Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast

This week we bring you a story about video games in four acts:

ACT 1: Pachinko

ACT 2: A look back on the GameCube launch, and being in Japan during September 11, 2001.

ACT 3: The full Japanese version of the Imari Tones song RPG

ACT 4: Vending Machines

Vinnk goes it alone this week, in a tribute to This American Life.

Details about the podcast, links to related articles, and supplemental audio/video are available at FamicomDojo.TV: https://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/60

Leave us a voicemail at 608-492-1923, or share your thoughts on Facebook (https://facebook.com/famicomdojo), Instagram (https://instagram.com/famicomdojo), Twitter (@FamicomDojo), or our Famicom Dojo YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/famicomdojo).

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Japanese retro games can't help you learn a new language, but if you're a motivated collector you might find it's a good way to keep your skill sharp short of following Vinnk's recommendations:

1) Move to Japan,

2) Marry a Japanese person,

3) Take (or audit) a Japanese class.

Sean and Vinnk tease their interview on Zoom In!! Saturday, and get sidetracked by their time searching Akihabara for some awesome video game deals.

Learn some new Japanese words, and see videos on Zoom In!! Saturday, Super Potato, and How to Learn Japanese without (hardly) Saying a Word in our show notes at FamicomDojo.TV: https://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/20

Leave us a voicemail at 608-492-1923, or share your thoughts on Facebook (https://facebook.com/famicomdojo), Instagram (https://instagram.com/famicomdojo), Twitter (@FamicomDojo), or our Famicom Dojo YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/famicomdojo).

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

When did video games start using "lives"? More importantly, when and why did they stop? With this changing, what does it mean to die in a game?

Vinnk and SeanOrange examine the games that pioneered this mechanism, and take a look at when and why it started changing. Was it with games like Myst, or did adventure-style games always buck this trend? Has the fall of arcade gaming lead games to be easier, and therefore no longer need "lives"?

Details about the podcast, links to related articles, and supplemental audio/video are available at FamicomDojo.TV: https://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/13

Leave us a voicemail at 608-492-1923, or share your thoughts on Facebook (https://facebook.com/famicomdojo), Instagram (https://instagram.com/famicomdojo), Twitter (@FamicomDojo), or our Famicom Dojo YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/famicomdojo).

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

We really can't say this enough or more clearly: play old games. Don't be discouraged because they might look funny, or require text inputs, or don't have voice acting. Play old games. There's an artistry to old games. Which isn't to say modern games aren't art, because clearly that's nonsense, but there is something to be appreciated in a title that made the most of the technology available. Except maybe N64 games. Those haven't aged well.

Vinnk and Sean rail against the idea that old games are either unplayable, or simply aren't worth playing when there's new stuff out there. At particular issue is how game publishers denigrate old games in order to sell new ones. What other industry does that? Except maybe cars. Ignore that one. Also, no shame this week as we bring you all Future Retro! Sean finished Minish Cap, and Vinnk talks about a version of Final Fight you've possibly never heard of and probably never played before.

"Famicom Thrash" and "RPG" theme songs by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net. Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Did you know that we're old? You will after we answer these questions about our favorite anime. But we also talk about our latest video previewing the Kunio-kun series.

Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

What if a video game system didn't need to connect to the internet for constant software and firmware updates? What if there was no hard drive, and the games were on cartridges? That might sound like a blast from the past, but it's what the aptly-named Retro VGS promises for the future.

Sean and Vinnk welcome Mike Kennedy to talk about the Retro's evolution from a throwback 16-bit system to an infinitely configurable all-in-one platform for modern and vintage gaming.

"Famicom Thrash" and "RPG" theme songs by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net. Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Has it already been eight years? Doesn't feel like a day past five! We answer your questions from Twitter and Facebook about the Famicom Modem, virtual reality, the e-Reader, and more!

Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Vinnk was never really one for shooters. But that's before he played Splatoon.

Vinnk and Sean discuss the history of shooters, how Nintendo was able to put its own spin on a genre, and then make that previously uninteresting entire genre more appealing. (At least to Vinnk.) Oh, and Sean tries to convince Vinnk to play Mass Effect again, if shooters are his thing now.

"Famicom Thrash" and "RPG" theme songs by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net. Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo Co. Ltd., died last Saturday at the age of 55. We recorded this mere hours after hearing the news, and it shows. Please understand.

Sean and Vinnk grapple with the news of Mr. Iwata's untimely passing, how he made Nintendo what it is today for good or for ill, and what this means for the company's future.

"Famicom Thrash" and "RPG" theme songs by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net. Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: https://louistrations.co.uk.

This podcast is brought to you by the Little Podcast Network. Sponsor an episode, or listen to other great shows at http://LittlePodcast.com.

Eight years ago today, we uploaded our first Famicom Dojo video to YouTube. Celebrate with us by watching it again.

Watch it now at FamicomDojo.TV: http://famicomdojo.tv/c/videos/famicom-basics/v/famicom-and-disk-system

Leave us a voicemail at 608-492-1923, or share your thoughts on Facebook (http://facebook.com/famicomdojo), Instagram (http://instagram.com/famicomdojo), Twitter (@FamicomDojo), or our Famicom Dojo YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/famicomdojo).

Vinnk and SeanOrange pixel art by Louis Lloyd-Judson: http://louistrations.tumblr.com

This video clip is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo web series. Get Season 1 on DVD today:

http://famicomdojo.tv/store/fdojos1.php