Retro Recap All The Classic Gaming News From The Past Week (August 23rd 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.

This Zelda: Ocarina Of Time ROM Hack Will Let You See Hyrule From A Whole New Perspective

As much as I loved exploring the world of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was one thing that always bothered me - the inability to view certain areas in first person.

Don't get me wrong: it was never a deal breaker, and I felt the 2D, pre-rendered backgrounds did a more-than-adequate job of creating the impression of a larger, more detailed world. Luckily for me, though, there appears to be a new ROM hack currently in development that will allow players to do just this, in addition to eliminating the loading screens inside Hyrule Market.

Wake Up, It Looks Like Terranigma Might Finally Be Getting A Re-Release

Clever River Games appears to be teasing a re-release of Quintet's SNES RPG Terranigma, which launched on the SNES back in 1995.

Created by a team that includes Tomoyoshi Miyazaki (director, designer and writer), Kamui Fujiwara (artist) and Reiko Takebayashi (writer), Terranigma is part of a series of titles which also includes Soul Blazer and Illusion of Time. It was only localised for Europe and PAL regions, with no North American version – this has made it quite a sought-after title.

Ultima & Deus Ex Legend Warren Spector Announces His Retirement From Games

The games industry legend Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Ultima Underworld, Disney Epic Mickey) has announced his retirement from games in a new statement on LinkedIn.

Spector first rose to prominence in the world of video games in the early-to-mid '90s as a producer on several acclaimed Origin titles, including various Ultima and Wing Commander games, System Shock, and the oft-forgotten but well-loved flight sim Wings of Glory, before working briefly on Looking Glass Studios' Dark Camelot, the game that later became Thief: The Dark Project.

Dev Behind Zelda: BotW 3DS 'Demake' Says It "Wasn't Meant To Be Seen By Anyone"

A fan-made demake of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has appeared out of nowhere online, predictably causing quite a kerfuffle. As spotted by @nintygametube on social media, the game currently only works on 3DS emulators and not actual hardware.

As you might imagine, people have been digging into this mysterious project, and Pablomf6 thinks it's almost certainly AI-coded. However, the developer has broken their silence to refute the claim, and says the demo was never meant to be public.

Panzer Dragoon Is Being Unofficially Ported To Dreamcast

Frogbull, the developer behind the unofficial tech demos of Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy VII on Saturn, has just revealed their next project: Panzer Dragoon on Dreamcast.

The developer has been decompiling the Saturn game over the past few months and is now ready to show off the next step in the process, which is bringing the game to Sega's final console.

System 3 Insists No GenAI Was Used In James Pond Legacy, But Fans Aren't Convinced

Not long after the new trailer for The James Pond Legacy: The Pond Is Not Enough went live this week, fans were quick to point out that, true to form, System 3 appears to be using GenAI to create assets for this collection.

The veteran publisher has embraced GenAI in many of its titles, and Time Extension understands that the company outsources much of its production to external partners rather than doing the work in-house.

It seems that System 3 tried to head off such questions from the get-go, as the press release contains the following statement, as spotted by Go Nintendo:

"No generative AI was used in the creation of the artwork. Every stage began with the authentic original James Pond graphic and was completed using traditional digital illustration, 3D rendering and manual artistic refinement."

Here's The First Trailer For Golden Axe's Animated TV Series, From The Creator Of Star Trek: The Lower Decks

The first trailer for the Golden Axe animated series from the Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan and American Dad's Joe Chandler has officially dropped, giving us our first real look at the fantasy-themed action comedy adventure series based on the classic Sega brawler (h/t: Push Square).

"The A1200 Is Officially An Amiga Product"

Retro Games Ltd has announced that its upcoming The A1200 system will benefit from Amiga branding.

"The A1200 is officially an Amiga product," says the company on Facebook, before adding:

"The Amiga name has a new chapter. With the recent announcement from Mike Battilana and the Amiga Corporation, we’re delighted to see the Amiga brand move forward with a clear and unified future. We’re proud to be part of that future with The A1200, bringing the Amiga experience to a new generation while celebrating everything that made the original so special."

Review: Retroid Pocket Nova - The New Retro Emulation Handheld To Beat

Over the past few years, retro handhelds have felt less and less retro. Powerful new chipsets and drivers have pushed Android handheld performance into PC handheld territory, with widescreen panels to match.

The Retroid Pocket Nova ($244) is different. It combines the original vision for the handhelds - emulating old games - with real power. That combination has been the white whale of this hobby for years.

A big part of that is the new screen made specifically for this device over the course of the last year. It’s finally making its debut, and it was definitely worth the wait.

Review: Evercade Wireless Controller - The Perfect Interface For The Next Era Of Evercade

The impending arrival of the Evercade Nexus means that Blaze's retro-focused family of systems finally has dual analogue control built-in – but, as long-standing fans will tell you, that's already been possible on the Evercade VS, VS-R and Alpha consoles.

Support for third-party dual analogue controllers has been in beta for some time now, and is naturally limited to titles that can make use of such controls. The Nexus is launching alongside the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack, which contains two games that support dual analogue input – so it's understandable that many existing Evercade fans will be looking for a suitable pad if they haven't done so already.

If you're choosing to pick up this collection to play on your Evercade VS, VS-R, or Alpha, the Evercade Wireless Controller – announced in February and launching in September – is a solid choice.

The Making Of: Starflight - An Oral History Of The Trailblazing Space Sandbox Sim

Open the original Starflight PC packaging, and you will find a large photograph of the development team: Greg Johnson, Alec Kercso, Bob Gonsalves, Tim Lee, and Rod McConnell, dressed as a space crew in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 at San Francisco International Airport. It is a fitting portrait of a game that could only have been made together.

We're honoured to host the English-language version of this massive oral history, created by Stay Forever.