This month’s (March) podcast was on Pokémon Black, part one of the DS odd duck in the Pokémon family: it has a direct sequel (which we didn’t play this month, but may get to later)! There are some interesting growing pains to observe in this game — it having 3D elements that might not stand the test of time (in 2025) being on the DS, it having an entirely new for-the-time roster of Pokémon without the old standbys, thirty-somethings are nostalgic for, etc. We definitely have a lot of friction with this one, but I think also allow in the conversation that if this is your first generation of Pokémon and first game you played in the series, of course you might be more attached do these particular pocket monsters and the story around them. Speaking of story, this game definitely has one, and makes a concerted effort to say a bit of something more than previous entries around the relationship between Pokémon and trainers — what each might mean to each other, and/or what Pokémon emancipation might look like as a political or philosophical perspective. However, this game also doesn’t full commit to that bold direction or promise, allowing only the same “catch, train, battle, repeat” verbs that were well established before this entry. We’re a bit mixed, but also intrigued (narratively), but also definitely happy to see some of the quality of life improvements that were made here and get added to the later formula and games (in Pokémon X and Y and later on with the multiple companion motivations/arcs, with gym leaders having more to do than just hangout inside their gyms, puzzle-box gym designs, etc.).

Check out the liner notes for the usual cadre of links and ephemera, and come back at the end of April for discussion of Halo Infinite.

This month (February’s) podcast was on Monster Train, a deck-building rogue-like and also tower defense game (somewhat literally in the way the game represents things with you pyre/health at the top). You have cards with abilities and units, various effects are enacted, you place units in the way of an enemy deck and their units which try to get to the top floor to take out your pyre/engine.

In this one we discuss our experience building decks and secondary champions, trying out the various combinations, how this game stacks up to others we’ve played in the genre, difficulty and tuning of it with rogue-likes in mind, like Hades and Darkest Dungeon as well as Balatro, which was on our minds as a recent game of note (play that too!).

Check out the liner notes here, as well, for the usual extra bits and bobs to add to the experience of listening and hopefully checking out Monster Train for yourself.

Also if you’re already a fan, the second game comes out soon (!):

Next month is Pokemon Black, with a return to the series after our play-through of Pokemon Crystal back in 2022.

This month (January’s) game was Path of Exile 2. Our conversation settled in on the genre conventions this game embraces, extends, and avoids (in relation to something like Diablo II or even Dark Souls type experiences), as well as how it works in a visceral way to convey what’s happening when the player provides input (how enemies react to your abilities, staggering, etc.). We talk about early access in relation to this game and others, what it takes to know a game like this well, the rabbit hole being truly deep if you want it to be, its live service aspects and what it might look like in the future without a clearly broadcast roadmap for developments and changes beyond what they’ve said they originally wanted to do.

In the liner notes we have some usual suspects in developer commentary/talks, build guides, soundtrack links, and more.

Check us out in February for a discussion of Monster Train.

In our last cast of 2024 we discussed Stardew Valley. Our conversation included all the ways to play (multiplayer, defined or undefined roles, etc.), our histories with the game personally, comparison to Harvest Moon, systems complexity and gener consideration, roleplaying by your own moral compass, as well as who Stardew Valley is for in 2024 (and then into 2025).

In the liner notes, we highlight the interesting variations on play that many streamers and let’s players have done with Stardew. There are people playing for the social interactions (interacting with the town’s inhabitants), min/maxing their farm, roleplaying one of the ideological positions the game presents (JOJO mart versus the independent or traditional farmer), speedrunning (of course), and more.

2025 begins with Path of Exile 2 in early access. We couldn’t wait to play, and considering Toben’s investment in the genre (as a researcher), this should be a good one to kick off the new year.

This month, November, we’re discussing Sonic Mania, the lost link in 2D Sonic games released in 2017 (now for all modern platforms). This game is a kind of modern version of a theoretical Saturn Sonic game that we all would have appreciated, but did not receive from Sega circa 1995. As is our custom we discuss our personal history with the series, the specific parts we like about being the blue blur (and assorted friends), as well as that killer soundtrack. Momentum (mechanically and in terms of pace of the game/difficulty) are discussed, as well as Mania’s integration (such as we understand it) with the wider series and world of Sonic.

Check here for the liner notes, and watch out soon for our discussion of Stardew Valley, our last game discussion of 2024.

This month (October), we took a different approach and sampled a few upcoming games as part of Steam’s next fest. It ran from October 14th - 21st, and our conversation follows what we tried (games we both played and less often not), as well as how they made an impression on us, the mix of genres or influences we see in each one, what worked for us and didn’t, etc. Check out the liner notes for a link to each game.

Stay tuned in November for Sonic Origins and Sonic Mania, which is part of our ongoing platformer journey. Origins is a collection of a lot of the older 16-bit and 8-bit (handheld and home console) side scrolling blue blur releases reinterpreted with additional character additions (play as Knuckles and Amy and others in Sonic 1), and Sonic Mania is a kind of missing 32-bit link in the 2D Sonic chain (released far past the Saturn was no longer officially supported).

Last month (August in this case), was Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Discussion centered around Marvel as a property in games, the way the characters are representative of their comic counterparts or not (how Blade’s abilities or character translates into the Suns systems and others, for example), as well as the mix of heroes and pace of the game (upgrading decks was a bit slow in our opinion). Also we talked about the Persona social sim of it all (more than you might think) and the deck-building as a way to dole out character upgrades and abilities/moves and expand what each character can do.

Check out the liner notes here, and look out for the Super Mario Allstars podcast incoming soon. Apologies for the delay in posting, it shouldn’t be too long a wait for the next one.

*as a note, the last fifteen minutes of Toben’s side of our conversation are cut off. We unfortunately don’t have that to add back in, but I do keep talking if you want to imagine what he might have said ( at 37 minutes or so). We talked about sales and the game’s reception and what might happen in the future of this franchise (if there is one, etc.). Apologies also for the fidgeting noise. I didn’t realize I was doing it as we recorded and it’s especially noticeable in the audio without Toben (of course).

This month (July) we took a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch as a last look at one of our favorite series that we ultimately liked a lot better on the SNES.

The conversation is mostly a continuation of a previous episode, and a bit of a rehash, considering our opinion of the “modern” Donkey Kong Country games hasn’t changed all that much in light of the latest entry (check out the DKC Returns cast here to catch up on that if you like). But we did give it a shot!

Things to enjoy here were strong production values in art design and sound and the kind of rube goldberg aspect of the stages which move and transform around you — which could be quite cinematic and interesting as it happens. Interestingly, the rube goldberg aspect is also non-interactive, which could make it less appealing over time, and the game’s mechanics, how it feels to move around the levels and use the characters were where we had the most issues. A button for acceleration (or “run”) locked to a roll was an interesting choice, which had us stumbling in places that seemed unfair, as well as occasionally rolling off to die when the “bang on the drums” move was intended instead. The level design seemed to halt any sense of momentum in certain (strange) places as well, which we didn’t really understand.

We’d like to hear from those of you that strongly disagree with our view of the modern DKC games, in particular if you have also grown up with the Rare games on SNES. We seem to be stuck in the past on this one (and is that nostalgia talking or legitimate)? Feel free to drop in your consideration of Retro Studios’ offers as well as your memories of playing Donkey Kong Country in the comments.

Also check out the liner notes here for our usual lineup of music, speedrunning, and other interesting links or commentary happening around each game we play.

And next month (August) is Marvel’s Midnight Suns. We expect to have a lot to say about Firaxis’ take on a Superheroic cardbattler/social sim.

This month we went to hell — and back — to talk about Diablo II Resurrected. We discuss the history of the ARPG/looter genre, make comparisons to modern games that couldn’t have done it without Blizzard’s contributions to the genre, all while diving into systems and what makes Diablo II so incredible more than 15 years after its release.

Check out the liner notes for the usual suspects of speedrunning, build guides (in this case), where to go or start if you want to get into the genre, and the tunes.

This month (in May) we took a look at Resident Evil 2 Remake. The first in the line of modern remakes of the older games (including 3, and later on 4), this game transposes the original overhead/isometric perspective of the 1998 original game for the over-the-shoulder more modern perspective and control scheme that was originally adopted in RE4.

We talk about the origins of the series and where RE2: Remake fits, as well as the puzzle-box component and its limitations and strengths as a piece of fiction, or a kind of escape-room conceit that RE2: Remake allows and how it hints at the wilder (and weirder) world in which this police station and events of the game are possible. We also talk about scarcity and how an older-style game like RE2: Remake, even with respect for modern sensibilities in some ways, is still limited by the design of its time.

Check out the liner notes here, for the standard assortment of extras and further reading/watching/listening.

This month coming up (June) is Diablo II: Resurrection so watch out for that one. (Hopefully processed and posted sooner than RE2: Remake. Sorry about that!)