Episode 935: Mastering Vertex Rotation at Incredible Speeds – Radio Free Nintendo

And if you thought “blast processing” was dumb, just wait…

So, get this: a bunch of folks are buzzing about the Konix Multisystem. Yeah, pretty much no one — like 99.99% — in the gaming world has even a faint clue about this failed British console. Honestly, when you dive into what it *claimed* to offer, you’re left kind of blinking and squinting in disbelief. It’s wild.

Totally makes sense, though. My buddy GX, who’s always emailing and moonlighting as a game master, said the trailer reminded him of something from The Simpsons. Classic, right?

Okay, back up. Konix is mostly known for making iffy accessories. I mean, people still talk about that motion chair like it was an urban legend. Weird, because it kind of takes you back to a time when we weren’t all plugged into the same gaming world. Feels like ages ago.

Here’s the thing: all the promos for the Multisystem were aimed at the big home computers in Britain. The Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Sinclair, and whatever weird stuff Amstrad was cooking up. That’s where gaming was happening. Not on those shiny home consoles taking over Japan and the US. So, those early Konix prototypes felt like arcade games and homemade software, rather than the heavy hitters like Mario and Sonic that were about to change everything.

And don’t even get me started on the Atari XEGS. It’s like Konix had a glimpse into the future of all those home computer guys trying to make consoles. Remember the Amiga CD32, Atari Jaguar, and Amstrad GX 4000? They were basically just computers in costume. Except the Jaguar — that was actually a Konix in disguise. Makes you think, huh?

Quick history lesson: some of these were American companies battling similar issues after the Video Game Crash, which Nintendo’s NES kind of fixed in ’85. The UK was sort of an escape zone. They were behind North America and never really had that boom console phase in the ’70s. Weird, right?

As the world got smaller, new ideas and cash started shaping UK and European gaming. Japanese consoles, like Sega in Europe, took the lead, and Microsoft was all over home computing.

There’s a word for this, believe it or not, but it’s used for Japan: Galapagos Syndrome. It’s a funny old world.

Anyway, switching gears here — well, kind of. Greg and James are knee-deep in Donkey Kong Bananza (00:02:17). They’ve got some fresh takes since last week. James keeps finding echoes of Ultimate Play The Game, back when Nintendo held some sway over them. Those were the days, post-unplayable stuff like Knight Lore.

James takes a breather and Guillaume steps in. He’s been stuck on Mario Kart World (00:57:39) and has some words about people wishing for Mario Kart 8 in 4K. Meanwhile, he’s been slowly unpacking the labyrinth known as Balatro without returning to the Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster. Instead, he picked up another Atari-backed piece, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (01:09:12). Then there’s Jon with his retro fix: Gaiares on the Sega Genesis (01:41:59). He’s also kind of bummed about the Xbox Movies and TV store shutting down (01:52:11).