A breath of fresh air on old platforms in the retro sector

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It has continued to grow. In 2025, it takes up so much space that even the overarching "Family & Friends" area has now been renamed the "Retro & Family Area". In addition to old gaming machines, games and developers, new developments will also play a major role in 2025.

For example, there is the classic building strategy game "The Settlers 2", which is finally being adapted for the Amiga. Commodore's old home computer still has a large fan base, especially in Europe. There are also new editions of classic consoles such as the Vectrex Mini or music releases such as for the Virtual Boy to discover. We summarize some highlights from Cologne below.

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Gamescom Retro & Family Area (4 Bilder)

The Settlers 2 for the Amiga

We weren't the only ones who stumbled across an unusual sight while strolling through the retro hall. Other visitors could hardly believe their eyes when they saw an Amiga 1200 running "The Settlers 2" in an inconspicuous corner. The PC classic was finally no longer released for the Amiga in 1996, which became a discontinued model following the bankruptcy of its manufacturer Commodore. On October 18, 2025, almost 30 years later, the conversion of the building strategy for the Amiga will finally be released in the expanded "The Settlers II Gold Edition".

"Exactly where the game belongs," said a delighted Nico Barbat in an interview with heise online. The Publishing Director of the publisher "Look Behind You" had been annoyed for a long time about the lack of an Amiga version. After a few calls to the developer studio Blue Byte and its current parent company Ubisoft, the publisher quickly got the green light to tackle the Amiga conversion.

To be able to implement the sophisticated graphics of the time, only ports for very modern Amiga models with AGA chipset, 68040 processor and 40 MHz – as well as for Power PC Amigas (see system requirements) were released. Many owners of an Amiga 1200 or 4000 will probably need an additional turbo card. Buyers of the conversion will also need to take care of a compatible drive for the game DVD. Alternatively, you can also transfer the data, for example via a network or USB expansion card. Unfortunately, there is no CD version.

After our brief visit to the stand, it is not yet possible to judge how well the implementation will run technically. However, the developers promise a lovingly optimized version that will once again show what the Amiga is capable of. In the role of the Roman captain Octavius, the player lands on a mysterious island. From a makeshift camp, he must build a complex civilization with over 30 building types and just as many professions. "The Settlers II Gold Edition" is already available to pre-order as a Box Edition (49.90 euros) or Digital Edition (29.90 euros). The Collector's Edition is already sold out.

Vectrex Mini

The wave of reissued consoles and computers from the old days has died down since 2016. However, new editions such as the Commodore 64 Ultimate still appear from time to time. At Gamescom 2025, for example, a miniature version of the exotic Vectrex console could be tried out. The "Vectrex Mini" by Flynn's Generation and Neo Reetro will launch a Kickstarter campaign in about a month. The original Vectrex from the US company GCE caused a sensation from 1982 onwards, and not just because of the vertical screen built into the housing. The Vector display was also something special.

Unlike what was common at the time, the cathode ray of the tube did not scan all lines horizontally, but only drew the visible objects individually on the screen. As a result, the clear geometric shapes and opponents shone with pin-sharp clarity. Instead of a real color display, however, there were only color foils that could be clamped in front of the screen. The Vectrex Mini also comes with transparencies for the smaller 2.5-inch screen (the original screen measured 9 inches). The simple graphics do not appear too small. The strong contrasts of the AMOLED technology looked good on the graphics in Cologne. Compared to the vector screen of the original, however, the white lines were not as sharp, but trailed a tail behind them during fast movements.

Twelve emulated games are built in, and more can be added to the console using a MicroSD card reader. Project leader David Oghia also hopes to obtain the license for Konami's popular space shooter "Scramble". The Kickstarter prices remain relatively moderate, ranging from 99 to 129 euros (Early Bird) to the regular price of 149 euros. As always with crowdfunding projects, however, interested parties should exercise caution due to possible delays. A joystick with Bluetooth connector is included, an additional joystick costs 69 euros (including a dongle to connect original controllers).

A music album for the Virtual Boy.

Music releases on vinyl, cassette or disk are not exotic enough for you? Then you should take a look at the album "Robonaut" by chiptune musician Tronimal. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it was released in the form of a Virtual Boy cartridge. Yes, this is no joke: a music album on a game cartridge for Nintendo's failed Virtual Boy console from the nineties. If you insert the cartridge into a Japanese or American Virtual Boy without regional restrictions, you can listen to music instead of playing. The device with its monochrome, red 3D image never even appeared in Germany.

Owners of a Virtual Boy know that its sound chip offers a very interesting, characteristic sound. "Unlike with my Game Boy releases, I was finally able to use chords," said Jörg Ritterhaus happily in an interview with heise online. On the Game Boy, on the other hand, this is only possible with the help of "arpeggios", which many people will be familiar with from the C64. Two notes change so quickly that it almost sounds like a "chirping" chord. Maintaining the melodic possibilities, the Virtual Boy album concentrates on "spacey" but calm melodies. It forms a relaxed, sometimes hypnotic contrast to the fast, euphoric pieces of music from Virtual Boy classics such as "Vertical Zone" or "Mario's Tennis".

The pieces were initially composed in S3M format using the OpenMPT tracker software. If you want to enjoy the music in a simpler way, you can find the album "Robonaut" by Tronimal at a greatly reduced price as a download on Bandcamp: Tronimal's complete discography is currently reduced to 2 euros. Alternatively, there is also a CD release and various bundles.

Playing Tetris like the pros

We were treated to a special spectacle with drumming gloves at the "2025 Classic Tetris World Championship" stand. Here, the competitive Tetris player "Shuichi" was preparing for the "Gamescom Regional" tournament using the "rolling" technique. He held the gamepad relaxed in his lap, placed one finger on the control pad and let the fingers of the other hand patter on the smooth underside. This vibration causes the directional pad to be pressed onto the finger resting on it practically in staccato. With practiced execution, the game registers around 20 inputs per second, causing the Tetris pieces to dart to the side at lightning speed. This is an important tactic for winning at high speeds.

Stand organizer Maurice Hein from the Game History Museum in Hong Kong explained to us that German e-athletes also use the US version of Tetris (NES). In the European PAL version, however, bugs could occur under certain circumstances.

Until 2017, tournaments with the old NES Tetris were mostly won by older participants. However, after an 18-year-old won for the first time in 2018, young e-athletes also took over in this discipline.

According to Hein, twelve to 15-year-old players in particular are now winning, as the current techniques require quick reflexes. The 500 euros in prize money should help the winner to at least partially cover the cost of the flight to the final in Los Angeles.

New software for old platforms: Evil Dungeon III

In addition to various conversions of new games for NES, Dreamcast or Mega Drive, the C64 title"Evil Dungeon III" will also be shown at the trade fair. This new game for an old platform was released on February 21, 2025 as a physical box edition with a floppy disk, alongside a download version on itch.io. Unfortunately, we were unable to catch developer Gregor Schillinger during our visit to the Retro Area. But we didn't want to omit the classic dungeon crawler.

In this story-driven fantasy game, the young sorceress Valeria fights demons, gigantic bats and other sinister creatures. Her path to the Academy of Magical Arts has been blocked by a cruel necromancer. The game is available in German and English. If desired, buyers can listen to the intro and outro in the form of an included mp3 audio book.

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(jpw)