Tag Archives: retro gaming

The NES lives again with Celeste Mario’s Zap & Dash DELUXE! Developed by w7n, this deluxe hack adds 11 mini games, a farewell course, and a new soundtrack.

Discover the untold story of Otaku no Zoku, the underground pioneer who sparked Xbox emulation with MAME before the console’s release. A legend of homebrew history. The world of video game emulation has always been shaped by shadowy figures and passionate hobbyists. Behind every emulator release there is usually a name that becomes legendary in forums and IRC channels, a handle that carries more weight than a real identity. In …

The Sega Genesis, or Mega Drive as it was called outside North America, is remembered as one of the most important consoles of the 16-bit era. Most fans think of Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, or Golden Axe when they reflect on the system, but the library was far deeper than those headliners. Hundreds of titles came out during its lifespan, and while some sold millions, others slipped quietly …

Project64 is more than just another emulator — it is a doorway back to the golden age of the Nintendo 64. By downloading it, you are not simply playing old games, you are experiencing the same excitement those titles gave us in the late 90s, now enhanced for modern computers. With today’s advances in emulation technology, Project64 faithfully recreates the hardware and software environment of the original console. That means …

Legends never die When most people think about video game history, they picture the giants. The Nintendo Entertainment System that revived the industry in the eighties. The Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo that waged the fiercest console war of the nineties. The Sony PlayStation that turned gaming into a cultural juggernaut. The Microsoft Xbox that reshaped online play in the 2000s. These names are immortal, and for good reason. …

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 …

For decades, the cult following of Nintendo’s quirky RPG series has kept alive the dream of seeing the original Mother (localized as EarthBound Beginnings) fully reimagined for modern audiences. That dream has not only survived but evolved into one of the most ambitious ROM hack projects ever attempted: a complete rebuild of Mother inside the EarthBound engine. What started as a scattered dream among individual fans has now matured into …

Decades ago, when DVD players were still out of reach, Dreamcast fans found a workaround. Thanks to GypPlay by TheGypsy, Sega’s console doubled as a movie player for burned Video CDs, creating a moment of magic that the DCEmulation community — run today by darc — continues to preserve.

Years of work ended not with a release but with silence because of harassment, licensing wars, and community entitlement. Update 1: The First and Last Update of This Post! So apparently I got Rick Rollbacked, emulation-style. A buddy tells me, “Hey, DuckStation has a secret rollback netplay build, go ask for it in the dev’s Discord.” Like a gullible idiot, I did. What I walked into was less “beta download” …

Retro gaming emulators have saved thousands of classic games from disappearing forever. From the early days of hobbyist coding to today’s advanced platforms, emulation has become the most important tool for preserving gaming history. Learn how emulators keep culture alive, enhance old titles, and why they still matter for every gamer.

Introduction: A Console That Became a Legend The Panasonic 3DO M2 is one of the strangest legends in retro gaming history. Unlike consoles that failed after release, the M2 never even made it to the shelves. It existed in trade shows, development kits, leaked demo discs, and the memories of industry insiders who claimed it could outclass both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. For many gamers who grew up in …

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 …

The Amiga turns 40 this year, and while the original home computer line remains a celebrated success with nearly five million units sold worldwide, its spin-off projects were far less fortunate. Both the CDTV and the CD32 failed to capture mainstream audiences, with the CD32 in particular remembered as Commodore’s final attempt to compete with the likes of Sega’s Mega Drive/Genesis and Nintendo’s SNES. Launched in 1993 as one of …

The First Console Game with Voice Acting When we think of voice acting in video games, our minds often jump to cinematic RPGs, immersive shooters, or modern story-driven adventures. But believe it or not, one of the first consoles to ever feature spoken dialogue was the Mattel Intellivision all the way back in the early 1980s. The secret weapon? A quirky little add-on called the Intellivoice Voice Synthesis Module. Released …

Few games are as universally recognizable as Tetris. With its falling blocks, catchy music, and addictive gameplay loop, it has become one of the most iconic puzzle games ever created. But its origins are just as fascinating as the game itself. Tetris was created in 1984 by Alexey Pajitnov, a computer scientist working at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Inspired by his love of puzzles and simple shapes, …

When gamers think of the PlayStation era, one title stands above the rest. Final Fantasy VII was a landmark release that defined a generation, blending cinematic storytelling, massive environments, and unforgettable characters. But what many people forget is that this legendary RPG was almost a Nintendo 64 game. In the mid 1990s, Square had been a long time Nintendo partner, releasing every mainline Final Fantasy title on Nintendo hardware. Naturally, …

How a Bug Created Grand Theft Auto Today, Grand Theft Auto is one of the most recognizable franchises in gaming history. Known for its open worlds, crime filled stories, and freedom to cause absolute chaos, it has defined generations of players. But what if I told you the entire series only exists because of a programming mistake? Back in the mid 1990s, developer DMA Design (later renamed Rockstar North) was …

When Mortal Kombat hit arcades in 1992, it shocked the world with its brutal fighting, over the top violence, and those unforgettable Fatalities. It was the game every kid wanted to play and the game every parent wanted to ban. So when the time came to bring it home to consoles, Nintendo and Sega faced a tough decision on how much of the blood would make it into living rooms. …

Before Resident Evil, There Was Sweet Home When you think of survival horror, chances are your mind jumps straight to Resident Evil. Released in 1996 on the PlayStation, it defined the genre with its tense atmosphere, limited resources, and unforgettable scares. But what many fans do not know is that Resident Evil owes its existence to a little-known NES game from Japan called Sweet Home. Released in 1989, Sweet Home …

Lara Croft’s Iconic Look Was No Accident When Tomb Raider launched in 1996, Lara Croft quickly became one of the most recognizable characters in gaming. But while a popular myth claims her famous proportions came from a “programming mistake,” the truth is a little different. Lara’s design was carefully planned by Core Design artist Toby Gard. He originally envisioned her as a tough, adventurous woman inspired by comic book heroines …

The Accidental Horror of Silent Hill’s Fog When players think of Silent Hill, the first image that often comes to mind is its thick, suffocating fog. It is one of the most haunting visuals in all of gaming, setting the tone for fear, dread, and the unknown. But here is the twist: that fog was never meant to be scary at all. The original Silent Hill was released on the …

When Street Fighter II first hit arcades in the early 1990s, it changed fighting games forever. The roster of colorful warriors, each with their own style and special moves, became instant legends. But one character almost missed out on a now-iconic attack. Chun-Li, the first female fighter in the Street Fighter series, was introduced without a projectile move. While she had incredible speed and powerful kicks, her lack of a …

When people talk about Nintendo’s Game Boy, the usual memories are of Tetris marathons, trading Pokémon with a link cable, or sneaking in one more round under the covers with a flashlight. But there is one Game Boy out there with a history so wild that it belongs in a museum, and it actually does. During the Gulf War in the early 1990s, a soldier’s Game Boy was caught in …

Vintage gamers know that sometimes the most interesting titles are the ones that almost never made it into their hands. These games haunted store shelves for a few fleeting days or sometimes even just hours before being yanked. Behind the recalls were controversies ranging from legal missteps to violent content oversights and public backlash. Collectors these days pay top dollar for the rarest survivors of these wipeouts. Here are ten …

There is something truly magical about NES retro games. For many of us, the Nintendo Entertainment System was more than just a piece of hardware. It was a portal into new worlds, an after-school escape, and the center of countless family gatherings and late-night sleepovers. NES retro games were the spark that fueled a lifelong passion for gaming. That gray box beneath the television was a gateway to adventures filled …