Shine Get! A Video Game Collecting Podcast

If you play video games at all, you are familiar with the dreaded backlog. It creeps up on you; slowly piles up until you are drowning in games you want to play but can never seem to get to. In this episode, Cal and Murph walk through some tips on how you can beat your backlog, find joy in playing games again, and get back to some happy gaming. Episode #20 00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Main Topic 03:13 -...

Controllers are the interface between us and the game that we're playing - and have even dictated much of video game design along the way! On this episode, we talk about which controllers are our favorite, which just plain stink, and the plenty in the middle. What are you favorite controllers and why? Episode #19 00:00 - Intro 00:34 - Main Topic 03:13 - Atari 2600 06:15 - NES 10:00 - Sega Gene...

With the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon, it's time to take a look back on the first Switch console: its successes, its failures, and its overall legacy. As one of the best selling video game consoles of all time, does it deserve all of its success and praise? 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Main Topic 05:29 - Our Experiences 16:33 - Switch Hardware 36:38 - The Games! 1:06:55 - Final Thoughts 1:17:14 -...

So, you want to build your ultimate game room? Unfortunately, that requires a lot of thought and planning. You have to figure out where your games go, where your consoles go, how they're hooked up, etc. In this episode, Cal and Murph take a look at how they've organized their game collections in the past, how they have things organized now, as well as tips, tricks, and other things they wi...

While venturing into new and challenging games is often a lot of fun way to spend your free time, it's great to play something you're familiar with and love. A comfort game, if you will. On this episode, Cal & Murph talk about comfort games, why we think we have them and what some of our own are! Follow LevelUp: https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Follow Murph: https://x.com/alsonamedjosh Follow...

Getting into retro game collecting can seem super daunting. Cost of hardware, software, scalers, splitters; it's very easy to get lost in nitty gritty of it all. In this episode, Cal and Murph break down step by step what you need to get started in your retro game collecting journey, as well as provide some tips and tricks to help out even the most advanced of collectors. Episode #15 00:00 - I...

The release of Sony's PlayStation Portable was realistically the only time anyone was able to challenge Nintendo in the handheld gaming space, and with the DS on Nintendo's side, what a challenge it was! Cal and Murph put these two titans of the portable gaming market head to head by examining the hardware, software, and everything in between in order to see which was the true king of the...

With how many video games have come out over time, it's easy for games to slip through the cracks. Some games don't live up to expectations that were set to high or just don't get the love the deserved. Heck, some titles just have fallen off modern gamer's radar. Join Cal & Murph as they dig up some of their favorites of these titles, their hidden gems! 00:00 - Intro 01:50 - Wh...

Has this ever happened to you: You like the idea of playing classic, older games, but when you actually play them, they aren't as fun as you thought they’d be? What's up with that? Cal and Murph tackle this surprisingly common scenario by taking a deep dive into what people struggle with when playing retro games, and potential ways to get in the right mind-set. 00:00 - Intro 03:00 - Hardwa...

Collecting for the OG Xbox is great. The games are mostly cheap, and the hardware is awesome. However, it definitely has a perception as being nothing more than a Halo machine. What other games do Cal and Murph recommend when getting into collecting for the Original Xbox? 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Our History 05:02 - Quick Facts 08:49 - The Good 18:56 - The Bad 23:27 - Special Editions and Revisions 3...

The terms remake and remaster get thrown around a lot, but what do each of them mean? How much do Cal and Murph expect out of each? Are they a net positive or negative to gamers and the game collecting scene? All this and more on this episode of the Level Up Podcast! 00:00 - Intro 01:11 - Criteria 06:37 - What We're Looking For 08:53 - Remakes/Remasters and Collecting 14:09 - What Makes a Good...

Metacritic can be a great way to find some of the best games of all time, but do all the games deserve to be there? Cal and Murph take a deep dive and look at the top 10 best games of all time as listed by Metacritic and re-evaluate them with a modern lens. 00:00 - Intro 03:08 - Metroid Prime 13:54 - Red Dead Redemption 2 22:13 - Perfect Dark 31:47 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 38:35 - Breath of...

GameStop Retro was announced recently as an initiative to pivot the largest video game retail giant into the classic video game space. Does GameStop know what they're getting into? Is this a service die-hard collectors would even use? In this episode, Cal and Murph break down the announcement, and talk about what they want from an ideal retro video game store. 0:00 - Intro 00:36 - Main Topic 4...

So you want to get into GameCube collecting but don't know where to start? Join Cal and Murph as they talk about the best, must have games for any GameCube owner's library, as well as other tips and recommendations for hardware and accessories! Follow LevelUp: https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Follow Murph: https://x.com/AlsoNamedJosh Follow Cal: https://x.com/Nintendo_Cal

Its easy to hate on things, but what about the hidden gems that got overlooked? Can we even call some of these hidden gems? In this episode, Cal and Murph each talk about 3 games that they really love even though the general consensus might not be so positive. -------- Follow LevelUp: https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Follow Murph: https://x.com/AlsoNamedJosh Follow Cal: https://x.com/Nintendo_Cal

There are a lot of popular games that are popular for a reason... but what if we just don't like them? Today Cal & Murph are getting the irrationality out of the way, talking about the games that everyone else loves but they just can't understand. Mario 64 hate incoming, unfortunately. -------- Follow LevelUp: https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Follow Murph: https://x.com/AlsoNamedJosh Follow C...

When you're collecting, there are always going to be grails to add to your collection. Cal & Murph already have some - what are they and were the worth the trouble? --------------------------------- Follow LevelUp: https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Follow Murph: https://x.com/AlsoNamedJosh Follow Cal: https://x.com/Nintendo_Cal

The Dreamcast is looked fondly upon by many gamers today, but is it warranted? Cal and Murph take a deep dive into the legacy of Sega's final console, its library, and all the weirdness and quirkiness that comes with it. Follow us on Twitter/X! https://x.com/LevelUpPod_ Cal: https://x.com/Nintendo_Cal Murph: https://x.com/alsonamedjosh

Many gamers swear by the Cathode Ray Tube Television, claiming it to be the ultimate piece of tech for a retro game setup. But is this true? Cal and Murph talk about the pros and cons of CRTs, what they're good for, what they're bad at, and the reality of living with a CRT in the household to hopefully come to the conclusion of whether they really are worth it or not. Episode #2 Follow us...

The Nintendo Gamecube is pretty awesome - at least Cal & Murph think so. On this episode we wax poetic about the system, what we love about it, and the obvious problems it also had. Also - why are the games so dang expensive? -------- Follow Murph: https://x.com/AlsoNamedJosh Follow Cal: https://x.com/Nintendo_Cal