Abnormal Mapping

It's nearly Christmas time and thus we settle in for that most famous of Christmas games, Hideo Kojima's sci-fi detective classic SNATCHER! No, really, this is a Christmas ass Christmas game in the same way Die Hard is so I'm claiming it. We finally did a timely Christmas game. On top of that, we have a huge amount of games to talk about, a lot of rambling about various gaming-related things, Em r...

We ring in our ninth anniversary with a new-ish game, the dystopian magical realism adventure game Norco! There’s plenty of navel gazing about life, podcasts, gaming, and capitalism to be had, that heady Abnormal Mapping special brew, as we bring you this super-sized episode. Honestly, there isn’t much to say, this game just rips and people should play it. Here’s to many more years of podcasts! Se...

We have another huge haul of games as we talk about seemingly everything under the sun but also two games for the lengthening nights as we do a sort of horror month talking about two moody classics of the RPG Maker indie games scene: Yume Nikki and Ib! It was great to be able to talk about such a fun genre, get out of our comfort zones a bit, and explore some real gaming history. Send us questions...

It’s gaming season as we dip into a sequel to one of the most classic games of the 90s and find that maybe lighting truly does strike twice. On top of that, a dozen other games played between us, and a bunch of other fun besides including which PlayStation is canonically the Best Looking. The answer will not surprise you in the slightest. Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gam...

We try to beat the heat by playing a game about the sweltering jungle and the fight for survival, but y’know … it’s cute! Also, we declare an early end to our Year of Handhelds because of a Gaming Injury, but we’ll still be delivering banger episodes every month as always. Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com! If you would li...

I’m joined once again by my friend and fate-bestower Kim as we cover the only sequel to Fate/stay night, Hollow Ataraxia! We talk about where my fate-pilling is at, the power of stories that aren’t about anything, the evolution of guys, and the general experience playing the miracle game. Truly one of my new favorites. Spoilers of course for FSN, Fate Zero, and Hollow Ataraxia within! Send us ques...

One of the most infamous Japan-only RPGs finally gets its turn as Abnormal Mapping heads back to a simpler time of GBAs, Nintendo being good, and a little boy with magical PSI powers as we finally get to the game we’ve been putting off for nearly eight years: Mother 3! We must be so exhausted. Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail...

We delve into the power of healing and the demands of the DS touch screen as we scrub up and try to save people by playing doctor and … NGO front line crime fighter? Look, anime is complicated. Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com! If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts...

We remember the basics of CQC one draw at a time as we go back to the long road of woe that is Metal Gear to play the strange PSP tactical spin-off Metal Gear Acid 2! There are ABSOLUTELY talk about the entire franchise, because we just love/hate Metal Gear too much not to go all over, so be warned about the spoilers. But otherwise, enjoy this ridiculous episode! Send us questions about our game c...

Abnormal Mapping is here to talk about two Sonic games that were designed for the Game Gear and the first generation of dedicated handheld games and why they often were saddled with the reputations they would carry with them for decades to come. These games are all right tho! Also an extended what we’ve been playing, featuring Jack Chaos and Metroid herself. Send us questions about our game clubs,...

A special mid-month Abnormal Mapping is summoned into the grail war! Em is joined by their friend Kim to talk about the humble origin of a massive media franchise and the experience of playing a massive visual novel with a lot of competing ideas that might not always gel together perfectly. That said, Fate is pretty cool, so we had a great time! If you’d like to hear people talk much more thorough...

We opened up our GBAs and DSes for a parade of classic Nintendo bangers as we talk about when video games were joyful and rhythm games were about learning actual ass rhythm. It’s a big episode, with lots of music, and I hope everyone enjoys! Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com! If you would like to support us please visit&nb...

Sacred time is here! We light the fires and huddle our tula around the ring as we tell tales of old and mishaps aplenty in the dangerous world of Glorantha as we talk about this classic narrative strategy game! Also, because it’s us, lots of JRPG updates and many other things besides in this lengthy episode. Praise to Orlanth! Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in gener...

The end of the year of JRPGs ends with a game exploring the very limits of the genre and pushing into the modern conception of RPG meta text. Gone are the battles and dungeons, remaining are quests and levels and the question of what is it all for. Also, some really funky guys. So many cool, funky guys. Join us as we close the book on this strange year with a strange game, and have a great ol’ tim...

We’re back as we take a sharp left from our projected game club and play the newest of new releases, the hot new Microsoft Tentpole, HaForza Horizon 5! Please enjoy this sprawling conversation about everything from driving mechanics, to radio stations in games, our problems with live service games, to liberal progressive ideas of tourism and representation, to a lazy history of the getting in cars...

Rushing this one out the door because of scheduling problems, it’s a new Abnormal Mapping! We played a game that has been on Em’s to do list for years, and we discover that sometimes digging into the past isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Also, the characters of Star Ocean? Discover that sometimes digging into the past isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Anyway, enjoy! Happy Anniversary, Abnormal Mapp...

We’re joined by Scarlett for a stroll down memory lane, when Sony meant interesting games coming from Japanese developers. It wasn’t even that long ago! Revisiting Gravity Rush 2 a mere four years after its release, we remember the power of the Vita to fire our imagination, and the cold light of day that’s been first party development in the last half decade. But also, we remember Kat and Raven, t...

We are joined by blogger of the year Dia Lacina who was willing to go down with the ship as we break format for a trio of games that we only knew of probably bad games nobody actually played. That’s right, we took all our RPG expertise and applied it to the strange trilogy of Tokyo RPG Factory games! Em froze their ass off in I am Setsuna, Dia remembered she could be doing anything else in Lost Sp...

We’re joined by Dan to once again talk about the strange tangent of the Metroid universe as we continue to mine the Phazon arc to gain an appreciation for how you follow up one of the boldest games ever made. Turns out, that’s really hard! Join us for a discussion of light and dark worlds, not even lazily caring about your plot, and the nightmare that is making ‘hard’ bosses. A jam packed episode!...

This month we feast on one of the largest games time investment wise we’ve ever played for Abnormal Mapping, but it just so happens to be the game we initially bonded over well before we started the podcast. Thankfully, we can’t get too self indulgent, as we’re joined by special guest Molly Rhinebeck to navigate the ins and outs of the 1000 year journey of Kaim and Seth and their wives. Please enj...

We take a break from the really long games to enjoy some short but sweet adventures in cities both beautiful and threatening as we return to a game we covered years ago and prep for a game we’re going to cover in the future! Turns out, it’s nice to just play a game you can finish in a week, around all these huge JRPGs. Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to ab...

We turn our thoughts back to the JRPG in this year full of them, and enjoy one of the most surprising games we’ve played … well, since last month, but we’ve been really lucky this year. Come for talk of genre exercises, being on your bullshit, and the power of a well worn story well told as we discover … Live A Live! Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abno...

Two games means an extra long episode as we talk about Zelda, Zelda-likes, the ways Nintendo had it all and slowly burned away goodwill, and much more. Both of these games are hard to talk about for opposite reasons, but we did our best and had a great time besides. Apologies for the return of springtime birds in Em’s audio, an Abnormal Mapping staple this time every year. Please enjoy the extra l...

The year of JRPGs continues as we talk about a strange hybrid RPG of the late PlayStation era, the survival horror wanna-be Koudelka! What does this small, story-heavy game offer in a world of heavy hitters like Final Fantasy? Turns out, quite a bit. Much discussion of motion capture, what makes horror media work, and much more in this super sized episode! Send us questions about our game clubs, o...

We return back to one of the earliest studios that really surprised us doing this podcast, id software, and their post-Doom attempt to remake the landscaping of gaming. Does lightning strike twice? Well, kind of depends on how you define lightning. Either way we have a great time with the strange mess of influences that is Quake, spend some quality time with Halo 3, and answer a warthog’s weight i...