Revenge of the 'Gator Gold

Revenge of the Gator Gold arrived in February 2023 as a complete ROM hack overhaul of the 1989 classic, and today we are playing it on Game Boy Colour via MiSTER FPGA with full gameplay and commentary. If you are new to the channel, welcome. This is exactly what we cover every week.

MojoDodo, the developer behind this transformation, took the monochrome original and applied a complete visual overhaul comparable to the Link's Awakening DX treatment Nintendo gave the Game Boy version of that classic. The goal was to bring a hypothetical Game Boy Color version to life that would have existed had HAL Laboratory released one back in the day.

The original Revenge of the Gator released in October 1989 in Japan and March 1990 internationally. It became one of the most celebrated pinball games on Game Boy, with physics so well-crafted that they were reused in Kirby's Pinball Land and later adapted for Pokemon Pinball on Game Boy Color. That legacy made it the perfect candidate for a full color upgrade.

Gator Gold includes comprehensive improvements across every aspect of the game. Full color has been applied throughout every screen, from the main pinball table to the bonus stages and title screen. MojoDodo paid special attention to the color palette, shifting brink colors carefully around the table to maintain visual clarity while adding vibrancy. The dancing gator on the title screen received particular care, with eyes filled in that were not visible on the original monochrome display.

The double speed mode enhancement removes all the slowdown that plagued the original release during intense gameplay. The original Game Boy struggled with frame rate drops during complex pinball sequences, and this fix completely eliminates that issue while keeping the game running smoothly on both original Game Boy hardware and Game Boy Color.

High score persistence is a major quality of life improvement. The original game had no way to save your scores, meaning every power-off wiped your achievements. Gator Gold now retains your high score table between sessions, finally allowing serious players to properly track their progress over extended play periods.

Bug fixes address issues that had persisted since 1989. The title screen received particular attention, fixing visual glitches that annoyed players for over three decades. The three Eggplant penalty system was also refined, changing how it removes bonus multipliers to a more forgiving system with a minimum of 1x1000, preventing the frustration of completely zeroing out multipliers.

The ROM hack is distributed as an IPS patch that must be applied to the original Revenge of the Gator ROM file. MojoDodo has made it available for free on itch.io and the ROM hacking community at romhacking.net. The patch works on both original Game Boy and Game Boy Color versions, making it compatible with any legitimate copy of the game.

This is what proper ROM hacking looks like in 2023. Not a remake, not a demake, but a respectful enhancement that honors the original while finally delivering what fans always wanted. If you love classic pinball games, Game Boy history, and want to see beloved games restored and improved, hit subscribe and stick with us. We focus on this scene every single week.

Available from https://shenmansell.itch.io/revenge-of-the-gator-gold.

Online IPS patcher https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/.

Revenge of the 'Gator

Revenge of the Gator hit Game Boy in October 1989 in Japan and March 1990 internationally, and today we are playing it on the Game Boy via MiSTER FPGA with full gameplay and commentary. If you are new to the channel, welcome. This is exactly what we focus on.

Developed and published by HAL Laboratory with music by Hiroaki Suga, Revenge of the Gator stands as one of the earliest and most influential pinball games on the Game Boy platform. The game is known in Europe as Pinball: Revenge of the Gator, and in Japan as Pinball: 66-hiki no Wani Daikoushin. The objective is straightforward but engaging: score as many points as possible without allowing the pinball to be eaten by the hungry alligator lurking at the bottom of the play field.

The main pinball table spans across four scrolling screens, giving the play field a sense of scale and exploration that feels expansive for handheld hardware. Access to three bonus stages is triggered by knocking down specific targets on the main table. Each stage has its own layout and scoring potential. Direct the ball into certain spots to earn extra balls and score multipliers, but one mistake can cost you dearly.

HAL Laboratory's pinball physics engine proved so effective that it would be reused in Kirby's Pinball Land, released later on Game Boy. That same engine would later be adapted again for Pokemon Pinball on Game Boy Color, cementing the legacy of this original design. The fact that the company continued refining and reusing these physics across multiple titles speaks to the quality of the initial implementation.

The game features four distinct modes of play. Standard single-player mode is the default score-attack experience. Gator mode allows two players to alternate turns and compete for high scores. Match Play mode represents actual head-to-head competition where two players compete simultaneously through the Game Link Cable, with the ability to knock your opponent's ball over their flippers. There is also a two-player alternating turn mode for play without link cable hardware.

The contrast between the green monochrome display and the simple but effective sprite work gives the game a distinct visual identity. The pinball table itself is clean and readable on the small screen, making it easy to track your ball position even during intense play. The audio design is appropriately minimal, keeping the focus on the gameplay without unnecessary distraction.

Revenge of the Gator received generally positive reception from critics upon release and has held up remarkably well over more than three decades. Players and critics consistently note that despite lacking the visual refinements of modern pinball games, the simplistic nature of the table design means you can give high-score chasing your full attention without distractions. The ball physics are respectable enough that you never lose a game through anything but your own fault.

If you enjoy pinball games, Game Boy classics, and proper commentary on how these pioneering portable titles still deliver satisfying gameplay today, hit subscribe and stick around. We explore this history every week. 

Misplaced

Misplaced landed in May 2019 as a free release from Retro Souls, and today we are playing it on the Mega Drive via MiSTER FPGA with full gameplay and commentary. If you are new to the channel, welcome. This is the kind of hidden gem we focus on.

The game was developed by Retro Souls and published by Mega Cat Studios, with additional distribution through the Evercade when it appeared in Mega Cat Studio Collection 2 in August 2021. The core story is deceptively simple. Hara wakes up on a floating island in the clouds. Every day is identical to the last. Every day the same loop repeats. But today is different. Today, Hara will finally uncover the mystery of the sky world.

Misplaced is a meditative puzzle experience rather than a frantic action game. The objective is to collect crystals scattered across 25 levels and place them on marked altars to progress forward. The challenge comes from crystal placement that requires reaching seemingly unreachable spots on the map. This is where the game's defining mechanic comes into play: the Record and Playback system.

With the magical glasses Hara acquires, you can record your movement across the level, then press a button to replay that exact path instantly. While your recorded path plays on its own, you are free to move independently, allowing you to reach positions that would otherwise be impossible. The puzzle design revolves entirely around this mechanic. Many levels require chaining multiple recorded paths together in specific sequences, or using your recorded path as a platform to reach higher areas.

The game was programmed entirely in C using SGDK, the Sega Genesis Development Kit, making it a technically solid homebrew release. The visuals feature charming sprite work and hand-crafted environments. The soundtrack is deliberately soothing and minimal, designed to support the meditative puzzle-solving rather than dominate it. Comments from players repeatedly mention the soundtrack creating the perfect atmosphere for extended play sessions.

Retro Souls is known for creating high-quality Mega Drive homebrew titles. Before Misplaced, they released Alter Ego, which also featured puzzle elements players had embraced. With Misplaced, they created something entirely unique that stands apart from traditional puzzle game design.
The game was released as free or pay-what-you-want on itch.io, making it accessible to everyone. Players who want to support the developers directly can purchase physical versions through Mega Cat Studios. The ROM file runs perfectly on MiSTER FPGA and all major Mega Drive emulators.

If you enjoy puzzle games that require genuine forward thinking, meditative experiences with strong artistic direction, and homebrew releases that pushed Mega Drive development forward, hit subscribe and stick with us. We explore this scene every week.

Available from https://retrosouls.itch.io/misplaced.

Isometric Sokoban

Isometric Sokoban arrived on June 14, 2026, and it is a landmark release for the Commodore 64 homebrew community. Today we are playing it with full gameplay and commentary, and if you are new to the channel, welcome. This is exactly what we focus on.

This is the first-ever isometric Sokoban game created for the Commodore 64. It was programmed entirely in 6502 assembler by Armin Kielack, with music composed by Elena Kielack. The sheer ambition of bringing an isometric 3D perspective puzzle game to 1982 hardware in 2026 tells you everything about the current state of C64 development. This is not a port or an emulation of something that existed elsewhere. This is purpose-built for the C64 from the ground up.

The game features over 200 levels, a staggering amount of content for any puzzle game. To prevent player frustration, every single level was rigorously tested and verified as 100 percent solvable before release. The massive collaborative effort involved a team of level designers and checkers: Yippee, Marleen, Shirls, Janene, Breanna, kielack, gianna439, jimbo, bob50, rabbits2, punkin514, starwars, arg410, tleit004, prabakaran, tumshee, CallumMclellan, sha718, and pokemaster99 all contributed to ensure quality.

For those unfamiliar with Sokoban, the core mechanic is simple but devilishly challenging. You are a character in a warehouse who must push crates onto marked target positions. You cannot pull crates, only push them. One wrong move can make a level unfinishable, which is why planning ahead becomes critical. The isometric perspective adds another dimension to the puzzle solving, giving the game a completely fresh feel compared to traditional top-down Sokoban interpretations.

The isometric rendering on C64 hardware is a technical achievement. The developers managed to render a 3D perspective using the machine's limited 16 color palette and 64KB of RAM. The sprite animation is fluid, the controls are responsive, and the visual presentation makes each level feel distinct.

The game was released on itch.io as a free download and is fully compatible with MiSTER FPGA as well as all major C64 emulators. It boots from a TAP file for real hardware or emulation, and runs on all Commodore 64 variants. The development process took considerable time and care, but the result is a game that feels polished and complete.

This is what modern C64 homebrew development looks like in 2026. If you love classic puzzle games, retro hardware, and want to see what dedicated developers can still pull out of 40-year-old machines, hit subscribe and stick around. We cover this scene every single week.

Available from https://kielack.itch.io/isometric-sokoban.
 

Atic Atac 3D

Atic Atac is the kind of game that gets under your skin and stays there. Released in 1983 by Ultimate Play the Game, the company that would later become Rare, this ZX Spectrum action adventure was programmed by Tim Stamper with graphics handled by his brother Chris Stamper. It was actually the trading name of their company, Ashby Computers and Graphics, that inspired the ACG key at the heart of the game's entire objective. That detail alone tells you how much personality was baked into this thing from the start.

The original game required 48K of RAM, which made it one of Ultimate's more ambitious early releases on the Spectrum. You pick one of three characters: a Knight, a Wizard, or a Serf, and each one has access to a different set of secret passages through the castle, meaning the route you take changes entirely depending on who you pick. The goal is to collect all three parts of the Golden Key of ACG and use them to escape through the main door. Monsters fill every room, and your health, represented visually by a roasting chicken that slowly decays, is always ticking down. Crash magazine named it Game of the Month and Sinclair User ranked it number seven in their Top 50 Spectrum Software Classics.

In this video we are playing Atic Atac 3D, the fan-made Windows remake by Stephen Smith, available on itch.io. It rebuilds the original room by room in full 3D while keeping the original sounds, secret passages, and character differences completely intact. There is full commentary throughout, covering the history of the original game, what makes this remake work so well, and how it holds up today.

Atic Atac was also credited as a direct inspiration for the television show Knightmare, and the original was included in Rare Replay on Xbox One in 2015. That is a legacy that very few 8-bit games can match.

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Available from https://stephensmith.itch.io/atic-atac-3d.
 

Deathchase

Deathchase is one of those games that absolutely refuses to be forgotten, and for good reason. Originally released in 1983 by Micromega and programmed by Mervyn Estcourt, this ZX Spectrum classic was famously squeezed into just 16K of memory, which was an extraordinary technical achievement at the time. You play as a motorcycle-riding mercenary chasing down two target bikes through a forest, one yellow and one blue, while also dealing with tanks and helicopters as the difficulty ramps up. The game ran at what felt like an impossible speed on 8-bit hardware, and that sense of urgency is still there today.

In this video we are running Deathchase on the ZX Touch, the dedicated ZX Spectrum handheld released by Elmar Electronic in late 2023. The ZX Touch is a bare-metal device, meaning it runs on direct hardware code rather than a standard operating system, powered by a 480MHz ARM Cortex-M7 processor with a 7-inch IPS touchscreen at 1024x600 resolution. What makes this run particularly interesting is the Special FX version of Deathchase, which takes advantage of the ZX Touch's real-time in-game FX enhancement capabilities built into the hardware.

There's full commentary throughout this one, covering the history, what makes this game hold up, and what the Special FX version adds to the experience. Deathchase was later re-released in 1986 and 1989, and even made The Guardian's list of the five best ZX Spectrum games ever made. That kind of legacy doesn't happen by accident.

If you are new to the channel, welcome. We cover retro gaming across a range of platforms and hardware with genuine commentary rather than just footage. Subscribe and hit the bell if this is your kind of thing.

https://www.sintech-shop.co.uk
https://www.sintech-shop.de
https://www.zx-touch.com

Sonic Spectrum Next

Sonic Spectrum Next is a brand new homebrew port that arrived in June 2026, and today we are playing the current beta build on the Spectrum Next with full gameplay and commentary. If you are new to the channel, welcome. This is exactly the kind of cutting-edge homebrew content we focus on.

The port was developed by Dave Douglas, known in the homebrew community as Dave18, who previously brought the SMS shooter Astro Warrior to the Spectrum Next. For Sonic Spectrum Next, Douglas took on the ambitious task of converting the 8-bit Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog, not the Mega Drive original. This matters because the Master System version was developed by Ancient under the direction of Yuzo Koshiro, giving it completely different level design and gameplay feel compared to the 16-bit release most players know.

The game runs on the Spectrum Next's advanced FPGA architecture, which allowed Douglas to achieve what would have been impossible on original Spectrum hardware. The Spectrum Next features an ARM Cortex-M7 processor running at 480 MHz, 8 MB of memory, and enhanced graphics capabilities that make the Master System port feasible. The current build is still very much a work in progress, and Douglas has been upfront about the remaining issues.

Sprite and tilemap priority handling is still at a basic level in this version, which means some sprites can appear behind tilemap elements when they should appear in front. Stage 1, Act 2 has a known glitch where Sonic's top half disappears when he enters the water, something Douglas plans to address in later updates. Despite these issues, the port demonstrates how much the Spectrum Next can be pushed by skilled homebrew developers.

The game uses CSpect for emulation testing and also runs on MAME, though with some emulation bugs that Douglas is working through. The current beta version is available on itch.io through Dave18's page, and development is ongoing with plans for future beta releases.

This is one of the most ambitious current homebrew projects for the Spectrum Next, and the fact that it arrived in 2026 shows the platform is still attracting serious developer talent. If you enjoy homebrew gaming, retro ports, and honest commentary on works in progress, hit subscribe and stick around. We track this scene every week.

Available from https://dave18.itch.io/wip-sonic-spectrum-next.