Lost Joystick Network

Every once and a while, we make a mistake. For example, we thought friend of the show EA wanted us to review Space Harrier II. Come to find out, we were wrong. He wanted us to review the original Sega arcade classic Space Harrier. It happens and we can admit it.That being said, our mistake was microscopic compared to the mistake that was Spacer Harrier II.Some come join us to discuss the RIGHT GAME that we expect to be much better than it's sequel.

Do you like action-adventure games where you're a swordsman that can gain new skills and become more powerful as the game progresses? What if I told you there were eight medallions that have been hidden in eight crypts that you have to recover? And, finally, what if there were secrets in the game that could only be discovered by doing things like burning trees, pushing rocks, and blowing up walls?Well, if you like those kinds of things then you may want to tune in to hear what the LJN crew thinks of this original idea that was not influenced directly by any other game.

Do you like shooting games, Do you like fighter jets? How about saving the planet from space monkeys? Well if any of those things interest you then do we have a game for you! Kick back and relax and the guys discuss Aero Fighters for the Super Nintendo.

Have you ever wanted to be a God that kills monsters AND develops cities? Yeah, we all have. Well do I have good news for you! ActRaiser for the SNES allows you to do just that. I guess that isn't news.. I mean.. the game is like 35 years old. Man.. I was old enough to drive when this game came out. sigh

We all went to Milwaukee and bought stuff. If you weren't there, you should have been.

The year in 6236 and not much has changed other than there are at least 214 sectors in space. You are Harrier.. not HAIRIER.. but maybe you are. Which, if you ARE hairier then I have bad news for you about the jumpsuit you may need to wear to travel through space.

Pro Wrestling for the NES is an underappreciated classic that deserves more run. A lot of people have moved to collecting games and not playing them. Luckily, for Pro Wrestling, it is a black box NES game, otherwise all you'd remember is how terrible WWF Wrestlemania was.

We are running late so I don't have time to write a witty description. The last time something like this happened, it was because of some audio issues. Again, no time to discuss and I stand by that, but they have created a delay. So we are sorry for starting late.It reminds of when nickels used to have pictures of bees on them. "Gimmie five bees for a quarter, they'd say.."Anyway, here's Zelda.

One hundred episodes.. they said it couldn't be done. But you know what? We proved THEM wrong. That's right. Come hang out with the LJN crew!

We did it, another year in the books for the LJN crew! The LJN gang discuss where we made our biggest mistakes in 2025. It's an open discussion regarding the LJN Game Ratings. Woo!

Shenmue is a 1999 game on the Sega Dreamcast. If I were to try to elaborate any further, I would run out of characters for this description. So tune in and listen, because it doesn't seem like we can run out of characters during a podcast / livestream.

Metal Gear Solid is a story. A story about a snake. Wait, no.. a story about a MAN. Solid Snake. That's as deep as we are willing to go, because it seems like you could spend the rest of your life dissecting the story of Metal Gear Solid if you wanted.. and we do not.

Have you ever really sat down and read the backstory of any fighting game ever? Let me tell you.. it may seem like it would be simple.. but it never is.Tekken 3 is a classic example of this. There's so much backstory going on that we would lose every listener we have if we tried to go into it during the show. So read up on it.. or don't. Just listen to the episode instead and pretend there's no story. That's what we did for almost thirty years.

Have you ever seen the movie "Sweet Home"? If you're an in-the-weeds video game nerd, you're at least familiar with the Sweet Home video game by Capcom on the Famicom in 1989. The movie is basically Poltergeist but with a furnace. Also, did we mention they made a videogame about the movie for the Famicom?

Look, I am going to level with you.. D is a polarizing game. Some may not really even consider it a game but more a form of punishment that you are made to endure. Want to see where the LJN gang lands on the subject*? Then tune in and listen *No John or Robby tonight

Ken Griffey Jr. is one of the greatest baseball players of his generation.A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Griffey Jr. defied his generation's appetite for performance-enhancing drugs. He didn't need it. All he needed was.. PURE.. GRIFF.Also, Griffey, Jr. happens to be Jay's favorite baseball player of all-time, so I am going to save the sardonic comments for once (Mariners suck).

Remember when computers didn't have optical drives? Well, not like today. BEFORE optical drives. Remember that? Well, if you do, it's time for you to schedule a colonoscopy.

When people look back in the annals of history as it relates to video games, they will surely circle back to the late-release Taito NES games as proof that video game collectors are idiots

Insert witty description here, The guys get their proverbial hands dirty playing, discussing and reviewing Final Fight for the Super Nintendo..... What could go wrong?

That's right.. another NES game. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? Seriously, it's time to jet back to 1990, when Disney ruled the afternoon airwaves with many duck-centric animated shows.. and one that wasn't. Chip and Dale were part of "The Disney Afternoon" back in the late 80's and early 90's. That's right, we had animation back then.

Friday the 13th.. it's a scary day. Or is it? We don't know. But the NES game based on the movie series.. now THAT is scary. Or is it?

HE'S A BOX! MY BOY'S A BOX! DAMN YOU! A BOOOOOOX!

Well.. you're Pit. You escaped, you're trying to rescue Palutena. Along the way, you run into some of the biggest dicks in the history of video games. The End.

Imagine you're just minding your business, hanging out with your military friends on a helicopter and, as a prank, they drop you off in a jungle rife with the enemy and no radio.THEN.. imagine that every time you FIND a wireless radio, they come and pick you up only to drop you off AGAIN.That's the story of Commando.

Episode 85 is here. This is where we really begin to tie the episode number to the year of a game (or games?) release. So let's talk about the NES. We don't do it very often around here. The console itself is a bit of a "hidden gem", so let's give it the exposure it deserves. We are primarily going to discuss the seventeen launch titles for the NES. Those games came out in October of 1985. That was almost forty years ago, folks! Don't worry, we will talk a little about the other thirteen black box games.. along with some of the other "black box-adjacent" games, too. So come hang out with us and have some fun. If you don't have fun, you can't blame us (maybe you can?)

The boys are back from Milwaukee after attending the 2025 edition of the Midwest Gaming Classic. We were lucky to be joined by a number of our friends, so tune in and find out all about all of the stupid things we did (bought).

Are you aware that there was a video game crash in 1983? Of course you are.. What about the video game crash of 1977? Yeah.. didn't think so.. n00b. Stick around and learn about it (we will barely talk about it).

What do you know about Turrican? No.. really, think about it? For over thirty years, most people have probably looked at the cover and thought "it's about a sexy robot". I know we did.

Who doesn't love Rogue-likes? What's that? A lot of people? Well.. disregard that then, but not completely. What if it's a Rogue-like that's very slow on a Sega Genesis and involves two aliens rappers from the planet Funkotron? Yeah, I thought you'd change your tune.

Does every "hidden gem" list for the NES inevitably end with "The Guardian Legend"?From the looks of YouTube, the answer is surprisingly "no".Does that make it more hidden gem-y? Who the hell knows, but we're willing to discuss it.So lock it in and rip the knob off.

A lot of people like this game, but some don't. One of those who don't happens to be one of the hosts of this show. So tune in and find out what his freakin' deal is..

Yep.. another year, another dollar. That's not a saying. Whatever. Come join us we strive to achieve greatness by playing 40+ year-old video games and talk about the old stuff we bought.

Well, if you forgot how our year in review went.... don't fret, because here it is! Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are getting caught back up. What better way than to listen to our year in review in March! So let's take a moment to reflect on what we've accomplished in 2024, which really isn't that much when you print it out on a piece of paper.

It's football season (well, it was when we recorded this).. And there's nothing retro video game fans and collectors like better than sports games. OK, that's not true, but Tecmo Bowl is definitely an exception.So come hang and listen to us talk about Bo Jackson for the next two hours.

Look, we are going to level with you here. . Road Rash for the 3DO is peak '90s. Motorcycle street racing with weapons is radical enough. But pair it with FMV cutscenes, chain wallets, and Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" blaring in the background and it may just be the apex of 90's attitude. So come along for the ride with the LJN crew to see what they think about this EA classic.

Who can forget the Mascot Wars of the early 90's? Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, and the TurboGrafx-16 had Bonk. See, the TurboGrafx-16 was a console put out by NEC and HudsonSoft in the United States that almost no one bought. So, of course, that now means it's one of the most interesting things in the world to the retro gaming community. Or maybe it's not.. we're not experts around here on what a community thinks.

WARNING: This episode deals with VERY adult themes. The adultiest of adult themes. So please keep this in mind as you drift away with Jay and Mike to the land of hips and fog. Silent Hill 2 is a terrifying journey deep into the psyche of James Sunderland. That's not hyperbole. This game is as scary and unsettling as it gets. The only thing scarier is the thought that Silent Hill may call for one of us someday. And who wouldn't want to spend their free time playing a game like that? Sounds fun, right?

Is there a more radical video game protagonist than Zeke from ZATM? Maybe. But he's got to be in the top ten all-time, right? It almost makes you feel bad for Julie, Zeke's counterpart in the game. It's like all of of the time and effort in radicalization was spent on Zeke and that just seems unfair to us.

Anyone who has played R.C.Pro-Am for more than five minutes is more than aware of the orange car. If you grew up with this game, you have hopefully suppressed that memory and the hatred of the orange car. Good news for you is that we are going to bring back to the surface and make you face your demons. Just another fantastic reason to tune in. Who knew that listening to a podcast about a 35-year old video game qualified as therapy?

It's 1989 and everyone has a favorite Turtle. Growing up, both Jay and Mike were Michelangelo fans. But then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released for the NES and it changed everything. Don't get us wrong, Mikey is still #1 in our hearts, even to this day, but Donatello's bō staff was undeniable. In summary, Michelangelo is still our favorite so the game didn't really change much for us.

I bet you thought that we were going to do something sexy for episode 69 of the Lost Joystick Network, didn't you? Well, good news.. we did. Because what is hotter than listening to middle-aged men talk about patches you could earn by playing video games in the early 1980's? At any rate, please tune in otherwise. I am sure there are some good jokes or sound drops in here somewhere.

Look, we know we keep saying that we are going to get more consistent in posting our episodes and we haven't. We're trying, but not very hard. You can expect that we will try harder. Thank you for putting up with us. -- Anyway, here's Kaboom!

Yep.. Sonic the Hedgehog. If you're looking in the description of a podcast episode for information on who Sonic the Hedgehog is, then I will tell you that what you learn is going to be limited. Go search the internet to find out more. Or listen to this episode. Yeah.. do that. -- Be sure to visit our Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/lostjoystick And come join us in the Discord server by joining our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/lostjoysticknetwork -- As always, thank you for listening. We appreciate that you take time out of your day to spend with us. We really do.

Blazing Lazers is pretty great. The game is based off of the Japanese science fiction tokusatsu mecha action movie Gunhed. Yeah, you read that right. As for Gunhed, imagine Andy Dick was the director / producer for Blade Runner.. and that's Gunhed. -- Be sure to visit our Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/lostjoystick And come join us in the Discord server by joining our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/lostjoysticknetwork -- As always, thank you for listening. We appreciate that you take time out of your day to spend with us. We really do.

Look.. we know what you're thinking? ANOTHER podcast about Super Mario Bros. 2? Our answer to that question: Yes.

Lets be honest here.. you see the title. You know what you're about get to get yourself wrapped up in. So buckle up, settle in, and get whisked away to the Far East. Shaq (yes, THAT Shaq) is in town for a big basketball tournament and winds up getting sidetracked. Find out by who and how by tuning in and taking a listen. -- Thank you for listening. We appreciate you sticking with us. If you could leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast aggregator of choice, it would mean a lot to us! If you don't think we deserve it, you're probably right.. but we can still ask.

What's better than the recap of a retro video game convention? Well.. how about a recap of a retro video game convention from three months ago? Yeah, we thought you'd like that. -- Stick around and listen to all of the hijinks and shenanigans that the LJN crew took part in during the Midwest Gaming Classic. We get that it all happened in April, but hey.. it's still pretty good. And if you DON'T listen, then you may not ever know the origins of the REAL Pepsiman and SlawDawg.

Ask yourself.. fire-breathing, husky, mustache wielding carnies are pretty cool right? Good new everyone.... Jinborov Karnovski is your guy.... If fighting a T-Rex (or two), pterodactyls and gangs of angry apes in some Greek ruins... Then this is the game for you!.... or not, we are making this up as we go, we are old.... didn't we forget something at the store.........................................

I'm sure you're asking yourself "Self.. who the posts a 2023 Year in Review podcast episode" in May of 2024. Well, let's assume that you didn't notice the giant rainbow with "LOST JOYSTICK NETWORK" at the bottom. Cool. But if you had to guess.. deep down.. wouldn't you already know? You know you would. ANYWAY.. thanks for sticking with us. We're trying. We really are.. things will get better, baby.. we promise.

What better gift to give that special person in your life on Valentine's Day than a podcast about DuckTales? Let's be honest.. this game has everything you should be looking for in a game.. Drama, intrigue, money, greed, and a final race to the top against your archrival. And isn't that what Valentine's Day is really about? Actually, let me check Google really quickly... Hmmm.. interesting.. I see...... It seems it is not.