Hey I finally made that Steam Machine emulation video I’ve been hinting about for weeks! Feels good to knock out a self-imposed obligation. Now I just need to do the same for my MSI Claw emulation showcase, and an RP Nova guide (and I also need to remember to keep my trap shut when making promises about videos that take me dozens of hours to create).

🎥 Now Playing

These Earbuds are Meant for Retro Gaming

I mentioned these in last week’s newsletter, and here they are: the cheap retro-tuned earbuds I helped bring to life. The Venture Electronics Monk GTR earbuds provide a warm, vintage analog sound that's a great match for retro handheld gaming (or nostalgic music listening).

I noticed today that their AliExpress listing now says “500+ sold”, which is awesome! Can’t wait to hear how people like them when they arrive (early feedback has been very positive).

Emulation on the Steam Machine

No surprise here - the Steam Machine can emulate a ton of systems, most of them upscaled to 4K. It’s really no different than any mid-range PC, other than this PC fits nicely in the living room and can use sweet Mario-inspired faceplates.

My Current Favorite ($80) Starter Handheld

The Miniloong Pocket 1 has been out for a few months, and we have new software options that totally transform the user experience. Let's take a look at the Leaf custom firmware and how it makes this handheld one of the best options right now under $100.

Other Russ Sightings:

• Expedition: Handheld - In Entry #24, I chat with Adam about the Retroid Pocket Nova price bump, further details of the Konkr Pocket Advance, the fancy new GPD Win Max 3, and plenty more!

📰 Power-Up(dates)

• RPCS3 developer Whatcookie dropped a deep dive into ARM-specific optimizations for PS3 emulation, with tangible results for anyone running the emulator on Android handhelds (the Odin 2 was their main test platform, running ROCKNIX). The improvements, which are exhaustively detailed in their video, translate to games running up to 60% faster while cutting power draw by 25%. The work addresses limitations that have plagued the ARM port since its initial development, zeroing in on architectural differences between ARM and x86 that were left largely unoptimized. Take a look!

• After THREE DECADES id Software just dropped Dawn of the Machine, a free episode for Quake featuring 19 all-new maps across a cohesive campaign with a brand-new soundtrack and Deathmatch map. Available across all platforms including Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, the update builds on MachineGames' acclaimed work on Dimension of the Machine and Dimensions of the Past. To mark the occasion, Nine Inch Nails also released a limited merch collection featuring art celebrating three decades of id Software's genre-defining FPS.

• SpruceOS 4.3 has landed with TrimUI Brick Pro support, including PyUI, RetroArch, N64/DC/PSP emulators, PortMaster, vTree, USB gadget mode, RGB LED configs, and platform-specific emulator settings. The update also kicks off early-stage development for the Anbernic RG*XX lineup, bringing NDS support and SPRUCE theme compatibility to the RG34XXSP and RG Cube XX. Extensive fixes address box art scraper issues, WiFi behavior, PICO-8 controller mapping, and audio pops on startup (always annoying). Check out the update on their GitHub!

• Mangmi's budget-friendly vertical handhelds finally have pricing and availability. Pre-orders open August 12 at 7:00 PM PDT with early bird discounts through August 15th. The Air Y (Snapdragon 662, 3GB/32GB) starts at $89.99 early bird/$94.99 retail; the Air Y Pro bumps to a Snapdragon 865 with multiple tiers: 4GB/64GB at $145.99/$159.99, or 8GB/128GB at $175.99/$189.99. Both feature 4.2-inch 1280x960 IPS screens, 5000mAh batteries with fast charging, active cooling, and gyro. The Pro's 8GB model undercuts the Retroid Pocket 5 by $20 at retail while packing comparable mid-range performance. I’ll have a video out for these early next week.

• Big shout-out to my fellow retro handheld YouTuber Retro Tech Dad for his awesome OG Xbox emulation showcase video on the Retroid Pocket Nova. He tested over 50 games on the HakuX emulator and the results are promising!

• Many of us are familiar with RJNY’s excellent Obtainium Emulation Pack, which is a one-stop shop for downloading and updating emulators/tools on Android. This week I found out that there is a similar pack available, but for Recomp/Decomps instead! If you want to try updated high-resolution ports of major N64 and PC releases, definitely check it out. Bear in mind that you will still need to bring your own commercial files to play these titles.

• The 2010 iOS game/tech demo Infinity Blade is finally playable on Android thanks to a preservation port now live on The Internet Archive. Delisted from the App Store in 2018 and permanently removed in 2020, the game had become legally unobtainable despite prior purchases. This first public build brings the full experience to Android with modern touches: both ARM32 and ARM64 support, improved texture quality over the original iOS release, fold/flip phone optimization, and audio sliders for SFX and music. Built on Unreal Engine 3 and developed purely for lost media preservation, it's a straightforward emulation effort that requires minimal setup. Expect bugs in the early build.

• Finally, something to take up all of your time until my next newsletter: the Atari ST Public Floppy Database, originally built to serve the SidecarTridge multi-function cartridge for Atari ST-family computers, is now publicly accessible to all. The community-curated archive of .ST floppy images includes everything from 1990s commercial releases and public domain favorites (Turrican, Llamatron, Gravity Force) to brand-new homebrew games and fresh demos from Sommerhack 2026. Download images for use with emulators, flash carts, or even rewrite them back to physical floppies. The database is regularly maintained with 41 recent arrivals cataloged at launch, making it a living archive for Atari 16-bit enthusiasts.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Mega Man Zero

Gosh, GBA has some interesting games. Some of them took the lite story elements from their 8/16-bit counterparts and cranked up the drama and exposition, until they were something akin to a melodramatic Young Adult novella. Some easy examples are the Mario sports titles, the Castlevania series (although those are really just taking cues from SOTN), and the Mega Man Zero games. I played this first one for about 30 minutes this week while testing different shaders on the Steam Machine, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that I spent half my game time reading dialogue…in a Mega Man game! Still a solid effort, just one aimed at a much younger audience and a very specific place and time.

“Modern” Game: God of War III

Is PS3 “modern”? I think so. Either way, I played a couple hours of God of War III on the Steam Machine this week. I really only needed to play the game for the first 30 minutes (up through the Poseidon boss fight) to get an idea of its emulation performance, but I was having such a good time I kept going. The only thing that keeps me from going further is the fact that Sony announced that a God of War Trilogy Remake is in development, and I’d likely rather play that one to see what quality of life updates they provide. But given that most people expect the trilogy to appear in 2028 at the earliest, I still have plenty of time to decide. The game itself is such a flashy mix of epicness that I can’t help but be delighted each time I play its over-the-top story.

Music: Opiate by Tool

My music-listening trajectory through the 1990s and early 2000s is pretty predictable:

Grunge/Alternative > Heavy Metal > Punk Rock > Hardcore and Emo > Post-Hardcore > eventual mix of everything

One of the most influential acts in my brief transition from alternative rock to metal was Tool. I first heard of them through their debut full-length, Undertow, in 1993. The album is a pitch-perfect blend of alternative and metal, with a couple hints of prog rock sprinkled in there. At the time, the record left me pretty confused: how could such a fully-formed band appear out of nowhere? Its production was too good (still one of my favorite-sounding 1990s albums), and they had Henry freaking Rollins appear as a guest vocalist. On a debut album! Something wasn’t adding up.

So I did some (pre-internet) research and discovered that they had released an EP the year prior, entitled Opiate. And after scouring my local record shops I was able to get my hands on a copy. I figured, okay, this is where I’m going to hear a sloppier band still finding its footing, with amateurish production that can’t quite capture their sound in the same way Undertow did. Boy was I wrong - Opiate highlights a band that’s just as focused as on Undertow, but also more straightforward, angrier, and more energetic. Heck, two of the songs on this EP were recorded live at a 1991 New Year’s concert and they are tighter than most other bands’ studio recordings. To this day, it’s my favorite Tool record, partially because it reminds me of the sheer joy I found in discovering gems in an emerging band’s back catalog.

Now in all fairness, their 72826 demo tape technically had circulated prior to the Opiate EP, and that one has all the hallmarks of a band still finding themselves; but I personally like to live in a fantasy world where Tool just appeared fully-formed in 1992 with this EP.

💰 Bargain Bin

• Amazon Basics has been expanding into even broader electronics offerings, from high-speed chargers to things like microphones. Some of their newer high-speed chargers are an even better deal than brands like UGreen and Anker. Check it out:

  • 20W Fast Charging Single USB-C, Nano GaN, $6 after coupon

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • 65W Fast Charging Single USB-C, Nano GaN, $12 after coupon

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • 65W Fast Charging Dual USB-C, Nano GaN, $20

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • 120W Fast Charging Triple USB-C, Nano GaN, $27

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• Also happening on Amazon: a sale on dozens of headsets, with some especially solid deals on Razer’s offerings.

  • Razer BlackShark V2 X, $40 (normally $60)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Razer Barracuda X, $70 (normally $100)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Razer Barracuda X Chroma, $100 (normally $130)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Razer BlackShark V3, $130 (normally $150)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Razer Kraken V4, $160 (normally $180)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• From the creators of Untitled Goose Game (currently $7) comes the pleasant new co-op game, Big Walk. To celebrate the release, Steam is having a sale on most of Panic's catalog. Big Walk has an introductory discount of 25%, making it a very tempting $15. Shaun Inman's Ratcheteer DX is down to just over $8, or you can grab it in a bundle with Arco for $15. Firewatch didn't receive a standalone discount but you can bundle it with Herdling for $29 or with Despelote for $25. But the best deal has to be the trio of Untitled Goose Game, Thank Goodness You're Here, and Time Flies. You can grab all three for just $22.

• At Target, Sony is running a publisher sale on physical editions of their games. (And yep, still mad and frustrated that they are phasing out physical games.)

  • Astro Bot, $40 (normally $50)

  • God of War: Ragnarok, $30 (normally $70)

  • Gran Turismo 7, $30 (normally $50)

  • The Last of Us Part I, $30 (normally $70)

  • The Last of Us Part II Remastered, $30 (normally $40)

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, $20 (normally $50)

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, $30 (normally $56)

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

Kanto ORA Speakers Review: Great for Retro Gaming!

Sticking with the audio theme for this week’s rewind: one of the only other audio gear videos I’ve done. The ORA desktop speakers from Kanto have a bunch of nice features, but in particular they are magnetically shielded, which means that they can be placed next to a CRT without warping the image or creating any "buzzing" sounds. Let’s step back in time and take a listen.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

I rarely use YouTube’s title and thumbnail A/B testing. For the uninitiated, YT added these tools that let you show variations in your title and/or thumbnail to see which ones get the most clicks and watch time, so that you can choose the most successful version. I consider myself to be a singularly-focused person, so I often like to whittle down my ideas into a specific image and message. But with one video this week (my Miniloong update video), I had a heck of a time coming up with a title. Should I target the video to an experience userbase who know what phrases like “CFW” mean? Or should I appeal to a broader audience with a blanket statement like “My Current Favorite ($80) Starter Handheld”?

I ended up doing an A/B test on the title, and was surprised to see such a wide disparity between the two - often these A/B tests result in a 49/51 split.

See you next week,
Russ