16 bit JRPGs are a bit of a nostalgia spot for me. I would actually classify it as more of misplaced nostalgia in that I didn't play a lot of them growing up but playing them now makes me feel nostalgic anyway. This week on the show I was lucky enough to get a review copy of a recently released indie game that takes inspiration from the 16 bit JRPG style.

I'm joined by Sam AKA Storm Beagle to talk about Beloved Rapture, an RPG made in the style of a 16 bit JRPG. He discuss what this game does to stand out compared to other games of it's kind, how effective it's story is, it's battle mechanics and we also debate if the phrase "You silver haired fuck" is a good line or not. As a small spoiler, this game kinda rules and you should go play it, but if you'd like to hear more about it, give this episode a listen!

Check out the Retrotopia Podcast! https://linktr.ee/retrotopia

Follow Storm Beagle on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/st0rm_beagle/

Check out Beloved Rapture on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2017620/Beloved_Rapture/

Shout-out Song: A Day of Languor Composer: Andreas Kotsamanidis Album: Beloved Rapture OST https://youtu.be/2ysmFcqE8h4?si=-HYpWK8g1wjPZe9S

End Song: Sword in Hand Composer: Andreas Kotsamanidis Album: Beloved Rapture OST https://youtu.be/aO5Y4pzPanw?si=VTzImUj95sFUZFMh

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Zelda two months in a row!? Dexter and I are joined by actor and filmmaker Chris Carpenter to talk about episode 6 of the Legend of Zelda cartoon, That Sinking Feeling. We learn about how the Mario Bros have a pet clog.... named clog. We also learn that magnets work very differently than we expect and that Zelda is DTF when a cupid statue is present.

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Shout-out Song: Dark World Artist: Mikel Album: Zelda & Chill https://gamechops.com/zelda-and-chill/

End Song: The Legend of Zelda Artist: Helynt Album: Legend of Synthwave https://gamechops.com/synthwave/

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Strategy guides were a huge part of many a gamers' childhood. I read my strategy guide for Final Fantasy VIII so much that the spine started falling apart. These books felt like we were getting a peak behind the scenes of how the game's inner workings actually functioned. To help us peak further behind that curtain, I am joined this week by David Cassady.

David worked at Brady Games and Prima Games during their heyday and wrote some of our favorite strategy guides. Guides such as Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts 2, Metroid Prime and many more! We talked about how he got into writing guides, what the process of writing them was, unexpected challenges and much more!

Follow David on Threads! https://www.threads.net/@dacassady

Shout-out Song: Balamb Garden Artist: Rifti Beats Album: Chocobo & Chill https://gamechops.com/chocobo/

End Song: Gold Saucer Artist: Rifti Beats Album: Chocobo & Chill II https://gamechops.com/chocobo-and-chill-2/

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The Last Guardian has been on my backlog list for quite a while and never got around to it until now. I'm joined by friend of the show Dave Jackson from Tales From the Backlog to discuss the third game in this makeshift trilogy from Fumita Ueda. Ueda has a very different approach to game design compared to the rest of the industry and Dave and I had a great time being able to break this one down. We discuss how this game doesn't respect your time and why that's a good thing in this instance, why Trico is such an amazing character, the world building and lots more!

Follow Dave on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social

Shout-out Song: Forest Composer: Takeshi Furukawa Performed by: Billy Qvarnström Album: N/A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ8SHHMCpno

End Song: Epilogue Composer: Takeshi Furukawa Performed by: Auri Forda Album: N/A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tcUIhYCgiA

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Some games burn brightly and flame out. Others have a long tail where people are consistently discovering it years after it launched. Everquest is one of those odd cases where both of those outcomes are true.

Joining me today is author and tech journalist Matt Smith to talk about his recently released book from Boss Fight Books all about Everquest. We talk about why he chose to write about Everquest, what about the game captivated him back in the day and presently, Everquest's place in game history and how it could have possibly been saved from the juggernaut that was World of Warcraft.

Follow Matt on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/mattontech.bsky.social

Check out Matt's website! https://mattontech.me/

Buy Matt's book on Everquest! https://bossfightbooks.com/products/everquest-by-matthew-s-smith

Shout-out Song: Everquest Opening Theme Artist: Jay Barbeau Album: Everquest Soundtrack https://youtu.be/AKj36GJj_i8?si=CLx3VEeWKXgw7XbC

End Song: Kelethin (2.0) Artist: Jay Barbeau Album: Everquest Soundtrack https://youtu.be/KKtPUcmu9kI?si=WbUKzzySOVFubWit

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You know... I am not a fan of this Zelda cartoon. And just when I think Link can't get more problematic he finds a way. We are of course talking about episode 5 of the Legend of Zelda Cartoon, "Sing for the Unicorn". I am, as always, joined by my co-host with the mo-host Dexter Morrill to break it down. We talk about Link being more creepy than before, how Gannon likes to name various things, the opposite of the evil jar and much more!

Follow Dexter on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/dextermorrill.bsky.social

Shout-out Song: The Legend of Lofi Artist: Dj Cutman & James Landino Album: N/A https://gamechops.com/legend-of-lofi/

End Song: Song of Storms Artist: Tudd & General Offensive Album: N/A https://gamechops.com/storms/

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Kicking off 2025 I am joined by my good friend Gabe Swarr to talk about a series of indie games he has made called the Bub-O games! The newest game in the series, Bub-O Burst, just came out so I wanted to have Gabe on to talk about his charming puzzle/action series! We are also joined by the composer for Bub-O Burst, a chiptune music legend, Seth Sternberger of 8 Bit Weapon!

We talk about the all of the games in the Bub-O series, what it was like to shift gears to a slightly different genre for this new entry, it's music (which Seth goes into detail about it is quite possibly the first ever roguelike soundtrack for a game?) and much more!

Check out Bub-O Burst!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968880/BubO_Burst/

Follow Gabe on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/gabeswarr.bsky.social

Follow Seth on Twitter! https://x.com/8bitweapon

Check out Gabe's website! https://www.gabeswarr.com/

Check out 8 Bit Weapon's website! https://8bitweapon.com/

Shout-out Song: Bub-Burst Artist: Seth Sternberger Album: N/A https://www.gabeswarr.com/game

End Song: Chip on Your Shoulder Artist: 8 Bit Weapon Album: Chiptopia - Best of 8 Bit Weapon and ComputeHer https://8bitweapon.bandcamp.com/album/chiptopia-the-best-of-8-bit-weapon-computeher

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It is the end of another year and, as is tradition over here on the Still Loading Podcast, I am joined by my good pal TJ from Tapes of Trepidation and The Hodder Show. We talk about our top 10 most popular episodes of the year, what our goals are for next year and more! It's always a blast looking back on the year and seeing what all has happened. A HUGE thank you to all you wonderful listeners who have stuck along for the ride and made it a great year. I cannot thank you all enough.

Follow Tapes of Trepidation on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/tapesoftrepidationpodcast/

Shout-out Song: Fisherman's horizon Artist: Rifti Beats Album: Chocobo & Chill II https://gamechops.com/chocobo-and-chill-2/

End Song: Staff Roll Artist: Helynt Album: Mario & Chillhttps://gamechops.com/mario-and-chill/

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The Mario Super Show is back with episode 5 and let me tell you this one is anything but tame. Dexter Morrill joins me to dive into the episode  as usual and boy howdy does it go places. This episode features the fastest mouth in the south, Mark Twang, a goomba carrying a plate-o-chicken and much more!

Follow Dexter on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/dextermorrill.bsky.social

Shout-out Song: Good Egg Galaxy Artist: Helynt Album: Super Lofi World https://gamechops.com/super-lofi-world/

End Song: Manta Ray's Reward (Super Mario 64 (Dire, Dire Docks)) Artist: Joshua Morse Album: Arcade Attack! https://gamechops.com/arcade-attack/

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The Commodore 64 is one of those systems that feels simultaneously ubiquitous and also unknown. It was the best selling home computer in the 80's and is loved the world over by a large group of passionate fans. But outside of that group it feels largely forgotten in the annals of gaming history. This episode is a small step in correcting that.

I'm joined by game design professor and author Jesper Juul to talk about his recently released book "Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64", which is a book that aims to shed more light on one of the most important computer systems in not only gaming history but also computer history. Jesper and I have a wonderful conversation about why this book is needed, what kinds of things can readers expect to find in the book and some of my personal favorite sections. Maybe we just had a little too much fun with this conversation as well.

Follow Jesper on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/jesperjuul.bsky.social

Check out Jesper's website! https://www.jesperjuul.net/

Buy Jesper's book! https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262549516/too-much-fun/

Shout-out Song: Oro Incenso Artist: Geir Tjelta (Original composed by Jogeir Liljedahl) Album: Echofield 6581 https://csdb.dk/release/?id=91173

End Song: Power House Artist: Jeroen Tel & DRAX Album: Echofield 6581 https://csdb.dk/release/?id=91173

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