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The Legend of Super Mario: The Zelda X Super Mario Bros. You Must Play

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The Legend of Zelda takes on Super Mario Bros. in this cool mashup!

There is one way to make us play the original The Legend of Zelda, mash it up with one of our fave NES games, Super Mario Bros.!

Hacking games and mashing them up isn’t anything new, but when the hacked sum is greater than the individual games, we take note. Swedish ROMHacking user NESDraug has hacked together two of the greatest NES games, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. to create an awesomely playable The Legend of Super Mario mashup game. Featuring Super Mario elements set in the original world of Hyrule might just make us experience a Zelda-like game on the NES – yes, we are one of those in the minority that never were into or wanted to play Zelda games.

If you want to experience The Legend of Super Mario, you can get the game patch from ROMHacking right here. Oh yeah, you will need a patching tool (like Lunar IPS) to patch the original rom file with the .ips patch file – that’s all we can tell ya without incriminating ourselves.

Go on, what are you waiting for?!


source: Hack Games Longplay Channel



Stunt Car Racer Coming To The Commodore Plus/4

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Brrrrrrrrrmmmmm, brrrrrmmmmm, brrrrrrrmmmmmm

Geoff Crammond’s Stunt Car Racer (SCR) on the C64 was our most played car racing gaming (sorry Buggy Boy) back in the day. Surprisingly, it has held up quite well and is still a joy to play.

Hungarian developer, Gergely Patai, had reversed engineered this superb racing game on C64 and modified its physics to run at 50 FPS – yep, you read that right, 50 (freakin!) Frames Per Second! You can grab the SCR C64 50FPS version here.

To our astonishment, Gergely is now porting this marvel to the Commodore Plus/4! With plenty of limitations to work around, we are darn impressed with Gergely’s achievements and devleopment skills in squeezing SCR to play on the Plus/4. Not bad for two weeks worth of effort!

Gergerly notes the challenges he had porting SCR to the Plus/4:

The biggest limitation was RAM space. The original game doesn’t leave much of the C64’s memory untouched, and the Plus/4 has less accessible RAM while needing an extra 1K for colour information. For the time being, my solution was to remove load/save functionality and the ability to change key bindings, so I’d be able to get a working game and have some breathing room to shuffle things around. At the moment I have a bit over 2K memory left, so I should be able to restore some of the missing bits.

We can’t wait to see the finished product!



Shop Till You Drop At PixelCrib

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If you are after some cool gaming related products, including memorabilia and collectibles, then you must check out PixelCrib!

Our good friends at PixelCrib have been wonderful supporters of Ausretrogamer for a long while now, which we are always very thankful for.

For those of you in Oz (and beyond!), PixelCrib is really your one stop shop for video game related products, including rare, high-quality video game memorabilia and collectibles – they are after all, the gaming culture specialists! The best bit is, you can shop from the comfort of your own home.

With a plethora of amazing items in their store, here are some of our fave picks (Ed: this list was really really hard to whittle down):

  • Nintendo Switch – Physical Games

You know those Nintendo Switch games that you thought you could only download from the Nintendo eShop? Well, those awesome games, like Celeste and Cuphead (amongst many others) are available in their physical form!

  • Books, books, books as far as the eye can see

If you have bookshelves that need filling (or a coffee table!), then you have come to the right place! PixelCrib has tons of books, here are some of our picks:

A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games

Artcade

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-UpsPC Engine: The Box Art Collection

  • Do you like playing tunes on vinyl?

We sure do. If you like gaming related soundtracks / music, then the vinyl section is where you need to be at:

Gamer Boy Disappearing Lines: Chiptune Music of Tetris EP

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: Music From The Arcade Games LP

Mother 2 Original Video Game Soundtrack 2xLP

Oh how we wish we could have them all……

Shovel Knight Shadowbox Art

Hyrule Field (Legend of Zelda) A3 Art Print

Dead Cells Shadowbox Art

  • But wait, there is more! Did someone say, where are the retro gaming systems at?

PixelCrib has an array of amazing retro consoles for you to choose from, from the Evercade (VS/EXP), Retron and Sega Astro City Mini systems, to the Quarter Size and RepliCade mini arcade machines:

Oh yeah, in case you missed the news, you can now pre-order Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket (Capcom / Taito) handheld systems on PixelCrib! The best part is, these are compatible with your Evercade cartridges!

These are just the tip of the iceberg of products available on PixelCrib. We implore you to get on the PixelCrib site and take a good look, as there is bound to be gaming related products that will tickle your fancy.

Happy shopping everyone!



Dreamcast and GameCube Gaming On The Go

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Ever dreamed of having a portable version of Sega’s Dreamcast and/or Nintendo’s GameCube consoles? You may not need to dream anymore!

We know you’ll throw the old, “but my Steam Deck (or Ayaneo or hacked PS Vita) can emulate these consoles already!”, well let us tell ya, these portable versions are a step closer to their original source (by using the original’s internals)!

It is quite impressive to see these innovations come to life, even though it may offend the purists (and possibly get Nintendo’s lawyers onto these merchants).

These portable systems aren’t necessarily cheap, but they scratch an itch for the nostalgic in us – especially the Portable Dreamcast! Now, what can we offload to procure one of these……..

Where to buy:

  • Portable Dreamcast (on AliExpress)
  • Portable GameCube (on AliExpress)

Portable Dreamcast

Portable GameCube



Atari Introduces New Collectible Replica Arcade PCBs

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A NEW REVISION IN ARCADE CIRCUIT BOARD HISTORY

Ah Atari, they know exactly how to squeeze every ounce out of their IP with products that hit the nostalgic sweet spot!

This time around, good ole new Atari has partnered with Retro Arcade to create high-quality authentic replica arcade machine Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) for Black Widow, Gravitar and Major Havoc – iconic Atari arcade games prized for their advanced gameplay and relative rarity of their cabinets.

These reproductions are officially licensed 11.5 x 20.75 inch (29.2cm x 52.70cm) reproductions based on the original arcade board sets and are a new revision in the PCB history. The boards use the original bill of materials, follow the original schematics, and can be used to replace damaged original boards by using the original parts from these boards.

OK, we must admit, we are actually impressed with these replica/repro PCBs, even if the price (US$245) is a tad too much when taking into account the exchange rate.

Oh yeah, these are available in limited quantities at Atari.com.

PS: To sweeten this juicy deal, Atari is offering $10 off (code: “PCBOOPSIE“) on any one of the three Retro Arcade PCB boards (yeah, we know, boards is redundant in PCB boards) 😉

Major Havoc PCB: Revision D

Major Havoc challenges players with a journey through exciting gameplay styles, including Breakout-style mini games where a knowledgeable gamer can warp through different levels.

Gravitar PCB: Revision C

A multi-directional shooter with a reputation for difficulty, Gravitar is arguably also the first cave-flyer ever made.

Black Widow PCB: Revision A

The arcade classic Black Widow is one of the very first twin-stick shooters ever made.



Thrill Of The Chase: FurySevenSix visits the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre

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Who doesn’t like a sneaky weekend trip to the nation’s capital?!

Well, that’s exactly what our good friend, Noel Wheatley, did this past weekend. Noel (aka: FurySevenSix) shared photos of the amazing retro gaming centre he found in Canberra on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre is one of those places that will wow and indulge you in some very intoxicating nostalgia.

The below photos attest to the amazing collections found at the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre (Canberra VCC), from iconic gaming systems, classic video games, to mouth-watering collectibles that have been lost to time. Make sure you add the Canberra VCC to your must visit list now!

PS: Check out Noel’s Instagram for more pics and vids of this amazing place!

The important details:

  • Venue: Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre
  • Address: 11/90 Barrier Street, Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory

image source (used by permission): Noel’s Twitter and Instagram accounts



Turn Your A500 Mini Into A Retro Console Beast!

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We know there will be the purists out there that will want to leave their THEA500 Mini retro system as it was intended (Ed: stock standard), but for those looking to spice there’s up, Team Pandory’s A500 Mini Pandory500 V2 Mod is for you!

The below video highlights the newly added features to the Pandory mod, which was released a few months ago. There’s the new Amiberry 5.3, new Dreamcast cores, native PPSSPP, and also making it compatible with the official firmware updates, to name just a few!

The installation is easy, all you need to do is download Pandory500 from Github and dump it onto a USB stick – it is that easy! Oh yeah, this is a softmod and does not change anything on TheA500 Mini. Go and have some fun 😉


source: Team Pandory



Elden Ring Reimagined as a Tiger Electronics Game

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Good ole Tiger Electronics, they were quite late to the handheld game (pun fully intended) with Nintendo well and truly taking that crown with their Game & Watch series.

Nevertheless, Tiger were prolific in releasing many classic titles on their handheld platform, with the likes of Double Dragon, Sonic The Hedgehog and Street Fighter II to name just a few, getting the Tiger Electronics handheld treatment. One key feature of Tiger games was that they were particularly frustrating and almost unplayable, but we still loved them.

When we came across Robert Penney’s (aka: Penney Pixels) reimagined Elden Ring getting the Tiger Electronics handheld treatment, we knew we had to let you all know about it! Robert’s novelty creation is part of his hobby of making fake retro game animations, with this particular creation being quite clever in capturing the Tiger Electronics look and feel.

We asked Robert to tell us more about his Elden Ring Tiger Electronics creation, especially how long it took to make, this is what he had to tell us:

“It took roughly a month to put together, but hard to say exactly. I would do bits and pieces on it in the evenings in small chunks. But the core animation was only a few weeks. I got a bit caught up in the texturing and trying to make it look as authentic as possible which took longer than it should have, but it was a labour of love so I enjoyed that aspect of it in a therapeutic way.
The concept itself was based on the humour of a lot of my game animations. In this case it was aimed at Tiger Electronics ports. Those handheld games are certainly charming to look back on now, but most would agree they left a lot to be desired in comparison to the original versions. So I took that concept to the extreme by taking the highly detailed, complex and vast world of Elden Ring and crushing it down to a shell of its former self. 99% of the original game was stripped away (It’s just Limgrave and a few basic trash mob enemies while the real Elden Ring has over a hundred bosses) and I kept the RPG elements, a spirit summon and the levelling up system. Elements all far too intricate to include properly in a little LCD handheld meant for short car journeys. I also wanted to juxtapose the difficulty between the real version and my terrible fictional port. While Elden Ring is challenging in true FromSoftware spirit, this Tiger Electronic is difficult in another way. It’s hard to see what’s going on, has fiddly controls, minimal animation frames and just downright unfair.”
We reckon Robert has definitely nailed it! Check it out!


source: Penney Pixels



You Can Now Play OutRun on Atari 8-Bit Computers!

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Say what?! Yep, OutRun can be played on your Atari 8-bit (A8) XE/XL computers!

This is a Work In Progress (WIP), so there is more content/improvements coming, but for now, it is still looking and sounding pretty darn good!

Read up on the development/progress of OutRun on the AtariAge forum and download the WIP file direct from here. Brush the dust off your A8 computers (grab your Atari MAX cart) and get some OutRun into ya!


source: Atari 8-Bits Forever



Our Fun Factory Gets a RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock

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We have always admired the Run-DMD clock and RPI2DMD arcade wall clocks, but getting one always proved elusive.

In October last year we serendipitously stumbled upon a new post on a UK pinball forum advertising a limited run of these DMD retro arcade clocks. We immediately registered our interest and the rest as they say, is history! The maker of these was going to do a run of about 30 units, so we definitely got lucky, as they got snapped up within minutes of the post going live!

Let the build begin!

We received our meticulously handmade RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock in early January, which was amazing, considering all the international shipping disruptions due to the pandemic.

We must say, this amazing DMD panel is eye-poppingly gorgeous in real life and is quite large – which is a good thing. The DMD clock is connected via WiFi (it also has an Ethernet/RJ45 port), allowing us to login and configure our location (for time and weather information) and the animations we want to cycle through.

Speaking of animations, this thing is loaded! It has 5235 animations to be exact. The animations range from arcade and pinball attraction screens, logos, consoles, computers, to Christmas and Halloween GIFs to name just a few. There were also some *ahem* questionable adult animations, but we switched those off for obvious reasons.

Setting up the RPI2DMD

DMD Wall Clock

Specs of the RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Clock include:

  • Built on Raspberry Pi, Custom software, Colour panels, Remote accessibility and settings
  • Brightness settings dependant on the time of day (so it can go dim at night, and then on bright at 8am for example)
  • Edit the display duration (or switch the individual function off!), choose different fonts & background images
  • Display a 7-day weather forecast (using an API key from OpenWeatherMap)
  • WiFi and Ethernet connection
  • 5000+ animations across 14 categories

And of course, to do all of this, ideally you would need a Wifi Connection, or wired Ethernet (although not essential, highly recommended – the Weather forecast does NOT work without an internet connection).

The wait to get one of these was definitely worth it. It looks absolutely amazing and is always a great conversation starter.

Testing the RPI2DMD

Shinobi on DMD Wall Clock