Radio Free Nintendo

FEATURING: Billy takes the fourth chair this week to talk The Last of Us and Animal Crossing!Jon revisits Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Dragon Quest IX!James hates Fable 3 and Kid Icarus: Uprising!Jonny loves New Super Luigi U and takes you behind the scenes at Weekend Confirmed!

FEATURING: Refreshed after E3, we bring a load of games like New Super Luigi U, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Oracle of Ages, Project X Zone, and more!On a special edition of Listener Mail, we answer your questions about Nintendo's lineup at E3 and the future of Wii U and 3DS!

FEATURING: Jonny and Aaron interview the creators of 1001 Spikes!Hear the closing thoughts on this E3 from nearly every NWR staff member who attended!

FEATURING: Discussion of hands-on time with Nintendo's first-party titles.Interview with Armature Studios, who are making Batman for 3DS

FEATURING: James!.Greg!And Jon!Reactions to news and projections on how Nintendo could best use the E3 spotlight

FEATURING: Live reactions to Nintendo's E3 announcements.An interview with the developers of Cloudberry Kingdom.

FEATURING: It's the last regular episode before E3! During New Business, the crew discusses LEGO Batman 2, Marvel Pinball 3D, Asura's Wrath, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, The Starship Damrey and Uncharted: The Golden Abyss.The second part of this episode is all about E3: We begin by rounding up the recent information on Nintendo's surprising effort to bring E3 demos to Best Buy stores around the continent. We then get into our annual E3 predictions. We manage to cover key topics like 3D Mario, Wii Fit U, Mario Kart, hardware announcements, and yes, Retro Studios.

FEATURING: New business featuring 3D Sonic the Hedgehog on 3DS, Dark Souls, Project X Zone, Super Meat Boy and more!eShop sales, Nintendo Direct and E3 predictionsXbone...and what it means for Nintendo in Japan

FEATURING: Dastardly pirate hosts of yore return to RFN and demand to discuss their first impressions of Wii U!Over a dozen weird games from Jonny's SD Card Channel!

FEATURING: Billy stops in for a little while, and we jump into Listener Mail right away! Letters cover the satisfaction (and anxiety) of owning a Wii U right now, Nintendo's surprise cancellation of their legendary E3 press conference, and our expectations for the next 3DS hardware revision!For the aftward New Business segment, we have impressions of Nano Assault EX, Mario and DK: Minis on the Move, Darksiders 2, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon!

FEATURING: New business is Darksiders 2, Heavy Rain with the Move controller, Joe Danger: The Movie and Art Style: Aquia. Listener Mail: games that take death seriously; a listener requests that we talk about Urban Champion; we get into a discussion about third party Wii U support; and we lose our sanity discussing the non-kickstarter for the non-sequel to Eternal Darkness.

FEATURING: New business is The Last Story, Roguelike suffering, interactive screensavers, and KirbyIt's also time for Retroactive: Megaman 3

FEATURING: New business talking about an old From Software title for PS1, Mortal Kombat, Tomodachi Collection, Pokemon Rumble U and even a little bit of Link's AwakeningTons of news from Japan, including coverage of the latest Nintendo Direct and other Japan related itemsA special announcement for announcement at the end of the episode

FEATURING: New Business features DK Jungle Beat, the original Castlevania, Liberation Maiden, and Etrian Odyssey IV!Listener Mail is mostly about Iwata's weird career move, but we also guess what would happen if Nintendo made a console/handheld hybrid!Mega Man 3 is on RetroActive NEXT WEEK, so play and discuss right now!

FEATURING: Jonny begins with a return to the improperly maligned Assassin's Creed 3, a Wii U launch title that deserves more attention as the numerical sequel approaches in just six more months. James picked up Yoot Saito's Aeroporter, the Guild 01-associated luggage stacking puzzler, but he finds little to recommend even at the reduced eShop price. Gui continues the bargain warnings with escapeVektor on 3DS, a likable but glaringly flawed Pac-Man successor that was, until recently, on sale. We had enough time for Jonny to come back around with a glowing review of Saints Row: The Third, an open-world game that finally recaptures the spirit of the "sandbox game".For the second half, we celebrate an unusual dump of announcements for this time of year, as Nintendo hosted a Direct video event to trump all others. The focus was on 3DS, of course, and although we'd like to have more reason to be excited about Wii U in the year 2013, it's hard to complain about the lineup of sequels, revivals, and digital releases unveiled last week. We run through most of the notable tidbits and speculate on how this will affect the resurgence of 3DS as well as Nintendo's plans for E3, now just a few weeks out.

FEATURING: New Business: LEGO City Undercover, Battalion Wars, Ultimate Ghouls N' Ghosts, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Tokyo Crash Mobs, Guacamelee!Listener Mail: Kickstarter for Earthbound?, Wii Tini, PSN+ Stealing Sales from Nintendo, Killers Apps.

FEATURING: New Business: Jon kicks it off with his well-informed thoughts on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for 3DS, Jonny cracks open the oddly structured Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, Gui follows up his new review of Toki Tori 2 with some extra discussion of this lauded new Wii U eShop game and James bats clean-up by digging into a GameCube Grab Bag: Auto Modellista and P.N. 03.Before digging into Ys Book II for Retroactive, the team briefly touches on the dissolution and legacy of LucasArts, and a much-discussed analysis of Satoru Iwata's decade as President of Nintendo Co. Ltd.

FEATURING: Jon is absent due to incompetent movers, so James, Gui and Jonny discuss the games they've played at PAX, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, LEGO City Undercover and Runner2. They then tackle overdue Listener Mail: Which is the best, Mega Man 2 or 3? Can VR save the Wii U? Why do devs recycle game ideas, enemies and puzzles?

FEATURING: New business talking about Keiji Inafune's Guild02 title, Bugs vs. Tanks, Monsters Come Out on Friday (the first Guild02 release), Skullgirls, Metal Gear Rising: Revengence and more!The latest news from Japan, including NFC Pokemon for the upcoming Pokemon Scramble ULife in Japan is back this month talking about Nomikai (drinking parties), clapping and the guys' experiences at these wonderful events!

FEATURING: RFN's own James, Guillaume, and Jonny accompanied by special guests Chris Kohler and Nate Andrews!Short subjects include our favorite obscure Nintendo games, a pair of What-Ifs, and elevator pitches to Iwata!Plus: Nearly half an hour of audience Q&A!

FEATURING: NWR writer Alex Culafi joins Jonny, James and Guillaume to talk about Ys Book I for this week's RetroActive segment! First however, New Business has the crew lose itself in the mazes of Etrian Odyssey IV; get confused at the Belmont Family tree in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate; defy physics in Gravity Rush; and forget who they are discussing Fire Emblem Awakening and its DLC.

FEATURING: New Business: Mass Effect 3, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Vanquish, Jonny Gets a Vita, Crashmo, and demos. Listener Mail: Virtual Boy on the 3DS, NBA 2K13 Gatorade View, Control options in Wind Waker HD, and will the PS4 launch actually help the Wii U?

FEATURING: New format for New Business, but we still do talk about plenty of games: Bit.Trip Saga, You Me and the Cubes, Skulls of the Shogun, the lack of Black Ops map packs on the Wii U, Dragon Quest VI and Little Inferno. Listener Mail: Is Pikmin Strategy? revisited, What can Nintendo do to garner more 3rd party support, and are gaming journalists trying to marginalize the Wii U and Nintendo fans?

FEATURING: New business from the guys include talk about Dragon Quest VII, Spec Ops: The Line, Skulls of the Shogun, Demon's Souls, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Culdcept for the 3DS and more!Gaming news in Japan including the most recent Nintendo Direct conferences and the seemingly "dire" situation Nintendo is in with Wii U.Playstation 2013 Conference - what the future holds for Sony and what it means for Nintendo.

FEATURING: New Business this week: To The Moon, Pokemon White Version 2, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 (really), Dragon Quest VI, Wii Street U, The Cave, and Fire Emblem Awakening.No listener mail this week, we instead tackle the Nintendo Directseses, Nintendo's Wii U Woes and the PS4 reveal (or lack thereof).

FEATURING: It's one big segment this week, but we have Billy on board to help cover the feature topic: strategy games on Nintendo platforms!

FEATURING: Fire Emblem, Hyrule Historia, Call of Duty, Crimson Shroud, Batman: Arkham City, Puddle, and Rhythm Thief all show up in New Business... and that's not even the full list!A special mystery guest pops into Jonny's recording!Listener Mail covers the devastating Rayman Legends news, plus high-value eShop games and how to sustain interest in Miiverse!

FEATURING: New Business is full of new games, as Gui plays the brand new 3DS remake of Ikachan and explains the uneven experience of The Cave on Wii U. Jon finally has his own brush with the Red Ring of Death and struggles with whether to replace his 360 before the inevitable successor launches this fall. Jonny gushes over Level 5's Ni No Kuni and also brings a few positive words about Nintendo Force and the Hyrule Historia coffee table book. James wraps it up with a slightly disappointed report on Gunman Clive, but the glorious demo for Fire Emblem Awakening erases any lingering negativity. For now.In the latter half, we finally catch up on Listener Mail with a trio of timely queries. This batch starts with a look at Nintendo's most inexplicable decisions, as a defense for the "no-duh" game announcements last week. Next, we take a hard look at the Earthbound situation, as the game is finally coming to Virtual Console in Japan -- does that mean it has a chance in the West, too? Localization is also the topic of the final email, as we consider whether more games could be released on digital services with subtitle-only translations.

FEATURING: No new business this week, instead a three-man crew sans Guillaume discusses the January 23rd Nintendo Direct announcements, which include a 2011 Greg prediction come true fashionably late, the Wii U Virtual Console, and Monolith Soft's next game.The second part of the show is a Retroactive segment about The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Recorded live, it features call-in guests and participation by Greg Leahy!

FEATURING: New business from the guys include talk about 3D Space Harrier, ZombiU, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, UFO catchers and more!A beefy Life in Japan shows how some of the members of the Famicrew made it to Japan and ways that you can do the same!Recorded before the most recent Nintendo Direct on Janyary 23, the news consists of Layton talk (both games and some special chocolate!), the demise of the Wii Virtual Console in Japan, Japan's first Wii U eShop demo and more!

FEATURING: It's a short New Business as each person picks one game (or less) they've played this week: Gunman Clive, Liberation Maiden and the gorgeous Fire Emblem demo.This leaves plenty of time for the crew to sing the praises of their 5 favorite games of 2012 (and previous)! You are bound to be surprised!

FEATURING: It's the glorious return of Jon Lindemann!... "Wait, who?" ask hundreds of people in unison. Now playing touches on Super Mario 3D Land, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Galaxy Saver ("wait, what?" ask hundreds of people in unison), To The Moon, Gunman Clive and Halo 4.Then we move on to a recap of 2012's terrible predictions, and unleash terrible 2013 predictions unto the world.

FEATURING: It's another three-man crew this week as Jonny, James and Guillaume talk playing Crimson Shroud, Universe Sandbox, Metroid Blast, Mario Chase, NSMB2's co-op mode, Fluidity: Spin Cycle and Wario Land II.Listener Mail follows with the Myth of Reliable Nintendo Hardware, Wii U eShop Blues (Wii blUes?) and what The Legend of Zelda could learn from The Last Story.

FEATURING: Free (kinda) karaoke on Wii U?! Count us in! Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is also in the house! That and more Wii U love with discussions about Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, ZombiU and Tekken Tag 2.Double the Monster Hunter in news and a little bit about the latest update for Dragon Quest X on the Wii.Horrifying Christmas tales of kidnappings in Life in JapanPlus: The Best of 2012 - Japan Edition!

FEATURING: Jonny, James and Guillaume quickly talk about the following games before the Holidays! Happy New Year everyone! Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Street Fighter X Mega Man, Bit.Trip presents Runner 2, The Last Story, Little Inferno, Rayman Legends, Dress to Play: Cute Witches!, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.

FEATURING: This week, RFN welcomes Connectivity alumni Nathan Mustafa! During New Business, the crew discusses Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on Wii U, the unusual eShop RPG Crimson Shroud, James' continuing adventures in Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, the iOS port of Mutant Mudds, Nathan's take on New Super Mario Bros. U, Jonny's guitar lessons with Rocksmith, and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.Listener Mail: the Android-based Ouya console, the RFN crew's Nintendo Network IDs, brainstorming Pikmin 3, Nintendo's odd approach to downloadable games, and how to push for Mass Effect Trilogy on Wii U.

FEATURING: Special guest TYP makes our throats hurt and talks about NSMBU and Nintendo Land, Jonny talks about Assassin's Creed 3 and Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Guillaume loses his audio. James finishes off New Business with Virtue's Last Rewards, and the crew then comments on the demise of Nintendo Power and the recent Nintendo Direct announcements (mostly delays).

FEATURING: Jared pops in for an episode heavy on Wii U impressions and discussion!New Business highlights include Scribblenauts Unlimited, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, and Ys 7!Listener Mail returns with your concerns about the Wii U's horsepower and future third-party support, plus a follow-up to the popular "Super Wii" topic!

FEATURING: Three-way impressions of Animal Crossing: New Leaf!Ty finally gets a 3DS (XL) and talks about Skullgirls and The Walking Dead!More Japanese games include Fallblox (Crashmo), E.X. Troopers, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy!Plus: Nintendo Directs, Life in Japan, and the state of downloadable games in Nintendo's homeland!

FEATURING: The final three hours of our most successful telethon yet!Includes these segments: Nintendo Free Radio's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, 3DS Report Card, and Shenanigans!Special guests include Craig Harris, Billy Berghammer, and Player One Podcast's Phil Theobald and Chris Johnston!Plus: Jon Lindemann performs the Pokemon Rap -- all of it!

FEATURING: A new Nintendo system just launched, wouldn't you know! Guillaume, Billy Berghammer and NWR's Ariel Ruff talk about their launch experiences while Jonny curses his bad luck and a sexy version of James performs the interminable OS update on his fresh new Wii U. A good half of the show is devoted to New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land, while the second half is shared by OS rants, Miiverse praise, eShop games and Call of Duty.

FEATURING: Nate rejoins us this week as we talk about Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Zone of the Enders HD Collection, the demo for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Shinobi for 3DS, Shinobi III, Persona 3 Portable, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (the sequel to 999) and Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Listener Mail covers a request to assess the real meaning of Wii U's undeniable third-party support at launch, and whether this level of interest from third-party developers and publish might evaporate once Sony and Microsoft launch their next consoles; a comment on the recent spate of big-name game directors/producers leaving their companies; and a look at a Japanese commercial in which Nintendo refers to the "Super Wii".

FEATURING: The middle three hours of our most successful telethon yet!Includes these segments: Radio Trivia Live, Connectivity's Who Wants to Be a Nintendoaire?, and The Famicast: Live from Japan!Special guests include 8-4's Mark McDonald, Justin Epperson, and Brenden Pritchard!

FEATURING: The first three hours of our most successful telethon yet!Includes these segments: Wii U Hype Train, A Decade of Metroid Prime, and The Eurocast!Special guests include Garnett Lee, Brad Shoemaker, David Ellis, Jeff Kalles, and a very awesome surprise guest!Plus: The return of Jon Lindemann!

FEATURING: It's a three man crew this week, with Jon still on extended leave and James being replaced by NWR's Aussie correspondent Nicholas Bray. New Business tackles the Mutant Mudds free DLC stages, eShop game 2 Fast 4 Gnomz, the new XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Final Fantasy V Advance,Mario Party 9 and the eShop version of Shinen's Art of Balance TOUCH! Listener mail deals with the future of eShop VC releases, Internet trolls putting down Nintendo and its fans, and a discussion of the game makers' original artistic vision in these days of patches and focus groups. The show concludes with hype for the imminent live show!

FEATURING: Prodigal Son Castaneda fills in for Jon this week. Guillaume unloads his impressions from a recent press event: Fluidity: Spin Cycle, Crashmo, and Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Karl follows up with Liberation Maiden on eShop, plus some iPhone game called Letterpress. James dips back into Dark Souls and Minecraft (XBLA). Jonny returns from his week off with an eShop game, NightSky, and Final Fantasy V Advance.For the second half of the episode, we focus on Wii U and start with the rest of Guillaume's impressions from that press event. Listen for Balloon Trip, Mario's Boost Mode, more ZombiU, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Epic Mickey 2. James drops a surprise here, as well: he finally played the new console again for the first time since E3 2011, plus the upcoming Rayman Legends. Jonny kicks in his own rather late epiphany on Wii U as technical marvel, incited by the recent Iwata Asks.

FEATURING: Danny takes over as host and is joined by Daan, Minoru, and that rascal Ty Shughart!Tons of Japanese games, including the new Paper Mario, EX Troopers, Bravely Default, and Project X Zone!Plus: Classics like Willow and Friday the 13th!And: Nintendo Direct coverage, Life in Japan, and Listener Mail!

FEATURING: Both Jonny and Jon are absent, so James hosts, Nate is back and Donald "Shaymin" Theriault from the NWR boards and the "Nintendo Free Radio" podcast wanders in. New Business features Pokemon Black Version 2, Pokemon Dream Radar, Asura's Wrath, Kirby Super Star, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Minecraft.After the break we move into a set of feature discussions: we first we share our thoughts on Nintendo's recent (and not so recent) procurement of Japanese franchises. Our second topic is a more in-depth discussion of Nintendo's marketing strategy for Wii U.

FEATURING: New Business features the worst DSiware game James ever reviewed, The Walking Dead, Pushmo, Persona 3 Portable, La Mulana and FTL!Then, Nates invade the Listeners' Mail segment with letters about reviewing games with preconceived notions, lives and difficulty in Mario, our most valuable games, and a neat idea for a Wii U Metroid game!

FEATURING: New Business features NSMB2 DLC, Dark Souls, Mario Party 4, Kirby's Nightmare in Dream Land, Rayman Origins, Quarth, and Final Fantasy V!RetroActive concludes with a fun discussion of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror!