Play Retro Show

The Illusion platformers developed by Sega in the early to mid-1990s, built around original stories starring Mickey Mouse. While each game differs by platform and style, they share common traits: smooth controls, layered level design, strong animation, and soundtracks tailored to the hardware. The series covers both 16-bit showpieces and surprisingly deep 8-bit platformers, with a nod to the often...

Let’s talk about ‘Drill Dozer’, the 2006 Game Boy Advance title from Game Freak that stars Jill and her drill-powered mech in a punchy, gear-driven platformer complete with some unique game mechanics and features, including a built in rumble pack for the cart. This game still drills! Or something like that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age, two of the most influential stealth games ever made. Developed by Looking Glass Studios, these immersive sims dropped players into a dark, steampunk-inspired world where silence and shadows were more powerful than any sword. With open-ended level design, sound-based detection, and a story full of mystery and betrayal, the Thief series set the st...

Hydro Thunder, Offroad Thunder, and Arctic Thunder—a trio of fast, loud, and wild arcade racers from Midway. At the arcade and at home. We are Racing Rocket boats, 4 Wheel Off-road vehicles in arenas, and snowblasting through frozen highways with missile-equipped snowmobiles. From arcades to Dreamcast and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Questprobe Text Adventure series featuring Marvel Comic Characters —an early collaboration between Marvel Comics and Adventure International. Designed by Scott Adams (not the cartoonist!), these graphic/text hybrid adventures dropped Marvel’s most iconic heroes into classic parser-based puzzlers. From The Hulk trying to control his rage, to Spider-Man climbing walls in text form, and Torch and...

An early 3D platformer from Argonaut Games where players control Croc, a courageous baby crocodile with a backpack raised by the Gobbos—a tribe of fuzzy creatures. When the evil Baron Dante kidnaps the Gobbos, Croc sets off on a crystal-collecting quest across floating islands, icy peaks, lava-filled caves, and more, using his tail whip, ground pound, and platforming skills to save his adoptive fa...

On this week’s episode of Play Retro, Rampage, from 1986. The classic arcade destruction game developed by Bally Midway that puts players in control of giant, mutated monsters—George the gorilla, Lizzie the lizard, and Ralph the werewolf—as they wreak havoc on cities across the United States. Turns out, this thing holds up! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Play Retro podcast with Scott Johnson and Brian Dunaway, ZAXXON! Sega’s revolutionary 1982 arcade game that introduced an isometric perspective to shoot-'em-ups, setting it apart from the top-down and side-scrolling shooters of its era. Its sequel, Super Zaxxon, amped up the difficulty with faster enemy movement and trickier level designs. We’ll also briefly mention Future Spy, a le...

SSX, EA Sports BIG’s legendary snowboarding series that defined arcade-style extreme sports in the early 2000s. From the original SSX on the PS2 to the fan-favorite SSX Tricky and the open-world masterpiece SSX 3, these games combined fast-paced racing, gravity-defying tricks, and an unforgettable soundtrack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, Space Quest II: Vohaul’s Revenge, and Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon. These games, developed by Sierra’s "Two Guys from Andromeda" (Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy), combined comedy and science fiction in a way that few adventure games had done before. QUEST IN SPACE!!!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pole Position and Pole Position II, the classic arcade racing games that defined an entire genre. Developed by Namco and distributed by Atari in the US released in the early '80s, Pole Position introduced the world to realistic track-based racing with qualifying rounds, intense time-based competition, and scaling sprite graphics that made players feel like they were truly behind the wheel. Hosted...

Wario Land 1–4, the beloved side-scrolling platformer series that gave Mario’s greedy, garlic-loving rival a starring role. Beginning with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 on the Game Boy, the series evolved into a creative and quirky take on platforming, replacing traditional power-ups with bizarre transformations, treasure-hunting mechanics, and Wario’s signature brute force. Hosted on Acast. See...

Survival horror meets dinosaurs. Regina and her team are sent to a mysterious research facility where prehistoric creatures are on the loose. Capcom’s attempt to mix survival horror with dinosaurs. Released in 1999, Dino Crisis introduced players to a sci-fi thriller where Velociraptors and T-Rexes replaced zombies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microsoft throws everything at its launch titles to see what sticks for the Xbox original release in 2001 including this Party Game; Fuzion Frenzy with its host of fast paced mini games aimed at gamers of a certain drinking age and their 3 friends. Light and competitive and addicting as all get out. We discuss the Official Xbox Magazine launched that alongside and gave Fuzion Frenzy a fairly posit...

Wave Race 64: a showcase game for the Nintendo 64 showing off the power of the N64 with this early 3d game on water that challenges the player to control their vehicle while bouncing around on choppy water. Look at those waves! Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed by Nintendo EAD players compete for 1st place by out racing and stunting their way past their opponents. Hosted on Acast. See aca...

X-Com: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown outside North America) and its terrifying underwater sequel, X-Com: Terror from the Deep. Developed by MicroProse and released in the 1990s, these games combined base-building, resource management, and squad-based tactical combat to create a genre-defining experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Burner is a high-speed, adrenaline-pumping arcade flight combat game developed by Sega and designed by the legendary Yu Suzuki. Released during Sega's golden age of arcade innovation, it introduced players to the thrill of piloting an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet in intense dogfights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sega released Eternal Champions in hopes of capitalizing on the fighting game mania that the game industry was in the midst of following the massive success of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. The game tried to set itself apart with unique features such as a heavier emphasis on its story, characters pulled from different time periods, reflectable projectiles, force fields, fighters that carrie...

The iconic MS-DOS platformer from early Id Software that introduced PC gamers to console smooth scrolling, console-style platforming, 90s era Id Software humor, and the adventures of Billy Blaze, aka Commander Keen. From the first Keen Epsiode to the Keen finale; Aliens Ate My Babysitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Play Retro show is here, and we are talking about the long running Tactical turn-based strategy series, developed by Andy Davidson and Team17 in the 90s that went on to defined the genre with their wacky humor, destructible environments, and an arsenal of bizarre weapons. Worth a mention: Worms: Director’s Cut and Worms Pinball. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time to go way back on the Play Retro Podcast, for a Mansion full of Maniacs! Maniac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure video game where players control a character named Dave Miller, who must rescue his girlfriend from a mad scientist in a creepy mansion. The game features a point-and-click interface, multiple playable characters, and non-linear gameplay with various puzzles to solve. Let’s see...

This week on the Play Retro podcast, Brian and Scott look at MediEvil (1998) and MediEvil 2 (2000), action-adventure games for the PlayStation, blending gothic aesthetics, humor, and hack-and-slash gameplay. Players control Sir Daniel Fortesque, a skeletal knight seeking redemption after his accidental heroism in life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s do podcast about the history of a side-scrolling action platformer for the Sega Genesis, set in a dystopian future where Earth is overrun by rogue robots. Players control Vectorman, an Orbot janitor-turned-hero, as he battles through diverse levels to stop the evil Warhead. Featuring innovative pre-rendered 3D graphics, fluid animations, and a techno-inspired soundtrack, Vectorman pushed the...

A groundbreaking pre-rendered 3d sprite platformer for the Super Nintendo developed by Rare. Players control Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy as they journey through the jungle to reclaim their stolen banana hoard from the villainous King K. Rool! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A classic side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade game set in the medieval fantasy land of Yuria. Players choose from three heroes—Ax Battler the Barbarian, Tyris Flare the Amazon, and Gilius Thunderhead the Dwarf—each with unique magic abilities. Together, they battle through hordes of enemies, ride mythical creatures, and face the evil Death Adder, who has kidnapped the royal family. Hosted on Acast....