We're back with our follow-up to Retronauts Micro 87, which dives even deeper into the history of video game advertising. This time around, we leap from the "Have you played Atari today?" era of TV spots to the brilliant-but-now-amusing way Nintendo carefully worked around Americans' anxiety about video games with their focus on R.O.B. And, unfortunately, this era also sees basically everyone but boys being phased out of the marketing--a decision that had some pretty big effects we're still feel...
Jun 15, 2018•59 min
Nintendo followed up the modest success of the N64 with the GameCube: A small, sleek little system devoted solely to playing games. But in an era where the PlayStation 2's exclusives, backwards compatibility, and DVD playback features obliterated the competition, Nintendo found their nice little piece of hardware unable to gain any true traction. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Kat Bailey, Jeremy Parish and Dave Rudden as the crew explores the console best known as "half of a Wii...
Jun 11, 2018•1 hr 55 min
All SEGA, all the time! First, a chat with Phantasy Star designers Rieko Kodama and Toru Yoshida. Then, an in-depth look at DataDiscs' releases of the classic OSTs for After Burner II, Space Harrier, and Streets of Rage 3. Special thanks to Alex Aniel!
Jun 04, 2018•1 hr 31 min
Jeremy follows up on last year's interview with Enhance Games boss and all-around video game design savant Tetsuya Mizuguchi, this time exploring the origins of musical PSP puzzle masterpiece Lumines. Just in time for the new remaster!
Jun 01, 2018•37 min
Jeremy and Bob discuss the greatness of Konami's first two Suikoden RPGs, yet fail to acquire all 108 Stars of Destiny (all we recruited were Shane Bettenhausen and Shivam Bhatt). Plus: Remembering Retronauts contributor Andrew Fitch.
May 28, 2018•1 hr 48 min
Play this show before you go-go In case you're planning on seeing "Solo" Jeremy, Ben, and Chris talk about the original Star Wars and the games based on it. Just the original Star Wars. None of these newfangled prequels or sequels!
May 20, 2018•1 hr 40 min
Whether you like it or not, advertising is everywhere, and it's always been everywhere--which is why the jingle for some now-nonexistent product has likely obliterated some important memory in your brain. And video games, being a product that's sold for money, have never been a stranger to advertising. On this first part of a two-part series, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Matthew Jay, and Henry Gilbert as the crew explores the earliest days of video game ads, as well as the many baffling celeb...
May 18, 2018•53 min
When Sega made their first true leap into polygonal gaming with the incredibly rushed Sonic Adventure, they delivered a fascinating and ambitious mess. Thankfully, the inevitable sequel saw Sonic Team working with more time, resources, and expertise, making it a much more polished game... but one that still has its share of problems. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Michal ( @Miexriir on Twitter) as the crew digs into Sonic's sophomore stab into the world of 3D ...
May 14, 2018•1 hr 30 min
A two-parter from Midwest Gaming Classic 2018. First, Kevin Bunch and Brian Clark talk the history of Atari 7800 with Jeremy. Then, as a backup, Marty Goldberg (and Bob!) join Jeremy and Kevin to explain how the Atari Crash wasn't totally Atari's fault.
May 07, 2018•2 hr 3 min
Recorded live at Super Famicon in Greensboro NC! Jeremy Parish and Chris Sims chat with Josh Fairhurst from Limited Run Games about the mad adventure of bringing schlock-horror FMV classic Night Trap to modern consoles.
May 04, 2018•57 min
Steve Lin and Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation join Jeremy and Bob to comb through the convoluted story of one of the most popular and addictive video games of all time: Tetris!
Apr 30, 2018•1 hr 32 min
Jeremy, Chris, and Benj take a comprehensive journey through the catalog of an arcade legend: Namco. From their humble beginnings through mega-hits like Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Galaga, it's wall-to-wall coin-op classics up in this episode. This is the first of a series of Namco retrospectives and covers the years 1978-1982!
Apr 23, 2018•1 hr 58 min
Thanks to the magic of planning, I (Bob) have scheduled three episodes in a row about 3D Sonic games. Earlier this week, we talked about Sonic Adventure, and next month we'll talk about Sonic Adventure 2. And as for this episode? Well, if you're one of those weirdos who reads the title last, allow me to inform you that this Micro is fully dedicated to YOUR thoughts about the 3D Sonic games. So sit back and relax as Henry Gilbert and myself read and respond to listener questions about Sonic's pos...
Apr 20, 2018•44 min
Sonic the Hedgehog essentially sat out the 32-bit generation, which dealt a serious blow to Sega's financial situation. But by the time the company was ready to launch their new hardware, Sega finally delivered what a generation of gamers had been screaming about for years: a TRUE 3D Sonic game. On this week's episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Caty McCarthy as the crew digs into Sonic's first 3D outing and decides if it's a stellar success or an ambitious f...
Apr 16, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Nintendo never created a follow-up to 2002's Metroid Fusion, but this week Jeremy interviews the developers who did: Dan Kratt and Graham Scott, who put together DS/GBA cult classic Scurge Hive, and Joakim Sandberg, creator of Iconoclasts.
Apr 09, 2018•1 hr 51 min
Benj Edwards has long dreamed of curating a museum of vintage PC history, and he's amassed hundreds of classic computers to make it happen. We talk about the unique challenges of preserving so many aging machines… especially finding room for them all.
Apr 06, 2018•39 min
Jeremy and Bob convene with Chris Kohler and Henry Gilbert to take another look at the ways a recent hit release draws on the heritage of a long-running game franchise. It's Super Mario Odyssey, and it celebrates 35+ years of Mario (and Donkey Kong!).
Apr 02, 2018•1 hr 45 min
By request of patron Jeff Vlasek, we circle back around to go deep on Brøderbund, a company whose catalog we've touched on numerous times over the past year under the aegis of other subjects. This episode, though, it's all Brøderbund, all the time!
Mar 26, 2018•2 hr
With Metal Gear Survive flopping and Hideo Kojima absent from Konami, the future of Metal Gear is fuzzy—or completely nonexistent. But, thankfully, Retronauts is a past-based operation, and there's plenty of Metal Gear behind us to look back on and discuss. On this episode, join Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert as the two-man crew tackles your most burning questions about Metal Gear.
Mar 23, 2018•57 min
Doom is back in the public consciousness thanks to the stellar 2016 reboot, but when was the last time you thought back to the 1993 original that changed the face of PC gaming? From the fascinating behind-the-scenes development stories of plucky computer geniuses/Diet Coke addicts, to the sheer impact it had on the gaming landscape, there's enough going on with Doom to fill an entire podcast series—yet we tried to fit everything into a single episode. On this installment of Retronauts, join Bob ...
Mar 19, 2018•1 hr 41 min
Jeremy visits WayForward's offices to speak to Austin Ivansmith and Tomm Hulett making a modern-day licensed "16-bit" platformer with The Mummy Demastered, then chats with Mega Cat's Zack Manko about his studio's modern-day home-brewed NES games.
Mar 12, 2018•1 hr 45 min
Continuing our exploration of media properties that inspired classic games (and, also, the games they inspired), Jeremy, Ben, and Chris climb down the Fratelli's fireplace to hunt for the ancient treasure known as The Goonies.
Mar 09, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Jeremy speaks to Josh Fairhurst and Douglas Bogart about the Limited Run Games mission of preserving classics (and future classics) through the safety of physical media.
Mar 05, 2018•1 hr 48 min
Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey convene with Kotaku's Chris Kohler and USgamer boss Kat Bailey once again to discuss in detail the next chapter of Squaresoft's biggest RPG series: The fan-favorite, operatic, apocalyptic RPG masterpiece Final Fantasy VI.
Feb 26, 2018•1 hr 49 min
For the fourth time, the Talking Simpsons crew takes over Retronauts to explore the long legacy of Simpsons games. This week, they shine the spotlight on Virtual Bart, which applied the then-burgeoning hype over virtual reality to The Simpsons with mixed results (at best). On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as they ask the tough questions like "Why is Bart a pig for some reason?" and "Why is Bart a baby for some reason?" Note: none of these que...
Feb 23, 2018•41 min
Over the years, we've covered plenty of games based on animated TV shows, from The Simpsons to Tiny Toon Adventures to Animaniacs. But this week's episode of Retronauts focuses on a much rarer specimen: video games based on live-action TV shows. And, given that live-action shows are usually constrained by some sort of mundane reality, they don't always make for the best adaptations. But they're still fun to talk about! On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert,...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 51 min
Jeremy speaks to Aaron Hamel about Ship to Shore's efforts to bring classic video game soundtracks like Lagrange Point, Darius, and Bayou Billy to the U.S. Then, Joe Granato shares the inside track on his successful Kickstarter project, the do-it-yourself 8-bit game creation kit NES Maker.
Feb 12, 2018•1 hr 50 min
Jeremy, Benj, and Chris explore the mid-’90s doldrums of the metroidvania genre, with a lengthy sidebar on the era's lone high point amidst industry-wide disinterest: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Feb 05, 2018•1 hr 42 min
Jeremy, Chris, and Benj have only 13 hours in which to discuss 1986's Jim Henson/George Lucas/David Bowie Muppet-style cult classic movie musical Labyrinth… oh, and also, the games based on it.
Feb 02, 2018•1 hr 6 min
As part of our ongoing developer interview series, Shantae creator Matt Bozon recounts the history and challenges involved in designing indie darling Shantae. From the game's Super NES prototype to the recent Half-Genie Hero add-on Friends to the End, that's almost three decades of exploratory belly-dancing!
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 37 min
