Toys are an integral part of childhood, but for quite a few of us, they remain relevant in some way, shape, or form long after they probably should. Then again, that's what's so fun about toys as we get older: They're plastic encapsulations of a simpler time, before bills, relationships, jobs, and reality took over. Today's guest, Kenny Koepnick, works at a toy and collectible shop in Ohio, and not only does he get to live in a world of nostalgia, but he knows a whole lot about what makes tha...
2019-06-26 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Did you know words are important and have specific meanings? The gaming industry learned these essential lessons this past week, when a mistranslated and misunderstood Japanese interview concerning Final Fantasy VII Remake made it seem like the dev team was ordered to make one of the character's breasts smaller. And so we spiraled into madness... except... that's not what was said at all. Oh well! Also: Ape Escape may be making a comeback, EA failed to let everyone know Star Wars Jedi: Fallen...
2019-06-25 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
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RIP Ouya!
2019-06-25 06:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Leave this mortal coil!
2019-06-24 20:42:53 +0000 UTC
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When it comes to Nintendo franchises, Metroid sticks out like a sore thumb. It's completely unlike almost any other Nintendo fare. It simply doesn't fit. But that's what makes it so interesting. It all started humbly enough in the 1986 original, but underneath the unassuming facade of a side-scrolling action game was a shockingly deep (and ruthlessly difficult) adventure, one that required its earliest players to make maps by hand, distinguish between items and weapons with unclear uses, and ...
2019-06-20 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
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We've spent a lot of time on Fireside Chats discussing the ins and outs of Christianity, but we never ventured into the territory of its sister religion -- or perhaps parent religion, more accurately -- until right now. Judaism is a fascinating point of conversation, because unlike many other global religions, it's both a religious identity and a cultural identity, many times in excess of Irish or Italian Catholics, the Russian Orthodox, and pretty much any other similar fusion (save maybe th...
2019-06-19 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
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E3 2019 is behind us, but -- like the persistent radiation of Chernobyl -- its effects still linger. Indeed, there's much to discuss in the afterglow of the show, and we do just that, revisiting The Avengers, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Cyberpunk 2077. We also touch on Square Enix's plans for its own subscription service, the future of Amazon Game Studios, Konami's surprise new Contra game, and more, and take listener questions on Crash Team Racing, PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility, As...
2019-06-18 16:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Final Fantasy Tactics for a new-old generation.
2019-06-17 19:59:22 +0000 UTC
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Christopher Nolan is one of the modern world's most talented filmmakers, full stop. If you ask 10 people what their favorite Nolan flick is, you may very well get 10 different answers. (Really. He's directed 10 films.) Yet, in a catalog of works-of-art, Interstellar may very well be greatest of them all. Released in 2014 to an astounding critical reception and with hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars grossed, Interstellar tells the unusual (and riveting!) story of the end of the worl...
2019-06-13 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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It's incredibly uncommon for people to hurt themselves out of the clear blue sky and for no reason whatsoever. Even if we can't comprehend why, or understand someone's motives, or make sense of any of it whatsoever, people inflict pain on themselves because they're already hurting. It's one of life's harshest paradoxes. Our guest this week -- John Rossi -- seeks to explore that paradox by telling the story of his years-long struggle with anorexia (a severe eating disorder that sees its victim...
2019-06-12 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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It's early June, which can mean only one thing: The NHL playoffs are nearly over, and it's time to hunker down for several long, lonely months without hockey. But something else happens in early June each year that's especially pertinent to this podcast's audience: E3! And isn't it so strange -- serendipitous, even -- that our very first E3 show would also be our fiftieth core episode? Fate's funny like that, sometimes. To celebrate both E3 and Episode 50, let's talk about the biggest, bright...
2019-06-11 16:01:01 +0000 UTC
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E3 2019 is Sony-less, which doesn't exactly benefit The World's Most Beloved PlayStation Podcast. Or does it? Because we're as wily and unpredictable as the day is long, such a situation absolutely begged us to make an unusual detour into Xbox Land... fresh off of a 90 minute press conference, no less! Microsoft's showing unleashed a barrage of interesting announcements, including new games (both exclusive and third party), a cool controller, and further details on some neat and not-so-neat t...
2019-06-10 16:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Every month, our lovely Patreon audience gets to vote on a topic we cover here on KnockBack, and today, we deliver one such episode. Batman made his comic book debut all the way back in 1939, and his amazing staying power is due, in part, to the exceptional number of ways DC has allowed him to be portrayed. Perhaps one of Batman's most iconic portrayals, however, is in cartoon form. Batman: The Animated Series -- which initially ran from 1992 through 1995 -- is a stellar piece of art, an acce...
2019-06-06 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The Great PSN Outage of 2011: A Complete History!
2019-06-06 06:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Another Patreon-voted topic, delivered!
2019-06-05 17:26:58 +0000 UTC
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It's the week before E3, and all through LA, games keep on leaking much to publishers' dismay. A third Watch Dogs is coming. New Destiny DLC, too. And Modern Warfare's being rebooted, though that one didn't leak, it's true. So to welcome E3, we thought we'd cook up a game. One that replaces 'Predictions,' which have become stale and lame. "Fill in the blank!" Colin loudly declared. "Tell me your thoughts, Ray Gun, and your life will be spared!" With all he could muster, Chris gathered his mig...
2019-06-05 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Please Note: As announced on Twitter, Fireside Chats and Sacred Symbols are going up out of order this week, something we didn't anticipate having to do (hence the late notice). Chris recently traveled to Canada to visit some friends, and ran into some flight-related issues on his way back to Los Angeles. This thrust our usual recording and editing plans into disarra...
2019-06-04 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Yo!
This month's Patreon-exclusive podcast, as most of you already know, is an extensive Q&A with Side Quest's new Lead Writer, Sophia Narwitz.
I don't really want there to be "behind-the-scenes" CLS people, as it were. I want you guys and gals to get to know them, to pick their brains, to understand them, et cetera. This is especially important with Sophia, since she's writing scripts for me. So she's kinda like my megaphone. Let's grill the megaphone!
But for real, ...
2019-05-31 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Video gaming began after World War II, when primitive punch card and oscilloscope games were played exclusively on university and government supercomputers. But what started as a small niche for the educated and elite quickly found its way into venues every person could enjoy, like bars, lounges, and restaurants. Before you knew it, pinball machines were everywhere, and by the late-'70s, so too were arcade machines. Space Invaders. Pac-Man. Galaga. Arkanoid. While it may be hard for the young...
2019-05-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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We get it. You hate us.
2019-05-29 22:07:27 +0000 UTC
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The American education system is pretty unique, especially compared to the rest of the modern world. Instead of having a totally top-down governmental approach, schools in the United States are left largely to the whims of state and local bureaucrats, and the outcomes are as varied as they are fascinating. One such teacher in one of America's thousands of school districts is today's guest, David. David's a middle school history teacher, and I got to pick his brain for about an hour about what...
2019-05-29 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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E3 2019 is right around the corner, and Sony ain't gonna be there. But that doesn't mean the company is being quiet. Quite the opposite! Likely in anticipation of big Xbox-related moves and announcements at the annual convention, PlayStation has loosened its spigot even more than it already had in recent weeks, talking PlayStation 5 (or whatever the hell it's going to be called), not to mention PlayStation 4, which it anticipates will be the brand's primary driver until 2022. We discuss. Plus...
2019-05-28 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
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With Rugrats, Doug, and Ren & Stimpy, Nickelodeon launched a cartoon revolution in the early '90s. These three initial Nicktoon-branded offerings toted completely unique art styles, stories, tones, and even target audiences, and the trio proved to be animated powerhouses that persisted in popularity long after their initial runs. Nicktoons' positive reputation continued right on through the decade, though, as shows from Hey Arnold and Real Monsters to Rocko's Modern Life and The Angry Bea...
2019-05-23 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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A Brief History of Konami!
2019-05-23 06:01:00 +0000 UTC
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You voted for it!
2019-05-22 18:50:38 +0000 UTC
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Hey!
Today, I have some pretty exciting news: CLS is pleased to welcome its fourth freelancer to the team, a talented writer named Sophia Narwitz. You may know Sophia from her byline on Niche Gamer, where she holds the title of Senior Staff Writer. You may also know her from her occasionally snarky Twitter account. I’m not much a bomb-thrower these d...
2019-05-22 16:01:01 +0000 UTC
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In a strange sort of way, this week's episode of Fireside Chats is all about reality. The reality of living your normal, everyday life while also trying to pursue your dreams and passions. To talk about such a common (yet seldom-discussed) situation is Brian Penaloza, a CLS fan who works by day at a car dealership, and by night growing his tabletop RPG Twitch channel. How does Brian balance the necessities of life with the things that make life worth living? And how is he slowly turning a sid...
2019-05-22 13:01:01 +0000 UTC
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In recent days, word emerged of a most unusual alliance: It seems Sony is teaming up with longtime arch-rival Microsoft across a series of initiatives that could have significant impact on both entities' future gaming success. Indeed, the announcement was such a surprise -- and seemed to have so much impact for both companies -- that Sony employees were internally fretting that plans for PlayStation 5 might have been altered. But, of course, there's nothing to worry about. Right? We discuss. ...
2019-05-21 16:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Castlevania Anniversary Collection Review!
2019-05-21 06:01:00 +0000 UTC
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It's a wonderful night to have a curse.
2019-05-20 20:07:33 +0000 UTC
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