Retronauts

Yeah, it's another Mario mailbag as our Sunshine episode received way too many listener letters to be contained in the main episode. Sam, Henry, Bob, and Jeremy offer equal time to some very different Sunshine opinions than our own

Two Micro episodes combine powers to become a full episode! First, Kurt and Rob of Hardcore Gaming 101 join to discuss King of Fighters. Then, Ben and Benj follow up with a home gaming-focused counterpart to our recent arcade memories episode.

Taking a break from our string of glowing Mario retrospectives, we have a not-so-glowing look at vintage Mario. Yeah, 2002 is vintage now. Henry Gilbert and Sam Claiborn join us to discuss what's great about Super Mario Sunshine... but mostly what's not.

Thanks to some industrious hackers, we've recently learned that a digital version of Golf for the NES has been secretly implanted into the firmware of every Nintendo Switch as a tribute to Satoru Iwata. But how was it discovered, how can you play it, and why did Nintendo choose Golf of all games? On this disturbingly relevant episode of Retronauts Micro, host Bob Mackey and guest Henry Gilbert ans...

It's another dive into the classic arcade works of SEGA as Ben, Benj, and Jeremy visit the years 1988, 89, and 90 and all kinds of great and interesting games like Altered Beast, Gain Ground, Galaxy Force, and more!

Yoshi's Island hasn't been re-released in its original, unadulterated form since its 1995 debut, but the upcoming launch of the SNES Classic promises to make this platforming legend slightly more available (while supplies last). And to mark the recirculation of Nintendo's last hurrah for the Super Nintendo, we sat down for an episode-length discussion all about Yoshi's gorgeous, inventive, and som...

Jeremy speaks to game and computer historian David Craddock about his new book of Apple II game developer interviews, "Break Out," including David's most interesting experiences meeting the people who created video game history.

Former Computer Gaming World boss Jeff Green joins Jeremy and Bob to explore the world of the Great Underground Empire, consider Zork's influence on gaming, and do their best not to be eaten by a Grue.

Jeremy, Ben, and Benj reminisce about the experience of living through the golden age of arcades, with many additional memories coming in the form of an hour-long listener mailbag segment.

With the recent release of Mario + Raving Rabbids, and with Super Mario Odyssey's launch lurking just a few months away, we're currently undergoing a sort of Mario Madnessmuch like the same outbreak that attacked several million children back in '88. To celebrate this resurgence in all things Mario, join Retronauts' own Bob Mackey and special guest/Mushroom Kingdom expert Henry Gilbert as the two...

Not long ago, corporations employed colorful cartoon characters to lure hungry and impressionable children into their dens of corn-based products. And, since this time period happened to overlap with the rise of video games, several food mascots ended up starring in their very own interactive experiences. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antis...

Kurt Kalata and Rob Russo join us from Hardcore Gaming 101 to delve into the history of Konami's legendary Gradius series. From its prequel (Scramble) to its most recent spinoff (Otomedius), we blast our way through the span of the entire series!

Fresh from Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, Jeremy and Bob yield the floor to Kurt Kalata and Rob Russo from Hardcore Gaming 101 to explain the history of Falcom's Dragon Slayer series. Just in time for the PS4 debut of the latest spinoff, Tokyo Xanadu!

Jeremy, Bob, and Chris hunker down to discuss the entirety of Square Enix's Mana series but only make it through the first two games: Final Fantasy Adventure for Game Boy and Secret of Mana for SNES. (Whoops, we accidentally went extremely in-depth.)

Jeremy speaks with legendary developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi on his start in games, the genesis of Space Channel 5 and Rez, and face-mounted Game Gears. Later, Kishi and Kim Justice join to discuss Metal Gear's anniversary and Fire Pro World, respectively.

We NES kids know Little Nemo best from his classic Capcom platformer, but what about the character's role in a revolutionary newspaper comic from the early 20th century? And what of Little Nemo's extraordinarily expensive and fairly obscure box office flop that spawned two different video games? On this episode of Retronauts Micro join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Mikel Reparaz as the gang trace...

Following up on the first Metroidvania episode from a few months back, we collect the jump boots and circle back around to take a look at the next stage of the genre's evolution: The NES era.

Ah, Super Mario Bros. 3. What more can be said about Nintendo R&D4's grand finale for the 8-bit era? Well, we managed to fill 90 minutes discussing this timeless game, so the answer is "a whole lot." On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Henry Gilbert as the crew takes a closer look at one of Nintendo's greatest creations, and find it's still worth be...

Chris Sims and Benj Edwards help Jeremy field a patron request to explore the Game Gear version of Batman... along with a bunch of other handheld titles we gave short shrift in our recent classic Batman games survey.

Ray Barnholt and Henry Gilbert join Bob and Jeremy to discuss gaming's original expanded universe: Namco's Dig Dug, which turns out to be a part of the same lineage (literally) as Mr. Driller and Baraduke.

Jeremy, Ben, and Benj talk about Bungie FPS classic Marathon in a Micro-sized conversation that balloons out of control into a full-length episode. Then, Retronauts bloggers Kishi and Kim Justice drop in to discuss the Super NES Classic Edition & Final Fantasy VIII (in that order).

Chris Kohler and Jose Otero join Jeremy and Bob to mark the impending retirement of Nintendo veteran Genyo Takeda, one of the most tenured game creators still working. From EVR Racer to StarTropics to MMC tech, a freeform discussion of a gaming legacy.

Jeremy, Ben, and Benj convene again to continue their discussion of SEGA's chronology of arcade classics. This time, we take aim at the years 1986 & 87, with greats like Out Run, After Burner, Quartet, Alien Syndrome, and more!

Our 30th anniversary deep-dive series continues with the fifth entry in the Final Fantasy franchise, the 16-bit cult obsession Final Fantasy V. Bob and Jeremy are joined by pop culture pundit Shivam Bhatt and Chris Kohler, who wrote the book on the game.

Jeremy, Benj, and Chris convene again to discuss that all-time classic... no, wait. To discuss weirdo niche NES action game Kabuki Quantum Fighter. Aimless digressions, collective confusion, and unflattering Batman comparisons abound!