Podouken

Warning: Listening discretion is advised. We hold a serious discussion about the first truly controversial arcade game - Death Race. What led Exidy to release this death simulator upon an unsuspecting public? How did something so outrageously graphic make its way into the American arcade? Who was responsible for shining a bright light on this dark subject? Along the way we do cover some less serio...

It's time for another Arcade Obscura where each of the hosts pitch their choice of underrated or underappreciated sports-based arcade game. PastBlaster serves up a gorgeous attract mode, but may not deliver on the gameplay. Mr. SNK comes out of the gate with what could be the best disc game on the Neo Geo. Rob flexes his muscles with a game that includes a fire spitting Universal monster. It's the...

It all comes down to this! We hit the highlights from the best arcade football game - Midway's NFL Blitz. The Jamming of sports continues as Midway hunts for their next hit and scores a touchdown with a new technology. How did this "quicker-hitting game" go over with the NFL? Did Blitz fulfill its creator's promise of being "the most violent football game ever designed"? What moves were so offensi...

It's our 37th episode (in a row) and we're crashing the net with our most requested sports game - NBA Jam. We break down all the boomshakala basics and dig deep to uncover some little known facts with the help of author Reyan Ali - who literally wrote the book on NBA Jam! How did a vid kid go from a Pong console to making the most iconic basketball game ever? What are the origins of "Boomshakala!"...

It's time to hit the links with maybe the best arcade golf game, but definitely the best Neo Geo golf game - Neo Turf Masters! We put skin in the game by exploring the Major Titles that led up to Turf Masters by its developer Nazca. Is a camel a vehicle? Can Mr. SNK settle on what Neo Geo carts will fill his six-slot? What part did Jimbo Fisher play in an arcade horror story? How many people actua...

It's (somehow) our first Nintendo episode! And just like real life we wait until our mid-thirties to get into Nintendo games. We talk about a sports game way before it's time - Punch-Out!! How did a company directive to use more hardware lead to this game? Does arcade Punch-Out!! cross the line with racial stereotypes? Is "Body Blow" the first waaaaay overused sound bite in video games? How much d...

A new miniseries kicks off with "the dumbest, simplest game ever made" - Pong! You'll want to sit in on this history lesson as we recount the origin of video arcade games which includes hippy candles, Nolan Bushnell, celestial bodies, Al Alcorn, and all the *bleeps* and *bloops* that built Atari. Exactly how many Pong clones were there? Which came first: the home video console or the video arcade...

Insert Coin is a new Documentary released by Director Joshua Tsui and Writer Andrew Hayward that discusses the history of the Midway arcade teams responsible for several smash hits of the 90's. The Podouken Crew watched this together and provided a short review of the film! Please support this awesome documentary by renting/buying via Alamo Draft House direct, or watch it on Amazon Prime! "The ora...

We hit the Pac-pot of obscure Pac-Man games as we cover the Pac arcade games from 1984 to current: Pac smuggles fairies across borders in Pac-Land, enters the isometric 3D world in Pac-Mania, goes virtual in Pac-Man VR, fights to the death in Pac-Man Battle Royale, gets ticket rabies in Pac-Man Chomp Mania, and goes big before going home in World's Largest Pac-Man. So join us as we send Pac-Man of...

We go Pac in time to review the Pac-Man games of 1983: Pac & Pal, Professor Pac-Man, and Jr. Pac-Man. Namco and Bally/Midway are not happy with each other and it's leading to a messy divorce. Pac-Man gets a pal that is either a ghost or a dog (but sadly not Forest Whitaker), receives a doctorate in annoying image quizzes, and leaves the missus to care for their first born. How did GCC contribute t...

Our Pac-xploration continues as we talk about the remaining Pac-Man games of 1982: Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Baby Pac-Man. Bally and Midway get into "quantity over quality", Namco follows up Puck-Man with their first official sequel, and pinball (which inspired Pac-Man) becomes part of the Pac-family. We also get the story of Baby Pac-Man's development straight from the designer himself! Ex...

Honey, doncha you know, she's more than Pac-Man with a bow! The Pac series continues with the ultimate genderbend - Ms. Pac-Man. We waka-waka-walka through the crazy origins of the best Pac-Man game (don't AtGames us) as we explore its very litigious history. How did a bunch of college dropouts make one of the best arcade games ever? What part did Atari play in the creation of this classic? What's...

It's time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pac-Man with the start of all Pac miniseries! Podouken finally talks about the big yellow ball in the room, NAMCO's Pac-Man. We delve into the often recounted (and often incorrect) history of arcadedom's most influential game and tell what part pinball played in birthing it into existence. How did the most expensive coin-flip in history go so wrong fo...

We get in the damn robot and play some of Sega's Virtual On! The final Listeners' Choice episode takes on your second/third/fourth favorite brand of giant, bipedal, murder robots. Listen as Borelo, Madlle, and Rod-TGH tell of the history and lamentations involved with buying and moving a Virtual On: Cyber Troopers unit. We marvel at the technical achievements made by the Sega AM3 team on an aged a...

I OFFER YOU 80,000 SWISS FRANCS TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE.* The second Listeners' Choice is all about the first arena fighter - the precursor to Super Smash Bros. - NAMCO's The Outfoxies. Join a full house of co-hosts as we talk about this rather obscure game that features a unique cast of characters like a chimp assassin and some eleven-year old homicidal twins. Why was this game called The Outfo...

Shall we play a game? For the first episode of the Listeners' Choice miniseries we distill Capcom's trivia arcade game, Quiz & Dragons, back to its truest form - a board game! Who will win the trivia battle of 80s sports and Richard Dreyfuss questions? Why does one letter (eclipse vs. ellipse) cause so much drama (thanks autocorrect)? Will knowledge from past Podouken episodes help the hosts get t...

HOLY SH...EBOYGEN! It's time for another Arcade Obscura where each of the hosts pitch their choice for underrated or underappreciated two-player beat 'em up game. PastBlaster brings us a game from a familiar company that uses six-buttons to possess and destroy your enemies. Rob brings us a sequel from a company that only made two arcade games. Mr. SNK takes the obscure part of this episode to the...

CYBORGS AIN'T LADIES!! We grab Technos Japan's ultra-violent and over-the-top The Combatribes by the heels and take it for a spin - and have a lot of fun doing it! Join us as we rediscover this often overlooked beat 'em up playing characters that all skipped leg day. Did we just find Pastblaster's long lost pappy? How did a thrash metal band mascot become this game's villain? Are we cheating by in...

The Mad Gears must pay. We are joined by special guest co-host Chris Antista to discuss Capcom's Final Fight! Capcom goes "huge and cool" to bring us one of the best beat 'em ups ever made. Who is responsible for the Final Fight/Street Fighter II universe and why is it not who you may think? What part did a French historical novel and manga have in giving us the best political body in video games?...

Are you a bad enough dude or dudette to listen to this episode? That's right, we're talking about the game that sounds like it was made by an 80s word generator (and probably was) - Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja. The President has been kidnapped! What will it take to get Blade and Striker - the baddest sweatpant-wearing dudes in NYC - to go rescue him? Some machismo and a side of hamburgers, evidently...

What do you get when you mix a little Rambo, a lot of Conan, some Altered Beast, throw in some swords and sorcery, and put it all on a PCB that likes to kill itself? Golden Axe! Somehow this is our first featured Sega game so we play a game to see how much Sega history we include in this episode. What exactly makes a game an "arcade game"? How did we lose any chance of ever getting a La Croix spon...

A new miniseries kicks (and punches) off with twin brothers trying to rescue their one lover -- Technos Japan's Double Dragon. What 1970s film did Technos use for inspiration to bring about the age of the arcade brawler? How many enemies does it take to really slow down a game? Why did we record the worst skit in podcast history? We take a serious look at graphic violence against women in arcade g...

It's time to put all the pieces together and finish the Puzzlers miniseries with our choices for the overlooked or obscure games in the genre . What virtual insanity leads us to consider Jamiroquai a villain? Can Windows screensavers make compelling gameplay? Why does Mr. SNK know so much about adult-themed arcade games? Along the way we attempt to demystify the jargon related to JAMMA, monitor re...

Capcom brings us the perfect mix of fisticuffs with gem debuffs - plus a heavy dose of chibi - with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. What is the connection between puzzles and violence that makes us love this game so much? The hosts go down the rabbit hole of Kirsten Dunst movies (beware of spoilers), talk about hyperphantasia, and determine who would emerge victorious in Trapper Keeper v. Lisa Fran...

In this ground-breaking episode we dig into a family tree that spawned not one, but two NAMCO classics. We discuss Mr. Driller and use geological genealogy to trace his origins to Dig Dug. Along the way we start spilling some arcade collecting stories that include how Jarrod first met Adam and Rob. Is an "arcade sense" a real thing and if not what is causing this tingling? What is the worst named...