At only three episodes into the DF Retro Super Show, we wanted to pull back to a more holistic view of the hobby and get to a question that we sometimes hear from brand-new listeners and viewers. As in, why do we get excited about retro gaming?
Our panel digs into many dimensions of how our own retro gaming hobbies took shape over the years. When in our own lives did the concept of "retro" gaming grab ahold? Why do we prefer older game, systems and controllers? And which older games are newly exciting us in 2025?
We hope this conversation is a kicking-off point for rediscovering the joy of classic gaming however many years or decades you might want to rewind - whether because you are eager to rediscover single-button arcade simplicity, build the ultimate couch multiplayer party setup or punt all online-connected annoyances and content carrot-dangles in favour of games that simply plug in, turn on and function.
Before that chat begins, we run through the retro gaming news of the past few weeks, and we begin with the upcoming Vectrex Mini plug-and-play console, available now for preorder via Kickstarter's "Late Pledge" interface with an advertised September 2026 release date. This €149 base system includes 12 built-in games and SD card support for additional software, along with a 5" AMOLED screen and one Bluetooth gamepad. Tests of its prototype hardware at this year's Gamescom and Portland Retro Game Expo confirm that the AMOLED panel balances affordability and visual fidelity in mostly recreating the classic console's signature vector-monitor effect.
For more remade-console news, we discuss the full-sized A1200, an HDMI-out emulation box that recreates the Amiga 1200 PC experience that originally launched in 1992. A "mini" version of the A1200 would simply not cut it, owing to the console's chassis revolving around a full-sized keyboard, so we're excited to see this - and it's from the same Retro Games team that previously released TheC64, a full-sized Commodore 64 emulation box, so we're optimistic about this new system's performance and build quality. As paired with a mouse, a gamepad, 25 pre-installed games and expansion options to install additional titles, the new A1200 bundle is slated to ship June 2026 with preorders starting at €189.
We also explore "newly arranged" piano renditions of classic Square-Enix RPG soundtracks, as released in two officially licensed and recently released albums. The first, Piano Fantasies, collects songs from four Square-Enix classics as a single, concert-like musical experience, as performed by renowned video game adaptation pianist Mischa Cheung. The second, Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Arrangement, is formally published and sold by Square-Enix. Both come highly recommended.
Other recent and upcoming retro releases mentioned in the episode:
- A fan-made Game Boy Color "demake" of Zelda's Adventure, whose original 1995 version is a coolly received top-down adventure that was previously exclusive to the Philips CD-I.
- An upcoming port of the 2024 Famicom game Changeable Guardian Esqtique to consoles and PC - made in part by a former M2 staffer.
- Longtime NES-to-SNES port author Infidelity has added 1991 game Contra Force to his releases list, and ahead of its launch, he spoke with our friend Bob Neal at RetroRGB late last month.
And while our episode this week clocks in at nearly two hours, we strongly recommend carving out an additional whopping three hours in the near future to watch the latest PlayStation 1-obsessive Sean Seanson video. This time, Sean spends his lengthy runtime working through the full Taito chronology on Sony's first home console, which turns up more than a few Taito gems even we'd lost track of over the years.
Comments 4
So happy you guys have a proper website with a decent layout, and even happier that the retro podcast exists. Really enjoying this content and the opinions and thoughts of everyone. I was born in 1990, in order my first three consoles were NES, SNES, and the Atari Jaguar with the CD attachment. It's great to hear a look back on everything, and the fact that you guys cover consoles from before my time really helps me live the feeling of the excitement from a past era
It is just really cool. I'm that line between Millennial and Gen-Z (1997), and I have to say I absolutely love retro gaming. I grew up with the GBA, Playstation 2 and beyond, but I spent a good amount of time going back to Playstation 1, N64, and SNES thanks to the emergence of "retro handhelds" in the last 5 years. While not the original experience, they have really allowed me to go through and full enjoy some fantastic games like Final Fantasy VI, Perfect Dark, Dino Crisis, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and more. I would love to own some original hardware, or something capable of FPGA along with a CRT, but maybe someday!
I think there is a timeless appeal to retro games and I think the high availability of them nowadays is partially responsible for the increased popularity of retro games among my generation and younger. BBC did a fun article on it: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl8nj8nvzo
I traded in some PS1 games to fund a PS2. Still haunts me to this day. Otherwise, I still have every game and console we ever had, starting from a Grandstand, running through the Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive and then onto the 3D consoles. The only ones where I don't still have the originals are the PS3 and Xbox 360 as they died. They'll pry those consoles from my cold, dead hands.
I do think there's something condescending in how we treat older games, as if we need a reason to go back and play them. Imagine taking that attitude toward older music, or film, or literature. I guess it has to do with how the history of games is also the history of game technology, and there's an idea of "progress" when it come to technology, which then gets transferred onto games as a medium.
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