Thomas Wilde and Will Borger join Murph and Bro for a spooktacular adventure! Thomas talks spidey, Will talks Tekken, Murph talks Mario Wonder, and Bro talks about everything in between! The variety minute is PS2 generation horror games, and the game of the week is one of the scariest games ever made!

A link to Will Borger's current Tekken 8 work:

https://www.ign.com/articles/tekken-8s-built-in-teaching-tools-are-legitimately-awesome-ign-first

A link to Thomas's Fatal Frame content and sources within:

https://articles.retroware.com/2021/10/27/butterfly-effects-the-history-of-fatal-frame/

Time stamps

Whatcha Playin

4:30 Spider-Man 2 (2023)

18:30 Tekken 8 Preview (2024)

32:10 Super Mario Brothers Wonder (2023)

Variety Minute

44:30 PS2 era horror games

Game of the Week

1:17:30 Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (2003)

It's October, and that's Castlevania month now! We join writer Lucas White to analyze a whole bunch of games. We're talking cyberpunk (again), Jackbox, Dragon Quest 2, and a whole bunch of others. Then we do something different for the variety minute and cover the Castlevania timeline. We top it all off with an analysis of Rondo of Blood. Join us for the wild ride.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Introduction

4:30 Dragon Quest 2 (1987)

11:00 Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

19:00 Alan Wake (2010)

26:45 Jackbox Party Pack 10 (2023)

37:15 Omega Quintet (2015)

Variety Minute

49:30 The Castlevania timeline

Game of the Week

1:14:30 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

We have returned, with a sequel to the banger episode of Myst from last season. Will we have the same affection and praise for Riven, or is this a more complex entry than we've bargained for?

Bro talks about Ghost at Dawn, Guilty Gear Strive, and Armored Core. Murph talks Yakuzas (plural!) and En Garde!

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playin'

1:30 Ghost at Dawn (2023)

8:00 Guilty Gear Strive (2021)

15:15 En Garde! (2023)

21:00 Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (2023)

28:00 Yakuza Minute (6 and Black Panther)

Variety Minute

46:00 Dream remakes and remasters

Game of the Week

1:16:00 Riven: The Sequel to Myst

Murph returns from the lands to the north (Seattle) with tales of a wonderous gallery of games and developers (PAX West 2023). There he ran into some other like-minded friends. Brendan from The Crawl and Tucker & Abram from THE Backlog Banter. Together these 4 gamers with opinions share tales from the showfloor and impressions on the various demos they were exposed to.

(If you want additional PAX coverage from Murph, you can read his article here)

The unthinkable has happened: Bro has been able to make a dark souls episode. Largely in part to Cal just having played the game, we get a fresh perspective on the Fromsoft classic. We also go through other kinds of dungeons in the meantime, we talk about Quake 2 and Doom's 2016 rebootquel. Bro also finds the time to talk about Bombrush Cyberfunk, which is a jammin' good time.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playin

1:00 Doom (2016)

9:30 Bramble (2023)

13:45 Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes (2019) (2020)

20:30 Bombrush Cyberfunk (2023)

26:30 Quake 2 (1997)

Variety Minute

33:00 Fromsoftware Games

Game of the Week

45:10 Dark Souls (2011)

We got a craaaazy episode for you today. Murph and Bro team up to cover all sorts of smaller titles and company buyouts. Murph complains about Zelda, Bro talks about System Shock, everything is aligned for engaging systems and fun titles.

Oh and Murph goes Pikmin CRAZY.

Time Stamps

Whatcha Playin'

1:10 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

19:00 - System Shock Remake (2023)

26:30 - Pokemon: Infinite Fusions (2023)

35:20 - Slipstream: Blue Hour Update (2023 for the update)

39:45 - Pikmin 4 (2023)

Variety Minute

54:25 Video Game Company Buyouts and Acquisitions

Game of the Week

1:21:00 Dark Messiah: Might and Magic

The time has come, and so have we. In one of the tightest episodes, we hit a platonic ideal of an episode at almost a flat hour. Murph and Bro tackle some indie sleepers and hits, and then tackle the Wii classic No More Heroes. Will we fall in love with the game or be frustrated? Is it possible to be both?

Time stamps:

Whatcha Playin'

1:30 Dreamwild (2022)

5:00 Raji: An Ancient Epic (2020)

8:30 Inscryption (2021)

13:00 Re:CALL (2023)

19:00 Street Fighter 6 (2023)

Variety Minute

26:20 Jerk Protagonists in Gaming

Game of the Week

42:00 No More Heroes (2008)

Taking a break from long video games and playing a little short horror title, Murph and Bro explore the complex worlds of rabbit fighting, street fighting, and cthulu dungeon exploring. First we talk Eldritch, then Overgrowth, then Street Fighter 6.

Murph reminisces over horror RPG maker games he used to watch Markiplier play, and then we talk about Ao Oni.

Time Stamps:

Whatcha Playin'

Eldritch (2013) 1:45

Overgrowth (2017) 6:00

Street Fighter 6 (2023) 11:00

Variety Minute

RPG Maker Games 29:00

Game of the Week

Ao Oni (2008) 43:00

ROCK AND ROLL! Brendan discusses visions of the future, Murph talks about the best Yakuza game yet, and Brogan schpiels about Tears of the Kingdom with the others for like an hour.

Then, we cover famous licensed needledrops in games, then we cover our game of the week: Brutal Legend. Double Fine, Tim Schafer, Jack Black. The list goes on, but this is one epic tour. Be sure to tear down that shitty merch booth on your way out.

Bro and Murph team up with journalist and freelancer Will Borger to discuss a whole bunch of stuff. Murph talks about Titanfall 2 and No Straight Roads, while Will talks about Strayed Lights and discovering Metroid Prime for the first time in 2023. Bro talks about Cassette Beasts, then we all dissect Zelda handhelds and their game design differences to the console Zelda outings.

Then, we venture to Koholint Island to wake the Windfish.

Time Stamps:

3:00 - Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)

16:00 - Titanfall 2 (2016)

28:30 - Cassette Beasts (2023)

33:00 - No Straight Roads (2020)

36:30 - Strayed Lights (2023)

Variety Minute

45:00 - Zelda handheld titles

Game of the Week

1:00:00 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)

Cal Murph and Bro talk about the 1993 film Super Mario Bros, and the 2016 film Detective Pikachu. Which one is the best? The answer may surprise you. Or it won't.

Brendan, Murph and Bro team up to go over the summer game schedule, it's STACKED bruh.

Murph returns just as it's terror time again. Our hosts trade out the Satellite of Dreams for the USG Ishimura to talk about the original Dead Space from 2008. Can a game like this hold up when it has no limbs with which to hold?

Brogan also talks about some hot indies he found at PAX East, and Murph adds a new game to his Resident Evil Tierlist.

This is an additional THREE HOURS to cover the final game in Shigesato Itoi's MOTHER trilogy. That's right, we have 3 hours of discussion dedicated to MOTHER 3 and Lucas and Boney and the gang. No real time stamps but a huge disclaimer.

In general there is a lot of sensitive material in this game. MOTHER 3 is a complex title written by an auteur in a specific time period. There are spoilers, there are violent things that happen and death surrounds the game.

At roughly the 51 minute mark we will go into the subject of a particular race within the game. It's a controversial subject, there's a disclaimer within the episode, but we call them by their name within the game then discuss their portrayal for better and worse. Trigger warnings are possible for the Romani peoples or any of our trans or lgbtq fans. We love and support anyone's gender identity and do not support harmful stereotypes.

Can you read our minds? Bro and David tackle the entire MOTHER trilogy, but this episode only covers MOTHER 1 and MOTHER 2. Before that though, we tackle games David has played: Blanc and Fire Emblem: Engage. We then look at the legacy of Earthbound's subversive nature onto newer titles in the variety minute. Then, we finally tackle both games.

Oh, and Bro teases a PAX trip that already happened cause this episode came late. Oh well.

Whatcha Playin'

3:00 Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

15:00 Blanc (2023)

Variety Minute

27:00 Games influenced by the MOTHER series

Games of the Week

36:00 MOTHER 1 (1989)

1:24:55 MOTHER 2 (1995)

(ep. 54)

Tucker from the Backlog Banter joins Bro in discussing a bunch of different games! We talk Super Mario Galaxy 2, the Resident Evil series, and Pizza Tower. Then we discuss the role of acting in video games and iconic performances, then we discuss the game of the week. Telling Lies is another FMV game by Sam Barlow, examining the lies of David and the women in his life whom suffer because of them.

Timestamps:

0:00 Tucker's introduction

Whatcha Playin'

10:45 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

15:00 Last of Us Parts I and II (2022) (2020)

24:00 Resident Evil franchise discussion (again, for the billionth time)

42:30 Pizza Tower (2023)

Variety Minute

45:10 Acting Performances in Gaming

Game of the Week

1:12:00 Telling Lies (2020)

Daydreamcast Ep. 53 Murph couldn't make it but Cal and Bro team up to talk about all things colorful! Bro talks about Chained Echoes and Jojo's All Star Battle R, Cal talks about Persona 4 and Hi-Fi Rush. Then we talk about the game of the week: Jet Set Radio! Join us on our journey into counter culture and vandalism in the name of art.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playin'

1:00 The term "JRPG" and Chained Echoes (2022)

12:00 Persona 4 Golden (2008)

18:30 Jojo's All Star Battle R (2022)

24:00 Hi-Fi Rush (2023)

Variety Minute

30:00 Cel shaded games

Game of the Week

37:00 Jet Set Radio (2000)

We have a special little spin-off of the Daydreamcast! When the video games get boring, Murph Bro and movie expert Cal unwind with video game movies! This week look at the two essential titles everybody praises: Mortal Kombat and Silent Hill.

Bro and Murph go on an adventure! Come sail away with us as we play King's Quest VI! Murph talks about Anatomy, Akane, and Teardown! Bro complains about Devil May Cry 4, and then they talk about true endings and King's Quest VI. A classic Sierra adventure game that may be the best of the series. Presentation, story, and puzzles all tie together in a nice, forgiving bow. Let's have some fun, I know Jollo did.

Time stamps:

0:00 When did Daydreamcast jump the shark?

2:00 Anatomy (2016)

8:30 Akane (2018)

15:00 Devil May Cry 4 (2008)

26:30 Teardown (2022)

Variety Minute

33:00 True endings

Game of the Week

50:15 King's Quest VI (1992)

Season 4? The season of summer! Murph and Bro kick the season off right by going on a vacation to the tropical island of Isle Delphino. We talk about Gundam Evolution, Bro goes back to the nineties with Crash Bandicoot 4. Murph goes Gaga over Exo One, and then laments the issues with Adios. Murph and Bro talk about the giant hype machines of Cyberpunk 2077 and Deathloop.

Then we get down to business: Mario. On the Gamecube. Murph talks about what he loves about Gamecube era Mario and then we dissect our game of the week: Super Mario Sunshine. Does the FLUDD help the game or is it a shallow gimmick? We'll find those answers and more, dear listener.

Timestamps:

1:40 Gundam Evolution (2022)

7:00 Exo One (2022)

12:45 Crash 4: It's About Time (2020)

16:45 Adios (2021)

21:00 Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

31:20 Deathloop (2021)

Variety Minute

41:25 Gamecube Mario Games

Game of the Week

55:15 Super Mario Sunshine (2002)