Episode 137: Metroidvania and the ’90s doldrums
Added 2018-01-29 14:53:23 +0000 UTCCastlevania: Symphony of the Night is the entire reason the word "metroidvania" exists… and yet, it almost seems to have killed the exploratory platformer. It's the one truly notable game of its kind from the late ’90s; indeed, for an entire decade, most works in this style bore the name "Castlevania." So what happened in those years between the Super NES/Genesis and the indie metroidvania boom? That's the question this episode attempts to answer, with the help of a thoughtful mailbag segment.
…oh, and also, Chris and Benj hijack the show for half an hour to gush about Symphony of the Night.
Comments
That'll be our final stop on the metroidvania train, sometime this spring. Please look forward to it [bow]
Retronauts
2018-02-09 15:27:32 +0000 UTCThis was a great discussion and I'm really looking forward to the inevitable indie discussion as I played Cave Story for the first time recently on Switch and am really interested in trying others.
Neil L
2018-02-05 20:02:56 +0000 UTCWhen Chris and Benj started out, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about them being regulars. Cut to now, and I look forward to every Retronauts East the most. Not only are they both knowledgeable in areas otherwise unexplored by other games media, they both (especially Benj) are hilariously mischievous in ways I didn't know I wanted. Thanks so much for the great content. I could listen to you guys talk about metroidvanias forever.
Phazonmasher
2018-02-03 04:11:22 +0000 UTCI'm not sure how to say this without coming across passive-aggressive, but please know I don't mean it that way: Is there any way you could label the "Retronauts East" podcasts a little more explicitly? Nothing personal against any of the other guys you have in for those episodes, but they don't really hold my attention and I generally prefer your west coast offerings.
Jessica
2018-02-02 04:49:33 +0000 UTCfor real though, it's infuriating that a series of beloved Castlevania games are just rotting on GBA/DS carts instead of finding a new audience on literally any digital platform (uh, besides Wii U)
Diamond Feit
2018-01-30 18:31:11 +0000 UTCAs Chris said: "Put it on Switch, you cowards!"
Jeremy Parish
2018-01-30 12:00:53 +0000 UTCOne can never go wrong with a half hour of Symphony of the Night gushing. Downright criminal the game isn't readily available on all the console storefronts.
Kormakur Gardarsson
2018-01-30 11:16:29 +0000 UTC
