RPGFan's Retro Encounter

You would expect that first-party game releases for a system would dry up three years after its successor is released. But that certainly wasn’t the case with Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II! 

Released in 1994 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, StarTropics II was a bit of an anomaly. Developed by the legendary Nintendo division R&D3, this time-traveling sequel to StarTropics was, much like its predecessor, only found on the NES in North America. It was also an 8-bit game in a predominantly 16-bit era. So, our question today: Was StarTropics II a lost gem that was ignored because it was on an obsolete system? Or was it rightfully forgotten by gamers at the time? Let’s jump back in time and find out!

Featuring: Jono Logan, Nick Mangiaracina, Michael Salbato; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Retro Encounter 365 – StarTropics
Rhythm Encounter 90 – Tropical Tunes

There are some first-party Nintendo games that became legendary franchises. This… is not one of those games.

Released in 1990 for the NES, StarTropics was specifically designed by Nintendo R&D3 with Western audiences in mind. In fact, it was never even released in Japan until 2008 on the Wii Virtual Console! This stylish and innovative game, featuring a genre mash-up with Dragon Quest-style villages and Zelda-like dungeons, gained a cult following of devoted fans, three of whom are on this podcast! Does StarTropics live up to their childhood memories? It’s time to stick some bananas in our ears, hop into our yellow submarine (piloted by R.O.B. the Robot), and find out!

Featuring: Jono Logan, Nick Mangiaracina, Mike Salbato; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Rhythm Encounter 90 – Tropical Tunes

There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man / And bring him to the ground.

Today we correct a podcast injustice, and publish Part 2 of Retro Encounter's Ogre Battle 64 podcast duology. One podcast host with a lot of questions and two OB64 veterans with all the answers discuss the twisting story paths, confounding Chaos Frames, and multiple endings of Ogre Battle 64, along with some light speculation about the future of the Ogre saga. 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Pete Leavitt, Joshua Lindquist; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

This episode was recorded in February 2023 and published in November 2023, with the delay for reasons both technical and personal.

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Ogre Battle 64 on RPGFan

Did this Ogre need a decoder?

Ogre Battle 64 occupies a curious part of RPG history, as a Quest game made after Yasumi Matsuno's departure from Quest, as a hybrid real-time strategy game and traditional JRPG, and as an RPG for the N64, a system conspicuously lacking them. Today's episode of Retro Encounter is an Ogre Battle 64 skeptic and two longtime Ogre Battle 64 fans trying to reconcile OB64's peculiarities with modern sensibilities. What are their feelings? Listen and find out!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Pete Leavitt, Joshua Lindquist; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Pete Leavitt's Ogre Battle 64 Feature

"Do you think games are silly little things?"

Most RPGs aren't designed to be played multiple times. You take in the story, see a few numbers increase incrementally, fight a boss, and roll some credits. But that doesn't stop a huge number of RPG fans from replaying their favorites multiple times, and Retro Encounter's panel is no exception. Today, a team of panelists details eight of their favorite games that they've replayed multiple times - sometimes the games cooperate by providing new choices and a variety of gameplay options; other times there's much less of that, but seeing these characters again is like visiting old friends. 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Brian Mackenzie, Tin Manuel; Edited by Jonathan Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Hey, at least there’s no gacha in today’s episode.

While we might not love gacha mechanics in RPGs, we sure do love the characters in the Xeno series, and for today’s episodes we gathered four of our biggest Xeno fans on staff to draft our very own fantasy teams. Which protagonists do we love the most? Where does Citan go? Does Wes steal all of Zach’s picks again? Listen in to find out!

Featuring: Zach Wilkerson, Wes Iliff, Izzy Parsons, Tyler Trosper; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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So You Want to Get into the Xeno Series... on RPGFan

Wild PODCAST appeared!

The 12 months from November 19th, 2021 to November 18th, 2022 were monumental for the most popular RPG franchise in the world. The Pokémon Company had three major releases in that timespan, with a set of remakes, a groundbreaking prequel, and a new pair of flagship games. In today's Retro Encounter, four panelists discuss Pokémon's remarkable year: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Tom Cox, Niki Fakhoori, Anthony Krolikowski; Edited by Anthony Krolikowski

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on RPGFan
Pokemon Legends: Arceus on RPGFan
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on RPGFan

"If fashion were easy, wouldn't everybody look great?"

Today, Retro Encounter channels their inner Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn and discusses a few of the best and worst clothing choices made by RPG characters. What Persona character wore it best? Who has the best Mass Effect space suit? What oldschool accessories need to make a comeback? And what's Link's worst outfit ever worn? All of these questions asked and answered in the most fashion-forward ever episode of Retro Encounter! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Mario Garcia, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

See our episode post on RPGFan for a visual guide to the characters discussed in this episode.

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Should auld RPGs be forgot, and never brought to mind? No, that's why this show exists, and auld lang syne.

It's that time of year again, where Retro Encounter lives in the very recent past and goes over several of the present panel's favorite games of the calendar year. From remasters of 1994 Square classics to 1995 strategy game homages to modern action RPG masterpieces, this episode highlights some of the best and brightest RPGs of the year. And wait for the end of the episode for a sneak peak at several Retro Encounter episodes coming in 2023! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Tom Cox, Jonathan Logan, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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It's a Xenomas Miracle!

Xenosaga is a game about humanity, starring a cast that rangers from an android unable to distinguish empathy from protocol to an artificial human clinging to memories of her human parents to a cyborg trying to reject his own humanity. But regardless of the biology or technology behind anyone in Xenosaga's cast, the story told is deeply human, right until that one traumatizing torture scene. Please enjoy today's episode on the PS2 cult classic!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Peter Triezenberg, Tyler Trosper, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht on RPGFan