📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Windows 11 Update Breaks ROG Xbox Ally Controls, Here’s How to Fix It

https://retrohandhelds.gg/windows-11-update-breaks-rog-xbox-ally-controls-heres-how-to-fix-it/

Microsoft’s “smart” security just went full villain mode—and it’s targeting your gaming handheld.

If you own an ASUS ROG Ally or Xbox Ally, you might’ve woken up to a nightmare: your controller buttons stopped working. Why? Because Windows 11’s new “Smart App Control” decided Armoury Crate—the essential app that lets your device, you know, function—was a “threat.” Yes. The OS is now playing IT security cop… and failing spectacularly.

The fix? Temporarily turn off the feature. Open Windows Security → App & Browser Control → Smart App Control → hit “Off.” (Yes, you’ll need admin rights. Yes, it’s annoying.) Reboot your Ally, and bam—controls are back. No more mouse-and-keyboard gymnastics just to open a game.

It’s not the first time Microsoft’s “smart” features backfire (remember Clippy?), but this one hits hard for handheld gamers. The good news? It’s fixable. The bad news? You’ll have to disable real-time protection until Microsoft patches this nonsense.

Pro tip: Re-enable Smart App Control once the update drops. Until then… enjoy your unshackled Ally. 🎮💥

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

New Sonic R Patch Lets You Explore Levels Without The Race

https://retrohandhelds.gg/new-sonic-r-patch-lets-you-explore-levels-without-the-race/

Remember when Sonic R made you feel like a racecar driver trapped in a playground? Yeah, us too. For nearly 30 years, players have been stuck racing through gorgeous, sprawling 3D levels—full of hidden paths and secret nooks—while a timer hissed like an angry cat in the background.

Enter Bo Bayles, the modern-day Sonic archaeologist who just dropped Sonic R&R: a patch that turns this chaotic racer into a chill, stroll-through platformer. No laps. No timers. Just you, your favorite hedgehog, and a whole world begging to be explored at your own pace. Controls? Smoothed out. Pressure? Gone. Chaos Emeralds? Still magical—now just optional treasures, not racing trophies.

Some folks will groan: “But it’s a racer!” True. But so is Mario Kart—and we all love the “just wander and mess around” mode. Bayles doesn’t claim this is essential—he just wanted to make Sonic’s world feel less like a track and more like a place. And honestly? That’s what we all wished for back in ’97.

The mod isn’t a full game—you need your original disc—but it’s a quiet, brilliant love letter to Saturn-era curiosity. No rush. Just joy.

(P.S. His Substack deep-dive on how Sonic’s movement code works? Chef’s kiss.)

📰 New article from RetroRGB

PicoIDE – Pre-Orders Open

https://retrorgb.com/picoide-pre-orders-open.html

You’ve got a 1998 PC rattling with dust, and your CD-ROM drive just gave up the ghost. Enter: PicoIDE — the retro PC’s new best friend.

This little black box (or optional front-panel beauty) turns your MicroSD card into a perfect clone of an old IDE hard drive or CD-ROM. No more clicking, grinding, or hunting down dying discs. Just drop in a .iso, .vhd, or .cue file, plug it into your vintage rig, and bam—your 1997 game boots like it’s 1998 again. Even better? It plays real Red Book audio through a 3.5mm jack, so that opening theme of Tomb Raider still gives you chills—no emulator needed.

Two versions: The $70 “barebones” model for tucking behind your case, or the $110 front-panel edition with an OLED screen, buttons, RGB LED, and Wi-Fi to upload games remotely. Yes—Wi-Fi on a 486. We’ve arrived.

It’s not just convenient—it’s authentic. Your original motherboard, your original BIOS, your original joy…just without the hardware decay. Pre-orders are live now, shipping this summer. If you love retro PCs but hate broken drives? This isn’t a luxury. It’s salvation.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Screw A Remake, Halo Finally Gets A Demake

https://retrohandhelds.gg/screw-a-remake-halo-finally-gets-a-demake/

Forget remakes—Halo’s now getting a demake. And no, it’s not just a pixelated downgrade. It’s a full-blown 16-bit love letter to the OGs.

Meet Halo Zero, the cult 2000s PC fan game that turned Master Chief into a 2D platforming hero. Now, developer Earok has resurrected it—on Amiga, Genesis, and Neo Geo CD. Yes, you read that right: the Covenant is invading 1994-era hardware. The current demo? One level, plenty of bugs, and pure nostalgic chaos.

The tech specs alone are wild: the Amiga version needs 1.1MB of chip RAM, a 68020 CPU, and Fast RAM just to run at 50Hz. The Neo Geo CD version? Burn it on a disc and boot it like it’s 1997. And soon—CD audio of Halo’s iconic theme. Because nothing says “epic space opera” like a 200kbps MIDI rendition of “I Need a Hero.”

This isn’t just fan service—it’s reverse-engineered devotion. A game born in the PC mod scene, reborn for consoles that didn’t even exist when Halo dropped. Scorpion Engine 2025? More like Scorpion Magic.

Classic hardware fans, dust off your carts. The Master Chief is coming… sideways.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Disney Afternoon Collection Finally Comes To Switch With Two SNES Classics Added

https://retrohandhelds.gg/disney-afternoon-collection-finally-comes-to-switch-with-two-snes-classics-added/

You know that nostalgic feeling when you hear the DuckTales theme and suddenly remember your 8-year-old self screaming “WOOO!” at a TV that didn’t even have HDMI? Well, it’s 2026—and Disney Afternoon is finally landing on Switch.

Capcom’s beloved NES classics—DuckTales, Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin—are now on Nintendo’s hardware, which is a win for anyone who spent their lunch money on SNES cartridges instead of these. But wait… it gets better. Two SNES gems are joining the party: Bonkers, where you fling a bunny with a mallet, and Goof Troop, the charming top-down co-op game that marked an early chapter in Shinji Mikami’s career—yes, that Mikami, before he turned the world into a horror fan.

And yes, Atari is publishing it now. Weird? Sure. But after they bought Digital Eclipse (the retro wizards behind these collections), it’s basically “retro archival by committee.” The price? A sweet $15. That’s less than a fancy coffee—and way more lasting.

February 26 is your cue to dust off those childhood memories, grab a friend, and relive the days when cartoons had gameplay. No Wi-Fi required. Just pure, pixelated nostalgia. 🦆🎮

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Solderless PicoLoader – Now Open Source

https://retrorgb.com/solderless-picoloader-now-open-source.html

You don’t need a soldering iron to turn your GameCube into a homebrew powerhouse—thank goodness.

Makeo and Silversteel just dropped the open-source plans for their solderless PicoLoader, a plug-and-play modchip that lets you boot Swiss or CubiBoot straight from an SD card. No more tiny solder joints, no shaky hands, no “why is this wire glowing?!” moments. Just pop it in, slap on an SD card with your favorite homebrew, and boom—GameCube 2.0.

This is the dream for anyone who’s ever stared at a GameCube motherboard like it was a mystery box from 2003. The original PicoLoader was already genius; this? It’s genius with training wheels and zero burn marks.

You can grab the hardware via Makstech or LaserBear, or snag a Memory Card SD adapter if you’re feeling extra. And yes—Tito from Macho Nacho Production already has a killer video on the original version. Just watch that, then imagine it without the soldering iron drama.

TL;DR: GameCube modding just got way less intimidating. Go forth and run Dolphin… on actual hardware. 🎮✨

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

AYN is Sunsetting The Odin 2

https://retrohandhelds.gg/ayn-is-sunsetting-the-odin-2/

Say goodbye to a legend—AYN is officially sunsetting the Odin 2 series. The Odin 2, Odin 2 Mini, and Odin 2 Portal are no longer in production, marking the end of an era for handheld emulation fans. Sure, it’s been three years—but wow, what a run. The Odin 2 didn’t just compete with the big boys; it defined the high-end handheld scene, turning casual gamers into devoted retro fanatics.

Here’s the silver lining: if you’ve been waiting to snag an Odin 2 Portal, now’s your chance. AYN is clearing out the last of its stock with massive discounts—Base models down to $249, and the Max model? A jaw-dropping $449 (that’s $50 off). Deal runs until Feb 25… or until every unit vanishes into the hands of eager collectors.

The Odin 3 is waiting in the wings with its shiny new SD 8 Elite chip, and AYN’s clearly shifting gears. But let’s be real—no future device will quite capture the charm of the Odin 2. Its legacy? Immortal. You’ll see these units on eBay, in thrift stores, and tucked under couch cushions for years to come.

Grab one while you can. Not because it’s obsolete—but because it’s iconic.

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Operator of Bato.to Criminally Investigated in China Following CODA Piracy Complaint

https://torrentfreak.com/manga-piracy-giant-bato-to-china-coda-complaint/

Bato.to’s Fall: The Man Behind the World’s Biggest Manga Piracy Empire Got Caught

Let’s be real—Bato.to wasn’t just a website. It was the Netflix of manga pirating: 350 million visits in May, $58K/month in ad cash, and a slick geoblock that pretended it wasn’t breaking Chinese law… while thriving on scanlations from everywhere else.

Enter CODA, Japan’s anti-piracy squad backed by Kodansha and Shueisha. After a year-long digital detective hunt—complete with ethical hackers and local Chinese investigators—they tracked down “Larry,” the mysterious operator hiding in Guangxi. Police raided his home. He confessed. The site went dark. And yes, he ran 60 other pirate sites, including Mangapark.io. Oof.

What’s wild? He blocked China to avoid trouble… but still sucked in global traffic like a manga-shaped black hole. Meanwhile, legal platforms are thriving. Mangaplaza’s sales doubled overnight. That’s not coincidence—that’s justice with a side of data.

This isn’t just a takedown. It’s the first time a global manga piracy ring was crushed via criminal prosecution in China. Authorities aren’t just waving warning signs—they’re knocking on doors.

But don’t relax yet. As CODA says: “New portals will rise.” The real victory? Proving that pirates can be caught. Now, let’s hope the next one doesn’t wait until it hits 350 million visits.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

PS2Recomp: Porting PlayStation 2 Games to PC

https://retrohandhelds.gg/ps2recomp-porting-playstation-2-games-to-pc/

Imagine playing Gran Turismo 2 on your PC with 4K textures, 120 FPS, and zero emulation lag—no BIOS, no glitches, just pure, native performance. That’s the dream behind PS2Recomp, a new open-source project by developer ran-j that’s trying to recompile PS2 games directly into C++ code instead of emulating them.

Think of it like translating a novel from Japanese to English—not just summarizing it, but rewriting the whole thing so it reads naturally in its new language. Unlike traditional emulators (which mimic old hardware, often poorly), PS2Recomp rebuilds the games from scratch in modern code. No more input lag. No more texture glitches. Just clean, moddable, high-fidelity versions of classics like Metal Gear Solid 2 or Final Fantasy X.

It’s inspired by the wildly successful N64Recomp project, which gave us flawless ports of Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time. PS2 games are way more complex, so this is a massive undertaking—but if it works, we could see entire libraries ported natively to PC, Linux, even Android.

Right now? Still early. No playable games. But it’s open source—and if you’ve got a dev background, you can start tinkering on GitHub. For retro fans tired of emulation’s quirks? This might be the holy grail we’ve been waiting for. Keep your eyes peeled. The PS2’s second life is just getting started.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Robo Gems Brings Competitive Arena Chaos To The C64

https://retrohandhelds.gg/robo-gems-brings-competitive-arena-chaos-to-the-c64/

Let’s be real: if you’re still pretending the Commodore 64 is just a dusty relic in your closet, Robo Gems is here to slap you with a glittery, lava-filled reality check.

KD Software just dropped a two-player arena madness game that turns the C64 into a competitive gem-hoarding battleground. Two players, one goal: grab more gems than your friend before time runs out—but here’s the twist. Toxic fog, bubbling lava, and slow zones aren’t just set dressing—they’re tactical landmines. Do you power through the poison for that sweet gem? Or play it safe and risk your rival swooping in? It’s Bomb Jack meets Super Smash Bros.… but on a 1982 computer.

The magic? Speed snaps back the second you leave a hazard. That means every move feels deliberate, not just frantic button-mashing. And yes—it’s actually fun to play on real hardware or an emulator.

Best part? There’s a free demo. So if you’ve got a C64 (or even just nostalgia and a joystick), go ahead—ruin a friendship in the name of retro glory.

Retro gaming isn’t dead. It’s just waiting for you to press start.