Commodore brings back the TAC-2, the iconic joystick of the C64 and Amiga era
Commodore brings back the TAC-2, one of the best-known joysticks of 1980s home computing, in five new versions faithful to the Suncom original.
All contents
Archive
Everything published in the English edition of Retro-Gamers: reviews, news, features, memories, guides, hardware and interviews.
58 contents available 
When History Becomes a Game: Wars, Civilisations and Myths in the Player’s Hands
What happens when the past becomes playable? From Civilization and North & South to Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War.
Star Wars: Rebel Assault, When CD-ROM Spectacle Became the Game
Rebel Assault helped sell the multimedia PC by turning CD-ROM storage, sound, digitised footage and pre-rendered spectacle into the experience itself.
Tony Warriner: from Lure of the Temptress to Broken Sword, inside Revolution Software
Dagli esperimenti di Lure of the Temptress alla costruzione di Broken Sword: Tony Warriner racconta la storia tecnica e umana di Revolution Software.
From Pen to Screen: When Literature Becomes a Videogame
What remains of a book when its pages become worlds, actions and decisions? From The Hobbit to The Witcher, literature changes shape when the player steps inside.
The Children of the Computer Age Are Afraid of Artificial Intelligence
The generation that grew up defending computers and video games now risks judging AI with the same old prejudices. A personal reflection on creativity, access and responsibility.
Beyond nostalgia: why classic games still connect generations
How classic games become a shared language across generations, countries and communities through memories, discussions and personal experiences.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: CD32 against the New Generation, the Beginning of the End
In 1993, Commodore turned the Amiga 1200 into a console. CD32 had CD-ROM, AGA and Akiko, but it was born old in the face of the new generation.
ZPF: The Free Mega Drive and Genesis Demo Is Available Now
Mega Cat Studios has released a free playable ROM of ZPF. It is a technically impressive and demanding Mega Drive shoot ’em up, although its action can become visually crowded.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: Amiga 500 versus Amiga 1200, when being the best was no longer enough
Faster, more colourful and more expandable, the Amiga 1200 surpassed the 500 in almost every respect. But in 1992, a better Amiga was no longer enough.
Dynabyte, Nippon Safes and the Italian Adventure Game Years: An Interview with Massimo Magnasciutti
A direct, ironic and sometimes bitter conversation with Massimo Magnasciutti about Dynabyte, Nippon Safes Inc., Deluxe Paint, Donna Fatale and the difficult but unforgettable years of Italian adventure games.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: Atari ST, the closest rival
The Atari ST was the Amiga’s closest rival: same Motorola 68000, same European market, but two very different hardware philosophies.
Amiga arcade ports: when they hurt, and when they worked miracles
Arcade conversions on Amiga were often painful, but not always. From Capcom disasters to successful ports, all the way to the unreleased Snow Bros.
Do you have a story to tell? Retro-Gamers.it is looking for new voices
Retro-Gamers.it is looking for new voices to tell stories about games, platforms, memories and video game culture. A voluntary collaboration for people with something to say.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: why the Sharp X68000 was not the Japanese Amiga
The third chapter of Amiga vs the Rest of the World looks at the myth of the Sharp X68000 as “the Japanese Amiga”: Capcom arcade ports, U.S. Gold, Workbench, Human68k, demo scene and two very different computer cultures.
9.0
Final Fight
Final Fight on Sharp X68000 is one of the finest home conversions of Capcom’s beat ’em up: brutal, physical and still remarkably close to the arcade spirit.
David Perry: “With Aladdin, we wanted to capture Disney magic inside a 16-bit cartridge”
A short interview with David Perry, from Disney’s Aladdin and Earthworm Jim to Shiny Entertainment, Gaikai and new AI-driven creative tools.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: the day PC DOS stopped chasing
The second chapter of “Amiga vs the Rest of the World” tells the moment when PC DOS stopped chasing: VGA, Sound Blaster, hard drives, 386, 486, LucasArts, arcade conversions and Doom changed the balance.
8.5
Shadow of the Beast
Shadow of the Beast is one of the Amiga’s absolute myths: spectacular, atmospheric and still powerful, but also rigid, cruel and divisive.
Amiga vs the Rest of the World: when Commodore’s computer challenged Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
A 1990s comparison between Amiga, Mega Drive and Super Nintendo without console wars: three different machines, from floppy disks and sprites to audio, pads and home creativity.
8.5
Cool Spot
Cool Spot on SNES is an advertising platformer that still works: great animation, good pacing and plenty of personality beyond the 7 Up brand.
8.0
Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck
Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck is one of Core Design’s most recognizable Amiga platformers: colorful, funny and technically polished, but also very much a product of its early 1990s design.
9.5
God of War II: review of PlayStation 2’s action swan song
God of War II is one of PlayStation 2’s greatest action games: a fierce, spectacular and technically impressive sequel that still defines Kratos’ Greek era.
9.0
Tomb Raider: review of the PlayStation classic that turned Lara Croft into an icon
Tomb Raider on PlayStation is not only the beginning of Lara Croft’s myth. It is a 3D adventure built around solitude, exploration, puzzles and 1990s videogame memory.
9.0
Golden Axe
Golden Axe turned 1980s barbarian fantasy into pure arcade action: three heroes, spectacular magic, rideable beasts and one of the strongest identities in SEGA’s coin-op history.
LucasArts and the Art of Adventure: When Point-and-Click Became Interactive Cinema
From Maniac Mansion and Loom to Monkey Island and Grim Fandango: how LucasArts gave the adventure game its sharpest voice.
When Videogames Had Manuals: The Lost Art of Reading Before Playing
Before games explained everything on screen, manuals, maps, comics and paper inserts were part of the experience: objects to read, study, smell, damage, lose and remember.
Turrican: metal, chip music and the European dream of action games
From Manfred Trenz on Commodore 64 to Factor 5, Chris Hülsbeck, Mega Turrican and the Super Nintendo chapters: the story of a saga that turned home computer limits into legend.
Why Classic Star Wars Games Still Matter to Retro Gamers
Classic Star Wars games still matter because they turned the films into playable fantasies across arcades, home computers, consoles and online worlds.
9.0
NiGHTS into Dreams…
NiGHTS into Dreams… is one of the Sega Saturn’s most original games: a flying, musical score-attack experience where Sonic Team turned dreams into arcade design.
8.0
Jim Power in Mutant Planet
Jim Power in Mutant Planet is one of the most striking Amiga platformers of the early 1990s: console-like in style, powerful in sound, but also harsh, nervous and not always balanced.
9.5
Star Fox 64 / Lylat Wars
Nintendo’s cinematic shoot ’em up: fast, spectacular and still one of the purest symbols of arcade action on Nintendo 64.
Hideo Kojima: from the MSX to Death Stranding, the story of an author beyond format
From his early years at Konami to Metal Gear, from Snatcher and Policenauts to the break with the traditional industry, and finally to the freedom of Kojima Productions: a journey through the work of one of gaming’s most recognizable auteurs.
7.5
Superfrog: the Amiga mascot we wanted to love
Superfrog is one of the Amiga’s most iconic platformers: clean, smooth and beloved, but behind the Team17 myth it remains more elegant than truly memorable.
9.0
Parasite Eve
Squaresoft’s biological thriller that turned New York into a mutant nightmare, blending RPG, survival horror and late-1990s cinema.
9.5
Street Fighter II for Super Nintendo
Street Fighter II on Super Nintendo was not a perfect arcade replica, but it brought the heart of Capcom’s fighting game home and changed 16-bit multiplayer.
The end of Commodore: how a giant lost the future it had already invented
Commodore’s decline was not a sudden collapse, but a slow loss of direction, made of missed opportunities and choices that were never truly decisive — while the Amiga continued to be loved.
Electronic fireworks: the art of the Demoscene
The Amiga demoscene: when code became art and pushed computers beyond every limit.
Commodore PET, VIC-20, Commodore 16 and 128: the lesser-known siblings that made history
The less celebrated Commodore machines that helped build the foundations of home computing.
The Amiga AAA chipset and the Hombre project
Two unreleased architectures that still represent the Amiga future Commodore never managed to deliver.
Amiga: the computer that was already in the future — and that the world did not understand at first
Amiga arrived with graphics, audio and multitasking that were far beyond what most people expected at the time: a machine projected into the future, but placed in the hands of a company that never fully understood what it had.
Commodore 64: the computer that changed the way we played and learned
With the Commodore 64, the computer truly entered the home: a games machine, a tool for discovery and a symbol of an entire generation.
9.5
Sensible World of Soccer
Before football games became television simulations, Sensible World of Soccer put the whole world into a few pixels, one joystick and an endless career.
Commodore: from typewriters to the home computer revolution
Before the Commodore 64 became a legend, Commodore had already changed its own destiny: from typewriters and calculators to the first personal computers.
The Addams Family: the pinball machine in the haze of Bar Acquario
A school memory of buses, smoke, records, credits and endless challenges around a pinball machine that seemed to call the whole bar to attention.
THEA1200: the modern return of the Amiga 1200
Retro Games Ltd brings back the spirit of the Amiga 1200 in a full-size machine with a working keyboard, HDMI, USB, Workbench and preloaded games.
9.0
Mayhem in Monsterland
The last great miracle of the Commodore 64: a fast, colourful and technically astonishing platform game released when the 8-bit machine seemed already out of time.
NEOGEO AES+: SNK’s Arcade Legend Returns with Cartridges and HDMI
NEOGEO AES+ brings SNK’s arcade dream back home with cartridge support, HDMI output, a full-size design and an official arcade stick.
Commodore 1541 and 1571: were they really that slow?
A technical and historical look at the Commodore 1541 and 1571, between serial bus limits, high expectations, Datasette comparisons and the clever tricks that made floppy loading faster.
The Future Behind a Shop Window: From Amiga to PlayStation
Between Amiga, CD32, Saturn and PlayStation, a personal memory of the years when the future of gaming was discovered through shop windows, arcades and magazines.
OutRun Arcade: That Summer by the Sea, Between the Beach and the Game Room
OutRun was more than a racing game: it was a seaside arcade ritual, a silent challenge with a friend and a summer memory that still feels alive.
The lost Sega Channel ROMs: when the Genesis imagined the digital future
The recovery of the Sega Channel ROMs brings back one of the most fascinating chapters in video game preservation: SEGA imagined digital distribution long before the world was ready.
10
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis remains one of LucasArts’ finest graphic adventures: sharp writing, clever puzzles and three different paths for an original adventure worthy of Indy’s cinematic legacy.
10
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge is LucasArts at its creative peak: brilliant writing, memorable puzzles, rich pirate atmosphere and an almost perfect balance of comedy, mystery and melancholy.
9.0
Aladdin
Aladdin on Mega Drive remains one of the most spectacular Disney platformers of the 16-bit era, with superb animation, arcade pace and visual magic that still holds up.
External Gotek for Amiga as DF0
How to use an external Gotek on Amiga 500 while keeping the original floppy drive, with a DF0 selector, external cable and safety tips.
Compact Flash on Amiga: complete guide to using it as a hard drive
How to turn an Amiga 600, 1200, 4000, and even an Amiga 500 into a faster, quieter and more practical machine with Workbench and WHDLoad.
9.5
Lionheart
Lionheart is one of the Amiga’s finest achievements: a spectacular fantasy action game that still combines technical wonder with real playability.
No results
Try changing or resetting the selected filters.