Episode 535: Hi-Fi Retro Gaming 2023 (Patreon)

Ah, the Retronauts Curse continues apace. This latest entry in our ongoing conversation (last touched on in episode 437) about ways to coax the best possible classic gaming experiences from modern machines (which so often fail to do justice to software designed for a completely different for of tech) arrives the same day that Analogue's surprise preorders for their TG16 clone Duo open—a device whose status we speculate about in this very show. Instant obsolescence!

But that's just the nature of this field of retro tech. It's constantly on the move, with new options appearing without warning thanks to the hard work of a small, skilled community that largely labors for love rather than for profit. That community includes this week's guest, Matt Pannella, who maintains a humble little script that greatly streamlines the process of pulling all the latest Open FPGA cores from the internet and onto your Analogue Pocket. But wait, you say. What is an Open FPGA? What's a core? Who is an Analogue Pocket? Well, buckle in, friend, because this week we answer all of these questions. And also quite a few other questions that haven't been voiced by way of a strawman listener! 

Edits this week courtesy of Greg Leahy, and art by the inimitable Amanda Pruitt.

• 09:09 - Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru: Main Theme
• 24:55 - James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod (SMS): BGM 1
• 35:35 - Mario's Picross: BGM 3
• 44:15 - Enduro Racer (SMS): BGM 1
• 54:38 - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA): TeeHee Valley
• 1:07:19 - Game & Watch Gallery 4: Title Theme
• 1:18:04 - Serpent: Round BGM
• 1:31:23 - Jack Bros.: Temple of Nightmare
• Closing - PGA Tour Golf (Genesis): Title Theme