Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson In the midst of so many games and podcasts with heavy story themes, sometimes it's nice to just play a video game-ass video game. And so here we have Crazy Taxi (Sega, 2000), plowing through a bunch of mailboxes on its way to the podcast schedule. This is a seminal game, especially for Dreamcast owners and arcade-goers, that I had somehow never played before. So what was it like playing for the first time in 2025? Listen in to find out! Guest info: Darren Hupke (he/him) Find all of Darren's work https://pixelsandpolygons.net/ Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/darrenhupke.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:11 Introductions 4:05 Our Histories with Crazy Taxi 9:56 Opening Thoughts About Crazy Taxi 13:50 Game Setup 23:34 Crazy Box Mode and Advanced Maneuvers 31:26 Sense of Humor, Future Crazy Taxis and Soundtrack 43:39 Real Life Crazy Taxis and Product Placement 49:40 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 55:00 Darren's Books and Pixels & Polygons 1:00:31 Announcements and Patron Thank-Yous Music used in the episode: All I Want (The Offspring), Ten in 2010 (Bad Religion), Change the World (The Offspring) Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server and make your own resolutions!- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson For the past few years, we've been making "backlog resolutions" each year- choosing a list of games from our libraries that we keep telling ourselves "I'm gonna play that someday" and....playing them! What a concept! Well, we're playing most of them. In what's becoming a yearly tradition, I'm joined by some friends to discuss our experience throughout the year. Guest info: CtrlAltNoob (she/her)- find her work at https://ctrlaltnoob.com/ and follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/ctrlaltnoob.bsky.social Taylor/Athunderheart (she/they)- Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/athunderheart/ and BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/athunderheart.bsky.social Soccr (any/all)- Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/soccr.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:11 Introductions 4:45 Stats from 2025's Resolutions 7:11 General Thoughts and Experiences 21:31 Resolutions Success Stories 53:33 Patron Thank-Yous 55:37 Why Didn't We Play Them All? 1:25:57 Lessons & Strategies for 2026 1:40:59 Sneak Peek at Our 2026 Lists 1:59:40 Closing Thoughts 2:10:37 Guest Plugs Music used in the episode: Bless My Stars (Akitaka Tohyama - Beautiful Katamari OST) a forty-six story motel (RJ Lake - El Paso, Elsewhere OST) Mortol (Gameplay) (Eirik Suhrke - UFO 50 OST) Bionic Bay (Francisco Javier Pérez - Bionic Bay OST) Check out Dave talking about NieR: Automata on Pixel Project Radio https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio Check out the King of Games 1999 FINALE on Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson All paid patrons can listen to a bonus episode about our favorite non-2025 games that we played this year! https://www.patreon.com/posts/our-favorite-non-146887020 It's that time! End of the year time! Games of the year time! This year I polled Discord and Patreon members on their favorites of the year, tallied them up, and here are the results! Then, I close out the show with my own top 10 and some other thoughts as we bring the 2025th year to a close. Please enjoy! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card and Introduction 4:50 Community Honorable Mentions 10:10 Community Top 10 28:31 Dave's Honorable Mentions 30:02 Dave's #10 32:14 Dave's #9 35:06 Dave's #8 38:21 Dave's #7 41:43 Dave's #6 46:05 Dave's #5 49:12 Dave's #4 54:18 Dave's #3 57:58 Dave's #2 1:04:27 Dave's #1 1:14:34 Closing Thoughts 1:21:50 Patron Thank-Yous Music used in the episode: Your Host for Tonight (Chipzel- Dicey Dungeons OST) Beginner's Luck (Chipzel- Dicey Dungeons OST) Polarity (Francisco Javier Pérez- Bionic Bay OST) Monoco (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST) Gestral Beach- Is It a Gestral or a Volleyball (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST) Lumiose City (Day) (Shota Kageyama, Carlos Eiene- Pokemon Legends Z-A OST) Story of All Manor (Trigg & Gusset- Blue Prince OST) Manor- Our Painted Home (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST) Lumiose City (Night) (Shota Kageyama, Carlos Eiene- Pokemon Legends Z-A OST) The Storm (Olivier Deriviere- South of Midnight OST) Mysterious Swamps (Olivier Deriviere- South of Midnight OST) Enter Sektori (Tommy Baynen- Sektori OST) The Beauty of Nature (Miwako Chinone- Monster Hunter Wilds OST) Many Nights a Whisper (fingerspit- Many Nights a Whisper OST) Ten Years Ago You Were Chosen (fingerspit- Many Nights a Whisper OST) Signalchaser (Amos Roddy- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector OST) Suncatchers (Amos Roddy- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector OST) Introduction (C418- Wanderstop OST) Simon's Theme (Trigg & Gusset- Blue Prince OST) Bilewater (Christopher Larkin- Hollow Knight: Silksong OST) Bellhart (Christopher Larkin- Hollow Knight: Silksong OST) Une vie à t'aimer (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, Victor Borba- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST) Gestral Beach- I'd Rather Play Petanque (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, Victor Borba- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST) Battle Theme No. 1 (Toma Otowa- Ghost of Yotei OST) Raise the Sails (Saori Yoshida- Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii OST) Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson With the world being the way it is, it's a rare treat to play a game that's just pure joy from start to finish, and that is exactly what Astro Bot (Team Asobi, Sony, 2024) brings. From the opening cutscene to the final boss, Astro Bot is both one of the greatest platformers ever made and a joyous celebration of 30 years of Playstation history. I treasure a game like this as a player, and almost even moreso as a critic. I hope you enjoy the discussion! Guest info: Josh Covel (he/him) Check out Still Loading Podcast https://www.stillloadingpodcast.com/ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:33 Introductions 6:11 Our Histories with Astro Bot 9:42 Opening Thoughts 13:06 Game Setup and Playstation History 23:08 Criticisms of The Playstation Tie-Ins 39:34 Gameplay & Powerups 49:20 Complexity and Difficulty 1:00:19 Collectibles and Secrets 1:08:15 Music and Sound Design 1:23:55 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 1:29:13 Still Loading Podcast 1:34:58 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:37:34 Spoiler Section- Playstation Themed Levels 2:01:43 Final Level and Miscellaneous Favorite Things Music used in the episode is credited to Kenneth C M Young. Tracks used: I Am Astro Bot (ASTRO BOT Remix), Disco Tree, Big Wave, You Know What You've Got To Do, Drake's BOTtune, Bot of War Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson There is a certain type of atmospheric (usually) indie game that gets praised for its tone, vibes and emotional impact, but sometimes criticized for underbaked or limited gameplay mechanics. Walking sims used to get the brunt of this, but the same could also be said for games like Sword of the Sea director Matt Nava's most famous works, Journey and Abzu. Sword of the Sea may not be an intentional response to those criticisms, but it does add more "involved" gameplay into the fold, incorporating sand surfing and tricks into your verb set. It then begs the discussion- on paper, adding more involved gameplay is good, right? But is that always the case? Guest info: AndresPlays (he/him) Twitch, Writing and More https://linktr.ee/andresplays93 Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/andresplays.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:19 Introductions 4:50 Our Histories With Matt Nava's Games and Sword of the Sea 7:43 Opening Thoughts About Sword of the Sea 14:35 Game Setup and Visual Presentation 20:00 Speed and Sand Surfing 36:16 Music and Visual Presentation 39:54 Lack of Punch and Impact 56:01 Top-Level Story Thoughts 1:01:05 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 1:06:24 AndresPlays- Writing, Streaming and Little Victories 1:11:37 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous 1:14:28 Spoiler Section- Story Interpretations 1:28:05 Hype Moments and Ending Music used in the episode is credited to Austin Wintory. Tracks used: From a drop, a flame, One drop remained, Unpredictable and joyous, Swimming in the sky, Sacred River, A city where none live Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds analyzing Final Fantasy X https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ Check out Dave on Pixel Project Radio analyzing NieR: Automata https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio Check out Dave on the King of Games 1999 https://linktr.ee/retrohangover Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson One of the best things about the thriving indie game scene is that dead genres come back to life, and nothing exemplifies that more than the return of the blobber/first-person dungeon crawler with Almost Human's Legend of Grimrock series. Combining the thrill of exploration in those old school games with modern sensibilities, Legend of Grimrock 2 is one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and I couldn't wait to discuss it on the show. Guest info: Shane Selterre (he/him) Check out everything Retro Hangover! https://linktr.ee/retrohangover TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:24 Introductions 5:02 Our Histories with Legend of Grimrock 2 13:03 Opening Thoughts about Legend of Grimrock 2 17:04 Story Setup 21:18 Dungeon Crawling...Outside? 25:58 Party Creation and the Combat Dance 37:00 Situational Awareness 45:18 Exploration and Inventory 52:31 Puzzles and Traps 1:03:18 Character Building 1:27:19 Music and Sound Design 1:33:13 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 1:37:49 Retro Hangover Podcast 1:42:54 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:45:37 Spoiler Section- Favorite Stuff 2:02:29 Spoiler Section- Final Bosses and Endings Music used in the episode is credited to Scoring Helsinki: Main Theme, Prologue (The Isle), Battle Is On Pt. 1, Master and the Apprentice, Credits Theme Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ Check out Dave on Pixel Project Radio https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio Check out the King of Games 1999 https://retrohangover.captivate.fm/episode/king-of-games-99-round-4-match-1-silent-hill-vs-tony-hawks-pro-skater Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson What could Nintendo possibly do to follow up the game that "saved gaming" for me? Well, they simply iterated on and evolved everything about Breath of the Wild to make one of the most creativity and freedom-focused games ever. It's simple, really- why don't more people think of this? Sarcasm aside, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute wonder, and we're lucky to have it. Hope you enjoy the discussion! Guest info: Michael Berger (he/him) Check out Bits of Time on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@bitsoftimemedia Check out the Bits of Time podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-of-time/id1616941089 Check out everything else Michael is doing https://campsite.bio/matterofmichael TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:21 Introductions 5:35 Our Histories with Zelda and Tears of the Kingdom 8:49 Opening Thoughts About Tears of the Kingdom 16:39 Story Setup 20:26 Storytelling and Nonlinear Design 25:34 Emergent Story and the Adventure 29:52 Link's New Toys 48:58 Emergent Gameplay and the Magic of Scrounging 57:18 Dungeons and Boss Fights 1:03:15 Enemy and Boss Variety 1:08:07 The Depths and Exploration 1:16:33 Art Design and Music 1:23:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations 1:31:31 Bits of Time 1:36:11 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:38:25 Spoiler Section- Favorite Temples and Backstory 2:03:11 Final Boss and Ending Music used in the episode is credited to Hajime Wakai, Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi and Tsukasa Usui. Tracks used: Title, Hyrule Castle - Upheaval, Shrine Battle, Seized Construct Battle, Skydive, Lookout Landing, Ganondorf's Theme, Final Dive Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ Check out Dave on Pixels & Polygons https://rss.com/podcasts/pixelspolygons/ Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Some games just stand out from the pack, and with its episodic anime structure, QTE-heavy cutscenes and South Asian religious inspirations, there is nothing quite like Asura's Wrath (CyberConnect2, Capcom, 2012). A quintessential flawed game that everyone should try, Asura's Wrath overcomes its bad combat and dated approach to player engagement by just simply being cooler and more hype than basically every other game. Listen in to find out more! Guest info: Nick (he/him) and Will (he/him) of Friday Night Gamecast Check out Friday Night Gamecast https://fridaynightgamecast.buzzsprout.com/ Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/fngcpod.bsky.social Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fridaynightgamecast/ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:27 Introductions 5:17 Our Histories with Asura's Wrath 11:16 Top-Level Thoughts 19:44 Story Setup and Worldbuilding 28:47 Episodic Anime Structure 37:03 Presentation and Spectacle 43:48 More QTEs Than You Can Shake a Stick At 51:33 Action Gameplay 1:14:00 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 1:17:26 Friday Night Gamecast 1:20:28 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous 1:22:32 Spoiler Section- Hype Moments, The Gohma and the Demigods 1:46:55 Spoiler Section- Asura's Revenge & Epilogue Music used in the episode is credited to Chikayo Fukuda. Tracks used: Main Theme, Furious, Orphan Wolf Legend - Fang, One Who Spins Ideas, Option, Asura's Wrath, In Your Belief, Trembling Belief Catch Dave on Geeks & Grounds all of November and December for a deep dive into Final Fantasy X: https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Ever have one of those games that sits in your library, untouched for years, until something finally gives you the push to play it...and you end up kicking yourself for waiting so long? That's Heaven's Vault, and without our community Backlog Resolutions challenge, I would have missed out on one of the coolest games I think I've ever played. Listen in to find out why! Guest info: Rebekah Valentine (she/her) Read Reb's work on IGN https://www.ign.com/person/duckvalentine Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/duckvalentine.bsky.social Check out Nintendo Voice Chat https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nintendo-voice-chat/id276268457 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:22 Intros 5:05 Our Histories with Heaven's Vault and Language Learning 9:43 Opening Thoughts 14:30 Story Setup and Reactive Storytelling 29:37 Aliyah and Six 35:52 Language Learning 50:22 Visuals and Music 55:40 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 58:13 Reb's Work at IGN 1:01:34 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:03:35 Spoiler Section- What Happened in Our Playthroughs? 1:35:53 Spoiler Section- Language Discoveries 1:44:40 Spoiler Section- The Wildest Turn of Events 2:03:54 Spoiler Section- Ending Discussion Music used in the episode is credited to Laurence Chapman. Tracks used: An Ancient Language, The Desperate Ways, Before the Fall, The Nebula, Fantasia on One Good Moon, Heaven's Vault, An Ancient Language (Cello & Piano) Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Modern Pokémon games are divisive, but rarely due to technical performance. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Game Freak, 2022) released in an embarrassing state, and are hoping for a comeback with their recent Switch 2 editions. So now that the bugs are squashed and the framerate is stable, what kind of game was lurking under all of those issues? Listen in to find out. Guest info: Kate Hunter (she/any) and Emily Merritt (she/her) Check out the No Small Games podcast and website https://nosmallgames.com/ Follow Kate on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social Follow Emily on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:16 Intros 5:53 Our Personal Histories with Pokémon 12:52 Opening Thoughts About Pokémon Scarlet & Violet 21:44 World and Story Setup 36:07 Nonlinear Design 42:50 Is the Story Actually Good, or Are We Grading On a Curve? 54:25 Visuals/Presentation 1:01:37 Open World Design 1:17:28 New Quick Battle System 1:22:28 Combat, Team Building and Challenge? 1:41:08 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations 1:47:16 No Small Games 1:54:07 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:56:55 Spoiler Section- Our Teams, Area Zero, Ending 2:28:06 Spoiler Section- DLCs Music used in the episode: Title Screen (Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose) Home (Junichi Masuda) Poco Path (Junichi Masuda) Battle! (Trainer Battle) (Junichi Masuda) Area Zero (GAME FREAK) Pokémon Center (Junichi Masuda) Welcome to the Paldea Region! (Minako Adachi, Toby Fox) Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds in November and December- https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ Check out Dave on the Character Issues podcast- https://www.buzzsprout.com/1306474 Check out Dave on Nostalgium Arcanum- https://nostalgiumarcanum.fireside.fm/ Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricaturesSupport Tales from the Backlog