic, particularly in the West, is poised for a resurgence. Fans can look forward to an "entirely new, fully reimagined port" specifically tailored for iPhone devices, set to launch later this year. The original game, developed by Hertz and released by SIMS in Japan, saw its North American debut thanks to the… Read more

Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch Launches for Android Fans of classic RPGs, get ready! The beloved Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch, previously available on iOS, is set to make its way to Android devices on January 26th. This news comes via Pocket Gamer, and it's sure to excite those who have been waiting to experience the game on their Android phones and tablets. The journey of Lunar: Silver Star Story began on the Sega CD in… Read more

The video game sector continues to face a challenging period marked by ongoing layoffs. Sony has joined the ranks of companies reducing their workforce, announcing on Tuesday the dismissal of approximately 900 employees from its PlayStation division, which accounts for 8% of its global headcount. The impact of the layoffs will be felt across several high-profile development teams within the Sony family. Notable studios that will be affected include Naughty Dog, creators… Read more

22-Year-Old Finds 'Holy Grail' Copy of 1987 Zelda Game Worth Over $700,000 A sealed copy of the 1987 Nintendo classic 'The Legend of Zelda' is expected to sell for over $700,000 at auction this week, thanks to a chance discovery by a 22-year-old. The owner, who goes by Kiro online, originally purchased the game for just $30 back in 1987. Stored for decades in his family's home, Kiro decided on a whim… Read more