Coding Agents Revive Classic Games

This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico returns from the beach, he and John discuss the explosion of classic videogames being ported to the iPhone, iPad, and Android, and they share a couple of Apple TV picks.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes AI Assisted Ports and Homebrew Drama

• PC ports of old console games are the new AI vibe coding battleground (PC Gamer)
• AI-Coded Slop, No Thanks: Animal Crossing's Native PC Port Was Made Using Claude Code (Time Extension)
• A Hollow Victory: 100% AI-Generated Smash Bros. PC Port Comes Under Fire (Time Extension)

Pokémon Gen 1 Recomp

• Gen1Recomp
• This amazing Pokémon Red and Blue voxel mod adds a 3D perspective without an emulator (XDA)

Native iPhone and iPad Ports

• Kahris on GitHub
• HarkinianPad
• SunPad
• SpaghettiPad
• Developer uses AI to bring a native version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to iOS (Tom's Hardware)

Handheld Setup and Dual Screen Mods

• AYN Thor
• Cocoon
• Minish Cap Dual Screen Mod
• Dual Screen Games for Android Handhelds
• Mcon

Coding Agents and Models

• OpenAI Codex
• Claude Code
• DeepSeek V4 Flash

Picks

• Federico's Pick:

• Ted Lasso

• John's Pick:

  • Silo

Unwind Deal

• The Matrix: Déjà Vu 4 Film Collection for $19.99 in the TV app

Leave Feedback for John and Federico

• MacStories Unwind Feedback Form

Follow us on Mastodon

• MacStories
• Federico Viticci
• John Voorhees

Follow us on Bluesky

• MacStories Unwind
• MacStories
• Federico Viticci
• John Voorhees

Affiliate Linking Policy

What is MacStories Unwind?

MacStories Unwind is a fun exploration of media and more.