Remember The Game? Retro Gaming Podcast

 I love Mario. And while it hasn't aged all that well, I'm pretty fond of the original Game Boy too. We could play video games anywhere!! So Mario on the Game Boy should have been a match made in heaven. And eventually it was; Super Mario Land 2 is incredible. But Mario's first road trip, Super Mario Land, wasn't quite as good.  That's not to say it was bad. Mario is like pizza; even when it's not great, it's still pretty great.  This game felt more like a demo for what the Game Boy was capable of. It was also overshadowed by a little known Game Boy launch title called Tetris. They introduced a bunch of new stuff, like different enemies, a new world, they replaced fireballs with rubber....balls? You don't save Princess Toadstool, you save that weirdo, Daisy. The only real thing that makes this a Mario game is Mario himself. But dammit, that's all it takes.  My buddy Patrick returns to the show this week, you may remember him from such episodes as "Game Collecting" and "Resident Evil 4". Patrick loves the Game Boy, loves Super Mario Land, and I loved talking with him. Come feel the love on this week's episode. 

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I have no idea where Metal Gear Solid 2 sits in the history books of gaming. Is a Playstation 2 classic? Forgotten gem? Is it the worst game in the Metal Gear series? The best? Overrated? Underrated? If you look it up online, you'll find every single one of these opinion floating around. 

What do I think? You'll have to listen to the show to find out. Nice try. 

I associate this game almost as much as any other with the PS2. It was one of the first games I remember buying for the second Sony console, and man oh man was I excited to get my hands on it. After playing (and quite enjoying) the original Metal Gear Solid, I couldn't wait to play more. The hype was real, but what was one of the most anticipated games of all-time became one of the most controversial once it got released into the wild. People would debate the creative decisions Kojima and friends made for years to come. 

What couldn't be debated was the games sales numbers. MGS 2 ended up selling over 7 MILLION copies. We got Metal Gear Solid V recently, and the Metal Gear games have sold a combined 49 million units. So the Metal Gear series is alive and well. But there are gamers out there that abandoned the series at this title. Was I one of them? Was my guest Bradley McCue? Did we like Raiden? What about Snake?

Does this game suck?? No, it doesn't. But do we like it? Have a listen and find out. 

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I can't believe it took us 72 episodes of the show to cover Mario Kart 64. I mean, it's Mario Kart freaking 64! If you're listening to this show, you've played this game. 

I'm a Nintendo fanboy through and through, but the Nintendo 64 is admittedly, not one of my favourite systems. I don't think games from the 64/Playstation era have aged particularly well, and a majority of them just irritate me when I try to play them today. But not this game. The memories I (and I'm sure most of you) have of multi-player MK64 is the stuff gaming nostalgia is made of. 

Super Mario Kart was fun, but Mario Kart 64 is the reason this franchise is still so massive over twenty years later. The tracks are bigger, the characters are cooler (Wario!!!!!!), Battle Mode is better, and you could play with four players at once. Just that last fact rocked my socks. This game featured some insane tracks; Toad's Turnpike is still to this day one of my favourites in Mario Kart history. Add in Wario and the fact that you could listen to Toad yell "Wooo hooooo!!", and it was the perfect package. 

I legit smile just thinking about all the good times we had playing this game when we were kids. I would (and hopefully will) buy a Nintendo 64 Classic someday just for this game. Forget your Ocarina of Times and Super Mario 64's; Mario Kart 64 is the king. I love this game. So does my pal Miklos. Have a listen and let us remind you why you probably do too. 

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The original NES controller was a brick. It was practically indestructible. Need proof? Ask anyone that played Ninja Gaiden back in the day. 

This game was designed to make you want to throw your controller against the wall. You would die and start over, and over, and over, and every time you did, you knew you would inevitably lose and slam your controller against something else. You'd swear (quietly), maybe walk away for a couple hours. But you always came back. And that's the great thing about Ninja Gaiden. Despite it's ridiculous difficulty and rage inducing mechanics, it was always fun to play. It might be the "best bad game" on the NES. 

(And to be clear, I don't think it's "bad" necessarily. I just think it's too hard. Call me a bitch, I don't care.)

The enemies re-spawn if you so much as think about turning around after you kill them. They come out of nowhere, and quite often they show up where you need to land after a precise jump. They can be impossible to avoid. Which leads into the second problem. Every time they touch you, you bounce back half way across the fucking screen. If there's a pit behind you, landing in it is a guarantee. Or you'll bounce into another that just re-spawned, and they'll bounce you into the pit. And then you'll start over, and you'll know it's coming, but they'll get you again. And then you'll finally get by them only to die because you dropped down to the next screen instead of taking the ladder. And that'll be your final life, and you'll start over and bounce into a pit again and WHAM!!!

That was your controller hitting the wall.

This game drives me insane. But I can't stop playing it. My buddy and guest Bradley McCue knows the feeling. We'll tell you all about it on this week's podcast. Enjoy!

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Oh Ghostbusters...

I love this damned franchise. Ghostbusters and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were my life as a kid. I had the action figures, movies, cartoons, clothes, books, toys, halloween costumes, and of course, video games. This was one of the games I rented over and over again. Pretty well every time my brother and I convinced our Mom to let us rent games for the weekend, Ghostbusters found it's way into the pile. We refused to admit it wasn't good. 

Well, I'm thirty-five now. And it's time to face the music. The horribly repetitive 8-bit music. Ghostbusters on the NES is not a good video game. I'm sorry, Mr. Aykroyd...

(Many people have said that versions of this game on other consoles, such as Atari, Commodore 64 and Master System are a little better. I've never played any of them, so we're sticking to the NES version.)

I actually beat this game for the first time this week, prepping for this podcast. No cheat codes, turbo controllers, nothing. Just a little patience. OK, a lot of patience. The entire game is one boring grind to save money to buy gear  to beat a boring level where you do nothing but climb 23 flights of stairs. Then you get one fun boss fight, and then the most infamous end screen in gaming history. 

If you just read that and thought, "why the hell would anyone play this??", you get it. We don't know why we played it. But a lot of us did...

I wanted to cover a scary game for Halloween, and seeing as this is a nostalgia podcast, I saw this week as a perfect opportunity to review not only a treasured game from my childhood, but a "scary" game as well. The ghosts won't scare you in this game, but it'll still give you nightmares. 

I'm solo this week, and I hope enjoy this trip down memory lane as we look back at the Walter Peck of NES games; Ghostbusters. 

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Over the last 69 (nice) episodes of this podcast, we've stumbled across a couple forgotten franchises, and it's really made me sad that they seem like they're just destined to wallow in the obscurity that is video game history for the rest of time. Franchises like BattleToads, Earthworm Jim, and now, Twisted Metal.

When I think OG Playstation, I think of the heavy hitters like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy. But I also think of the Twisted Metal series. I really liked these games. My fondest multiplayer experiences with Sony's little grey box were with wrestling games and Twisted Metal. They're the reason I have Rob Zombie music on my phone to this day, and for my money, Twisted Metal Black is still one of the best games on the Playstation 2. 

And dammit, these games were cool. Twisted Metal was the first game I played on my Playstation that really made it feel like a more "grown up" console, compared to my beloved Nintendo 64. It was the first system I bought with my own money, the first non-Nintendo console I ever owned, and Sweet Tooth and friends really made me feel like I hadn't wasted my cash. 

We approached this episode the same way we tackled the original Tony Hawk games. I don't feel like there's enough meat on the bone to give each of the original 4 titles it's own episode, so we're just looking back the original quartet as a whole. My buddy Andre likes these games as much as I do, and we had a hell of a time cracking open a cold bottle of nostalgia this week. Enjoy the show!

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I can't believe how many people played this game back in the day. It's awesome, but it's also kinda nerdy, even by video game standards. It's slow, quiet, there's no bad guys (except the ridiculous crime rate that will inevitably plague your city). It doesn't seem like a game kids would be interested in. But man oh man, we were.  Almost everyone I knew that had an SNES had Sim City. The fact that it was a launch title for the Super Nintendo probably helps, because after Super Mario World, there weren't too many options. Sim City was my first trip into the simulation/city planning genre of video games, and I loved it. I played the hell out of this game. My brother and I would spend hours just staring at the TV, not even doing anything because we were out of money and waiting on our taxes to come through, and it was still a blast.  Sim City is responsible for sparking my love of this genre of video game, and it's funny because I still adore them today, but I rarely play them. As an adult in a fast moving adult world, I rarely have the time to just sit down and spend an hour designing a virtual city anymore. These types of games are endless, and when I get a gaming session in these days, I feel like I have to get closer to the end of a game to enjoy myself. Which is stupid. This game is fun, and that's all gaming should be. I wish Nintendo would re-release this game somewhere so we could dink around with it again... It would be perfect on the Switch, in case you're reading this, Nintendo. PERFECT. Anyway, Sim City is rad. My guest David Rae agrees. We didn't expect this episode to be as long as it was, but once we get rambling about sky-high crime rates, people whining about their taxes, and Bowser attacks, we couldn't stop. Enjoy this week's show!

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We all know that Nintendo has this weird hobby of taking their phenomenal catalog of older games and making it as hard as humanly possible to play them. That's precisely what they've done with Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. It's available on the Gamecube, if you buy a Gamecube, a memory card, and a copy of the game somewhere (which isn't cheap these days). It's also available on...oh wait, that's it. 

Much like many of the other great Gamecube titles, TTYD has been left in the past. And that really sucks, because this game is so, so good. The original Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) was a great concept. This game takes it's predecessor's charm, battle mechanics, gameplay and obviously it's graphics, and polishes them even more. It's plagued by a little more backtracking than I would like to see, but that's a minor hiccup in an otherwise brilliant game. 

You obviously control Mario - er, Paper Mario - and you're on a mission to collect the seven stars that control the seal on the thousand year door. You also have to save the Princess again (surprise). Bowser keeps showing up, too,  but he's the comic relief this time around instead of the villain, and he's legitimately funny in this game. You make friends with a bunch of odd characters, including a shy Koopa Troopa, a know-it-all Goomba, and an old Bob-omb pirate, and it's the way they change not only your battle strategy, but the areas of the over-world you can access that keep the game moving. This game has hints of Metroid-Vania in it, and that's usually all it takes to hook me. 

I originally was going to break down the combat and villains, too, but then you'd have no reason to listen to the episode. Longtime show supporter, first time guest Bradley McCue joins me this week, and we set a new Remember The Game? record for episode length this time around. There's a lot to talk about here, so quit reading and get listening!

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Whenever I talk a Genesis game on the show, I feel like I'm doing my part to help re-build the bridge that Nintendo and Sega kids burned down in the 90's. And honestly, I'm really enjoying most of these Sega games. It's like discovering a treasure trove full of retro games that I've had a chance to play, and it's been really fun to try some of the games Genesis kids grew up obsessing over and considering the best that their console of choice had to offer. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is at the top of that list.  I've always been torn on Sonic The Hedgehog. I love the character, the universe, the look. I collected the comic books, watched the cartoon show (Steve Urkel voiced Sonic, if you didn't know!), but I never got super into the games. Primarily because I didn't have a ton of access to them, but also because I just wasn't sure if I thought they were fun. The speed concept was cool, but I found it semi-gamebreaking. You want to go fast, but when you are you don't always have time to react when an enemy pops up. If you go slow, you have time to deal with the bad guys, but it feels like you're playing wrong. I always thought maybe I just didn't understand how to play Sonic. Well, I played quite a bit of Sonic 2 on the Sega Classic Collection package that came out a couple years ago, and it was the first game I jumped into when I hooked up my Sega Genesis Mini. Not necessarily for this podcast, either. I just loved the graphics, liked the music, and found myself wanting to play it over and over again. And really, that's the best thing you can say about a video game, isn't it? Much like Super Mario World, Link To The Past, and Donkey Kong Country, I just find myself never getting sick of playing Sonic The Hedgehog 2. It's just...fun! My buddy Miklos thinks so, too. He's one of the biggest Sega fans I know, and this week, we're continuing to tear down the Console Wars wall by talking about Sega's poster child. Everyone should play Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and we'll tell you why on episode 66 of Remember The Game? Enjoy!

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If you didn't grow up playing the Sega Genesis, is the new mini adaption of it worth your money? That's the question I set out to answer on this week's podcast.  Not only did I not own a Sega Genesis, I hardly knew anyone that did. I honestly didn't even realize Sega's little Sonic Station was as popular as it was until I was an adult and started to get into game collecting. I've played the original 3 Sonic games, a little NHL, and some Lion King. When Sega announced the Genesis Mini, I was intrigued. This could be my chance to play the few Sega games I remember from my childhood, right? Wrong. Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and the Lion King aren't on it. Neither is a single sports game. Unlike the SNES Classic, most of the games we associate closest with the Genesis didn't make it into it's miniature counterpart. If you grew up loving the Genesis, and you know all about their other titles, like Phantasy Star IV, Shining Force, Ecco the Dolphin, and Gunstar Heroes, then I could understand why this thing would have you excited. But what if you didn't?  Are these games worth playing in 2019 if they don't trigger those warm and fuzzy nostalgic feelings? Is the Sega Genesis Mini Sega's answer to the SNES Classic? Or is it another Playstation Classic? *shudder* Should you spend your hard earned money on this thing? Have a listen and I'll tell you. I'm solo this week for the first time in the history of the podcast, and I actually did some homework this week as well. I feel I've put together a very entertaining, thorough, and honest review of the Sega Genesis Mini from the viewpoint of someone that grew up considering the Sonic Squad to be the enemy. I'm proud of this week's episode, and I hope you enjoy it. 

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Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Shinobi III moving forward, that title is too long) is what retro gaming is all about. The graphics, the music, the gameplay, the difficulty. It nails it. I played this for the first time in my life almost 26 years after it released, and if you told me it was a retro-inspired indie title that just came out this year, I'd believe you.

It seems to me like Shinobi was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Ninja Gaiden series. You play as a bad-ass ninja, running from left to right, wall jumping and killing bad guys. You die a lot. But admittedly, I never really felt like the deaths were cheap. Ninja Gaiden has caused a few controller throws in it's time, but I don't know if Shinobi III has. The game is hard as fuck, but there weren't too many instances where I felt my deaths were cheap. It nails, for better or worse, that classic 90's "play it over and over until you can beat it" model.

When I think of the Sega Genesis, I think of Sonic, sports games, and Disney. I think most Nintendo kids feel the same way. But that little black box has some phenomenal games in it's library that I feel have been passed over undeservedly. This game is one of them. I had a fucking...blast...playing through this game on my Switch, and I'm pretty excited to talk about it on this week's podcast. If you've never played it, give this episode a listen. We may just convince you.

I say "we", because as always I'm joined by a fellow nerd. This week, my buddy Miklos returns to the show. You may remember him from our "Sega vs Nintendo" and "Shining Force" episodes. Mik was a die-hard Sega kid, and I owe him a great deal for helping to open my eyes and show me that the Genesis had more games than just crappy over-rated platforms about a little blue rat. (I kid, I kid...mostly). Enjoy the podcast!

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When I launched this podcast, my idea was for my guests and I to reminisce about the games we played as kids. Both good games, and bad. It's taken 63 episodes, but we're dipping into the really bad end of the pool. Worse than Power Rangers. Worse than Bart's Nightmare or Boy and his Blob. Hell, this is worse than the last fifteen years of The Simpsons. Today, we're talking Virtual Bart. This was one off the few Simpsons video games I never owned as a kid. We rented it a couple of times, and I wanted to like it. I mean, it was The Simpsons! But I never got into it. I can look past the faults of most Simpsons games because I loved the show so much, but this game sucks. Half of the mini games are borderline unplayable. The controls are hot garbage. A few cameos by various characters from the show aren't nearly enough to salvage this piece of crap.  You play as Bart (obviously), and he gets strapped into a VR machine at a scene fair. The opening cutscene is actually the best part of the game. The machine then turns into a gameshow style wheel. The player stops it, and whatever image Bart's head stops on decides what mini-game you play. I have no idea what happens if you finish all the levels, because I can't beat most of them.  We'll explain what they all are this week. Listen to this podcast and move on. If you want The Simpsons to ruin your day, just watch one of the modern episodes of the show. They're all way better than Virtual Bart.  I hate this game. My buddy Chris is my guest this week, and we have a couple beers while we tell you why it sucks on this episode of 'Remember The Game?'. Enjoy the podcast, and then try to forget this game. 

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Now, I don't throw around the word "masterpiece" very often. But this game? This game is a masterpiece. 

It's freaking Resident Evil 4. Practically a lock to show up on any respectable 'greatest games of all-time' list. Originally released as an "exclusive" for the criminally underrated Nintendo Gamecube, it's been ported to everything over the last fourteen years. Literally everything. There's probably a SNES version of this game now. And that's ok. This game is incredible, and it should be ported to everything so everyone gets a chance to play it. 

I remember playing through it for the first time on my Gamecube. I had never really gotten into a Resident Evil game up to this point. This one dropped, and the reviews were insane. People were calling it the greatest game ever made. I thought that seemed a little extreme, but I was looking for something beside Mario sports games to play on my 'Cube, so I gave it a chance. When I reached that first village, and realized I had complete control over how I tackled all these creepy hillbilly people that wanted to kill me, I was hooked. 

The atmosphere in this game is INSANE!! The music isn't great on this week's episode, because there isn't any. Capcom did a phenomenal job of setting the mood and making you constantly pay attention to your surroundings. The way that creepy little tune kicks in whenever bad guys are approaching was genius, too. It never gets old. 

The graphics have held up, too. I just played the Switch port of this game a couple months ago, and I'm happy to report Resident Evil 4 still looks great. It has a very dark, almost foggy aesthetic to it, and it really adds to the tension and feel of the game. I never found myself trying to figure out what I could and couldn't interact with, which I find can be an issue with some more realistic looking titles. 

I only really have two minor issues with RE4. The controls (Wii version aside, apparently), take a little getting used to. And the story can be tough to follow. But the controls felt fine after a couple hours of play, and the story doesn't really matter. You have to save the President's daughter, and that's good enough for me. 

This game is the bee's knees. My guest Patrick thinks so, too. We'll tell you why over the next hour or so. Enjoy!

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The fact that we haven't seen a Pokemon Snap re-release, remake, or sequel on smartphones, the Wii U, or the Switch is almost mind-boggling.  And then you remember it's Nintendo... We all played this, right?? I remember this being one of the few games I could play with my brother and not fight (much). Pokemon Snap. You're on rails, and you can't die. You just take photos of Pokemon. Might sound silly in 2019, but holy hell this game was a big deal twenty years ago. Outside of the cartoon, we hadn't really seen much of Pokemon outside of their pixelated Game Boy iterations. Getting to see all of our favourites (and that loser Charmander) out in the wild was pretty damned cool. Being able to throw apples at them to make them happy or angry was even cooler. And flipping through your roll of film to find your best photos and using them to impress a weird old man? The coolest.  That's all Pokemon Snap was. Try to get Pokemon to react to something you did, so you could snap killer photos of them. The better your photo, the better the score. That's it. No fighting. no bosses, no real drama or story. It didn't need it, though. There was something so addictive about constantly trying to get a better shot. You could play levels over and over looking for secret paths or different ways to cause the pokemon to do things you could get new photos of. And obviously, the biggest hook (for me anyways), was constantly exploring in hopes of finding a new pokemon. I don't think all original 151 were in here (which is very weird), but enough were there to justify running the levels or and over again. This was, in 1999, the closest we'd seen to Pokemon in real life.  This game SCREAMS for a sequel or remake with today's technology. Being able to spin around with your Switch, take photos, and then post your best ones online would be fucking awesome. Because admit it, when you got a killer shot of a Charizard looking all pissed off, you wanted to show it to everybody. Anybody. Someone other than that stupid old man Oak... This wasn't the deepest game in the world, but it didn't matter. It was huge. We all loved it (whether we admitted it or not), and my buddy Andre and I had a hell of a time looking back at it. Give us a God damned sequel, Nintendo!!!

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"My name is Adam Blank, and I'm a recovering retro game collector." 

I love looking at video game collections. I used to love collecting them myself, too. But it can be an expensive hobby. It takes up a lot of space (particularly if you do it like I did and try to collect everything at once). After a couple of years, I had amassed a decent little collection. I was having fun, but I was also spending more money than I should have been. And eventually I realized that I didn't even want to play most of the games I was buying. I love retro video games, but let's be honest; there's a lot of crappy games from back in the day. 

After some deep soul searching, I decided to sell off most of my collection and move on to a new hobby. I was buying crappy video games I'd never heard of with money I could be spending on new games I wanted to play (or y'know, stuff like bills and food). I kept only my SNES and about a dozen of my favourite games. And once the virtual consoles and retro collection compilations started launching and becoming more readily available, I even got rid of my Super Nintendo. I was out, and I was ok with it.

I miss my game collection once and a while. Sometimes I even get the urge to jump back into the hobby, but I take one look at the prices people are asking for their NES games and their Sega Genesises (what's the plural of Genesis? Geneseye?), and it quickly goes away. Prices have exploded on retro gaming gear since I collected, and it's a rich man's game in 2019.

Prices are a lot higher than they were fifteen years ago, because the demand is there. I'm not sure why people are so hungry for these old games today, though. Is it because people just want to play the games from their childhood? Maybe they see pictures of collections posted online, think to themselves "that looks awesome" and try to do it themselves? Maybe it's just people thinking if they sock away old games they'll get rich off them in thirty years (you probably won't). For whatever reason, retro game collecting is a big-time hobby these days, and while I think prices are too high, I love it. 

I don't have the money, space, or patience to collect video games anymore, but I still love the hobby. I could read and talk about it for hours. I have great memories of my collecting days, but if I was to start collecting again today, I'd take a different approach than I did right out of High School. My buddy Patrick is another former collector who feels the same way, and on this week's episode of the show we had a great time looking back on our days of blowing all of our money on video game cartridges, as opposed to the video game downloads we blow it on now. 

We're going to try and do a few more of these conversation style episodes moving forward. If you like it, please let me know. If you hate it, REALLY let me know. I just want to make you happy. 

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We're finally making our way into the arcades. Admittedly, I didn't really live near one growing up, so my experience with stand up cabinets is pretty minimal. And while I don't have a ton of playtime under my belt, I know damned well what a big deal Street Fighter II is. 

*For the record, I used the SNES box art because it fit well in the thumbnail and it was the cleanest art I could find. But we talk a little bit about the arcade, a little home port, a little variation and re-releases; we're all over the map this week* Street Fighter II considered one of the greatest fighting games, and video games, of all-time. It's Turbo port is a lock to be in the top 10 of any "best SNES game of all-time" list. It's one of the most popular arcade machines ever made, up there along Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. I'd love to know how much money this game and it's variants have made Capcom over the years. It frustrates me that is legit may be the biggest video game in history that I just cannot play... I've always been terrible at the fighting genre of my favourite hobby. Aside from Mortal Kombat 2 (which I owned growing up) and a little bit of Smash Bros, I haven't really put any time into trying to get good at them, either. Fighting games are a unique animal, because you can play and practice against the computer all you want, and it just won't prepare you for battle against a skilled human opponent. A big gap in the skill levels of two players is as crippling in fighting games as it is in any genre of video game. I didn't have much money as a kid, and when the odd chance came along to play arcade games, I sure as hell wasn't going to pump my quarters into getting my ass kicked. Especially if the Ninja Turtles cabinet was nearby.  But my pal David Rae did. And he's my guest this week, helping me breakdown the iconic Street Fighter II franchise. I know how much this game means to some of you, so I really did my best to do your game justice. I hope you geeks like it!  "HADOOKIN!" or whatever it is...

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Remember when World Championship Wrestling was the hottest thing on the planet?

In the late '90s, WCW was giving the WWF the fight of their lives. The nWo(s), Goldberg, Sting, DDP, Raven, Bret Hart, Ric Flair; that wrestling company from down south had one of the most ridiculous rosters in the history of the business. Pro wrestling was white hot. If you weren't watching wrestling on TV, you were playing a wrestling video game. And there wasn't a better option than WCW/nWo Revenge. 

The THQ/Nintendo 64 wrestling games are the stuff of legend. I don't know if there's a video game series I've spent more hours of my life with than the four horseman of 64-bit wrestling. WCW World Tour was the first one, and it planted the seeds that would eventually blossom into it's sequel; WCW/nWo Revenge. I wasn't the biggest fan of WCW's TV product (I was a hardcore WWF guy), but I couldn't get enough of their video games. The WWF had video games - War Zone and Attitude specifically - but as much as I tried to like them, they just weren't that good. The graphics tried to look real and didn't, and the controls were a disaster. 

WCW/nWo Revenge was the first "perfect" wrestling game. The graphics were bright, colourful, and a little cartoon-ish (it worked great), and it had the most iconic control scheme of wrestling game history. It didn't have things like individual wrestler's entrance music, create-a-wrestler, or a decent career mode (all things that would be added to the later THQ wrestling games), but it was finally a wrestling game that felt fun to play. Being able to play it with 3 of your friends was mind-blowing. And being able to change each wrestler's name and wardrobe added a surprising level of depth. I remember drafting a roster of wrestlers to go up against my friend Shawn's, we'd assign all of our wrestlers a certain shirt, and battle for HOURS. 

If you hold a conversation about the greatest wrestling game of all-time, the two runaway answers are WWF: No Mercy and SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain (both covered in our archives, FYI!). And while those answers aren't wrong, they wouldn't be options without WCW/nWo Revenge. My favourite memory of World Championship Wrestling isn't anything they did in the ring, it was this video game. 

My buddy Brad returns to the show this week, and man oh man did we have a time talking old wrestling, old wrestling games, and old Nintendo 64. Enjoy!

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Yep, it's another Simpsons game. At least this is the good one!

The Simpsons: Hit & Run is pretty universally considered the best video game adaption of The Simpsons. Sure, you could make an argument for The Simpsons Game that came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360 or the original arcade game. And they're both pretty solid, too. But at the end of the day, Hit & Run is the GOAT. I won't lie, I haven't played this game in fifteen years. When we started covering Simpons game on the show, this was the one people were looking for. I had to do a little homework this time around and refresh my memory, and it actually turned out to be pretty fun. I'm a MASSIVE old-school Simpsons fan, and I'd forgotten just what an incredible love letter this game is to nerds like me.  They packed an insane amount of Simpsons references and easter eggs into this game. Much like The Stick of Truth did for South Park, Hit & Run finally gave us a chance to explore the cartoon community of Springfield that we've all loved for so many years. Everywhere you go, there's another nod to something from one of the glory seasons of the show. The voice acting is on point and the story is actually pretty entertaining (much better than anything they've put on TV in years). And frankly, even if this game had kept up with the trend of Simpsons games having terrible controls, all the little extras they squeezed in for die-hard fans would have made it a contender for the best Simpsons game ever.  But in addition to being funny, they FINALLY broke The Simpsons/broken control curse! This game is actually fun to play. It isn't perfect, and near the end is gets frustratingly difficult, but it's a good time. It's almost like they "right clicked" a Grand Theft Auto game and "saved as" a Simpsons title. And that's not a bad thing. This game is a good time. Ripping around Springfield causing mayhem is a fucking blast.  It hurts my heart that The Simpsons have had so many awful video games. Growing up a huge fan, I played almost all of them. They were my Mom's default go to games for Christmas presents, and it was pretty rough as a kid. Luckily, the suffering ended in 2003 with the release of The Simpsons: Hit & Run. So good.  My buddy Mark McCue feels the same way! He's back, and we're talking about our favourite Springfield experience on this week's episode. Enjoy!

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**The sound may be a little off on this week's podcast. I suggest using headphones if you can. Sorry about that!**

I know, I know. It's Final Fantasy IV. The box says II, and the people that know, know. But the people that don't will be like "what the hell is this?". So we're goin' with Final Fantasy II. 

If you're not sure why people call it the fourth FF instead of the second, listen to the episode!

I love this game. As I type this, I noticed an Instagram comment from @burgerfinger that pointed out how often I say games are one of my "absolute favourites", but in this case it's true! This was the first RPG I ever played, and I became absolutely obsessed with it. I've probably finished it 10 times, and I plug it into my top three Final Fantasy titles, along with VI and IX. (The order changes all the time, depending on my mood). 

If you haven't played the game, I'll give you a quick lowdown right now, but this episode is chalk full of meaty spoilers, so you've been warned. The game stars Cecil, a Dark Knight who commands the Kingdom of Baron's Red Wings (airships). He is being ordered to do terrible things, and when he questions his King's motives, he gets in trouble and all hell breaks loose and you end up helping him and his friends save the world. It's fantastic. 

This game gets overlooked because it's always in it's SNES brother's shadow, but Final Fantasy II deserves a ton of credit. It introduced a more complex story than we'd ever seen, ushered in the Active Time Battle system we all know and love, and on a personal note, it showed me how great RPGs are. Anyone that has played this game knows how special it is. Aside from Super Mario World, there isn't a video game from my childhood I have more nostalgia and appreciation for. It legitimately shaped me as a gamer. 

And it has Edge the ninja in it, and Edge is the fucking coolest. 

My guests this week are two of my oldest childhood friends, Dan and Rob. Rob actually introduced me to Final Fantasy II 25+ years ago, so this was a really special episode for me. Getting to talk about one of my most beloved retro games with the guys I grew up playing it with was a real treat for me. I hope you guys enjoy this episode!

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Look at me, being all topical and professional and stuff. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 comes out this Friday, so I thought it would be a perfect time to dedicate an episode to one of my favourite games of the last couple generations; the original Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. 

This game was a follow-up to the two (kick-ass) X-Men Legends games. Taking the initial formula and expanding on it to include characters from all walks of Marvel life, as opposed to just Professor X's team of misfits (and The Brotherhood, Legends 2 SPOILER!), Ultimate Alliance gave the player the opportunity to build a team of their favourite Marvel superheroes, and just run around beating up bad guys for fifteen hours. It was perfect!

Obviously, the main hook to the game is the roster. Being able to build a team of four heroes from the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Thing, blah blah blah, was awesome. Being able to switch your team out regularly added a ton of replay to the game, and kept it from getting stale. The combat stayed fresh and fun thanks in large part to the fact that each of the heroes felt and controlled unique. Wolverine was an absolute button mashing tank, whereas Iron Man was better served staying in the sky blasting away at enemies from a distance. Anytime you'd start getting bored, you could just pick a different group of heroes and freshen the (admittedly somewhat repetitive) combat up.

Another giant hook to these games is the multi-player. Being able to run through levels with up to 3 of your buds was awesome. I have great memories of playing this game (and it's sequel) with my nephew for hours at a time. Single player did the job just fine, but it was definitely better with friends. 

These games also contain RPG elements. As you use heroes, you'd gain experience points that you could use to level up their specific abilities as you saw fit. I loved pumping all of Iron Man's XP into his various lasers and weapons, and he really did feel stronger as the game went on. I think the game could have survived without this aspect, but it wouldn't be nearly as beloved as it is today without giving players the ability to "tinker under the hood" of their favourite Marvel characters with such detail. 

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love me some Ultimate Alliance. So does my buddy Tyler. We'll tell you all about it on this week's episode of the show. Enjoy!

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As much as it pains the loyal, completely biased Nintendo fanboy in me to admit, Sega had better sports games than Nintendo. Case in point? NHL '94. 

That isn't to say the SNES version is unplayable, but anyone that has tried both would be lying if they said the Nintendo version was superior to the Genesis one. I didn't really play either, at least not when they came out. I was an NHL Stanley Cup kid (sad trombone). I got into the series around NHL '96, but I've had many opportunities to go back and play NHL '94, on the Genesis and my beloved SNES. And while my nostalgia heart lays with the '96 and '97 iterations of EA's NHL video game, it's pretty damned obvious why NHL '94 still shows up on lists of the greatest sports games ever made over twenty-five years after it was released. It's that damned good. 

The NHL video games have evolved (?) into a very deep, simulation style franchise over the years. Much like EA's other flagship sports titles (Madden and FIFA), their yearly hockey game contains everything a die-hard hockey fan/armchair GM could ever want. You can manage a franchise for decades, stock your farm systems with can't miss prospects, and manage your salary cap season after season. NHL '94 doesn't have any of that stuff. It doesn't even have a season mode. But what it lacks in bells and whistles, it makes up for in unmatched, incredible, addictive, FUN gameplay. 

If you own a current NHL game and try to play against someone that's never played before, it won't be fun. It'll take them a few games just to figure out how to shoot the puck properly. NHL '94 is like a jacked up version of Ice Hockey on the NES; anybody can pick up a controller and have the controls locked down in minutes. The physics engine is great, it really feels like your skating on ice. And this game introduces the one timer. It might seem laughable now, but this was a HUGE deal back then!!!

Two and a half decades after it's release, NHL '94 is still one of the most beloved sports video games of all-time. Tournaments still get held regularly, and it has a loyal fanbase. So much so, that on it's 20th anniversary, EA added an "NHL '94" mode to NHL '14. It constantly shows up on "greatest games  in history" lists, and Jeremy Roenick has said on numerous occasions that he's more well known for his NHL '94 counterpart than he is for anything else he accomplished in his career. This game is the Wayne Gretzky of hockey video games. (Which is ironic, considering there are a bunch of Wayne Gretzky branded hockey games throughout history, and they all suck). 

My buddy Brad makes his podcast debut this week. We're both gamers and huge sports nerds, and we had a hell of a time talking NHL '94. Enjoy!

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Spider-Man is awesome. Venom is even more awesome. Carnage isn't quite as awesome as either of them, but he's still pretty awesome. So what happens when you take all that awesome and squeeze it into a video game? You get a freaking awesome video game. 

Worst. Intro. Ever. It's true, though. Maximum Carnage is awesome. It certainly isn't perfect, but it scratches all the basic video game itches. It handles pretty well, it looks sweet, and it's fun to play. The music is really good,  and thanks to the source material it's based on, it has a solid (albeit somewhat confusing if you don't know anything about the original comic books) story.  The quick version is as follows: Spider-Man (Peter Parker) came into contact with an alien symbiote in space. He was able to wear it as a new costume, but eventually found it was taking over his brain and actions, so he got rid of it. The discarded alien found a new host in Eddie Brock (who already hated Peter Parker), and combined with him to form Venom. Eddie Brock eventually found himself separated from the suit and in jail, sharing a cell with serial killer Cletus Kasady. The symbiote came to the jail to help Eddie escape, but left it's offspring behind. That new symbiote bonded with Kasady to form the super villain Carnage. Spider-Man and Venom put their differences aside and defeat him, but eventually Carnage breaks out of jail again, and forms a stable of villains to wreak havoc with.  *Deep breath* That's where the game picks up. You control Spider-Man and Venom (separately), and the object of the game is to take down Carnage and friends. Having to control the two heroes individually is my biggest gripe with the game. Multi-player seemed like a no brainer. This game is a fun, VERY DIFFICULT beat 'em up, and that genre screams "couch co-op". Particularly when the entire game is centred around an alliance between two characters.  As disappointing as the lack of a second player is, it doesn't break the game. Maximum Carnage is still fun to play, and you'll enjoy yourself until you inevitably lose too many times and get frustrated. This game is hard as fuck. But like most games of that era, a lot of repetition and practice makes it tolerable. The great graphics and music help with that, too.  This isn't the best beat 'em up of all-time, or even just of it's era (you can pry that title from Turtles In Time's cold, dead hands), but it's still sweet. That distinctive red cartridge helps it stick out, and it seems like even casual Marvel fans know these characters and the story involved. My buddy Tyler does, and so do I. We'll tell you all about it this week. Have a listen!

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Super Mario Bros 2 is the oddball of the NES Mario Bros games. Along with Super Mario Sunshine, it's the oddball of the entire Super Mario series. But you know what? I like oddballs.* *I rewrote that about ten times, and that was the least creepy sounding thing I could come up with... I like Super Mario Bros 2. A lot. I owned Super Mario Bros 1 & 3 as a kid, but never got my hands on the second one. So any chance I had to play it, I jumped all over it. I couldn't wrap my little mind around it! You could pick up bad guys and throw them at each other! (Before picking up Koopa Troopa shells, this was crazy). There were weird potions that took you into an alternate universe, and that's the only place you could find mushrooms. Stars floated up from the bottom of the screen. You could play as Princess Toadstool (old school) and Toad!?!? Where'd this game come from???? As we would all later find out, it came from Japan. Because they decided that the kids over in North America that played Nintendo weren't good enough to play the game they originally wanted to release as Super Mario Bros 2. And after playing that original sequel (released everywhere as The Lost Levels years later), there were right.  But this episode isn't about the sequel we didn't get (there's already an episode of the show about that game, The Lost Levels - Episode 26 if you're interested!), it's about the one we did. Super Mario Bros 2 is a beauty of a game. It introduced gameplay mechanics to the Mario Bros series that still exist today, like Birdo, Shy Guys, and the Princess's floating ability. It's still as fun to play in 2019 as it was in 1988, and it's about damned time it got it's own episode of the podcast.  My buddy/fellow comedian/improv king David Rae is my guest this week, and we have a great chat about the Cousin Oliver of the Super Mario Bros series; Super Mario Bros 2. Enjoy!

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One of my favourite things about doing this podcast is that I'm discovering new retro games all these years later. Particularly when it comes to Sega. You're going to see more Genesis love in year 2 of this show, and it starts with today's game; Shining Force. 

**On that note, if you haven't played a game that's covered on the show, I encourage you to give the episode a listen, anyways. Maybe it'll peak your interest and help you discover a new game to play as well! (And please let me know if that ends up being the case!)** Shining Force is rad. I just recently played through it on my friend Miklos's suggestion, and I loved it. It's a great tactical RPG (imagine an RPG board game). You and the computer move your characters around on a grid style map, taking turns attacking each other. Most maps have various landscapes throughout their tiles, and they can provide offensive and defensive strategies. It's like playing RPG chess in a way. And Shining Force is one of the grandfather's of the genre. I think I described it as the Dragon Warrior of tactical RPGs. For better and for worse.  While the gameplay itself is fun, and it contains many of the elements that have caused me to completely fall in love with the tactical genre (strategy, levelling up characters, and a stiff challenge) it has a lot of faults, too. Clearly, this was a learning process for the developers, and some of the mechanics are ancient and frustrating to work through. Menu navigation is a nightmare. So is inventory management. It's just clunky and boring. Luckily, that makes up just a small portion of your experience with Shining Force. I found myself gritting my teeth and slogging through the standard "village between battles restock" that comes with most RPGS, because I knew another fun battle map was waiting on the other side. 

Tactical RPGs have become one of my favourite styles of video game, and it was really cool playing what some consider the Super Mario Bros of the genre. It has it's warts, but nothing that ruins the experience. My buddy Miklos came through with a killer recommendation by suggesting I give Shining Force a shot, and he joins me on the show this week to talk about why it's so awesome. Enjoy!

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I can't believe we've made fifty episodes of this train wreck of a podcast! And speaking of train wrecks, today we're talking Super Mario 64! (Just kidding!)

Kind of.  I won't lie to you, loyal reader/listener/fellow nerd. The core Mario series is my favourite in all of gaming. But the first foray into the world of 3D just didn't grab me. I remember getting this game as a kid, and yeah, I played the hell out of it. But it never took over my life like it's two dimensional brethren did. I was way more into Mario Kart 64, which we got at the same time. I struggled with the camera, the controller, and just didn't enjoy it as much as I did Mario's other adventures.  Having said that, I came into this podcast ready to rip Mario 64 a new ass. And I just couldn't do it. I think that's a true testament to the genius of this game and just how groundbreaking it was. I wanted to spend an hour trashing it, and every time I tried I found myself bringing up something it did right. Watching clips of the game in preparation for this episode, I was mesmerized by the music and the world Nintendo created for the launch of the Nintendo 64. It's truly a masterpiece. I want to hate it, I think I hate it, I'll tell you I hate it. But....I don't. Super Mario 64 is one of the most important video games of all-time. I thought it would make a perfect topic of conversation for the 50th episode of "Remember the Game?", and I brought my buddy Mark McCue with me.  Thank you so much for listening to the show. Whether you've listened to all 50 episodes, cherry picked the ones about games you know, or this is your very first one, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. 

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In a world where sports video games have become deep, complex, virtual simulations of their real-life counterparts, Ice Hockey still stands out. It's the epitome of the saying "Less is More". Sure, if you're looking for a hockey game where you can develop rosters, play 100+ hours of a franchise, and manage my salary cap, there are better options. But if you just want to play a quick game of hockey against a friend, and have a really good time doing it, it's still hard to beat Ice Hockey.  It's not a very deep game. You play against either the computer or a friend in a single game, and that's it. No seasons or tournaments. You get to pick from one of six national teams, and then you make up your four man roster. You can pick between skinny players (fast but wimpy), medium players (meh), and heavy/fat players (slow but powerful), and you can mix and match to create any combination of four that you want. And within that lies the genius of Ice Hockey. Do you roll with a team of four skinny players, skate circles around your opponent, but get knocked off the puck every time somebody sneezes? Or do you load up on heavyweights and just hope the other team skates into one of your guys? It might not be as deep as navigating the AHL looking for a fourth line winger, but it works perfectly. The combinations are practically endless.  I guess technically there's 256 combinations. But whatever. The gameplay is insanely simplistic and easy to pick up. Steer your highlighted player with the D-pad. "A" passes or steals, and "B" shoots or changes players. The D-pad controls your goalie at the same time, which is also really fun. I'd argue that controlling the goalie in Ice Hockey is as fun as controlling the goalie in any hockey game ever made. And that's it. Most of the basic rules from hockey are here, and you just try to score more goals than your opponent. There's no load times, no rosters updates, it's just simple, arcade hockey. And it's awesome.  Most people compare Ice Hockey to it's NES counterpart Blades of Steel. I knew a ton of people that owned one, but I don't think I knew anybody that owned both. I preferred Blades of Steel as a kid, but I think Ice Hockey has held up infinitely better over the years. It recently released on the Nintendo Switch as part of their NES Online service, and I can confirm it's as fun to pick up and play today as it was over thirty years ago. It's not perfect; and it certainly isn't worth paying anymore than a few bucks for these days. But for my money, it's the Ric Flair of Nintendo sports games. One of the all-time greats, and I love it.  My buddy David Rae does too. He's my guest this week, and we had a ton of laughs talking Ice Hockey. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as we did!

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They might seem silly now (they're not silly at all, by the way) but in the mid 90's, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers were in control of every kid on the planet. Who didn't love the "teenagers with attitude"??

TV show(s), movies, actions figures, comic books, the Rangers were everywhere. Video games were inevitable. I remember wanting to get my hands on every Mighty Morphin' thing I could during my phase a Ranger junkie. Especially the video games. But the only one I ever owned - and played for that matter - was the self titled game on the Super Nintendo. And when I was young I thought it was incredible, albeit a little easy. As a jaded, grumpy old man now, I can see it for what it is. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on the SNES was a half-assed, cookie cutter beat 'em up. 

On a console that boasted incredible beat 'em ups like Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Maximum Carnage, Final Fight 3 and (insert your favourite game that I missed here), not to mention the undisputed king of beat 'em up - TMNT IV: Turtles In Time, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers came up short in every possible way. It snuck by on the back of the franchise itself, and while many of us played and loved it as kids, it's aged terribly. 

I could beat this game as a kid without breaking a sweat. I'm not great at games now, but man did I suck back then. You just ran left to right, punching generic putties over and over again. Being able to pick from Jason, Trini, Zack, Kimberly and Billy before each level was cool, but they all pretty well controlled identically. And once they morphed from their teenage selves into their Power Ranger counterparts, they were simple palette swaps of one another. Some of the boss fights were kind of cool, but the two minutes it took to beat them didn't make up for the ten minute slog you went through to get there. The game ends with a couple Street Fighter style battles between Megazord and some villain, and they're only slightly more fun than the countless putty fights before them.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers isn't a great game. But it's based on a great franchise, and it kicks my nostalgia sensors into overdrive. My buddy Andre is back this week, and we're talking about the video game and the Rangers themselves, and we had a hell of a time doing it. 

Plus, I snuck the theme song into the beginning of the episode :)

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Everyone knows that most video games based on The Simpsons, sucked. 

But, everyone played video games based on The Simpsons. I know I did. I think I've played every Simpsons video game ever made, except for The Simpsons Skateboarding and The Simpsons Wrestling. It didn't matter how big of fan you were, one look at the back of those CD cases was enough to realize these games were real life versions of Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge. But I played the rest of them. I owned a lot of them, too. Including The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare.  For the record, I loves me some Simpsons. Admittedly, I'm one of the old school fans that doesn't care for the last fifteen years of the show. But in it's glory days, I was flat-out obsessed with the show. I watched a couple hours of it every day. My parents knew it, too. And they knew that Santa would look like a hero if he could combine my love of The Simpsons with my love of video games. Christmas morning, a Simpsons game found it's way into our house more often than not.  I'm sure we'll do episodes of this show about some of those other games down the road. Today, we're talking Bart's Nightmare. I had it for the SNES, and I actually really liked it. I think the plot of the game isn't terrible. Bart falls asleep doing his homework, and you have to go through his dreams/nightmares to get the 8 pages of his homework back before he wakes up, which happens when you get a game over. The more pages you collect, the better grade Bart gets on his paper. OK. Maybe it is terrible. But I liked it. I still do. It has issues, and they're the same issues that plague almost every Simpsons video game. The controls (at times), are awful. It's hard as balls. Frankly, it's a stupid game. But they nail some of the cameos and references to the show, and that's why I liked playing these games as a kid.  I never beat it, but I didn't care. I have great memories of fighting Homer Kong, flying through the sky as Bartman, and popping bubblegum on Principal Skinner's head. I like this game. My buddy Darren does too. He joins me on the podcast this week, and we finally dive into the urine-soaked hellhole that is the world of Simpsons video games on Remember The Game? And I know, I could have said peepee-soaked heck hole. 

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There may not be another game in my "illustrious" gaming career that I have fonder memories of after a single play-through than The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I played through it one time, on my GameCube back in the day, and never turned it on again. Not because I didn't like it, but because I just ended the game feeling....satisfied. 

I've seen the criticisms of Wind Waker. Too much time is sent just floating around on the boat. The art style looks too childish. I was going to list a third one, but honestly, that's all I can really remember ever seeing anyone bitch about when it comes to this game. The "too much time on the water" complaint is slightly justified. I never felt it was a chore, but I guess I could see where someone is coming from. Anyone that complains about the art style is straight up crazy.  For my money, this is the best looking game in the Zelda series (and yes, I'm including Breath of the Wild). I'm infatuated with the way this game looks. From the first time I saw it, I thought it was gorgeous. I think it's aged incredibly well, and I'd love to see another entry done in the same style. It's like playing one of the best looking cartoons ever. The bright colours helped make the time drifting around on a boat seem light and enjoyable. I'm not a graphics guy in the least, but I'd play this game again just to get another look at it.  I'm a pretty fair weather Zelda fan. Mario has always been my guy, and while I've played a nice chunk of Link's games, few of them would be on the short list for my favourite games ever. Link To The Past, Link Between Worlds, and The Wind Waker would be the exceptions to that rule. I absolutely adore this game, and I pray the HD Wii U port we got a few years ago finds it's way onto the Switch soon.  My buddy Mark is back this week. We've talked about a few Zelda games already, and we were both hella excited to add The Wind Waker to that list. Kick back, relax, and let's go on a boat ride!

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The whole concept behind this podcast was to talk about the games we played as kids and to stir up those feelings of nostalgia, and that's exactly what A Boy and His Blob does for me. My brother and I played the hell out of this game as kids. 

We never owned it, but we rented it. Over and over and over. Everyone remembers doing that with a game or two back in the day, right? By the time you stopped renting it, you could have just bought the damned game with all the money you spent! We never came anywhere close to beating it, either. And honestly, without the internet, I doubt we ever would have. But we didn't care.

This game was built to be played alongside the internet. Tons of trial and error, and hard to solve puzzles. You play as "boy" - I don't remember them actually saying what his name was - and this blob thing follows you around. I didn't know it back in the day, but apparently the object of the game was to collect treasure (that was in caves under the ground) to buy vitamins to feed bad guys back on Blob's home planet. Oh yeah, and you had a ton of different jellybeans to feed blob, and when you did, he turned into different things like a ladder, a bubble, and a blowtorch.

Yeah...

It didn't tell you what each flavour of jellybean did to blob, either. You had to feed him different kinds of beans, and see what happened. We kept a handwritten list of what bean did what. And then once you knew you could make blob into, you had to figure out where to use him to stay alive. Because everything killed you. Falling, enemies, spikes, water, falling rocks, ugh. 

This game had a ton of flaws, but I still have a soft spot for it. My buddy and fellow comedian Ty does too. He's my guest this week, and we look back at our adventures dying alongside Blob as kids. Grab a bag of ketchup jellybeans, put your feet up, and go for a ride back in time with us, won't you?

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Super Metroid turned 25 a couple weeks ago! A better podcast host would have caught that and ran with it, but what can you do? I don't think it cared that we missed it. 

One of the greatest games - not only on the Super Nintendo, but of all-time - Super Metroid is an absolute gem. A perfect combination of action, exploration, challenge, and atmosphere (which in the 16-bit era is no small feat), it takes you on a ride. Super Metroid is so good, it served as a primary inspiration in the formation of an entire new genre of video game; the Metroid-Vania. When you look at any list of the "greatest SNES games of all-time", Samus's Super Nintendo adventure is a lock for a spot in the top 5. Considering the insane library of games those lists contain, that's a pretty incredible feather in it's cap. 

I missed this one as a kid, but luckily, I caught up to it as an adult. I've probably played through it half a dozen times in the last 10 years, and it's one of those titles I keep going back to. When I think of video games, it's one of the titles that comes to mind. I love the graphical style of it so much, and when you add in the action, power-ups, and exploration that comes with it, it's everything a video game should be. I've tried playing Metroid on the NES in recent years, and while I respect the role it played in paving the way for Super Metroid, it just hasn't stood the test of time like it's 16-bit counterpart has. And while there are a lot of franchises that made massive improvements during their transition from the 8-bit generation to the 16-bit one, I don't think there's an IP that levelled up as hard as Samus and friends did. 

Super Metroid is a hall of fame worthy video game. Two of my childhood friends, Daniel and Rob, joined me this week to explain why. This was a fun episode, I hope you like it. 

And for the love of video games, if you haven't played Super Metroid, get your shit together. 

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The NES had Super Mario Bros. The Genesis had Sonic The Hedgehog. And Microsoft's Xbox? It had Halo. And Halo is awesome. 

I was skeptical of the Xbox. I remember reading a great article in a gaming magazine (remember those?) about how there just wasn't room in the gaming industry for four home consoles. At least one of the Nintendo Gamecube, Playstation 2, Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft's Xbox wasn't going to survive. In hindsight, we all know the - unfortunate - victim of the crowd selves was the Dreamcast, but I would have bet money it would be the Xbox. But, I didn't know that Microsoft had Bungie and a little someone named Master Chief in their back pocket. 

When you think of the Xbox, it's hard not to think of Halo: Combat Evolved. I guess you could think of Halo 2, but whatever. It's the system Master Chief built. I vividly remember playing Halo with my friend Chris and just being blown away by the graphics and the gameplay. Until then, all I knew of first person shooters was Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and DOOM. Halo was incredible. It was like playing a movie. It raised the bar. A lot. 

Some of my best memories of Halo are playing the campaign on Legendary difficulty. Getting my ass handed to me over and over and not caring. The music got you so fired up. Ripping around in Warthogs. The multi-player!! Grunts are one of my favourite villains in a video game to this day. Halo: Combat Evolved is the best. 

My buddy and fellow comedian Ty joined me this week, and we took a long look back at the debut of Master Chief, the arrival of the Xbox, and the gem that is Halo: Combat Evolved. Enjoy!

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I say it almost every episode, but I'm really excited to talk about this week's game. Donkey Kong Country is easily on  "10 favourite games of all-time" list. It's a masterpiece. Donkey Kong Country is just one of those games that everybody has played. It's one of the best selling video games in history, and at one point it was even been packaged with the Super Nintendo itself. At a time when people were looking at the Sega Genesis and it's graphical capabilities, this game was the SNES's way of pushing back. It's absolutely gorgeous, and as far as I'm concerned it looks as good today as it did twenty-five years ago.  I've said it a million times, but Super Mario World is my favourite game ever. I think it's literally the perfect video game. Donkey Kong Country is just as good. Frankly, it looks better and it has better music than Mario does. The 16-bit era of video games is still the golden age in this old timer's mind, and this game is one of the crown jewels of that generation. I don't even know what to say about, I just love it that much.  I've beaten this game a million times, and I find myself going back to it again and again. The gameplay is tight, it's fun to play, it's perfect. It introduced us to Diddy Kong, and it showed the world why Cranky Kong (who's the original Donkey Kong, FYI) is the best character in gaming history.  And we got Funky Kong. And Donkey Kong is a boss. King K Rool is a dope villain. The mine cart levels! Shooting from barrel to barrel! In a blizzard!! You can ride a swordfish! So damned good. Games like Donkey Kong Country are why I started this podcast in the first place. I have so many great memories of playing it as a kid. And this week, my buddy Henry came by to listen to me talk about some of them. He had a few of his own too. Great game, great guest, great episode. Check it out.

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Spider-Man is my favourite superhero. Even if you ignore all of the "he's a normal guy trying to do the right thing/with great power comes great responsibility" stuff and just focus on superpowers, the guy is sick. Climbing walls, super strength, agility, and of course, web-slinging. He seems like he'd be perfect for video games. And unfortunately, that wasn't really the case for a long time. Then came Spider-Man for the PlayStation.

Developed by Neversoft, Spider-Man initially released on the PlayStation in the summer of 2000. It later found it's way onto the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast, but for me and most my friends, this game's practically a PlayStation exclusive. It's one of the games I most wanted to see on the PS Classic last year - although I didn't expect it because of licensing and the fact that the PS Classic is garbage - and aside from Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and the Tony Hawk series, it's one of the titles I most associate with Sony's first foray into the console world. 

(On a side note, Neversoft developed the Tony Hawk games along with Spider-Man. That's a pretty sick track record)

You (obviously) play the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. You fight bad guys, climb walls, and yep, web-sling around New York. Kind of. Doctor Octopus and Carnage release a fog across the city, and it blocks out the lower half of New York for the duration of the game. Obviously a way to work within the limitations of the PlayStation's hardware capabilities (I assume anyway), you web-sling along the skyline of the city without ever seeing the streets, traffic, and people. It actually works really well, and doesn't take away from the game.

Where this game truly shines, in my opinion, is it's story. It absolutely captures the feel of the modern Marvel movies, and the roster of characters that make appearances in Spider-Man is INSANE! Spider-Man, Venom (my other favourite. And they team up, which is the best!), Punisher, Captain America, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Carnage, Human Torch, Daredevil, Rhino; the list goes on and on. Stan Lee even shows up! I say it during the podcast this week, but nothing makes me happier than when I see a game developer truly cares, and it's obvious while playing this game that Neversoft set out to make something special. And they succeeded. 

An original story, incredible gameplay and graphics, and a little TLC, Spider-Man has it all. My buddy Tyler and I had a great time talking about one of the stand out (and occasionally forgotten) gems on the PlayStation. It's all about Spider-Man this week on 'Remember The Game?'!

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It's WrestleMania week! This is like the Stanley Cup Finals/World Series/Super Bowl for wrestling fans, so I figured it was the right time to jump back into the world of wrasslin' video games. We've already covered the iconic WWF: No Mercy, and it's dimwitted cousin WWF Attitude. This week, we leaping forward to the Playstation 2 and another of the most beloved wrestling games of all-time; WWE SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain... Featuring the cover athlete BROOOOOCCKKKK.....LESSSSSSNAAAAARRRRRR! (That's for you current WWE fans) I won't lie, my heart belongs to the Nintendo 64 when it comes to wrestling games. Not just No Mercy, either. All the THQ games from that system (going back as far as WCW World Tour), stole countless hours from my childhood. They may not have had the deepest career modes of all-time, but the controls were perfect, and the multiplayer was legendary. I loved those games. I bought the first couple SmackDown! titles when they released on the original PlayStation, but they didn't hook me in the same way. Once the SmackDown series made it's leap to the PlayStation 2, it really hit it's stride. Shut Your Mouth was pretty good, but Here Comes the Pain is - in my opinion - the definitive title of the PS2, the SmackDown series, and early 2000's pro wrestling. It really played a big role in shifting the wrestling video game genre toward a more simulation style game, being able to work on specific body parts during a match and seeing the damage that has been done to each leg, arm, etc. It pumped steroids into the THQ grapple engine everyone knew and loved.  It really took the gameplay to the next level, and aside from the obvious graphical enhancements, I remember this feeling like the first game that was taking full advantage of a more powerful console (the PS2 as opposed to the original PlayStation).  I love the career mode in this game, too. I like the tight menu, no walking around. You pick what you want to do between matches, and it happens. Its the KISS method - Keep It Simple, Stupid. It also introduced the Elimination Chamber to video games, and I found that as fun as I did ladder matches when they were first introduced back in WWF No Mercy. It was the first time bra and panties matches were playable too, but, yeah... It has a great roster, plucked from a great time in pro wrestling. Tight controls, great graphics, fun career mode, Here Comes The Pain checks all the right boxes. I haven't played it in a long time, but doing a little homework for this episode brought back a lot of great memories. This is unquestionably one of the crown jewels of the wrestling video game library, and my buddy Andre joined me this week to help explain why.  Enjoy the podcast, and enjoy WrestleMania, fellow nerds. It's still real to me dammit.

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What can I possibly say about The Legend of Zelda that hasn't already been said?

It's one of the most influential and iconic games of all-time. It launched one of the greatest franchises in the history of the industry. It's an absolutely masterpiece that - for my money - is as enjoyable today as it was over THIRTY years ago. It might even be better now, because the internet is around to help you.  I didn't play this much as a kid. It wasn't until A Link to the Past that I really discovered the greatness that is The Legend of Zelda franchise. I finally went back and played through it from beginning to end earlier this year, and I've been jonesing to talk about it ever since. I think it says a ton about this game when literally every thing it did has been improved upon in different games over the years, but it's still a blast to play. It's legendary. This might be the shortest podcast post I've written so far, but I just don't know what else to say. My buddy David Rae is my guest this week, and we spend almost 50 minutes talking about gaming royalty. It's all about The Legend of Zelda this time around. Enjoy!

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StarTropics is the little game that almost could. Developed by Nintendo of America and released exclusively in North America and Europe (most NES games made their way to North America after being released in Japan), this game gets an awful lot right. And the stuff is gets wrong can be overlooked or chalked up to system limitations and industry standards in the late 80's. The game stars some guy named Mike, and he travels from tropical island to tropical island (and eventually to spaceship, because video games) in search of his missing Uncle. Each "level" is a cave/temple that you have to find your way out of, battling enemies with yo-yos and baseball equipment. The strict "grid" movement (left/right/up/down one space at a time) can be frustrating, but the puzzle solving and exploration in the caves make up for it. Most of the time, anyway. It starts off pretty simple, but by the third or fourth level, this game gets viciously difficult. And a little cheap. It's still hella fun, though. This is one of those games I never owned as a kid, but I have fond memories of playing anyways. I had a friend that lived across the street from me, and he owned it. I'd go over to play games with him and we'd spend hours dying on the same boss (that God damned fire guy). But we kept coming back for more. Something about this game just hooks you. As frustrating as it can be, it really is fun to play.  It also shipped with a letter (an actual physical, piece of paper letter), that had to be dipped in water to reveal a secret code necessary to finish the game. It might sound hokey in 2019, but in the early 90's, that was some crazy innovation! My friend and I never had that paper, but luckily for us we never got that far in the game, so it didn't matter.  StarTropics is a beauty, and it just released on Nintendo's Switch Online Service. If you haven't played it, I strongly recommend giving it a shot. But not until after you listen to my buddy Chris and I talk about it for half an hour on this week's podcast!

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In early 2001, the Nintendo 64 was running out of gas. The Playstation was in full swing, and Nintendo was looking vulnerable for the first time. Their new console, the Gamecube, was only months away. The 64 was about to be left behind. But before that happened, it had one last hurrah. And that hurrah was a gorgeous RPG called Paper Mario.  Not officially a "sequel" to the beloved Super Mario RPG on the SNES, Paper Mario was our favourite plumbers second foray into the world of role-playing game. Borrowing some elements from it's 16-bit cousin - timed hits/defending in combat and top shelf writing, to name a couple - Paper Mario managed to hold onto the Nintendo charm and approachability, while still remaining a deep, competitive RPG. The combat system isn't simply a matter of tapping "A" and coasting through battles. Attacking in this game requires some form of action if you want to cause maximum damage. Little things like tapping a button at the right time or pulling the joystick to the left and then swinging it to the right help break up the monotony of combat that a lot of RPGS struggle with. Each battle feel fresh and fun. Your attacks do various types of damage to your opponents, too. In a standard Mario game, you have to jump on a Koopa Troopa before you can pick it up and use it. They managed to transition that style of gameplay into RPG combat with Paper Mario. It's an RPG that still feels a lot like a platformer/action game. There's also NO RANDOM ENCOUNTERS!!!!! How all RPGS haven't adapted that approach by now is a frustrating mystery that may never be solved. Ugh. This game is charming, gorgeous, and it's a blast to play. The writing is clever and funny. The paper art style looks great, even by today's standards. I feel that games from the 64-bit era haven't aged well cosmetically, but this game looks as good today as it did eighteen years ago. And the most important thing, in my opinion, is that it's just as fun now as it was when it launched. If Nintendo ever does release a Nintendo 64 Classic, I'd buy one just to play this game again. It's that good.  My buddy Mark McCue agrees. He's my guest on the podcast this week, and damned if we didn't have a hell of a time revisiting Paper Mario. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did. 

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When you think of platformers, Super Mario Bros jumps to mind as the most influential to the genre. First Person Shooters, that nod might go to Wolfenstein or Doom. And when you get into the world of horror video games, the undisputed king is the Playstation classic, Resident Evil.  Admittedly, I'm a wuss when it comes to horror and scary things. I don't watch a lot of the movies, and I haven't played many of the video games. My first experience with the Resident Evil franchise was Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. I adored it. And it made me want to go back and try some of it's predecessors. When I finally got a chance to play the game that started it all, I was....underwhelmed.  However, in retrospect, Resident Evil deserves a lot of credit. You can certainly criticize the control scheme and the God awful voice acting (although I think the cheesy voice acting adds to the game, like a bad 80's horror movie), but what you can't deny is that this game defined a genre. Capcom did something new with Resident Evil. They tried to take a horror movie that you'd see in a theatre, and make it into a video game. The Playstation had the technical capabilities to do what the 16-bit era consoles couldn't, and the end result is a game that may be laughable today, but was revolutionary and down-right scary in it's prime. The franchise has gone on to become one of the most famous in gaming, spawning countless video games and several films, and horror games like Outlast, The Evil Within, and (my personal favourite) Dead Space, owe a great debt to Resident Evil.  Like I said, the horror genre in gaming isn't my forte. But my buddy Tyler knows this game like the back of his hand. He's my guest this week, and we had a blast remembering the crazy, campy, crappy controlling world of Resident Evil.

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For my money, there may not be a game in the NES library (at least, not without "Mario" in the title) that has aged better than the masterpiece that is Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!

Punch Out!! was one of the first sports video games to really nail it. The controls are snare drum tight, the graphics are still gorgeous today, and the gameplay mechanics strike a perfect balance between "simulation-y" and "arcade-ish". Aspects like stamina that depletes as you get punched and have your strikes blocked makes it feel like you're in a real boxing match, but at the same time the idea of your opponent teleporting around the ring while he throws punches at you reminds you that this is still a video game. It's a magical combination that works splendidly. And it makes it's insane difficulty tolerable.

Because make no mistake - this game is hard. Like, really hard. Mike Tyson is considered one of the most difficult "final bosses" in the history of gaming, and that's assuming you can even get to him. I never have. In classic Nintendo style, the first few levels (opponents) are pretty easy, slowly introducing new game mechanics and teaching you everything you need to know. But once the difficulty starts to ramp up, it punches you right in the face. Because it's a boxing game, you get it? 

I've always preferred the Super Nintendo sequel to this game, but after spending some serious time with Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! in preparation for this podcast, I've remembered what an absolute classic it is. It's as fun to play in 2019 as it was in 1987, and it deserves it's spot alongside the Mario Bros, Castlevanias and Mega Mans on the list of the greatest games in the NES's legendary library. 

My pal and fellow NES junkie David Rae returns to the show this week, and damned if we didn't spend almost hour talking about how we couldn't beat Mike Tyson. Enjoy the podcast!

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Pro wrestling is probably the only thing on the planet on par with retro video games when it comes to making me feel nostalgic. Being a teenager during the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era was something special. If you liked wrestling in those days (and who didn't?), you know what I'm saying. Combine the Attitude Era with the Playstation and the Nintendo 64, and you have nostalgia overload. 

Enter WWF Attitude.

When people talk wrestling games from the 90's and early 2000's, the instant focus falls on THQ. WCW/nWo Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and of course, WWF No Mercy are all absolutely incredible. But before the WWF got in bed with THQ, Akklaim was in charge of bringing Stone Cold and friends into the world of video games. And while WWF Attitude doesn't have anything close to the legacy WWF No Mercy (or even SmackDown does), it doesn't deserve to be overlooked like it usually is.

A lot of features that are common place in wrestling games today began with WWF Attitude. Things like super deep rosters, in depth create a wrestler, and even the ability to create an event all started with this game. While the THQ titles were taking the game in an "easy to approach and simple to control" direction, Akklaim focused on trying to make their wrestling games a more complicated, simulation type of experience. And while it's easy to look back on some of their decisions and laugh - and believe me, we do on the podcast this week - I think the powers that be behind this game deserve a little bit of credit for trying something different. It may not have worked all that well, but they helped lay the groundwork for what wrestling games would become. 

My guest this week is fellow wrestling nerd and podcast host Kyle Shaw, and we had a great time sharing stories about not only playing video games, but watching wrestling as well. Enjoy the podcast!

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In an era filled with weird animal heroes like the Battletoads, Samurai Pizza Cats, Bucky O'Hare and Biker Mice from Mars, Earthworm Jim still managed to stand out. His video games are hilarious, and the original game launched a franchise that went on to produce an animated series, comic books, and action figures, along with several video game sequels, as well.  Whenever I hear the word "groovy", I can't help but think of Earthworm Jim. It's funny, because I don't remember when I discovered the franchise, just like I can't remember when it all disappeared. But there was definitely a time in the 90's where Earthworm Jim could do no wrong. his entire universe was fantastic, propelled by an insane cast of characters that included Queen-Slug-For-A-Butt, a Killer Goldfish named Bob, and of course, Peter Puppy. The characters transitioned perfectly between television and video game. Possibly more than any game before it, Earthworm Jim felt like you were playing a Saturday morning cartoon. A very difficult Saturday morning cartoon. These games are vicious. I replayed this one quite a bit in preparation for this podcast, and hardly got anywhere. I think some criticism of the controls is warranted, but I still myself wanting to play some more. This game is from the era of "practice makes perfect". If you wanted to beat it, all you had to do was play it enough to get good. It didn't hold hands, and it rewarded skill.  Did I mention it was funny? I did? Well, I'll say it again. This game is hilarious. There's a level where you go to Hell and the bad guys consist of lawyers. Evil crows try to pull Jim out of his suit, reminding you that at the end of the day, he's just an earthworm. You're trying to save Princess What's Her Name? Really, that's what she's called.  Jim steals the show. He uses his own body as weapon, a hand while he hangs from clotheslines, and a jump rope when he's bored. This game is one of the first I can remember playing that legitimately made me laugh while I stared at the screen. This game is a beauty. It's too bad the franchise doesn't get more love today.  My buddy Patrick is back on the show this week, and we had a great time remembering the Grooviest hero in gaming; Earthworm Jim.

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Welcome to a special Friday edition of Remember The Game! For this episode, we're jumping forward in time. Instead of looking at a game that took over our lives in the 80's or 90's, we're talking about a game that is taking over our lives right now. Today I'm talking Fortnite and Super Smash Bros Ultimate with my nephew, Ben. Ben is a returning guest to the podcast (we talked about the Mario Party franchise way back in episode 8), and I love talking games with him. He's twelve years old, and every bit as passionate (addicted) to video games as I am. I like talking to younger gamers today, and seeing what fires them up about the industry. Not only do Ben and I dip into two of the biggest franchises on the planet, but we talk a little about game streaming, Youtube, and the politics that come with it. Not only is Ben a gaming junkie, but he's incredibly well spoken and intelligent. He's big into creating on Youtube, etc, and he's a natural behind a microphone. He was a great guest, and I had a really good time recording this episode with him. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did. Thanks Ben!

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This episode is for all you "PC Master Race" nerds. Outside of Oregon Trail and some shareware games, there's really only one PC game I played growing up, and holy hell did I play a lot of it. I loved building roller coasters, charging people $5 to use the bathroom, and of course, picking people up with tweezers and dropping them in the middle of nowhere. This week, we're talking RollerCoaster Tycoon. 

I don't remember where I first saw this game, but I remember being excited for it before it even released. I probably read about it in a gaming magazine leading up to March '99, and I vividly remember going to the store after work and buying it one day. I didn't even know if our computer was powerful enough to play it, but I figured it was worth the risk. And it was. Partially because my computer could play the game, and partially because this game is awesome. 

It's sad that this franchise has lost it's way as hard as it has in recent years, because when it launched, it was incredible. I didn't know a ton of people that played it in my circle, but my brother and I played it non-stop. The various challenge levels got old fast, but that's not why anybody played this game. It was all about building the greatest amusement park in the world. Sitting there, studying your customers and watching the money roll in was as addictive as anything I had experienced in gaming up to that point. I bought it years later for my Xbox, and I have it installed on my iPad and my phone now, too. I'll never stop giving this game my money.

RollerCoaster Tycoon is a phenomenal game, and it's still my favourite simulation style game of all-time. My buddy Mark McCue loves it, too. He's my guest this week, and we're going to take you to the official Remember The Game theme park. Admission is free, and good times are guaranteed. 

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Does anyone else hear the chorus to I Ran (So Far Away) and instantly think of Vice City? Oh, all of you? At least it isn't just me then....

Everyone played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I know there had been the original top-down style GTA games, and GTA 3 had been out for a little while, but this seemed like the one that really kick-started the Grand Theft Auto phenomenon. I know personally, this one the first one I played. I never actually finished the story, but I'd spend hours just driving around causing chaos and running away from the police. I'd never played a game like this before, it felt so....real (for lack of a better word).

The soundtrack for this game is absolutely iconic. Just driving around listening to the radio was so much fun. The amount of time Rockstar spent on the radio DJ's conversations was incredible for the time. As someone that would usually turn the sound off on my video games and listen to a CD instead (fuck I'm old), this game really grabbed my attention from an audio perspective. It was so good. 

I'm sure kids that grew up on GTA V would take one look at Vice City and laugh, but for us old folks, this game was the cat's ass. I've been looking forward to uploading this episode for a while, because I know every gamer from my generation remembers ripping around, seeing if they could max out their stars and still get away from the cops. This game was like playing a movie. It's unquestionably one of the most iconic games of it's generation, and I had a great time chatting about it with my buddy Andre. I hope you guys have as much fun with this episode as we did.

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Battletoads is one of those franchises that has always had a strong cult following, but nobody really  knows why. They're blatant Ninja Turtle ripoffs. The games are ridiculously difficult. The characters have some of the grossest names in gaming history (Zitz, Pimple, and Rash). Nothing about the franchise makes sense whatsoever.  But people really like them. Myself included.  Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is, for my money, the best game in the series. At times it almost plays like a 16-bit remake of the NES original. The levels, enemies, and attack animations are similar, but they all look much, much better. While criticisms of it's controls, collision detection and difficulty are valid, nobody can say this game doesn't look gorgeous. It's like playing a really bad-ass cartoon. After recording this episode of the podcast and reflecting on the series, I think it's art style and "edginess" (for lack of a better word) are the primary reasons the series developed a following in the first place. It just feels like a cool video game.  Battlemaniacs is also home to undoubtably one of the best soundtracks of the 16-bit era. When I edit these podcasts, one of the highlights for me is going back and listening to the music from games I played growing up. The music from this game is so good that I actually downloaded some of it's songs to my phone, and plan to keep them there. Maybe that's part of the reason players keep coming back, despite knowing they can't win; that music makes you feel like a badass.  My buddy Patrick makes his podcast debut this week, and we had a great time looking at Battletoads in Battlemaniacs through a very critical lens. This game has it's faults, no question. But at the end of the day, it's just fun to play. Except maybe those fucking speed bikes.... We have a website! https://www.rememberthegamepodcast.com And we're on Twitter and Instagram (we follow back, too!) @memberthegame Thanks for listening!

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I vividly remember getting this game for my birthday the year it came out. And despite the fact that I had a house full of my friends over for a party, and this was a single player game, it was all I did for the rest of the day. No regrets. The first thing that stands out about this game are the graphics. It's simply gorgeous. It was released less than a year before the Nintendo 64 launch, and the advancement Nintendo made between the original Super Mario World that debuted alongside the SNES and this game are undeniable. Clearly, the powers that be had a firm handle on what the Super Nintendo was capable of at this point. I consider this game to be the SNES's swan song. It's a hell of a way to go out. Everyone had fallen in love with Yoshi after his appearance in Super Mario World a few years earlier, and we were excited for the opportunity to play as him some more. It took one game (if you don't count spinoff appearances and the awful Super Scope game) for the dinosaur/sacrificial lamb to leap into a starring role. It took poor Luigi like 20 years to do that! (Again, no spinoffs. Looking at YOU, Mario Is Missing.....) This game featured some new gameplay mechanics, like launching eggs and the debut of Yoshi's "flutter" jump. The levels are deep and lengthy, and I *think* this was the first "Mario" game to feature collectibles in each level that you had to seek out if you wanted to 100% the game. And 100%ing this game was hard. I haven't done it to this day, although it's something I intend to do at some point. It gave you a ton of bang for your buck, and while it isn't really a sequel to the original Super Mario World per say, it lives up to the name sake from a quality perspective. I'd be curious to know how it would've sold it they had simply called it "Yoshi's Island", without slapping Super Mario World 2 on the cover. I have to assume it would have hurt sales somewhat, especially after Yoshi's Safari was such a disappointment a couple years prior. And without the success of this game, Yoshi might not be as big of character in the Nintendo universe as he is today. People forget that Yoshi didn't appear as a "power up" in a Mario game again until Super Mario Galaxy 2 15 years later. It doesn't really matter in the end, I suppose. Yoshi is awesome, and so is this game. My buddy Kyle and I had a great time explaining why on this week's podcast. Enjoy. You can find everything 'Remember The Game?' at our new website; rememberthegamepodcast.com! We're on the social media, too! Instagram & Twitter @memberthegame

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If Mario was the video game Heavyweight Champion in the 90's, Sonic The Hedgehog was the #1 contender. I didn't own a Sega Genesis growing up, but I played all the Sonic games. I watched the cartoon. I read the comic books. Sonic was everywhere! He was fast, he was cool, and he was the face of SEGA. But, were his games fun to play? 

My buddy Andre was a Sega kid, and he returns to the podcast this week to help me remember not one, but TWO Sega Genesis games that are attached at the hip (thanks to "cutting edge, lock on technology"); Sonic The Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. Enjoy!

'Remember The Game?' is on Facebook! facebook.com/rememberthegame

AND Twitter! @memberthegame

AND NOW Instagram! @memberthegame

Thanks for listening!

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Happy new year! I hope you had a great holiday season, and the "January Blues" aren't hitting you too hard. And if they are, hopefully a new podcast will help snap you out of it!

We're going with a bit of a black sheep this week (there are only so many Chrono Triggers and Tony Hawk games out there!). My buddy and fellow comic Dave Rae returns to the show, and we decided to have a chat about the Cousin Oliver of the NES Mario family; the REAL Super Mario Bros 2. You may know it as Super Mario Bros - The Lost Levels. 

Originally finding it's way over to North America in the Super Mario All Stars compilation on the SNES, the original version has popped up on Virtual Consoles over the years as well. It's unquestionably the most difficult core Mario Bros game, and I like it a lot. If you've played it, you know just how brutally challenging it is. If you haven't, this probably won't sell you on it, but it should. Give it a shot!

We've seen a crazy spike in downloads the last couple weeks, which I can only chalk up to people discovering the podcast for the first time, and exploring the back catalogue. So THANK YOU to all of you for listening to, supporting, and sharing the podcast with your friends. I really do appreciate it, and I can't wait to see where we end up in 2019!

We're also on Twitter! @memberthegame

AND facebook! facebook.com/memberthegame

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Happy Boxing Day! I have a late Christmas present for all you nerds. An episode of Remember The Game about the single most requested game we've had since we launched the podcast earlier this year; Chrono Trigger!!

My pal Tyler is a Chrono Trigger junkie, and we spent a good 45 minutes looking back at one of the most celebrated and beloved RPGs of all time. I hope this episode helps you kill some time while you're standing in a Boxing Day sale line. Maybe it just provides an escape from the in-laws for an hour. Regardless of how you're spending your holidays, I hope they're going well, Santa came through for ya, and I really appreciate you spending an hour of them geeking out with us.

I'm really excited to see where this podcast goes in 2019, and thank all of you so much for supporting it like you have.

And hey, we're on Twitter! @memberthegame

AND Facebook! facebook.com/memberthegame

Happy New Year!

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