Certainly one of the most fascinating games ever released, Shenmue provided players with both an amazing open world and puzzling design choices. Rob, Kip, and Patrick dig into this interesting game, digging into what it does well and where it might confuse modern players.

Rob is a professor of practice at Purdue University, which means he sometimes gets to talk about his craft at area conferences. With permission from the M+Dev organizers (thank you!), we present Rob's talk: Finding Theory in Fun: Teaching Level Design as a Discipline. Enjoy!

Legendary Japanese developer Nihon Falcom is mainly known for the Ys series. In 2015, however, they released a game that features a modern urban setting, much like the Persona games, called Tokyo Xanadu. Rob and Patrick explore this peculiar JRPG!

In December Rob, Chris and Kip gave their initial, spoiler-free thoughts on Death Stranding. Now, with Rob and Chris having completed the game, it's time to dive deep into spoilers!

A number of cool Death Stranding covers were used for the breaks. Direct links to the youtube videos of these artists here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXzJjhTiwq0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9j4j0P6g48

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHx82jeLpBc

NOTE: Yes, there is a Grid Snaps mascot, Zelda the cat, that you can occasionally hear in the background :)

Patrick is a game encyclopedia. He's played almost everything (well, I suppose not Shaq Fu, to our great disappointment!). So Rob and guest Jason Gahler grill Patrick on his Super Nintendo knowledge and opinions... you won't believe what he has to say about classics such as:

Chrono Trigger

Actraiser

Space Megaforce

Contra III

Super Castlevania IV

And more! We had a lot of fun recording this, hence the extra length! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! With the Grid Snaps team out and about on holiday adventures (which hopefully includes lots of gaming), we bring you this classic episode from our archives.

In Patrick's 2nd Grid Snaps appearance, he discusses the niche Japanese RPG series Hyperdimension Neptunia. With colorful characters, awesome RPG battles, and a fun console wars plot, join Rob and Patrick as we explore this unique game series. One of the most popular episodes from our early days!

Taito is a legendary company that made enormous contributions to the development of both arcade and home console video games. Rob, Adam Pratt of arcadeheroes.com and Patrick discuss several games from Taito's early days, including:

-Western Gun (Gun Fight)

-Space Invaders (of course!)

-Rastan

Fans of this podcast know how long we've been waiting for Death Stranding: we've podcasted about every major blast of news! Now, it's finally here!

For this SPOILER FREE episode, we've invited Metal Gear V: The Phantom Pain super-player Chris Millar to the show. Rob and Chris both think Death Stranding is their game of the year... so why do they have so many criticisms of it? Kip, meanwhile, talks about how Hideo Kojima's games present seemingly impossible challenges... that prove quite doable, if you take the time to learn the game systems.

This episode features new intro/outtro music, as well as a ton of great stuff from the Death Stranding soundtrack. And if you listen through to the very end, there is even a little bonus based on the lovely voice of Kip ;)

Check out one of Chris' previous podcast appearances here.

Every now and again we like to visit with frequent guest Adam Pratt to check out the world of arcade gaming! We check on the performance of Raw Thrill's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game as well as update our listeners on the progress of the ExaArcadia board, coming soon to Adam's arcade and hopefully many others!

It's always fascinating to hear Adam run his business live, at the same time he talks to us! All that background chatter is real, on-the-floor gaming at Adam's Game Grid Arcade in the Salt Lake City area.

And we here at the Grid Snaps Podcast wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully this podcast can be good company for you as you make your safe holiday travels.

Did you know it's been two years since the Grid Snaps Podcast began? Yep, it sure has, so to celebrate, we've gotten both regular hosts AND guest Konrad Honey to talk about their year in gaming.

Tons of games discussed! Resident Evil 2, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Illbleed on the Dreamcast, Mordhau, Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2, Fire Emblem Warriors, and more!

Special note: the music at the 29:55 mark is Konrad Honey from his instagram account! His guitar teacher? Rob Howard! Wholesome feels only.