Retronauts

Wired's Chris Kohler and IGN's Jose Otero join us to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. There's also some Super Mario Maker discussion. Have a listen and get learned!

Jeremy looks back on Namco's clasic arcade action game Rolling Thunder, the quintessential old-school take on "spy action" before Metal Gear redefined the genre to mean "stealth."

As an era ends with the release of Metal Gear Solid V, Shane Bettenhausen and Jose Otero join us to wax rhapsodic about the unique history on gaming's longest-running saga. No haters or Hayters allowed!As an era ends with the release of Metal Gear Solid V, Shane Bettenhausen and Jose Otero join us to wax rhapsodic about the unique history on gaming's longest-running saga. No haters or Hayters allowed!

Soyo Oka might not be the most well-known Nintendo composer, but in her time with the company, she crafted some amazing soundtracks that helped define the distinct qualities of the SNES' sound chip. And while the music of Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart is nothing to sneeze it, her greatest work for Nintendo can be found in SimCity, the 1991 Super Nintendo port of Maxis' PC classic. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join your host Bob Mackey for a guided tour of this amazing soundtrack, along with a few other surprises. 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!

Sing it with us, now: Link! He come to town! Come to save, the Princess Zelda! We're all familiar with the mythic exploits of Nintendo's elfin hero, but this latest episode of Retronauts dives deep into one of his greatest adventures of all time. Sure, A Link to the Past is a beloved classic, but on this episode of Retronauts, we partake on a journey to truly discover WHY. Join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, and special guests Henry Gilbert and Brett Elston for a thorough exploration of what makes this particular Legend of Zelda so undeniably great. And if you're out there, Chris Houlihan, your mark on Hyrule won't soon be forgotten. 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!

Last year we looked at the Castlevania NES trilogy; now we explore its weird but wonderful follow-up, Super Castlevania IV for Super NES.

25 years ago, the landscape of adventure games changed forever with The Secret of Monkey Island. This LucasArts classic essentially changed the rules for a once-formidable genre; instead of punishing experimentation, Monkey Island presents a death-free world where players can't paint themselves into game-ending corners—definitely not the norm for adventure games of its era. On this special episode of Retronauts, listen in as Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert talks about his history with adventure games, and his current role on the upcoming Thimbleweed Park. And if you don't care about that, maybe we could interest you in these fine leather jackets? 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!

From Software might have set the world on fire in recent years with the game-changing Souls RPG series, but they've had a long history of innovation—even if their technology wasn't always up to snuff. And one of their more interesting creations of the PlayStation era came in the form of Echo Night, a first-person adventure game that bears a striking resemblance to the recent wave of "walking simulators" taking the indie world by storm. On this episode of Retronauts Micro, join Bob as he breaks down what makes this game so special—and why you should give it a try the next time you're browsing PSN. 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!

Jeremy takes a look at one of gaming's great studios, whose work seems to have been largely forgotten in this day and age. Will Treasure rise again, or will their two-decade collection of brilliance stand as their legacy?

Retronauts vet and Sony enthusiast/employee Shane Bettenhausen joins us to discuss the 20th anniversary of the PS1 launch in America. (This episode is running before its intended September time slot due to the tragic news that breaks midway through.)