Lost Joystick Network

Imagine you're just minding your business, hanging out with your military friends on a helicopter and, as a prank, they drop you off in a jungle rife with the enemy and no radio. THEN.. imagine that every time you FIND a wireless radio, they come and pick you up only to drop you off AGAIN.That's the story of Commando.

Episode 85 is here. This is where we really begin to tie the episode number to the year of a game (or games?) release. So let's talk about the NES. We don't do it very often around here. The console itself is a bit of a "hidden gem", so let's give it the exposure it deserves. We are primarily going to discuss the seventeen launch titles for the NES. Those games came out in October of 1985. That wa...

The boys are back from Milwaukee after attending the 2025 edition of the Midwest Gaming Classic. We were lucky to be joined by a number of our friends, so tune in and find out all about all of the stupid things we did (bought).

Are you aware that there was a video game crash in 1983? Of course you are.. What about the video game crash of 1977? Yeah.. didn't think so.. n00b. Stick around and learn about it (we will barely talk about it).

What do you know about Turrican? No.. really, think about it? For over thirty years, most people have probably looked at the cover and thought "it's about a sexy robot". I know we did.

Who doesn't love Rogue-likes? What's that? A lot of people? Well.. disregard that then, but not completely. What if it's a Rogue-like that's very slow on a Sega Genesis and involves two aliens rappers from the planet Funkotron? Yeah, I thought you'd change your tune.

Does every "hidden gem" list for the NES inevitably end with "The Guardian Legend"?From the looks of YouTube, the answer is surprisingly "no".Does that make it more hidden gem-y? Who the hell knows, but we're willing to discuss it. So lock it in and rip the knob off.

A lot of people like this game, but some don't. One of those who don't happens to be one of the hosts of this show. So tune in and find out what his freakin' deal is..

Yep.. another year, another dollar. That's not a saying. Whatever. Come join us we strive to achieve greatness by playing 40+ year-old video games and talk about the old stuff we bought.

Well, if you forgot how our year in review went.... don't fret, because here it is! Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are getting caught back up. What better way than to listen to our year in review in March! So let's take a moment to reflect on what we've accomplished in 2024, which really isn't that much when you print it out on a piece of paper.

It's football season (well, it was when we recorded this).. And there's nothing retro video game fans and collectors like better than sports games. OK, that's not true, but Tecmo Bowl is definitely an exception. So come hang and listen to us talk about Bo Jackson for the next two hours.

Look, we are going to level with you here. . Road Rash for the 3DO is peak '90s. Motorcycle street racing with weapons is radical enough. But pair it with FMV cutscenes, chain wallets, and Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" blaring in the background and it may just be the apex of 90's attitude. So come along for the ride with the LJN crew to see what they think about this EA classic.

Who can forget the Mascot Wars of the early 90's? Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, and the TurboGrafx-16 had Bonk. See, the TurboGrafx-16 was a console put out by NEC and HudsonSoft in the United States that almost no one bought. So, of course, that now means it's one of the most interesting things in the world to the retro gaming community. Or maybe it's not.. we're not experts around here on...

WARNING: This episode deals with VERY adult themes. The adultiest of adult themes. So please keep this in mind as you drift away with Jay and Mike to the land of hips and fog. Silent Hill 2 is a terrifying journey deep into the psyche of James Sunderland. That's not hyperbole. This game is as scary and unsettling as it gets. The only thing scarier is the thought that Silent Hill may call for one o...

Is there a more radical video game protagonist than Zeke from ZATM? Maybe. But he's got to be in the top ten all-time, right? It almost makes you feel bad for Julie, Zeke's counterpart in the game. It's like all of of the time and effort in radicalization was spent on Zeke and that just seems unfair to us.

Anyone who has played R.C.Pro-Am for more than five minutes is more than aware of the orange car. If you grew up with this game, you have hopefully suppressed that memory and the hatred of the orange car. Good news for you is that we are going to bring back to the surface and make you face your demons. Just another fantastic reason to tune in. Who knew that listening to a podcast about a 35-year o...

It's 1989 and everyone has a favorite Turtle. Growing up, both Jay and Mike were Michelangelo fans. But then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released for the NES and it changed everything. Don't get us wrong, Mikey is still #1 in our hearts, even to this day, but Donatello's bō staff was undeniable. In summary, Michelangelo is still our favorite so the game didn't really change much for us.

I bet you thought that we were going to do something sexy for episode 69 of the Lost Joystick Network, didn't you? Well, good news.. we did. Because what is hotter than listening to middle-aged men talk about patches you could earn by playing video games in the early 1980's? At any rate, please tune in otherwise. I am sure there are some good jokes or sound drops in here somewhere.

Look, we know we keep saying that we are going to get more consistent in posting our episodes and we haven't. We're trying, but not very hard. You can expect that we will try harder. Thank you for putting up with us. -- Anyway, here's Kaboom!

Yep.. Sonic the Hedgehog. If you're looking in the description of a podcast episode for information on who Sonic the Hedgehog is, then I will tell you that what you learn is going to be limited. Go search the internet to find out more. Or listen to this episode. Yeah.. do that. -- Be sure to visit our Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/lostjoystick And come join us in the Discord server by joining...

Blazing Lazers is pretty great. The game is based off of the Japanese science fiction tokusatsu mecha action movie Gunhed. Yeah, you read that right. As for Gunhed, imagine Andy Dick was the director / producer for Blade Runner.. and that's Gunhed. -- Be sure to visit our Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/lostjoystick And come join us in the Discord server by joining our Patreon at: https://www.p...

Look.. we know what you're thinking? ANOTHER podcast about Super Mario Bros. 2? Our answer to that question: Yes.

Lets be honest here.. you see the title. You know what you're about get to get yourself wrapped up in. So buckle up, settle in, and get whisked away to the Far East. Shaq (yes, THAT Shaq) is in town for a big basketball tournament and winds up getting sidetracked. Find out by who and how by tuning in and taking a listen. -- Thank you for listening. We appreciate you sticking with us. If you co...

What's better than the recap of a retro video game convention? Well.. how about a recap of a retro video game convention from three months ago? Yeah, we thought you'd like that. -- Stick around and listen to all of the hijinks and shenanigans that the LJN crew took part in during the Midwest Gaming Classic. We get that it all happened in April, but hey.. it's still pretty good. And if...

Ask yourself.. fire-breathing, husky, mustache wielding carnies are pretty cool right? Good new everyone.... Jinborov Karnovski is your guy.... If fighting a T-Rex (or two), pterodactyls and gangs of angry apes in some Greek ruins... Then this is the game for you!.... or not, we are making this up as we go, we are old.... didn't we forget something at the store....................................