The Free Cheese

This week on The Free Cheese, three sentences in three languages! Our second Wii Sports Killer™ is introduced this week in Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Wii. We discuss its role as one of the Wii's best titles in the library, some of our favorite levels in the game, and how Yoshi adds to 3D Mario.

This week on The Free Cheese, who will rule the world? First, we do some homework. Then, we try to take over the globe. Civilization VI marks our first 4X entry on The List and gives us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes as we play. We share our tips for getting started in a Civilization game and stories about some of the victories and losses we endured.

This week on The Free Cheese, are your thighs sore? Nintendo continued its series of fitness video games with Ring Fit Adventure, creating a full role-playing game that happens to use your body as the controller. In this episode, we set goals for 2024 with Ring Fit Adventure, discuss the broad gameplay and scope of the game, and share the impact that the game has had on us so far.

This week on The Free Cheese, we are back in Greek mythology! Our first MSX game joins The List with Konami's Knightmare. We take control of the hero Popolon and battle through 8 stages, one line at a time. Knightmare transforms a traditional arcade shooter into an epic adventure but where does it lie within Konami's legacy?

This week on The Free Cheese, infinite spiders! We add our first game to The List for Season 12, another of Compile's catalogue. The Guardian Legend combines top-down shooting with top-down exploration. We discuss how the blend of genres works to create something new and where this game ultimately falls in the history of the NES' library.

This week on The Free Cheese, how do I become the demon? We begin our journey through Season 12 and toward potentially dethroning Wii Sports from its high perch above The List. Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved takes the spotlight as our first of four games chosen to become the new number one. We cover the campaign, our favorite moments and weapons, and talk a bit about the sound and enemies within Ha...

This week on The Free Cheese, this ball is crystal clear We begin Season 12 with our annual predictions show. After reviewing last year's predictions and spending one final moment reflecting on 2023, we look forward to 2024 and cast our predictions for the year. We also introduce our first annual round of group questions. We highlight a bit of what to expect in Season 12 and then close out the epi...

This week on The Free Cheese, it's the end of Season 11 - Part Two. As we conclude Season 11 and bring 2023 to its end, we each share our favorite games from the year. We discuss the games we liked the most from the new additions made to The List and close out with a small tease of what to expect in Season 12.

This week on The Free Cheese, it's the end of Season 11 - Part One. In the first part of our two-episode finale, we'll be revisiting The List with new math and a brand new way to rank each game that you can try at home! We'll also discuss some of the trends in 2023 that we found ourselves noticing and aligning with.

This week on The Free Cheese, but it's got two screens. We're closing our three-part console ranking series with ten final additions to the list of consoles. At the beginning of this episode's recording, our ranked list of Consoles was: PlayStation 2 Nintendo 3DS PlayStation Xbox 360 Game Boy Advance Sega Dreamcast Xbox Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo Wii PlayStation Portable PlayStat...

This week on The Free Cheese, it's cold outside. Our final month of Season 11 begins with a walk through winter. We're talking about Christmas in video games, special holiday events, and games that just generally evoke a winter sensibility.

This week on The Free Cheese, we are taking an adventure through Hyrule. After a month of focus on the latest game in The Legend of Zelda franchise we conclude with a broader conversation around the series as a whole. We find out which character we most resemble, select the best mask in its darkest game, and cast our vote for the most important live action role to come. Matt prepares another thril...

This week on The Free Cheese, we conquer with power. Our discussion on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom concludes with a look at the game's story and the direction it sets for the future of the franchise. We reflect on six months with the game and rank it on The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, discovery grants us wisdom. Our discussion on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues with a look at the game's crafting system, the return of temples to the franchise, and how combat has changed since Breath of the Wild. We dive deep into the underground and discussion of the game's sense of exploration.

This week on The Free Cheese, courage guides us forward. We take our first steps into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by reflecting on its predecessor, Breath of the Wild. Then, we discuss the opening hours of our time with Tears of the Kingdom.

This week on The Free Cheese, congratulations on your mansion! Luigi finds his vacuum in this GameCube launch title as he seeks the whereabouts of his older brother Mario. We suck up ghosts one by one until we find the true horror behind the mansion.

This week on The Free Cheese, trick or treat! We're stacking up the sequel to Costume Quest against The List in this broken age of double Fine references in a single sentence. We'll dress up as werewolves, candy corn, wizards, and dead presidents to bring Halloween back to life.

This week on The Free Cheese, the game where HE comes home! In celebration of its 40th anniversary, we're adding the killer video game Halloween, based on the film of the same name, to The List. We'll see how it stacks against the film it's influenced by and find out why the ESRB turned out to be a necessity. 

This week in The Free Cheese, do you like thrill rides? We reveal the true reason behind our recording of Episode 498 earlier this year and add its remake to The List . We discuss what's changed in Capcom's remake of the game that defined third-person action and look at where the Resident Evil series is going. 

This week on The Free Cheese, bats don't like their picture taken. It's 1989 and Capcom just released the first survival horror video game, paralleling the film of the same name, Sweet Home. The game would later go on to inspire Resident Evil and remains an entertaining first step into the genre. We discuss the game, the film, and rank it on The List .

This week on The Free Cheese, what did you learn? We chronicle the rough timeline of educational software and share key lessons we've learned in video games. 

This week on The Free Cheese, pata pata pata pon.  After a decade of successful games and growing imitations, FromSoftware took some departures with its formula while holding onto key aspects of the games it had been making. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice introduces the player to a new world, one with a story and cutscenes to back it, putting them in control of Wolf on his journey for redemption. 

This week on The Free Cheese, we're preinstalled with every CompUSA purchase! We're here to guide the great frog king on his journey to match the colors of three or more balls at a time. Chasing combo chains and gap bonuses, we find out where Zuma Deluxe ranks on The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, summer is over. Are you afraid of the dentist? Have you been helping the local newspaper find headlines? You might just be Shinnosuke Nohara on summer vacation. We play and rank Millennium Kitchen's spiritual successor to Boku no Natsuyasumi, finding the secret to summer along the way.

This week on The Free Cheese, trophy unlocked. We pluck from our past and revive a few of our favorite segments from last year. First, we run through a series of This or That themed around the games we played in August. Then, we use random name generation to help us find sequels to games on our list without one. Finally, we try to guess a game on The List based on a series of brand new trophies cr...