retronauts

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Following his debut in 1990's Super Mario World, Yoshi quickly evolved from a glorified power-up to a star that could carry games with his name alone. And in the character's nearly 30 years of existence, Yoshi-based experiences have taken many forms--including one that stands as possibly the greatest platformer of all time. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Henry Gilbert as the crew tries to pin down Yoshi's appeal and whether or not we should worry that he suddenly grew opposable thumbs.

It's the debut of Retronauts East as East Coast gaming experts Benj Edwards and Ben Elgin join Jeremy to discuss the Apple II computer platform: Its origins, its games, and its legacy. Be sure to visit our site, which includes a complete listing of this episode's musical selections and where to find them, at www.retronauts.com. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way to help support this weekly show, please head on over to our Patreon page (www.patreon.com/retronauts)!

Our second Retronauts Radio looks at notable retro-themed game music releases for February: Castlevania II, a Final Fantasy Tactics tribute, Revenge of Shinobi, Etrian Odyssey remixes, and a ton of SEGA jams! Art by Jon Stachewicz. Be sure to visit our site, which includes a complete listing of this episode's musical selections and where to find them, at Retronauts.com. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way to help support this weekly show, please head on over to our Patreon page!

Steve Lin and Jaz Rignall join Jeremy and Bob again to look back at one of the most important game creators of all time: Activision, the company that established the concept of third parties.

It's hard to believe, but the Wii celebrated its tenth birthday last year, putting it within our extremely loose definition of "retro." And thankfully, it's a topic worthy of the Retronauts treatment. Not only does the Wii amount to Nintendo's biggest success, it's also unlikely any subsequent system will ever sell more than this underpowered little box that made our motion-control dreams come true... when we still had them. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Brett Elston, and Mikel Reparaz as the crew looks back on a not-too-distant past full of Wiis and waggle.

When The Simpsons took off like a rocket in its first few years, it was only a matter of time before someone scooped up the video game rights. And that "someone" in this case turned out to be Acclaim, those notable purveyors of trash that introduced the concept of "buyer's remorse" to generations of gamers. On this special Talking Simpsons crossover episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as the crew thoroughly explores Bart vs. the Space Mutants, the strangely ambitious but all-around bad production that taught us all to be forever suspicious of Simpsons games.

It's an all-music episode of Retronauts as Jeremy looks at recent classic game soundtrack releases of note. Includes looks at Panzer Dragoon, symphonic Final Fantasy, Castlevania: Dracula X, Metroid, and more!

Having survived the Bubble Bobble episode, Jeremy mops up the franchise with a look at its most popular (or at least most imitated) branch: The iconic color-match puzzler Bust-A-Move... more sensibly known as "Puzzle Bobble."

The original Power Trio — Bob, Ray, and Jeremy — follow up their recent look at Wonder Boy to take on the next needlessly convoluted franchise: Taito's Bubble Bobble (et al.). Confusion guaranteed for all! Be sure to visit our blog at retronauts.com, now updated daily! This show is an entirely independent and a self-sustaining concern for 2017. Please help support our livelihoods at patreon.com/retronauts

After yet another year of podcasting, it's time to tie a bow on 2016 with an annual trip to the Retronauts Holiday cabin in Parts Unknown. And this time around, we set our sights on Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, a TV special that gently lulled a generation of chomp-obsessed children to sleep when it premiered way back in 1982. On this very special episode, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as the crew examines this televised lump of Christmas coal in much greater detail than any of its creators ever did.

Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog: a designed-by-committee character born out of pure cynicism that nonetheless won over a generation and continues to be extremely popular today. Despite the brand's notoriety throughout the 21st century, Sonic earned his place in gaming history with the three-and-a-half Genesis releases that made him a household name. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Tim Turi as the crew explores Sonic's origins and the brief period where he shone the brightest.

Enjoy this delightful yarn about the legal wrangling over the matter of Donkey Kong's true parents. Is Shigeru Miyamoto really his dad? And who has custody over this simian tyke, anyway?

Let's get technical! With this, the first of a series of Micro episodes focused on specific technologies and how they shape the games we love. We begin here with a podcast-appropriate aural treat: The iconic sound of FM synthesis.

TOSE! Towa Chiki! VAP! Meldac! SunSoft! Atelier Double! These are but a few of the studios we (that is, Jeremy, Dr. Sparkle, and Frank Cifaldi) explore in this look at weird, often terrible games made by vanished Japanese developers in the ’80s.

Chris Kohler joins Jeremy and Bob to revisit a topic from the earliest days of Retronauts: Virtual Console. Boy, what a difference 10 years makes! Remember when we were optimistic about that? Also includes some NES Classic Edition spitballing or whatever.

As part of our post-10th birthday victory lap, friends Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross of Watch Out for Fireballs! (and several other shows) join Bob for a laid-back discussion about the podcasting game, the true meaning of "retro," and why you should get your butt to Portland next October. Thanks for listening, and we swear we'll actually be talking about video games next week! (And, presumably, for several hundred weeks to come.)

It's hard to believe, but the podcast devoted to discussing old games is now old itself! On this special live episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohler, and special guest Scott Sharkey as the crew discusses a decade spent stuck in the past. (Special thanks to twitter user @RPeavyhouse for the cover photo!)

If you lived through the NES era, the words "Fester's Quest" likely make you break into a cold sweat. (Sorry about that.) A few years before Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd danced the Mamushka, kids of the '80s mostly knew The Addams Family via Sunsoft's 8-bit hit and its absolutely unforgiving difficulty. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, and Henry Gilbert as the crew works through their shared trauma, and uncovers the fascinating history of this odd little game.

Like every type of media still in its early years, gaming is viewed (by some) as a world-destroying force bent on stealing our time and warping our innocent minds. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert and Mikel Reparaz as the crew traces how our anxieties over this new form of entertainment have caused society to push back and demand sometimes-hilarious changes. It's bowdleriffic!

Jeremy muses over one of the greatest arcade games of all time: Taito's oddly out-of-time cooperative shooter, Elevator Action II (Elevator Action Returns if you're nasty).

Game preservation advocates Frank Cifaldi, Mike Mika, and Steve Lin of The Video Game History Foundation (www.gamehistory.org) discuss the challenges and obsessions that drive the search for and archiving of the information and materials surrounding the classics. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer.net, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page: www.patreon.com/retronauts

After a month, the Retronauts Micro 8-Bit Superhero Sampler continues with a discussion of two NES games that aren't quite as abominable as the ones featured in our last installment: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman. On this extra-extra-long episode, join Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, Henry Gilbert, and special guest Chris Baker as the crew extolls the virtues of underwater bomb disposal, and explains why Batman's purple-hued makeover makes sense (which surprisingly has nothing to do with Prince).

While most of us nostalgia-heads remember Punch-Out!! most from its brief association with Mike Tyson, this humble little series has an interesting history outside of its noteworthiness as an all-time NES classic. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Antista, and Dave Rudden as the crew explores the entire Punch-Out!! series, from its roots as a wannabe Laserdisc game to its current status as a means of beating up whimsical ethnic stereotypes.

Jeremy looks at how this classic RPG's 3DS remake compares to the unhappy reputation of the original version.

Jared Petty joins Bob and Jeremy to contemplate the good and the bad of Nintendo's third home console, which launched 20 years ago this month. (Apologies for the audio defects in this episode — they didn't become apparent until we had finished recording.)

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... some guy riding the subway! On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, Henry Gilbert, and special guest Chris Baker as the crew dissects two of the earliest (and worst) superhero games the NES has to offer: Superman and The Uncanny X-Men.

Five years after making his hosting debut in Retronauts Live episode 17, Bob returns to the topic of the Super Nintendo to find out if there's anything new to say. Thankfully, a half-decade later, we're all a little older, and a little wiser--but mostly a little older. On this celebration of the SNES' 25th birthday, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Capcom's Tim Turi tag along to sing the praises of Nintendo's wonderful 16-bit console.

Bryan Ochalla joins in again for another in-depth dissection of the Game Boy library. This time we look at Nintendo's Tennis and the system's 800-lb. gorilla. Not, not Donkey Kong (DK's an ape, not a gorilla!) — I mean Tetris.

Ray Barnholt joins Jeremy and Bob in an attempt to make sense of the bizarre lineage of SEGA's Wonder Boy, Hudson's Adventure Island, and the pronunciation of "Westone." It's 100 minutes of confusion!

On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, and Henry Gilbert as your podcasting pals cast off the shackles of edutainment and bring you a mostly frivolous test of their classic game audio knowledge.

In an era of high scores and game overs, Bay Area developer Will Wright's fascination with urban planning led to an experience completely unique to our medium: a video game with no win state. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Mikel Reparaz, and Kat Bailey as the crew traces the history of SimCity from its brilliant roots to its unfortunate decline, and ponder just how much product Will Wright's cartoon avatar needs to keep his green afro so bouncy and manageable.

Caitlin Oliver chats with Jeremy about gaming's most aesthetically pleasing collecting habit: Acquiring the full spectrum of Nintendo's multi-colored Japanese 8-bit cartridges.

Chris Kohler and Sam Claiborne join up for another single-game exploratory session, this time centered around the original Final Fantasy. More like Final FantasTIC, right???

On this episode of Retronauts Micro, we return once again to the mixtape format for a small sampling of the catchiest shop themes in classic video games.

The SNES RPG EarthBound might be considered a true cult classic, but its rise from critical flop to beloved masterpiece didn't happen overnight. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, Michael Grimm, and Andrew Goldfarb as the crew tries to pin down what makes this Japanese take on Boomer-friendly Americana so special. OK desu ka?

It's not really a Micro episode, but that's OK — it's not really Retronauts, either. Jeremy digs up a pilot episode for a Game Boy-centered podcast (costarring Game Boy superfan Bryan Ochalla) that ultimately never saw the light of day. In this standalone episode, we discuss the system's launch and day-one releases: Baseball, Alleyway, Yakuman, and of course Super Mario Land.

Steven Lin and Jaz Rignall join up to talk about Namco's all-time classic Pac-Man, as well as its spinoffs, sequels, and merchandizing.

Despite the fact that video games have been a household mainstay since the '80s, they've been absent from TV programming until fairly recently. But before G4 TV emerged in 2002, there was GamePro TV: A short-lived, syndicated show from 1991 that existed as an extremely literal interpretation of the popular magazine. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Dave Rudden, Chris Antista, and Henry Gilbert as the crew explores this relic of the '90s and tries desperately to write down J.D. Roth's codes in time. It'll be totally tubular, bud!

Due to our erratic Retronauts recording schedule--a whole bunch of podcasts every three to four months--it's a lot harder than it used to be to respond to our fans in a timely manner. That's why, once per year, we sit down and pore over a selection of the best listener letters for the sake of a freewheeling, 90-minute discussion. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, Mikel Reparaz, and Chris Kohler as the crew tackles important issues, like the state of gaming preservation and their respective waifus.

Jeremy reminisces on the appeal of Namco's Klonoa, a PlayStation game whose existence defied the odds. Simple yet memorable, its ethereal atmosphere make it a timeless 32-bit creation. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more podcasts or whatever. And if you'd like to support the show, that can be arranged through our Patreon page.

Chris Kohler and Sam Claiborn join Jeremy and Bob to dive deep into a part of the Zelda series Retronauts has rarely touched on: The NES duo of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

These days, we have YouTube, Twitch, and a variety of platforms to bring us endless footage of just about every game ever made, but kids who grew up in the '90s weren't so lucky. Despite our prehistoric existence, though, we at least had the short-lived game show, Nick Arcade, which gave a nation of cable TV viewers nothing but pure gaming action for roughly 23% of its running time. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, enter the VIDEO ZONE as Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, Dave Rudden, and Henry Gilbert explore the best kids' entertainment Florida is capable of.

Sorry to make you feel old, but Resident Evil turns 20 this year. And since we games journalists can't help but be obsessed with anniversaries that end with a 0 or a 5, it's only natural that we record a Retronauts retrospective on this rich subject. On this episode, listen in as Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, and guest Dave Rudden explore the first three Resident Evil games and their surprisingly convoluted histories. (And we at least make an effort to keep the regurgitation of tired memes to a minimum.)

A look back at, to our knowledge, the final legacy of Mega Man creator Akira Kitamura: The overlooked and overpriced NES platformer Little Samson.

Dan Adelman joins Jeremy and Bob to discuss one of the true treasures of the '90s: The Castlevania series' transformative duology, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Enough talk, have at you!

Jeremy and Bob hit the mean streets of Milwaukee to talk about the SEGA Master System on the eve of its 30th anniversary. Featuring special SEGA expert guests Greg Sewart and Dylan Cornelius. Special thanks to 249 Studios for the live recording!

On this calm and soothing episode of Retronauts Micro, join host Bob Mackey for a sampling of the best 16-bit RPG town themes in all creation.

Nothing may feel more like those simpler times of the late '90s than Pokemon, but Nintendo's monster-collecting phenomenon managed to stick in there for two whole decades by staying true to its roots. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert and Kat Bailey as the crew explores the last twenty years of Game Freak's zillion-dollar franchise. (Disclaimer: Please listen to this podcast in a well-lit room for your own safety.)

IGN's Sam Claiborn stops by to discuss the merits, explosions, and alarming aftermarket price of Irem's NES classic, Metal Storm.