Retronauts Episode 242: Strider
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Shane Bettenhausen paraglide into Kazakh S.S.R. to profess the glory of a game that remains indelibly cool even 30 years later: Capcom's Strider.
Aug 26, 2019•1 hr 34 min
Retronauts
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Episodes
Retronauts Episode 241: The Return of Listener Comments Catch-Up
The curse of the podcaster means we usually have so much to say in our limited time that we often don't have space to let you get a word in edgewise. So, every six months, I (Bob) like to collect comments and questions from the last six months' worth of my episodes—from both the main site and Patreon—and respond to them with a guest. So this week, join me and Jeremy as we respond to your thoughts on Spider-Man games, Reggie Fils-Aime, Kingdom Hearts 3, Sonic the Hedgehog's many voice actors, Sta...
Aug 23, 2019•41 min
Retronauts Episode 240: The Running Man
Just as video game boss fights were becoming more sophisticated, Hollywood gave us 1987's The Running Man, a movie that—whether its writer knew it or not—exists as a 100-minute-long boss rush. Though other big, beefy action movies of the '80s inspired video games more directly, this lower-profile entry in the Schwarzenegger canon might have had an even bigger effect on the way we look at boss fights in general. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, and Henry Gilbert as t...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 29 min
Retronauts Episode 239: Super Smash Bros.
If you like Smash Bros., you'll be angry about this episode! Jeremy, Chris, Ben, and Benj gather to discuss the classic influences that define Smash Bros. Ultimate, but they get sidetracked and turn what was supposed to be a quick series overview into a full, rambling, off-the-cuff episode that veers wildly beyond what they had prepped and researched for. Whoops!
Aug 12, 2019•1 hr 31 min
Retronauts Episode 238: Nathan McCree on Composing Tomb Raider Tunes
Composer Nathan McCree reminisces about his groundbreaking work creating the soundtrack for Lara Croft's earliest adventures, the challenges in revisiting that material decades later, and... The Spice Girls?!
Aug 09, 2019•56 min
Retronauts Episode 237: X-Wing
By patron request, Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey recruit Kat Bailey and Jason Wilson to scramble all fighters and mount an unrelenting assault of knowledge against the topic of LucasArts' classic Star Wars sandbox shooter series X-Wing (and TIE Fighter).
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Retronauts Episode 235: Mailbag—New Super Mario, FF Tactics, Gaming Holy Grails
The Retronauts East crew (Jeremy Parish, Benj Edwards, Ben Elgin, and Chris Sims) responds to YOUR letters about episode topics that may or may not have already been published, including New Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy Tactics.
Aug 02, 2019•59 min
Retronauts Episode 236: Super Mario Maker
We're living in the era of the gig economy, and now our apartments are hotels, our cars are taxis, and we even have to make Marios ourselves. But that's okay, because Nintendo's Super Mario Maker series has thrived over the past half-decade as not only a celebration of Mario's 2D legacy, but an amazing toolset that lets budding creators put together levels that aren't even in the wildest dreams of Nintendo's top craftsmen. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohler, and Ray Ba...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 34 min
Retronauts Episode 234: Spider-Man 2 with Jamie Fristrom
The Retronauts East crew looks back at the legacy of beloved superhero classic Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 2. Then, Jeremy Parish talks to designer/tech lead Jamie Fristrom about the game's creation.
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Retronauts Episode 233: Final Fantasy Tactics
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Kat Bailey, and Shivam Bhatt equip their Dictionaries and set their Reaction Skills to "Podcast Debate" as they form up into a squad and take on Final Fantasy's all-time greatest spin-off: 1998's Final Fantasy Tactics for PS1.
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 49 min
Retronauts Episode 232: Nester
Mario might be Nintendo's big-time mascot, but for six years of Nintendo Power, one banana-haired brat served a similar role. In what amounted to one of the first manga series snuck into the hands of American children, Nester existed as the foil to the real-life know-it-all Nintendo rep Howard Phillips, who used his insider info to humiliate a small child through a few dozen very entertaining and expertly drawn installments. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Bill...
Jul 12, 2019•54 min
Retronauts Episode 231: Kemco-Seika
Jeremy Parish and Anthony Schwader look back at the checkered history of publisher Kemco-Seika—from iffy original works to beloved conversions of computer classics. And lots of Crazy Castles.
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Retronauts Episode 230: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1989
Before the launch of the go-go '90s, a certain green foursome closed out the decade with a bang. Though the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles entered the comic book world in 1984 and debuted on television in 1987, 1989 belonged to the Turtles, with weekday cartoon episodes, a movie in the works, and, at long last, a chance to be the Ninja Turtles in both console and arcade forms. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Ray Barnholt ( check out his issue of SCROLL on the TMN...
Jul 01, 2019•1 hr 25 min
Retronauts Episode 229: Retrotainment on Creating Modern NES Games
Tim Hartman and Greg Caldwell from Retrotainment talk to Jeremy Parish about the art and science of creating brand-new NES games such as Full Quiet.
Jun 28, 2019•30 min
Retronauts Episode 228: Console Launch Lineups
By patron request, Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey revisit the topic of classic console launch lineups from Atari 2600 to Super NES with Chris Kohler and Steve Lin. How did these first games speak to their systems—and to the state of gaming at the time?
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 46 min
Retronauts Episode 227: Console Roguelikes through Mystery Dungeon
The second part of our journey into roguelike history sees experts Jason Wilson and John Harris join Bob Mackey and Jeremy Parish to explore the protoplasmic origins of the genre's console renditions through the near-perfection of Shiren the Wanderer.
Jun 17, 2019•1 hr 47 min
Retronauts Episode 226: Aladdin Games
Now that Disney's live-action Aladdin movie is out, we finally have a great excuse to jump back in time 25 years to examine the animated version of that property—one that was oddly important to the 16-bit console wars. Virgin Interactive's Genesis game mostly overshadowed Capcom's SNES interpretation thanks to some still-impressive technical tricks, but the conventional wisdom about the Sega version being superior might not hold together 2.5 decades later. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob...
Jun 14, 2019•1 hr
Retronauts Episode 225: Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 has quietly been one of the most influential games of the past 20 years, and now that a shiny new port is available on the Nintendo Switch, there's never been a better time to dig into the game that redefined the third-person shooter genre. Capcom took an incredible risk by throwing out nearly everything that defined the series for its fourth iteration, and even though it took four attempts to get things right, Resident Evil 4 remains an intensely playable experience nearly 15 ye...
Jun 10, 2019•1 hr 25 min
Retronauts Episode 224: Virtual Boy Revisited
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Caitlin Oliver, and Brian Clark convene to discuss Nintendo's least-successful console ever: The benighted Virtual Boy. And it's not as dire a discussion as you might expect—in fact, you might even call us fans.
Jun 03, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Retronauts Episode 223: Epoch's Game Pocket Computer
Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey consult with handheld connoisseur Alex "kraeman" Forsyth about the impressive portable system that beat Game Boy to the punch by five years: The Epoch Game Pocket Computer.
May 31, 2019•28 min
Retronauts Episode 222: Sonic Mania's Classic Roots
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, and Caty McCarthy look to the present to talk about a game that succeeds by looking to the past: Sega's 2017 hit Sonic Mania. See, we CAN say nice things about Sonic.
May 27, 2019•1 hr 27 min
Retronauts Episode 221: Alien
The last survivors of the Nostromo—Jeremy Parish, Benj Edwards, Chris Sims, and Ben Elgin—transmit from deep space to pay tribute to Ridley Scott's film Alien and its influence on pop culture and video games.
May 20, 2019•1 hr 19 min
Retronauts Episode 220: A Podcast About Podcasting
This time on Retronauts, we're talking about something that's rarely a featured topic on the show: ourselves! On this special Friday installment, Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross of the Duckfeed.tv network join us in our Midwest Gaming Classic hotel room to discuss the wild and woolly world of being a self-employed podcaster. Is it exciting and exotic, with danger around every corner? Or fairly straightforward, with a lot of staring at a computer screen while concocting elaborate excuses to leave ...
May 17, 2019•59 min
Retronauts Episode 219: Classic console hardware design, Pt. 1
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Flip Grip design engineer Mike Choi talk about the most beautiful and memorable game console designs through the years. Even though podcasts, uh, aren't exactly a visual medium.
May 13, 2019•1 hr 32 min
Retronauts Episode 218: Rental stores
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and James Eldred reminisce about the halcyon days before digital distribution and demo discs... back when we had bike over to the video store so we could rent games we wanted to try out.
May 06, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Retronauts Episode 217: Game Boy at Midwest Gaming Classic
Live! Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Chris Kohler, and Caitlin Oliver discuss the Game Boy's 30-year legacy. Then Jeremy and Bob talk up the magic of Mindware's Heiankyo Alien in an impromptu chat recorded bootleg-style. [Art: Cassie Hart Kelly]
May 03, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Retronauts Episode 216: Stardew Valley
This time around, we're shining the spotlight on another newer game that, like Shovel Knight, feels like the platonic ideal of a specific retro experience. If you ever liked Harvest Moon, still like Harvest Moon, or fell off the series years ago, Stardew Valley is the game for you: it takes the fundamentals of Natsume's storied farming sim, sands off its many rough edges, and expands on the important parts in a meaningful way, all while having a personality of its own. This week on Retronauts, j...
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr 38 min
Retronauts Episode 215: Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicäa
By patron request, Wes Fenlon and Henry Gilbert join Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey go a little buggy as they explore the history and influence of Hayao Miyazaki's manga and anime classic Nausicäa of the Valley of Wind
Apr 22, 2019•1 hr 41 min
Retronauts Episode 214: The Many Voices of Sonic the Hedgehog
With the Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie just around the corner, there's never been a better time to look back on all the actors who once brought life to Sega's little blue speed rat. Though improv master Ben Schwartz will play Sonic in the sure-to-be-great film, he's just the latest in a long line of actors—in both America and Japan—who convinced all of us that a hedgehog could speak. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert as they trace the surprisingly deep histo...
Apr 19, 2019•57 min
Retronauts Episode 213: Game Boy
Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, and Jared Petty look back at 30 years of Game Boy. The memories! The classics! The music! The inevitable eyestrain from trying to play games in the dark in the backseat of a car!
Apr 15, 2019•1 hr 49 min
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