Podouken

We're blasting off on the first episode of our new SHMUP miniseries with the shooter that set the mold for horizontal STGs - Konami's Gradius. How did this accidental hit become such a groundbreaking series? What anime movie had a huge influence on the design and weaponry of the Vic Viper? How many aliases do the Gradius and Salamander games have? Is this the most repeated arcade game of all time? No STG would be complete without some talk about Morning Music, board issues, weapon strategy, and the obvious Friends connection. We also cover cheap Jeopardy questions, proctology exams, tiny snipers, a Lake Placid pinball game, and bad Mark Wahlberg quotes.

It's time for another Arcade Obscura where each of the hosts pitch their choice of underrated or under-appreciated driving-based arcade game. Rob goes full 'Merica with a cross-country racer that features the first appearance of a beloved video game mascot. Mr. SNK breaks all the rules (or does he?) and doubles down on the obscure part of the episode. PastBlaster goes prime time with an over-the-top driver produced by an arcade legend. How do you define an arcade game? Is the weapon breaking system in Breath of the Wild trash? Will the debate ruin friendships and destroy this podcast? Tune in to this needlessly long episode to find out!

Explore the arcade series birthed by the unholy alliance of a Nintendo license developed by Namco running on a Sega board - Mario Kart Arcade GP. It's the two biggest video game characters in a race to the finish as we close out our final featured episode in the Drivers miniseries. Why didn't Namco include more of their characters in the GP series? Is the Mario Kart music really all it's cracked up to be? What are the console origins of Mario Kart? We fly right off the rails with the unofficial fourth member of the Podouken crew - Jarrod's (new) ancient soundboard. Plus we talk Smash Bros tournaments, banana peels, the proper way to say MKAGPDX, and end with a literal stinger.

We're drifting into the final turn of our Drivers miniseries by talking about Sega's most prolific driving game series, Initial D. So hop in our Trueno GT-APEX - just don't bump the tofu - and settle in for a two plus hour exploration of this manga turned anime turned arcade. Why does this mix of Japanese mountain racing and pop music Eurobeat work so well? How did Pastblaster and Mr. SNK go halfsies on IDAS? Can we count high enough to cover all the arcade games released in this series? Enjoy some very specific talk about local landmarks, tailgating BMWs, dbags with drivers licenses, and the short history of the long running Fast & the Furious franchise.

Hop in and take a ride down Memory Lane as the Podouken crew tours the USA, world, and other exotic locations while exploring the Midway Games classic Cruis'n USA. How did this game give Rob his most gruesome arcade injury and almost get him arrested? What led the creator of Defender and Robotron to create a digitized racing game? Which arcade developed by Atari is the lost Cruis'n game? We also give some arcade buying tips, get in some Raw Thrills, tell a few of our scariest arcade buying stories, count roaches, and discuss strategies on dealing with mall cops.