Episode 318: Cowboy Games

Loved listening to Thai episode knowing that the build up was to sunset riders

Boot Hill holds a special place in my heart because every summer, my family had to go to a business meeting in Florida. It was at a giant resort of the type we could never otherwise go to, with 4-5 restaurants and 3-4 shops on the ground floor, wine an arcade. The games were all things I never saw at home because they were old or obscure, and given the choice between Carnival, Galaxian and Boot Hill my brother and I gravitated toward Boot Hill.

Zachary Adams

Buffy the Vampire Slayer games episode - when?!

teezz

Great episode. I love that Nina is a Japanese-Canadian who loves Westerns, and Jeremy is a (transplant) West-Texan who hates them, but loves Japanese video games. OK, but my mind was blown when I watched the video for Badlands by Konami. Thanks Henry for praising it so much, which got me to watch it. I don’t think you guys mentioned it, but what I saw really made me think this was where a lot of the animation in SunsetRiders comes from. There is a shot of the protagonist tipping his hat up with his pistol to reveal his face, and the guy in the church tower really looks like Cormano (This is always my choice to play if available). A Dragons Lair style SunsetRiders? How did I never hear of or play this? (Of course, as with Dragons Lair, I’m sure watching the YouTube was probably a more fulfilling experience) Along with Jeremy, I also kinda hate Westerns. (For me, I think it’s the way the Cowboy Persona pervades American politics), but I was intrigued, and ended up ordering the SunsetRiders wallet a few months back after watching the video that Nina must have also mentioned on a previous Retronauts. Love all the FanGamer touches in both. I was listening to this in the car, and when (Henry or Bob?) was saying “I think it might be out on Switch”, my 8-year-old yelled from the back seat “It is! We’ve played it!!” So, between the wallet and corrupting my kids into loving it, I guess I’m a SunsetRiders Fan, and maybe I’ll have to rethink my stance on the Western genre after all. I can’t see you coming up with a better Cowboy video game in Part 2, but I’ll be waiting for you to prove me wrong. More Nina-driven episodes!

Colbin Erdahl

My greatest disappointment is that this movie does not feature the opening number from the Simpsons spoof

Kevin Bunch

If we list off every notable western film we didn't mention, we're gonna be here a mighty long time, pardner

nina matsumoto

What, no Shanghai Noon mention? When I think Cowboys, I think Jackie Chan and Luke Wilson. Get on it, Mr. Servo. :P

Cajun Baz

A great Western movie that everyone seems to hate on is "Paint Your Wagon", yes it's a musical Western but the plot is actually really good, Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin are two cowboys who both fall in love with Jean Seberg, and she can't choose between either of them. So what do they all agree on? They both marry her and all three have a happy polygamous marriage in the Old West and the main plot deals with them having to hide this fact from the pesky locals and religious folks who obviously wouldn't understand it. It's definitely a weird movie but also really charming.

SilverHairedMiddleAgedTuxedoMask

Gun Fight is a fascinating game for sure, and there’s some wild descriptions out there about it’s development - the western version was basically Dave Nutting saying “hey, we have these microprocessors, let’s try remaking this entire game with them.” If you look up footage of Western Gun is visually looks quite different! I have seen it once myself, as Cedar Point had a cabinet like 17 years ago. Dunno if it’s still there.

Kevin Bunch

This was a fun one! I love Sunsetriders so much so I was happy to hear the music throughout the episode. I’m kinda hoping you guys mention the Cowboys of Moo Mesa arcade game in the next part, I never watched that show but I remember the game being super cartoony and weird and fun. Keep up the great work!

James Krusling

Here's the MAGFest 2016 GeekNights panel I mentioned about Atari game design with a heavy focus on Outlaw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD49t5cqZFA

nina matsumoto

I didn't even want to mention that we weren't going to mention it

Bob Mackey

Unless I somehow missed it, I'm glad there was no discussion of Custer's Revenge here. We need to stricken it from all memory

John Learned

Everyone should watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I didn't want to take up time by going too much into detail about the films but yes, Dead Man is so interesting. For those who've never seen: it's a surreal black-and-white acid western about a wounded accountant (Johnny Depp) who's a "walking dead man" with a bounty on his head, and a Native American (played by Gary Farmer, an aboriginal Canadian actor) who takes care of him. It's a good example of a western with an accurate portrayal of Native Americans. There are many famous cameos throughout the film and all the music is by Neil Young.

nina matsumoto

I'm in Jeremy's camp on this one, I've never been a Western fan. I've seen a few Western movies (though never seen the Man With No Name trilogy), but I don't think I've played any games with a Western theme, excluding games that just use wild west for flavoring like Wild Arms or Borderlands. Major props to Nina for mentioning Dead Man, though. That movie is a fever dream not many people have seen.

Phoequinox

Great episode. Hope the follow up lands soon!

Kormakur Gardarsson

I still have that Sunset Riders wallet but luckily no one's had to bury me with it yet.

littleterr0r

A game where you could be as mean as you want or nice as you want blew my mind as a kid. This was super ahead of its time.

nina matsumoto

Oh, man - Law of the West was one of those classics I loved on the C64. Every game we had in those days was a bootleg copy from family friends with access to dial-up BBSes. Sadly, this meant when I got halfway through the game and it asked us to flip the disk over, it would start to glitch. We only had a copy of side A, so it would keep going through the rest of the dialogue trees, but with whichever character sprite loaded last, leading to such events as the Schoolmarm gruffly threatening us, or a Bandit greeting the Sheriff warmly. Still, I played this nonstop to the end time after time. Just remember to not insult the drunken doctor, or he might not be there when you're shot in the most fatal part of the flesh of your arm!

Really enjoy this panel combination. Not a huge western fan but ya'll made it interesting nonetheless

Jereme Makowski

Oh wow, I had no idea Cowboy Kid was rare. It was one of my favorite games growing up. I think unfortunately it may have been tossed along with so many other games from my childhood when my Dad moved and didn't tell me until afterwards. Honestly I was prepared to be not-mad at Bob for it not appearing

Micah

Those 70s cowboy duel games are surprisingly compelling, too. There's something extremely goofy and fun about the tension of facing off against a rival

crystalhearts

My immediate thoughts: - Are there cowboy games? - There are so many cowboy games - It turns out that I like a surprising number of cowboy games

crystalhearts

That's going to be in part two!

Bob Mackey

Such a fun topic. Never thought about it but there are so many opportunities to speak on. Can't wait.

Normallyretro

god the first five minutes of this episode made me laugh so much

Diamond Feit

Hope you cover the greatest video game in the world Mad Dog McCree

SilverHairedMiddleAgedTuxedoMask