Unfinished Spectrum Port of TI-99/4A’s Parsec Resurfaces

Unfinished Spectrum Port of TI-99/4A's Parsec Resurfaces

A developer from Diode Software has written about rediscovering an old, incomplete attempt at porting Parsec to the ZX Spectrum. Parsec was a side-scrolling shooter with speech for the TI-99/4A, and the developer recalls trying to recreate it in machine code after being inspired by its gameplay, visuals and sound. The attempt stalled due to limited time, memory and skill, leaving only a scroll routine, some ship movement code and graphics believed to have been copied from the original. The developer notes the game was rarely ported elsewhere at the time, aside from a later Coleco version. via andthemurder.com

Pokémon Enhanced HeartGold Hack Released

A fan-made ROM hack titled Pokemon Enhanced HeartGold has been released on r/PokemonROMhacks. The project is based on Pokemon HeartGold, Nintendo's 2009 remake of Pokemon Gold for the Nintendo DS, which itself revisited the Johto region from the Game Boy Color originals. Enhanced HeartGold is part of the long-running tradition of community hacks that modify existing Pokemon games with new features and balance changes. via reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks

Like a Dragon: Kenzan! Fan Translation Confirmed AI-Free

A fan translation for Like a Dragon: Kenzan!, the 2008 PS3 exclusive spin-off of the Yakuza series, has been completed without the use of AI tools. The patch comes from the same team that produced last year's translation of the related title Ishin!, and lets English speakers experience the jidaigeki-themed game for the first time, 18 years after its Japan-only release. Yakuza producers Masayoshi Yokoyama and Hiroyuki Sakamoto have reportedly indicated there are no plans to remake Kenzan! for modern platforms, unlike Ishin!. via timeextension.com

Hyperkin’s Mega95 Handheld Nears Launch After 2024 Reveal

Hyperkin's Mega95 Handheld Nears Launch After 2024 Reveal

Hyperkin has announced that its Mega95 handheld is launching "very soon", nearly two years after it was first revealed in January 2024. The Mega95 is designed to play original Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges on a dedicated portable device, following a similar formula to Hyperkin's existing SupaBoy line for SNES cartridges. The device has been in development and awaiting release for an extended period, with the new statement marking the clearest sign yet that it is close to reaching customers. via retrododo.com

Valve’s Cancelled Portal Prequel F-Stop Leaks, Playable

Valve's Cancelled Portal Prequel F-Stop Leaks, Playable

F-Stop, a cancelled 2007 Valve project conceived as a prequel to Portal, has leaked online in a fully playable form after three separate leaks were combined. The game came out of Valve's "Directed Design Experiments," a period in 2007 when the studio split into five teams to prototype original concepts, as later described by Gabe Newell. F-Stop's gameplay centred on an experimental Aperture Science camera used to manipulate perspective to solve puzzles. The project was never released and had previously only been known through documentation on sites such as the Half-Life wiki. via kotaku.com

Ocarina of Time Remake Reuses Original N64 Map Artist

Ocarina of Time Remake Reuses Original N64 Map Artist

Nintendo has released interviews with the team behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake ahead of its Switch 2 launch this week. Director HokWai Ng revealed that the original illustrator who drew the map for the 1998 N64 version was brought back to create a new map for the remake. The interviews were published as part of Nintendo's promotional push for the release. Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the most influential games in the Zelda series. via timeextension.com

Morph 4K Beta Firmware v4.0.65 Adds Bezels, Screenshots

Morph 4K Beta Firmware v4.0.65 Adds Bezels, Screenshots

PixelFX has released beta firmware version 4.0.65 for its Morph 4K video processor. The update adds more bezel options for display customisation, along with the ability to take input screenshots whilst running in Universal Adaptive mode. Users can get the update by switching to the beta update channel and checking for updates, though a note warns that those on very early firmware versions may need an additional step. via retrorgb.com

AmiBlitz 3.14.0 Adds ReAction Support and Compiler Fixes

Sven "honitos" Dröge has released version 3.14.0 of AmiBlitz, the programming language that succeeded BlitzBasic. The update's main addition is ReAction support through a new include file that re-implements helper macros for gadget classes such as textfield, radiobutton, clicktab, chooser and listbrowser. The OS includes have also been updated to the current AmigaOS NDK 3.2, and the compiler now produces smaller, more reliable code, with fixes to OPTIMIZE 1 and OPTIMIZE 8 and better removal of unused functions. The release also raises the limit on relocations a program can have and renames the former default debugger to TinyDebugger, reworked as a lighter alternative. via amiga-news.de

Amigent Lets PC or Mac Remote Control a Real Amiga

Andreas Wendorf, also known as Akustikrausch, has released Amigent, a tool that lets a PC or Mac remotely control a real Amiga over a home network. It works like TeamViewer or VNC, showing the Amiga's live screen in a window and letting users operate it with their own mouse and keyboard, with an on-screen sidebar for Amiga keys and shortcuts, two-way file transfer by dragging files onto the window, and a shared clipboard, all without needing a VNC server on the Amiga itself. Amigent also supports the Model Context Protocol, allowing AI agents such as Claude Code or Codex to operate the Amiga directly, executing shell commands and copying files. via amiga-news.de

Wizard Chase Brings Pac-Man Style Maze Action to AGA Amiga

Developer MAZ has released Wizard Chase, an AGA Amiga port of a game originally created by John Clark, whose source code is on GitHub. Inspired by classics like Pac-Man and Lock 'n' Chase, the arcade-style game has players control a wizard collecting gold coins in a dungeon to progress to the next level. The Amiga PAL port was coded in C and 68000 assembler, with Claude AI assisting the programming, and uses graphics from the Dungeon Tileset II by 0x72 along with sound effects from free collections. Wizard Chase is available as a free download on itch.io, with donations welcome. via amiga-news.de