When you spend forty-five days in the hospital like I did, you miss a lot of video gaming industry news. That's why on this week's podcast, Blake Grundman fills me in on all of the stuff that I missed. Join us for months worth of events jammed down into ninety minutes. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us... Continue reading

After reading Dylan Mansfield's complete history of Majesco's 2005 attempt to revive the A Boy and His Blob franchise for the Nintendo DS, I can only say "I'm sorry I wasted my time." I was excited about this! I didn't know better. Back at E3 2005 I did my best to find a playable demo of the game and was unsuccessful at every turn, and knowing what I know about the project now, I wish I'd put my time on the show floor to better use. The Majesco representative at their booth even denied they were working on the game.... Continue reading

Sega's classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Genesis are still held up as the best in the series, but the handheld Game Gear titles deserve a little spotlight of their own. The last of those games, Sonic Triple Trouble, was the companion game for Sonic 3 and Knuckles featuring Knuckles as an enemy tricked by Dr. Robotnik once again and a new rival in the form of Nack the Weasel who is running his own plan to collect Chaos Emeralds. Now Triple Trouble is back as a fan-created game developed by Noah Copeland for Windows and Android that converts... Continue reading

Now then, where were we? Sorry to be away for so long, but that's what happens when one of the show hosts dies. Don't worry too much though! I got better. Join us for an all new episode in which I tell the harrowing tale of just what happened to me, and then Blake Grundman steers us into discussing my rehab game of choice, Sonic Origins. It's great to be back! Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed... Continue reading

While the door has closed on adding new characters to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there's one last straggler character who wants a shot at the action and, like any good cat, she's showing up on her own schedule. Check out the illustrious OwlKitty as she bats, paws, and struts her way through the action as a DLC character. Since it's too late to add her to Smash, I guess we'll just have to hope for her to star in her own adventure someday. Continue reading

With 2021 complete and in the books, it's time for us to take our annual look at our personal picks for Game of the Year. Join us for a supersized show in which we count down our top five picks, honorable mentions, and even a few dishonorable mentions. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that... Continue reading

Acquisitions. Xbox Game Pass. Banjo-Kazooie back on a Nintendo platform. 2021 was a wild year for video gaming news, so it's time for us to take our annual look back at the biggest events in the gaming world for the last year. Settle in and join us for ninety minutes of discussion. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining... Continue reading

The hilariously named players from 1995's Fighting Baseball for the Super Famicom have become a popular meme thanks to... well, with names like Bobsun Duggnut and Sleve McDicheal, I think you can understand why the Internet had a good laugh. Now you can generate your own Fighting Baseball team members with Ariel Caplan's Bobsun Dugnutt Redux generator. The whole thing is powered by some JavaScript and Cloudinary, generating a team roster in the style of the original video game. Now batting: Douglus Tromk! Continue reading

Microsoft stunned the business world this week by laying out nearly $70B in cash to acquire Activision-Blizzard. We have definite opinions about this purchase, so this week's podcast is dedicated to discussing the ramifications of what this means to the video game industry. Blake also has a few gears to grind regarding gaming streaming culture catchphrases and controller holders shaped like beloved characters. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and... Continue reading

After more than a decade of waiting and wondering, fans finally have the chance to play the long-gestating Metroid Dread. On this week's show, we discuss Nintendo's "Metroid 5" and how well we think it lives up to its impossible levels of hype. Minimal spoilers on this one, so don't worry about accidentally learning story beats you would rather not know. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure... Continue reading

Blake Grundman has the pinball fever this week on the podcast, telling the tale of how his beloved Star Wars pinball table died and what he had to go through to get it repaired. Then he has another story for us about taking spare parts from the repair job and building a second, smaller digital table. Finally, while he was dealing with those things, I replaced my aging Game Boy Advance battery with a new one that has me back up and running. The man tells a hell of a story, so sit back for an hour and take it... Continue reading

With the recent addition of Nintendo 64 title to the Nintendo Switch Online service, we spend an hour this week discussing how the games perform on the Switch, whether the package is a good value, and how well the new model of N64 controller works. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach... Continue reading

Nintendo recently released lots of news about upcoming releases for its Switch console, so we figured it was only fitting that we spend a little time discussing the big announcements including Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3, Castlevania Advance Collection, and more. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach... Continue reading

The ongoing lawsuit between Epic and Apple reached a temporary resolution recently, but before the case moves on to the appeal phase of its life cycle, Blake Grundman wants to air his grievances about the verdict and wonder where it's all going to lead. Join us for a shorter than usual show this week that tears into the matter, and if there's time we'll get to the real important stuff like the twenty-fifth anniversary of Donkey Kong Land 2 (but there won't be time). Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher,... Continue reading

After years of slowly trickling games from the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES libraries onto the Nintendo Switch, new consoles will make their debut in late October... with a catch. Coinciding with the introduction of classic Nintendo 64 games including Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as well as Sega Genesis games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Ristar is a new tier of paid service for the Nintendo Switch Online service. For a price yet to be announced, players will have to buy the NSO's Expansion Pass to access... Continue reading

It is absolutely anniversary season in the world of video games as this week we're commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the release of the Nintendo GameCube. Join us for a discussion about the best and worth that the system has to offer along with some personal favorites and memories. The big hitters like Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker are covered, of course, along with games including Sonic Gems Collection, Wario World, Spider-Man, Viewtiful Joe, and plenty more. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us... Continue reading

The anniversaries just keep on coming as this week we turn our attention to the thirtieth anniversary of the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Bundled with Super Mario World and debuting with release titles SimCity, Pilotwings, and Gradius III, the Super NES would go on to host some of the very best video games of all time. On this week's episode, we discuss the console's highs and lows along with some personal memories of how playing Super NES games were important moments in our lives. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the... Continue reading

It's been thirty-five years since Nintendo released the original Metroid, and since then the franchise has gone to sport sequels, interquels, remakes, and spin-offs. That's a lot of territory for what essentially boils down to four (soon to be five) games that make up the central plot of the series. On this week's podcast, we're celebrating Metroid's big anniversary with a look back at the games, how they fit together, which ones we played over the years, and what's coming up next. Join us for an hour of discussion. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player... Continue reading

While Nintendo's Metroid series has taken several years-long breaks over the years while other franchises like Super Mario appear annually in some form, the heroic Samus Aran has popped up in other places where you wouldn't really expect her while her own series is on hiatus. From puzzle games to racing games to pinball games, she's turned up to give players a smile. The Metroid Database has chronicled these cameos from 1987-2016 across multiple consoles and even into some third-party games where she and her enemies really shouldn't belong without permission. Most fans remember her playable appearance in Galactic Pinball... Continue reading

Nintendo has revived its old Game & Watch line for the anniversaries of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, but the $50 handhelds you can buy today are not representative of what the product line used to be. The original Game & Watch units used primitive LCD graphics instead of full color screens, so it's understandable why Nintendo isn't reproducing the exact old hardware. Now you can sample the Game & Watch experience with Itizso's lovingly created digital reproductions of three different Donkey Kong handhelds, models DK-52, JR-55, and DJ-101 — that's Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong II, and... Continue reading

I play my Nintendo Switch mostly in bed these days as I wind down with a little Super Mario or Mega Man before falling asleep. The only real drawback to playing Switch in handheld mode are those tiny Joy-con buttons that, while functional, aren't exactly comfortable for an adult's hands. I'd much rather play with my Pro Controller with its comfortably sized controls, but that's not really feasible when laying down and holding the Switch itself. Thankfully, there's a mounting clip for Switch out there that I've been enjoying for the past few weeks that snaps on to the Nintendo... Continue reading

We're celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Nintendo's original Donkey Kong arcade game this week on the podcast with a salute to some of the gorilla's best games spanning from the very beginning through his 16-bit rebirth into the modern era. Join us for memories and a to-do list of games you need to play; yes, the Country series is in there, but we also go into the weeds with lesser known games such as King of Swing and Barrel Blast. You'll be busy long after the discussion ends. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below,... Continue reading

Nintendo has finally lifted the veil on an updated model of its popular Switch console after months of rumors. This new Switch offers a brighter OLED screen, a wired LAN port on the system dock, a wider kickstand, enhanced audio, and 64 GB of internal storage. Basically, it's a mid-cycle quality of life upgrade. Don't expect anything new that would change the game (no pun intended); the new Switch still tops out at 1080p resolution when docked, so no 4K powerhouse here. It'll cost $349.99 when it releases on October 8, 2021. Here's Nintendo's announcement video featuring plenty of happy... Continue reading

The video gaming community is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis this month, and Sega is celebrating too with a series of events, products, and new games all coming out this year. Last week one of those events blew the doors off the Internet, so if you missed the Sonic Symphony, it's time to set aside two hours and watch some of Sonic's greatest musical hits performed by a symphony and fan-favorite rock bands such as Crush 40 that have contributed to the franchise's soundtracks over the years. The expected games are... Continue reading

Bend Studio's Days Gone for the Sony PlayStation 4 landed with somewhat of a thud when it released two years ago, but multiple patches, being free for PlayStation 5 owners, and a recent PC port have revitalized the zombie apocolypse title, giving it a second wind and a new admiration that it didn't have before. On this week's podcast, I explain to Blake Grundman why more people need to play this game by spoiling the hell out of it, so if you want to know the main story beats before deciding to invest thirty hours or more into the game,... Continue reading