Retronauts

Gaming journalists Chris Kohler and Kat Bailey join Retronauts to dive into Final Fantasy VI's impact on the RPG genre, discussing character development, unique mechanics like the Esper system, the brilliance of villain Kefka, and the game's lasting legacy in gaming culture.

For the fourth time, the Talking Simpsons crew takes over Retronauts to explore the long legacy of Simpsons games. This week, they shine the spotlight on Virtual Bart, which applied the then-burgeoning hype over virtual reality to The Simpsons with mixed results (at best). On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as they ask the tough questions like "Why is Bart a pig for some reason?" and "Why is Bart a baby for some reason?" Note: none of these questions actually have answers.

Over the years, we've covered plenty of games based on animated TV shows, from The Simpsons to Tiny Toon Adventures to Animaniacs. But this week's episode of Retronauts focuses on a much rarer specimen: video games based on live-action TV shows. And, given that live-action shows are usually constrained by some sort of mundane reality, they don't always make for the best adaptations. But they're still fun to talk about! On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as the crew explores this particularly misguided brand of classic game.

Jeremy speaks to Aaron Hamel about Ship to Shore's efforts to bring classic video game soundtracks like Lagrange Point, Darius, and Bayou Billy to the U.S. Then, Joe Granato shares the inside track on his successful Kickstarter project, the do-it-yourself 8-bit game creation kit NES Maker.

Jeremy, Benj, and Chris explore the mid-’90s doldrums of the metroidvania genre, with a lengthy sidebar on the era's lone high point amidst industry-wide disinterest: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Jeremy, Chris, and Benj have only 13 hours in which to discuss 1986's Jim Henson/George Lucas/David Bowie Muppet-style cult classic movie musical Labyrinth… oh, and also, the games based on it.

As part of our ongoing developer interview series, Shantae creator Matt Bozon recounts the history and challenges involved in designing indie darling Shantae. From the game's Super NES prototype to the recent Half-Genie Hero add-on Friends to the End, that's almost three decades of exploratory belly-dancing!

Spider-Man has been starring in video games for 35 years, but outside of a few rare instances, his digital adventures didn't receive much praise before Neversoft brought him into the world of polygons. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Gary Butterfield, and Spider-Man superfan Henry Gilbert as the crew pores over the many, many Spidey games released from 1982 to 2000. Anybody call for a web-slinger?

Hulu just announced a two-season reboot of the classic '90s 'toon Animaniacs, so there's never been a better time to look back at the many games starring the Warner Brothers and their Warner sister, Dot. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as the crew looks back on this wildly popular, smart, and expensive TV series and the many games that tried their best to dive as deep into pop culture references as the source material did.

USgamer's Kat Bailey and Capcom's Brett Elston join Bob and Jeremy to take a deep dive into what might be the single finest entry in the entire Mega Man series: Mega Man X for Super NES. A nonlinear podcast adventure!