This Week in Retro

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With museum guide Gameboys and intense Linux overhauls for 486 laptops lined up,  Veronica stops by to make sure everything's crystal clear. King's Quest and other Sierra classics are finally available for Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers, there's a Grand Theft Auto 2 overhaul in the works, and a window full of tiny emulators.

Keep up with Veronica at her main content hub of https://veronicaexplains.net , as well as the new joint podcast with Macintosh Librarian at https://kateandveronica.net

00:00 - Show Opening

04:15 - Serious Uses For Game Boy
Story Link: https://www.gameboymuseum.com/single-post/gb-museum-on-cart
InfoGenius: https://www.gameboymuseum.com/single-post/infogenius-game-boy-productivity
Workboy prototype: https://www.inverse.com/input/gaming/meet-the-workboy-nintendos-long-lost-gameboy-productivity-device

18:00 - SHORK Attack!
Story Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/1wl2v0x/1996_ibm_thinkpad_365ed_x_2026_linux_kernel_73rc3/
Github: https://github.com/SharktasticA/SHORK-486
JagOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atZwJqhJn-A

32:52 - Housekeeping - News links found below

38:23 - King’s Quest For Atari and C64!
Story Link: https://meanhamster.com/games/agi-64

50:28 - Community Question of the Week

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Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Elite Atari 8-bit: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393094-elite-for-the-atari-8-bit-firebird-version-has-been-completed-and-is-released/

Tiny Elite ships: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1wqsken/elite_small_enough_the_swallow/

GoldenEye SNES: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/09/it-trivialises-the-hobby-goldeneye-running-on-snes-triggers-more-debate-over-vibe-coded-retro-projects

Retronauts Assemble: https://retronaut.tech/retronauts-assemble-311026/
Retronauts video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0g9pOliSkg

Ace Combat 5 and Midnight Club: Los Angeles for PC: https://www.dsogaming.com/news/burnout-revenge-ace-combat-5-and-midnight-club-los-angeles-get-unofficial-pc-ports/

LGR's VCF Midwest retrospective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-XF5j6x0hs

GTA2 enhanced: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/pc-gaming/27-year-old-gta-2-gets-full-path-tracing-and-60-fps-frame-generation-via-rtx-remix-custom-direct3d-9-wrapper-modernizes-classic-with-custom-direct3d-9-bridge-unlocks-dynamic-lighting

English Maniac Mansion Famicom: https://rickyderocher.itch.io/maniac-mansion-famicom-english-hack

Star Wars Trilogy for Dreamcast: https://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2026/09/star-wars-trilogy-arcade-model-3-port.html

Grundy NewBrain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtCB9w8maAg

Amigos on Atari 600XL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Ez7qWIC_Y

FujiGrid: https://www.savetz.com/fujigrid/

Dozens of potential trademark violations stand in the way of a retro racer's comeback! Naturally we lead with that news. After a quarter-century the secrets of the PlayStation 2's security chip are now open for inspection, and there's exciting news for enthusiasts of niche platforms including Sony's high-resolution SMC-70 CP/M machine, Amiga Unix, and the Spectravideo 318 in the latest episode of This Week in Retro!

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

02:23 - Trademarks Trash Tracks
Story Link: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/09/microprose-turns-to-fans-to-rename-geoff-crammond-racing-4s-grid-following-steam-reissues-licensing-woes

17:20 - PlayStation 2 Finally Cracked
Story Link: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/playstation/26-year-old-sony-ps2-security-chip-broken-wide-open-after-four-years-of-effort-reverse-engineering-enthusiast-successfully-unlocks-cxp102064-mechacon-chip

32:37 - Housekeeping - News links found below

37:32 - Some Less-Loved Computers
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT2-7KkPkBc
Computer Forum magazine: https://spectravideo.org/viewtopic.php?t=38
Amiga UX: https://amigaux.org

55:12 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Eternal Darkness returns?: https://ixbt.games/en/news/2026/09/16/436122-nightdive-nameknula-na-vozvrashhenie-xorrora-eternal-darkness.html

Wi-Fi For Gameboy Advance: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/canocoder/canoflash-wi-fi-adapter-for-original-game-boy-advance-hard

ZX81 mega expansion: https://codeberg.org/NollKollTroll/OpenSpand

Atari 2600 tech demo: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2026/09/city-by-the-lake/

🛠 Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com/ for all your PCB needs! 🛠

How much retro tech fits into one hectare? We try to sum up the massive Vintage Computer Festival Midwest before taking on a hot new upgrade for classic DOS computers. And if you've ever envied that extensive collection of game boxes you see every week on the show, try printing your own! GOG's just made that a lot easier. All this, plus the latest on the Neo-Geo AES+, new MiSTer cores, and more!

00:00 - Show Opening

01:33 - 100,000 Square Feet Of Nerdery
Story Link: https://www.vcfmw.org

22:45 - Your 286 Needs An Upgrade
Story Link: https://bsky.app/profile/furan.bsky.social/post/3mut6kcjzxk2g

PCBWay Project Link: https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/Graphics_Gremlin_HDMI_afb4ec21.html

Github: https://github.com/schlae/graphics-gremlin

40:17 - Housekeeping - News links found below

46:15 - GOG Gets Boxed
Story Link: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/09/gog-brings-back-big-box-pc-games-one-printable-template-at-a-time/

GOG Press Release: https://www.gog.com/pressroom/gog-preservation-program-brings-the-big-box-nostalgia/

54:41 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Raider 64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaxJ9WTrpjA 

The National Museum of Computing: https://retrogamecoders.com/tnmoc/

Sega FPGA core: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/09/new-fpga-model-1-emulator-core-runs-segas-virtua-racing-with-remarkable-precision

AES+ delay: https://presse.plaion.com/The-NEOGEO-AES-worldwide-release-date-moves-to-16-th-September-2027-as

Commodore shop in The Netherlands: https://www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/6026257/bart-gokt-op-comeback-van-de-commodore-computer-en-opent-een-winkel 

Midwinter Remaster in Steam Early Access: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5056170/Midwinter_Fan_Remaster/

It's the big four-oh for the Amstrad PC1512, an aggressively cost-reduced PC clone for the UK market. There's also a fascinating time capsule of Atari user group newsletters from August 1987, and Nelumbo, a new engine for classic Lotus racing action, plus Tron references, Kickstarter updates for Spectrum Next and Vectrex Mini, a unique phone booth memorial, and more!

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

04:00 - Cheap PCs, Cheaper PCs and Even Cheaper PCs
Story Link: https://x.com/Lord_Sugar/status/2095098703992250874

18:38 - Exploring A 1987 Time Capsule
Story Link: https://blog.archive.org/2026/08/27/a-computer-history-time-capsule/
Newsletters: https://archive.org/details/antc_Atari_newsletter_time_capsule_1987-08

38:20 - Housekeeping - News links found below

45:15 - Lotus Is Back
Story Link: https://almost-there-games.itch.io/nelumbo 
Launch Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYZk2k6AOA8

55:32 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links
CEX Retro Shop: https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/31/cex-confirms-existence-first-retro-store-birmingham-29501398/

Vectrex Update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1852390947/vectrex-mini/posts/4787697

Bletchley Park Redundancies: https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/bletchley-park-in-milton-keynes-announces-redundancies-due-to-dwindling-visitor-numbers-8958108

Space Paranoids: https://landonjsmith.com/projects/spaceparanoids/

Defrag Simulator: https://defrag98.com/

PlayStation 2 Emulator: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/08/pcsx2-has-just-been-updated-bringing-serious-performance-gains-and-more-to-the-ps2-emulator

Nick Weerts Memorial Phone Booth: http://nickweertsmemorial.com

Mario On The Master System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRrioabZZwM

🛠 Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com/ for all your PCB needs! 🛠

New, retro-themed game development and releases dominate the news this week. Chris called his contact at Commodore to get early access to the Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection and we take an early look at the new Commodore 77 variant. Michael Cranford is back in game development after a 34-year absence with Shadow Snare, a spiritual sibling to his original Bard's Tale. And Dave makes a cardboard tube into a Sword of Power as he celebrates a new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe game, part of that franchise's big revival.

00:00 - Show Opening

01:24 - I’m Not Saying It’s Aliens
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ck3vhJ6S_E
Commodore 77: https://www.ign.com/articles/cyberpunk-2077-commodore-computer-reveal-gamescom-2026
Commodore is really back! Gamescom 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKMNXEncmw

20:36 - Bard’s Tale Reborn?
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3pitkK-OVA&t=8s
Shadow Snare Footage: https://shadowsnare.com/assets/shadow-snare/video/shadow-snare-c64-gameplay-demonstration-title-bridge-v2.mp4

35:27 - Housekeeping - News links found below

44:18 - I Have the Power!
Story Link: https://youtu.be/-HQfjANanu0?is=-wpXrfQ6jY1jpjde
He Man Game Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNSf7uUlvKM

53:22 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/davevelociraptor.bsky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Atari's reissue of Activision games on cartridge: https://www.ign.com/articles/atari-is-re-releasing-39-atari-2600-games-on-working-physical-cartridges

Scrap Men Amstrad PPC 640: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1vxfki8/a_surpise_gift/

Atari 2600/Vectrex Mashup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_1T-NoEtUU

PS3 Emulation: https://www.notebookcheck.net/RPCS3-reaches-major-milestone-en-route-to-perfectly-playing-all-PS3-first-party-games.1377811.0.html

RIP Peter Cullen: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15844gwe0wo

Cliff Stoll and the First Cybersecurity Investigation?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=656058JxTM0