036 - Triforce, Virtual Boy & AI Coding an 8-Bit Game
From The 8 Bit Files by John Biehler and Dave Zille
March 7, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 1 · Episode 36
About this episode
John and Dave explore retro gaming hardware, emulation history, and modern AI coding tools in this episode.
In this episode, John and Dave cover a mix of retro gaming hardware, emulation history, and hands-on tinkering with old and new tech. They start by discussing Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy accessory for the Nintendo Switch, reflecting on the strange legacy of the original system and what it’s like to experience those games today. The conversation then dives into the fascinating story behind the Nintendo/Sega/Namco Triforce arcade platform and the effort to preserve and emulate these unique arcade systems. Dave also shares a retro-computing adventure recovering files from 1990-era floppy disks by rebuilding a DOS environment and reinstalling Microsoft Works on modern hardware. Finally, they wrap up with an update on Dave’s long-running Commodore 64 project recreating the classic Mattel handheld football game , and how modern AI coding tools are now helping move the project forward. Topics discussed in this episode Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy accessory for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/store/products/virtual-boy-for-nintendo-switch-2-120829/ Nintendo announcement and details about the Virtual Boy accessory rollout…
People in this episode
Hosts: John Biehler, Dave Zille
Topics covered
- retro gaming
- emulation
- Nintendo
- Virtual Boy
- Commodore 64
- AI coding
Keywords
- Virtual Boy
- Nintendo Switch
- Triforce
- emulation
- retro gaming
- Commodore 64
- AI coding
- Microsoft Works
- floppy disks
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Nintendo, Sega, Namco
Products: Virtual Boy, Commodore 64
Books & works: Microsoft Works
More episodes of The 8 Bit Files
- 035 - Retro-friendly homelabs with ZimaOS · January 4, 2026 · 1h 13m
- 034 - Commodore 64 Ultimate, C64 Mini Black edition & more · August 14, 2025 · 59 min
- 033 - Ultimate 64 Elite-II, Switch 2 · June 30, 2025 · 1h 8m
- 032 - Nintendo Wii · April 14, 2025 · 1h 14m
- 031 - Sega Dreamcast & more · March 2, 2025 · 51 min
- 030 - Atari VCS hands on, 8BitDo GameCube Bluetooth Mod & more · January 21, 2025 · 1h 1m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The 8 Bit Files podcast page.