Retro

The game plug-in artifact “Game Doctor” that was popular in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s has now been reborn! This new accessory for the Venus Mini Doctor created by Tomy, a game doctor expert on Twitter, is a perfect tribute to the prototype device of the year – it allows the Famicom Disk System to directly read cassette games, recreating that era of rampant piracy and unlimited creativity!

Suffering from electronic impotence and tired of looking at PS5, Switch and RTX graphics cards? Then go back to the original 8-bit era! Retro hardware developer Clyde Shaffer is preparing to start crowdfunding on Crowd Supply to launch a new console that will instantly burn the nostalgic soul – GameTank. This machine is not just a tribute, but a real hardware built entirely with two of the most popular MOS 6502 processors at that time, allowing “fantasy consoles” such as TIC-80, Pico-8 and other open source concepts to be turned into physical machines for the first time!

Old players all know the classic bug in the original “Super Mario Bros.” in 1985 – Minus World, an infinite water loop level entered through the 1-2 pipe, which has almost become a video game legend. Unexpectedly, the sequel “Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels”/”Super Mario 2”, which was first released on the FC disk drive that year, actually also hides Minus World, but it took players nearly 40 years to dig it out!

Mega Drive was one of the most popular consoles in Europe and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, with a huge base of nostalgic players. Many developers themselves are players of that generation, have feelings for this console, and want to “give back to their childhood” with their creations.

Seeing this thing can’t help but remind me of all kinds of memories in the 1990s. Virtual Boy was Nintendo’s first failed console! Prior to this, many manufacturers launched better-performing consoles and handheld consoles for FC and GB, but they were all defeated by Nintendo.

What I want to talk about in this episode is the re-enactment of ELF’s H GAME masterpiece series. Remastered versions of “Classmate” and “Classmate 2” have been launched earlier, and the remake of “Nomura Hospital No. 1” will be released on September 29, 2025.

Hideo Kojima, a legend in the video game industry, although he has created countless classic games, rarely plays them. He often visits art museums in Tokyo with his son on weekends, and particularly likes the museums near Ueno Park. He said: “Just one painting can make him feel the connection across time with ancient artworks and mummies. This feeling is exactly the theme he wants to express in “Death Stranding”: between people, even with the dead.

Recently on the social platform BlueSky, a user accused Ancient’s new game “Earthion” of using generative AI in the game’s dubbing, causing many players to worry about the ethics of the studio. This rumor spread quickly, forcing producer Yuzo Koshiro to personally refute the rumor, emphasizing: “The final version does not use any generative AI at all.”

July 31st is the release date of Koei TECMO’s “Ninja Gaiden – Bond of Fury”, and it is also the day when the trial version of SEGA’s “Shinobi Counterattack: Slash” is released – two classic ninja masterpieces from the past are suddenly reappearing in front of old players, which can be said to be full of emotions!

When it comes to the childhood of veteran players, KONAMI’s “Salamander” (originally known as “Salamander” in the Japanese version and “Life Force” in the US version) is definitely among the best. Now, this cross-scrolling shooter from the golden age of arcades in 1986 has been officially ported to the Super Nintendo in its original form by fan developer Rumbleminze.