Podouken

It's the sequel to the game concept that dared to say, "Hey, you know what people love? Waiting for the elevator. Let's turn that into a game!" Taito even kept with the theme by making fans wait 11 years for this episode's game - Elevator Action Returns. What is the cool backstory that led MomSecretRecipe to nominate this game? Why are we complaining about the NFL on an arcade podcast? Are we about to insult all of our Welsh listeners (we sure hope not)? We also postulate about the origins of the arcade elevator stage, hunger for more gun cakes, visit the Starcade, and… I don't believe it.. that kid is *back* on the escalator again!

We've heard your pleas and are happy to say your prayers have been answered. That 90s beat 'em up that you always ask us to cover is finally getting an episode! As the first game in our (new) Listeners' Choice miniseries we're covering The King of Dragons! Steve (LowTierSteve), longtime friend and friend of the show, joins us to discuss the majesty, strategy, and poor decision making of Capcom's first three-player brawler. Can someone be allergic to spiders? How did a dude named Derek stumble into our fantasy RPG? What skills do you need to install a kit game? Also, Adam voices his displeasure with a horror convention, Rob describes a recent rare game pickup, and Jarrod forces his kids to play video games with him.

They're obscure. They're underrated. They're our choices for the Arcade Obscura shmups! Mr. SNK brings us a lovely bouquet of Sega space shooter (please consult with your physician before playing). Rob (AKA Ron, AKA Robdog Storm) goes meta with an arcade shooter about arcade characters that takes place in an arcade. PastBlaster tells a tale as old as time about an alien invasion, a President involved in a sex scandal, and animal abductions. How did the death of a bowling alley breath new life into a ton of candy cabs? When will we get a Kirby shmup? Did you know the Nazca lines are real and there's a game company named for them? Tune in for the real conclusion to our shmup miniseries!

We're bringing the Flying Pancake in for a landing on the Shmup Dump miniseries with Psikyo's Strikers 1945 series. Can you stop the evil forces of C.A.N.Y. and find the very suggestive secret ending? How many times is PastBlaster going to mispronounce the Focke-Wulf aircraft? Can you guess the four NeoGeo games in Mr. SNK's 4-slot MVS? We also explore the history of air superiority in the Carolinas, bear witness to a modern-day arcade wizard, rank our favorite (and least favorite) shmups in the dump, create our favorite Gundam U.S. president, and celebrate two years of making dumb arcade podcasts.