This “Behind the Music” is an 8-part retrospective of the biggest rhythm game franchise to ever hit the States (and the reason so many of us still have plastic guitars stashed in our hall closets). Featuring opening acts Harmonix and Red Octane, and headliner trio that gave us Guitar Hero Arcade - Activision, Konami, and Raw Thrills What is the musical instrument-based peripheral you never got but always wanted in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game? Could we see a reunion tour of Geriatric Drive-by in our lifetimes? Why is Rob fed up with FedEx? How are fan-created games like Clone Hero and YARG keeping the home rock star experience alive? In lieu of answering listener questions we just go into a long rant about the Nintendo Direct. Well, some of us do. Join the Podouken Discord and post your own questions that could be included in a future episode so we never have to rant like this again: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content (like if we put our socks on sock-sock-shoe-shoe or sock-shoe-sock-shoe style): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

Namco set out to create a super popular rhythm game and accidentally created the most popular mascots since Pac-Man. Don-chan and Katsu-chan are unavoidable as we talk about the extremely popular in the East but largely ignored in the West drum game, Taiko No Tatsujin! Why was this game never released in the U.S. until now? How did an instrument mishap lead to the most embarrassing moment of young Rob’s life? Is every arcade game released after the year 2000 just a Playstation in disguise? How did Donkey Kong steal this game’s popularity?

We answer your questions like what arcade game did we initial hate but grew to love over time (#RedemptionArc), what our favorite non-video game arcade attraction (excluding pinball), and what IP we predict will be the next new beat ‘em up announced. Join the Podouken Discord and post your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content (like our third favorite cheese): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

Finally a rhythm game that is unlikely to give you a cardiac arrest. We explore the often mispronounced (hint: the “j” is silent) BEMANI hit that is DDR for your fingers, jubeat! What is the magic behind this geometric anomaly of an arcade game? Is Scatman or Y.M.C.A. the most beloved of all western songs by Japanese game developers? How hard is it to get a jubeat in the States? Does everyone want a Dance 86.4 Funky Radio Station now? This episode we answer questions about what hobbies we’d pursue if we weren’t always fixing arcade games and who are our favorite real-life people in arcade or pinball games. Join the Podouken Discord and post your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content (like our third favorite cheese): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

This miniseries is all about rhythm - rhythm games, that is. We recognize that three middle-aged white guys may not be the best option to talk about this episode’s game so we asked local (and international) legends Chris Austin and Leon Brunson to give us an insight into the strategy, gameplay, and tournament scene of Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution. What kind of hardware do Leon and Chris (literally) bring to the table? How many times have we moved Adam’s DDR? What ever happened to Toshiba? Did we identify the perfect footwear for home DDR play? Questions this episode include what arcade game perfectly captures the spirit of Florida and what was our first arcade and pinball fix. Join the Podouken Discord and post your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content (like our third favorite cheese): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

It’s the end of the Light Gun miniseries and we’re down to our last remaining bullets. Now it’s time for each host to shoot their shot on their pick of an obscure or underrated Light Gun arcade game. Did it finally happen? Did we pick the same game?! Adam brings the cinematic rage with his choice. Jarrod channels familiar territory with a game made by familiar people from a familiar company. Rob goes rogue with a controversial game that may or may not break all the rules (we’ll let you decide). The listener questions in this episode include our favorite of the light gun games, how we define toys versus action figures, and our least favorite game from our favorite arcade company. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode or tell us why we’re wrong to rank your favorite Capcom beat ‘em up dead last: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

It’s the last featured episode of the Light Gun series! The portal to carnage opens again as we dig up arguably Sega’s best light gun series - and arguably the best game in the series - with The House of the Dead 2. When will G-nome Theory be touring next? How did the AM1 team’s demand for more time to work on the sequel lead to a hardware upgrade? Will you suffer like G did with some of the rabbit holes we go down in this episode? Do you remember where you were on 9/9/99? Want to know about arcade cabinet hygiene and our first arcade game memories? Tune in! Want to ask something yourself? Join the Podouken Discord and post your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content (like our third favorite cheese): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

Lights go dim, the tokens drop, the carousel spins - it’ll never stop.

From haunted houses to freakish feats, the bosses roar and shotgun greets.

So pump that gun and don’t delay, the Midway’s mad and here to stay.

This ain’t no game for hearts too civil… It's the podcast ode to CarnEvil! Why do we know so much about the local “insane asylum” called Sunland? Do jiggle physics apply to ghostly apparitions? Has Rob taken Halloween decorating too far? Did CarnEvil give us the first video game version of Krampus? The listener questions answered in this episode include what insane occupation an arcade game has trained us for and, in a Saw scenario, what arcade attract mode would we least want to be trapped with? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

Woo-wee! There’s no avoiding it any longer. While these games don't rank highly on our personal lists, we must talk about one of the most influential and long-lasting series in light gun arcade games, Big Buck Hunter. Do we represent the snobby gaming community? How did appealing to the “Bubba factor” make this popular game series thrive? What is the connection between the hosts, Big Buck Hunter, and the Florida State University football team? Who’s that I hear… is it… could it be… Sound Boy?! Our listener questions in this episode ask us to forecast what arcade game will have the largest legacy 50 years from now, what’s a question a first-time arcade buyer should ask, and our favorite twist or innovation in a light gun game. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

ACTION! We put the pedal to the metal in our light gun miniseries with Namco’s Time Crisis. Seek cover as we explore the entire series starting with V.S.S.E. agent Richard Miller and ending with whatever Time Crisis 5 was. Did Namco’s attempt to top Sega’s Virtua Cop succeed? Is Time Crisis 2 the most complete light gun game experience? What are the most addictive roguelikes? Does Wild Dog, leader of Wild Dog, own a wild dog? With the Krispy Kreme/Pac-Man donut partnership it seems like a good time for us to identify which arcade character we think would make the best flavor for a donut. We also answer: if the last video game we played were turned into a pinball machine, what would it be like, and what gameplay features would it have? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz Speaking of Pac-Man donuts, you can check out our review of them exclusively on the Podouken YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716

Welcome to the hardboiled streets of 90s Chicago where a crime wave is at an all time high. It’s up to you, officer Don Marshall, and you, Unnamed Female, to fight crime with as many bullets as possible. Then travel to the Wild West to also fight crime with as many bullets as possible. This is Konami’s Lethal Enforcers arcade series. How was a knee-burning, motion-sensing game responsible for adding another arcade to the Lethal Enforcers family? Do you know all the words to the Hey Dude theme song? Is the Justifier the best possible name for a light gun peripheral? Was this game an inspiration for a certain scene in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight? We are asked what our favorite gun design is from arcade light guns (and our least favorite) and perhaps the question that Rob has been waiting his entire life to answer: who would win in the ultimate showdown between Aliens versus Predator versus RoboCop versus Terminator. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716