Homebrew Extra Retro Gamer 280
- andrewrfisher
- 34 minutes ago
- 15 min read
As we reach the end of 2025, the homebrew scene shows no signs of slowing down. Our main feature looks forward to 2026, the Champion Coder is working on an amazing Mega Drive port, and Songbird Productions previews a game more than 30 years in the making. Whether it’s the forthcoming Amiga port of UrbX Warriors or impressive new BBC Micro titles, we will continue to bring you the best new games for old machines.
QUICK LINKS
PERILOUS PREDICTIONS
Interview with the BadLanded Team creating Nightstalker
When did the idea begin for a Castlevania-style game?
Nightstalker started back in March 2024, when Frederik started experimenting with a "Castlevania MSX concept" engine, of which you can still find the videos on YouTube.
Frederik always loved the Konami Castlevania series like Super Castlevania, Bloodlines and of course Symphony of the Night. They are awesome platform games with excellent, atmospheric graphics and music. The MSX version, Vampire Killer, is nice, but it’s hard to play and lacks scrolling. The gameplay could be better, too.
A homebrew game more like the proper Castlevania games has never been made on MSX. Therefore, it seems to be a great challenge to try and see what is possible nowadays on the MSX.
With that in mind, together with some ignorance about being able to complete such a game, or even surpass Vampire Killer's quality, Frederik started experimenting. He tried to create a Castlevania-like engine to make a better version of the game on the MSX than we got. After multiple WIP videos on YouTube and flying solo for a few months, the project gained interest from Jorrith, who dragged in Joël and ultimately also Patrick. Together, they form Bad Landed and what eventually became Nightstalker, but the seed started with Frederik's passion to create a proper Castlevania game on the MSX.
What is the target hardware?
We want to keep the game accessible for as many players as possible, including the Japanese market, where MSX computers typically have less RAM. Our target hardware is any MSX2 with 64kB RAM and 128kB VRAM. We’re aiming for a physical release on the MSX with a Yamanooto cartridge, which provides not only 8MB of ROM, but also PSG and SCC sound. So basically all you need is an MSX2 and the cartridge. The Yamanooto cartridge is also used to store the save games.
What development tools and utilities are you using?
All of the programming work happens on the PC, with a combination of VSCode, sjasm ( https://www.xl2s.tk ) for the compiler, GitHub for SCM and extensive use of openMSX and all its debugging tools.
For conversion of data (sprites, graphics, tiles/maps), generating pre-computed data and the dialog scripts we created Python and Matlab scripts. Matlab is also used to optimise the VRAM layout in various parts of the game.
Levels are designed with a combination of Tiled (PC) and lots of Notepad. Notepad also does a lot of the heavy lifting in general game design and tweaking of parameters.
Graphics were originally made with GraphicsGale ( https://graphicsgale.com/ ), but later on in the development process, we switched to AseSprite to allow multiple people to contribute to the graphics when necessary.
For the audio, all music is being made with Trilo Tracker SCC. All music is composed on an MSX computer with a Yamanooto cartridge, to present the most accurate sound quality and audio balance. We had to modify the replayer in order to work on SCC+, removing the limitation that SCC channel 4 and 5 share the same waveform, and to allow for PCM sample playback during gameplay.
Sound effects are made for the PSG with ayFX, a simple Windows tool that makes making sound effects rather easy.
The game also features PCM samples, with a spoken voice over in the demo(s), in-game voice samples for player actions as well as for casting magic spells. These PCM samples are supported using two different encoding algorithms, one using multiple SCC channels, able to reproduce audio sampled up to 9,6KHz, and another specific for human voice, using a single SCC channel. Encoders and players are custom-made by Arturo.
How are the levels designed?
Vibes, mostly. We have a rough outline of where a level is from the game document (nicknamed "the bible"), both in story and physically, and then we start building interesting routes, puzzles and encounters in there. We try to give every level an identity so it’s not just the same thing with different graphics. Then iterate, iterate, iterate until you hate the level, the game and everybody involved, and other people say it’s fun ;)
Having a clear initial scope and overall direction from the game document gives us guidance and helps us keep on track, and keeps the scope clear, while still providing enough freedom and creative liberties where it makes sense.
Who is responsible for the graphics and sound?
The main graphics artist is Joël Verdonck (from Belgium), and music is handled by Jorrith Schaap (from the Netherlands). Coincidentally, Joel and Jorrith worked together before on the MSX2 puzzle game Tiny Magic, which was released in 2023. Since that collaboration went well, continuing to work together on Nightstalker made a lot of sense.
Joël has been working on graphics and code since the mid 90s and was one of the prominent members of the Abyss and IOD groups. Back in the day, he was mostly developing demos and working on a few small games, doing graphics work on the side.
Jorrith has been involved in making music for MSX games and other software since the mid 90s, with a lot of the different sound chips that the MSX system offers, typically through various sound expansions.
For Nightstalker, the Konami SCC chip was selected. Konami was a highly valued developer on the MSX system, and they developed and used the SCC chip in a lot of their hit games and best sellers for the system. Because the MSX “Konami sound” was heavily dictated by the combination of SCC and PSG, that’s what we went with. Having a great tracker for the MSX available, Trilo Tracker SCC, that can create Konami-level music, this was a no-brainer choice.
The original vision for the graphics and music was to create something akin to the typical Castlevania style, and specifically in the direction of Symphony of the Night, but due to the limitations of the MSX and sound chips, that idea had to be dropped. Instead, we try to honour the typical Castlevania influences yet still give it our own twist.
Who else is involved in making the game?
The main group also consists of Frederik Boelens from the Netherlands, Arturo Ragozini from Italy (programming) and Patrick Smeets from the Netherlands (game and level design). All of us have worked on and released MSX games before, but never quite to the scope and ambition of what we are trying to achieve with Nightstalker.
Even though every team member has their own specialty, it’s a real group effort where almost everybody crosses the line between their main responsibility and the other roles frequently.
Apart from the core team, we also have a few testers from the MSX community that help us test the game and provide us with valuable feedback about playability, bugs and other things that need some more polish.
Have you come up with any new mechanics or ideas beyond the Castlevania template?
We try to take it further than the older (pre-SNES) Castlevanias did, definitely, but that is already taxing the old MSX2 hardware so much there’s not a lot of wiggle room for other things. We are routinely running out of room to do what we want, so it’s a constant struggle. The main reason for this is that horizontal scrolling on a regular MSX2 is taking the CPU and VDP to its limits.
Will there be a physical version of the game as well as a digital download?
Yes, definitely. It’s a dream come true for us to have a big box cartridge release, just like we played back when we were young. This is the first format we will distribute the game in. Next to the physical release, we are also considering a digital download. After the trailer was released, we received a lot of interest from people outside the MSX community, and we would like to enable people without MSX hardware to also play our game on an emulator.
When do you hope to release the game?
We aim to have the game finished somewhere in (late) 2026. This is a project we do in our free time, and sometimes life gets in the way. There’s a lot of small details and polish that take up a lot of attention. We want to do this game justice and make it into something we can be really proud of, and that just takes a lot of time and effort.
Do you have any other projects in development?
No, due to the scope and ambitions we have with Nightstalker, there is unfortunately no room for any other projects. Especially considering we do this in our free time and between other life demands, this is already rather challenging. Besides that, we want to keep our focus on Nightstalker and don’t want to get distracted from finishing it.
What would be your dream project to work on?
Actually, for Frederik, this is a dream project, but he'd like to continue making more indie/homebrew games in the future. For Jorrith, Nightstalker is definitely up there, but something in the vein of SD Snatcher would really be a dream come true.
Would you ever work on other formats, or consider a Nightstalker conversion to another machine?
Yes. We have tentative ideas to try a release on Steam or a similar platform, but for now, our main focus is to finish the MSX version.
The project now has a website:
Forthcoming Attractions
More games to look out for in 2026…
Miracle Boy in Dragon Land (Atari ST)
With pre-orders shipping in March 2026, work continues on the Wonder Boy-inspired RPG (see RG245), including this new giant spider boss.
(RELEASED IN APRIL 2026)
Metal Canary (Dreamcast)
Luiz Nai’s bullet hell shmup is due out in Brazil in May/June 2026 and hopefully worldwide, with a built-in level creation tool.
Driftin’ Rage (Mega Drive)
While finalising his port of Final Fight, Mauro Xavier is developing a good-looking 3D racing game with multiple drivers, cars, and circuits.
Shapeshooter 2000 (Jaguar)
This Songbird Productions title mixes polygons with Smash TV-style arena shooting and bosses, due for release later in 2026.
Impossible Mission 3 (C64)
With final testing underway, this long-awaited C64 sequel (see RG244) features a gun to help you fight the robots.
(RELEASED IN MAY 2026)
NEWS BYTES
32X: The Ultimate Doom 32X Resurrection patch adds the Thy Flesh Consumed episode. https://bit.ly/udoom-32x
C64: Rogue-ish 64 (84%, RG277) tape and disk versions are available from K&A Plus. https://bit.ly/rogueish64
Game Boy Advance: Heartwrench Advance is a brilliant puzzle platformer in development by Michael Chase. Play the demo at https://bit.ly/heartwrench-gba
Intellivision: Nanochess released Pumpkin Taxi (RG277) in this AtariAge thread. https://bit.ly/pumpkintaxi-int
A physical Pumpkin Trilogy release is planned.
Jaguar: SkyFire68k by sjc is a great shmup entering the Jag Jam 2025. https://bit.ly/skyfire-jaguar
NES: Create NES games in C using the NESkit by Cutaway Shot Games, featuring conversion tools and pre-made features for platform games. https://bit.ly/neskit
Oric: The Oric Software Development Kit (OSDK) is available from https://bit.ly/osdk-oric
Spectrum Next: Study for your degree by solving anagrams in The Scholar by Mark Bailey. Name your own tuition fees at https://bit.ly/scholar-next
Picotron: Paul Hammond’s Radar Rally reworks the classic Rally-X with multiple new game modes. https://bit.ly/rally-picotron
PlayStation: Turbo Tihu’s Twilight Night Flight by Zhamul sees a naughty chihuahua flying around to collect treats. https://bit.ly/turbotihu-ps1
Windows: Portal 0 is a 2D reimagining of the classic Valve puzzle game. There will be cake for successful applicants at https://bit.ly/portal0-windows
ZX Spectrum: Conquer the Sinclair Tower by Rubenretro by exploring in isometric 3D and answering Sinclair-related quiz questions. https://bit.ly/sinclair-tower
A physical cassette is available from http://www.matranet.net/
Champion Coder - Shannon Birt
Shannon is using his coding skills to bring Parodius to the Mega Drive.
[Info]
From: New Zealand
Website: @birt_shannon on X/Twitter
Format: Mega Drive/Genesis
Previous game: Lufthoheit (work in progress)
Working on: Mega Parodius
How did you get involved in Parodius?
Gabriel Pryon did a tweet (on X) about the Sega Megadrive (MD) being able to do a great job of a Parodius port, even within the MD limitations.
The main limitation is the colour restrictions onscreen, the MD being limited to 61 colours onscreen (normally), causing some people to say the port would be impossible on the MD.
He did a mock-up picture of Level 1 artwork that was reworked for the MD the community got very excited by this, as it looks amazing - in fact, it was one of his most popular tweets ever.
Some people suggested I wasn't busy enough ( Pigsy, I won't mention you ) and should help do a port; they were joking, but it got me thinking about it. Ports can be easier and harder in ways than original games, and I hadn't done an Arcade port before.
I reached out to Pryon, and he was excited to work together on it, and that's how we started. Vector Orbitex soon joined us to do the audio, who is an amazingly talented musician.
How were the graphics created?
Pryon has been using MAME to emulate the arcade to rip the arcade assets.
Then, using tools such as Aseprite to convert and re-touch the arcade graphics to MD-compatible palettes and colours.
We have taken some liberties with the Graphics as this is "MEGA" Parodius and will have some unique to MD content.
For example, the Attack Text from the White Bell power up, Pryon has come up with some very famous slogans from Sega & Alien Soldier, such as "Genesis Does" / "Blast Processing" etc, rather than the arcade text.
Also, the Blue Bell explosion is using hardware graphics scaling on the arcade machine, which we don't have hardware scaling on the MD, so we have found clever ways to closely match the arcade ( we think it's even better ).
Where possible, we want to follow the arcade graphics very closely.
Who is creating the music and sound?
Pryon is currently focusing on the SFX samples, getting the PCM samples to MD format and at the right volume level can be tricky.
Vector Orbitex is doing the music; it takes a lot of skill to produce music for the Megadrive's YM2612 FM and PSG audio chips. This is where Vector has done amazing work on arcade ports in the past.
His Castlevania IV and MegamanX covers on the MD sound chips are amazingly reproductions of their originals.
He's been working on making the tracks as small as possible whilst keeping the quality up. Luckily, SGDK's xgm2 sound driver we use compresses audio really well, also 50 % reductions in size are typical.
So far, Vector has done the stage 1, Catboss and Penguin boss music, but they keep going through revisions to make them sound even better.
Hopefully, we deliver a distinct MD sound, whilst being instantly recognisable.
What have been the biggest coding issues so far?
The Catboss, when he sits at the water line between the islands, at this point we essentially need 3 separate background layers to do things like the arcade does, the MD only has 2 background layers (BG-A & BG-B), so after much thought I changed the waves that required a layer previously to use sprites instead, and this allowed the foreground plane (BG-A) to be used for the Cats body (hull), leaving the background plane (BG-B) to simulate the foreground/background combined. The Catboss, in general, is quite detailed, with multiple moving parts / some sprites / some background, etc. His Face, Tail, and Propeller are all foreground animations, and the rest are sprite animations. He is the hardest object in Stage 1 to get right.
What technical tricks are you using?
To implement the Lazers, we used a demo scene technique first shown on the NES by Naio. It's very clever and involves using the background layer and raster effects to show 5 full-screen width lazers at once, which would be impossible without overload using MD sprites.
We use streaming scrolling, so as the screen scrolls, we only have the graphics (tiles) in VRAM that are needed by that very scene. This reduces the amount of VRAM we need, which brings many benefits.
Mid-screen colour changes are used to enhance stage 1. We use 3 more shades of blue than the single background palette would allow. This made a nice improvement to our colour gradient. We will also use this effect much more in level 2.
The blue bell bomb, the arcade has graphic scaling hardware onboard, on the MD we don't, so we have to get creative with sprites and mirroring / clever tile re-use to pull off the full screen effect.
We are using a modified version of SGDK (C) and pure 68k Assembly for object movement/collision detection for critical paths.
How is work on Lufthoheit going?
Unfortunately, it has slowed with the other projects being taken on, although new coding tech from the other projects is making its way into Lufthoheit also, such as the streaming scroller and very large sprite object routines from SOTA. More work has been done on the graphics scaling routines to scale software assets to full-screen size for bosses, etc. We have added a new firepower type, which caused a complete refactor of the power-up system, also. We are working on a new Dark Forest level, and it's coming along very well.
The artwork and plan for it are 50% done. We have it scrolling with dual-layer streaming and some objects so far. Thanks to my team members, Carsten Glacier & Laurent Cresent, as they persevere with the slower progress !!
Do you have any other projects in progress?
Yes, I'm doing the programming for Sword of the Apocalypse (SOTA), which is a Ninja-based platformer for the Sega Genesis being produced by Versao LDTA. We have shown a demo of our first level at Comicon in Brazil and were well-received there. I think we have one of the most detailed animating bosses in an MD game at the end of the first level, which was a challenge to get working right. We also use streaming scrolling, which allows for very diverse backgrounds and larger maps without reloading. Also, eg the foreground tileset is 3x larger than VRAM, so the scroller is constantly shifting tiles in and out of VRAM to make it work.
Is there a game you would love to convert to the Mega Drive/Genesis in future?
Maybe one of the Gradius series of games, as we will have the engine/power-up system for it, as it's similar to Parodius.
Always wanted to do a run-and-gun game, also. I really enjoyed Ultracore on MD the mix of run-n-gun with secret rooms was amazing.
DATABURST - REVIEWS
Quod Init Exit IIo
Format: C64
Credits: Retream (Simone Bevilacqua)
Price: Digital download $8.99
The third game for Zampo the pig, the Latin title means “whatever goes in, must come out.” The stylish backgrounds use the C64’s rarely-chosen ECBM mode, and the overlaid sprites have lots of detail. The music and sounds work well. One drawback is that the large, complicated first level might put you off. The clever puzzles and platform action are worth experiencing, with plenty of depth to this good-looking game.
[Score] 88%
Astro Climber
Format: Master System
Credits: Badcomputer0 (developer), LOVEPENGUIN (music)
Price: Free download
Released to mark the 40th anniversary of the Sega Mark III’s Japanese launch, astronaut Gary must reach the escape pod at the top of Frontier Prime station before his oxygen runs out. This is good fun, brilliantly presented with great music and a gradually increasing difficulty curve. It bodes well for Adam’s forthcoming shmup Razing Core.
[Score] 85%
Don’t Die, Mr Robot
Format: Neo Geo Pocket Color
Credits: Chris Ahchay (conversion), Infinite States (original game)
Price: Free (limited physical cartridges have since been manufactured)
Collect fruit. Avoid Enemies. Don’t Die. The tutorial text belies how addictive this game can be, following earlier iOS and Steam versions. Check out the spin-off puzzle game Fruity Pals’ Revenge ( https://bit.ly/fruity-pocketcolor ) for more free fun.
[Score] 84%
PROCESSING - PREVIEW OF ULTRAVORE (LYNX)
Background:
Songbird Productions is reviving Ultravore, a Lynx beat ‘em up that started development 30 years ago.
Beyond Games created the Jaguar beat ‘em up Ultra Vortek in 1995, combining digitised actors and stop-motion models converted into digital characters. Founder Kris Johnson planned a Lynx conversion, but in 2000, Songbird’s Carl Forhan purchased the rights and renamed it Ultravore.
Interview with Carl Forhan:
How are you continuing the development of Ultravore?
I have the complete original source code for Ultravore, and it's 100% 65c02 assembly. Part of the challenge is parsing what the code is doing, as there are few comments and some of them are wrong. All the code I'm adding is also assembly. I'm using the original Epyx toolchain (which only works on Amiga machines) to build the code, then I test either on emulators or real hardware.
How many characters will be in the final game?
The two characters currently in the game, Venom and Razorback, are the ones created by Beyond Games in the early 1990s prototype code I received. I also plan to add new original characters to the game.
Here is some info on the controls:
Each character has two special moves.
Block: press down and away. Note that the block move does slowly drain your health (this may change in the final game).
Venom:
• Tail whip: option 1
• Venom projectile: option 2
Razorback:
• Headbutt: option 1
• Saw wheel: dodge + option 2
Some special moves also drain health currently, but this may change; I may go for a "power meter" where you can only trigger moves if you have enough power, or I might force a delay between special moves so you can't trigger them so often. Also note the saw wheel attack is kind of busted right now, because there's no way to counter it, and it's quite deadly. But it's cool to see in action. :)
When do you hope to release Ultravore?
Ultravore will be released end of 2026.
Retro Gamer issue 280 published 18th December, 2025
This blog published on 24th May, 2026
This is a personal blog and is not affiliated with Future Publishing
All interview text published with permission
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