With RAM/storage prices through the roof, this week I decided to focus on ways we can play games with the tools we already have

This might be my first week in months where I didn’t have a big tentpole review or impressions video. It was nice to have a break and focus on some topics I’ve been wanting to cover for a while!

🎥 Now Playing

Here are the videos I released this week:

GameNative Guide: PC Gaming Made Easy!

Who says you need an actual PC to play PC games? GameNative has been making some big updates lately, and it's become one of the best ways to enjoy PC games on Android. Let's go through the installation and configuration process, and showcase some games that I've been enjoying lately.

The Cheapest Handheld Might Be Your Phone

Who says you need a handheld to…have a handheld? This video explores some of the contraptions you can use to turn your phone (or tablet) into a retro gaming machine for as cheap as possible.

These are Anbernic’s Strangest Handhelds

Anbernic has historically made some baffling handheld design choices, and I had a lot of fun detailing some of my favorite missteps.

Other Russ Sightings

Two podcast appearances: earlier this week, I was on the Save State Podcast livestream talking about PC gaming on Android. And then today we released the latest episode of the Nerd Nest podcast, where we talked (for 2.5 hours!) about the big leadership shuffle over at Microsoft/Xbox.

📰 Power-Up(dates)

Plenty of news this time around:

• The MelonDS Dual Screen fork for Android now has offline RetroAchievement support! Note that it only works with softcore achievements. You have to start up the game once while online to cache the achievement set, but after that it will allow you to play your favorite NDS game with offline achievements, which you can sync the next time you go online. This release was approved by the RetroAchievement team and I hope to see it in more emulators in the future. Check out the release on their GitHub page.

• The same developer has a new Vita3K (PS Vita) fork with experimental external display rear touch support, which you can check out here. This will work great with devices like the AYN Thor, if you need rear touch inputs in a certain game.

• Dolphin Emulator was updated with support for the Triforce Arcade System library. This means previously hard-to-play titles like Mario Kart Arcade GP and F-Zero AX are now as easy to play as any other Gamecube title. You can read more about it on Retro Handhelds, or check out Retro Tech Dad’s guide video here.

• muOS had a big update with system-wide UI tweaks, advanced theming options, an activity tracker, and even a fun DVD-bounce screensaver.

• Home console news has been pretty bleak. Sony shuttered Bluepoint Studios (known for remakes and remasters like the Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection and 2020’s Demon’s Souls remake). Microsoft’s CEO of Gaming (longtime gamer Phil Spencer) announced his retirement and he’s being replaced by Asha Sharma, who doesn’t have a background in gaming but has served executive roles at Instacart, Meta, and Microsoft’s CoreAI team (yikes).

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Spacegulls

While testing a new build of GammaOS for the RG Vita this week, I noticed that Gamma had pre-loaded a freeware NES game called Spacegulls, so I decided to give it a shot. It’s a short, simple, and clever little platformer, and it sort of feels like a cross between Mega Man and Joust. You use a single button to make your spacegull flap its wings, and that’s about it - but it’s surprisingly fun with plentiful save points. Apparently it was made in just one week! It’s by the makers of Micro Mages, another recent NES gem.

Modern Game: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

How can this game feel both modern (with beautiful but somewhat sparse visuals), and outdated at the same time? I got this game for Christmas a couple months back, and I’m about 20% of the way through the campaign, and I’m struggling to enjoy it on my Switch 2. I loved the original Metroid Prime (and the Remastered version on Switch), but something about this fourth installment feels rote and a little frustrating. I’ve found myself lost or confused multiple times, not really knowing where to go next — and in that way, it feels more like a 2005 game than something that was released in 2025. I’ll report back if I finally finish it, or if the experience starts to pick up!

Music: The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

In my younger years, I considered the Mountain Goats to be a band that was inventive and respected, who also made music that was difficult to listen to. Throughout the 90s the “band” mostly consisted of singer-songwriter John Darnielle bleating enigmatic diatribes into boombox recordings that were circulated via cassette; there was something punk rock in that approach, but the recordings themselves were a little grating. By the early 2000s, they had graduated into full studio recordings, and that’s when I came to fall in love with the honest, semi-autobiographical folk music that they are known for today. I still think The Sunset Tree (released in 2005) is their best entry point, as it carries some of that older raw sound but refined and polished into something introspective and pleasant. My wife rarely enjoys the same music that I do, but this album has been a family favorite for two decades.

💰 Bargain Bin

A few deals this week:

• Amazon is discounting a seemingly random selection of Nintendo Switch games. Here are a few highlights I found:

  • Sonic Racing: Crossworlds came out less than a year ago to pretty solid reviews and is 33% off at $40 (normally $60). Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Persona 5 Royal is half off at $29. Affiliate/ Non-Affiliate

  • Stray, the cyberpunk cat simulator, is currently $25 (Normally $40). Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Star Wars: Heritage Pack, including both Knights Of The Old Republic games, both Jedi Knight games, Episode I Racer, Republic Commando and The Force Unleashed, for only $36. That is a lot of game! Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• itch.io is raising money for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota with an absolutely massive bundle with 1,439 items from 651 creators for only $10 (note that the bundle only includes 270 PC games, most are tabletop games and RPGs). I picked it up and while it doesn’t have a lot of well-known hits (Baba is You is probably the most notable entry), but I’m going to enjoy picking through the PC game selection in the coming months.

• If you want some high-quality USB-C cables, LISEN is selling a two-pack of their 6ft 240W cables for $9: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

Anbernic Sometimes Gets It Right

While Anbernic has had its share of missteps, sometimes it stumbles upon a rare masterpiece. The RG280V was my favorite portable handheld at one point, thanks to its compact size and screen-to-body ratio. It’s also only one of two handhelds Anbernic released with a funky screen resolution: 320×480, but the 480 vertical pixels were actually half-height, which messed with scaling games properly. It was overtaken pretty quickly by the original Miyoo Mini, and it still hasn’t received a true successor. RG28XXV when?

🎬 Behind The Scenes

A fan recently gifted me this limited edition Mother-themed G-Shock watch, and it’s beautiful. It was part of a lottery sale in Japan in 2024, coinciding with the 30th anniversary celebration of Mother 2 (known as EarthBound in the West). This kind fan was lucky enough to find it in a used game store and sent it to me earlier this year as a gesture of thanks for my work. It’s such a touching gesture that I haven’t had the heart to wear it yet, but be on the lookout for it to appear in a future video!

That’s it for this week, see you next Sunday.
Russ