Retronauts

I was looking for a good video game podcast to listen to. I had had enough of Cagcast and visited 1up and thought the sound of a podcast concerning old video games alluring. Gave it a try, loved it and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

I’ve had many a favorite podcasts that I’ve listened to but I have to say that 1up’s Retronauts is my absolute favorite. Retronauts is a podcast which focuses on old video games and consoles. The show has had over 40 episodes of vintage gaming goodness and have covered everything from the history of Mega Man and Secret of Mana series to the death of the arcade and past video game music. The show is hosted by 1up editor Jeremy Parrish with Retronaut regulars Scott Sharkey and Wired Magazine’s Chris Kohler. The show also features a rotating lineup of various 1up editors such as James Mielke, Shane Bettenhausen and Ray Barnholdt.

This show is easily one of the geekiest podcasts I subscribe to. The amount of gaming knowledge that is on display when you listen to the show is unbelievable. No fact is too obscure. The show has gotten me back into games from my past and games I never got around to playing and is the reason I occasionally do a Retro Games post. If you prefer old school games over the new fancy crap that’s out nowadays(of course I’m only saying that because I don’t have a next gen console and will probably change my view the second I get one), then give it a listen.

My Top 5 Favorite Retronauts Episodes:

5. Episode 37: Super Smash Bros. – I don’t particularly like this game but I love this episode. It’s two hours of hilarious banter over the uber fan service of SSB.
4. Episode 22: Neo Geo – I never knew anyone with a Neo Geo console growing up. To me, it was the console of myth. A console that only existed in the import game advertisement page in all the old video game mags. It was nice to finally hear first hand experience on people who owned it.
3. Episode 23: Secret of Mana – A history through the Mana series from its glorious beginnings to its shit ass present day versions. I love this episode because they talk about one of my favorite games of all time, Seiken Densetsu 3. A game which I had the import of and beat without knowing how to read a word of Japanese. I always have to mention that whenever talk about this game.
2. Episode 30: Chrono Trigger – Revisiting one of the greatest RPG’s to ever grace a console. One of the funniest episodes to date.
1. Episode 37: Sega Saturn – This is the show that started it all for me. The amount of importing game knowledge of these guys blow my mind.

Retro Games: Art of Fighting

Gamecrazy had some more Snes games out for sale and among the multiple copies of Madden, NBA Live and other generic sports games of the 16-bit era, I found a decent game in Art of Fighting. Now back in the day SNK made and published some awesome fighting games like Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, King of Monsters, World Heroes and my personal favorite, Samurai Showdown. Art of Fighting was the worst of the bunch. Why? Cause it’s so fucking tough!

Why is this game so hard? I have no idea, but this is quite possibly the hardest fighting game ever created. I can’t even get past the first stage! It doesn’t matter who my opponent is, they fight like it was M. Bison in Street Fighter II on Level 7 difficulty, but HARDER! Ugh. I think a long time ago I once made it to the second fighter and it was the happiest moment of my life. I think the arcade machine had a glitch or something cause normally the chances of me getting to the second fighter in Art of Fighting is like winning a progressive slot machine in Vegas. I bow to anyone who has mastered this game.

I can’t even throw a fireball in the game!