Retronauts

The original Power Trio — Bob, Ray, and Jeremy — follow up their recent look at Wonder Boy to take on the next needlessly convoluted franchise: Taito's Bubble Bobble (et al.). Confusion guaranteed for all! Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, now updated daily! This show is an entirely independent and a self-sustaining concern for 2017. Please help support our livelihoods through Patreon!

After yet another year of podcasting, it's time to tie a bow on 2016 with an annual trip to the Retronauts Holiday cabin in Parts Unknown. And this time around, we set our sights on Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, a TV special that gently lulled a generation of chomp-obsessed children to sleep when it premiered way back in 1982. On this very special episode, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Antista as the crew examines this televised lump of Christmas coal in much greater detail than any of its creators ever did. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog: a designed-by-committee character born out of pure cynicism that nonetheless won over a generation and continues to be extremely popular today. Despite the brand's notoriety throughout the 21st century, Sonic earned his place in gaming history with the three-and-a-half Genesis releases that made him a household name. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Tim Turi as the crew explores Sonic's origins and the brief period where he shone the brightest. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

Enjoy this delightful yarn about the legal wrangling over the matter of Donkey Kong's true parents. Is Shigeru Miyamoto really his dad? And who has custody over this simian tyke, anyway? Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

Let's get technical! With this, the first of a series of Micro episodes focused on specific technologies and how they shape the games we love. We begin here with a podcast-appropriate aural treat: The iconic sound of FM synthesis. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

TOSE! Towa Chiki! VAP! Meldac! SunSoft! Atelier Double! These are but a few of the studios we (that is, Jeremy, Dr. Sparkle, and Frank Cifaldi) explore in this look at weird, often terrible games made by vanished Japanese developers in the '80s. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

Chris Kohler joins Jeremy and Bob to revisit a topic from the earliest days of Retronauts: Virtual Console. Boy, what a difference 10 years makes! Remember when we were optimistic about that? Also includes some NES Classic Edition spitballing or whatever. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

As part of our post-10th birthday victory lap, friends Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross of Watch Out for Fireballs! (and several other shows) join Bob for a laid-back discussion about the podcasting game, the true meaning of "retro," and why you should get your butt to Portland next October. Thanks for listening, and we swear we'll actually be talking about video games next week! (And, presumably, for several hundred weeks to come.) Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

It's hard to believe, but the podcast devoted to discussing old games is now old itself! On this special live episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Chris Kohler, and special guest Scott Sharkey as the crew discusses a decade spent stuck in the past. (Special thanks to twitter user @RPeavyhouse for the cover photo!) Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!

If you lived through the NES era, the words "Fester's Quest" likely make you break into a cold sweat. (Sorry about that.) A few years before Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd danced the Mamushka, kids of the '80s mostly knew The Addams Family via Sunsoft's 8-bit hit and its absolutely unforgiving difficulty. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob Mackey, Chris Antista, and Henry Gilbert as the crew works through their shared trauma, and uncovers the fascinating history of this odd little game. Be sure to visit our blog at Retronauts.com, and check out our partner site, USgamer, for more great stuff. And if you'd like to send a few bucks our way, head on over to our Patreon page!