Retro Spectives

Kirby’s Nightmare in Dreamland is a remake of the 1993 NES classic Kirby’s Adventure. It features updated graphics, a new set of minigames and an even easier difficulty than the original. You float around this idyllic platformer, stealing enemies abilities as you conquer the evil denizers of Kirby’s dream. But is it fun to play today, despite the almost complete lack of challenge?

On this episode, we ask:

• Is Kirby’s Nightmare a charming adventure, or does its lack of difficulty put a dampener on the fun?
• Are the pink puffball’s copy abilities a stroke of mechanical genius, or simply wasted potential?
• Can a game released in 2002 still manage to look a treat?

Listen in to find the answers to these questions and many more on the 14th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Max Payne’s story was incredibly fresh on its release in 2001. Taking its cues from neo-noir cinema, it pitted you against the real life monsters of our world instead of demons or aliens. It liberally lifted environments, dialogue and ideas from the wave of crime films that popped up in the 80’s and flourished over the next 20 years. This extends even to the gameplay - clearly inspired by John Woo action films and was the first game to feature the now commonplace bullet-time feature from the Matrix. Do the stylistic trappings and influences make Max Payne boring and forgettable, or does it’s self aware irony elevate it into something brilliant?

On this episode, we question:

• Does cheesiness and cliche ruin a story, or does Max Payne chugging down Pain Killers make for comedy gold?
• Did the adaptive difficulty give the game a smoother difficulty curve, or did it remove any hope of a good challenge?
• Are the nightmare sequences a terror for Max or the player?

Listen in to find the answers to these questions and many more on the 13th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Pokémon Snap was released at the height of pokémania in 1999. It offered to people’s imaginations a way to see Pokemon in full 3d in their natural environments, instead of poorly rendered sprites on the screen. It also offered a gentler, more exploratory experience - here, ‘capturing’ a pokémon means getting a great photograph, not enslaving it to use in pit fights. Does Pokémon Snap’s on-rails and slow paced gameplay get to the core of the Pokémon experience, or is it a boring snoozefest?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Should there always be logical underpinnings to your interactions with the world of Pokémon Snap, or is it better to have a sense of wonder and surprise?
• How enjoyable is the fundamental gameplay? Are the mechanics of photography well implemented in how well shots are graded?
• Is it animal cruelty to push pokémon into lakes of lava in the hope that something cool will happen?

Find out if Pokémon Snap is still fun to play all these years later on the 12th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater blew everyone away in 1999 with its take on skating - the environments seemed crisp, the physics were unreal and it had a wonderful trick system tying it all together. But just how good is this dinosaur of extreme sports if we play it today? Join Patrick as he soliloquises on whether Tony Hawk's has stood the test of time!

On this Episode, Patrick asks:

• How enjoyable is it to explore a level when you have a constantly ticking clock of just 2 minutes?
• Does the variety-centric trick combo system work to induce actual gameplay variety, or is it all surface level?
• Just how bad is the editing, and how badly do you want James back to fix it all for the next episode!

Join me, listen in and find out in Patricks very questionable solo debut!
(James was too sick to co-host or edit this week so be aware that this episode is of questionable quality)

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Certain games defy easy description or understanding. They unite so many disparate ideas, many of which feed into one another, that explaining it in one sentence is both a simplification and completely obtuse. And this is Megaman Battle Network 3. Its a card game - but it's also an action game. Its like pokemon - except you have no overarching goal or objective at the start of the game. Its an RPG - but you can beat the game barely touching that stuff if you’re good enough at rhythm games!

So, what exactly is Megaman Battle Network 3, and do all these elements come together into a complete package?

In this episode, we explore:

• How well do the RPG, action, and deck building parts of the gameplay work together? Do they feed into one another to create a better whole, or simply feed off one another?
• What sorts of things can you do with the customisation options available to you? Are they all damage upgrades and variants, or more diverse, allowing for creativity?
• Is the story actually decent or is James completely insane?

Find out the answers to these questions (particularly the last one) in the 10th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!  

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Quake is one of the most influential shooters ever made. While its contemporaries like Duke Nukem and Blood were dabbling in the illusion heavy 2.5D, Quake chose instead to feature fully 3D models and environments. It introduced true vertical spaces, encouraged the use of the mouse to aim and forced players to manage distance far more actively. But does its gameplay hold up all these years later, or has it been eclipsed by refinements taken by more modern shooters?

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How does the decision to make most enemies shoot projectiles or attack in melee, instead of hitscan, affect the pace and feel of the gameplay?
• Is Episode 4 the apex of the Quake experience, with its larger spaces and more abundant power ups? Or do those very things detract from the more skill-testing, claustrophobic environs?
• Just how many shades of green and brown can you use in the creation of 23 near identical castles?

Find out if Quake has truly stood the test of time in the 9th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Silent Hill 2 holds a special place in many people’s hearts. Its held up as a poster child for both its oppressive atmosphere and the multi-layered and surreal tale it tells, of the town and the people that have been drawn to it. It tried to tell a story quite different from the conspiracy driven Resident Evil or the demon invasion of Doom 3. Is Silent Hill 2’s psychological horror as scary as ever? Does the gameplay of collecting keys and solving puzzles contribute to the atmosphere?

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How important is the gameplay in what is primarily regarded as a narrative driven game? Can you tell a horrifying story if you’re spending most of your time solving puzzles?
• Just what is it that’s so special about the town of Silent Hill? How important is a sense of place in establishing atmosphere and immersion?
• How can we reconcile the terrible events of the game with the fact that a Shizu was controlling all of our fates from the very beginning?

Find out what we really think on the 8th, and longest so far, episode of Retro Spectives!
 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Ape Escape was a defining platformer of the Playstation 1 era, notably being the very first to require a dualshock controller to play. It truly pushed the limits of that controller, incorporating the joysticks in a way no game has done since. You journey through each level, trying to capture apes and send them back to the zoo where they belong - no-one tell PETA about the game. Do the innovative controls and basic gameplay loop of capturing monkeys hold up to this day, or is it just plain monkey-ing around?

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

• Are the joystick controls for activating gadgets a revolutionary and unique twist, or just bloody annoying?
• How fun is it to hunt, subdue and capture the evil, escaped monkeys? Do the gadgets give us enough options to do so?
• How is it possible that James hates the music so much when he’s so in love with Banjo Kazooie’s soundtrack?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, in this week’s episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

F-Zero GX is a Gamecube classic that sought to turn the challenge of the racing genre all the way to 11. It's a game where braking is actively discouraged, and if your speed ever drops below 1000km/h you’ve made a serious mistake. It combines this insane pace with gravity defying tracks that bend and twist in on themselves creatively. Does F Zero GX’s refined racing formulae stand up to modern day criticism, or is it just too difficult?

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

• Just how fast are you really going in F-Zero GX? Are these legitimate speeds, or is it all a clever illusion?
• Does the story mode of the game teach you the lessons you need to complete the grand prixs? Or is it the other way round?
• Are long straight tracks where you get to go super fast far superior (team Pat), or is it better when the track is filled with difficult, hairpin turns (team James)?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, in this week’s episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Red Alert 2 proposes a question that every military nut wants answered: What would happen if the Soviet Union invaded the United States of America? Except the Soviet Union has mind control technology and trained giant killer squids, while the United States relies on Albert Einstein to develop weapons of mass destruction for them. Does Red Alert 2 represent the apex of the genre, or is it just another boring base builder?

In today’s episode, we ask ourselves:

• Is Red Alert 2’s dual pronged story a cinematic masterpiece or just a bunch of terrible scenes stitched together?
• Can an RTS with very simple mechanics still be as enjoyable as one with a million upgrades and options?
• How much frustration do James and Patrick have to endure before we remember that alt-tabbing crashes the game 100% of the time?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more on episode 5 of Retro Spectives!
 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!