Retrovaniacs

Our first episode of 2019 takes us back to the NES to look at a very beloved game, Battletoads, which is known not only for being a game everyone loves, but also one of the hardest games on the NES.   Does this still hold up today, and is it as hard as we all remember?  Can we even get past those damn speeder bikes?  Listen to find out!
We also answer a listener question from "Josh" to discuss some poor 2nd and 3rd choices we made at the store as kids, because going home with any game has to be better than going home with none... right?
Want to skip right to Battletoads?  Start at 9:30!
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If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.
 

UPDATE: Added our voices back in.  Hooray?
Ho, ho, ho! It's Christmastime at the Retrovania dot net HQ, and so we've pulled out a holiday classic - Die Hard Trilogy! Ok, so there is nothing in this game that even remotely mentions Christmas, but this is a game that contains 3 completely separate games based on the first 3 Die Hard movies. Is this a rare case where you get a lot for your money, or are all three of these games worth throwing off the top of the Nakatomi building?
Also discussed, our favorite current games that came out in 2018, our biggest disappointments of the year, and our personal favorite game we covered this year on Retrovaniacs!
It's the Christmas episode that nobody asked for!
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If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

A Treasure game for the Genesis, included on most Genesis collections, and yet none of us have played it?  This is exactly the situation faced this week, as we review listener recommended Dynamite Headdy! Will this game be found deserving to be on the Genesis game collections, or is Headdy just another bad 16-bit mascot?
We've gotten more questions via Retrovania.net, so we end the show off answering 4 of them!  If you have a question, send it on over for a future episode, and we will try our best to not butcher your names.
Want to skip around what else we've been doing? Start at that 7 minute mark!
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If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

Since the Playstation Classic is coming out next week, and we already looked at several other games that are going to be on the mini-system, we decided to take on the first of the modern era Metal Gear games, Metal Gear Solid!  Does this game deserve to be on the classic, or is this another game that might be better left in our collective memories?
We take a listener question on video game music, and bands that play instrumental covers of that same music, and we push the finest comment form on the internet, once again.
Want to skip what we have been playing? Then crawl by those security cameras to 12:15!
__________________________
If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.
 

YEEHAW! To be honest, much like everyone else we assumed we'd have been too busy with Red Dead Redemption 2 to play something that wasn't western and / or was a really long game.  So -- we're covering Natsume's Wild Guns on the SNES, a game that is short and western-ish.  Does this game still provide a rootin'-tootin' good time, or should this one be put out to pasture?
We also take a listener question regarding ROM hacks, talk about the PS Classic lineup, and the surprise Amico announcement and what we think it will be.
Want to skip right to the run-and-gun action?  Set your pocketwatch to the 8:55 mark, partner.
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If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

It's Halloween 2018!  We're celebrating this year by covering maybe the most iconic horror monsters, at least of the 80s - Freddy and Jason, and the most 80s games possible on the LJN-made games for the NES.
Sure, they've already duked it out on the big screen, but which of these slashers will have the better NES game?
Want to skip around what else we've been doing?  Start at that 9 minute mark!
__________________________
If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.
 

It's the first Halloween episode of 2018, and we've decided to take a closer look at Symphony of the Night before the new HD re-release comes out at the end of the month with Castlevania : Requiem.  Does this game still have fangs, or is it a miserable pile (of secrets)? 
We also covered the 16-bit Castlevanias previously, in Episode 35, way back in Halloween 2016.
We also answer a listener question about bootlegs, and Billy has a terrifying memory that resurfaces...
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If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident. Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

We broke from our own set of guidelines for this one, we're looking at Shenmue in honor of the HD re-releases of Shenmue 1 and 2, and the probable upcoming 3rd game in the series in 2019 (maybe).   We dive into the first game in the saga of Ryo Hazuki, who is sent around Yokosuka, Japan to find information on black cars, Chinese people, and of course sailors, as he hunts down Lan Di to get revenge for his father's death.  Does this game hold up at all in 2018, or was a game that was pretty clunky by 1999 standards even moreso now?
We also answer a listener question on our favorite Halloween films, which kicks things off for the remainder of October as we celebrate #31DaysofHalloween across this podcast, Youtube channel, our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages... and also in our hearts?
Want to skip past what we've been playing? Shift to that 9:00 mark.
__________________________
If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident.  Find everything Retrovaniacs at http://www.retrovania.net
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.
 

Grab your favorite pair of swords and join the Retrovanics crew as we dive into the elemental planes of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as we play Chakan the Forever Man for the Sega Genesis.
We also talk about the new Switch onlien service with NES library, the Mega Man 11 demo, and we answer a listener question from "Seph" who asks us what sort of game we personally would make.
Want to skip hearing about what we've been playing (and our thoughts on Mega Man 11)? Skip to 14:20!
__________________________
If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from? It's easy, and helps people find us by accident.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

Billy is back this week, as we take a look at a game that is included on the NES Classic that 2/3 of us had never played - Startropics! Join us as we help Mike find his lost Uncle, Dr. Jones, and find out why a parrot tells you to Do Me So Far Do Me.
As a reminder, Kyle VonKubik's t-shirt Kickstarter ends in less than a week, however it's been fully funded!  There's still a little bit of time to order an exclusive retro-design shirt!  Check it out here! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/946048492/arkado-returns-vintage-arcade-inspired-limited-edi
Want to skip hearing about non-retro games we've been playing?  Skip to 8:15!
__________________________
If you enjoy this podcast, why not write a review wherever you download it from?  It's easy, and helps people find us by accident.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.