Retronauts

For whatever reason, the late '80s to early '90s absolutely overflowed with games about cavemen and dinosaurs. And while we're still struggling to explain this trend, without "Cave-mania," we wouldn't have Bonk: The TurboGrafx-16's answer to Mario. For roughly five years, NEC's big-headed caveman tried to carve a niche for himself within the crowded mascot platformer market, though the harsh competition of the 16-bit Console Wars made success a near impossibility for this strange little series. On this week's Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and guest Mikel Reparaz as the crew peers into the past of prehistoric gaming. 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!

Following our look at Game Boy's competitors in the late '90s, Jeremy explores the system's would-be successor: Nintendo's disastrous Virtual Boy. Aw, but it wasn't all bad.

Old-timers Shane Bettenhausen and Christian Nutt join Jeremy and Bob to hash out the history and relative failures of the last great Game Boy challengers of the '90s: Neo Geo Pocket and WonderSwan.

Remember Konami? They might not put out many games these days, but back in the '90s they were an absolute powerhouse, with their work dipping into just about every genre known to humankind. In fact, they were so prolific, a parody of one of their famous shoot-em-ups even made for a viable franchise! On this week's edition of Retronauts Micro, learn all about Parodius, the classic Konami shooter series that made us believe penguins could fly. 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!

Super Mario World celebrates its 25th birthday this year, making all of us indescribably old. More importantly, though, this anniversary is the perfect time to discuss the finer points of this legendary Nintendo-developed platformer--one we may take for granted, seeing as most of us got it for free. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, and guest Gary Butterfield as the crew dedicates an entire episode to Mario's first 16-bit adventure. Chocolate secrets will be revealed! 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!

After last week's in-depth blowout on Rare, Jeremy pauses to look briefly at one of the company's most significant yet underappreciated creations: 1987's Wizards & Warriors for NES.

UK ex-pat Jaz Rignall joins Bob and Jeremy to discuss England's crown jewel: Rare. From their early era as Ultimate Play the Game to their N64 glory days, we cover the full history of this enigmatic developer. By request of Kickstarter backer Michael Lee!