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Retronauts

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The original classic gaming podcast continues its endless quest to explore the history of video games, one game at a time. Join hosts Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey each week as they team up with a host of expert guests to chronicle the creations that have paved the way for today's hits. From forgotten black-and-white arcade machines to modern-day remakes, Retronauts spans more than four decades of vintage gaming greatness!

Episodes

Retronauts Episode 345: Doctor Who

True to the spirit of the franchise, it's a Doctor Who Christmas Special for Retronauts as Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, and Diamond Feit touch on the impact and influence of the long-running sci-fi series—and horrible, terrible, no-good games it's inspired.

Dec 21, 20202 hr 9 min

Retronauts Episode 344: Die Hard

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Henry Gilbert celebrate the ho-ho-holidays at Nakatomi Plaza—a machine gun in hand, feet clenched into fists—by looking back at the film and video game legacy of John McTiernan's seasonal classic Die Hard. Hit it, Argyle! Art by Nick Wanserski. Edits by Greg Leahy.

Dec 14, 20201 hr 32 min

Retronauts Episode 343 Preview: Wario Land Pt. 1

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Kyle Orland take advantage of social distancing, devouring tons of garlic—just like this week's subject: Anti-Mario antihero Wario, and his monochrome adventures Super Mario Land 3 and Virtual Boy Wario Land

Dec 11, 20204 min

Retronauts Episode 342: Escape from Monkey Island

Our non-chronological exploration of LucasArts adventure games continues with an episode all about the legendary developer's final entry in the genre: Escape from Monkey Island. Unfortunately, EMI ended this era of LucasArts with a whimper, as the clunky 3D interface and questionable puzzles make Guybrush Threepwood's Y2K adventure feel more like a voodoo curse than a barrel of monkeys. On this episode, join Bob Mackey and Nina Matsumoto ( Thimbleweed Park cover artist and designer at Fangamer )...

Dec 07, 20202 hr 1 min

Retronauts Episode 337 Preview: Lunar

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 337: Lunar. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts .

Dec 05, 20207 min

Retronauts Episode 341: Gunpei Yokoi (Pt. 1)

Jeremy Parish speaks to Bill Mudron and Matt Alt about the work of Nintendo legend Gunpei Yokoi and how his innovative pre-video game creations reflect the post-war culture and industrial boom Japan experienced during the ’60s and ’70s.

Nov 30, 20201 hr 18 min

Retronauts Episode 340 Preview: Final Fantasy IX

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 340: Final Fantasy IX. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts .

Nov 27, 20207 min

Retronauts Episode 339: The Trials of Mana remake

Earlier this year, we discussed the original 16-bit version of Trials of Mana (aka Seiken Densetsu 3). Now, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohler, and Nadia Oxford dig into the 3D remake: What it does right, where it falls short, and pwaces it's vewy iwwitating. Cover illustration by Shaan Khan.

Nov 23, 20201 hr 25 min

Retronauts Episode 338: The Video Game History Foundation

From the live archive: Jeremy Parish chats with Frank Cifaldi and Kelsey Lewin of the Video Game History Foundation about the evolution of their organization and how it's working to preserve the medium's past. Cover art by John Pading.

Nov 16, 20201 hr 6 min

Retronauts Episode 336: Back to the Future Part II

We're going back to the Back to the Future trilogy for a podcast discussion about what could be the most interesting sequel of all time! When Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale put together the original Back to the Future in 1985, they had no idea they would have such a massive hit on their hands—or that their joke ending would set the second movie's plot in stone. But by working against adversity, the two crafted a highly satisfying sequel that doubled down on time travel antics, and even added alter...

Nov 09, 20201 hr 47 min

Retronauts Episode 335: Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII

A double-request topic as we follow up our Final Fantasy VII coverage by looking back at its PSP-exclusive prequel Crisis Core. Bill Nielsen joins Jeremy Parish & Nadia Oxford as they fire up the Digital Mind Wave for some fond rememberies. Art: Greg Melo

Nov 02, 20201 hr 16 min

Retronauts Episode 334 Preview: Cowboy Games Part 2

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts 334: Cowboy Games Part 2. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts .

Oct 30, 202010 min

Retronauts Episode 333: Tron & Spy Hunter with George Gomez

Jeremy Parish chats one-on-one with an arcade gaming legend: George Gomez, who discusses the critical creative role he played in bringing classic arcade works like Spy Hunter and Tron to market and designing their iconic cabinets. Art by Nick Wanserski.

Oct 26, 20201 hr 12 min

Retronauts Episode 332: Akira

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Henry Gilbert grab a laser rifle and angrily scream each other's names in celebration of one of the all-time great animated movies—Akira—as well as the manga it was based on, and the games it inspired. TETSUOOOO!

Oct 19, 20201 hr 46 min

Retronauts Episode 331 Preview: The Art of Nintendo Power

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Art of Nintendo Power ( twitter.com/artofnp ) curator Stephan Reese take a trip back through gaming's greatest propaganda rag: Nintendo Power. For the full episode, subscribe to the show at: patreon.com/retronauts

Oct 16, 202010 min

Retronauts Episode 330: No More Heroes

After more than a decade in game development, enigmatic creator Suda 51 had his American debut with Killer 7, but 2007 would bring about his first mainstream splash with No More Heroes. This series launched on the Wii when it was still white hot, and managed to distill the off-the-wall and often alienating ideas of Suda into a personality-driven action game. Nearly 13 years after we first met Travis Touchdown, just where has the series been, and where is it headed with its upcoming third game? O...

Oct 12, 20201 hr 49 min

Retronauts Episode 329: ’90s Video Game Websites

Jeremy Parish takes a trip back 20-odd years to the early days of the World Wide Web to revisit the era's online culture with two pioneers of the games internet: Andrew Vestal (The Unofficial Squaresoft Homepage) and Brandon Teel (Zany Video Game Quotes). Cover art by John Pading.

Oct 05, 20201 hr 37 min

Retronauts Episode 328 Preview: Batman: Arkham Asylum

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 328: Batman: Arkham Asylum. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon .

Oct 02, 20207 min

Retronauts Episode 327: Numskull & Fire Pro Wrestling

Jeremy connects with the minds behind Numskull's ever-expanding collection of classic arcade mini-cabinets, then tags in Chris Sims to discuss the history and wonders of Spike Chun Soft's Fire Pro Wrestling franchise. Cover art: Greg Melo.

Sep 28, 20201 hr 51 min

Retronauts Episode 326: Streets of Rage

Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, and Digital Foundry's John Linneman master the art of counting to four as they deliver a video game history beatdown in the form of a comprehensive retrospective on Sega's Streets of Rage franchise. Cover illustration by Leeann Hamilton.

Sep 21, 20201 hr 47 min

Retronauts Episode 325 Preview: Colecovision

Our final "Before Times" recording! Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Nadia Oxford, and Jared Petty convene in (mostly) the same physical space to discuss the history and highlights of Coleco's almost-successful bid at console gaming fame, the ColecoVision. Art by Amanda Pruitt.

Sep 18, 20209 min

Retronauts Episode 324: The Jennifer Hale Interview

Whether or not you know her name, you've definitely heard Jennifer Hale's voice if you played a video game in the past 25 years. Named "the most prolific video game voice actor" by The Guinness Book of World Records, Jennifer has an IMDB page that stretches on into infinity, with hundreds of roles in both video games in animation. On this episode, join us as we chat with Jennifer about her long career in video games, how her roles and voice acting technology have changed in the passing decades, ...

Sep 14, 202058 min

Retronauts Episode 323: Bill & Ted / Spectrum Next

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Stuart Gipp hop in their telephone booths to discuss the classic Bill & Ted films and their not-so-classic game tie-ins. Then Jeremy chats with Henrique Olifiers about the ZX Spectrum's return via Kickstarter. Cover art by John Pading.

Sep 07, 20202 hr 6 min

Retronauts Episode 322 Preview: Dragon Quest: Your Story

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 322: Dragon Quest: Your Story. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon .

Sep 04, 20209 min

Retronauts Episode 320: A Castlevania Deep Dive

Jeremy Parish, Shane Bettenhausen, and Nadia Oxford break quarantine to return to Transylvania for an in-depth look at the original Castlevania for NES and its many, many alternate versions and remakes through the years. Art: Greg Melo

Aug 24, 20201 hr 24 min

Retronauts Episode 319 Preview: Super Mario Galaxy

Come sail away with Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Henry Gilbert as we turn back the hands of time more than a decade, somehow, to revisit Mario's most cosmic journey of all time: Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 for Nintendo Wii.

Aug 21, 20206 min

Retronauts Episode 318: Cowboy Games

Believe it or not, there are topics we've never covered in the past 14 years of Retronauts, so it's always a treat to shine the podcasting spotlight on a subject that's gone untouched. And this week, we're talking all about cowboy games: the genre that traces its roots back to the very beginning of the medium, and only recently came back into vogue thanks to the wildly popular Red Dead Redemption series. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert , and Nina Matsumoto as the c...

Aug 17, 20201 hr 36 min

Retronauts Episode 317: Chrono Cross

Jeremy Parish crosses realities to recruit Nadia Oxford and Jared Petty for an in-depth discussion of controversial Squaresoft RPG classic Chrono Cross on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in the U.S. (No weird accents or speech quirks… we pwomise.) Artwork by Leeann Hamilton. Retronauts is a listener-supported show. Please help keep things running and get early access/exclusive backer-only episodes/other goodies by subscribing at https://patreon.com/retronauts !...

Aug 10, 20201 hr 56 min

Retronauts Episode 316 Preview: Nintendo Leaks

You're listening to a free preview of Retronauts Episode 316: Nintendo Leaks. To hear the rest, and get two exclusive extra episodes every month, access to our previous Patreon-exclusive episodes, and early access to ad-free podcasts, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon .

Aug 07, 20204 min
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