The Retro Breakdown

E3 Discussion continues, and we recorded this before the Nintendo Direct, so please enjoy us predicting what would come up, and being EXTREMELY WRONG. Breaking News: The Smash reveal wasn't Dante or Nero. Phantasy Star 2 is interesting in a lot of ways, but you have to be in a particular MOOD to enjoy it. It's a shockingly mature game for 1989. Send us an email to read on the show! theretrobreakdo...

Tom inadvertently invents a new phrase this week, and I don't let him off the hook for it! We discuss the first wave of E3 news, the weird Devolver MaxPass+, and struggle to stay on topic regarding Sonic Spinball. You be the judge - is this the least we've EVER talked about a game that is the supposed topic of our podcast? I mean, it definitely is pinball, though. TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/...

It's a BIG episode this week! We've got a Subathon announcement (that's at 2pm, June 26, 2021 at twitch.tv/timewanderer, by the way), discussions of incentives, we've got tangents about Dragon Ball Z licensed games and MMOs! And, we have our first ever LISTENER EMAIL! Which reminds me, if you would like to have your message read and discussed on the podcast, you can send it to theretrobreakdown@gm...

Spanky's Quest came out on Nintendo Switch Online this week, and we take a look at the latest bit of random shovelware they've put on the platform! This is a great podcast to listen to if you'd like to know about a video game involving a monkey popping balloons with sports balls in them, or if you'd like to know whether a puffed corn snack flavored like an orange creamsicle is actually good or not...

Tom and TW get a little bit into the weeds this week talking about controversial topics like not wanting people to die for no reason, and recognizing obviously baseless conspiracy theories. ANYWAY, we're 2/3rds of the way through our SNES Donkey Kong retrospective, and it's been enlightening for sure. I think we both expected to like these games more than we actually do, but the opinions are just...

TW and Tom give their super-on-time thoughts on Lost Judgment and what basically amounted to a Yakuza Direct. TW goes off about the game hype cycle and boils it down (eventually) to three main features that matter. Then, we SHAKE SHAKE into Mischief Makers, a Treasure game from the Gunstar Heroes squad that has some really great moments, and some really, really not okay moments. Always interesting...

We have been playing a LOT of video games this last week, and we talk about a bunch of them. New Pokemon Snap, Fights in Tight Spaces, Donkey Kong Country 2, Mischief Makers (this will be next week's podcast), Yakuza 3/4, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... there's a lot of stuff we run through, as well as a total lack of self-awareness from TW. If you missed TW's playthrough of Terranigma, you ca...

This week, Tom talks about a run through one of TW's childhood classics, and we get sidetracked a lot talking about Technos Japan and the wild trek its properties have taken. Also, TW talks about how NieR Replicant is making him just cry all the time, and Tom gives his thoughts on the Mortal Kombat movie, which are... mixed? Anyway, go play River City Girls, it's great. TW's Discord: https://disco...

This week, Tom leads the way, as he knocked out Phantasy Star in like a couple days. Along the way, we also get into a discussion about issues with historical realism in fiction. And this leads us into a somehow mostly safe-for-work-except-not-really discussion about the origin of particular sex acts. Also, TW is tired in this one, so be nice to him, plz. TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG P...

Tom and TW expose a total lack of experience with substance use this week as we talk about what it might be like to play Dotstream while high. The big takeaway from this week is that we're both really happy when weird, minimalistic games like this actually get some measure of support from big companies. Feels good, man. Especially when they're actually fun and interesting. TW's Discord: https://di...

More tangents than usual this week, as Tom and TW discuss the reality of Nintendo introducing digital game downloads in the mid 1990s, but somehow not understanding the internet in 2021. Wario's Woods was the last officially-licensed game released for the NES. It came out in 1994, and it's actually kinda awesome - unless puzzle games aren't really your thing, in which case it's still pretty cool....

There's no ACTUAL April Fools joke in this podcast, but there is a lot of discussion about April Fools in general, and consideration about the POSSIBILITY of doing an April Fools joke. If anything, last week's podcast was an April Fools joke, where we just play the game and record the podcast live. Yeah, let's say it was that. Anyway, the NES iteration of Double Dragon is on tap this week, a game...

Okay, kind of a weird thing this week, as we recorded this episode of the podcast WHILE also playing the game together and recording the gameplay footage. I DO NOT KNOW if this is going to be enjoyable to listen to, but we figured we'd try it out. Either way, we'll be back to our normal format next week. If you'd like to see the video version of it, check it out at https://youtu.be/A1Vl8oer4rA Dis...

Tom and Dean talk about our experiences with Monster Hunter, speedrunning, and of course, Wild Guns. We manage to not talk TOO MUCH about Yakuza this week. YO, WILD GUNS THO, AMIRITE? LIKE FIVE PEOPLE MADE THIS GAME and also here's that box art we laughed at. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed live at: twitch.tv/timewanderer Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/timewanderer

TW's gotten himself hooked on La-Mulana, the puzzle-platformer/Metroidvania where the only way to figure out the way forward is to learn, and then painstakingly document the lore. Tom, meanwhile, is full steam ahead on Yakuza 3, and looks to be on pace to clear the whole franchise by May. Mario Galaxy makes an appearance towards the end there, and we are both apprehensive about our own opinions on...

We cover 4 games in one podcast today! Technically 7, since we also talk about Yakuza, CrossCode and La-Mulana. We talk about the magic of arcades then and now, and those moments when video games make you feel super smart. And then I choke a bunch, and the podcast is over. It's a good time. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed live at: twitch.tv/timewanderer Youtube: https://...

It took us almost 3 months, but we finally dragged ourselves through Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the official translation of the first-ever Fire Emblem game for the Famicom. We're not really mad about it, except for the one thing at the end that I get probably way too animated about because WHAT ARE YOU DOING, NINTENDO, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrB...

We played Sega Saturn classic Panzer Dragoon this week! But first, we talk about the February 2021 Nintendo Direct and run down our thoughts on the major announcements! A LOT of the discussion centers on Project Triangle Strategy, but we also dig into Smash, Splatoon, Capcom Arcade, and a bunch of others. We also talk about Yakuza, because of course we do. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podca...

Dean's first classic DOOM game is DOOM 64, played on the PS4, which is bizarre enough on its own. This is one of those weird ones where we basically spend the entire time complaining about the game even though we both really liked it. We also spend a great deal of time talking about game monetization, how it has changed over the years, and how the $70 price point makes no sense. Discord: https://d...

First, Tom and Dean talk about how cool it is being a foreigner in countries that don't hate foreigners. Then, the conversation of Super Valis 4 goes off the rails as we look into whether there was another Valis game after this one and OH NO THERE IS BUT NOT LIKE THAT. Also featured, a very short, spoiler-heavy discussion of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, which we both played and liked, and you should a...

It's a special episode this week as TW makes Tom play all three of the games he played in the Kusogrande Grand Finals! And he actually did play two of them! TW talks about his feelings on the tournament overall, and then we discuss the merits of each of the three games in the final. For being three games making up the finals of a bad video game tournament, it wasn't as bad as you might expect. The...

Trip World is a short game that we talk about for a short time. But we fill the space with talking about how Konami became the worst company because of staff treatment, how stock trading is just gambling, and how the yakuza are probably behind a lot of Japanese business decisions. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Bad stuff about Konami: https://kotaku.com/report-konami-is-treating-its-staff-lik...

Ironically, a large amount of hype for Donkey Kong Country had nothing to do with the actual game. That seems to have made the discussion even more interesting. I mean, it MAY have only been interesting to US, but still. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG That Cyberpunk Roadmap: https://assets.rockpapershotgun.com/images/2021/01/cyberpunk-2077-roadmap.jpg

Welcome to 2021, where things probably won't get worse, maybe. Tom and Dean talk a lot about going back to Final Fantasy 6, then discuss how hard Startropics tried to get them to hate it. It wasn't bad, though. Just really mean. I dunno, it's complicated. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG The "Letter": https://i.imgur.com/S0zffVp.jpg Jessi Plays FF6: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwwyEcb3Pj...

It's the end of 2020, finally! It's time for a retrospective on the good times - and in the case of this podcast, that means talking about video games and trying to ignore almost every other thing that happened in 2020. This week, we rank every game we played for The Retro Breakdown this year on a tier list. This is the first podcast that will have a video version as well! Discord: https://discord...