Twin boys. Toddler daughter. Hospital Tech Support. Writer. Runner. Gamer. Creating in public again.*
A war is happening around you. There’s an explosion to your left. Grab the components from that fallen drone over there. Soldiers are surveying the area. Remain hidden and don’t engage. Don’t use your weapon. It’s not strong enough to matter. You’re just a scavenger. Find water to bring home and extract immediately. This is The Forever Winter.
I’m a few hours into Echoes of Wisdom and it’s already one of my favorite Zelda games. It’s a mixture of new (Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom) and old Zelda (Link’s Awakening, A Link to the Past). You play as Princess Zelda this time around, instead of Link, and you’re on an adventure to save Hyrule. The exploring, puzzle solving, and story have all been a blast so far.
Today’s cup of coffee is brought to you by My Neighbor Totoro. It’s playing in the background as I finish this letter. Rose watches this over and over, and I don’t mind because it’s that good. A few days ago, we went to the Hero Fest in our town, where Rodney Atkins performed, and Rose rode her first fair ride all by herself. She had a big smirk and was so impressed that she didn’t need any help. Proud dad moment. This is Morning Coffee 128. Buy me a coffee to keep it going. As always, I hope this letter finds you well.
The RG28XX (I’ll be calling it the Gameboy Micro) is exactly what I was looking for in a handheld device. It’s smaller than both the iPhone and Field Notes, at 2.83-inches, making it very pocketable. It’s tiny (fits in the palm of your hands), runs MinUI (a must have custom OS for retro handhelds), plays landscape instead of vertical, and run every console from the original Nintendo to first PlayStation. This is replacing the Miyoo Mini Plus for me, leaving my gaming devices as RG28XX, Steam Deck OLED, and the PlayStation 5.
I’ll share the finished product soon (getting close to being done), but these are all the parts that were used to make the arcade cabinet. Seeing Batocera on the Pi and then finding the arcade stick were the lightbulb moments to make this a reality. We’re also building the cabinet with the plans to recreate and sell a few. More than anything though, it’s been a fun project for the family.