Category: Tater News

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Vigilant Paradise, a New Homebrew Saturn FPS, Flies Under the Radar

https://retrorgb.com/vigilant-paradise-a-new-homebrew-saturn-fps-flies-under-the-radar.html

Let’s talk about Vigilant Paradise—a 5-year labor of love that just dropped like a surprise palm tree on your Sega Saturn doorstep.

Riccardo Campione’s homebrew FPS flew under the radar for two months—until someone typed “Sega Saturn” into Itch.io and stumbled upon a full-blown, voice-acted, CD-synth-blasting cop thriller. Two buddies. One sun-drenched city full of terrorists. And enough cheesy one-liners to fill a ’90s action movie trailer. Oh, and it’s six levels long. That’s longer than most Saturn games ever were—homebrew or not.

It runs on real hardware (preferably with an ODE), has 3D graphics, PCM audio, and uses both Saturn CPUs like it’s trying to win a hardware Olympics. The controls? D-pad moves, L/R triggers shoot—no analog, no look up/down. Just pure, deliberate, Doom-meets-Point Blank gunplay.

And here’s the kicker: it costs $7. Not free. Not a demo. A commercial homebrew, self-funded and proudly sold with a “don’t pirate me” note. That’s rare. Bold. Adorable.

If you’ve ever dreamed of blasting terrorists in a Saturn game with seagulls chirping in the background? This is your moment. Grab it before the CD-Rs sell out—and maybe thank Riccardo for not giving up after five late nights. 🌴🔫

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

PS2 Remake of Ys V Now Playable In English

https://retrohandhelds.gg/ps2-remake-of-ys-v-now-playable-in-english/

Let’s be real—Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand was the game everyone nodded at politely while quietly reaching for a different entry in the series. Forgotten? Maybe. Unplayable in English? Absolutely—until now.

Enter Kaisaan, the fan translator who looked at the 2001 PS2 remake of this cult-classic misfit and said, “Nah, we’re fixing this.” The result? A beta English patch that finally lets Western players dive into Adol’s desert odyssey—where ancient alchemy, a sneaky merchant, and an amnesiac girl named Niena turn sandstorms into storybook drama.

Mechanically? Yeah, it’s a little barebones—jumping, eight-directional movement, and combat so easy you could play it with your eyes closed. But the atmosphere? The music? That haunting desert vibe? Pure Ys magic. This isn’t your grandpa’s action RPG, but it is a crucial piece of gaming history—now unlocked.

This isn’t about making Ys V a masterpiece. It’s about giving it dignity. No more whispers in the dark. Just Adol, a crumbling city, and an English patch that says: You’re not forgotten anymore.

Check the GitHub. Beta? Sure. But so was the internet in ‘95—and look how that turned out.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Emerald Dragon Finally Breaks Free Of Import Jail

https://retrohandhelds.gg/emerald-dragon-finally-breaks-free-of-import-jail/

Let’s be real—Emerald Dragon was the RPG version of that gorgeous vintage poster you never hung up because it came with a 10-page instruction manual in kanji. For decades, fans stared longingly at its anime cutscenes and CD-quality voice acting, whispering, “I wish I could play this… but also, no.”

Well, 2026 is the year magic happens. Thanks to a brand-new English patch by Supper, the 1994 PC Engine CD version of Emerald Dragon is finally playable without a translator, a cheat code, or a PhD in Japanese folklore. Think Final Fantasy meets Dragon’s Lair, but with more dragons and fewer “press start” screens.

This isn’t just a port—it’s a full-blown remake. Voiced dialogue? Check. Smoother turn-based combat? Double check. Over-the-top fantasy drama where a dragon-man saves his human pal from demonic apocalypses? Oh, absolutely. It’s the kind of game that makes you forget you’re playing on a 30-year-old console… until you hear the CD spin up like it’s auditioning for a sci-fi radio play.

Now, finally, you don’t need to be a retro archaeologist to enjoy it. Just boot it up, grab a snack, and let Atrushan and Tamrin drag you through an epic of dragons, destiny, and surprisingly good voice acting. The import jail is broken—and it’s about time.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

NHL’94 Finally Gets In The Fightin’ Spirit

https://retrohandhelds.gg/nhl94-finally-gets-in-the-fightin-spirit/

Let’s be real: NHL ’94 was the GOAT of 16-bit hockey games—until you realized it was basically a polite ice rink with no fists.

For 30 years, fans whispered the same prayer: “Where are the brawls?” Back in ’93, you could drop the gloves and go full Rocky IV on the ice. Then ’94 came along… and suddenly, hockey felt like a corporate team-building retreat. No punches. No penalties for punching. Just… skating.

Enter NHL ’94: Fight Edition—a ROM hack so beautiful, it’s basically a love letter to grizzled 90s teens who once screamed “PROBERT!” at their TV. The genius? It doesn’t rewrite the game. It just remembers what it used to be: bruised knuckles, chaotic scrums, and the sweet sound of a goalie screaming as two enforcers tumble into his crease. And yes—fights now trigger penalty boxes. Because even chaos has rules.

What’s wild? It works with existing custom rosters and old-school Genesis carts. No fancy graphics, no modern tweaks—just pure, uncut nostalgia with extra pugilism. Fans are already posting videos of their 1994-era Osgoods vs. Probert showdowns like it’s the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sometimes, the best way to honor a classic isn’t to remake it.

It’s to give back what was stolen… by fists.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

touchHLE Now Compatible With 300+ Early iOS Games

https://retrohandhelds.gg/touchhle-now-compatible-with-300-early-ios-games/

Let’s be real—back in 2008, your iPhone was basically a fancy calculator with a game of Super Monkey Ball hidden in it. Today? That game’s gone. Vanished. Like your ex’s texts after a breakup.

Enter touchHLE, the quiet hero of mobile gaming archaeology. This clever emulator doesn’t fake an iPhone—it rebuilds it, from the ground up in Rust, letting old 32-bit iOS games run natively on your laptop or Android device. No jailbreaking. No firmware dumps. Just pure, elegant code magic.

Over 300 early App Store titles are now playable again—think Cut the Rope, Angry Birds (yes, even the OG), and other relics that Apple quietly buried when it moved to 64-bit. Without touchHLE, these games would’ve become digital ghosts.

It’s not perfect yet—but it’s getting there. And that’s the point: this isn’t about pirating nostalgia. It’s about saving culture before it fades into “remember when?” oblivion.

If you’ve ever stared at your dusty old iPhone and sighed, “I miss when apps cost $1 and didn’t track me…”—go grab touchHLE on GitHub. Your inner 2009 self will thank you.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

ASUS Signals 2026 Price Increases, Blames AI and the New Normal

https://retrohandhelds.gg/asus-signals-2026-price-increases-blames-ai-and-the-new-normal/

ASUS just dropped a quiet bombshell: prices are going up in 2026—and no, it’s not because of inflation. It’s because AI is eating the supply chain.

Yep. DRAM, NAND, SSDs? All getting sucked into AI servers faster than you can say “latency.” ASUS isn’t panicking—it’s predicting. They’ve been swallowing rising costs for years, but now even they’re saying: “We can’t absorb this anymore.” And they’re not bluffing. This isn’t a holiday sale glitch; it’s the new normal.

Here’s the kicker: no blanket price hikes. Just sneaky, selective increases on systems that rely heavily on memory and storage—so your next gaming laptop or Steam Deck might cost more… even if it doesn’t have “AI” stamped on the box.

What’s wild? This isn’t just ASUS. It’s every major vendor whispering the same thing behind closed doors. When a company issues a formal, forward-looking price notice? That’s not an announcement. It’s a warning shot.

Bottom line: budget for 2026 hardware like it’s 2023’s prices… with a 15% tax on AI’s hangover. And yes, your retro handhelds aren’t immune either.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Macross M3 for Dreamcast Gets English Translation

https://retrohandhelds.gg/macross-m3-for-dreamcast-gets-english-translation/

Let’s be real—Macross M3 on Dreamcast was the video game equivalent of a dusty, beautiful anime poster you never quite had the courage to buy… until now.

Thanks to fan translator NetsuiAya, this 2001 Japan-only shooter is finally playable in English. No more squinting at menus or guessing if your pilot just yelled “I’m not a coward!” or “My coffee’s cold.” The full translation covers story scenes, radio chatter, and menus—so you can actually get the plot instead of just vibing with transforming Valkyries and hoping for the best.

It’s not a masterpiece. The gameplay is your classic early-2000s mech shooter: fly, shoot, switch forms (Fighter! GERWALK! Battroid!), repeat. But now you understand why Maximilian Jenius is sighing through mission briefings, or why Milia’s got that look like she’s one bad day away from quitting the Dancing Skulls. That emotional weight? It was always there. Just… in Japanese.

Pro tip: Pair the patch with a color mod to make those Valkyries look exactly like they do in the anime. Because if you’re going to dive into this niche, go full otaku.

For Macross fans who’ve waited 25 years to finally know what’s happening on-screen? This isn’t just a patch. It’s closure. And maybe, just maybe, the coolest gift Dreamcast ever got.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Atari Jaguar Complete Bypass – Updated Instructions

https://retrorgb.com/atari-jaguar-complete-bypass-updated-instructions.html

If your Atari Jaguar’s video looks like it’s been through a smudge filter and its audio sounds like it’s whispering from another room—yeah, you’re not imagining it. The old hardware is just… tired.

Enter Zaxour’s no-cut-mod upgrade kits, updated by FirebrandX. No soldering nightmares, no cutting traces—just clean, clever fixes that bring the Jag into 2024 without sacrificing its vintage soul. You can slap on a sleek Sega Saturn-style MiniDIN output (bye-bye, RF box), or wire it to your existing setup if you’re already rocking a Humble Bazooka adapter. Either way, the video? Crisp. No more “SNES 2-chip smear.” It’s like seeing the Jag for the first time… again.

And hey, if your Jag died because someone plugged in a sketchy 12V PSU (we’ve all been there), Zaxour’s got your back. A $12 power protection circuit can save it before it’s too late—or grab the full replacement board if it’s already toast. Bonus: audio gets a boost too, thanks to a clean opamp tweak that makes sound actually feel like it’s coming from the game, not a dusty radio.

Bottom line? If you love your Jag, this isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a rescue mission. And it’s in stock. Go before the next power surge does something tragic.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Magical Puzzle Popils – NES Audio

https://retrorgb.com/magical-puzzle-popils-nes-audio.html

Imagine playing a lost NES game… only to realize the music is gone. Not just muted—erased. That’s exactly what happened with Magical Puzzle Popils, a never-released Famicom gem whose soundtrack vanished with a missing EEPROM chip. Cue the heroes: a band of retro-savvy fans who turned detective, sound engineer, and bard—all in one.

Using gameplay footage from the game’s creator Jun Amanai and the Game Gear version as their Bible, they painstakingly reverse-engineered 34 sounds—18 songs and 16 SFX—with tweaks to ADSR envelopes, vibrato, and note pitches until it sounded right. The other 17? They got a cheerful little beep. Fair trade.

What’s wild? The sound driver and structure were still intact—just the melody was missing. Like finding a fully-built piano… with no sheet music. And yet, they played it anyway.

This isn’t just a patch—it’s resurrection. You can download the ROM and patch right now, and it even works with existing hacks. So go ahead: hear Magical Puzzle Popils as it was meant to be heard. Or at least, as close as we’ll ever get.

(And yes—Frank’s podcast told this story first. You should listen.)

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Hollywood, Netflix, and Apple Are Behind Latest Pirate ‘Brand’ Blockades in Belgium

https://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-netflix-and-apple-are-behind-latest-pirate-brand-blockades-in-belgium/

Hollywood’s got a new hobby: blocking pirates—with style.

In Belgium, Disney, Netflix, Apple, and the rest of the MPA crew just got their hands on a court order to shut down 10 pirate “brands”—not just websites, but brands. Think of it like trademarking piracy: if a site calls itself “FlixHQ” or “Soap2day,” it’s game over. No need to chase every new URL; just nuke the brand, and the cops come knocking.

What’s wild? They didn’t go after Google or Cloudflare this time. After OpenDNS quit Belgium over DNS-blocking drama, the studios took a step back—focusing only on five big ISPs like Proximus and Telenet. Smart move? Maybe. It’s less messy, less controversial… and still super effective.

The kicker? The list of those 10 pirate brands is secret. But we’ve pieced together the usual suspects: 1337x, Fmovies, Sflix, and crew. And while Belgium’s blocking is narrow for now, U.S. studios are watching closely—hoping this Belgian playbook becomes their template for federal site-blocking laws in 2025.

So next time you hear “pirate site blocked,” don’t just think of a URL. Think: brand warfare. And someone’s got a very expensive logo on their side.