MageCast X

Dreams do come true! Time for a Nights Into Dreams podcast feat. Andy aka @ProducerBTW and Aaron aka @SanityCrypto, plus what the guys are up to: standing up to cancer and podcasting in VR. We'll talk about Steven Spielberg, the 3D Controller and the invention of the analog stick, Oneirology, Freud and Jung, collecting for the Sega Saturn, the retro gaming market, imports, not missing ultra-f...

Presenting an original conversation from the Bookwarm Games podcast! I was invited to the discussion by Wesley Schantz, host of Bookwarm Games. We'll talk about the core principles of The Well-Red Mage, the value of open discussion and conversation free from ridicule, the necessity of communication to learn from each other, some words on systematic theology, agnosticism, impassibility and ase...

Chiptune and rock musician Russell Gordon and I talk about a MONSTER of a game, HUNTING down the best discussions for a WORLD of fun... it's Capcom's best-selling game of all time! We also mention the development and reception of the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Tri on Wii and the day the music died when they closed its online servers, the complexity of these games despite their...

Can you believe this is our first Pokemon episode ever? This time around, my guest is Cory the senior games editor of Popzara Press and we're talking about Sword and Shield, our first impressions, the game's pacing, version sales, differences, and exclusives, the greatness of the Wild Area, our favorite gym leaders, Pokemon, starters, and types, problems with the story and Pokemon as a u...

Welcome to the lost episode of MAGE CAST... All the way from the land where women glow and men plunder comes Patrick Arthur, my special guest for this episode. We'll talk about how VVVVVV took inspiration from the Commodore 64 and how to pronounce the title, as well as discuss limitations from big budgets, the indie scene and trends developing over time, our favorite indies, the problem of di...

MAGE CAST Season 2 is here!! We're putting our worst foot forward with what is considered to be one of the worst games ever made: the Wand of Gamelon, plus there's talk on the Nintendo PlayStation, some of the historical firsts accomplished by Wand of Gamelon, the Philips CD-i and how my guest was nearly talked into buying one instead of a SNES as a kid, why anyone should play Gamelon, g...

I hope you came hungry! We'll devour another Super NES JRPG classic in Breath of Fire, this time with Hungry Goriya! We'll talk on Capcom's self-admitted first attempt at a traditional RPG, the passionate fandom of Breath of Fire and the middling experience of playing the first game, first impressions and expectations with vintage gaming, the roots of the BOF series, the first game&...

It's time to return to the musty neon lairs of old with Rich the Deviot to talk about Street Fighter II's insane sales and its popularity in the competitive scene of the arcades then and the internet now, the console wars, arcade ports bringing classics home, the fighting game explosion, steep skill-based difficulty and therefore inaccessibility, our first experiences finding SFII, versi...

Let's get back to nature with Matt from Normal Happenings on this Stardew Valley podcast episode, where we talk about our favorite eligible characters, the game's caricatures and stereotypes, marriage, specific games not being for everyone, glamorizing and idealizing real-life work, the relatable premise of this story, actual farming, connection to nature, making big life decisions, simp...

On this Final Fantasy podcast, @AncientLitDude and I discuss what is arguably the most important game to The Well-Red Mage as a concept. Final Fantasy (One) unfolds its depths to us with talk on job classes, early proto-RPGs and learning to read, the speedrunner and randomizer communities, FF series context and overview, the sticky point of grinding, the development of Final Fantasy and the legend...

It's time to hop in a modded Dolorian back to the golden age of video games and talk about the Atari 2600 and Yars' Revenge. My guest, Atari enthusiast CJ aka CardiacDrop and I discuss 2600 cover art, dispensing with ageism, games that used to come with manuals, comic books, guidebooks, maps, and extras, bringing your own imagination to the game, "few rules and a tremendous play spa...

Time to discuss the science of scary with my guest Mike from The Controller Throwers and the game Another World. We break down this title as horror and look at the premise of the unfortunate tale of Lester Knight Chaykin, not being an action hero, development by Eric Chahi and old indies, why the name was changed to "Out of this World", the science of cover art design, Mike finding his l...

Sing with us the bittersweet Symphony of the Night on this Castlevania episode starring SanityCrypto and Aros Elric. We discuss video game voice acting, both then and now, voice actors and union rights, character impressions, 2D platforming in the 3D era, enjoying the criticism of the things we enjoy, blemishes and flaws giving things beauty, memes and their purpose, familiarity vs popularity and...

It's time to put the Slipstream Mage in the driver's seat and talk about Forza Horizon 4! We're discussing juggling multiple games and forgetting where you've left off, how to pronounce "Forza" and what the word means in Italian, the TWRM GOTY Forza vs Journey controversy, the appeal of racing games, immersion, the sense of speed, and wish fulfillment, the importance...

The eyes of Ganon are everywhere and we're going to talk about The Adventure of Link anyway! Featuring Ryan from Gameswithcoffee and Katy aka Absolutekaty, we talk about bragging rights and the first time we played Zelda II, and how that affected our perspective on the game, no shame and save states, why Zelda II is Ryan and Katy's favorite, the enjoyable action of the combat, the most u...

The epic conclusion of our Chrono mini-series is finally here, featuring Gareth from 16-Bit Dad Blog and a discussion on Chrono Cross, which is NOT a sequel to Chrono Trigger (according to its developers). Together, we unpack such ideas as how to set yourself up for disappointment in a follow-up game, comparisons with Trigger and the effects of meddling with the timeline, the handling of time and...

The 3rd and final episode in our Chrono Trigger podcast trilogy features Chris the Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage, and this time around we discuss the announcement of the new Philosophiraga show, the beauty of convenience for the consumer, playing Chrono Trigger on mobile iOS, Chris finishing the game for the first time just recently. First impressions, expectations, and recent overall thoug...

Our 2nd Chrono Trigger episode commences with Ryan from RetroGameBrews! It's time to talk storyline, the balanced seamlessness of Chrono Trigger and the lack of "the grind", the importance of player choice, rehashing the premise of the game, what we would do if we discovered an apocalyptic alien, primeval Twitch, if Chrono Trigger is really the GOAT, the most emotional scenes for us...

It is time to talk about the best: Chrono Trigger , in this first episode in a CT trilogy! The ABXY Mage I and discuss the re-launch of Side Quests podcast and a new focus on video game music, the happenin' 1990s, questioning if accurate criticism is possible near launch, my first mancave, "Just let me get to the first save point!", what Chrono Trigger IS and what makes it so specia...

Zdrastvooyte ! In this episode, I'm focusing on NES Tetris with streamer and competition host Retro Game Brews aka the Beer Mage and Tetris champion Mega Retro Man asking what Tetris is, describing Tetris in one word, the puzzle that changes with your skill level, the comforting, relaxing nature of fitting the tetrominoes together, why Tetris isn't an anachronism by now and what makes th...

This episode we dive headfirst into the horrors of a cult classic: Shadow Hearts, discussing how to win a game of hangman, our take on Lovecraft's works and Lovecraftian themes present in Shadow Hearts, purple prose and classic literature, anti-anthropocentrism and cosmic horror, the technical word for fear of dolls (never use it, please), what the greatest scene in video game history is (hin...

It's time to get dark and gritty talking about DC Universe Online with fellow DC Comics fan, the Black Humor Mage! In this episode we'll discuss the game that I played at the cusp of fatherhood, the superpowers of the game, swearing off MMOs, turning the Skype camera on accidentally when you have no clothes on, what to do when your wife becomes a pregnant narcoleptic, the endless pastime...

I got to chat with my dad, the 16-bit one ( @16bitdadblog ), about Parasite Eve ! We get into the differences in horror between the West and East and how Parasite Eve blends the two, how the story connects to the incident in Japan in the novel, and where the film, manga, and sequels figure in, theorizing why the game never came to Europe, combining survival and RPG elements, the weapons upgrading...

For our 20th episode special, we the mages are here to share 17 original poems of all shapes and sizes and styles, each one based on a single game of our choice from the 1000 Games list! The 1000 Games collab may be over now, but there's no reason we can't keep milking it. Enjoy this chill Mage Cast entry, a pantheon of poets for your peaceful perusal. Let us know which one was your favo...

SPOILERS , y'all. The last of the PlayStation One Final Fantasy games, I sat down to talk Final Fantasy IX with my own real laifu waifu! There are two kinds of people in this world: Vivi and Kuja. Hear us discuss this game's major themes, its placement in the context of the PS1 numerical trilogy, its wonderful treatment of miniature stories for its non-playable characters, our favorite m...