Did you use strategy guides growing up? Of course you did. These books were the holy grails of gaming in the 90's and 2000's. Even if you weren't looking for tips on how to save princesses or find material, they were just a blast to read. Like instruction manuals on steroids. But did you ever think about where those guides came from? Some poor bastard must have spent days and days sitting in a room playing all those games, finding all the coins, the secret doors, the Knights of the Round materia...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 170
RC Pro-Am is not only one of my favourite games on the NES, but it's one of the best games in that iconic little grey box's library. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit here and let anyone say anything different. Fortunately, nobody seems to be. The game is pretty basic. There's no real car customization, no multi-player, it only features one game mode, and there isn't even any in-game music, but none of that matters. You control a red car, you try to drive faster than blue, green and (cheating)...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 169
**There's a slight buzzing sound in the intro this week. I didn't catch it until the episode was finished. The game chat portion of the show doesn't have the same problem. My apologies!** DinoPark Tycoon was a game we originally brought up about a year ago when we covered Oregon Trail. It's another one of those games many us played in school in the early 90's, but unlike Oregon Trail , DinoPark was fun because it was fun, not just because you weren't learning something boring like math or scienc...
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 168
I feel like I've been teasing a 'Bart vs The Space Mutants' episode of this show since we started it. It's not a great game, but I played it religiously as a kid, and I have a weird soft spot for it and it's many, many, many faults. I wasn't able to set up a regular episode of the show this week, so I'm rolling solo, and finally gushing about my favourite bad game of all-time. I gotta say, I'm a little shocked that so many people played this one back in the day. It was one of the first Simpsons ...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 167
It's pretty rare that we get to talk about an iconic gaming character's debut, so episodes like this hit a little harder for me. And when you add in my previous traumatic experiences with Kirby's Dream Land, and I really feel like I'm taking a big step on the podcast this week. And if you're wondering, "how someone could have a traumatic experience with a Kirby game?" Well, you'll have to listen and find out. My buddy Patrick makes his return to the podcast this week. He's a GameBoy junkie, a ne...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 166
Holes burnt in your palms be damned, Mario Party is a special franchise. Has it lost its way at times over the past 20+ years? No question. But it just seems like everybody has played these games from time to time over the years, and wheel e may not love every iteration, we all get hella excited when a new one is announced. So this week, former RTG Hall of Famer Mark McCue and I are taking a look back at the franchise that is Mario Party. From the 64, to the Gamecube, to that God awful Wii U ite...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 165
I don't know how Nintendo convinced all of us to accept the idea that Mario is a Doctor now, but they did it. And thank fuck they did, because this game is just...really, really good. Dr. Mario might not be as iconic as Tetris, but to anyone that grew up playing it on their NES (or GameBoy), it's pretty damned close. From the multiplayer, to firing it right up to level 20, to that damned music; this is just a really special video game. My fellow old-timer/comedian/podcast host David Rae joins me...
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 164
I ignored the Spyro games when they came out. I was in high school and they looked like games for babies. But I've played the first two games now, and you know what? They're pretty damned fun. Maybe a little baby-ish, but so are those digestive cookies. And those things are fucking delicious. Does Spyro 2 stay on the rails and just improve on the original game's formula? Or does it get a little too zany and stray too far off the course? Honestly, I think it does a little bit of both. But there's...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 163
There were so many bad games on the NES. I love that little grey box, but I'd say 70-75% of the library was forgettable. And Skate or Die is one of those bad games. But for whatever reason, it isn't forgettable. It seems like EVERYONE played this game at least once or twice. And honestly, once or twice was enough. This game suuuucks haha. My buddy Brad returns to RTG Industries this week, and we talk about the dope soundtrack, the great...box art. The title screen was nice. And the we shit all o...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 162
This week is one of our prestigious Patreon Poll winner episodes, and we're talking about a game that launched one of Playstation's flagship franchises, and a title many consider to be amongst the best the PS2 has to offer - God of War. I've only ever played the most recent God of War title, (on the PS4), so many of you warned me that the previous games in the series were a little different to 2018's. I expected a hack and slash beat 'em up with Gods yelling at each other; and for better (and) w...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 161
Would you kindly check out this week's podcast? It's finally time for the much anticipated (or at least promoted) Bioshock episode. This is one of my favourite games of all-time, and when we started talking about PS3 and Xbox 360 titles on the podcast, Bioshock was the game I had in mind. My buddy Tyler makes another visit to Remember The Game? Industries this week, and we get into what makes Bioshock such a special game. And it might just contain the best plot twist in the history of video game...
Aug 11, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 160
Due to my holiday, we weren't able to get this week's 'Remember The Game?' finished in time to go live as scheduled. So I thought I'd give those of you that aren't members of our Patreon a free bonus podcast this week. Expansion Pass is my gaming discussion show, featuring game rankings, reviews, discussion, and some comedy episodes as well. This is episode 20, and it originally aired back on August 9, 2020. I break down my top 20 favourite NES games of all-time. Enjoy the bonus podcast, we'll b...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 276
It took 159 podcasts, but we're finally talking about the damned Nintendo Wii. And what better way to start than with the flagship title for Nintendo's little white phenomenon; Wii Sports ! Like the Wii or not, Wii Sports was a HUGE game. In my opinion, it played a bigger role than any other title in helping the Wii set the record sales numbers it did. Maybe everyone didn't want to play Mario or Zelda, but who doesn't like to go bowling? My guest this week is my buddy Bradley McCue, who was actu...
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 159
We have a very vocal group of fighting game fans here at 'Remember The Game?', and I do my best to satiate them. I just didn't play a lot of fighters growing up. I thought I was throwing them a bone with Shaq-Fu a little while back, but that went across like a slap in the face (which would be my signature move if I was in a fighting game). So we're taking it up a notch. Killer Instinct is one of the rare (pun intended) fighters I played growing up. And while I stink at it, I really like this gam...
Jul 21, 2021•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 158
The SEGA Dreamcast is the little system that could, but didn't. I have a soft spot in my hard heart for Sega's final console, and while it may not have gotten enough love in it's prime, it sure as hell is gonna get some all these years later at Remember The Game? Industries. This week, we're talking the odd, yet superb, yet slightly poorly aged, yet unique and super fun inline skating/graffiti laying Jet Set Radio . One of the more unique titles I've played in my life. It still looks and sounds ...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 157
It's another 'Patreon Poll' edition of the show this week. Every month, you hot dogs get to pick a game I haven't played that you want to hear us cover on the podcast, and I play through it and then ramble about it into a microphone for an hour. And this time, we're talking about the weirdo of the Zelda family - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the NES. Nintendo struck gold with the first Zelda game, and so they decided to change EVERYTHING while developing it's highly anticipated sequel. Was...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 156
This week, it's another one of our 're-visited' series, where we take another look at one of the heavyweight titles we covered back in the show's early days. And this time, it's all about one of the most influential titles ever made. It launched a franchise, a genre, and convinced Nintendo they could stick Mario into literally any scenario they could think of and it would make money; Super Mario Kart ! By popular demand, my buddy Kait makes her long awaited return to the Blankphone this week, an...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 155
Is Batman the best game based on a movie from the 80's on the NES? Who are we to say? But yes. It is. My guest this week is the Robin to my Batman, my good buddy Brad Woren. And we're going back to 1989 for this episode, and talking about the tough but fair NES action game, Batman . Most people remember it for being tough as nails, but they need to also remember the kick-ass soundtrack, above average graphics, and surprisingly fun gameplay. We'll make sure that's the case after this week's podca...
Jun 23, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 154
Remember gaming magazines? Pepperidge Farms remembers. And so do we. My guest this week is our resident former Hall of Famer - Mark McCue. We changed the formula up a little this week, and instead of talking about the games we played back in the day, we talked about the magazines about the games we played back in the day. From the ads, to the reviews, to the tips and tricks and the killer cover art; we're talking gaming magazine memories. And before we talk about Nintendo Power, it's another edi...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 153
Parasite Eve won our Patreon Poll back in April, and it's finally time to talk about it, dammit. My sincere apologies for the delay. It took longer than I expected to track down a way to play this one. But play it I did. I love some parts of it. I don't like others. It's like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil hooked up and made a game, and it's one of the weirder games I've played over the years. I have a LOT to say about Aya and her quest to stop people from spontaneously combusting (seriously, t...
Jun 09, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 152
Last week, we talked Super Mario Bros . Maybe you're wondering, 'where do you go after talking about one of the greatest Nintendo games of all-time?' You talk about one of the greatest SEGA games of all-time! And that's what we're doing this week with the phenomenal beat 'em up; Streets of Rage 2 . Sometimes I struggle with playing a retro game for the first time nowadays, because their warts and imperfections just stand out so much more than they did back when the game released. But I gotta tel...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 151
I wasn't sure we'd ever cover Super Mario Bros on this show. Of course it deserves an episode, but I was worried we wouldn't be able to do the game justice. I've never connected with a piece of media, in any form, like I have with the NES's flagship title. But between the evolution of the podcast, my comfort and confidence level behind a microphone, and the YEARS of badgering by my guest this week, I think it's finally time. Episode 150 calls for a special game, and there's nary a game on the pl...
May 26, 2021•2 hr 49 min•Ep. 150
Final Fantasy IV & VI (II & III on the SNES) are considered by many to be among the best in the series. But what about the forgotten Fantasy; Final Fantasy V ? I finally played it (no pun intended), and I gotta tell ya, it's just as good. Maybe even a little better. I fucking love it. The story is a little on the shallow side, but the game's extraordinary job system more than makes up for it. The level of customization you're presented with in regards to how you assemble your team is jus...
May 19, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 149
The NES library is FULL of games based on popular IPs. Unfortunately, most of them suck. Fortunately, Chip n Dale doesn't! In an era where so many developers relied on a popular name being printed on a box to sell games, Capcom bucked the trend. And while many of their NES Disney games are awesome, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers might just be the best of the bunch. It's not the hardest game you'll ever play. Or the deepest. Or the longest. But it's a rock solid, fun little platformer that even a bel...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 148
A frequent request of the hot dogs is for us to cover more handheld games on the podcast. And I'm nothing, if not a man of the hot dogs. So today we're talking Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the OG Game Boy. This is a special game for a few reasons. First and foremost, it's really good. The original Super Mario Land was sweet, but the sequel was a HUGE jump in quality in every regard; graphics, gameplay, music, everything. It's a game tons of us 90's kids grew up with. And most important...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 147
ToeJam & Earl won our Patreon Poll last month, and now that I've the chance to spend time with it, I gotta say - well done, hot dogs. This game kicks an insane amount of ass. If you've never played it, you control a pair of aliens named Toe Jam & Earl who have crash landed on Earth. You help them collect the pieces of their ship, while avoiding some of the weirdest enemies I've ever seen in a video game. You pick up presents along the way that contain random items; some good, some bad. W...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 146
This week, we're revisiting another one of the games we covered back in the baby days of the show, and we picked a beast of a game to back to. The iconic, beloved, best-selling, rumble packing, friendship destroying Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64! I'm willing to bet a VAST majority of our audience has played this one, and everyone in our audience has at least heard of it. My guest this week is my buddy David Rae, and we spent over an hour talking about the game one of our listener's called "T...
Apr 21, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 145
Remember playing Metal Gear Solid back in the day? You (probably) either thought the story telling and cinematic were incredible, or you thought the cutscenes sucked and you just wanted to play the game. And there's a decent chance you felt the same way about Uncharted . I was late to the Playstation 3 party, and when I finally got there, Uncharted was the first series I got into. REALLY into. I love this series. All four games are a great combination of story telling, graphics, gameplay, and fa...
Apr 14, 2021•2 hr•Ep. 144
It's Wrestlemania week in WWE, so I thought it would only be fitting to cover a game with 'Wrestlemania' in the title. Initially, we planned to talk about WWF Wrestlemania for the NES, but after playing it for 10 minutes, I realized that not only does it suck, but there's nothing there to talk about. We ended up throwing a short bonus "review" of it into this episode, but that's all we could come up with. WWF Wrestlemania 2000 for the Nintendo 64, however? I could talk about that game for days! ...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 143
Star Fox 64 won our Patreon poll last month, and a deal is a deal. I played through it - multiple times - and I'm ready to rant. I know this game is pretty beloved by a large chunk of the retro gaming community. Personally, it's not really my cup of tea, but there's a big difference between a bad game, and a good game that I just don't like. I think this is the latter, and while I definitely got into the stuff that didn't tickle my fancy, I did my best to show this game the respect that I think ...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 142
