Bringing Neo Geo to the PC Engine with the Arcade Card

by Marcus Albers | Mar 1, 2026 | 1990s, Arcade, Console/Handheld

If you were around for the 16-bit console wars, you probably remember the unspoken rule: Neo Geo fighting games were not supposed to be portable to “normal” home hardware without compromises. The Neo Geo MVS/AES was basically the arcade in a box, and it wore that...

Sega on NEC: Arcade Classics on the PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16

by Marcus Albers | Feb 18, 2026 | 1980s, 1990s, Arcade, Console/Handheld

During my college years, I transitioned from exclusively gaming on computers like the Commodore 64 and Amiga. In so doing, I found myself drifting toward the underdog systems of the time, like the Sega Master System and, eventually, the Atari Jaguar. Another underdog...

Galaga: The Race to 10,000,000 (REWIND)

by Todd Friedman | Feb 15, 2026 | 1980s, Arcade, Columns, Events

With multiple Galaga records falling recently and many new players and competitions being introduced, there has also been a drive to something no one thought imaginable as recently as 3 years ago – 10,000,000 (that’s TEN MILLION) points on Tournament Settings. Armando...

Video Game Trading Card Spotlight – Don Hodges

by Todd Friedman | Jan 31, 2026 | 1980s, 1990s, 2010s, Arcade, Columns

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Don Hodges, who currently is displayed on card number 753, from the Superstars of 2014 Collection.  Don is a classic arcade gamer who has analyzed program code for games such as Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, Defender, and Galaga. He may be...

Bringing the Arcade Home: The most faithful arcade ports to the C64

by Marcus Albers | Jan 25, 2026 | 1980s, Arcade, C64 Vic20

There is a particular kind of magic to an excellent arcade conversion on the Commodore 64. It is not just the thrill of seeing an arcade hit appear on your home computer, though that was absolutely part of the draw. A faithful conversion has to reproduce the arcade...

Better At Home: Master System arcade ports almost better than the originals

by Marcus Albers | Jan 18, 2026 | 1980s, Arcade, Console/Handheld

Throughout the history of 8- and 16-bit consoles, one of the most elusive achievements was to release a home port of a popular arcade game that did the original justice. Due to obstacles such as hardware requirements, licensing issues, and executive interference,...