July 11, 2001: Final Fantasy goes Hollywood and nearly fades away
by Diamond Feit
Final Fantasy is a rarity amongst Japanese video game franchises, as it is one of the few to achieve global recognition early in its existence while also maintaining a strong foll...
2021-07-11 13:08:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Quite some time back (Episode 221! A lifetime ago!), we talked about the film Alien and its video game descendants as a celebration of that movie's 40th anniversary. Now, the sequel turns 35 this month, and that seemed as good an excuse as any to talk about its history and legacy as well. Though, honestly, Aliens is a film that's always relevant for video game discussions; its influence on the medium has been, shall we say, outsize. I feel like we only scratch the surface in...
2021-07-05 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
July 3, 1991: He said “I’ll be back” and he meant it
by Diamond Feit
Happy birthday America! I am not and have never been a “patriot” but I’ve always had a weakness for the Fourth of July. Ever since my youth, July 4th has meant fireworks, barbecues, and goi...
2021-07-04 13:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post
How do you follow up a game like Silent Hill 2? While the first Silent Hill sequel swerved off course and seemed to establish the series as an anthology, Silent Hill 3 took the form of a secret (now extremely spoiled) direct sequel to the first game. And while it doesn't quite have the same emotional impact as 2—and often dives too deep into needless lore—there's still something special about what many consider to be the end of Silent Hill. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, 2021-07-02 07:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
It's been tricky trying to line up Retronauts East recordings over the past year or so—not just because of the pandemic, but also because all of us have found more stable, robust employment since we began recording together a few years ago. That's good for our efforts to fulfill Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, but bad for our efforts to line up compatible recording times. Every once in a while, though, we make a miracle happen... and here's one of them.
This week, Benj (Edwar...
2021-06-28 13:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
June 22, 1996: id Software enters the third dimension
by Diamond Feit
As a medium, video games are young. As a human being, I am not, though I'm not elderly either. I'm just sort of ripe, ready to engage in deep self-reflection and soul-searching while also acknowledgin...
2021-06-27 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Our Street Fighter II 30th anniversary thing continues with a comprehensive look back at the game... but not the original game. We've already talked about that. Instead, this episode focuses entirely on the many updates and variants of Street Fighter II Capcom has created through the years, from Turbo and Hyper to Ultra. We also talk about the impact of the some of the variants Capcom didn't create... which is to say, taste the Ra...
2021-06-21 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
June 1981: Atari leaves outer space behind in favor of a bug hunt
by Diamond Feit
I would never dare to lament the evolution of video games (or any medium) with the dreaded phrase "back in my day," but there is a fundamental difference between the way games existed when...
2021-06-20 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
A few months ago, we attempted to tackle one of the biggest, most influential pieces of media from the 20th century, one that's had a profound impact on video games: Godzilla. But wouldn't you know, Godzilla's just too big (and too powerful) a topic to be contained into a single podcast. That previous episode managed to encapsulate a pretty good summary of Godzilla's premise and the cultural petri dish in which the franchise grew, but we didn't actually make it to the games.
Well,...
2021-06-18 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! You may have noticed a hint during our recent listener survey, but we're happy to announce that an official Retronauts Discord server is now open! All $5 (and up) Patreon backers should already be invited to the server, provided you have connected your Patreon and Discord accounts. If not, make sure your accounts are linked, confirm you’re in the correct tier, and if things still aren't working, take a look at 2021-06-15 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
If you enjoyed our look at the Pokemon Christmas Bash album (and who didn't?) back in late 2019, then get ready for a thorough examination of where the English-language Pokemon albums began. 1999's 2.B.A. Master was clearly made as a cheap cash-in to capitalize on a fad that could end at any minute, but even so, many Millennials have fond memories of this curiosity and its many, many songs about friendship. This week on Retronauts, join Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert as they explore all 13 trac...
2021-06-14 07:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
June 10, 2011: Don't take gambling advice from Duke Nukem
by Diamond Feit
[CONTENT WARNING: this column describes various sex acts and sexual violence]
June has arrived and I hope everyone out there is having a happy Pride month. This is ...
2021-06-13 13:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
A couple of months ago, Sony declared its intention to cut off support for digital purchases on its legacy platforms. The outcry from the internet was sufficient that Sony actually blinked... or at least, pretended to blink in order to mollify the masses long enough for the company to be able to quietly kill off those platforms without anyone noticing. Anyway, this reversal happened pretty quickly—but not so quickly that we didn't have time to plan and assemble an episode about wha...
2021-06-07 13:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
June 2, 2011: Maybe Capcom should've called it Zombie Hunter Portable
by Diamond Feit
Resident Evil turned 25 this year and my goodness, I have spent the last couple months throwing ...
2021-06-06 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Valve was on fire in the '00s, and along with innovative single-player FPSes like Half-Life 2 and Portal, the developer advanced the craft of multiplayer FPSes with the stellar Left 4 Dead series. Even though the zombie phenomenon of this decade was becoming a bit stale by its back half, the asymmetrical gameplay of Left 4 Dead gave players a unique, expertly crafted experience—as well as a series that still has a healthy player base more than 10 years later. On this episode, join Bob Macke...
2021-06-04 07:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Another patron request episode from the Lifestream tier, and as is often the case with these episodes, it's led us to tackling a topic that probably would have been overlooked otherwise. That's not a function of me/us disliking Ratchet & Clank—quite the contrary! It's just one of those things I kinda take for granted. So shout out to Bill Nielsen for putting his foot down and saying, "No! I will not stand for this offhanded dismissal of my Lombax pal!"
It's a fun and comp...
2021-05-31 13:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
May 24, 2001: Konami releases the right Castlevania at the wrong time
by Diamond Feit
Is everyone watching the fourth and alleged final season of Castlevania on Netflix? I really didn't know what to make of the series at first, because Season 1 felt like a dece...
2021-05-30 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
A patron-requested topic this week, but one that I think we can all agree was long overdue for the Retronauts treatment: Capcom's Breath of Fire series. Well, specifically, Breath of Fire and Breath of Fire II, the Super NES games. As is our wont these days, this is an in-depth discussion of these two games rather than the breezy franchise summaries of yore. Fan wikis have really made that sort of thing obsolete! What fan wikis can't give you is the sparkling repart...
2021-05-24 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
May 20, 1991: Capcom's crosstown neighbor releases "Final Fight Osaka"
by Diamond Feit
This wasn’t planned in the slightest, but this week’s column closely aligns with the latest 2021-05-23 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Greetings, all. This week's patron-exclusive episode is another entry in the sporadic Retronauts Radio line, and once again I'm taking advantage of the nature of patron-exclusivity to treat the content with love. You'll notice this download is much larger than usual—since this episode highlights music, I've rendered it with maximum quality in stereo to prevent too much of the sound quality from being compromised by lossy compression. I'm happy with the format I've landed on for Retronauts R...
2021-05-21 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
While chocobos have become the dominant Final Fantasy mascot over the past three decades, moogles don't receive quite as much attention as Square's feathered friends. In some games, they're simply part of the world, while in other games, they're relegated to references and tutorial sections. But what are these strange mole/bat, creatures, where did they come from, and how has Square used (or underused) these little scamps over time? On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohle...
2021-05-17 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
May 17, 2011: Open-world gaming leans towards law and order in L.A. Noire
by Diamond Feit
The past year has forced a huge percentage of us to reflect and re-examine a lot of things in our lives. When so many facets of society that we took for granted as bedrock are upen...
2021-05-16 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! Jeremy here. I'll be recording a fairly diverse slate of episodes over the next week or so, though most of these episodes belong to one or another of an ongoing series of coverage. First, this weekend, I'll be talking about Street Fighter II and putting together another Retronauts Radio covering a pile of recent classic game soundtrack releases. Next weekend, I'll be tackling Koei strategy games (particularly Romance of the Three Kingdoms) before discussing the lega...
2021-05-13 18:11:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Our Street Fighter II anniversary retrospective continues with a look at a series that almost maybe could have sorta been the original sequel to Street Fighter, predating even Street Fighter 2010, had Capcom's marketing department gone forward with its original plan to call this "Street Fighter ’89." They didn't, and the game shipped with its own identity as Final Fight... but then Capcom folded it into the Street Fighter series anyone once the Alpha<...
2021-05-10 12:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
May 6, 2011: Marvel gambles on the God of Thunder
by Diamond Feit
Here in 2021, superhero movies are standing at a crossroads. The ongoing pandemic has made the prospect of going to the multiplex less desirable than ever, and more studios are eying digital distribution ...
2021-05-09 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Our ongoing LucasArts retrospective continues with an adventure game of theirs that's no one's favorite—which it's one of the last ones we're covering. The Dig started its life in 1989 as an idea Steven Spielberg couldn't translate to the silver or small screen, and six years and several iterations later, entered this world as a heavily compromised game that was nonetheless commercially and critically successful. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey and 2021-05-07 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Just the first Phantasy Star this episode, mind you. We were going to talk about Phantasy Star II as well, but this conversation proved more than sufficient to support a full episode. So I suppose we'll just have to tackle that some other time.
This week's conversation involves me (Jeremy), an effective newcomer to the series, as well as long-time Phantasy phans Nadia Oxphord and Alex Phraio—OK, sorry, that's getting annoying. Nadia Oxford and Alex Fraioli. ...
2021-05-03 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
April 28, 2011: Give me the best watercolor Bible story you have
by Diamond Feit
In order to discuss this week's latest retro-versary, we're going to have to talk about a controversial topic: Religion. It's the backbone of so many creative projects across all mediums, b...
2021-05-02 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
It's been a bit slow to happen, but the fine folks of Retronauts East have finally completed our journey through the original Star Wars movie trilogy and the game adaptation of those films. And what timing! I just bought a high-end S-VHS player for Important Video-Related Purposes, and now I can go back and enjoy the "definitive" cuts of the movies on the old VHS cassettes that have been gathering dust in storage.
Benj Edwards, Chris Sims, and Ben Elgin join me once again...
2021-04-26 13:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
4-20-2001: Tom Green unloads his id on American movie screens
by Diamond Feit
[CONTENT WARNING: this week's column includes descriptions of bodily functions and organs of a sexual nature]
I’m something of a cinephile in that I adore wat...
2021-04-25 12:20:07 +0000 UTC View Post
