The Daydreamcast bounces back this week as we take on the new gaming sensation, Fall Guys, and personally say "hello" to the fellow kids. We certainly don't stop there, though, as Pavlos recounts doing inappropriate things to his 3DS inbetween watching what is widely known as the 'beautiful game'. Meanwhile, Brogan sticks with what he does best: talking about Hylics. We launch a new segment about takes so hot your ears might get burned from listening! Equally heated is our discussion on this week's main feature, the 1995 rail shooter Panzer Dragoon, mainly because the game is hot tras--, a flawed if not original experience. We meditate on its successes, its many limitations, and the differences between the original version and its 2020 remake. If you have come for answers on what the heck happens in that opening cutscene, move right along!

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

00:00 Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (2020)

08:11 Pavlos' 3DS shenanigans

13:49 Hylics 2 (2020)

19:15 Reigns: Kings & Queens (2018)

26:40 Hot Take Central (also known as The Hot Take Minute)

Featured Game

40:06 Panzer Dragoon

The Daydreamcast returns with all the fighting game talk you never would have expected! We fight pesky connections as we learn about the netcode saviour called 'rollback' and fight the power as we condemn their modern DLC practices. We mash on the buttons and smash on the Dolphin, and despite how it sounds, we consider neither dirty. Right at the heart of it, an epic full of twist and turns, a ballad about the cruel irony of Kickstarter. Finally, we lift off with our game of the week, the often overlooked Game Boy gem Balloon Kid. A natural and creative iteration on and evolution of the Balloon Fight formula, it represents the best in early bite-sized handheld gaming with its charm and thrills. And remember: it might blow up but it won't go "pop!".

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

00:00 Street Fighter V (2016) and the problem with modern fighting games

14:00 Battle Princess Madelyn (2018) or A tale of Kickstarter

33:25 Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) on Dolphin

38:07 itch.io Minute: Secret Little Haven (2018); Lyne (2014)

Featured Game

46:14 Balloon Kid

A wild Daydreamcast draws near! It's a full-on role-playing extravaganza this week as Brogan returns and with him the hard-hitting game talk. We delve into Mario's most recent stationery adventure, the trippy world of Hylics, the regular deluge of HyLeaks out of Nintendo's Google Drive, the masochistic pleasure of Japanese captchas, and a damning account of the PS4's retro emulation. For our game of the week we focus on Phantasy Star, Sega's flagship RPG on the Master System, as we pit it against its contemporaries, discuss its many ambitions, and the various ways to engage with it today. Before you listen, please look up the sprite of Werebat. We have contacted his agent to get him to guest on a future episode.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)

16:41 Hylics (2015)

23:28 Nintendo Leaks

34:04 Brogan's Sobering PS2-on-PS4 Experience

37:39 itch.io Minute: Nuclear Throne (2015); Anodyne (2013)

Featured Game

44:45 Phantasy Star

In this week's Daydreamcast, we revisit and get visited by old favourites of the show. Calvin('s wallet) steps up to deliver the hot-from-the-oven take on the sequel to Deadly Premonition, Alligator Skating 2020. We vent our frustrations on the vices of gaming media before shifting gears and sharing much warmer thoughts on the overwhelming nature of Forza Horizon 4 , the sadomasochistic qualities of Ludo and other tabletop classics in Clubhouse Games, as well as further recommendations from the itch.io bundle. Finally, we tip our proverbial hats to the pulsating arcade classic Windjammers, a household favourite competitive disc-throwing delight that, over 35 years later, is getting a sequel for a reason. We hope this episode isn't a "MISS!" and we humbly give it "FIVE POINTS!".

P.S.: We played a 12-game match directly after the show and you already know who won.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise (2020)

14:03 The Paper Mario Fallacy

20:11 Forza Horizon 4 (2018)

29:20 Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (2020)

37:39 itch.io Minute: Heavy Bullets (2014); Starseed Pilgrim (2013)

Featured Game

42:07 Windjammers (1994)

In this week's only seemingly light Daydreamcast, we talk nightmares. The nightmare of Pyramid Head selling out, for one. The nightmare that is working retail in a consumerist society. And, lastly, the nightmare that is the concerning lack of Covid safety measures in Pokémon cafés around the country. As the main course, we serve a goofy-yet-earnest nightmare in Dead Rising, a creative and ambitious early Xbox 360 game which stands at the crossroads that is mid-00s game design. We focus on the various systems of the game, its design philosophy and unique approach to an open (yet defined) world, and trace back the steps the series would go on to take. Also, we forget to mention how Carlito looks like a scrapped Tekken character, so there!

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 The Great Pokémon Café Mix (2020) Soliloquy

07:44 Dead By Daylight (2016)

14:19 itch.io Minute: Beglitched (2016); Night of the Consumers (2012)

Featured Game

25:22 Dead Rising

In this tangent-filled episode of the Daydreamcast, we talk shop on competitive digital board games, the recent Sony PS5 presser, the Paper Mario series, and the wonderful treasure trove that is the recent itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. We barely have time to mourn Animal Crossing Minute (2020–2020) as we dive right into Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, our feature title. A GBA launch game and the template (based on a previous template!) for the numerous portable entries going forward, we honour it with an in-depth discussion of the game's systems, and try to understand its place in the long-running, household favourite Konami series.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (2020)

06:08 itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality; Death and Taxes (2020); The Real Texas (2012)

15:08 PS5 Reveal & Games

30:15 Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (2019); Paper Mario series

Featured Game

39:01 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

In this new tittilating episode of the Daydreamcast, we present our first guest, Calvin Kemph, editor-in-chief of some film site called Twin Geeks and actual former gaming journalist for many years. Things quickly turn raunchy as we reflect on the properties of anthropomorphic goo, the many forms of S&M, and the questionable importance of undergarments in making new friends. Our main game of the week leads us down the rabbit hole of '90s adventure game goodness. Coming from our game of the week, the wacky detective/noir spoof Sam & Max Hit The Road, we talk about our history with adventure games, re-open the age-old argument on Sierra vs. LucasArts, and give credit to the Scummiest of Virtual Machines. Also, SHARK MONTH!

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 Pantsu Hunter: Back to the '90s (2019)

4:35 Panel de Pon (1995)

8:29 Calvin's History As Gaming Professional

11:53 Luigi's Mansion 3 (2019)

20:48 Deadly Premonition (2010)

28:09 Pavlos' Animal Crossing Minute

Featured Game

31:08 Sam & Max Hit The Road

In the new episode of the vanguard Daydreamcast, we take up a new quarantine hobby: gardening of a... special kind! Join us as we discuss the seemingly harmless but immensely fun Pikmin, Nintendo's original take on a real-time strategy game. We discuss both the Gamecube and the Wii version in detail, focusing on the game's striking aesthetic, its not-so-daunting time limit, and the value of the almighty Blue Pikmin. Other insights of the episode: Nintendo listens to our podcast, Bloodborne is good (finally someone has figured this out!), and M2 is the supreme caretaker of The Old Games.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 Panel de Pon (1995) and others coming to Switch SNES VC

3:16 Bloodborne (2015)

8:33 Pavlos' Animal Crossing Minute

17:33 Retro Compilations (Mega Man, Castlevania) aka M2 vs. the rest of the world

Featured Game

28:50 Pikmin

Ever listen to a podcast in the pale moonlight? Well, you should try – and what better opportunity than with a new sizzling episode of the only video game podcast around! This week, Brogan thought it was 2013 and bought a PS4, Pavlos breaks down laziness in the work place and the difference between music and rhythm games, and both of them discuss games based on comic books. Fittingly, Sunsoft's Batman, a short and tough sidescroller on the NES, gets the game-of-the-week treatment, providing our hosts with ample opportunity to talk about The Bat, The Burton, and, of course, The Old Games.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 PS4 Experience & Bloodborne (2015)

5:18 Thumper (2016): Music vs. Rhythm games

15:19 ToeJam & Earl: Back to the Groove (2019)

22:10 Pavlos' Animal Crossing Minute

28:09 Spider-Man (2018)

Featured Game

31:42 Batman

In the first 'for real this time' episode of the Daydreamcast, our hosts discuss the possible pinnacle of walking simulators, Riot's new hero shooter Valorant, the revolutionary addition of NPCs into Fallout 76, and, of course, the meta of Windjammers. But nothing beats the thrill of non-stop brain-twisters and loveably overbearing British accents provided by this week's featured game, Level-5's debut for their long-running puzzle game series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Thankfully, every puzzle has an answer. Except the ones where you have to imagine dice in your head, jesus.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playing

0:00 What Remains of Edith Finch? (2017)

7:00 Valorant (2020) Beta

10:50 Overwatch (2015)

15:33 Hollow Knight (2017)

22:34 Pavlos' Animal Crossing Minute

26:44 Fallout 76 (2018)

30:22 Windjammers (1994)

Featured Game

40:25 Professor Layton and the Curious Village