The Retro Breakdown

Tom relives his childhood (in more ways than one) with our first DOS game on the Retro Breakdown, Home Alone! It's a first in a lot of ways - for starters, we unintentionally started recording the first half of the podcast before actually playing the game. We are in fact both staring at the start screen for the game, and end up talking about a bunch of other things, but I was recording video, so w...

This week, we talk about the absolute best thing the Sega Saturn brought to our lives. We also spend a little time talking about NiGHTS Into Dreams. Maybe we're missing something here? Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Manual: https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Sega_Saturn/Manual/formated/NiGHTS_into_Dreams..._-_1996_-_Sega.pdf

Tom and Dean talk about console version differences, Tim Follin, and the change in the video game hype cycle. But mostly, we talk about James Pond 2: Operation Robocod, which is certifiably the most bizarre game we have played for the podcast yet. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Manual: https://segaretro.org/images/2/21/James_Pond_2_MD_AU_Manual.pdf

TW and Tom have somewhat differing opinions on one of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive's swan song games. But then a mid-90s EGM interview sets off an age-old debate: "IT LOOKS LIKE THIS GAME HAS COLOR IN IT, DOES THAT MEAN IT'S FOR BABIES?" TW has words about this, and maybe derails the conversation. TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG EGM Interview on Ristar: https://archive.org/details/Electron...

We finally did it. We finally recorded our episode about Mario Sunshine, after weeks and weeks of hinting at it. We have differing, but overall mixed opinions. At the end of the day, it's still a Mario game, and it's good. BUT... (Dean's note - I kept meaning to bring this up during the discussion, and I forgot, but I think it bears mentioning. This game has one of the most disappointing Bowser fi...

Tom and Dean hit the record button getting ready to talk about Super Mario Sunshine, and then just agree to talk about Kusogrande, Yakuza, and 13 Sentinels. Because not every Retro Breakdown needs to have a retro breakdown. I don't know, we're making the rules up as we go.

Yeah, it's hard. It's punishing. But there's a beautiful logic that makes it all work, and we think that's beautiful. Well, Dean does. Tom sort of enjoyed it, but also never wants to see it again. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Manual: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clvs/manuals/common/pdf/CLV-P-SABDE.pdf That link to Dean's Nexus store: nexus.gg/TimeWanderer

The Peace Keepers is what happens when you take the basic premise of "walk to the right and punch things," but then you make the punch not work. That being said, there is some fun to be had here, largely in the the wild translation, and the story of how it came to be. Game localization in the 90s was a wild experience. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG More info on the Peace Keepers: https://en....

We went off on some tangents before starting to talk about Super Mario 64. Normally I'd just delete those, but I figured you might want to hear some of them, so here!

Nobody needs to be told at this point that Super Mario 64 is a good game. But we're gonna do it anyway, as well as discuss the 3D All-Stars collection in general and try to keep ourselves from talking about Mario Sunshine instead. We also discuss favorite/least favorite stages, and talk a bit about the game's place in history. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Mario 64 Manual: https://www.gamesd...

It's funny, because that's what the game is called. But also, THAT'S WHAT THE GAME IS CALLED. This game was okay, but if there's one thing to know about it, it's that the composer for Contra also did the music for S.C.A.T., and he said S.C.A.T. was his favorite soundtrack to make. Legit confirmed this game's music is better than Contra's. Probably. Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG S.C.A.T. Manu...

We've covered lots of obscure stuff on the podcast, so we decided to treat ourselves to a game with a bit more of a reputation, despite it not even being the best game in its own franchise on the SNES. There's lots of talk about weird dark Kirby lore, and the amusing introduction of ability combinations, many of which involve Kirby brutally torturing one of his animal friends (usually Kine). There...

In a first for the podcast, Dean and Tom review a NEW game! Two Scoop Games reached out to us about playing their new game Kick Bot, a two-button precision platformer built around wall kicks and double jumps. There's only an 8-level demo available right now, with the full release due out in early 2021, but there was still plenty here to discuss. DISCLOSURE: This is not a sponsored podcast, but we...

We field another request this week in the Vic Tokai cult classic Clash at Demonhead. This one had us talking about the wild nature of 1980s-90s video game localization, the absurdly ambitious design of some NES games, and of course, one of the most incredible bad ends in all of video games. There is also some Yakuza talk, and a bit about the results of Dean's most recent Kusogrande match. Discord:...

This week, Jessi makes us play Karnov, the game about the fire-breathing Soviet strongman who fights... I dunno, dragons? Dinosaurs? Whatever happens to be there. We discuss the... INTERESTING sound design, including the one pretty-good song and also all the other not-so-good stuff. Despite Karnov being sort of a standard-bearer for NES garbage, we sort of enjoyed it in a "generic NES platformer w...

We try out a new format this week - no random banter, just Retro Breakdown. Which is good, because Illusion of Gaia has a LOT to talk about. Even the instruction manual refers to spoilers as a "loss of innocence." Now I understand why. This game has some STUFF. Fair warning - and this applies to basically all of these podcasts - spoilers are basically happening throughout the episode. If you care...

We start with light breathing. Then, Tom shares his recent not-so-guilty pleasure, Dean gets mad at Nintendo for inevitably ending up with his money even though he hates what they're doing with the Mario 3D All-Stars collection, and the guys diverge on Shadow of the Ninja. Shadow of the Ninja is a 1990 platformer for the NES by Natsume that is derivative but solid. After some discussion (and a lit...

If you've ever wanted to hear two people start a discussion about a game by saying, "There isn't anything about it that's really bad," but then dump on it for the next 45 minutes anyway, this is your episode. Jump Force, Dragon Quest spinoffs, Battletoads, and Triscuits share the spotlight this week on the Retro Breakdown. Tom talks about the games he's been dusting off to finish, and Dean gushes...

Thought experiment of the week: Is "not as bad as you thought" a negative review or a positive one? Tom and Dean talk about SGDQ, the massive original Xbox controller, and briefly touch on the new Battletoads, amidst a rant about how much we hate modern airline travel. Then, we discuss UK-only release Action Man: Robot Atak, a game which has us digging into the history a 1960s line of European G.I...

"What the..." Dean and Tom discuss Vice: Project Doom, a NES game that is all over the place on the quality scale. We've got aliens, clones, genetic experiments, shadowy organizations, and a hilariously threadbare plot trying but failing to hold it all together. Will we, in fact, live long enough to see ourselves become the villain? Also, hey Sega, please localize Yakuza Ishin. It might be the onl...

Tom and Dean come into the podcast this week prepared to give lukewarm reviews on Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, but then hype each other up remembering it and totally change their minds. But before that, Tom talks about the PS4 Spider-Man game and the change in how licensed games have been handled in recent years, and Dean defends old trashy licensed games because he's doing sort...

"Palm trees.... and 8." This week, Dean refuses to stop saying "Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden," Tom wants everyone to feel sad, and the guys record a 3-hour podcast after deleting the first 2 hours of aimless conversation. Calculated. We discuss what it means to be a "retro" game, the "right" way to release content over time, and the difference between series reboots that try to "remake" t...

This week we talk about what's happening with loading times, Dean badly explains Fall Guys, and Tom shares his ultimate console modding dream. Then we talk about Demon's Crest, the game with the raddest title screen of all time, but the WORST final boss. This game seriously sent us on a rollercoaster of opinions.

This week, Tom and Dean discuss the merits of the modern game review and Ghost of Tsushima before diving into Rygar for the NES! Rygar brings us to discussions on the importance of instruction manuals on old games, checkpointing vs. long-term saves, and making blind exploration worth your time. Also, behold what may be the WORST GAME MUSIC TRACK OF ALL TIME. We also talk about how bizarre the actu...

In the first episode of The Retro Breakdown, Dean and Tom discuss oft-overlooked SNK classic Crystalis, but disagree on how to pronounce it. How do we go from killing dragons to killing robots and computers? INSTANTAEOUSLY, APPARENTLY. Also, every gaming company has a Direct for marketing now, even Stadia, even though they had nothing to announce. Attempts to discuss the Ubisoft "Forward" were met...