Hardcore Gaming 101

LATE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE CANNOT BE STOPPED! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank Sega's 1998 arcade mech battler. Then stick around for Ben Esposito's 2018 indie hit!  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be WACKY RACES — one of those licensed NES cash-grabs that licensed the wrong license, perhaps!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more!...

LATE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE CONTINUES! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank Capcom's spooky, tough-as-nails platformer, and chase it with Rare's last-minute city-demolition classic.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be KIRBY'S DREAM LAND — the still surprisingly good original Kirby game!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the...

LATE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE IS GETTING SERIOUS! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the oddly unsatisfying "original" Contra, plus Takahisa Taura's hack-and-slash for Switch.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be AMOK — Lemon's voxel-based mech game for the Saturn!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to ge...

LATE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE ROLLS ON! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank HAL's unique take on Ghostbusters, and are joined by special guest LordBBH to cover a beloved 1997 run-and-gun for Neo•Geo.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be GOLDEN AXE: BEAST-RIDER — the troubled PS3/360 Golden Axe sequel!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more...

LATE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE RETURNS! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the classic laserdisc arcade by Disney's weirdest animator, and an indie throwback FPS.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be ROAD RUNNER — Atari's game based on the classic Warner Bros. cartoon character!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  B...

JUNE-JULY OF JRPG CONCLUDES! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Dragon Quest where Dragon Quest became Dragon Quest.   This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be  NANOSAUR — a 90s Mac third-person shooter about an intelligent super-dinosaur from the future!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and str...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a recent 3D Sonic game that garnered those coveted "mixed reviews".  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be NANOSAUR — a 90s Mac third-person shooter about an intelligent super-dinosaur from the future!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Mega Man game the Breath of Fire team built.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be TENGAI MAKYOU: ZIRIA — Hudson's celebrated 1989 RPG for the PC Engine CD-ROMROM!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ran...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank Volition's 2001 FPS with GeoMod™ technology.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be TENGAI MAKYOU: ZIRIA — Hudson's celebrated 1989 RPG for the PC Engine CD-ROMROM!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked...

JUNE-JULY OF JRPG REMAINS! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the first Fire Emblem for 3DS.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be TALES OF VESPERIA   — the tenth mainline entry in Namco's Tales series!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ran...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the PS2 tie-in game for a movie that never existed.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be TALES OF VESPERIA   — the tenth mainline entry in Namco's Tales series!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on...

JUNE-JULY OF JRPG CONTINUES! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a tactics JRPG from some key Final Fantasy players, except it's for the XBox 360.  This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be SHINSETSU SAMURAI SPIRITS BUSHIDO RETSDUEN   — a truly special Samurai Shodown themed JRPG for the NEO•GEO CD !   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the sho...

Join the HG101 gang and special guest LordBBH as they discuss and rank Midway's kinetic pseudo-sequel to Smash T.V. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be SHINSETSU SAMURAI SPIRITS BUSHIDO RETSDUEN   — a truly special Samurai Shodown themed JRPG for the NEO•GEO CD!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and strai...

JUNE-JULY OF JRPG RETURNS! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the first Final Fantasy to successfully "go back to basics". This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be ANACRHRONOX   — Ion Storm's 2001 role-playing game!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've al...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Genesis game that really should have caused a moral panic. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be ANACRHRONOX   — Ion Storm's 2001 role-playing game!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on the Big D...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a bold new take on Track & Field by Bennett Foddy, creator of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy . This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be CYBERMORPH   — the pack-in game that was expected to sell the Atari Jaguar to the world!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and...

Join the HG101 gang and special guest Ironicus as they discuss and rank the last Mario Kart to dare try something even slightly new. Check out Ironicus' new audio drama mystery, Lydia Disappears! This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be CYBERMORPH   — the pack-in game that was expected to sell the Atari Jaguar to the world!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank one of the weirder PS1 3D platformers. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be JOHNNY BAZOOKATONE   — a 1996 3D platformer that may or may not earn its cool title!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a PS1 throwback to the days of Atari's Combat. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be JOHNNY BAZOOKATONE   — a 1996 3D platformer that may or may not earn its cool title!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ra...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Excitebike that finally gave Excitebike fans what they really wanted. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be THUNDER IN PARADISE — the CD-i game based on the TV show that's based on two other TV shows!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Ch...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a cool tile-matching puzzler from GalaxyTrail. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be THUNDER IN PARADISE — the CD-i game based on the TV show that's based on two other TV shows!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've al...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the first of Capcom's Mickey trilogy. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be ASSAULT ANDROID CACTUS  — a 2013 indie twin-stick shooter!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on the Big Damn List , then no...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the final game of Sierra On-Line's original Larry run. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be  ASSAULT ANDROID CACTUS  — a 2013 indie twin-stick shooter!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on the Big D...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a fondly remembered kart racer from Sega's post-Dreamcast days. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be  HIGH SEAS HAVOC — Data East's conspicuously Sonic-like platformer about an anthropomorphic seal!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straightest dope. Check o...

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the one game that dared to improve chess. And you know what? Mission accomplished. This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be  HIGH SEAS HAVOC — Data East's conspicuously Sonic-like platformer about an anthropomorphic seal!   Donate at Patreon  to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on  Bluesky  to get the latest and straig...