Retronauts

You've heard of Hudson's Adventure Island, but how about Hudson's adventure games? Though the developer was mostly known for platforming and bomber men, in their pre-console-development years, Hudson cashed in on the adventure game craze. And one remnant from this era managed to sneak over to American shores: the NES port of Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Nina Matsumoto, and Chris Sims as the crew ponders this clunky-but-charming vegetarian adventure.

Chris Kohler joins Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey to tackle the topic of piracy. It's not the same thing as emulation! But it's closely related? And it's bad! But it's important, good, and essential to game preservation!? There's a lot to unpack this week!

Interplay and InXile boss Brian Fargo offers fresh insights into his pioneering work with role-playing games like The Bard's Tale, Wasteland, and Fallout.

In an episode that's nearly retro itself, we go back to GDC 2018 for an interview with Zynga's Mark Turmell on his historic work, including NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, Hasbro's failed NEMO console, and the spiritual connection between arcade and mobile gaming.

Wario started out as literally the anti-Mario, and his platforming series did a great job of playing with the tropes of the genre. But in 2003, Wario would have a much bigger task: subverting the ongoing trend of bloated game design with sheer minimalism and absurdism. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Henry Gilbert as the crew examines the subversive brilliance of WarioWare series on its 15th birthday.

The whole East gang's here: Ben, Benj, AND Chris join Jeremy for the traditional New Year's look back at 10/20/30/40 and even 50 (!) years ago. Naturally, the usual Retronauts East banter and digressions take the whole thing so far off track we only get halfway through our planned discussion this time through. See you for the follow-up in 2019!

It's that time of the year again: when listeners brave the harsh climates, territorial wolves, and malfunctioning home security devices for a chance to visit the Retronauts Holiday Cabin in parts unknown. And, just like in past years, we'll be using this holiday getaway as a good excuse to discuss a video game-related Christmas cartoon. For 2018, we set our sights on the long-running Pokemon cartoon's first Xmas adventure: "Holiday Hi-Jynx." Along with featuring perhaps the most controversial Pokemon, this episode carries a pretty interesting history--one that goes back to the anime series' lowest moment ever. So grab yourself a warm cup of whatever, find a corner to hide away from your family, and join us for this very Japanese tour of the holiday season.

You mustn't run away… from this episode! Classic sci-fi anime Neon Genesis Evangelion is coming to Netflix soon, and Wes Fenlon and Henry Gilbert join Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey to explore the show, its legacy, and (of course) its video game tie-ins.

An animated feature double feature! First, Funimation walks us through the decades-overdue English version of Sega tie-in anime Zillion. Then, Netflix's Castlevania creator Adi Shankar talks about indie games and preserving Belmont lore for television.

After Pokemon took off in a huge way, developer Game Freak didn't exactly have the time or incentive to dabble outside of their cash cow. But all that changed in 2006, when they created Drill Dozer: a fun, compact little game built entirely around the concept of drilling. Unfortunately, Drill Dozer's release on the Game Boy Advance well into the DS's lifespan means very few people got a chance to experience Game Freak's inventive platformer. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, Nick Daniel, and Chris Daniel as the crew explores Drill Dozer and ponders whether or not drilling truly is horizontal digging.