We're talking with one of the hosts of Talking to Women about Videogames on this episode of Currently Playing, Jonathan Holmes, writer for Nintendo Force Magazine, MTV reality star, illustrator, video producer, musician, and all-around Rennaisance man. Due to the unique nature of his personal and work life, he's currently playing a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. We get impressions about Mario Kart World, mini Tetris, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered, SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos, Street Fighter 6, PuzzMiX, F-Zero GX, and more. We go through a few rounds of talking about The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask before talking about how the Zelda series has been used as a technical showcase for the latest things Nintendo has to offer...for good and for ill. Then Jonathan takes a look at Daniel's backlog and suggests tons of different things before settling on recommending Cave Story+ due to it's nature as a similar feeling game to Majora's Mask, just in a genre Jonathan prefers.
0:00:00 - Welcome to the Show, Jonathan!
0:08:22 - Maintaining a Certain Level of Inadequacy
0:09:39 - The Latest from Mario Kart World
0:16:35 - Dad Mode (Mini Tetris, Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered, SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos, Street Fighter 6, PuzzMiX, F-Zero GX)
0:23:07 - The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask Preamble
0:28:49 - Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP
0:37:00 - Backlog Recap: The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
0:51:57 - Backlog Challenge: Cave Story+
1:06:14 - Wrap Up/Plugs
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Check out Nintendo Force Magazine: https://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/
Check out Daniel's latest song Light World on Spotify (also available on every streaming platform): https://open.spotify.com/track/393fSKmE0MhWZYuoAiHZmL?si=b04e9b9ee7404659
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Follow the show on Bluysky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ttwav

In the finale (for now?!?!) of Yeah! our Yeah-nalyists finally dance with the one who brung them in the form of digging deep on Usher's "Yeah!" We touch on the connections to Jonathan's alter ego Freaky Constantina, dissect Usher's status as a sex symbol, get into a case of Crunk Juice, and try to put a button on the ubiquity of "Yeah!" as a lyric. While the show may be put on ice for a while, feel free to dig into the old episodes right here on this podcast feed and also see additional analysis of this song from Jonathan's episode of the Worst Song on Earth (link below)
0:00:00 - The Final Curt-Yeah!-n Call
0:02:01 - The Freaky Factor
0:04:11 - Usher's Yeah! is Old Enough to Drink
0:07:44 - Just Listen to Those Lyrics
0:10:14 - The Eternal Sex Symbol
0:13:10 - The Discordant Yeah!
0:16:49 - Disrobing at the Guitar Store
0:19:14 - Crunk Juice/Four Loko
0:20:25 - The Ubiquity of Yeah!
0:26:16 - Tanya's Bad Time Playing DDR
0:26:59 - Using a Blunt, Abstract Agreement to Fix the World's Problems
0:28:38 - Everyone on Yeah! as a Star Fox Character
0:30:02 - Where is Chris "Ludacris" Bridges?
0:31:22 - A Self-Congratulator Victory Lap for the Best Podcast in the World
Check out additional thoughts from Jonathan on Usher's Yeah on this classic episode of The Worst Song On Earth: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5gPiFVY9LTO0aEvlrcKdpk?si=-jZBGjFfTpO8oC5O72ojOQ
Follow the podcast feed on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Support the show on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ttwav
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social

It's the Sweaty Summer Edition of Talking to My Boy about Videogames where Jonathan and Ryan hit all the highlights (Space Balls, Donkey Kong Bananza, Looney Toons) and we get updates on the latest wheeling and dealing of kids, the dangers of gacha mechanics in video games, the longevity of interest in Mario Kart World, and so much more. Does Ryan even like videogames any more? And what's going on with anatomy?!?!
0:00:00 - It's Sweaty Summer
0:00:28 - Spaceballs Review
0:02:13 - Tongue Juice
0:03:09 - PuzzMiX, the Essence of Pac-Man
0:03:33 - New Topic! Geometry Dash
0:06:01 - The Game Isn't On the Cartridge
0:07:05 - The Riddle of the Sphincter
0:07:58 - The Game Plays You
0:10:10 - Testicles: The Book
0:12:07 - Back to PuzzMiX?
0:12:56 - Do You Even Like Videogames?
0:13:44 - F-Zero GX vs. Mario Kart World
0:14:47 - Box Boy/Box Girl
0:15:47 - Let's Put On Looney Toons
0:21:42 - What If Multiversus Came Back?
0:22:58 - The Gacha Part of a Kid's Brain
0:24:11 - The Kid News
0:25:33 - Do They Care About the Donkey Kong Timeline?
0:28:26 - Pests!
0:29:54 - Would You Play a Tom and Jerry Videogame?
0:30:39 - Death Stranding Trailer Impressions
0:31:31 - Moist Burgers
0:32:22 - The Minecraft Report
0:34:01 - Wrap Up/Plugs

Currently Playing is back with an old friend in the form of Kai, a frequent main show guest who's been busy with her school work but is happy to drop by and talk her recent faves in the cozy games space. She's been playing the farming MMORPG Palia, the fantasy farming sim Fields of Mistria, and the bug catching card battler Kabuto Park. Daniel mistakenly calls these "Animal Crossing-likes" but Kai sets him straight. Later they get into a bit of their thoughts about the Switch 2 before recapping Daniel's thoughts about Sword of Vermilion. Finally, Kai challenges Daniel to finally put in an honest effort at playing Majora's Mask, a game he put down for 17 years.
0:00:00 - Welcome to the Show, Kai!
0:11:12 - What Are You Playing? - Palia/Fields of Mistria/Kabuto Park
0:36:43 - Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 Thoughts
0:47:52 - Backlog Recap - Sword of Vermilion
0:54:17 - Backlog Challenge - The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
1:01:28 - Wrap Up/Plugs
Follow Kai on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ksnightingale.bsky.social
Check out Kai's book editing and formating service: https://ko-fi.com/Nightingale_books
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Check out Daniel's D&D module on the DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/524409/The-Bears-of-Berk?affiliate_id=4159974
Pre-save the song "Light World" by Daniel on Spotify: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/sanford3/light-world?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=Email+&utm_source=SendGrid
Follow the show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ttwav

We're talking about the Switch 2 and the trailer for the latest game from Suda51, "Romeo is a Dead Man" shown off on this week's Sony State of Play on this white hot, electric episode of Talking to Women about Videogames. Or is it a "Talking to My Boy about Videogames" stealth episode? You'll have to listen to find out! Even baby Charles makes a guest appearance so you never know who will show up next!

0:00:00 - It's All Happening

0:01:30 - Worlds Collide

0:02:21 - Mario Kart World, What's Going On?

0:05:26 - All Over the Place

0:07:04 - Jonathan's Switch 2 Thoughts

0:09:03 - What About the Switch 2's Size?

0:11:06 - "Romeo is a Dead Man" Blows Suda51 Fans' Minds w/ Cherry Bombrs and Bbbbbeatle

0:48:17 - Another Mario Kart World Update

0:49:20 - Stop All the Downloadin'!

0:50:59 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!

Video of Ryan and Jonathan unboxing the Switch 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuSbHKtY8tA

Video of Beatle, Cherry and Jonathan with footage of Romeo is a Dead Man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdCaOqxxHMM&t=6s

Did "Yeah!" just become a metal podcast? Did this song even appear in a videogame? What the heck is even going on? Who knows?!?! But on this episode we learn that Fairies Wear Boots, Ozzy wants to go to the doctor, Toni Iommi is missing some body parts, and Jonathan loved listening to this song as a kid with his brother. Later we learned that Black Sabbath was one of Daniel's first concerts and Tanya...doesn't really care for them too much.
0:00:00 - Howlin' Charles
0:01:47 - "Fairies Wear Boots" SHOULD Have Been in a Videogame
0:07:26 - Alright Now! YEAH!
0:11:44 - There's Is No Reason to Just Yell "Yeah!"
0:15:57 - Mostly People Know Ozzy Today for "The Osbournes"
0:20:17 - Pleasing the Masses
0:23:36 - Ozzfest/Sabbath Fans
0:25:54 - Is "Fairies Wear Boots" Any Good?
0:33:18 - Black Sabbath Fun Facts
0:37:17 - Support the Patreon by June to get a Comic from Jonathan and Ryan!

After an exciting visit to PAX, Jonathan and Ryan talk about some of the cool stuff they saw and people they met before switching things up to discuss some of Ryan's game ideas. We learn about Kaiju Big Battel, Pac-Man Museum, "Kirby and the Robot", and Hershey chocolate.
0:00:00 - An Existential Crisis
0:03:56 - Ryan Crashed PAX
0:06:27 - A Better Life for Nico
0:08:02 - Snubbed at the Playground
0:08:41 - Donkey Kong's Dirty Bananas
0:17:03 - Ryan's Review of Lankybox
0:18:41 - Castle Crashers + Huggy Wuggy = A New Game
0:19:14 - Ryan's Budding Career as a Game Creator
0:21:28 - Pac-Man Museum
0:22:17 - Kids Don't Know about Kaiju Big Battel and Indie Games from the 2010s
0:24:20 - "Kirby and the Robot"
0:26:48 - Pac to Smack
0:27:58 - We've Been Talking For a While
0:29:12 - What Did Ryan Learn?
0:30:38 - Wrap Up/My Arm Is Person

We're talking about Metaphor: ReFantazio on this month's Currently Playing with guest Shy Fox of the Fix Your Heart or Die Podcast. Fox has been exploring connections between the work of David Lynch and other media for the last few months on his podcast and while Metaphor doesn't really fit that mold, we're happy to chat about it here. Daniel is completely unfamiliar with the Persona/SMT format of this game so we get into the details of how these games work for complete newbies and discover that perhaps Metaphor: ReFantazio is a great place to start if you've always been curious but daunted by the Atlus formula. Later the pair discuss their thoughts on Transistor and Fox challenges Daniel to play Sword of Vermilion on the Sega Genesis.
0:00:00 - Welcome to the Show, Shy Fox!
0:09:40 - What Are You Playing? - Metaphor: ReFantazio
0:42:38 - Backlog Recap - Transistor
0:48:23 - Backlog Challenge - Sword of Vermilion
0:52:02 - Wrap Up/Plugs
Check out Fix Your Heart or Die Podcast on Spotify, featuring Jonathan Off Road Rules: https://open.spotify.com/show/5stt5kNgqOKhlPs4jh7UoU
Check out Fix Your Heart or Die Podcast Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/c/FixYourHeartPod/posts
Follow Fix Your Heart or Die on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fixyourheartpod.bsky.social
Listen to the Fix Your Heart or Die Podcast Original Soundtrack by Daniel (we didn't mention it on the show but the soundtrack will add more songs as the podcast evolves, and it will eventually come to Spotify): https://thesanford.bandcamp.com/album/fix-your-heart-or-die-songs-from-the-podcast
Donate to the Crips for Esims for Gaza bundle here: https://itch.io/b/2965/crips-for-esims-for-gaza-bundle
Follow the podcast feed on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social

Reporting (almost) LIVE! from the PAX show floor, Jonathan and Tanya recap Tanya's first PAX experience before jumping over to an interview with the #1 fan of Gex, the Gecco from the 90s, Izzy Kestrel. They dig deep into forgotten and abandoned Gex games and we learn a lot about Dana Gould. Talking to Women about Videogames is the Cure for what ails ya!
0:00:00 - The Pressure's On
0:02:03 - The PAX/Gex 2 for 1 Power Episode
0:03:20 - Tanya's First PAX
0:12:56 - The Secret of Gex Posting with Izzy Kestral
0:49:34 - The Yoshitaka Amano Gex-nection
0:51:16 - Jonathan's Dark PAXinachions
0:54:35 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
0:59:48 - You Gotta Feel It Up
Izzy's Website: https://iznaut.com/
Follow Izzy on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/iznaut.com
Check out The Electrifying Incident on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3352300/The_Electrifying_Incident_A_Monster_MiniExpedition/
Check out the next Nintendo Force here: https://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/
Pre-order the next Lock On Magazine here: https://www.lostincult.co.uk/006
Support the "Crips for Esims for Gaza Bundle" on itch over here: https://itch.io/b/2965/crips-for-esims-for-gaza-bundle
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Follow the podcast on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
And support this show on Patreon at http://www.Patreon.com/ttwav

On this very busy day, Jonathan and Ryan record the show while also playing Castle Crashers. Jonathan shares some of his early life experiences growing up with videogames as a retreat from his real life and Ryan says that real life is better than Minecraft. A few different videogame genres are discussed before landing on the small number of genres that all games can be classified as. The SD card also ran out of space early so this episode is unfortunately cut a little bit short.
0:00:00 - Very Busy Guys
0:01:32 - Playing Castle Crashers As We Speak
0:03:37 - The "Normal Kind of Videogame"
0:05:47 - The Fatal Flaw of Castle Crashers
0:07:24 - The Super Meat Boy Crossover Nexus
0:08:06 - The Many Modes of Minecraft
0:09:28 - Minecraft is Almost More Than a Game
0:11:13 - Videogames are a Great Place to Hide Out From the Real World
0:12:54 - Which is Better, Minecraft or Real Life?
0:14:07 - The Art of Castle Crasher vs. The Art of Minecraft
0:16:43 - The Two Videogame Genres
0:19:40 - "Soulsvania"
0:22:42 - But What About Smash Bros?