PODCAST · leisure
The Retro Breakdown
by TimeWanderer
Every week, Dean (twitch.tv/timewanderer) and Tom discuss current gaming news, and then check out some old (or sometimes new) piece of gaming history to see how it holds up, and test the strength of nostalgia.
Episodes
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Mega Man ZX Advent (DS) and the Capcom Sales Numbers
We cap off the Zero series with a fair bit of lethargy and a begrudging understanding of why Capcom has spent so much time not caring about Mega Man. We don't like or condone it, but we do sort of understand the shape of the modern game industry as it falls down all over itself. Send us mail at:...
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Resident Evil 2 (PS1 + Remake) and the Cozy Massage Space Pod
This is definitely the game that showed me that survival horror is, once and for all, not my bag. It's still really good though and I'm glad I played it and can talk about it now. Feels like a big milestone. Send us mail at:...
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Rockin' Kats/Nyankies (NES) and the MORE PUPPETS
When good things come out and you're a little disappointed because it isn't the SPECIFIC good thing you were hoping for? You should probably just enjoy the good thing anyway, that seems like a pleasant way to be. Also, we try to make sense of why the Ocarina of Time remake looks... like that.…
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Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (PS2) and the Persona Spinoff Character Assassinations
So my goal was to go into this game and laugh at how incredibly "2000s video game" it was. And I was entirely able to do that. But somewhere along the line, this game became more than just goofy physics, shootbangs and an edgy 2000s white man protagonist. It actually became sort of special?...
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Final Fantasy (NES) and the Stranger of Paradise
It's sort of two games in one this week, as we played both the original NES version of Final Fantasy 1, which is incredibly broken, and the sorta-kinda prequel, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which is incredibly stupid. This was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to...
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Silver Surfer (NES) and the Shadows of the Empire Erotica
We sit down with one of the most notoriously hard NES games and discover that it is actually kinda not that bad? It also is pretty bad. But in the same way that a lot of NES games are. But the aesthetics make it... kinda cool to play. Don't actually play it, just listen to the Follin brothers on...
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Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GC) and the Bananza Spoilercast
This week, we talk about getting jumpscared by Girls Gone Wild commercials on Comedy Central, the end of Donkey Kong Bananza, the beginning of the Final Fantasy franchise, and Oliver. You know. Oliver. THAT GUY. Send us mail!...
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Gitaroo Man (PS2) and the Fallout Class Warfare
The "games with good music" train rolls right along as this one is literally just about having great music. The gameplay is reasonably fun, but the vibes are immaculate. Also, we say things are "hard as balls" but balls are not hard. Discuss. Send us mail!...
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The Castlevania Adventure (GB) and the Tips to Avoid Torture
We're doubling up on Castlevania because I got this in a Kusogrande match! Also in this episode: There is a new live-action He-Man movie out and it is directed by a blatant nepo-baby. The Nintendo Direct that was announced 2 hours after we finished recording our previous podcast. We're starting…
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Castlevania 2 (NES) and the Summer Game Fest Recap
Wow that is a lot of game news, and we're absolutely not covering all of it, but we talk about what interests us, and also Grand Theft Auto 6, which does not interest either of us. Castlevania 2 is a game preceded by its reputation, which honestly is sort of unfortunate because it really isn't as...
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Blast Corps (N64) and the Backlash Debate
Is the Backlash the worst vehicle in Blast Corps, singlehandedly responsible for detracting from the overall experience? Or is it merely misunderstood, a tricky but ultimately rewarding mechanic to finally wrap your head around? Your answer to this question probably aligns closely with whether or...
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Wario World (GC) and the StarFox Re-Re-Re-Remake
According to Nintendo, there is one StarFox game. And that game is whichever remake of the original one they are currently selling. Meanwhile, Treasure made a Wario game, and it feels more like a Treasure game than a Wario game. But honestly, both of those things are still okay? Apparently this...
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Mendel Palace (NES) and the Famicom BASIC
Game Freak's very first game has a great story behind it, and some really interesting stuff, but somehow we end up talking about Activision and I promise it makes sense. Also, we do a rare look-ahead to big budget games that people are looking forward to this year, and realize we mostly don't…
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Castlevania (NES) and the Lords of Shadow Spoilers
We absolutely talk about Castlevania on this podcast. We should maybe have focused a little bit more on Castlevania 1, the supposed focus of this podcast, but apparently it was time to talk about every other game in the series and also my new indie obsession, Zexion. THE SOUNDTRACK REALLY SLAPS…
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Mario Clash (Virtual Boy) and the Nintendo Cinematic Universe
The first episode of many recorded from my new place in Korea, and it's a Virtual Boy game because why not? Star Fox in the new Mario movie implies that you reasonably could set up a Star Fox movie off of this and create a whole Nintendo Cinematic Universe so WE TALK ABOUT THIS FOR A BIT. NOTICE:...
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Balloon Kid (Game Boy) and the Final Ohio Podcast
This podcast has always been recorded remotely, but this is the last one, at least for a long while, that will be at least half-recorded in Ohio. Perhaps appropriately, it's about a kid going on a flying adventure. NOTICE: Episodes will be bi-weekly for a while - I'm moving and it's going to mess...
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Mega Man ZX (Nintendo DS) and the Not Miis
The absolute best Mega Man power ever created exists in this game, which is... pretty good. It has flaws, but this series works pretty well in an open map structure. OR IT WOULD IF THE MAP WASN'T AGGRESSIVELY TERRIBLE NOTICE: Episodes will be bi-weekly for a while - I'm moving and it's going to...
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A Boy and His Blob (NES) and the Final Fantasy 15 Apologist
It seems that the standard experience with this game is "rented it as a kid, couldn't figure out what to do, took it back." It turns out the reason for that is the the intended first step is to no-clip through the floor, and that was maybe just a little obtuse. NOTICE: Episodes will be bi-weekly...
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Bionic Commando (GB) and the Age of Imprisonment
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a lot of fun, but I have some gripes. Bionic Commando for Game Boy, however, is black magic and I have no idea how or why it is works as well as it does on this system, it does not make sense. NOTICE: Episodes will be bi-weekly for a while - I'm moving and...
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Fatal Fury Special (SNES) and the Grand Theft Auto 6 Failure
This week, we talk about fighting games, Mai Shiranui, and the absolute best thing that could possibly happen to the video game industry in 2026. Send us mail!...
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Battletoads (NES) and the Air Bud Retrospective
I like hard games. I think hard games are often very good. Here are a bunch of reasons we don't think Battletoads is very good beyond the first 3 stages. Consequently, this also coincides with the reason why people actually think Battletoads is good, because the first three stages - the good ones…
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Resident Evil (PS1/GC) and the Farting Clowns
It must be a new year because we're doing survival horror! This is my actual first time with Resident Evil, and to get the full picture, I played both Chris and Jill's routes, and also played Jill's route in the Gamecube remake (even though I played the PC ports for all of them). Maybe the world…
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The Retro Breakdown 2025 Tier List
From Cool Spot to Mr. Driller 2 with a bunch of Mega Man games in between, we recap every game we played and podcasted in 2025! Send us mail!...
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Home Alone (Sega Master System) and the 85% of Hot Topic Sales
Somehow, against all odds, Home Alone for the Sega Master System is one of the best Home Alone games I've ever played. I know that's a low bar, but still, this game came out in Europe in 1993, well after the release of the second movie and an entirely new console generation, and somehow it hits....
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Mr. Driller 2 and the Resident Evil Bulk Purchase
The point of this week's episode is that Mr. Driller as a game is whatever, but the LORE IS DEEPER THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE. Also, I guess I'm just gonna play all the Resident Evil games now? I bought a bunch of them mid-podcast and am getting ready to stream the first one as I publish…
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Alleyway (Game Boy) and the Lazy Breakout
It's Breakout but if you put absolutely no effort into doing anything interesting or unique at all. Ironically, this leads us into a whole discussion about how lazy game design was totally okay in 1989 because the unique thing about it was just the fact that you could play it on the go at all.…
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Chibi-Robo! (GC) and the Black Friday Work Stories
Before playing this game, the only thing I knew about it was "Divorce." After playing this game, that may actually still be the only thing I remember. Send us mail!...
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Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA) and the Kojima AI Friends
"I don't want to use AI, I just want it to be a friend that does my work for me, like a co-creator." My Brother in Christ, that is WHAT USING AI IS. Have we learned NOTHING from Metal Gear Solid 2? Send us mail!...
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Mario's Picross (Game Boy) and the King's Field
We played a bunch of different things for small amounts of time this week, so let's talk about Picross, random New York Times puzzles, King's Field, and a bunch of other things? Send us mail!...
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The Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis) and the Clockwork Tortoise
One of the most impressive games on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive could have been one of the best of all time with the power of a good project manager or producer. Alas, we'll settle for "really impressive and flawed in easily-fixable ways." Send us mail!...
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D2 (Dreamcast) and the Hundred Line Second Playthrough
There's so much to unpack here we had to come back and add another 20 minutes after we thought we were done. Send us mail! [email protected] TW's...
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Mega Man X8 (PS2) and the Mavericks at Will
THAT IS LITERALLY THE WHOLE POINT OF A MAVERICK (Reupload) Send us mail! [email protected] TW's Discord:...
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Drake of the 99 Dragons (Xbox) and the Blue Prince Spoilercast
I haven't played a game with this much edge since my last playthrough of Catherine. Also, I am absolutely going to spoil the ending of Blue Prince, so be warned if that's something you would like to avoid. Send us mail!...
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No One Can Stop Mr. Domino (PS1) and the Collection Culling
I'm getting rid of a chunk of my retro games collection, and with the money I make from it, maybe I'll buy more games like this. Send us mail!...
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Mega Man Zero 3 (GBA) and the Ripple Island Sequel
Zero and Ciel and Doctor Weil live in a society. Which is not the same as our society, the one where somebody decided we needed an Overcooked clone based on Ripple Island. Send us mail!...
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Landstalker (Genesis) and the Slow Walk Taunt
Invisible platforms! Vapid princesses! Sassy fairy companions! Casinos in the town well! Unhinged puzzle solutions! Childish taunts from your antagonist! Fun? Send us mail!...
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Brawl Brothers (SNES) and the Termination Time
After five years, we finally decide to play another Rushing Beat game, and since we started with the third one, why not continue in reverse chronological order, right? Classic case here of a game with all the right ideas and just all the wrong thoughts on implementation. Send us mail!...
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Snake Rattle & Roll (NES) and the Ice Slope Foot Licking
Rare has this thing where we keep going into their games expecting to be underwhelmed or even trash it, but then we end up glazing them because the game is a marvel of engineering even if it is obscenely difficult and player-hostile for no good reason. Despite my best efforts, this is another one...
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Mega Man X7 (PS2) and the European Normal
This game is basically the whole reason we started playing Mega Man games in the first place. We're finally here. Feels like an important milestone. Also. Burn. Burn. Burn to the ground. HOOOO! Send us mail!...
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Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA) and the Zero Babies
A dive into the Mega Man Zero plotline reveals that Zero has hundreds of children that he eats for power. Everyone he knows encourages this. The game tells you how messed up that is and then insists you do it anyway. Game's good, tho Send us mail!...
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R.C. Pro-Am (NES) and the Ubisoft Whining
Remember kids, when you criticize Ubisoft for sexually assaulting women in the workplace and systematically covering it up for years, it makes their games worse somehow. Ubisoft is the real victim here. It definitely isn't because they've been remaking the same game with different coats of paint...
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Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy) and the Animal Friend Punishment
As we have established, Kirby is an eldritch being with powers beyond human ken. For a creature containing the power of entire galaxies as playthings, these pitiful creatures known as Coo, Kine, and Rick are beneath his notice. They will explode when they must to serve the pink lord's will and...
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Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear) and the Lost Podcast
Featuring 5 minutes of talking about E-SWAT, leftover from the podcast that got corrupted last week. It's okay, that's the exact right amount of time to talk about that. Send us mail!...
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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (GBA) and the Dumb European Purchases
When you realize that you both are the type of person to go to exotic locations and just buy Nintendo stuff instead of actual souvenirs. Send us mail! [email protected] TW's...
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Mega Man Zero (GBA) and the Pirate Copy of X
Evidently, the key to making a good Mega Man game in the 21st century is to not let Capcom make it. Send us mail! [email protected] TW's Discord:...
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Aerobiz (SNES) and the Final Fantasy Spirits Within
Technically three more games on tap today as we played all three Aerobiz games, but they're all similar enough to be talked about in one podcast. Thanks for all the weird stuff, Koei. Sorry I'm 30 years late finding it. Send us mail!...
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Ripple Island (Famicom) and the Memorable Music Runback
It's game 3/3 in the Sunsoft collection, and this one, while jank in some ways you might expect out of a 1980's point-and-click adventure game on a console, is actually pretty charming when it's not asking you to find invisible items! Send us mail!...
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The Wing of Madoola (Famicom) and the Firework Thrower Kantarou
It's two games in one on this week's podcast, where we take on 2/3 of the Sunsoft is Back! Collection. These are definitely some of the games of all time. There's some potential, but... also a lot of no. Send us mail!...
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Mega Man X6 and the Capcom Rough Patch
Why. Why is it like this. There is no reason for it to be like this. It's like they wanted to make it exactly the same as Mega Man X5 but worse in every possible way. Send us mail!...
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Donkey Kong Land 2 (Game Boy) and the Crappy Mail
There's a lot going on this week, but there's always time for Stickerbrush Symphony. Send us mail! [email protected] TW's Discord:...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Every week, Dean (twitch.tv/timewanderer) and Tom discuss current gaming news, and then check out some old (or sometimes new) piece of gaming history to see how it holds up, and test the strength of nostalgia.
HOSTED BY
TimeWanderer
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Retro Breakdown have?
The Retro Breakdown currently has 282 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Retro Breakdown about?
Every week, Dean (twitch.tv/timewanderer) and Tom discuss current gaming news, and then check out some old (or sometimes new) piece of gaming history to see how it holds up, and test the strength of nostalgia.
How often does The Retro Breakdown release new episodes?
The Retro Breakdown publishes regularly with 282 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Retro Breakdown?
You can listen to The Retro Breakdown on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Retro Breakdown?
The Retro Breakdown is created and hosted by TimeWanderer.
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