We’re back and we have a doctor’s note for our absence. So let’s continue our Beast Mode series by exploring the ultimate game of cat and mouse with Namco’s Mappy! Why did Pastblaster just pick up two new meowkies of his own? What ever happened to Micro Machines icon, Motormouth John? How did a Journey discussion make its way into this episode? What free games did Jarrod just score from a local laundromat? The listener questions this week are some thinkers: what new Marvel and Capcom characters would we place in a Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 remake, and what is our favorite year for arcade releases? Want us to answer your question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

We’re going Beast Mode in this new miniseries by starting off with a “g*ddamn kids game!” It’s time to play the Konami developed and the Sega/Gremlin released Frogger. How did a “cross the road” joke turn into this super successful arcade game? Who was the heroine responsible for bringing Frogger to the States? What unfortunate series of events led to a breakdown on the side of the road, in a swamp, in the rain, with a bunch of pinball and arcade games in an open trailer? Who finally beat the Costanza Score? Plus we recap our time at Free Play Florida 2023, the difference between alligators and crocodiles, and answer two listener questions: what arcade game deserves a toy line that hasn’t gotten one yet and what is our favorite video game memorabilia that we own. Want us to answer your own question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon. The final episode of the fourth Listeners’ Choice miniseries is going full shoujo with the short-lived Gazelle’s Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. How did a fateful encounter with a cat lead to the reawakening of a millenia old moon princess? What’s the difference between Rhett Butler and Brett Butler? Why can’t we skip certain cutscenes in this game? What type of censorship did the Sailor Moon anime experience when it traveled overseas? Join us and Matt (MomSecretRecipe on Discord) as we discuss all things Sailor Moon and answer the question, what was the title that first made us fall in love with video games? Want us to answer your own question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Our Listeners’ Choice miniseries continues with the penultimate episode! It’s a bird… It’s a plane… But is it a good game? It’s Taito’s Superman! Why is Superman fighting the Elephant Man? How do we know geography wasn’t the Taito development team’s strong suit? What does Muhammed Ali have to do with this game? How cheap were the prices for the world’s oldest profession in 1989?! So sit down and enjoy a bowl of fresh Giger Orbs as we offer our suggestions on how to make a good Superman game along with listener Bizarro Aids and answer the episode questions! Want us to answer your question? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

It’s time for the 4th annual Listeners’ Choice miniseries! And we’re excited to search the world for our perfect man with listener RaymondTheFrog as we explore Jaleco’s City Connection. How did Clarice, the punky teenage protagonist, get replaced by a no-name blonde smoker dude on the NES port? Did Jarrod just receive a newly minted nickname? Why is this game constantly compared to Pac-Man? Excuse me but what animal is pictured on the can of oil you’re throwing at the police? Find out why cats really suck, how Tchaikovsky entered into the arcade, and our picks for favorite spooky Halloween arcade games. And, as always, join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Growing up in a glass bowl with chameleons, lizards, and tadpoles, it hardly enters your mind that there’s something better than this. But pizza power - a flying saucer food delight. Pizza power, oh, that’s what makes us feel alright! Time is up for the Cartoon miniseries as we explore the questionable history that is TMNT: Turtles in Time. When did this game actually hit arcades and why is Jarrod ready to fight someone over it? Why is this the only licensed beat ‘em up that Konami gave a sequel to? How easy is it to confuse John Ryan and Jack Ryan? Did anyone else watch the national broadcast of Hondo in 3D? Hear our answers to this episode’s listener question/challenge: build a 4-player arcade cabinet using any characters from the Cartoon miniseries playing through one of the featured games. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode or nominate your picks for the upcoming Listeners’ Choice series: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Sound Boy makes its triumphant return! Since it’s nearly our 4th birthday it’s fitting we talk about the Cartoon arcade game that puts cake on full display - Konami’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. What is the devastating truth behind the origin of this game? Is this the first arcade game based on a doll? How many times is “Yo Joe!” uttered in this episode (seriously we’ll send some prizes to whomever counts it up)? Is this the most carnivore-friendly episode we’ve ever released? We discuss some of our favorite game shows, cajun cooking, the dark web, and answer the question, “what cartoon deserved an arcade game that never got one?” Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode or nominate your picks for the upcoming Listeners’ Choice series: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

We were too late to throw some poop into the Caddy, hop in the two-seater, and evacuate from the impending hurricane so why not record an episode of the show? And this time we’re not even talking about a Konami property! We’re headed into the future to talk about Capcom’s Captain Planet meets Jurassic Park beat ‘em up, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs! By what name is the uber-popular bootleg of this game known as? Does the cartoon’s theme song slap like our past entries? What is the Hurritrain game? Why did Capcom create a fourth character for a three-player game? Jarrod explains his hangups with hurricanes that smash in the night and the whereabouts of Sound Boy. Rob tells the younglings about antenna-based television. Adam recounts playing the Sega CD version of this game. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

After a brief hiatus we are back to continue the Cartoon miniseries with another Konami title. If you’re not a fan of bovine puns that get milked for all they’re worth then this may not be the episode for moo. We are discussing the super punctuated Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa! Is this the spiritual successor to Sunset Riders? Which Macaulay Culkin character did young PastBlaster emulate? Will Rob’s voice (and body) ever recover? Does Moo Mesa have the best country theme song ever aired on television? Can Seth Rogan please stop voicing animated characters? The listener questions get heavy this episode by asking us if we’ve ever owned a full-motion cabinet and delves into our distant past by asking us to explore our first arcade memory. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz