One of my favourite things about doing this podcast is that I'm discovering new retro games all these years later. Particularly when it comes to Sega. You're going to see more Genesis love in year 2 of this show, and it starts with today's game; Shining Force . **On that note, if you haven't played a game that's covered on the show, I encourage you to give the episode a listen, anyways. Maybe it'll peak your interest and help you discover a new game to play as well! (And please let me know if th...
Jun 19, 2019•58 min•Ep. 51
I can't believe we've made fifty episodes of this train wreck of a podcast! And speaking of train wrecks, today we're talking Super Mario 64 ! (Just kidding!) Kind of. I won't lie to you, loyal reader/listener/fellow nerd. The core Mario series is my favourite in all of gaming. But the first foray into the world of 3D just didn't grab me. I remember getting this game as a kid, and yeah, I played the hell out of it. But it never took over my life like it's two dimensional brethren did. I was way ...
Jun 12, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 50
In a world where sports video games have become deep, complex, virtual simulations of their real-life counterparts, Ice Hockey still stands out. It's the epitome of the saying "Less is More". Sure, if you're looking for a hockey game where you can develop rosters, play 100+ hours of a franchise, and manage my salary cap, there are better options. But if you just want to play a quick game of hockey against a friend, and have a really good time doing it, it's still hard to beat Ice Hockey . It's n...
Jun 05, 2019•45 min•Ep. 49
They might seem silly now (they're not silly at all, by the way) but in the mid 90's, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers were in control of every kid on the planet. Who didn't love the "teenagers with attitude"?? TV show(s), movies, actions figures, comic books, the Rangers were everywhere. Video games were inevitable. I remember wanting to get my hands on every Mighty Morphin' thing I could during my phase a Ranger junkie. Especially the video games. But the only one I ever owned - and played fo...
May 29, 2019•45 min•Ep. 48
Everyone knows that most video games based on The Simpsons, sucked. But, everyone played video games based on The Simpsons . I know I did. I think I've played every Simpsons video game ever made, except for The Simpsons Skateboarding and The Simpsons Wrestling . It didn't matter how big of fan you were, one look at the back of those CD cases was enough to realize these games were real life versions of Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge. But I played the rest of them. I owned a lot of them, too. In...
May 22, 2019•48 min•Ep. 47
There may not be another game in my "illustrious" gaming career that I have fonder memories of after a single play-through than The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker . I played through it one time, on my GameCube back in the day, and never turned it on again. Not because I didn't like it, but because I just ended the game feeling....satisfied. I've seen the criticisms of Wind Waker. Too much time is sent just floating around on the boat. The art style looks too childish. I was going to list a thir...
May 15, 2019•47 min•Ep. 46
The whole concept behind this podcast was to talk about the games we played as kids and to stir up those feelings of nostalgia, and that's exactly what A Boy and His Blob does for me. My brother and I played the hell out of this game as kids. We never owned it, but we rented it. Over and over and over. Everyone remembers doing that with a game or two back in the day, right? By the time you stopped renting it, you could have just bought the damned game with all the money you spent! We never came ...
May 08, 2019•41 min•Ep. 45
Super Metroid turned 25 a couple weeks ago! A better podcast host would have caught that and ran with it, but what can you do? I don't think it cared that we missed it. One of the greatest games - not only on the Super Nintendo, but of all-time - Super Metroid is an absolute gem. A perfect combination of action, exploration, challenge, and atmosphere (which in the 16-bit era is no small feat), it takes you on a ride. Super Metroid is so good, it served as a primary inspiration in the formation o...
May 01, 2019•47 min•Ep. 44
The NES had Super Mario Bros . The Genesis had Sonic The Hedgehog . And Microsoft's Xbox? It had Halo . And Halo is awesome. I was skeptical of the Xbox. I remember reading a great article in a gaming magazine (remember those?) about how there just wasn't room in the gaming industry for four home consoles. At least one of the Nintendo Gamecube, Playstation 2, Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft's Xbox wasn't going to survive. In hindsight, we all know the - unfortunate - victim of the crowd selves was ...
Apr 24, 2019•53 min•Ep. 43
I say it almost every episode, but I'm really excited to talk about this week's game. Donkey Kong Country is easily on "10 favourite games of all-time" list. It's a masterpiece. Donkey Kong Country is just one of those games that everybody has played. It's one of the best selling video games in history, and at one point it was even been packaged with the Super Nintendo itself. At a time when people were looking at the Sega Genesis and it's graphical capabilities, this game was the SNES's way of ...
Apr 17, 2019•45 min•Ep. 42
Spider-Man is my favourite superhero. Even if you ignore all of the "he's a normal guy trying to do the right thing/with great power comes great responsibility" stuff and just focus on superpowers, the guy is sick. Climbing walls, super strength, agility, and of course, web-slinging. He seems like he'd be perfect for video games. And unfortunately, that wasn't really the case for a long time. Then came Spider-Man for the PlayStation. Developed by Neversoft, Spider-Man initially released on the P...
Apr 10, 2019•42 min•Ep. 41
It's WrestleMania week! This is like the Stanley Cup Finals/World Series/Super Bowl for wrestling fans, so I figured it was the right time to jump back into the world of wrasslin' video games. We've already covered the iconic WWF: No Mercy , and it's dimwitted cousin WWF Attitude . This week, we leaping forward to the Playstation 2 and another of the most beloved wrestling games of all-time; WWE SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain ... Featuring the cover athlete BROOOOOCCKKKK.....LESSSSSSNAAAAARRRRRR...
Apr 03, 2019•48 min•Ep. 40
What can I possibly say about The Legend of Zelda that hasn't already been said? It's one of the most influential and iconic games of all-time. It launched one of the greatest franchises in the history of the industry. It's an absolutely masterpiece that - for my money - is as enjoyable today as it was over THIRTY years ago. It might even be better now, because the internet is around to help you. I didn't play this much as a kid. It wasn't until A Link to the Past that I really discovered the gr...
Mar 27, 2019•48 min•Ep. 39
StarTropics is the little game that almost could. Developed by Nintendo of America and released exclusively in North America and Europe (most NES games made their way to North America after being released in Japan), this game gets an awful lot right. And the stuff is gets wrong can be overlooked or chalked up to system limitations and industry standards in the late 80's. The game stars some guy named Mike, and he travels from tropical island to tropical island (and eventually to spaceship, becau...
Mar 20, 2019•43 min•Ep. 38
In early 2001, the Nintendo 64 was running out of gas. The Playstation was in full swing, and Nintendo was looking vulnerable for the first time. Their new console, the Gamecube, was only months away. The 64 was about to be left behind. But before that happened, it had one last hurrah. And that hurrah was a gorgeous RPG called Paper Mario . Not officially a "sequel" to the beloved Super Mario RPG on the SNES, Paper Mario was our favourite plumbers second foray into the world of role-playing game...
Mar 13, 2019•46 min•Ep. 37
When you think of platformers, Super Mario Bros jumps to mind as the most influential to the genre. First Person Shooters, that nod might go to Wolfenstein or Doom . And when you get into the world of horror video games, the undisputed king is the Playstation classic, Resident Evil . Admittedly, I'm a wuss when it comes to horror and scary things. I don't watch a lot of the movies, and I haven't played many of the video games. My first experience with the Resident Evil franchise was Resident Evi...
Mar 06, 2019•38 min•Ep. 36
For my money, there may not be a game in the NES library (at least, not without "Mario" in the title) that has aged better than the masterpiece that is Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Punch Out!! was one of the first sports video games to really nail it. The controls are snare drum tight, the graphics are still gorgeous today, and the gameplay mechanics strike a perfect balance between "simulation-y" and "arcade-ish". Aspects like stamina that depletes as you get punched and have your strikes blocked m...
Feb 27, 2019•52 min•Ep. 35
Pro wrestling is probably the only thing on the planet on par with retro video games when it comes to making me feel nostalgic. Being a teenager during the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era was something special. If you liked wrestling in those days (and who didn't?), you know what I'm saying. Combine the Attitude Era with the Playstation and the Nintendo 64, and you have nostalgia overload. Enter WWF Attitude . When people talk wrestling games from the 90's and early 2000's, the instant fo...
Feb 20, 2019•47 min•Ep. 34
In an era filled with weird animal heroes like the Battletoads, Samurai Pizza Cats, Bucky O'Hare and Biker Mice from Mars, Earthworm Jim still managed to stand out. His video games are hilarious, and the original game launched a franchise that went on to produce an animated series, comic books, and action figures, along with several video game sequels, as well. Whenever I hear the word "groovy", I can't help but think of Earthworm Jim. It's funny, because I don't remember when I discovered the f...
Feb 13, 2019•49 min•Ep. 33
Welcome to a special Friday edition of Remember The Game! For this episode, we're jumping forward in time. Instead of looking at a game that took over our lives in the 80's or 90's, we're talking about a game that is taking over our lives right now . Today I'm talking Fortnite and Super Smash Bros Ultimate with my nephew, Ben. Ben is a returning guest to the podcast (we talked about the Mario Party franchise way back in episode 8), and I love talking games with him. He's twelve years old, and ev...
Feb 08, 2019•49 min•Ep. 32
This episode is for all you "PC Master Race" nerds. Outside of Oregon Trail and some shareware games, there's really only one PC game I played growing up, and holy hell did I play a lot of it. I loved building roller coasters, charging people $5 to use the bathroom, and of course, picking people up with tweezers and dropping them in the middle of nowhere. This week, we're talking RollerCoaster Tycoon . I don't remember where I first saw this game, but I remember being excited for it before it ev...
Feb 06, 2019•41 min•Ep. 31
Does anyone else hear the chorus to I Ran (So Far Away) and instantly think of Vice City? Oh, all of you? At least it isn't just me then.... Everyone played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I know there had been the original top-down style GTA games, and GTA 3 had been out for a little while, but this seemed like the one that really kick-started the Grand Theft Auto phenomenon. I know personally, this one the first one I played. I never actually finished the story, but I'd spend hours just driving a...
Jan 30, 2019•42 min•Ep. 30
Battletoads is one of those franchises that has always had a strong cult following, but nobody really knows why. They're blatant Ninja Turtle ripoffs. The games are ridiculously difficult. The characters have some of the grossest names in gaming history (Zitz, Pimple, and Rash). Nothing about the franchise makes sense whatsoever. But people really like them. Myself included. Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is, for my money, the best game in the series. At times it almost plays like a 16-bit remake ...
Jan 23, 2019•38 min•Ep. 29
I vividly remember getting this game for my birthday the year it came out. And despite the fact that I had a house full of my friends over for a party, and this was a single player game, it was all I did for the rest of the day. No regrets. The first thing that stands out about this game are the graphics. It's simply gorgeous. It was released less than a year before the Nintendo 64 launch, and the advancement Nintendo made between the original Super Mario World that debuted alongside the SNES an...
Jan 16, 2019•40 min•Ep. 28
If Mario was the video game Heavyweight Champion in the 90's, Sonic The Hedgehog was the #1 contender. I didn't own a Sega Genesis growing up, but I played all the Sonic games. I watched the cartoon. I read the comic books. Sonic was everywhere! He was fast, he was cool, and he was the face of SEGA. But, were his games fun to play? My buddy Andre was a Sega kid, and he returns to the podcast this week to help me remember not one, but TWO Sega Genesis games that are attached at the hip (thanks to...
Jan 09, 2019•38 min•Ep. 27
Happy new year! I hope you had a great holiday season, and the "January Blues" aren't hitting you too hard. And if they are, hopefully a new podcast will help snap you out of it! We're going with a bit of a black sheep this week (there are only so many Chrono Triggers and Tony Hawk games out there!). My buddy and fellow comic Dave Rae returns to the show, and we decided to have a chat about the Cousin Oliver of the NES Mario family; the REAL Super Mario Bros 2. You may know it as Super Mario Bro...
Jan 02, 2019•42 min•Ep. 26
Happy Boxing Day! I have a late Christmas present for all you nerds. An episode of Remember The Game about the single most requested game we've had since we launched the podcast earlier this year; Chrono Trigger!! My pal Tyler is a Chrono Trigger junkie, and we spent a good 45 minutes looking back at one of the most celebrated and beloved RPGs of all time. I hope this episode helps you kill some time while you're standing in a Boxing Day sale line. Maybe it just provides an escape from the in-la...
Dec 26, 2018•49 min•Ep. 25
Playstation vs Nintendo 64. PS3 vs Xbox 360. Virtual Boy vs sanity. All among the greatest rivalries in video game history. But none of them can touch the blood feud that was Nintendo vs Sega in the 90's. This week, my buddy Miklos joins me, and we take a look back at what it was like growing up during the premier Console Wars. Miklos was a Sega Genesis kid, I had my Super Nintendo. We probably would have fought as kids. As adults, the wounds have healed. Enough time has passed. We were finally ...
Dec 19, 2018•44 min•Ep. 24
Do you still have your SNES mouse??? That big, boring grey mousepad?? Is there any reason to play Mario Paint in 2018?? Of course there is; the fly swatter game! My fellow gaming nerd Mark McCue is back this week, and we took a trip down memory lane and remember Mario Paint for the SNES. In a time before iPads, smart phones, and even home computers, we had Mario Paint. Colour pictures, make stupid songs, create comics, and yep, swat flies. Everyone played with this game in the '90s. I really fee...
Dec 12, 2018•31 min•Ep. 23
*NOTE: We recorded this episode several weeks ago. We do talk a little Smash Bros Ultimate, and address some rumours floating around at the time that turned out not to be true. Please don't email us to tell us we're dumb. At least, not because of that* With Super Smash Bros Ultimate releasing this week, we thought it would be a great week to remember one of the best fighting/party games of the last 25 years; Super Smash Bros Melee! My pal Mark McCue is back this week, and we took a trip down mem...
Dec 05, 2018•40 min•Ep. 22
