Super Combo Cast

In April we went through Fire Emblem: Awakening . As a 3DS game on an “officially” dead platform (one getting lots of headlines for preservation efforts made by the community to get it back online recently), as well as the game acknowledged widely to be the first in the “modern” Fire Emblem era and a last chance for Fire Emblem in the west (if not successful we may not have gotten more games here)...

This month (March) was Unicorn Overlord . Turn-based (in the way it plays out on screen), but a kind of real-time strategy style in terms of how your units act on their own (after you set their behavior and kit them out), this one was an interesting grab bag of RPG influences blended into a surprisingly appealing slurry (visuals of that process aside). UO owes in part its mechanical flavor, approa...

On this month’s podcast (February) and backlog foray we shovel our way through Harvest Moon . Its legacy is of the farm simulator that planted the pixel-art seeds of farm management and buying the affections of others with gifts in the hearts of many a 90’s gamer. In particular, those seeds blossomed and inspired a rush of modern farm sims, not least of which is Eric Barone’s Stardew Valley , whic...

This month (January) was Camp Santo’s Firewatch an indie darling from 2016, arriving last on Nintendo Switch in 2018. You are Henry, a man fleeing a sense of fatalism and helplessness related to your wife’s deteroriating medical condition to go to the Wyoming wilderness and watch out for fires. In the process, through the unfolding mysteries of the area you’re responsible for and your relationship...

This podcast, our last of 2024, was about The Banner Saga Trilogy . In the spirit of our enduring preference for turn-based strategy games, we compared this one to Fire Emblem when it seemed like a good idea or was relevant, but Banner Saga is so much its own mix of genres and influences that it wasn’t always useful to compare across the other things we’ve played. Check out the liner notes, with f...

This month (November) was Guardian Heroes on the Sega Saturn and Xbox 360 (XBLA). You can catch this one on the Xbox Series X/S using backward compatibility if you wanted to pick up an high definition (or higher definition) copy today. Otherwise, consider emulation a viable option. The conversation this time centered on the interesting connections that Treasure makes with Guardian Heroes to other...

This (last) month’s game Shining Force II podcast had us reflecting on the handheld gaming experience in the 90’s, emulation, and Sega’s possible version of the turn-based strategy game genre if the legacy of Shining Force II had extended in more directions (or Sega had continued making hardware, perhaps). It was fun to imagine what that future could have been. Check out our liner notes with the u...

This month (September) was Donkey Kong Country Returns (DKCR) . Apologies for the late release. We had some thoughts about DKCR ! The changes to Rare’s SNES formula and the new “feel” for a lack of other terms in the Wii/3DS versions made the early game and then perceived higher challenge level later on, harder to push through for us. Momentum and the feel of controlling Donkey Kong and Diddy are...

This month’s podcast (August), was Kingdom Hearts Final Mix . This one was divisive in that my approach and experience as a new player wasn’t as favourable as Toben’s as a longtime fan of the series. But really, that makes sense. Kingdom Hearts was a particular flavour of RPG back in the day on the PS2 and I can see its strengths clearly enough after spending some hours with it. But boy does it pl...

This month (last), was Shovel Knight , the beloved old-school platforming game from Yacht Club Games. We talked about the references and nostalgia factor, the game’s difficulty and boss/character design, upgrading, and whether or not platforming game literacy is necessary for this one (where it might fit for new-to-the-genre players and old hats). Check out the liner notes here for the usual assor...

This month (June’s episode) is Kirby and the Forgotten Land , the first fully 3d Kirby game, which seems strange to say given the long and storied history for the pink puffball, but it’s true. Check out the liner notes here , and watch out for Shovel Knight at the end of July! We had a lot of good things to say about Kirby ; it’s a feature-complete, excellent introduction to 3D platforming for all...

This month (May) was Xeno Crisis the challenging arcade run-and-gun shooter from Bitmap Bureau. Liner notes are here . Our conversation this time was relatively short and straight-forward. It’s a classic arcade genre, polished to a sheen, with procedurally generated rooms, and enough upgrade pathing and choice between levels to keep things interesting. The sprite art and music are fantastic. Also...

This month (last now) was Wargroove the turn-based strategy RPG developed and published by Chucklefish. Check out the liner notes here . An interesting month because we both had issues with the game’s pacing or, for lack of better terminology, its tuning, which felt a bit too hostile to first-time players or styles of play that don’t fit the scenarios it presents. The game felt like a puzzle box s...

This month (March) was Goof Troop , developed by Capcom, notably one of Shinji Mikami’s first games as a designer (later of Resident Evil fame). Released in 1993, this actually came out before Disney’s Aladdin for the SNES. But we think they were probably developed alongside one another; common sound effects and graphics across both releases seem to indicate shared DNA at least. Goof Trip is an in...

This month was Gears Tactics , a turn-based tactics entry in the cover-shooter series, developed by Splash Damage and The Coalition. I had thought of this as a kind of straightforward adaptation of Gears with healthy doses of XCOM thrown in, incorporating the environment and visual design of Gears of War with mechanics like active reloading, reviving downed allies, over watch etc. Having now playe...

This month we took a look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge . This game is an old school in style (but not in substance) beat em’ up, providing a tidy hit of nostalgia and modern upgrades to the SNES era Turtles in Time arcade beat em’ up formula. Developed by Tribute Games and DotEmu this game is perfect if you have a few friends that want to have some laughs and fun with that b...

This month we played all three Donkey Kong Country games, developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom in 1994, 1995, and 1996. We talk about the difficulty patches, Rare’s way of teaching the player mechanics, boss fights and general evolution of the key pieces across the series, as well as the experimentation of the third game in relation to the rest. These ga...

This month (November) we looked Remedy Entertainment’s Control . A deeply conspiratorial (in its tone and X-Files like aesthetic) third-person action game, set in the deep recesses of the Federal Bureau of Control. Check out the liner notes here . We discussed the game’s accessibility, its gating of areas and fit to the Metroidvania genre, its RPG-like (or light) levelling systems for character an...

This month (last now), we took a look at the Castlevania GBA Collection on steam and via emulation, as well as some portable play. Playing a bit of the others, but mostly playing Aria of Sorrow, the latest release on the GBA (2003), we discussed the game’s RPG mechanics, map, boss fights, and general experience playing. Check out the liner notes, with some speed-running links and other supplementa...

This month (last) we discussed Elden Ring and its open world intricacies; discussion revolved around our individual experiences of the builds and possibility space of character-building, as well as the game’s world, world map, and comparisons to August’s game, Zelda BOTW . For some links to content creators and discussion of the external (to the game) community Elden Ring has generated, take a loo...

This month’s (August’s) cast on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is here! We talked about the modding scene a bit, our hang-ups with the divine beasts, the shrines and puzzling in general, as well as the weapons systems and durability. The liner notes have some links to the amazing community things that have been happening with this game over the last few years. Follow on Twitch and YouTube...

This month (July) was Psychonauts 2 and we were incredibly impressed with the depth and density of the world Double Fine have created. A great narrative game attached to a pretty good platformer. Special accolades for the character design, environments, and the art in general. It’s truly incredible if you haven’t experienced it. Liner notes with some links for understanding the narrative design pr...

Liner notes are here for this month; we discussed the Fire Emblem series in general, focalized through our experience with Fire Emblem - The Sacred Stones , with Toben providing insight into this favourite GBA entry’s affordances and the ways it fits into the series. We end up on recommendations for experiencing the whole series history, a kind of no filler (North American) list for how to see the...

Longer conversation here, with some deep(er) dives into the systems behind Pokemon progression/stats in Gen 2 and more generally over the series, liner notes are here . We’re doing Fire Emblem - The Sacred Stones this month (June). Streaming on Twitch , with aggregates of weekly streams on YouTube . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

Liner notes are here for this cast, and you can catch us streaming Thursdays, with archived video content on YouTube after that. You should be able to listen on Spotify and many other places where podcasts are. I’m working on apple podcasts. I have tried a couple times now to sync and no go. This month is Pokémon Crystal nuzlocke time! *changed the thumbnail to reflect SoR4 This is a public episod...