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

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!

https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

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Follow your hosts!

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/davevelociraptor.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube: Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA

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

Audio Podcast: https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!

📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4

📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y

📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com

📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337

📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml

📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

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

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

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 Story Link: https://adventuregamehotspot.com/announcement/5936/sign-up-available-for-passport-to-adventure-the-scumm-story

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

15:11 - Herculean Efforts In Retro Story Link: https://lowendmac.com/2026/finally-a-properly-modern-browser-for-powerpc-macs/

Additional Links: https://dmitrybrant.com/2026/02/01/defeating-a-40-year-old-copy-protection-dongle https://github.com/HarryR/z80ai https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/ATARI_ST_MV16_Sound_Audio_Card_Cartridge_BAT_e1c2ad3a.html

34:03 - Housekeeping - News links found below

42:24 - Hail To The Catacombs Baby Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70mZq8bUStw

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

52:42 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing! https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

Follow your hosts! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/davevelociraptor.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube: Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@jpcompton

Audio Podcast: https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show! 📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4 📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y 📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com 📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337 📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml 📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

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

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? Story Link: https://www.museumofplay.org/press-release/the-strong-national-museum-of-play-acquires-atari-home-computer-and-console-division-collection/

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

14:31 - Take On General ReMastered Story Link: https://midwinter-remaster.titanium-helix.com/index.html

Additional links: http://mercenarysite.free.fr/mercframes_graphic.htm Episode 124 of This Week in Retro, Mercenary remake: https://youtu.be/FaTiRBGMCfI?si=pCbuvWcWcV4gJCbC&t=2430

28:18 - Housekeeping - News links found below

33:16 - n00b or h4x0r? Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWWhxfGq_yk

47:32 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing! https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

Follow your hosts! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/davevelociraptor.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube: Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@jpcompton

Audio Podcast: https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show! 📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4 📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y 📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com 📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337 📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml 📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

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

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/