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Ludicrously excited about the announced remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, I also have issues with delaying gratification, so waiting months for it to be released feels interminable to me. Fortunately, there are lots of other nostalgic purchases available this Prime Day, so if you're as into retro gaming as I am, let me introduce you to a few of my faves.
• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale
My core memories of gaming were formed in about 1990. That's why I love retro gaming, as it enables me to relive those halcyon days when most beloved characters were just 16 pixels high, and soundtracks sounded like a modem composing free jazz. Pixel art, chiptune sound effects, and awkwardly translated dialogue will never cease to charm me.
That's why I'm always on the lookout for fun retro consoles and accessories. If it gives me an excuse to complete Chrono Trigger for the 12th time or be terrified by the low-poly horror of Silent Hill all over again, I'm in. And, fortunately, this Prime Day has supplied plenty of great retro gaming deals to tide both of us over until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake or Final Fantasy VII Revelation drops at last.
If you're not on the hunt for gadgets you once owned 30 years ago, you can find plenty of deals on cutting-edge tech on our Amazon Prime Day US live blog.
Retro console & accessories sale — top picks- Nintendo SNES Classic Edition: now $109.98 at Walmart (was $129.95)
- Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition: now $139.99 at Amazon (was $169.99)
- 8BitDo N64 Bluetooth Controller: now $39.24 at Amazon (was $44.99)
- Two controllers in box
- Great selection of classics
- Star Fox 2 is a great addition
- Controller cords could be longer
- Front port cover is a little flimsy
- No AC adapter in UK box
- OG Pac-Man is a stone cold classic
- Super-cute nostalgic design
- Backwards compatibility is great
- CX40+ joystick is still stiff
- Pac-Man 2600 is as weak as you remember
- New Atari cartridges too pricey
- Two controllers in every box
- Some interesting game choices
- Built-in memory cards
- Some games didn’t age well
- Limitations on resume points
- Limited nostalgia factor
- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
- Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
It's 'Global Beatles Day' today, June 25th, which is the perfect excuse to go on a magical mystery tour of the Fab Four's finest output. Consider it a gift from me to you: I've collected essential vinyl albums, great turntables to play them on, fun accessories, the ultimate version of their best movie, and some other great gifts from across the universe (well, Amazon).
There's obviously the option of getting the whole Beatles Anthology vinyl collection, but that's a lot of money to spend — though I want to tell you that it's also excellent value overall. There are also smaller collections, so you can pick up the LPs that look especially great when displayed, such as Abbey Road, Revolver and The White Album.
I've got a feeling you'll also love the special Criterion Collection Blu-ray of A Hard Day's Night, because it's easily the best way to watch the film, with a beautiful visual presentation and hours of features and documentaries from the era.
I've also highlighted a Sony turntable that's basically the best beginner option on the market right now if you're just getting into vinyl, plus some Beatles playing cards and a couple of other cool desktop gifts. Don't wait on these — because tomorrow never knows if they'll still be available.
UK Beatles picks The Beatles Abbey Road [vinyl] The Beatles Let It Be [vinyl] The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [vinyl] The Beatles The White Album [vinyl] The Beatles Rubber Soul [vinyl] The Beatles The Beatles 1967 - 1970 [vinyl] The Beatles 1 [vinyl] The Beatles Anthology Collection [vinyl] Crosley Crosley the Beatles Anthology Portable Turntable - Bluetooth Record Player, Built in Stereo Speakers Sony Sony PS-LX3BT, Wireless Bluetooth Turntable with Full Auto Playback D'Addario Beatles Yellow Submarine Record Mat, Primrose Criterion A Hard Day's Night [4K UHD + Blu-Ray] Puckator The Beatles Yellow Submarine Standard Playing Card Deck Igloo Books The Beatles Colouring Book (Mindful Colouring) Grupo Erik Battery Lamp - The Beatles Desk Lamp Table US Beatles picks The Beatles Revolver (special Edition)[vinyl] The Beatles Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition)[vinyl] The Beatles Let It Be (special Edition)[vinyl] Generic The Beatles: Essential 4 Album Vinyl Record Collection - Remastered Anniversary Editions - Rubber Soul / Revolver / Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band / Abbey Road The Beatles The White Album [vinyl] The Beatles Rubber Soul [vinyl] The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [vinyl] [2017 Stereo Mix] The Beatles 1 [vinyl] The Beatles Help![vinyl] The Beatles The Beatles 1967-1970 (2023 Edition)[vinyl] [half-Speed] The Beatles Anthology Collection (2025 Edition)[180g 12 vinyl Boxset] Sony Sony Ps-Lx3bt Wireless Bluetooth Turntable (2026 Model) : Fully Automatic Belt Drive Vinyl Record Player With Built-In Phono Eq, Black D'Addario Beatles Yellow Submarine Record Mat, Pepperland Crosley The Beatles 1964 “All My Loving” Single With Vinyl Carrying Case The Criterion Collection A Hard Day's Night (The Criterion Collection) [4K UHD] theory11 Yellow Submarine Special Edition Playing Cards Mega Brands Mega the Beatles Building Set With 681 Pieces, 4 Poseable Action Figures and Ed Sullivan Stage, With Led Lights More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
- Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
- Fans: from £20
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
- Halo Campaign Evolved's executive producer, Damon Conn, says the team wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief for the three new missions
- The new missions were also inspired by Troy Denning's Halo novels
- Halo Studios suggests players play them after the original story
Halo Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor have confirmed that the remake's three new missions were created with the help of Halo book author Troy Denning.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming game, the developers explained that the Halo universe has a lot to explore, but they wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief in the missions of Operation: METEORITE.
"If you think about it, in the original game, you see Sergeant Johnson as such an important character in these original games, but you don't really get to know Sergeant Johnson that well, or his relationship with Chief," Conn said. "That really set the stage for us creatively to think about, 'Hey, let's talk about a mission that they went on a year before the events of The Ring,' and then really to go into their relationship and how they fight alongside each other.
"Even beyond that, there's all this other universe. You've got Spartans and ODSTs. You've got the Brutes. You've got the Prophets. It's really just us leaning into these other elements of the story that we can tell more deeply, that then let you go back and appreciate more of the campaign and what's there."
Szlagor added that Troy Denning, one of the authors who writes some of the Halo novels, like Halo: Last Light, Halo: Retribution, and Halo: Silent Storm - A Master Chief Story, also "helped with the story" of the three missions.
"It's a lore-authentic story," he said, explaining that series veterans who have been fans for 25 years and played on Xbox or PC are going to get new bits of information that they've been wanting, allowing them to "piece more of the puzzle together," such as the Covenant War.
"It's really going to be fun for them," Szlagor added. "But then also, if you're brand new to the experience, maybe you're a PlayStation player, you've never played before, and this is going to be something that would be really good to play after you play the main ring storyline."
However, the creative director suggests that players play the new missions "after they've played and experienced the original."
"It is meant to be played that way, because we've made it more of an intermediate difficulty experience, it's a little bit progressed further along. You start off, and it's a little bit more challenging than the first mission of Halo," he said.
"But again, you can play it in any order you would like. We're not going to make you choose or anything like that, but we just suggest that you play it that way."
Halo Campaign Evolved arrives on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
I’ve been a Pokémon fan almost as long as I can remember — starting my adventure with Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and moving up all the way to the latest entry: Pokémon Champions, which just debuted on iOS and Android devices (and frankly it couldn’t be a better fit on smartphones).
Everyone has their favorite Pokémon entry, and Pokémon in general — mine’s Buizel — and while I have a soft spot for Pokémon Diamond (and Gen 4 as a whole), in contention for the top spot would have to be the Nintendo Switch 2 instant classic that is Pokémon Legends Z-A.
And right now it’s on sale for Amazon Prime Day — the Nintendo Switch 2 physical edition is down to $44.99 — that's a whole $25 off its list price. Just remember to run, not walk, as this is a limited-time deal — and 17% of the discounted units have already been sold at the time of writing!
For folks who grew up with the Pokémon anime and games, Z-A is the perfect combination of both, with its story and adapted battling mechanics; and as I said in my review, it felt like the series has finally found its way again after losing itself slightly in the 3D era.
Sure, Lumiose City can feel a little claustrophobic by the end of your adventure, but the one-city setting worked surprisingly well, and I kinda loved the scaled-back but still high-stakes adventure.
I can’t recommend this game enough, and anyone with a Switch 2 (even folks who haven’t clicked with Pokémon before) should give this title a try.
If you have a Nintendo Switch 2 then you need to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's easily the best entry in the series in a long while, and the approachable yet exciting story, and the battle mechanics, make it a solid choice for newcomers and long-time fans alike.
This Prime Day deal is a mega one — you seriously don't want to miss it!View Deal
Ready to be a Champion?(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)Given that I’ve been playing so much of it since its mobile release, I need to talk about Pokémon Champions, and how Legends Z-A gives you the best possible head-start in that title.
You can play Champions completely on its own, collecting Pokémon through the recruitment ranch, training them up at the in-game gym, and heading out to compete in single or double battles. And you can play it completely free-to-play without too much trouble if you’re careful with your resources, complete challenges, and finish all of the tutorials.
But a big way to avoid spending in Champions is to import Pokémon from your other games via Pokémon Home. Pokémon Go is an excellent mobile-only option, but for Switch 2 owners Legends: Z-A has a major advantage.
Thanks to its mega evolution focus, all the most powerful new ‘mon can be caught and sent over to Champions. There are a couple of VGC classics who aren’t present (like the infamous Incineroar) but given Champions’ smallish pool of Pokémon, it shouldn’t take you long to find them through recruitment, especially as your resources won’t be so limited by needing to build out a whole team.
(Image credit: Future / The Pokémon Company)Legends: Z-A is also home to a Champions contender who can only be obtained through Z-A — it’s the only exclusive ‘mon in the battler right now, as it won’t ever appear on the ranch, no matter how many times you attempt to recruit (though we don’t know if that will change in a future update). Perhaps most annoyingly of all, this contender is arguably the best mega evolution in Champions, with raw power that requires a dedicated counter on your team in case you ever face one on the ladder.
Oh, and did I mention this exclusive is only earned deep into Legends’ post-game?
I’m, of course, referring to Mega Floette which can only be achieved by mega-evolving the special Eternal Flower form obtainable after finishing Legends: Z-A and progressing through the post-game battle competition.
Eternal Flower Floette boasts seriously lifted stats compared to its base form, which are elevated further by its mega-evolution. Its Fairy Aura ability — previously exclusive to Xerneas, a contender for the best Pokémon ever competitively speaking — then buffs fairy-type moves’ power, which in conjunction with its stats and fairy typing (lending a same-type attack bonus on top of everything else) make Mega Floette a cannon ready to eliminate almost any ‘mon that dares to stand in front of its Moonblast.
If you’re playing Champions you need an answer to Floette — popular choices are Kingambit or Sneasler — otherwise a well-supported Eternal Flower will sweep your team.
So even if you don’t care about anything other than being the very best in Pokémon’s competitive scene, for now Legends: Z-A is a game you need to play. And with this deal you can save a big chunk on its price of entry (and you can always trade-in this physical edition game for something else down the line).
More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
- Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
- Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
- Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
- Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
In the UK, we've been dealing with multiple unseasonable heatwaves, and if it's taught me anything, it's that hydration is important — and so is keeping your drinks at the right temperature. It's a small thing, but many times over the last few days, I've taken a sip from a bottle in my bag and grimaced, as my cheap non-insulated, single-layer metal screw-top bottle just isn't keeping anything cool.
Fortunately, thanks to the Amazon Prime Day deals, I'm coming prepared next time. I'm ordering myself a Yeti Rambler 42oz Straw Mug. Yeti are the gold standard of keeping things cool (and hot), and Amazon is doing some particularly good deals on their Tumbler shape right now.
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale
In the US, you can get the Yeti Rambler 35oz Straw Mug at Amazon US for $29.40 (was $42) in its White and Papaya colors. In the UK, you can get a slightly larger discount: the Yeti Rambler 42oz (1.5L) Straw Mug is available at Amazon UK for £29.25 (was £45) in Navy and Key Lime colours.
Check out both deals below:
Today's best Amazon Prime Day Yeti dealsSave 30% on the Rambler Straw Mug's 35oz size in Papaya or White colorways. This is a cold drinks bottle for life, as Yeti famously over-engineer their products and back them up with a five-year warranty. Dishwasher safe. Also in White. View Deal
Save 35% on the larger 1.2L bottle in the UK, in White, Navy or the Key Lime colour opposite. Yeti makes their products to last, and their cooling technology is second to none. The straw is clear plastic so you can easily spot any build-up affecting taste, and the product is also rust and puncture resistant.View Deal
The Yeti Ramblers are ideal for the gym, but they'll really shine on a long commute or car trip too, as you can pop a cold drink in them, head out the door on your way to work, and still be sipping refreshed at midday. I've ordered the larger 1.2L version because, as a fitness writer, I'm apparently supposed to be keeping myself hydrated.
More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
- Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
- Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
- Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
- Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
- X-VPN has added dedicated Soccer servers aimed at World Cup viewers
- The servers cover six countries, chosen based on language preferences
- The launch arrives as streaming demand and server congestion peak
With the 2026 World Cup already underway across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, X-VPN has rolled out a server line built for one job — streaming football matches.
The company has launched what it calls a dedicated Soccer 2026 server line across six countries: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands.
Plenty of people already reach for the best VPN to follow their team when they are travelling or stuck behind a regional blackout, and the broad strokes here are familiar.
What is different is the framing: a seasonal, event-specific line that is meant to be quicker to navigate than a general world map of servers. If you have ever wondered whether you even need a VPN to watch the World Cup, this is X-VPN's pitch for one.
What X-VPN's Soccer 2026 servers actually do(Image credit: X-VPN)Instead of a generic country list, the Soccer 2026 line points you toward locations tied to the tournament's free and regional broadcasters.
Several of the six countries map neatly onto the platforms fans already use to watch the World Cup for free, with the UK in particular covering BBC iPlayer and ITVX. The selection is built around language and viewing preferences rather than raw server count.
On availability, X-VPN says initial support has been announced for iOS, Windows, macOS, and Android, with Apple TV and Android TV support planned. That last part is worth flagging, since the living-room devices most people actually watch football on are still on the roadmap rather than live today.
Why streaming-optimized servers matter during the World CupLive sport is one of the hardest things to stream well. The feed is real-time, it eats bandwidth, and a small amount of lag can mean a goal alert buzzes your phone before you see the ball hit the net.
The flip side is congestion: when too many users pile onto the same server, speeds drop, which is exactly the risk during a simultaneous global kickoff. Grouping servers around a specific event is, in part, an attempt to manage that load.
A server tuned for streaming is really about three things: speed, stability, and not landing on an overcrowded connection when millions of other people are watching the same knockout tie.
None of this removes the basics. If you are watching on stadium, fan-park, or hotel Wi-Fi, your local network is often the real bottleneck, and a few settings tweaks to keep your connection fast in crowded environments will do as much for your stream as the server you pick.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and is the first 48-team World Cup, with 104 matches in total. That is a lot of football, a lot of late nights for some viewers, and a lot of demand hitting broadcasters at once.
A server line built for exactly this window makes it easier for more people to watch the matches they're interested in, and with the regional complexities and expenses involved with sports streaming, this is always a good thing.