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The legacy of Lucasfilm Games looms large this week. We take on the controversial conclusions surrounding the global "Adventure Game Aptitude Test," which challenged gamers to complete the classic Maniac Mansion in four hours with no context, no documentation, and no hints. In other news we look at the improved access to Lucasarts classics thanks to a DREAMM emulator upgrade, and live vicariously through an outrageous hack to the infamous Sinclair C5. Plus your top picks in tiny software and an all-new Community Question of the Week.

00:00 - Show Opening

02:00 - You’re Not A Failure

Additional links: https://www.polygon.com/agat-adventure-aptitude-test-pc-adventure-maniac-mansion-guide/

18:03 - Dreaming Of A Galaxy Far Far Away

26:18 - Housekeeping - News links found below

34:14 - Sinclair C6… Speed

44:19 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

The Crew Unlimited: https://thecrewunlimited.com

PS2 with DVD-RW: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1rlfdxi/just_wanted_to_share_something/

Development Machine Controversy: https://www.sonicstadium.org/articles/sega/sega-stole-my-consoles-collector-raided-after-buying-stock-from-office-clearout-r3301/

Matthew Lillard On Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhvMRw3OPjY

ZX Spectrum Street Fighter 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_HJvjzojZs

Ultima VIII Retrospective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4h1GIw32UU

IBM Training Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNC0mLsaqz4

All the fun you can squeeze into 64k or less as we look at the international sensation that was Jet Set Willy and the explosion of open-world adventure gaming in 1984. There's even a fully-realised Quake-style FPS available for modern PCs that fits into just 64 kilobytes, or you can code up your own retro memory-resident marvels with the aid of the new Kwyll system or dozens of other open-source development environments. 

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

01:59 - Let’s Compare Our (Jet Set) Willys

19:22 - Retro Coding Roundup

Tprrt's Blog: https://tprrt.tupi.fr/retro-console-game-engines.html

36:06 - Housekeeping - News links found below

42:00 - QUOD Damage!

QUOD Download: https://daivuk.itch.io/quod

Quake Brutalist Jam III: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1r7pz1p/quake_brutalist_jam_iii_released_jan_3rd/

Free Unreal: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1r44enm/unreal_tournament_2004_is_now_free/

Chris' Unreal Maps: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oaBzMgV9oFHFpuTDnk4cytHOSdw0vII3?usp=sharing

51:22 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

TIE Fighter Total Conversion: https://youtu.be/IZtHOoMsrWs?si=X3S9v4aEJXPDZ03D

FreeDOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwLIgdRj5bI

MiSTer Floppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN8TCz7Z0n8

eXoDemoscene: https://www.retro-exo.com/demoscene.html

GenZ and iPods: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/02/23/why-gen-z-and-young-adults-are-embracing-ipods-again

Rob Grant obituary: https://www.ganymede.tv/2026/02/rob-grant-rip/

Floating Lemming: https://youtu.be/h-2KyTnxr5E?si=dZFkM8nKew3dyF9I

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"Keep a copy of what's important to you."

With these bullet points (provided by special guest  @RonsCompVids ) in mind, we take a critical look at a Philips CD-i retrospective, discuss a substantial update to the Stop Killing Games movement, and dig into the fundamental right of physical media ownership. We share your top tips to avoid doomscrolling and introduce a new Community Question of the Week: what retro technology would you resuscitate with a one BILLION dollar budget?

00:00 - Show Opening

05:18 - Was The CD-i Doomed From The Start?

30:54 - Ross Has Saved Your Game

48:53 - Housekeeping - News links found below

58:51 - Streaming Is So Last Year

01:15:02 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

SDF Public Access UNIX: https://connect.sdf.org/

Commercial Availability Of Pre-2010 Games: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Frflir4u3odkg1.jpeg

THEA1200 Preorder: https://retrogames.biz/products/thea1200/

Dolphin Emulator: https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2026/02/16/rise-of-the-triforce/

Lemmings 35th Anniversary: https://youtu.be/Ulx0WE8KnA4

ATABoy: https://youtu.be/XUmxxTCaCM4

Echo Aviation Controller: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-gaming/honeycomb-echo-aviation-controller-review 

Games You Missed: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1rbp5d2/new_column_from_itsmethyroid_games_you_missed/

Giant Macintosh: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/case-mods/computer-history-museum-unveils-comically-large-scale-rendition-of-the-1986-apple-macintosh-plus-towering-all-in-ones-keyboard-looks-disproportionately-huge-today

DJ Slope of  @slopesgameroom  is our guest for this week's dive into the history of shoot 'em up games of all shapes and sizes. In other departments we examine the claim that 1996 changed computing history forever and explore whether handheld retro tech can defeat the modern scourge of doomscrolling. Plus news in classic tech ranging from the Nabu to the CIDCO Mailstation, on Episode 256 of This Week in Retro.

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

02:23 - Shmups Away Story

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9GFX6lIbeE

20:59 - 1996 Really Was A Big Deal Story

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM1gXDZsMO0

Additional link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OHkrQYSmtE

38:01 - Housekeeping - News links found below

44:07 - Doomscrolling Defeated

Story Link: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/feb/09/how-a-decades-old-video-game-has-helped-me-defeat-the-doomscroll

56:42 - Community Question of the Week

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Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@jpcompton

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This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Original GTA Working On PC: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/a-gta-modder-has-got-the-1997-original-working-perfectly-on-modern-pcs-and-steam-deck-and-its-a-joy-to-behold-i-wanted-pick-up-and-play-gta-on-windows-with-the-best-possible-compatibility-without-classic-installation/

BBC WAP: https://youtu.be/CYW0LngZ7v8?si=YP7ne10BFTEEWMyJ

Unreal Tournament: https://www.oldunreal.com/downloads/ut2004/full-game-installers/

Barn Find Nabu: https://glassalmanac.com/2200-vintage-computers-sat-in-a-barn-for-23-years-sold-on-ebay-for-under-e100-each/

Outrun On Apple Watch: https://youtu.be/fAXkovTMOvY?si=JAL8F0wD8y6wrseS

The Last Z80 Mass Market Machine: https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/last_z80_machine/

Episode Credits

"File:Amstrad CPC464.jpg" by Bill Bertram is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

Parts of "How the Shoot ’Em Up Genre Was Born" courtesy of Pixel Playback

See the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9GFX6lIbeE

Parts of "This rare BeBox still works!" courtesy of PCWorld and The Retro Roadshow

See the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OHkrQYSmtE

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We're gonna need a bigger byte to hold future episodes of This Week in Retro, but the end of the 8-bit era leads off with an exploration of the innovative SCUMM adventure game engine. Originally created by Lucasarts Games for Maniac Mansion, the system went on to be used in major franchises including Sam and Max and Indiana Jones, and is the topic of an upcoming crowdfunded documentary. We also report on some major achievements for retro users of PowerPC Macs and ancient accounting packages, and sift through the 30 year legacy of Duke Nukem 3D and the origins of John Romero's Catacombs 3D.

00:00 - Show Opening

02:15 - Passport To Adventure

DevsQuest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-am862uRg

15:11 - Herculean Efforts In Retro

Additional Links: 

34:03 - Housekeeping - News links found below

42:24 - Hail To The Catacombs Baby

Catacombs 3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcUqwMf01pI

52:42 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/02/taitos-1987-outrun-clone-top-speed-makes-its-debut-on-modern-consoles-later-this-week

https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/sir-clive-sinclair-views-on-ai-and-super-intelligence/

https://www.gog.com/redeem/WELCOMEGIFT

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/you-can-now-view-the-computer-history-museums-collection-from-the-comfort-of-your-own-home-and-its-full-of-retro-blasts-from-the-past/

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/beige-is-back-remembering-the-bbc-micro-with-raspberry-pi-500-plus/

https://www.ukag.org.uk/index.php/2026/01/08/more-info-on-the-june-uk-amstrad-group-meet/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxuvEtgfbPU

After years of uncertainty, the vast and historically significant Atari archives held by the late Curt Vendel have a new home at The Strong National Museum of Play. We hear from Atari chroniclers Kay Savetz and Martin Goldberg about the significance of this new installation and share behind-the-scenes photos. Game design pioneer Mike Singleton gets another day in the sun as a Midwinter remake emerges, and the history of Counter-Strike and player-vs-player mayhem get fresh perspective with a new look at Dust2 map designer Dave Johnston.

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

DESCRIPTION

00:00 - Show Opening

02:05 - Who Collects The Collections?

Additional links: https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com

14:31 - Take On General ReMastered

Additional links: http://mercenarysite.free.fr/mercframes_graphic.htm

28:18 - Housekeeping - News links found below

33:16 - n00b or h4x0r?

47:32 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

Intel 486 motherboard: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/the-m8sbc-486-is-an-open-source-intel-486-mobo-built-from-scratch-in-under-6-months-the-original-idea-was-to-achieve-linux-and-doom-compatibility-but-it-achieves-far-more-than-that

Speedball 2: https://youtu.be/Mujivih30bc

Native PC ports from PlayStation 2: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/01/native-pc-ports-of-ps2-games-could-be-on-the-way-thanks-to-new-recompilation-experiment

Arcade church: https://youtu.be/kPKJyJGucH4

Why Do We Say Sprites?: https://youtu.be/tTqfeJ2yJwE

Amiga 1200 Mini-ITX Alicia: https://youtu.be/NMKiRaLyuD8

The Visible Zorker: https://eblong.com/infocom/visi/

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We celebrate the launch of PicoIDE, the all-in-one replacement for ATAPI CD-ROM and IDE hard drives by welcoming creator Ian Scott (polpo) to the show! Ian personally guides us through the underpinnings of PicoIDE, available for crowdfunding order now. Then we transition to tricky challenges in software preservation through the lens of Little Computer People and Alternate Reality: The City, and wrap up with a discussion on the charms of VHS videotape and CRT display, including the design of the all-in-one TV/VCR combo. We then share your top picks for new tech documentaries before sharing our latest Community Question of the Week!

00:00 - Show Opening

02:52 - High Quality CD Emulation Is Here! The PicoIDE

23:35 - Software Preservation Tough Truths

46:21 - Housekeeping - News links found below

54:02 - Story Redacted

01:05:23 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

Amigathon 2026: amigathon.com

EB Aussie Stores News: https://press-start.com.au/news/2026/01/22/a-small-number-of-aussie-eb-games-stores-are-closing-but-theres-no-reason-to-worry/

EB Games Shovels Money Overseas: https://www.channelnews.com.au/real-concerns-as-eb-games-shovels-millions-offshore-as-losses-mount-and-stores-close/

The Retro Hour Interviews Norman Cool (Fatboy Slim): https://youtu.be/1-UOBjJjGuM

Atari ST Mini: https://preview.redd.it/pmh955lbypeg1.png?width=1363&format=png&auto=webp&s=42a33326774858870fe81b32bb06127339c42adc

More Atari ST Mini: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/atari-st-enthusiast-announces-the-minist-with-fpga-misterynano-core-and-black-tkl-case-priced-at-around-usd400-each-but-the-initial-run-is-a-mere-five-units

New TWIR Viewer Posts Message: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1qk8xlo/greetings_from_an_avid_watcher_and_twir_fan/

IBM Mwave: https://youtu.be/v1RmAd9iwwA?si=hNymBS4IFxpJJK-g

Australia's rich history of technological innovation gets the spotlight this week as Chris explores The State of Electronics, a channel dedicated to computing Down Under. Jason looks through the history of Leader Board golf and a comprehensive analysis of the "sunset-and-grids" aesthetic which has come to symbolise the 1980s, poking fun at international interpretation of the iconic Trapper Keeper along the way. And a treasure trove of Amiga Format magazines shared on the This Week in Retro subreddit sparks a discussion led by Dave of the golden age of tech publications. We conclude with listener submissions for the best era of Sega and wrap up with a brand new Community Question of the Week.

You can order the latest issue of Pixel Addict fresh and wrinkle free, with the optional physical cover-disk, direct from the source by visiting https://www.addict.media/

00:00 - Show Opening

01:57 - Australian Computer History Docos

14:50 - Golf & Grids

Additional links:

31:46 - Housekeeping - News links found below

39:25 - Amiga Doormat

50:02 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

Diego 500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv5Qtoq5rqs

Win 98 NVME Driver: https://youtu.be/YUoJS2xXRmQ

GOG & Linux: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/its-such-poor-quality-software-gog-owner-criticises-windows-says-it-will-support-linux-better-in-the-future/

Floppy Drive Remote: https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/danish_dev_floppy_drive_remote/

Nintendo Virtual Boy: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jW7M8H99x7Y&si=9G2boXwsEB5j17DG

BBC Explains Digital TV: https://youtu.be/pWTvplkBeNM?si=JAd5xzU5C0D8xiK8

Acorn Electron Plus 1 Mini : https://www.tindie.com/products/ramtopretro/plus-1-mini-expansion-for-acorn-electron/

EB Stores in New Zealand To Close: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/584037/all-eb-games-stores-in-nz-to-close-at-end-of-month

It's a bonanza of stand-up arcade feature stories this week. Will Basic Fun! give Arcade1Up a powerful next stage? We also remember the life and career of Sega legend David Rosen and look at the latest in miniature cabinets from My Arcade including Sonic the Hedgehog, Galaga, Pac-Man, and Atari hits. In other news a Sega racer achieves a rare trifecta on the show, the origins of PCMCIA are discussed, and we follow up on Stunt Car (Track) Racer and Freescape from last week's show.

You can order the latest issue of Pixel Addict fresh and wrinkle free, with the optional physical cover-disk, direct from the source by visiting https://www.addict.media/

00:00 - Show Opening

02:15 - Arcade2Up

18:18 - Sad Duties To Inform

Additional links:

29:46 - Housekeeping - News links found below

39:03 - Is Bigger Better?

50:35 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

PicoPCMCIA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-04EoGlayY

GX4000 One Good Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlfarIWjfGQ

1972 Computer Giveaway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRc5BXn_SsE

Amiga Mouse Pointers: https://heckmeck.de/pointers/ 

1999 Retro Consoles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3p76ryEb_c

Amiga Sprite Trick: https://www.techeblog.com/amiga-sprite-mechanics-snes-hardware/

🛠 Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com/ for all your PCB needs! 🛠

In this milestone 250th episode of This Week in Retro, we celebrate that the more things change, the more they stay the same. A revival of Geoff Crammond's Stunt Car Racer is our top story. That's just the tip of the iceberg in what was a very big week for fans of his game design work. In other news the set-top boxes of the 1990s and early 2000s get another look: the lost treasures of The Sega Channel have been preserved for modern-day Mega Drive/Genesis players, and recent developments have helped WebTV users but hurt those who get their websites from the Sega Dreamcast's PlanetWeb browser. And we remember Stewart Cheifet, the long-time producer and host of The Computer Chronicles.

00:00 - Show Opening

03:07 - Hump Back Is Back

16:17 - New Life For Old Browsers

30:37 - Housekeeping - News links found below

38:16 - Cable TV Relics Restored

49:38 - Community Question of the Week

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News In Brief Links

Stewart Cheifet obituary: https://computerchronicles.blog/post/stewart-cheifet-1938-2025

Commodore 64 Ultimate experiences: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1ppdwec/c64u_is_here/

Ben Versteeg passage notice: https://www.reddit.com/r/zxspectrum/comments/1pqubkw/sad_news_good_bye_ben/

Amiga Desktops Worth Seeing: https://www.datagubbe.se/wbshots/

Geoff Crammond F1GP news: https://www.gamespress.com/MicroProse-and-Geoff-Crammond-Reunite-to-Revive-a-Racing-Legend

Mark Moxon's disassembly of Geoff Crammond's The Sentinel: https://github.com/markmoxon/the-sentinel-source-code-bbc-micro