My initial thoughts and impressions on the two Nintendo Directs Sept 8th & 9th. Legend of Zelda, Metroid: Ravenous, Kirby and the World Beyond, Guardians of the Galaxy Encore Edition and more!
Videos
PS3 Prices are out of control (AGAIN)
The PlayStation 3 store is shutting down next year, and that means we’re about to see the inevitable mad dash to grab games before everyone decides they’re suddenly worth a fortune. And, of course, that rush to buy games drives prices up even more. It’s a cycle we’ve seen way too many times in the collecting world.
But is there any relief in sight? I’m taking a look at PS3 game prices from August 2025 through August 2026 to see what’s actually happening with the market and whether prices are headed up, down, or somewhere in between. Will PS3 prices stay this high forever, or will the market eventually cool off once collectors move on to the next big controversy? Let’s take a look.
5 Days Until Execution: One Man’s Final Fight for Life
As Oklahoma gets ready to execute Emmanuel Littlejohn, spiritual advisor Jeff Hood arrives with a nearly impossible job. He’s there to try to stop the execution, but also to help Littlejohn and his family prepare for it if he can’t.
Over the course of five days, Hood spends time with Littlejohn and his family while fighting to convince the state to change course. It’s a deeply personal look at faith, family, and what it means to stand beside someone when the clock is running out. In the shadow of an execution, those things suddenly take on a whole different meaning.
How CPAP Machines Actually Work
A CPAP machine is basically a tiny bedside air traffic controller for your face. You strap on a mask, fire up the machine, and it spends the night gently blasting pressurized air into your airway so your throat doesn’t decide to close for business while you’re sleeping.
Or, more simply:
“It’s a robot that watches you sleep and says, ‘Nope. We’re breathing tonight.’”
Here’s how and why the work.
Orbitals Game Review
Orbitals is one of those games that somehow unlocked a part of my childhood I didn’t even realize was still sitting there. Playing it brought back memories of watching anime on Saturday mornings, the kind of stuff I didn’t fully appreciate until I was older. Now I get to experience that same feeling in a game, and even better, share it with a friend.
The puzzles are familiar but still a lot of fun, and the art style really helps bring this strange, colorful world to life. I constantly found myself curious about what was around the next corner, whether it was a new character, a little interaction, or some unexpected detail that would put a smile on my face. The game does lose a little steam toward the end, but honestly, I never got tired of being in this world.
The soundtrack, the quirky characters and that wonderfully whimsical atmosphere all come together to create something that feels like a playable Saturday morning cartoon. The adventure may be over, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what Shapefarm comes up with next.
5,000 Games for $308?! This Arcade Machine Surprised Me
What happens when you take a $300-ish Chinese arcade machine, cram over 5,000 retro games into it, give it a 15-inch native 4:3 screen, and make the whole thing FOLD?! Today we’re checking out the Samtronic Folding Arcade Machine, which starts around $308 and can go up to about $430 depending on the configuration. It features arcade-style controls, stereo speakers, a rechargeable battery, save states, customizable controls, scanlines, favorites, play history, and 5,018 pre-loaded games. The Pandora Box DX front end makes navigating that massive library surprisingly easy, with quick access to favorites and recently played games.
But is this just another piece of cheap Chinese gaming hardware, or is there actually something worthwhile here? I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this little arcade machine. The 4:3 display looks great for most classic games, but some vertical titles like Donkey Kong don’t display quite right, and there’s no aspect-ratio adjustment. HDMI output also appears to be around 720p, which isn’t especially sharp on a 4K TV, and game volume levels can vary quite a bit. Still, with its folding design, built-in battery, huge game library, and surprisingly decent overall experience, this may just prove that not all cheap Chinese gaming hardware is junk!
MORE INFO: https://www.samtronic.co
Salt Lake City surprised me. Video Games EVERYWHERE!
Get $15 off your first purchase on Whatnot using this link 👉🏼 https://www.whatnot.com/invite/metaljesusrocks
I’m in Salt Lake City for the popular Utah Retro Gaming Expo. But we’ve flown in a few days early to also explore the city and do some early video game hunting. Let’s take a look!
I Own All 296 N64 Games…This Device Confuses Me
The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo’s glorious attempt to drag video games kicking and screaming into the 3D era. It had four controller ports, which meant you could invite three friends over and immediately discover who among you had the least stable relationship with Mario Kart 64.
That controller was a technological fever dream too: three handles, an analog stick that eventually turned into a mushy little thumb torture device, and a design that seemed to ask, “Do you want to hold this like a normal human, or invent an entirely new grip?” But the N64 delivered some absolute legends: Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, and a pile of other classics. The cartridges were expensive, the graphics looked revolutionary in 1997, and saving your game sometimes required a separate Controller Pak because apparently the future had limits.
In short, the N64 was Nintendo’s 64-bit party machine: four controller ports, tiny cartridges, giant games, and enough analog-stick-induced thumb pain to qualify as a workplace injury.
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns (2026) REVIEW
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns launches August 13th, bringing this legendary Amiga classic back to life 40 years after the original game debuted! This brand-new version keeps the rules, pacing, atmosphere, and medieval goodness that made the original so memorable, while adding modern visuals, smoother mechanics, improved balance, a better interface, and plenty of quality-of-life upgrades.
You get three ways to play: Retro Mode, which faithfully preserves the original Amiga experience; Classic Mode, which gives it a modern visual and mechanical makeover; and the all-new Kingdom Mode, featuring procedurally generated maps, dice mechanics, unlockable abilities, and multiple difficulty levels. And it’s coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. So, after four decades, does Defender of the Crown still have what it takes to rule the kingdom? Let’s find out!
Check out Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns Here! ►► https://bit.ly/MetalJesusRocks_DotC
DISCLAIMER: This video was sponsored by publisher Nordcurrent
Modern Vintage Gamer – How Small Can a Video Game Actually Be?
Modern Vintage Gamer is what happens when an electrical engineer looks at a retro console and says,
“I wonder how this works?”
…and then spends the next 45 minutes explaining it so well that you’re suddenly invested in memory buses, cache timing, and why one obscure graphics chip made developers question their life choices.
His videos usually begin with a seemingly simple topic:
“Let’s talk about the Nintendo 64.”
Five minutes later you’re learning about SGI workstations, CPU architecture, compiler optimizations, texture cache limitations, and a hardware bug discovered sometime during the Clinton administration.
Somehow… it’s fascinating.
Most retro gaming channels ask, “Was this game fun?”
Modern Vintage Gamer asks, “Why did the PlayStation’s CD controller behave differently when the moon was in retrograde and the DMA transfer crossed a page boundary?”
And you’re sitting there nodding like,
“Yes… obviously.”
His superpower is making impossibly technical subjects feel approachable. Before watching, you think, “I just want to know why Doom runs on this console.” Thirty minutes later you’re explaining PowerPC architecture to your bewildered spouse over dinner.
Another hallmark of the channel is its deep respect for game preservation. Whether he’s discussing ROM hacks, homebrew, hardware mods, or long-forgotten prototypes, every video feels like an archaeological expedition where the treasure is discovering why programmers in 1997 made absolutely impossible things happen with hardware that had less memory than a modern smartwatch notification.
His presentation style is refreshingly calm. No exaggerated thumbnails screaming “THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING!!”No fake shock. No dramatic gasps every eight seconds.
Just thoughtful research, clear explanations, and the quiet confidence of someone who has probably read source code for fun.
Watching Modern Vintage Gamer is a bit like attending a university lecture… if the professor occasionally paused to say,
“Anyway… here’s how someone got Quake running on a toaster.”
You arrive expecting nostalgia.
You leave accidentally learning computer engineering.