Go Back and Play

Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and Kari gather to discuss THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME, Nintendo's revolutionary open-world game from 1998. We discuss how worlds are constructed, how "Z-targeting" forever influenced how games handle combat in 3D, and why Navi the fairy unfairly gets a bad rap. (Mostly.) Sebastian compares Ocarina to "a cat turned loose in a gymnasium," Kari tells a story of how...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan gather to discuss HALF-LIFE, Valve's 1998 shooter that pioneered telling a story through scripted sequences and created a new paradigm for narrative in the medium. Also you break open crates with a crowbar! We discuss tram rides, big science rooms, and digital storefronts for computer games. 

Nate, Sebastian, and Kari gather to discuss GRIM FANDANGO, LucasArts' seminal adventure game from 1998, often cited as the "last great adventure game." We talk about skeletons, film noir, and how disparate styles can come together to create a cohesive whole. Kari praises the sincerity and heart of Double Fine Games, Sebastian describes an infuriating glitch, and Nate professes his undying love for...

Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and David convene to discuss DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION, Konami's novel arcade dancing game from 1998. We discuss making a fool of yourself in public, working up a sweat in arcades, and Ohio's best amusement park. This episode is basically just a cavalcade of terrible jokes and stories about what we did in our basements in high school. 

Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and Ryan gather to discuss METAL GEAR SOLID, Konami's stealth action game from 1998. We discuss the "uncanny valley of cinema," the Selfish Gene Theory, and the origin of the setpiece-heavy structure that would come to inform so many AAA games for the next twenty years. Nate spends $60 on an extremely frivolous expense, Jordan discusses his teenage dream of creating a hove...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan sit down to discuss Polyphony Digital's 1998 racing sim GRAN TURISMO, which struck a perfect balance between arcade action and the verisimilitude of simulation, changing racing games forever. We discuss racing games as showcases for graphics technology, the pursuit of the "real," and car elevators. Sebastian debates what we mean when we say "good graphics;" Nate tries h...

Nate, Sebastian, and Ryan are once more joined by guest Brock Wilbur, this time to discuss FALLOUT, Interplay's 1997 "post-nuclear role-playing game" that birthed a major franchise and heralded a resurgence of the traditional computer RPG. We talk about conveyance, open-ended gameplay, tactical possibility spaces, and tone. Nate calls GURPS "the Esperanto of role-playing systems." Brock explains h...

Nate, Ryan, Jordan, and David gather to discuss Rare's groundbreaking shooter from 1997 -- GOLDENEYE 007. We discuss arcane FPS control schemes, the emergence of "deathmatch" on consoles, and abysmal escort missions. Is James Bond's most successful videogame outing "the Mario Kart of FPSs," or is it merely "Imperfect Dark?" BONUS: The guys say nice things about Pierce Brosnan, who did an admirable...

Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and David gather to discuss one of their favorite games of all time: FINAL FANTASY TACTICS, the strategy RPG masterpiece from Square. Come for the discussion of player expressivity and labyrinthine political machinations, stay to learn about Nate's cadet Judithe and the ridiculous nickname Sebastian gave Worker 8.  Nate is in earnest about his offer to be your guide throug...

Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and Ryan gather to discuss CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT, one of the all-time great 2D exploration games. We discuss vampiric powers, eldritch castles, and our relationships with our dads. Sebastian plays the contrarian, Nate gushes over Michiru Yamane's music, and Ryan just wants someone to sire him. 

Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, and Jordan gather to discuss BUSHIDO BLADE, Light Weight's 1997 samurai fighting game in which a single strike of the katana can be deadly. We consider how pace can change the feel of a fighting game, discuss our favorite samurai movies, and consider how many swords a guy can own before becoming a "Sword Guy." Sebastian discusses a narrative format he wishes more games would...

Nate, Sebastian, and David convene to discuss FINAL FANTASY VII, a blockbuster RPG that took the gaming world by storm and introduced America to spiky-haired, sword-wielding, amnesiac protagonists. Come for the discussion of the game's cinematic techniques and environmentalist themes, stay to hear the plot point David refers to as "the JFK assassination of '90s videogames." Nate has an awkward mov...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan sit down to discuss PARAPPA THE RAPPER, NanaOn-Sha's cartoony rap game from 1997 -- the grandfather of rhythm-action games! Listen to us discuss the game's unique art style, dope rhymes, and technical accomplishments. Come for the discussion of videogames-as-pop-art, stay to hear our solutions to the problem of toxic masculinity. Also, Sebastian makes a Popeye reference...

Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, and David sit down to talk about DIABLO, Blizzard Entertainment's action RPG that procedurally generates its dungeon and aims to entrench you in a cycle of sweet, sweet loot drops. We discuss "roguelikes," PC gaming in the late '90s, and whether Hell is actually Ryan's basement.    SHOW NOTES: GDC Post-Mortem on Diablo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscdPA6sUkc The origina...

Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, and David all gather to read their way through Next Generation magazine's "Top 100 Games of All Time," a list published in September of 1996 (just about how far we've gotten in our historical journey so far!). The boys try to keep it together through more that two hours of discussion, featuring games predictable, surprising, inscrutable, unmentionable, and baffling. Fair war...

Nate and Sebastian are joined by Lucy and Kari to discuss TOMB RAIDER, Eidos and Core Design's 1996 game of sexy grave robbing. We discuss problematic heroines designed to appeal to 17-year-old boys, the uncomfortably imperialist premise of raiding tombs in general, and why people should be nice to wolves. Kari longs for an archaeologist girls can look up to, Lucy shudders over gratuitous death an...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan are once again joined by Em to discuss SUPER MARIO 64, Nintendo's revolutionary platformer that created a new paradigm for how to construct a digital playground in three dimensions. We talk about the brilliance of a camera that simultaneously allows for developer suggestion and player control, the welcoming hub world that is Peach's Castle, and how all 3D games from thi...

Nate, Ryan, and Jordan gather to discuss NIGHTS INTO DREAMS, Sega's 1996 game about an androgynous harlequin who defends bullied teens by performing aerial acrobatics and collecting orbs to restore the physical manifestation of their virtues. It's... a lot. On the way, the boys discuss their own personal nightmares and the unfortunate story of the Sega Saturn. Jordan tries to wrap his mind around...

Nate, Sebastian, and Ryan gather to discuss QUAKE -- sort of. Nate tries to find some nice things to say about the game's aesthetics, the boys discuss the earliest games they played over the internet, and we ponder whether any "machinima" has ever been important. Nate brings up the Patterson Bigfoot film, Sebastian makes a joke about Adele, and Ryan turns the episode into a cavalcade of Nine Inch...

Nate, Sebastian, and Ryan are joined by special guest Brock Wilbur to discuss RESIDENT EVIL, Capcom's 1996 horror adventure that launched a sub-genre by being stingy with its ammo. Join us as we discuss how early 32-bit games began to integrate the techniques of cinema, sample some abominable voice acting, and lambaste the Umbrella Corporation for constructing a truly inconvenient workplace. 

Nate, David, and Jordan gather to discuss SUPER MARIO RPG: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN STARS, our last game of the 16-bit era and a parting of the ways for game developers Square and Nintendo. Come for the discussion of how a third-party developer crafts their own quirky vision of the Mushroom Kingdom, stay to hear a conspiracy theory about the existence of an evil Yoshi. Nate calls a character a "store-b...

Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, and Andrea sit down to discuss POKEMON RED and BLUE, the first iteration of Nintendo's pop culture juggernaut. We talk about middle school, siblings being brought closer together through the power of trading Pokemon, and Tim Horton's-themed Pokemon. Come to hear the debate over whether insect battling is really a thing, stay to hear which of your unlucky hosts spent their se...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan gather to discuss CHRONO TRIGGER, the time-traveling RPG from Square. We discuss our feelings on spoilers, abstraction in storytelling, frog men, and eldritch horrors from beyond the stars. Come for the dissection of how a game is paced, stay to learn which of your hosts thinks Chrono Trigger is the best game on the SNES.  SHOW NOTES: At one point, Nate accidentally ref...

Nate, Sebastian, and Jordan sit down to discuss WIPEOUT, Psygnosis' futuristic hover-racer from the early days of the original PlayStation. We talk cyberpunk aesthetics, mid-'90s techno, and the movie HACKERS. Sebastian brings up Seabiscuit, Nate admits his middle school love for The Crystal Method, and Jordan learns whether it's better to fall off or stay on the proverbial wagon. There is a surpr...

Nate, Sebastian, David, and Ryan gather to discuss Westwood Studios' COMMAND & CONQUER, one of the games to popularize the Real-Time Strategy genre in the mid-'90s. We talk terrible FMV story sequences, LAN parties, and how difficult it is to open yourself up to new genres even as an experienced game player. Come for the discussion of the rivalry between Command & Conquer and Warcraft, stay to hea...