The ModRetro M64 - Can it Compete?

ModRetro has followed up their Chromatic, their FPGA-based Game Boy Color handheld console, with the M64, an FPGA-based N64 console. As with the Chromatic, this is not the first FPGA-based N64, the Analogue 3D was released eight months prior (November 18, 2025). Crucially A3D has firmware updates that added new features and significantly enhance the console's value. So what does the M64 bring to the table? Is it good value for money? In this article I will address these questions and give my impressions of the console versus its competition.

Affordable Mouse Substitutions - Commodore 64 and Apple IIc

Mice on 8-bit home computers platforms were not ubiquitous. Almost every popular computer had a mouse option at some point, typically after Apple showed the world how a mouse could be useful as an input device. Because they were not wildly popular, original mice can be expensive. Let's explore some ways to save.

The Retro Desktop Theme - 8bitdo

8bitdo seems to put out a new product about once a week. They are a retro-focused company and like to design their products around nostalgic design cues. Nintendo is a favorite even for things other than game controllers. 8bitdo has sold things other than gamepads for several years now, and for a keyboard and mouse it is time for me to take a representative sample for a spin. Do these devices deserve a place on your desktop? Did they make the cut on mine? Let's find out today.

Taking Color out of the Color Graphics Adapter

When IBM released the Personal Computer back in 1981, it gave the buyer two choices for the video output. The buyer could buy a monochrome card and a special high resolution green screen monitor to go with it, or a color card and connect it to a color monitor. The buyer could even run both cards in the same system. If someone was on a tight budget, they could use a monochrome monitor with a color card, in this blog article we will explore what the results of that would be.

The SuperStation One - Is this the One FPGA System to Rule them All?

Over in China there is an expatriate who goes by the handle of Taki Udon. This American began his public video gaming presence modding Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance systems. Over time he partnered with a local company, Retro Remake, to produce modding products and affordable add-ons for the MiSTer FPGA system. Now he has released a consolized MiSTer called the SuperStation One. Specifically the console his company has modeled is the Sony PS One, the slimmed down revision of the PlayStation released late in its lifecycle. The SSOne has the potential to act as a fully consolized FPGA PlayStation. Having finally received mine, I will review it here.

Adapting Apple's RGB Color Monitor for Analogue & MiSTer

While the Apple IIgs could connect to a composite display, Apple released a high-quality color RGB monitor specifically designed for the IIgs. This monitor was called the Apple Color RGB Monitor, A2M6014. It was the only color monitor Apple ever released which could accept full analog RGB video signals at the standard 240p/480i resolution (using a 15.7KHz horizontal line frequency). I have recently acquired a full Apple IIgs setup, and while the IIgs needs some repair to its mainboard the monitor works. Even though this monitor has a connector only used by Apple, with a converter it is possible to use it with a variety of game consoles. In this short blog article I will detail how I got it working with my Analogue consoles and MiSTer.

British Bastards - Illegitimacy in the English Monarchy

The laws and customs pertaining succession to the throne in the Kingdom of England were, in normal times, simple. The eldest legitimate surviving son of the monarch automatically succeeded his father on the throne after his father's death. If the monarch did not have surviving sons or grandsons but had surviving brothers, then the eldest of those would rule. The formal name for this succession method is agnatic primogeniture. But what if the King had no surviving legitimate male heirs? Then things became a little more complicated and invited the rule of men and women whose legitimacy was not beyond reproach. I will examine the famous cases where men and women obtained or almost obtained the crown despite the stain of being born or alleged to have been born in sin (out of wedlock.)

The Ultimate Commodore 64? - The Commodore 64 Ultimate Review

The original Commodore 64 had a pretty long run for a computing platform, released in 1982 and discontinued in 1994. Its fortunes mirrored that of the company which developed it as Commodore achieved its greatest success with the C64 and never quite managed to achieve a similar level of market dominance thereafter. Now there is a new Commodore 64, the Commodore C64 Ultimate, which promises to be an end-all, be-all solution to running C64 software on a platform worthy of the Commodore legacy. Today, having had a chance to play with one for about a week, I can put those claims to the test.