Retronauts

Can you believe it? Our little podcast has now been around for 15 years! (That's the crystal anniversary for all of you out shopping for gifts.) So instead of reflecting on classic games this week, we've decided to do some self-reflection by talking about where we've been, where we are, and where we're going on this wacky rollercoaster ride we call "podcasting." And, in the back of half of this episode, we respond to your questions and comments about 15 years of Retronauts. Thanks again for all your support, and here's to 15 more! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Henry Gilbert, Bryan Auer, and Wesley Fenlon heed the call of Jeremy Parish's whistle and race to gather as much information about Nintendo's Pikmin franchise as possible, then return it to the Onion before sunset. Edits: Greg Leahy; artwork: Shaan Khan. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 418: Batman: The Animated Series Games. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Stuart Gipp, Jeremy Parish, and John Linneman of Digital Foundry crash-land on the bizarre structure known as the 20th anniversary of Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved and immediately set about blowing things to smithereens. Art: Shaan Khan; edits: Greg Leahy. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts!

Jeremy Parish, Kat Bailey, Ray Barnholt, and Stuart Gipp turn back the hands of time two decades once again, this time with a too-huge-to-hold-comfortably episode commemorating Microsoft's entrance into the first-party realm with Xbox. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Shane Bettenhausen, Aaron Littleton, and John Hurst gather together in a top-secret offshore oil reclamation facility to investigate the secrets, the history, and the alarmingly prescient plot twists of Hideo Kojima's divisive masterpiece. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more (and enjoy the full episode) at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Video games were but the fevered dream of a madman when Charles Addams invented his creepy, kooky cartoon family 85 years ago, but in the futuristic year of 2021, Gomez and his clan of freaks have quite the collection of interactive adaptations under their belts—most of them designed to make children as miserable as Wednesday herself. On this episode of Retronauts, celebrate Halloween as Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Todd Ciolek dive deep into the surprisingly rich and unsurprisingly gloomy world of Addams Family video games. You'll never realize you craved a Dan Hedaya-based platformer until now! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Having explored the legacies and games of the rest of the primary Super Mario franchise cast, Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Stuart Gipp gather together to wrap it up by talking about, uhh, that one guy. The green one. Whatshisname. Edits by Greg Leahy; art by Amanda Pruitt. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 412: Dark Souls. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

10 years ago, Bethesda's open-world role-playing adventure Skyrim took the world by storm. A winter storm. Because… winter is coming? Anyway, Jeremy Parish, Jeff Green, Kat Bailey, and Ray Barnholt look back at a decade of never completing the main storyline. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts Art by Nick Wanserski; edits by Greg Leahy.

Show regular Nadia Oxford power-ups to co-host status to challenge Jeremy Parish and Kurt Kalata to a battle of wits (or at least opinions) about the Castlevania series: Which games are best, which are worst, and why are our rankings objectively correct? Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

By request of patron Jeff Vlasek, Jeremy Parish gathers together with Frank Cifaldi, Jason Wilson, and Nadia Oxford to discuss the mysteries and magic of game manuals. They're a lost art! But are we better off that way?! Cover art: Step Sybydlo. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

When the plucky developer Wolf Team set out to make a Super Famicom RPG on a grand scale in the mid-90s, the resulting production nearly destroyed the group, but resulted in Tales of Phantasia. Now, nearly 26 years later, the Tales of series stands as one of the few b-tier RPG brands from the 90s that's still going strong with regular installments, while the Star Oceans and Wild Armses of the world have fallen by the wayside. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Victor Hunter, and Destructoid's Eric Van Allen as the crew discusses just where the Tales of series has been over the past quarter-century. Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Stuart Gipp makes his hosting debut as he intrepidly leads the charge to discuss the history of LEGO games with Jeremy Parish and Jeff Vlasek (by patron request!). This episode is guaranteed to be more enjoyable than stepping on a LEGO brick in the dark!

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 406: Crazy 'Bout Chocobos. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

This Week in Retro host Diamond Feit carjacks the main mic from Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey this week to steer the crew into a wild and possibly illegal look back at the first truly pivotal game of the 21st century: Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto III. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Todd Ciolek and patron Bill Nielsen join Jeremy Parish to tackle a request to slip loose the surly bonds of Earth and explore Sony's Vita masterpiece Gravity Rush. Also, New Wave Toy's Shilo Prychak recounts the history of the Replicade mini-arcade line. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, Shivam Bhatt, and Shane Bettenhausen convene to celebrate Metroid's 35th anniversary AND the finale (?) of the series with Metroid Dread by looking back at all that Samus Aran brought to gaming. Turns out it's a lot! Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more, and hear the full-length version of this episode, at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

35 years ago, a tiny team at Nintendo R&D1 crunched their way through a the development of a weird little game called Kid Icarus: a quirky, slightly alienating action-RPG starring a chubby angel who can't stop falling through platforms. Despite the lead character's prevalence in marketing from the early NES days, and his role in the classic Captain N cartoon, Nintendo barely seemed interested in touching this IP ever again, and let it lay dormant after a farmed-out 1991 Game Boy sequel. Then, 20 years passed, and along came Kid Icarus Uprising: a reboot known more for giving players tendonitis than it is for being a faithful, well-crafted revival of a classic series. So what's the deal with Kid Icarus, and is it doomed to once again sit untouched for decades? On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, and Ray Barnholt as they examine the Kid Icarus trilogy to determine which of its qualities should rise to the heavens, and which should be cast into the Underworld. Secrets of the Eggplant Wizard will be revealed! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, and Henry Gilbert join forces with patron Andrew Olivera to handle a topic request: The Kirby games. It's kind of a big topic! Unlike Kirby, you could say we bit off more than we could chew... swallow... whatever.

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 400: Garfield Games. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

The Retronauts East crew gets together again for the first (and last?!) time since last year's lockdown to talk about the only topic that truly matters: The games that got us hooked on the hobby. It's a little bit about history, and a lot about love. Edits by Greg Leahy; art by John Pading. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Chris Kohler, and Stephan Reese muster all their Nintendo knowledge and an alarming amount of fuzzy nostalgia to talk about the 30th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System launch and the console's early days. Art by Greg Melo; edits by Greg Leahy. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert, Ray Barnholt, and Stuart Gipp waaaaaaind down their in-depth survey of the Wario Land series with this look at the frog-bombin', level-escapin' entries on GBA and Wii, and everyone agrees: We waaaaaant more!

When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles struck gold at the start of the '90s, everyone wanted the piece of the action. That included British developer Rare, who created a similar group of green heroes to capitalize on Turtlemania: the Battletoads. Though it's mostly remembered for a singular stage within the first game, and only lasted a few short years, the Battletoads series attracted enough nostalgia to receive a brand-new release 26 years after the last one. But is there any appeal for this IP outside of sheer irony? On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Matt McMuscles, and Stuart Gipp as the crew clings to their speeder bikes and zooms through a history of Battletoads. It'll be mad, bad, and crazy! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

By request of Andrew Duff, we jump back into the Breath of Fire series to look at other two traditional entries in the series: Breath of Fire III & IV for PS1. Splice some dragon genes with Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Nadia Oxford, and Patrick Kulikowski! Art by John Pading. Edits by Greg Leahy. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 394: Ace Attorney. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

We finish our series of Mario series character deep-dives with a look at the Mushroom Kingdom's loyal, royal leader, Princess Peach. Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Kat Bailey, and Nadia Oxford all agree: Peach has got it! Art by Greg Melo.

By patron request of Christopher Hansen, Jeremy Parish sets the Wayback Machine to sengoku-era Japan, sangoku-era China, and, uh, the airline business to discuss Koei's legacy of historic sim games with Aaron Littleton and Mat Bradley-Tschirgi. Art: Nick Wanserski; edits: Greg Leahy Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, Aaron Littleton, and JP Swartlander finally pay their late fees and catch up with the 10th anniversary of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game by taking an all-inclusive look at the property, including the comics and the film. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more (and listen to this full episode) at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Diamond Feit, and Jonathan Dunn pay a visit to a little up-and-coming colony on LV-426 only to find themselves suddenly under attack by the history and legacy (and video game adaptations!) of the 1986 blockbuster Aliens.

Nearly a decade after the last entry, Telltale Games launched Tales of Monkey Island, an episodic take on the classic adventure series—and the first installment in nearly 20 years with input from creator Ron Gilbert. And while it suffers from some of the drawbacks of Telltale's format, this five-chapter adventure game swerves away from the expected formula to deliver some truly memorable Monkey Island moments. On this episode, join Bob Mackey and Nina Matsumoto as they explore the final stop on our tour of the Monkey Island series. And be sure to pre-order Nina's newest graphic novel, Sparks: Future Purrfect! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 388: Silent Hill 3. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Retronauts East returns as Benj Edwards and Ben Elgin school Jeremy Parish about the history and greatness of Atari's 8-bit computer line, as well as its unloved console counterpart, the 5200. Art by John Pading. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Kat Bailey, Shivam Bhatt, and Sam revisit the World Warrior circuit to talk even more about Street Fighter II—or rather, the MANY iterations and permutations it undertook between 1992-2017. Turbo, Hyper, Ultra, even Rainbow! It's all here. Art by Shaan Khan. Edits by Greg Leahy. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts!

Forces of chaos collide! Jeremy Parish, Diamond Feit, Matt Alt, and Bill Mudron look in horror as the topic of Godzilla reemerges from the sea to wreak havoc! Humanity's only hope: To finally talk about all the Godzilla games we didn't discuss last time!

If you enjoyed our look at the Pokemon Christmas Bash album (and who didn't?) back in late 2019, then get ready for a thorough examination of where the English-language Pokemon albums began. 1999's 2.B.A. Master was clearly made as a cheap cash-in to capitalize on a fad that could end at any minute, but even so, many Millennials have fond memories of this curiosity and its many, many songs about friendship. This week on Retronauts, join Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert as they explore all 13 songs of this musical monstrosity. Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, and delistedgames.com curator Shawn Sackenheim convene to discuss... well, delisted games. Inspired by Sony's recent PSN delisting fakeout, we look at multiple digital platforms whose games can no longer be acquired legally. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 382: Left 4 Dead. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

By patron request, Jeremy Parish and Stuart Gipp talk about the full span of Ratchet & Clank's storied history alongside said patron (Bill Nielsen). Thrill to intergalactic escapades! Marvel at sequels! Scintillate at Dr. Seuss conspiracy theories! Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Nadia Oxford, and patron Alex Meyers activate their podcast genes and fuse into a super-form conversation about Capcom's first serious attempt to enter the role-playing fray with the Breath of Fire games for Super NES. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy puts on his "public radio symphony host" voice for a trip through five recent and upcoming classic game (and game-adjacent) soundtracks: Actraiser, Blaster Master Zero, Cowboy Bebop, Halo Remastered, and Klonoa. The full episode is exclusive to Retronauts patrons, who can enjoy the full 90-minute production in CD-quality stereo. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

While chocobos have become the dominant Final Fantasy mascot over the past three decades, moogles don't receive quite as much attention as Square's feathered friends. In some games, they're simply part of the world, while in other games, they're relegated to references and tutorial sections. But what are these strange mole/bat, creatures, where did they come from, and how has Square used (or underused) these little scamps over time? On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohler, and Henry Gilbert as the crew traces the moogle mythology from 1990 to 2021. It'll be more exciting than a game of Mog House! Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Jeremy "Punchy" Parish, Diamond "Final" Feit, and Kurt "K.O." Kalata are your three selectable player-character options in this roaming belt-scroll brawl through the history of Final Fight, a burly side story to our ongoing Street Fighter retrospectives. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 376: The Dig. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Jeremy Parish, Nadia Oxford, and Alex Fraioli venture across the span of a solar system (or at least a few continents) to look back at Sega's first proper entry in the role-playing genre: The phenomenal phirst Phantasy Star, phor Sega Master System. Art by Leeann Hamilton and edits by Greg Leahy. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Long, long ago, Retronauts East began a trip through the original Star Wars trilogy (and its games). At last, the circle is complete as Jeremy Parish, Benj Edwards, Chris Sims, and Ben Elgin blow this thing and go home with Return of the Jedi. Art by Amanda Pruitt. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Kat Bailey, and Chris Kohler Want To Tell You Everything, so they head To Zanarkand to talk about the next entry in our ongoing pilgrimage through the Final Fantasy series: Final Fantasy X. (It's pronounced "ten," not "ecks.") Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more and enjoy the full episode exclusively at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

The summer of 1990 brought about the end of Back to the Future with Part III, which traded the frantic, high-concept time travel adventures of the second movie for a more grounded finale rooted in the Old West. Though it's gained a bit of a reputation as a lackluster final act to an otherwise stellar series, Part III remains a satisfying conclusion that picks up many of the more emotional beats Part II left behind. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert, and Dave Rudden as the crew discusses the concluding chapter of the trilogy and the many mostly bad Back to the Future games we haven't discussed so far. So listen in, and we'll see you in the future! (Specifically, next week.) Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts.

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, & Stuart Gipp return to definitely-not-the-Mushroom-Kingdom for the innovative further adventures of definitely-not-Mario. What happens when you play a game where your hero can never die? Only Wario knows for sure. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts