Retrovaniacs

We revisit the TurboGrafx-16 yet again, as we cover what became the mascot of the system in the US, Bonk, in his first outing. Did the little caveman with a giant noggin have what it takes to hold up to Sonic and Mario and make the TG-16 a force in the market again? Well, obviously not-- but Bonk still had a lot of promise.
As a reminder, Kyle VonKubik's t-shirt Kickstarter still has a few weeks left, it's almost fully funded, but 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 12:40!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

A listener request from Kyle VonKubik (see more below), this episode we definitely bit off more than we could chew, covering 2 completely different RPGs on the same source material, the pen and paper FASA RPG, Shadowrun.  Do either of these versions do the cyberpunk classic justice, and what makes them different?  We try to cover a lot in this hour+, and it probably got a little messy.
Kyle VonKubik is also doing a Kickstarter for an amazing t-shirt design, Arkado Returns, which ends September 12th, and at the time this was posting is already over halfway there!  It's a pretty rad set of designs based on iconic arcade classics including QBert, Frogger, Pac-Land, KLAX, and loads more.  Check it out here, and consider backing it-- We did! 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 12:20!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

SURPRISE!  We weren't sure what we were covering this episode when you last heard from us, but due to Jeremy's broken leg situation, we had to make it something you could play on Switch-- and the re-release of Top Hunter: Roddy and Cathy (originally on the Neo Geo) seemed like a solid choice.  None of us played this before, so we went into this with no pre-conceived notions!  Does this one hold up, or is it another case of "this may have been fun 25 years ago, but what is this?"
We also push a neat retro-gaming t-shirt Arkado Returns by listener Kyle VonKubik, who also recommends our next game-- Shadowrun!   Check out his Kickstarter here : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/946048492/arkado-returns-vintage-arcade-inspired-limited-edi/description
Want to skip hearing about non-retro games we've been playing?  Skip to 10:48!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

This time we take a look at Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo, a game that is highly regarded as a classic game.  Instead of seeing if it's a good or bad game, we instead focus on what makes this game so good-- And does it still play well in 2018?
We also take a listener question about our most nostalgic game purchase, and that leads us down memory road as we say goodbye to a retail icon and it's wonderfully mysterious game cage in the 80s/90s.
Want to skip hearing about what else we've been playing?  Start at 9:37!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

This time we revisit the Sega Master System, to look at a forgotten mascot of a major gaming powerhouse -- Sega's Alex Kidd, in his first adventure!  How effective is a game where Paper-Rock-Scissors is the method for combat? Listen to find out!
We also discuss the other games in the Alex Kidd series, including his foray into the Genesis, before Alex got sent to the rest home for former mascot characters.
Want to skip right to the good stuff?  Then listen from 8:19!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band.

It's a pocket-sized episode of Retrovaniacs, this time looking at the first handheld Zelda game -- Link's Awakening (and the color re-release that came out a few years later)!  Does this game hold up to the best the series has to offer, or will this wallow with the later DS entries in the area of "this was a better idea than reality"? 
We also discuss the new Atari VCS Indiegogo success (?) and Jeremy P gets way too excited about the Intellvision Entertainment announcement.
Want to skip straight to Link?  Start at the 11:00 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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band

To celebrate the Mega Man X collections, coming out this summer, we decided it was time to look at the first game in the second major Mega Man series-- Mega Man X for the Super Nintendo.  Also discussed, "go to" classic arcade games, in the arcades of our dreams.
Want to skip right to Mega Man X?  Start listening at 9:24!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band

This time we take a look at the original Road Rash for the Sega Genesis.  Road Rash is another series that spawned a series of sequels and then just sort of faded away.  We have our thoughts on why that may have happened.
Do you want to skip over Jeremy P talk about Persona 4 Golden (again)?  Then skip right to 8:50!
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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.
Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band

This episode, we try a game none of us have played before - Sub Terrania on the Sega Genesis! Based on the box, this looked to be a fairly standard top down shooter, but don't judge this game by it's box...
We also discuss some of the new retro announcements by Sega (Shenmue remakes and Mini-Genesis), and... the Rampage movie?
Want to skip hearing about things that aren't Sub Terrania?  Skip to 8:50!
__________
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

Jeremy P makes another valiant effort to find a TurboGrafx-16 game that everyone will enjoy, as we take a look at 1991's Silent Debuggers! Does he succeed? Also, is it possible to use the word "Slog" and have it mean something good?  How mad was Billy that we waited for him to cover this game?
We also answer a listener question, regarding the good and bad of Sega and Nintendo's early efforts in the US Market!
Want to skip the pre-show rambling and skip right to the good stuff?  Skip to the 8:00 mark.
Next episode, we're looking at Sub-Terrania on the Genesis!
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Intro song is "8-Bitter" by Subtastics, and is used with permission, mainly because Jeremy P is in that band