Cocktail Mode: Retro Games, Cocktails and Banter

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are hitting the pitch and stepping back into the mid-90s to celebrate the dawn of a football gaming revolution: the International Superstar Soccer (ISS) games! We are diving into Konami's legendary Super Nintendo and Mega Drive era, looking back at the original 1994 masterpiece and the iconic ISS Deluxe and then through the series' hay-day on t...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are flexing their mental muscles with the ultimate arcade block-dropper: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo! Capcom's genius 1996 spin-off took legendary fighters like Ryu, Chun-Li, and Morrigan, shrunk them down into adorable chibi sprites, and threw them into a viciously competitive puzzle matrix.  We break down the absolute chaos of the counter-g...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are hitting the virtual hardwood to look back at the 1999 Sega Dreamcast masterpiece: NBA 2K! We are diving deep into the visual marvel that launched a legacy, celebrating the game that blew everyone away with its photorealistic graphics, smooth animations, and Allen Iverson crossing up defenders on the cover. We discuss how Visual Concepts com...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are revving their engines and bracing for the G-force as they revisit Geoff Crammond’s 1989 gravity-defying masterpiece: Stunt Car Racer! We’re heading back to the high-altitude tracks to look at the game that turned 3D wireframe graphics into a nail-biting survival experience. We break down the sheer terror of hearing that "crack" in the chass...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave journey through the streets of America through a 1980s Japanese lens as they revisit the 1988 coin-op original: Shadow Warriors (AKA Ninja Gaiden)! We’re heading back to the smoky arcades to look at the side-scrolling beat 'em up that feels worlds apart from its famous NES cousin. We break down the visceral joy of the "neck-flip" throw, the pun...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are checking their G-diffusers and heading for Corneria to revisit the 1993 Super FX powerhouse: Star Wi... I mean Fox! We’re blasting off with Fox McCloud and his crew to look back at the polygon revolution that changed the SNES forever. We break down the chaotic joy of trying to keep Slippy Toad alive and why those flat-shaded shapes still ho...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the game with the most beautifully animated carnage in arcade history: Metal Slug! We’re diving into the legendary SNK pixel art that turned the run-and-gun genre into a hand-drawn masterpiece. We break down the frantic joy of the "HEAVY MACHINE GUN!", the slapstick charm of the bulging-eyed enemies, and...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave leave the shakers at home to  travel back through the decades to unlock the ultimate retro gaming library with the CEO and founder of Antstream Arcade, Steve Cottam! This free-wheeling chat covers cloud gaming, latency, AI, Spectrum vs Amstrad vs MSX, IP frustrations, and exploring how Antstream is bringing thousands of classic titles - from th...

  This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are shrinking down to tabletop size to revisit the absolute mayhem of 1991 with the Codemasters classic: Micro Machines! We’re taking a pint sized roadtrip through the series that turned breakfast tables, bathtubs, and pool tables into high-stakes racetracks. We break down the frantic joy of the "screen-elimination" mechanic, and how this cha...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are taking to the skies to earn their flight licenses in the 1990 SNES classic: Pilotwings! We’re diving into the game that served as the ultimate showcase for Nintendo’s Mode 7 technology, transforming flat 2D maps into a pseudo-3D playground that blew minds at the SNES launch. We discuss the Zen-like calm of the hang glider, the high-altitude...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are heading to the "World Center of Racing" to talk about the legendary Daytona USA in celebration of its real-world inspiration, the Daytona 500! We’re revving up the engines on Sega’s arcade titan, discussing everything from the accuracy of the track layout to how and why the high-pitched "DAYTONAAAAA!" vocals of Takenobu Mitsuyoshi still liv...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are blasting off into the Sega-blue skies of 1985 to revisit a true arcade behemoth: Space Harrier! We’re taking a deep dive into Yu Suzuki’s psychedelic masterpiece, discussing the thrill of the hydraulic motion cabinet, remembering the iconic music and sound design, and chatting about why this game remains one of THE all time great arcade exp...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are warping back to the golden age of 8-bit vector graphics to sit down with a true legend: Ian Oliver, the coding mastermind behind iconic games from the era including 3D Starstrike and Carrier Command! We chat about how Ian and the Realtime Games team managed to squeeze lightning-fast, wireframe 3D out of the ZX Spectrum, effectively bringing...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are hitting the high-gloss streets of the year 2000 to revisit the Dreamcast’s definitive urban racer: Metropolis Street Racer (MSR)! We’re diving deep into the game that famously prioritized "style over speed" and paved the way for the Project Gotham Racing series. We break down the revolutionary (and occasionally brutal) Kudos system, the tec...

Merry Christmas! The season of giving is here, but which games deserve a spot under your Christmas Tree? This week on Cocktail Mode, Andy and Dave are getting festive for the annual Holiday Special! They’ll be counting down their highly debatable list of the 12 Games of Christmas: the perfect Retro Video Games to play with family and friends, and maybe get them to finally understand your obsession...

So it's come to this: A Cocktail Mode list episode! Andy and Dave are ready to unleash their most ambitious, potentially most divisive, and almost certainly most overlong episode yet: Our Top 50 Retro Games!* Did your favourite make it? Did we choose the same 25 games each? Did ANY Nintendo games make the cut? What is the meaning of that asterisk? Listen in and find out! Of course we have to shoe-...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, we're bowing to one of the most unique and respected fighting games ever made: Bushido Blade on the original PS1! Andy and Dave explore why this One-Hit Kill Samurai simulator remains a definitive Cult Classic. We break down the revolutionary mechanics that set this Squaresoft title apart from every other fighting game - no health bars, no time limits, just...

Welcome back to the Cocktail Mode podcast, where we're pairing the ultimate dystopian action experience with a dangerous drink! This week, we’re loading up on VCRs and Toasters to cover the bloody crossover between the legendary 1990 Arcade Classic, Smash TV, and the definitive Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, The Running Man (1987) - Just in time to set you up for Edgar Wright and Glenn Powell's new...

Clear the sector and grab your coins! This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, we’re dropping into the definitive 90s beat 'em up experience: Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator Arcade from 1994! We break down everything that made this Capcom AVP game a legendary, fan-favourite Retro Gaming experience. Discover how it perfected the Final Fight style formula with gorgeous, massive sprites and intense co-op...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, we're locking down the bulkheads and checking our motion trackers because we're (ostensibly) featuring the iconic sci-fi shooter: Alien Breed! We say 'ostensibly' because Andy and Dave are joined by special guest Rico Holmes, the man behind the concept and art of Alien Breed and who has worked across multiple franchises for Team17. Rico provides an exclusive...

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are taking to the skies to revisit Desert Strike and the entire Strike Series! They’ll be diving into the explosive top-down military action of Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, and Urban Strike, discussing why these console classics became essential Sega Genesis/Mega Drive titles and defined a generation of action gaming. But that's not all - they...

Crack into the ultimate puzzle-platforming adventure! This week on the podcast, Andy and Dave are diving deep into the legendary Dizzy series. They’ll take you on a nostalgic journey, from his humble 8-bit beginnings on the ZX Spectrum to his attempts to crack Japan and the US on the NES. Join them as they uncover what made these games so charmingly unique - from their bizarre item-based puzzles a...

Happy 40th Anniversary to one of the most beloved and groundbreaking machines in computing history! This week on the Cocktail Mode retro gaming podcast, Andy and Dave are raising a virtual glass to the Amiga in a very special episode. They'll be celebrating four decades of the Commodore colossus, a machine that revolutionized multimedia, computer gaming, and changed the landscape of geek culture f...

Prepare to test your reflexes and your strategy! This week on the Cocktail Mode retro gaming podcast, Andy and Dave dive into a true shmup masterpiece, the legendary bullet-hell shooter, Ikaruga. They'll deconstruct the game's iconic and challenging polarity-switching mechanic, discussing why this 2D classic from developer Treasure is so revered in gaming history. From its arcade origins to its re...