For this episode, Sean and Darren are discussing Jak and Daxter, Naughty Dog's groundbreaking PS2 platformer. While Darren played and loved the game upon its initial release in 2001, Sean is just playing it for the first time. While the game's production values may still be impressive today, does it still leave the same kind of first impression that it once did 25 years later? This won't be a full deep-dive into the game, and Sean is just starting to get his feet wet on the shores of Sentinel Beach, but it's still an opportunity for them to compare their experiences and for Darren to share stories from his many years of history with the game. They also discuss the other 3D platformers that left an influence on them and ask, if Daxter is an ottsel, does that mean otters and weasels also exist in Jak and Daxter's world?

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dozens of snowboarding games came out in the 2000s, with some months seeing three or four new titles all launching within days of each other. Developers had to work to find their own unique angles on the sport, whether it was the gravity-defying tricks of the fantastic SSX series, the freestyle snowboarding of the Amped series, or even the Tony Hawk-adjacent Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. With so many games to choose from, a game that may have slid under some players' radars is Nintendo's own 1080° Avalanche. Gooey is back in the hosting seat for this episode, joined by McKenna and Sean, as they break down the history and development of this successor to the Nintendo 64 classic 1080° Snowboarding.

A sort of cousin to Wave Race: Blue Storm (it's even called 1080° Silverstorm in Japan), Avalanche builds on its Nintendo 64 predecessor with a variety of new modes and gameplay twists. And while it may not have the more robust trick system or longer single-player campaigns of the SSX series, with immersive environmental effects and a wild sense of speed, it may be one of the best of the era when it comes to intense snowboard racing.

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, SEGA found itself navigating a new identity as a third-party developer. And while it may have been jarring at the time to see SEGA's flagship series on hardware that wasn't their own, their relationships with Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony led to the continued release of excellent, inspired, and in some cases just very strange, games between 2001 and 2003. Darren Hupke hosts this episode, joined by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone) and Nick aka PandaMonium (https://bsky.app/profile/pandamonium.bsky.social), who bring their expertise on all things SEGA to this far-ranging discussion. From Jet Set Radio Future to 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, this is our longest episode of Millennium Edition yet as we explore what happened to SEGA after the Dreamcast.

You can find some of Andrew's work, including his amazing Namco Museum Museum, at https://www.youtube.com/@MythicResonance. And you can watch Nick's extremely entertaining and well-researched coverage of the Sega Saturn at https://www.youtube.com/@PandaMoniumReviews.

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With its wit, style, and clever movie-inspired gameplay mechanics, Viewtiful Joe was a critical hit for Capcom in 2003. Joe returned over the next few years for several more games, a manga, and even a TV show, but there hasn't been a new entry in the series since 2005. What happened to Viewtiful Joe, and would Capcom ever finally make a Viewtiful Joe 3? For this episode, Sean is joined by writer, DJ, and podcaster Matt "Stormageddon" (@djstormageddon.com) as together they look back on the series, share their favorite VFX-powered moments, and wonder about its future.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

For more from Matt, you can listen to their other shows the "Fun" & Games Podcast and Reignite.

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the PlayStation 2, Sony experimented with all sorts of ways to bring new connectivity and interactivity to its games. With the iLink port, pressure sensitive controller buttons, and other features and devices many players may not have even known existed, there was no shortage of tech available to enhance your PS2 experience (and maybe even connect 3 PS2s and TVs together for some ultra widescreen Gran Turismo 3). In this episode, rather than focus on one specific game, Darren Hupke is joined by Gooey and Andrew Elmore for a more general question: what was some of the best and strangest tech of the PS2 era, and what games made the most of it? They also share stories about their favorite technologically ambitious PS2 games (including what Darren saw when he snuck his way into E3 as a teenager) and wonder why Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is so underrated.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone). You can also follow Andrew on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@MythicResonance

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As temperatures rise, we're heading to the beach with the 2001 GameCube launch title Wave Race: Blue Storm. The third entry in the Wave Race series, there are perhaps few games that show off this console generation's famous water effects quite like Blue Storm, a Jet Ski racing game that is still a fun (and challenging!) ride today. For this episode, we have some familiar Sound Stone faces as Sean talks with Gooey and McKenna of Flashback 64, the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast. Together they discuss the history of Blue Storm, their experiences with the game, and how well it carried the torch for Wave Race into a new era of video games.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luigi's Mansion was an unconventional launch title to introduce new players to the GameCube. With Luigi in the starring role and playing completely unlike other Mario games, it didn't embrace the broad appeal we'd come to expect from other launch titles like Super Mario World or Super Mario 64. And yet, Luigi's Mansion would go on to become one of the GameCube's highest-selling games, and its expressive characters, lighting, and environmental effects proved to be an amazing graphical showcase for what the new system could do.

In this episode, Sean and Gooey revisit Luigi's Mansion, looking back on its development history and considering its place among Nintendo's pantheon of famous launch titles. How does it feel to play 25 years later? Did Nintendo make the right choice to launch the GameCube with such a quirky new Mario game? And how does it perhaps match the unassuming yet creative energy one might associate with the GameCube today? While it may not be remembered with the same fanfare as some Mario titles, both Sean and Gooey had a great time setting off on another ghost hunt, in a game that was key to shaping the Luigi as we know him today.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Our YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As press got their first glimpses of Dark Cloud for the PS2, some hailed it as a coming "Zelda killer" and the PlayStation's answer to Nintendo's storied franchise. This narrative would follow the game through its development and even into its reviews. But looking back more than two decades later, was all this hype really justified? And did premature comparisons to Zelda—when the game was really going for something very different—blind people to the game's unique identity? For this episode, we have two Sound Stone Network founders and Millennium Edition co-producers on the panel, as Darren Hupke hosts a conversation with Gooey on the game and its legacy. Darren is a longtime Dark Cloud fan and Gooey is just experiencing its unique blend of RPG action and city building for the first time—without the weight of expectations players might have felt in 2001. Together they talk about what made Dark Cloud special, why it's better to appreciate the game without the Zelda comparisons, and how a hype bandwagon can shape our perceptions of a game before it even comes out.

What do you think of Dark Cloud? Did you play it back in 2001, with its "Zelda killer" rumors fresh in your mind? Or did you have the chance to play it without that past hype affecting your experience? Send us a message at [email protected] or @soundstone.network on Bluesky and let us know!

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode, Sean is joined by Ben, a former comics journalist who covers fighting and comics-related games through his YouTube channel @sandalwoodgrips, for a conversation on the 2002 X-Men fighting game X-Men: Next Dimension. While Next Dimension might be an underrated title that never made a big splash in the fighting game scene at the time, both Sean and Ben are huge fans of it, and Ben continues to pour hours into the game to discover the depth, complexity, and incredibly broken tech the game has to offer. Through his Discord (https://discord.gg/pKpa5psG), where a small but active following continues to discuss and explore new facets of the game, Ben's commitment to Next Dimension serves as a perfect example of how a small but loyal community can breathe new life into a game more than two decades later.

What makes this game so special, what conversations has Ben had with the developers, and what is it like to build a new community for a game from 2002? Reset your combo counters as together we look at the past and surprising present of X-Men: Next Dimension.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maken X, from many of the developers behind the Shin Megami Tensei series, is a sci-fi first-person sword fighting game that came to the Dreamcast in 1999. From its experimental gameplay to its branching international story filled with eccentric characters, it plays like nothing else. And while it may not be perfect, it's still a perfect example of how a game doesn't have to get everything right to still be artistically memorable and a lot of fun along the way. For this episode, join Sean Douglass, Andrew Elmore, and Fredo Fabrucci and they pick up the demon sword and take a deep dive into Maken X's endlessly compelling world, the unique idiosyncrasies of the Dreamcast hardware, and the inimitable art of Kazuma Kaneko.

Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).

If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.

Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:

• Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief Gigi
• Flashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKenna
• Pixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke
• ...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.