This Week in Retro

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How did we allow this to happen?! Not the guest appearance by  @adriansdigitalbasement , but rather the proliferation of competing controller standards which has finally been solved (possibly) by a new multi-interface project for USB, Raspberry Pi, and MiSTeR devices. Plus the latest developments at the new Commodore International Corporation, a treasure trove of audio recordings from Game Developer Conference 1989, the mostly-respectful observance of an important anniversary for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and the first "Chris' Corner" segment to keep the transportation news flowing while Chris takes a brief holiday!

00:00 - Show Opening

02:25 - Every Joyport, Everywhere, All At Once
Story Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSTerFPGA/comments/1rx12q4/multi_controller_adapter_retro_controllers_on/

20:50 - Commodore Is Growing
Story Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/former-xbox-front-man-major-nelson-just-joined-the-company-behind-the-commodore-64-retro-revival

39:04 - Housekeeping - News links found below

47:21 - Meeting Legendary Minds
Story Link: https://gamehistory.org/cgdc-1989-tapes/

Additional link: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/03/the-nes-is-not-gonna-go-on-forever-forget-gdc-2026-take-a-trip-back-in-time-with-recordings-from-the-1989-event

01:00:44 - Community Question of the Week

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Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

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

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
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📻 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

Young People Yearn For 1990s Tech: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/22/young-people-are-longing-for-the-low-tech-90s-and-so-would-i-if-i-could-only-remember-them

GBA At 25: https://www.eurogamer.net/the-best-gba-games-you-can-play-on-switch-and-five-we-hope-show-up-soon

Gunship Origins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni4AbrlROz4

Chuck Norris Obituary: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/20/chuck-norris-was-the-rip-roaring-king-of-80s-friday-night-vhs-fests

Rosetintedspectrum: https://youtu.be/NJ-QxbVUg6o

Indy Classic Expo: https://indyclassic.org

OpenTTD News: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/openttd-asks-people-to-please-stop-being-mad-at-atari-for-forcing-the-game-off-steam-openttd-as-a-project-retains-its-full-independence-and-you-can-still-get-it-for-free/

Our most popular guest returns as  @ReesRambles  joins us to discuss the latest news surrounding the Myrient mega-archive, the legacy of operating system pioneer Digital Research, and some long-overdue game ports including one from the Sinclair QL of all things. Is reviving Cinemaware titles the retro equivalent of jury duty? Are there enough good Atari Jaguar games to count on two hands? Find out as we bid Chris a temporary farewell in episode 260 of This Week in Retro!

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

00:00 - Show Opening

02:16 - Preservation On The High Seas Saved
Story Link: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/385tb-video-game-archive-saved-by-fans-myrient-has-been-100-percent-backed-up-and-validated-torrents-being-generated
Additional link: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/03/video-game-preservation-archive-myrient-has-been-100percent-backed-up-by-the-community

15:54 - DR DOS Is Back?!
Story Link: https://www.dr-dos.com/index.html
Additional links: https://github.com/osfree-project/WIN16
https://www.goto10retro.com/p/mac-os-x-25th-anniversary-the-os

35:54 - Housekeeping - News links found below

41:41 - New Old Games
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dupt1BE8_b4
Additional link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSUOVXVedrA

54:37 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

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/@jpcompton

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

Compute's Gazette Coverage: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1rp826s/twir_covered_in_the_march_2026_computes_gazette/

Sonic On The Amiga: https://youtu.be/JDBHzZS2wNQ

Laserdisc Under The Microscope: https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/10/laserdisc_microscope/
TWiR 116 with Shelby: https://youtu.be/S8EJQXRwouI

Hedley Davis Obituary: https://www.daniels-hutchison.com/obituaries/Hedley-Combs-Davis?obId=47519295

Star Wars Apple Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afNsXyAnUTY

Saturn Accelerator: https://retrorgb.com/former-sega-engineer-confirms-saturn-accelerator-was-in-development.html
TWiR 183 with Bob and Rees: https://youtu.be/Up7rSvb9F7o

Cookie's Bustle: https://gamehistory.org/cookies-bustle/

Commodore PET Restoration: https://retrohax.net/marchindore-commodore-cbm-3032/

Episode Credits

"Atari Jaguar console" by Easterbilby is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

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

The legacy of Lucasfilm Games looms large this week. We take on the controversial conclusions surrounding the global "Adventure Game Aptitude Test," which challenged gamers to complete the classic Maniac Mansion in four hours with no context, no documentation, and no hints. In other news we look at the improved access to Lucasarts classics thanks to a DREAMM emulator upgrade, and live vicariously through an outrageous hack to the infamous Sinclair C5. Plus your top picks in tiny software and an all-new Community Question of the Week.

00:00 - Show Opening

02:00 - You’re Not A Failure
Story Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/the-worlds-first-standardized-gaming-test-will-see-if-you-can-beat-an-80s-adventure-game-without-a-walkthrough-and-itll-even-monitor-you-over-a-webcam-to-make-sure-you-dont-cheat/

Additional links: https://www.polygon.com/agat-adventure-aptitude-test-pc-adventure-maniac-mansion-guide/
https://theagat.co/
https://www.twitch.tv/new2dinosourxl/video/2710199492

18:03 - Dreaming Of A Galaxy Far Far Away
Story Link: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/03/lucasarts-emulator-dreamm-adds-support-for-a-bunch-of-old-star-wars-in-major-update

26:18 - Housekeeping - News links found below

34:14 - Sinclair C6… Speed
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQsPRrgfnPs 

44:19 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

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/@jpcompton

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

The Crew Unlimited: https://thecrewunlimited.com

PS2 with DVD-RW: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1rlfdxi/just_wanted_to_share_something/

Development Machine Controversy: https://www.sonicstadium.org/articles/sega/sega-stole-my-consoles-collector-raided-after-buying-stock-from-office-clearout-r3301/

Matthew Lillard On Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhvMRw3OPjY

ZX Spectrum Street Fighter 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_HJvjzojZs

Ultima VIII Retrospective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4h1GIw32UU

IBM Training Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNC0mLsaqz4

All the fun you can squeeze into 64k or less as we look at the international sensation that was Jet Set Willy and the explosion of open-world adventure gaming in 1984. There's even a fully-realised Quake-style FPS available for modern PCs that fits into just 64 kilobytes, or you can code up your own retro memory-resident marvels with the aid of the new Kwyll system or dozens of other open-source development environments. 

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

00:00 - Show Opening

01:59 - Let’s Compare Our (Jet Set) Willys
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idDsa-fTNPU

19:22 - Retro Coding Roundup
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9hpGu1fKHM
Additional links: https://indigobeetle.itch.io/santas-lost-and-found

Tprrt's Blog: https://tprrt.tupi.fr/retro-console-game-engines.html

36:06 - Housekeeping - News links found below

42:00 - QUOD Damage!
Story Link: https://hackaday.com/2026/02/23/quod-is-a-quake-like-in-only-64kb/
Additional links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qht68vFaa1M

QUOD Download: https://daivuk.itch.io/quod

Quake Brutalist Jam III: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1r7pz1p/quake_brutalist_jam_iii_released_jan_3rd/

Free Unreal: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1r44enm/unreal_tournament_2004_is_now_free/

Chris' Unreal Maps: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oaBzMgV9oFHFpuTDnk4cytHOSdw0vII3?usp=sharing

51:22 - 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/@jpcompton

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

TIE Fighter Total Conversion: https://youtu.be/IZtHOoMsrWs?si=X3S9v4aEJXPDZ03D

FreeDOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwLIgdRj5bI

MiSTer Floppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN8TCz7Z0n8

eXoDemoscene: https://www.retro-exo.com/demoscene.html

GenZ and iPods: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/02/23/why-gen-z-and-young-adults-are-embracing-ipods-again

Rob Grant obituary: https://www.ganymede.tv/2026/02/rob-grant-rip/

Floating Lemming: https://youtu.be/h-2KyTnxr5E?si=dZFkM8nKew3dyF9I

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

"Keep a copy of what's important to you."
"Punish your children one day."

With these bullet points (provided by special guest  @RonsCompVids ) in mind, we take a critical look at a Philips CD-i retrospective, discuss a substantial update to the Stop Killing Games movement, and dig into the fundamental right of physical media ownership. We share your top tips to avoid doomscrolling and introduce a new Community Question of the Week: what retro technology would you resuscitate with a one BILLION dollar budget?

00:00 - Show Opening

05:18 - Was The CD-i Doomed From The Start?
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNDm13SbX_Q

30:54 - Ross Has Saved Your Game
Story Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/stop-killing-games-is-launching-ngos-in-the-european-union-and-the-us-were-not-just-going-away-on-this/

48:53 - Housekeeping - News links found below

58:51 - Streaming Is So Last Year
Story Link: https://www.whathifi.com/streaming-entertainment/why-ill-never-give-up-my-dvd-collection

01:15:02 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

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/@jpcompton

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

SDF Public Access UNIX: https://connect.sdf.org/

Commercial Availability Of Pre-2010 Games: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Frflir4u3odkg1.jpeg

THEA1200 Preorder: https://retrogames.biz/products/thea1200/

Dolphin Emulator: https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2026/02/16/rise-of-the-triforce/

Lemmings 35th Anniversary: https://youtu.be/Ulx0WE8KnA4

ATABoy: https://youtu.be/XUmxxTCaCM4

Echo Aviation Controller: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-gaming/honeycomb-echo-aviation-controller-review 

Games You Missed: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1rbp5d2/new_column_from_itsmethyroid_games_you_missed/

Giant Macintosh: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/case-mods/computer-history-museum-unveils-comically-large-scale-rendition-of-the-1986-apple-macintosh-plus-towering-all-in-ones-keyboard-looks-disproportionately-huge-today