Fall Damage Can't Hurt You

Fishing minigames. You know them; you love them. Or, depending on the game, maybe you hate them, or you're indifferent to them. Our task this episode is to create the definitive tier list of all fishing minigames (or at least over 30 of them) and, once and for all, establish which ones are good, which ones are bad, and which ones are low-poly. No game is sacred, and some of our takes may make you go :0 (like a fish).

References in this episode:

• The current Stardew Valley True Perfection speedrun by TheHaboo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7qIWLV8meU
• Metroid Ravenous / Kirby fan art by WanderJegson: https://x.com/wanderjegson/status/2097764670383718409

Thank you to the following YouTube channels for footage from games we did not capture ourselves:

• @ChuckWagonLive
• @GamesDoneQuick
• @GamerFolklore
• @InBetweenGamer
• @Ze1dahead

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Pokemon Red, Brilliant Diamond, Sword
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time
• Stardew Valley
• Cozy Grove
• Donkey Kong Country
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• Final Fantasy VI
• Hades and Hades 2
• Jak and Daxter
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Mario Party 1
• Metaphor ReFantazio
• Moon RPG
• Moonlight Peaks
• Nier: Automata
• Okami
• Persona 4 and 5
• Power Shovel
• Pronoun Palace
• Sea of Stars
• Sonic Adventure 1 and Frontiers
• Spiritfarer
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Under the Island
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are username_equals_pants and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong.

Tom Nook: is he truly the big bad of Animal Crossing? And if he isn't, who is? Join our first-ever musical episode to uncover the truth, expose the culprits, and nitpick the etiquette of social interactions involving owls. All that, plus:

• The various war crimes we've committed in cozy games
• Why people need to write a lot more fan fiction RIGHT NOW
• Which I Think You Should Leave sketch would make the best video game

References in this episode:

• Follow our guest mothmolly on bsky
• Required I Think You Should Leave viewing: Gotta Breathe Mike, Don't Know How To Drive, Brian's Hat, Hot Dog Car, People Can Change, The Bones Are Their Money, Friday Night, Coffin Flop, Zipline
• Id Software Dev says Xbox Does Not Understand Art
• Xbox's PC gaming strategy
• Switch 2 overcosted and worse ports

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Hollow Knight
• Pokemon: Pokopia
• Moonlight Peaks
• Fields of Mistria
• Stardew Valley
• Grime
• Octopath Traveler 1 and 2
• Ace Attorney
• Rock Band
• Donkey Kong 64

Contact us:

• bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/username-eq-pants.bsky.social, https://bsky.app/profile/zintendo64.bsky.social
• email: [email protected]

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64, joined by mothmolly for this episode.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

Did you know that it's possible to listen to music wrong? If you're worried you or a friend might be, this is the episode for you. Join us and our first ever guest, cranked, as we discuss rhythm games, the wide world of music-based peripheral controllers, and why the decline of the guitar hero series perfectly tracks against the loss of the soul at the heart of American society. Also, why they need to add more jazz. All that and more, including:

• Which video games live up to The Odyssey translator Emily Wilson's standards
• What the Backyard Baseball reboot teaches you about your own character
• How to craft the perfect torment nexus by means of a rhythm game

References in this episode:

• Follow our special guest, cranked, on bsky (https://bsky.app/profile/cranked.bsky.social) and Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/crankedwi):
• Paramore in Simlish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxQGE9y3xkQ

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Guitar Hero
• Rock Band
• Dance Dance Revolution
• Stepmania
• DJ Hero
• Trombone Hero
• Halo: Campaign Evolved
• Super Mario 64
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Balatro
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom
• UNBEATABLE
• Hades
• Stardew Valley
• Silksong
• Crypt Custodian
• Rhythm Heaven Fever
• Marathon
• Nine Sols
• Backyard Baseball reboot
• Slay the Spire 2
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64, joined by cranked for this episode.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

"What I want to ask is this. League of Legends is a free game. Is it ever ethical for you to ask your friend to play it?" - username_equals_pants, 2026

Join us for our most Catholic episode yet, in which we break down:

• The ethics of playing games online with your friends, and what we do and don't owe each other
• Why one of the greatest feats in video game music is uniquely Catholic
• What move set we'd give Obama in Super Smash Brothers
• The reveal of our shadowy, mysterious intern, and how much we're paying them

References:

• Check out the INCREDIBLE custom art of our budding yaoi ship, and support the artist jumpscaresam: https://imgur.com/a/xdg0CH7, https://bsky.app/profile/jumpscaresam.bsky.social
• PlayStation ending physical media ownership: https://kotaku.com/sony-ending-discs-for-all-playstation-games-starting-2028-2000711927
• DRM-free games: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/as-sony-prepares-to-end-game-disc-production-gog-jumps-up-to-remind-pc-gamers-that-you-can-just-make-your-own/
• Xbox’s wide-ranging layoffs: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c932eynvq1do
• Toby Fox makes the Billboard charts: https://www.polygon.com/deltarune-chapter-5-steam-records-billboard-chart-memes/
• SGDQ and Doctors Without Borders’ documentary on Gaza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmr6TIR4UmE
• The SGDQ 2026 Balatro run by adef: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Go7IXlYLg
• The Fall Damage Can’t Hurt You stream VOD of watching Monster Hunter Wilds: https://youtu.be/ZUrm_s9-yq4
• Doom on a pregnacy test: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33957256/this-programmer-figured-out-how-to-play-doom-on-a-pregnancy-test/

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Seven Days to Die
• Monster Hunter (various)
• It Takes Two, Split Fiction
• Don't Starve
• Terraria
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Peak
• Doom, Doom (2016), Doom: The Dark Ages
• Deltarune
• Super Smash Bros
• Mina the Hollower
• Citizen Sleeper 1 and 2
• Super Mario Bros 3
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong.

A sequel that's good? When it comes to video games, it's more likely than you may think. Join us as we discuss video game sequels, what makes them wildly more successful than their movie counterparts, and what can make a sequel timeless -- or relegate it to a blue link in Wikipedia. All that plus more, including:

• Which video game franchises we want to have a real-life theme park
• How a terrible gen 2 bug pokemon shocked the world -- and got an apology out of one of our hosts
• Why the cast is suddenly concerned about their goose value

References in this episode:

• The internet hates movie sequels: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/worst-sequels-of-all-time/, https://www.reddit.com/r/flicks/comments/1jbh39x/what_is_the_worst_sequel_of_all_time/
• The Ariados win explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lz8vNmE2PA
• Earthbound Reverse Sanctuary Order explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgNm7aDw70A&pp=ygUXcmV2ZXJzZSBzYW5jdHVhcnkgb3JkZXI%3D
• The unhinged SoftBank presentation that has geese everywhere astir: https://group.softbank/media/Project/sbg/sbg/pdf/ir/investors/shareholders/2026/shareholders-meeting_46_05_en.pdf
• A deep dive on OpenAI's miserable financial state: https://www.wheresyoured.at/exclusive-openai-financials/
• The AI 8-dimensional sphere-packing situation explained: https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-math-rigor-is-vital-but-are-digitized-proofs-taking-it-too-far-20260325/

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Paper Mario 64
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Metroid Prime 1 and 2
• Ender Lilies and Ender Magnolia
• Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
• Virtue's Last Reward
• Jak and Daxter 1 and 2
• Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2
• Pokemon Champions
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Astro's Playroom
• Earthbound
• Halo: Combat Evolved
• The Adventures of Elliot
• Mina the Hollower
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

25 CRAZY Easter Eggs you MISSED about the LORE-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! Number twelve is PLAGUING modern video gaming!!!

Join the Fall Damage crew to discuss lore, peripheral storytelling, and the wikification of gaming, and why we're clamoring for an end to the pernicious cycle perpetuating itself upon our poor, defenseless Soulslikes and blockbuster indie RPGs. We discuss where the cycle of lore came from, what it's doing to games like Hollow Knight and Deltarune, and why it's both a sign of genuine love and care and an omen of dark times to come in the fandom. All that, plus:

• Our thoughts on the new game announcements at Summer Game Fest and its ilk, and what the proliferation of sequels means for gaming as a whole
• Jack Quaid: a cube?
• Leonard Cohen's 9/11

References in this episode:

• Jack Quaid is a cube: https://nerdist.com/article/jack-quaid-new-god-of-war-character-is-a-cube/
• Folding Ideas' Annihilation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URo66iLNEZw
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language#Language_origin_hypotheses
• Poppy’s playtime NFT lore: https://gamerant.com/poppy-playtime-and-nfts-controversy-explained/
• https://www.youtube.com/@VaatiVidya
• What is Undertale Gaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwDrTL3jhoQ
• John Cena explains a flat white: https://youtube.com/shorts/mc2r_x9tiZU?is=PLdQgsE8neGHE9lk
• Multi dimensional sphere packing and how an AI start up stole credit for someone’s phd by rewriting their proof as formalized code : https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/science/ai-scoop-young-mathematicians.html
• Gutta Child by Gabriel Jacoby: https://gabrieljacoby.bandcamp.com/album/gutta-child

Games discussed, at varying length:

• The Dark Souls trilogy
• Hollow Knight and Silksong
• Undertale and Deltarune
• Poppy Playtime
• Pac-Man
• Afterimage
• Mina the Hollower
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Half Life 2
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

Summer Games Done Quick 2026 is just around the corner. You may have picked up on this before, but the Fall Damage crew have a soft spot for speedruns, so we've devoted our first ever minisode to explaining all their ins and outs to help prepare you for SGDQ: what speedruns are why they're so compelling to watch, when their biggest celebration is happening, and how to break your favorite game at a fundamental level with glitches. Tune in to hear:

• The unique brand of chaos this year's Monster Hunter Wilds promises to bring
• How this year's schedule has utterly vindicated our most controversial take
• Our recommendation for the best day of SGDQ to watch if you're just getting into speedruns

References in this episode:

• The SGDQ 2026 schedule: https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule/66
• Games Done Quick's Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/gamesdonequick)
• How Games Done Quick has intentionally fostered an inclusive community: https://aftermath.site/games-done-quick-gdq-speedrunning-community-trans-rights/
• Our hosts' introductions to speedrunning: username_equals_pants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0N1lh1csGQ) and zintendo64 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5auJOBC828)

Speedruns to check out:

• Fallout Anthology: https://youtu.be/T2SatL2mx3I
• Super Metroid race: https://youtu.be/AN8Gr0C6MZI
• Hollow Knight: https://youtu.be/6wkfvuOS_4g
• Super Mario 64, blindfolded: https://youtu.be/rKnDj3wMNik
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: https://youtu.be/GbR_QqEGBcM
• Dark Souls: https://youtu.be/feUQGGskV9M
• Super Mario Odyssey: https://youtu.be/fowA7kQAhL8
• Final Fantasy VII: https://youtu.be/EWgb-Jrk5tQ

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Stardew Valley
• Don't Stop, Girliepop
• I Am Your Beast
• Tunic
• The Legend of Zelda: Wand of Gamelon
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

"It's one encounter, Michael. How many levels can it give, 5?" - the Super Mario RPG developers setting the difficulty curve of their game

Tune in to hear the Fall Damage crew discuss:

• RPG grinding, the many ways it can fail you, and the many ways you can fail it
• How fast people have beaten the games central to the podcast's canon thus far... and how wrong we are when we guess their times
• Why the Switch 2 feels like such a strange console
• What we think about a newly unveiled game genre, the "book"

References in this episode:

• Mina the Hollower, releasing on May 29: https://apple.news/At76cbbMaRdGXcYt7MFSvZQ
• username_equals_pants' new Slay the Spire 2 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFCLWSDwL0
• The Switch 2 is increasing in price: https://www.theverge.com/games/926772/nintendo-switch-2-price-hike-console-gaming-future
• GameStop's most puzzling business move in recent months: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/gamestop-offers-56-billion-for-ebay-struggles-to-explain-how-itll-pay-for-it/
• Slay the Spire 2's review bombing: https://kotaku.com/slay-the-spire-2-is-getting-review-bombed-again-this-time-because-of-chuds-2000693961
• Private Rites by Julia Armfield (https://www.juliaarmfield.co.uk/writing)
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (https://www.ursulakleguin.com/dispossessed)

Games discussed, at varying length:

• Clair-Obscur: Expedition 33
• Super Mario RPG
• Shin Megami Tensei IV
• Earthbound
• Titanium Court
• Super Mario World
• Silksong
• Stardew Valley
• Every main-line Pokemon game
• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
• Slay the Spire 2
• Donkey Kong 64

Special thanks to kissesfromlia, who edited the segment intro music for this episode! Learn more about Lia at https://kissesfromlia.com/.

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong

Pokemon God: is it real, and can it hurt you? More importantly, what is its relationship to Skyrim? Tune into this episode for all this and more, including a signature Fall Damage take about pokemon starters so spicy it requires a PowerPoint with not one but two subtitles.

If you're a sicko like us, listen to hear about:

• Uncovering the long-sought identities of the video game bouba and kiki
• Which video game dogs we spotlight in our inaugural segment about the best pets in gaming
• How the AI slopification of GPUs threatens not just visuals but gameplay
• What we got wrong in our first episode

Also referenced in this episode:

• The slideshow we were looking at during the Pokemon discussion
• Articles about DLSS-5 by Remap Radio, Kotaku, and The Verge
• Goodbye Galaxy's "How I Accidentally Set a World Record in Opus Magnum"
• username_equals_pants' "A Brief History Of That Freaking Bird That I Hate"
• theamandafiles' Sneasler rant

Games discussed, at varying length:

• The entire main-line Pokemon series
• Pokemon: Pokopia
• Disco Elysium
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Slay the Spire 2
• Peak
• Opus Magnum
• Donkey Kong 64

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Fall Damage Can't Hurt You, the gaming podcast where fall damage may not be able to hurt you, but our takes absolutely can. We're starting off with one of our most controversial takes: Hollow Knight: Silksong is a cozier game than Stardew Valley.

If you felt a rush of anger reading that sentence, or if you're a sicko like us who believes it, tune in to hear:

• What makes a game cozy, and what makes a game sweaty, and why Silksong is the former
• Which TV director is the only person we'd trust with Baldur's Gate 3
• Why everything is really a keyboard, if you think about it
• How the Fall Damage crew manage to shoehorn Lanky Kong into yet another discussion

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Mountain Goats 365: https://thisyearbook.com/
• Microsoft BDS: https://bdsmovement.net/microsoft
• CGP Grey Year Themes: https://youtu.be/NVGuFdX5guE?si=jlcX4CbIgfV8v3kY
• Yoko Taro's Evangelion: https://www.avclub.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-reboot-sequel-yoko-taro
• Baldur's Gate 3 TV show: https://www.ign.com/articles/baldurs-gate-tv-series-set-for-hbo-will-be-a-continuation-of-baldurs-gate-3s-story

This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64.

Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong.

FOLLOW US:

• RSS.com
• YouTube