I have the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth, GameSir Supernova, and GuliKit KK3 Max. I use these controllers when playing emulated retro games, so I thought I would share my thoughts on them if anyone is looking to pick up one!

All three use magnetic sticks and triggers (TMR or HE), have trigger locks, gyro, good rumble, and are multi-platform! I believe all three let you change the settings using keymaps on the controller itself. They all let you disable the lights around the sticks if you prefer that. These controllers all use membrane ABXY and d-pad, since I prefer those over clicky microswitches.

8BitDo Ultimate 2

Pros

• D-Pad is very "free" and it's easy to change direction (this could also be a con depending on the game), it feels very nice to use
• Only one of the three to use TMR sticks, which I hear are more accurate than hall effect while consuming less power
• The nicest looking controller with the Yellow colour in my opinion!
• Has a charging dock that doubles as a USB dongle extender
• The switch to enable trigger lock is the easiest to access of the three

Cons

• Definitely the cheapest feeling build quality out of the free
• Confusing naming scheme: the "Wireless" looks to prioritise PC (with Xbox ABXY) while the "Bluetooth" prioritises Nintendo Switch (with Nintendo ABXY). Additionally, the Lime Green colour is exclusive to the "Wireless", while the Yellow colour (the one I have) is exclusive to the "Bluetooth"
  • On that note, I can confirm that the "Bluetooth" works with my laptop running Linux!
• ABXY layout is not (physically) interchangeable
• The grip is not flared out like the other two, which many don't like. I'm okay with it, but I do prefer the flared out grips of the other two

GuliKit KK3 Max

Pros

• Interchangeable ABXY (requires a separate keycap puller-like thing)
• In my opinion the best ABXY buttons, since they feel tactile while being relatively quiet
• D-Pad, although still easy to change direction, it's more intentional as a little more force is needed to do so compared to the 8BitDo. This can be good or bad depending on the game
• Removable back paddles are really neat, and they are made of metal so they feel pretty good
• Includes a neat case that exposes the charging connector. It has slots for a button puller thing + the dongle. The keymaps are also written on the case, which is useful (but some of the symbols are ambiguous)!
• The most solid feeling hard plastic of the three

Cons

• Wireless connectivity latency is terrible with both the included dongle and Bluetooth. It's fine if I am close to the laptop, but it won't work well, for example, in a living room PC setup.
• The back paddles can't be stored in the included case
• QC is reported to be not great, I got a good unit but many others have duds
• The lights around the sticks can't be changed from the default colour, unlike the other two, since they are instead used to show what settings have been changed (but in my experience this doesn't really help all too much since it's just a small hue shift)
• Due to the shape of the ABXY buttons (the rightmost button is very deep, for example), they aren't perfectly interchangeable. You have to switch between a set of Xbox layout and a set of Nintendo layout buttons. Both are provided in the box, but it makes it more annoying to switch between the two

GameSir Supernova

Pros

• Interchangeable ABXY that does not require a special tool, as the faceplate is removable
• D-Pad is somewhere in between the 8BitDo and GuliKit in terms of "freeness"
• Also has a dock that doubles as a dongle extender. It's slightly better than 8BitDo's, since the dongle is behind the dock rather than below it, making it easier to access should you need to
• Rubber grips make it feel nicer in the hand to hold
• The triggers are the nicest of the three in my opinion

Cons

• The trigger stops don't have a microswitch, unlike the other two. You might prefer this, but I think it makes it less of an instant trigger
• Rubber grips might have longevity issues, haven't had it long enough for that to pop up

I personally use the GuliKit KK3 Max, since I sit close to my relatively small 14" laptop, so latency issues aren't a worry, and I don't need the charging dock of the other two since I won't be using it for a console-like setup. The 8BitDo controller is the nicest looking (the yellow colourway is awesome!) while also being the cheapest feeling, and I don't like the tighter grip as much, so I opted to give it to my littlest sibling with tiny hands for playing fun games on the Switch. The GameSir Supernova was given to my other little sibling who has broader shoulders than me, and they enjoy the charging dock a lot since they play games on their PC.

Here's another one from me. Wipeout was an ultra cool game. This is from 1995 and is still in fantastic condition, box and game inside are barely touched (how do you add multiple pics on here?). Wipeout featured a fantastic soundtrack featuring Orbital, Chemical Brothers and Leftfield amongst others. It was probably one of the earliest games to show what the PS1 was really capable off and blew away anything the competition had.

Comes with all sorts of cool stuff including a 3.5inch floppy disk USB drive. I'm keeping this one sealed though.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46478820

So there are a lot of options in 2026 to do this, but i'm not sure which is the best route.

Cheapest option for me is the Super Gameboy for SNES as i already have a couple SNES consoles. But the frame rate is sped up slightly, and it doesn't play GBC or GBA games. But this option is $30-35.

Then i have the gamboy player for the Gamecube. Player and disc run about $230 now. I can mod my Gamecube and just get a player for $65, and this way i can play all GB, GBC, and GBA games. Cons are the the input lag from buttons, but it seems the GBI interface when used with Swiss can solve most of this problem.

Then i can get a GB operator for about $60 if i'm willing to wait a month or 2. This would be a $60 option and would allow me to play my GB, GBC, and GBA games on my computer/TV. The ability to back up saves is crucial as i tend to play pokemon 95% of the time. But it's an emulator and not REAL hardware.

Which option would you go with? I'm ignoring the analog pocket and it's docking capabilities due to the cost.

I ordered a Miyoo Mini Flip the other day and I want to curate a slim list of games for it, maybe three to five titles per system so I can just pick it up and quickly choose what to play. Therefore I need a selection of games that are actual heavy rotation material. What I mean by modern feel is quality of life stuff and a manageable difficulty curve rather than graphics. Most older games I've tried (that I didn't play as a kid because nostalgia makes anything palatable) are just too hard without feeling rewarding. With my current emulation setup I find myself playing a lot of ROM hacks and Pico8 titles because while often with a simple concept those do usually check the modern feel marks I mentioned.

Do you have any particular recommendations that managed to hook you not just for the challenge of beating them but for the actual gameplay? It can be retro, homebrew, ported, hacked or whatever else runs on my handheld. I'm also fine with spending a few bucks on itch.io if necessary.

Outlive (2000) on Wikipedia

Outlive (Portuguese: Outlive: A Era da Sobrevivência) is a real-time strategy video game developed and produced by Brazilian studio Continuum Entertainment. It is a mission-based real-time strategy game where the player controls either the human military or robot forces and attempts to eliminate all opposing forces. It was initially released in 2000 in Brazil (2001 for the rest of the world), and was the second and most successful product of Continuum. The game was one of the few Brazilian games to be published by a mainstream AAA publisher back in the early 2000s. It was published in the United States and Europe by Take-Two Interactive.

Y'all remember shareware Doom on an IBM 486DX?

Welp, my back hurts!

Looks like not all adapters have that. Should I also consider 3rd-party controllers with included adapter?

[edit]

Brook Wingman adapter seems the one to get but it's 50€, Blueretro seems to support the feature with updated firmware but you have to pair thru PC. (Searching online)

Introducing THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld from HyperMegaTech and ‪RetroGamesLtd‬

Coming October 2026, pre-orders now open! £109.99 | $129.99 | €129.99 each

Collector's Editions available from Funstock with a dedicated hard shell case and an exclusive Crash/Zzap!64 Magazine! Limited to 2000 units!

Originally featured in the Sega Consumer History book, this interview with Noriyoshi Ohba and Rieko Kodama is a nostalgic look back at their careers.

From the page description:

Celebrate the legacy of the Game Boy with a curated collection of 30 neo retro indie games inspired by the golden age of handheld gaming. Crafted by modern developers who grew up with pixels, batteries, and tiny screens, these pocket-sized legends prove that great adventures never go out of style, all compatible with original hardware.

From chunky pixels to timeless design, the Handheld Heritage Bundle honors the Game Boy era through original indie games built with retro hearts and modern creativity. The bundle contains platformers, shooters, RPGs and many worlds that await for you thumbs to experience. There is something for everyone in this celebration of the console that defined portable play.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/59252300

Recently got a powermac g4! Not sure to sell or if id have a use...

So I recently got a steal of a deal on a powermac g4, only because I wanted the Philips CRT monitor for my dreamcast. I have a lot of computers and while I love the g4 (and always loved them when i was little), I don't really need another computer thats not good for much. Its the 860 ish MHz dual ppc, 512 mb ram, 60 GB HDD, has a graphics card. Super drive, and another CD rw drive.

Should I keep or sell? Not sure its worth more than $50 in my area. Most people would throw it in the trash.

Side note, it will only boot in safe mode. Previous owner put 10.5.8. on it. I think it has a bad ram stick.

And yeah. This feels like calling a ps2 retro which is cringe. This thing is still the future far as I'm concerned!

Edit: reset pram/nvram , no fix. Only boots on safe mode. Otherwise I get " you need to restart your computer.."

The tool I used for it is called the Retrode2, a cartridge dumper which doubles as a 2 SNES and 2 Genesis controller hub.

With a bit of patience you can even run SNES carts on a Steam Deck https://mastodon.social/@16bitvirtual/116479936082268893

Is it cheap? Nope

Is it sensible? Absolutely not,

Was it fun? 100%

https://gardinerbryant.com/i-bought-a-junk-psp-from-japan-heres-how-it-went/

Aliexpress find, really weird cart but it works! Gotta love the dip switches

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45971880

These two lengthy Phantasy Star Online developer interviews originally appeared in the PSO Episode 1&2 Setting Materials book.

Civ2 CnC Tiberian Africa scenario:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/702681/

I have been playing this series since I was a kid. In fact Resident Evil 3 was my first game in the series.

I think the tank style games are the best ones, but I know they can be hard to get into. I think a lot of people might choose the RE1 remaster or RE2 as it is talked about so highly as their first game.

But, Resident Evil 3 on easy mode is what I recommend as the starter game so people can get used to the gameplay style.

The game has so much ammo. I basically used just the standard gun and shotgun the entire time. I did not even need to use the gunpowder system to make more ammo.

The game is also pretty short, so it is easy to get through. Once you finish playing this game, I recommend going to RE2 then 1. It is your decision to play the original vs remake.

Hi,

I posted this on Steam and figured it'd be useful here too. It's about how to unlock all the scenarios for the game Project Highrise when playing on Linux. I thought about posting it in the Project Highrise community on Reddit but screw Reddit. There isn't a dedicated Project Highrise community but this is an older game (10years) so hopefully Retro Gaming is a good fit for this?

**However if people think there is a better place for this let me know! I'm keen to help put this stuff on the fediverse and not corporate websites! **

Unlocking the scenarios

I've got many hours in the game and have my save game files but the medals didn't transfer. I want to replay it but I don't want to unlock all the base scenarios in order again.

Heres how to unlock all the base game scenarios (1-15) including on Linux playing with Proton (this will also work for Windows) so you can play in any order.

Any DLC scenarios you own are always unlocked by default and can be played in any order, so you don't need to worry about these.

Find the gameplay.txt file

First find the gameplay.txt file. This is where the medal data is kept, and is separate from your save game folder. You can find it as follows:

• Windows: You can find it here (where USERNAME is your windows username):
  • C:\users\USERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\SomaSim\Project Highrise\prefs\gameplay.txt
• Linux Steam Proton: You can find it in your Steam proton compatibility folder (not your game install folder; the game installs in ".../Steam/steamapps/common/Project Highrise" but the proton data is in ".../Steam/steamapps/compatdata/423580/" where 423580 is the games Steam ID). This is usually in your linux home folder (i.e. your ~/... folder, i.e. /home/USERNAME/...) but may be elsewhere if you have steam libraries on other drives. E.g.:
  • ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/423580/pfx/drive_c/users/steam/AppData/LocalLow/SomaSim/Project Highrise/prefs/gameplay.txt
  • If you're struggling to find it, open steam, go to your library, go to the game, click on the cogwheel icon top right ("manage"), select properties, select the "installed files" folder, and click browse to find the game;s install files in your file manager. From this folder usually just go up two levels to find the "compatdata" folder.
• Linux Heroic/Lutris/Wine: You can find it in your proton prefix folder for the game. This varies depending on where you installed your games but by default would be in your home folder (i.e. your ~/... folder, i.e. /home/USERNAME/...). Examples below; USERNAME usually matches your linux user name:
  • Heroic: ~/Games/Heroic/Prefixes/default/Project Highrise/drive_c/users/USERNAME/AppData/LocalLow/SomaSim/Project Highrise/prefs/gameplay.txt
  • Lutris: ~/Games/gog/project-highrise/drive_c/users/USERNAME/AppData/LocalLow/SomaSim/Project Highrise/prefs/gameplay.txt

Edit the gameplay.txt file

Backup the gameplay.txt file first! If you make a mistake the game will wipe the file and make a blank one; the game will still run fine but your existing medals will be gone! The game seems to be very strict about the medal IDs and will blank the file to prevent a crashing if any one is is wrong. Once backed-up, open the original gameplay.txt file in your favourite text editor. A basic file (a new install, unplayed game) will look like this:

{ 
medals {} 
onetimehints {} 
tutorials {}
} 

We need to add a list of flags into the medal section; they are in the format sX-victory-bronze #true for the first 9 scenarios. You also need the 10th scenario to unlock all the original scenarios to play. However confusingly in the game files, from the 10th scenario onwards most of the medal ids are in quotes. So for the 10th scenario we actually need to add "s10-victory-bronze" #true.

Basically you need to copy the below paste into your gameplay.txt, replacing the original text and them save the file to unlock all the scenarios for play:

{
 medals {
  s1-victory-bronze #true
  s2-victory-bronze #true
  s3-victory-bronze #true
  s4-victory-bronze #true
  s5-victory-bronze #true
  s6-victory-bronze #true
  s7-victory-bronze #true
  s8-victory-bronze #true
  s9-victory-bronze #true
  "s10-victory-bronze" #true
}
 onetimehints {}
 tutorials {}
}

If you paste this in, it will set all the first 10 scenarios to Bronze medal, and all of the original 15 scenarios will be unlocked to play in your game.

Should you want to give yourself other medals (lets say you completed the scenarios years before and want it more accurate) then just add things like s1-victory-silver #true for Silver, and s1-victory-gold #true for gold.

The exception is any scenario from 10 upwards, where you need to add "" marks around the medal id: for example "s11-victory-gold" #true if you wanted to give a gold medal for scenario 11.

Note if you get any of the medals actual names wrong, the game wipes all the medals and makes a new blank file, so always back up!

If you really want to check a scenario ID, all the scenario ids can be found in the file ScenarioDefinitons.scm file in the game install folder (e.g. Project Highrise/Game_Data/StreamingAssets/Scenarios/ScenarioDefinitons.scm). Look for the "medal section" for each scenario and the id row, and look for what is written after that if you want to add other medals; most after 10 have "" in them, but some don't like scenario 26. Confusing but probably not important for most people.

Hope this helps! I'm enjoying replaying this game without the trudge of doing the scenarios in order.

Hey zusammen, heute vor genau 37 Jahren (am 21. April 1989) kam in Japan der allererste Game Boy auf den Markt. Ein absoluter Feiertag! 👾

Ich habe dazu gerade auf Mastodon ein bisschen in Nostalgie geschwelgt, weil ich als 3-fach-Dad heute sehe, wie meine Kids bei jedem kleinsten Ruckler meckern – während wir früher auf dem Rücksitz im Auto krampfhaft auf die nächste Straßenlaterne gewartet haben, um bei Tetris oder Super Mario Land überhaupt was zu erkennen. 😂

Mich würde mal interessieren: Hattet ihr damals auch diesen völlig absurden Lupen-Aufsatz mit Licht? Und was war euer allererstes Spiel (außer Tetris)? Lasst uns mal ein bisschen in Erinnerungen schwelgen!