Retro Recap All The Classic Gaming News From The Past Week (August 16th 2026)

Welcome to Retro Recap, a regular feature we run each and every weekend which rounds up all of the best retro gaming news and content of the past week in one place.

Donkey Kong Land For The Game Boy Has Just Got An SNES-Style Fan Remake, Inspired By Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Land Remake is pitched as a fan-made recreation of the original Donkey Kong Land, but with looks, sound and controls in the style of Donkey Kong Country. In other words, you get all the same unique worlds like Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!, Kremlantis and Big Ape City, but with graphics and sound more akin to its 16-bit relative.

It was announced via a video on the developer Kazquez's YouTube channel and is said to feature 30+ full-sized levels to play through, with each said to contain "lots of secrets to uncover."

Modder Turns Fisher-Price Children's Toy Into A Functional Game Boy Color

If you have children or friends with kids, there's a chance you might have seen the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Lil' Gamer before.

Designed to look like a baby-ified version of Nintendo's classic Game Boy handheld, it is a sensory toy that plays sounds and music, but isn't really designed to do anything more complex than that, with the "screen" essentially showing a static picture.

Now hacker KOUZEX has crammed an original Game Boy Color motherboard into the children's toy and wired up the buttons to replace the Game Boy's.

Slap On The Sunscreen, An Obscure Volleyball Title From Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun's Creator Is Coming To Consoles

Anyone in the mood for some volleyball? No? Well, tough luck. This week, Hamster, the creator of Arcade Archives, brings Technōs Japan's beach volleyball title, V'Ball, to modern platforms, whether you like it or not, giving players the chance to step into the role of a pair of shirtless beach bums as they battle their way through tournament match after tournament match.

Commodore Is Reviving An Iconic Joystick, But There's An Unfortunate Catch

Commodore International — the 'revived' version of the famous home computer and electronics manufacturer, now headed up by Christian Simpson — has revealed its next product: a modern recreation of the TAC-2 joystick.

The TAC-2 was a joystick originally released in the '80s by Suncom, compatible with a range of machines (including the Commodore 64, Atari computers, and the Commodore Amiga), and was known for being much sturdier than many of the other alternatives available on the market at the time.

Commodore International announced the revival of the joystick on social media, with this new version promising to be "faithful to everything that made the original unforgettable, while refining it with carefully engineered improvements worthy of its legacy."

Mario Kart 64 And Minish Cap Get Native Dual-Screen 3DS Ports

EstebanPdN, the creator of the 3DS port of Link to the Past, has returned with two more native 3DS ports – one for N64 racer Mario Kart 64 and another for the GBA Zelda, Minish Cap.

The Legend Of Zelda Gets Transformative Two-Player Mod For Its 40th Birthday

The Zelda series isn't alien to the concept of co-operative play – see Four Swords and Tri Force Heroes – but the original 1986 title has remained a resolutely single-player affair, until now.

Developer Deric Miller has just released Z for 2, a hack which turns The Legend of Zelda into a "two-player simultaneous cooperative multiplayer game."

Player one controls Link as normal, while the second player is in charge of Link’s Shadow.

CeX Is Revisiting Its 'Retro-Only' Store Concept And Returning To The World Of Imports, According To New Rumour

According to a new rumour, CeX could be returning to the concept of a retro-only outlet, and this one will include both NTSC-J and North American releases.

This inside knowledge comes from the YouTube channel Retro Ghetto, and was spotted by our friends over at Retro Dodo. "I can officially confirm, this is definitely going to happen," says the channel's owner. "Launching this holiday season or Early 2027."

Interview: Handheld Maker Mangmi On The Design Philosophy Behind The Air Y

2026 is a rough year for the handheld business. Rising storage and component prices have rippled through the supply chain, pushing brands to hike prices or pull out of the market entirely.

Mangmi's third slate of devices, the vertically oriented Air Y and Air Y Pro, is set to release later this week. We spoke with the team behind the new releases about their design philosophy, the resistance to shoving AI into everything, and why they’re convinced gaming handhelds are more than a niche toy.

Review: KONKR Pocket Advance - The Nintendo GBA, Perfected

AYANEO's budget brand, KONKR, has already given us some welcome options in the handheld emulation space, but few of them have attracted the kind of fevered attention that the Pocket Advance has managed.

This GBA-inspired portable sold out of its pre-order quota in astonishingly quick time, convincing AYANEO to offer a second batch (as well as new colourways) in order to satisfy demand.

Now the device is here, I can easily see why it has caused such a stir.