Super Combo Cast

This month’s podcast, for June, was Pocky and Rocky (Reshrined) , with Toben splitting time between the SNES original, of which Reshrined is a re-visioning and extension, and the PS4 version. I played on Steam. This one had us considering the possibilities for a sequel or design update, while still appreciating aspects of the game’s original design ideas (especially enemy variety, aesthetic, pixel...

This month’s (May) podcast was all about TetherGeist , a precision platformer from O and Co. Games. Recently released, we talk about the legacy this game signposts with its aesthetic, narrative, and mechanical choices, its smart layering of tether mechanics on top of platforming, as well as who this is for, given that depending on time investment and skill, this game can become quite challenging f...

This month’s podcast (April) was on Final Fantasy X a favourite of Toben’s and a new Final Fantasy for me. We discuss characterization, Sin, the battle system, leveling, as well as position this entry within its long-varying series. How does it compare to some of the more action-oriented final fantasies of the last few years — and what is the best way into the series now that there are so many via...

This month’s podcast (March) was on Dredge , the Cthulhu fishing simulator/cozy game from Black Salt Games, published by Team 17. This one impressed us with its integration of Cthulhu fear of the deep and the elder gods, while not really changing the equation or adding much to the idea we had of fishing (in games) prior to playing it. The cozy aspect seemed to present itself most in the cycle of c...

On this month’s podcast we talk about Demonschool , the tactical combat and persona-like RPG set at a gangster, demon and zombie beset college on a mysterious island. We loved the characters, world, and aesthetic with its Sega Saturn leanings, but had serious concerns about the tactical battle system, mini-games and progression systems. If you loved this one, let us know! We want to hear about how...

This month’s podcast was all about Baldur’s Gate 3 . We’ve played this one a while, and will keep playing it and discussion was mostly around how this landmark RPG release effects the sort of landscape of RPGs, in relation to BG3 ’s expansive nature. We also discuss how it manages to adapt DnD, of course, as well as who this game is for, and possibly, gasp, who it might not be for. Check out the l...

This month was Earthion , from Yuzo Koshiro and Ancient. This is a modern-developed 16 bit game, particularly for the Sega Genesis (releasing next year on that platform, but here and now on Steam, Xbox, PS5, Switch, etc.). We talk a bit about Yuzo Koshiro’s legacy and a long career in making games, what the genre has meant to us and our experience with it, this being our first sidescrolling shoot...

This month’s podcast was on Super Giant Games’ Transistor . The developers, of Hades I and II fame most recently, released Transistor , their second game, in 2014 to acclaim and general contentment from critics and fans. The game is also often cited as a fan-favorite. But unfortunately, we had some issues playing through it in 2025. Maybe we’ve been been too taken or used to the mechanics and the...

This month’s podcast (for October) was Absolum , a roguelike beat ‘em up from the modern day masters at DotEmu (and other partners). We talk about the fantasy influences, genre and roguelike touchstones with Hades , Streets of Rage 4, and others, as well as how multiplayer and the layers of systems work and are woven together. It seems like the developer’s catalog, known largely for some licensed...

This month’s game of the month (September) was Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance . This game was the console ARPG (along with its sequels and in-engine-siblings) that blazed the trail for Blizzard to eventually release Diablo III on consoles (to great success). And also a kind of inciting event for the fact that we now can play Diablo and other ARPGs portably on Switch and Steam Deck (on controllers) a...

This month (August) was Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair , another link moving along in our Donkey Kong Country and Returns/Tropical Freeze lineage; we’ve been trying to see where this rabbit hole ends (as of 2025). In the end, this one was disappointing for a few reasons, but has a lot of promise, especially if you appreciate the collectable structure of the game (which requires with its gati...

This month (July) was Yoshi’s Island . The SNES/GBA original (GBA we’re counting as a port rather than a massive update or remaster, although the liner notes will have more information on that). You may also know it as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island , or, Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 . Regardless, if you aren’t familiar or don’t remember, it’s the one where Yoshi-family must safely t...

Last month (June) we discussed Metaphor ReFantazio , the fantasy RPG from the Atlus and the producers/developers of Persona. We talked about the time management systems, combat mechanics, social links or bonds with party members (an import from Persona ), as well as the political perspective the game adopts (considering it is a game where narratively and in some ways mechanically you mount a polit...

This month, May’s podcast, was on The Legend of Zelda (TLoZ): The Wind Waker . This game originally came out in 2003, believe it or not (on the Gamecube). While the version we played, largely faithful as it is, was remastered for the Wii U in 2014. Depending on when you read these words the easiest way to play Wind Waker today is likely either on the Nintendo Switch Online (Gamecube emulation) wit...

This month (April) was Halo Infinite , a game in a series we had a lot to talk about. The open world and other elements felt divisive for us, and mainly, in a way, somewhat ironically (given its name), but also in terms of the development of the game and its road map, fittingly empty. There just wasn’t as much to do that was meaningful as we had hoped there would be. Balance issues also seemed to...

This month’s (March) podcast was on Pokémon Black , part one of the DS odd duck in the Pokémon family: it has a direct sequel (which we didn’t play this month, but may get to later)! There are some interesting growing pains to observe in this game — it having 3D elements that might not stand the test of time (in 2025) being on the DS, it having an entirely new for-the-time roster of Pokémon withou...

This month (February’s) podcast was on Monster Train , a deck-building rogue-like and also tower defense game (somewhat literally in the way the game represents things with you pyre/health at the top). You have cards with abilities and units, various effects are enacted, you place units in the way of an enemy deck and their units which try to get to the top floor to take out your pyre/engine. In t...

This month (January’s) game was Path of Exile 2 . Our conversation settled in on the genre conventions this game embraces, extends, and avoids (in relation to something like Diablo II or even Dark Souls type experiences), as well as how it works in a visceral way to convey what’s happening when the player provides input (how enemies react to your abilities, staggering, etc.). We talk about early a...

In our last cast of 2024 we discussed Stardew Valley. Our conversation included all the ways to play (multiplayer, defined or undefined roles, etc.), our histories with the game personally, comparison to Harvest Moon , systems complexity and gener consideration, roleplaying by your own moral compass, as well as who Stardew Valley is for in 2024 (and then into 2025). In the liner notes , we highlig...

This month, November, we’re discussing Sonic Mania , the lost link in 2D Sonic games released in 2017 (now for all modern platforms). This game is a kind of modern version of a theoretical Saturn Sonic game that we all would have appreciated, but did not receive from Sega circa 1995. As is our custom we discuss our personal history with the series, the specific parts we like about being the blue b...

This month (October), we took a different approach and sampled a few upcoming games as part of Steam’s next fest. It ran from October 14th - 21st, and our conversation follows what we tried (games we both played and less often not), as well as how they made an impression on us, the mix of genres or influences we see in each one, what worked for us and didn’t, etc. Check out the liner notes for a l...

Last month (August in this case), was Marvel’s Midnight Suns . Discussion centered around Marvel as a property in games, the way the characters are representative of their comic counterparts or not (how Blade’s abilities or character translates into the Suns systems and others, for example), as well as the mix of heroes and pace of the game (upgrading decks was a bit slow in our opinion). Also we...

This month (July) we took a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch as a last look at one of our favorite series that we ultimately liked a lot better on the SNES. The conversation is mostly a continuation of a previous episode, and a bit of a rehash, considering our opinion of the “modern” Donkey Kong Country games hasn’t changed all that much in light of the...

This month we went to hell — and back — to talk about Diablo II Resurrected . We discuss the history of the ARPG/looter genre, make comparisons to modern games that couldn’t have done it without Blizzard’s contributions to the genre, all while diving into systems and what makes Diablo II so incredible more than 15 years after its release. Check out the liner notes for the usual suspects of speedru...

This month (in May) we took a look at Resident Evil 2 Remake . The first in the line of modern remakes of the older games (including 3, and later on 4), this game transposes the original overhead/isometric perspective of the 1998 original game for the over-the-shoulder more modern perspective and control scheme that was originally adopted in RE4 . We talk about the origins of the series and where...