Rik's Random Retro

The box for the game Thunderstrike for the commodore amiga

Sometimes, you have to buy a game based on the box art alone. Know nothing about the game, no regrets.

A game boy system showing the final screen on the game super mario land

One of the final screens of super mario land

The backside of a gameboy showing the super mario land cartridge

Well, I haven't played Super Mario Land since I was a kid, and a mini vacation seemed like a great time to play it. Short but sweet, I'm mostly glad I am still able to beat it!

A cleanup of the streaming area turned into a full tear out, clean and set up from scratch. Turns out there were a few cables involved.

A Commodore Amiga 2000 setup playing the game Cannon Fodder

Happy 40th Amiga! Many memories and endless enjoyment. And it's still going, the Amiga lives on!

The bootup screen of a retro 486 computer showcasing the specs

You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like

Install time

I seem to get very random games lately. I did play Theme Park a lot and definitely have wanted a boxed copy. This version seems a bit odd though, not featuring the typical cover, nor EA classics format.

Perhaps just a version I wasn't aware of. Still, I'm happy to have it!

Fascinating. I was not aware but may have to try. The AI first and ad driven nature of Google these days is getting tiring.

Sounds ambitious! But would be really cool to have. I love modern solutions, but for sure something is lost in the process.

Keep watching. The disk swap is coming up any minute now.

Fascinating. This was thrown in a package of a big box game I just bought. It appears to be a Chrysler Plymouth marketing CD-ROM with Lucasarts demos on it.

Based on the text, it has an interactive menu to access it all, plus a chance to win a 1997 Plymouth Prowler. Oh boy!

The Fantasy Pod of the Nine: Before They Are Hanged (Pt. 4/4), Episode 08 The Fantasy Pod of the Nine · Episode

It's another bi-weekly Monday, so it's time once again to join @radicaledward.bsky.social & I on our grimdark journey through @joeabercrombie.com's First Law series with part 4/4 of our dive into BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED in ep.8 of @fantasypod.bsky.social!!

open.spotify.com/episode/5bKz...

Installing

Yep! Im considering building a small midi rack, like LGR did, to house this and future modules.

The box for the game Dune II. The box is slightly caved in

The inside of the box for Dune II. Using magnets to hold it against a metal plate

An iron heating up the other side of the plate

The box for the game Dune II, now less caved in after using the hot plate method

Next is the "hot plate" method for boxes you can't fit an iron into. I saw this on RMC/The Retro Collective, and always wanted to give it a try.

There is probably more to improve here, but its already much less caved in than before I started!

The box for the pc game Caesar 3, that has been slightly crushed. Picture of before ironing

The box for the pc game Caesar 3, that has been slightly crushed. Picture of before ironing

The box for the pc game Caesar 3, after ironing

The box for the pc game Caesar 3, after ironing

Trying out some of the ironing methods for fixing up big box games.

First off is a standard flatten and iron method. Have to be realistic with results, but I think its a big improvement!

Don't think I could have asked for a better (early) father's day gift. Currently enjoying some glorious midi music in dos. Thanks @geekate.bsky.social! Love it, and you!

Gorgeous machine, check this one out @sucra.bsky.social!

A boxed gravis gamepad pro sits on a keyboard

Found out in the wild today. It's complete in box and will go great with my 486!

This was a nice surprise from my coworker. A taste of home, and called for immediate fika (Swedish coffee break)!

First time I'm actually using the PicoMEM I bought at VCF Midwest last year. Worked on first boot! Really cool that you can create a hard drive image right in the interface.

Impressive piece of kit!

A vintage computer monitor opened up being repaired. The monitor is sitting on an electronics repair workbench

This repair is proving challenging. Not saying CRT repair is easy to begin with, but a recap didn't do it. I'm looking at the parts in the v sync section next, which thankfully uses still available parts.

Fingers crossed that fixes it!

Oh nice, that looks like it might work great, thanks!

Robots are better than people as to not corrupt our fragile young minds.

What is this? A TV for ants?!

A coworker just gave me this cool, and very small, portable TV. It does over the air only with no external video source options. It may have to be a conversation shelf piece for now, unless I can hack a video input on it somehow.

Absolutely, go ahead!

An IBM PC 5150 setup playing the game Alleycat in CGA mode

Bleep bloop

An IBM PC model 5150 in a complete setup with keyboard and monitor. A cat is inspecting the setup

Went to pickup an IBM 5153 monitor locally this morning. The IBM PC just isn't the same without an appropriate monitor! Now to spend some time getting it all up and running.

Cat included for scale.

I showed my son the 5150 this CPU is in and told him it was the first PC, with a 4 MHz processor. He thought about it for a second, then went, "Wait... MEGAhertz?".

I suddenly feel very old.

The (dusty) OG.