Retro Spectives

Ys: The Oath in Felghana is a remake of a beloved NES title - Ys III: Wanderers From Ys.  Oath takes the essential story beats of the original, but the gameplay has received a radical transformation, in almost every way.  The original 2D sidescrolling has been expanded into the realm of 3D, and even swaps to a full-on isometric view in parts of the dungeons and most boss fights.  Healing items drop from enemies instead of being inventory items, attacks combo and stunlock enemies, and platforming is now a significant part of the experience.  The game now plays like a mixup between Diablo and Furi, with fast combat and a light RPG touch.

But can this curious blend still be fun to play all these years later?  Do the RPG systems add anything substantial to the experience, or is it just leftover baggage from the original game?  And can boss fight design more than 15 years old possibly stand up to Pat and James’ modern standards?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Ys: Oath of Felghana has some basic RPG systems - levelling up, and acquiring new gear to become stronger.  Do these systems add anything to the gameplay experience, or would the game be better with it completely removed?
• Oath has simple, but fast and fluid combat.  Is it fun to mow down hordes of enemies, or does it sink into being repetitive?
• We take our time breaking down some of our favourite and least favourite boss battles.  What is it we like and dislike about Oath’s boss fights, and what do modern games have to learn from them?

We answer these questions and many more on the 64 episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Oath OST: Mieko Ishikawa and Yukihiro Jindo (Arrangement)

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Is Ys: Oath of Felghana the best of the entire Ys series, or are we neglecting the early era classics?  Are our criticisms of the RPG systems justified, or do we just need to git gud?  What is your favourite or least favourite boss, and do you agree with our selections?  Come join the discussion, and let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Doom II came hot on the coattails of Doom, releasing just 10 months after the first game took the world by storm.  Billed as a sequel, it resembled an expansion pack far more, introducing only a handful of enemies and one new weapon.  Despite this, Doom II was massively successful at launch, and introduced all the pieces for the enormous Doom modding community that continues to thrive to this day.

But is it enough to introduce so little and still expect the gameplay experience to be fresh?  Could a game only in development for such a short time deliver consistently good level design?  Or will Doom II end up being remembered more for what it introduced than the substantial experience of actually playing it?

On this episode, we discuss:

• What does the addition of the Super Shotgun do to change the essential Doom experience?  Can a weapon that's fundamentally overpowered actually be a good thing?
• What is it exactly that makes a good Doom level?  We talk about teleporters, verticality and the scale of the encounters you have to face.
• How do the new monsters change how you play the game?  Do all the monsters in Doom II have a role to play, or are some more interesting than others?

We answer these questions and many more on the 63rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Doom II OST: Bobby Prince

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Did you enjoy Doom II more than Doom I?  Are we over rating The Plutonia Experiment?  Do you have any custom WADS to suggest?  Come and join the discussion on our community discord server!

When you hear the term ‘survival horror’, you can’t help but think of Resident Evil.  Back in 1996, Resident Evil blew everyone’s minds, combining traditional point and click adventure puzzles with tense and strategic zombie combat.  Six years later, in 2002, the game received a remake for the GameCube that many consider to be one of the best ever.  The pre-rendered visuals of the Spencer Mansion elevated the atmosphere to a truly horrifying place, even as you collected gems for jewellery boxes.

But for all that it changed, in terms of level layout, item distribution and graphical fidelity, this is one remake that kept the essential gameplay the same.  It kept the fixed camera angles, the tank controls and even the absurdly limited inventory.  It doubled down on the essential design choices of the original, instead of making it more convenient to control and play.  Did this decision lead to the best way to experience Resident Evil 1, or does its design seem clunky and outdated, a relic of another age?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Is there any merit to having fixed camera angles and tank controls in any video game, or is it just unnecessarily frustrating and annoying?
• In what ways does Resident Evil put pressure on the player?  Do restricted saves, safe rooms and limited inventory slots create a tense and immersive experience, or simply annoy the player with tedious micromanagement?
• How believable in the story and sense of place in the Spencer Mansion (and surrounding areas)?  How scary is it compared to other survival horror games like Silent Hill 2?

We answer these questions and many more on the 62nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

REmake OST: Shusaku Uchiyama

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Is the REmake the best version of Resident Evil 1, or should we have played a different one?  If we play another Resi game, which one should we play?  Does the story get cheesier or more grounded as the series progresses?  Let us know what you think on our community discord server!

When Fallout first released in 1997 it bucked the trend of what people came to expect from an RPG.  There were no swords or bows, no magic or elves - Fallout wanted to give people something different.  It fused the grim and unforgiving world of Mad Max with a retro-futuristic alternative history of Earth, where humanity ascended to dazzling heights before being blown to pieces by nuclear weapons.  

You play as the Vault Dweller, born and raised in a community fallout shelter.  Everything was going fine and dandy until the chip controlling the purification of water broke - and with no engineers alive who helped design it, that’s a serious problem.  You get told to go out into the world to get another functioning water chip...but the world isn’t a friendly place, and you may run into one or two problems along the way.

We’re joined by special guest Chris Worthington of the Retro Asylum Podcast to discuss and argue whether Fallout has truly stood the test of time!  Fallout dazzled the world with its innovations and storytelling - an open ended narrative, a turn based tactics system with guns, and a world so bleak and unforgiving that even The Walking Dead is envious.  But do we now take these things for granted with all the evolutions in the RPG space?  Is Fallout just a primitive and barely functional shell of a video game, or does it still have something valuable to offer?

On this episode, we discuss:

• What kind of impact do the RPG systems of Fallout have on your experience?  How much room do you have to define your character as they level up and grow stronger?
• How engaging is the storytelling of Fallout?  Does it connect with you through its characters, dialogue or worldbuilding, and are there emotional hooks to keep you invested?
• How does the combat work in Fallout, and does it give you meaningful decisions throughout a combat encounter? 

We answer these questions and many more on the 61st episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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It was our absolute pleasure to be joined by fellow podcaster Chris Worthington for our discussion on Fallout.  He’s the host of two podcasts, both of which you should check out!

Retro Asylum - The UK’s No. 1 Retro Gaming Podcast (circa 2013).  Chris and pals discuss classic video games and consoles of the 80’s and 90’s, with the occasional dabble into pop culture and interviews with industry figures.  It's a celebration of retro gaming, with episodes doing deep dives into what makes a game or console special.  You can join their discord server here!

Playthrough - A community play along podcast that explores new and ‘middle aged’ games.  Each episode the hosts play through a chunk of a game, and then do a blow by blow breakdown of their experience.  There are a fantastic selection of games already in their backlog, including Metroid Prime and Disco Elysium.  Join their discord server and play along!

Chris has kindly asked us to continue our Fallout journey with Fallout 2 on the Retro Asylum podcast later this year, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Fallout OST: Mark Morgan, The Inkspots

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When you play Fallout 1, make sure you install Fallout Fixt.  It includes a full restoration patch, but we recommend the purist download for your first playthrough and somebody, anybody - please play UnderRail.  Pat is begging you.  

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Are there hidden aspects of the dialogue system that we never stumbled upon?  Does the combat have hidden depths to it that we were too dumb to understand?  Is a 1 AGI run even possible?  Let us know what you think on the Retro Spectives community discord server!  We love discussing (and arguing about) games, both old and new, and would love to have you join us.

When Another World was first released in 1991, it blew everyone’s minds.  The lengthy cutscene that introduced the game and the cinematic quality of its presentation was close to unheard of.  It fused dynamic and lethal laser combat with the rotoscoped platforming that was seen in Prince of Persia.  And it did it all in a time and place utterly unlike Earth, bringing to life a setting that truly felt like Another World.

But 30 years have passed since Another World’s debut.  The features that were once revolutionary wouldn’t even make a footnote on the back of the game box.  Instant death and trial and error are now dirty words, and action and puzzles very rarely combine well together.  Has Another World, the vision of a single person, kept up with all the innovations and modernisations of adventure platformers?  Or is it outdated and frustrating, making a mockery of its once forward thinking design?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How well does Another World set a sense of place?  Did we truly believe we were on an alien planet as we ran through its weathered halls?
• Is there any place for guesswork and trial and error in a video game?  Or is it a fundamentally flawed concept, one that we should be glad rarely sees the light of day?
• How well does Another World control, and how do the controls impact the overall experience?  Are there situations in which clunky control schemes are justifiable?

We answer these questions and many more on the 60th Episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Another World OST: Jean-François Freitas

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Are we heretics for criticising this sacred cow of video game history?  Does the Caves/Palace sections make more sense than we’re giving it credit for?  Does the spiritual sequel Flashback solve the problems we had with Another World?  Let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Hitman: Codename 47 was a bold experiment.  It sought to create a stealth game like any other, where you could hide in plain sight.  It wanted to make planning a perfect murder to function like a puzzle, instead of having the player rely on lightning fast reflexes.  And for the most part, it was a dismal failure.  It was a fascinating curio, but a miserable trial to endure, one that Pat and James complained about at length.

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, released two years later in 2002, massively expands on everything in the first game.  There are saves, a real time map, a revamped shooting system, a new suspicion meter, crouching, increased draw distance and a first person mode, just to name a few of its new features.  It immediately feels like a completely different kind of experience from the first.

But can the expansion really fix the fundamental flaws that seem to lie at the heart of the Hitman experience?  Can you actually have assassinations work as a puzzle game without it being frustrating?  Or were the early entries in the series more of a miss than a hit?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Does Silent Assassin do stealth well?  Different entries into the franchise sit somewhere at the genre intersection of stealth, puzzle and immersive sim.  When Hitman leans more heavily into its stealth is it still fun to play?
• What did we think of the map?  Silent Assassin introduces a real time map, with points of interest, weapon drops, and live positions of all NPCS.  Is having the map ultimately for the better, or does it go too far in revealing information to the player?
• How functional is the suspicion system?  Does it go a long way to add tension and immersion, or is it just inconsistent and clunky to avoid detection?

We answer these questions and many more on the 59th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Hitman 2 SA OST: Jesper Kyd

Link to black screen and widescreen fix for Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. 

Are there more secret ways to go about assassinations that we were not able to figure out?  Is Blood Money the best in the entire early game series?  Is At The Gates really as bad as everyone seems to think?  Come let us know our our community discord server!

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines’ launch was almost doomed to failure.  Sandwiched in between Halo 2, Half Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 and World of Warcraft (amongst others), the weird vampire first person rpg was left out in the cold, selling a mere 80,000 copies during its initial release.  The poor sales and mixed critical reception spelled doom for Troika Games, and Bloodlines ended up being the last game the studio ever made.

But as time went on, more and more people continued to revisit the dark and seedy world of Bloodlines.  It developed a cult following, garnering praise for its atmosphere, quests, characterisation and dialogue.  Many considered it a masterpiece, deeply unappreciated and ignored by happenstance.  It was considered endlessly re-playable, and every time it was mentioned online, someone would open up their library and reinstall it.

So is Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines a world worth visiting and spending time in?  Or are its followers blinded by their love of the game to the point where they ignore its flaws?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How does Bloodlines use its characters as focal points for its storytelling?  Can the characters of its world do enough heavy lifting to bring definition to this twisted take on early 2000s Los Angeles?
• How well implemented are the factions, and conflict between those factions?  Is the player character ever really given an opportunity to go beyond a mere pawn, or is their fate sealed from the beginning?
• How enjoyable is it to actually play the video game and engage with the mechanics of Bloodlines?  Is there a deep and interesting game underlying the storytelling, or is it just a flashy narrative holding everything together?

We answer these questions and many more on the 58th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines OST: Rik Schaffer

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If you play with the GOG version, the light install of the unofficial patch is already included.

If you play on the Steam version, make sure you download and install the unofficial patch after purchase.  You will have the option to install either the light bux fix or the full restoration mod. 

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Which was your favourite character in Bloodlines?  Is the gameplay more sophisticated and varied than we experienced?  Is it worth replaying the game for those insane Malkavian dialogue lines or to sneak around the sewers as a Nosferatu?  Let us know what you think on our community discord server, and we’ll be delighted to argue with you about it!

Pat and James are joined by special guest Drew Koscelek of the WDGR Podcast to discuss and argue whether Streets of Rage 2 has truly stood the test of time.  When it was first released in 1992 for the Sega Genesis, it blew everyone away with its gorgeous graphics, vibrant soundtrack, and its fast and fluid gameplay.  Even today, many consider it to be one of the best in its genre.

Beat ‘em ups were hugely popular in the late 80s and early 90s, a fixture of the arcade scene and dominating the home console market in the early 90s.  But as time went by, they began to fade from view into total obscurity, only appearing here and there as curios like Scott Pilgrim.  The release of Streets of Rage 4 to widespread critical acclaim reminded everyone that the genre still has a lot to offer.

But for all the success of Streets of Rage 4, is Streets of Rage 2 still worth playing today?  Have the 28 years in between the two games made the original titles redundant, a shadow of what the modern titles offer?  Or does Streets of Rage 2 still have what it takes to be fun to play?  Is it a classic that has truly stood the test of time?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How does it feel to control Streets of Rage 2?  Are special moves that require finicky inputs better than the simplicity of one button per action?
• What is it like to learn to play Streets of Rage 2 with little to no experience with the genre?  How hard is the game, and what kind of challenge does it present to the player?
• Is Streets of Rage 2 a satisfying co-op experience?  Or does friendly fire with your punches, kicks and grabs lead to an intensely frustrating experience?

We answer these questions and many more on the 58th Episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Streets of Rage 2 OST: Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima

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Our special guest for the episode was Drew Koscelek of the WDGR Podcast!  Each and every episode they discuss video games as two people who have no time to play video games.  They’re currently running a March Madness video game franchise draft that you can participate in, so please do go check them out!  You can also join their discord server to join the conversation.  

WDGR Website

WDGR Twitter

WDGR Discord Server

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Is Streets of Rage 2 really the best in the series, or is the remake of 1 even better?  Did we misunderstand something about how you’re meant to play the game co-op?  What are brawlers from other franchises worth playing now that we’ve got our feet wet?  Come let us know what you think on our 

community discord server!

Back in 1996, Archimedean Dynasty (AD) took the concept of a space sim and moved it underwater.  It built a complex geopolitical dystopian world, thrust you in the cockpit of a complex machine and tasked you with discovering and solving a mystery that threatened all of humanity.  

Aquanox picks up 5 years after the events of AD, where the fragile peace and cooperation between factions is on the brink of falling to pieces.  Genetic manipulation runs wild, tensions are high, and the Western government is meddling in scientific experiments that have the potential to threaten the whole world.  You once again play as Emerald ‘Deadeye’ Flint, making credits and maybe even saving the world along the way.

Aquanox streamlines a lot of the unintuitive and complex aspects of AD.  The scope of the world is dramatically reduced, exclusively focusing on the Pirate and Western factions.  The UI is simpler to understand, draw distance has been improved, and the spaces you fight in simplified.  Even the presentation has been changed, with talking heads appearing on your radio instead of clicking around locations on the station map.

Does this all add up to a modern and more enjoyable submersible fighter?  Or has something been lost in its attempts at modernising AD?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How does Aquanox do world building in comparison to AD?  Are hard sci-fi info dumps on the technologies of Aqua enough to bring a world to life, or do you need a more personal connection to what inhabits the world?
• How intelligible and well paced is the main storyline of Aquanox?  Do the actions of the characters and factions make sense, and is it clear who is on what side?
• How fun is the more arcade-like gameplay of Aquanox compared to AD?  Is better draw distance really an upside?  Is piloting in first person instead of from a cockpit really that big of a change?

We answer these questions and many more on the 56th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Aquanox OST: Kai Rosencranz

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Link to Aquanox Mouse Fix 

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Have we been blinded by our love of Archimedean Dynasty?  Does Aquanox 2 solve the issues we’ve listed, or is it more of the same?  Is Aquanox: Deep Descent really as bad as everyone says?  Let us know what you think on our text based community discord server!

Released in 2002, Syberia saw critical acclaim on release for its wistful and surrealist atmosphere.  You play as Kate Walker, an American lawyer sent to finalise the purchase of a clockwork toy factory.  But things are never quite that simple, and you end up having to journey across Europe via windup train, following in the footsteps of mechanical genius Hans and interacting with the brilliant devices he has created.  Along the way you meet a strange bunch of people, and do a lot of pointing and clicking to solve puzzles and otherwise overcome obstacles in your way.

But can Syberia still possibly hold up all these years later?  Is the point and click genre dead and buried for a reason, or can Syberia’s charming and atmospheric world prove otherwise?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How does Syberia build its world and make you believe in it?  Can a world so similar to our own with just a minor twist really capture our imaginations?
• What is Syberia trying to say thematically?  Are there inconsistencies across its main thread and the one you follow from the past, or does it coherently resonate across the entire game?
• Is the point and click adventure genre fundamentally flawed, a relic of the past?  Or does it still have something significant and meaningful to offer?  And how good is Syberia as a case study for what the genre represents?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 55th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Guide showing how to get French language with English subtitles

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Syberia OST: Nicholas Varley, Dimitri Bodiansky and Inon Zur