The Stage Select

It’s week 2 of The Stage Select’s Game of the Year deliberations! This week, James and JJ from RetroFits return to talk about some of the dumbest categories we have this year, as well as a massive talk about the best new characters of the year!

00:00 Introduction, what happened to RetroFits

27:20 Best New Character

02:39:47 The Character That Impresses Shania Twain Much Award

03:45:01 The Owen Wilson Award

Be sure to check out RetroFits at their new channel! https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroFitsShow

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to the first week of The Stage Select’s Game of the Year extravaganza! This week, we’re joined by friend and frequent guest Mike Fallek to go through a few categories, including one you’re not likely to see in the other video game podcasts you listen to. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction (if you can call it that)

14:47 Best Game Not Released in 2024

01:29:26 We Played it For the Story (aka Best Porn Game)

03:04:58 Best Looking Game

Check out Mike’s new comedy project, Tents: https://linktr.ee/BigWeasel

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

It’s the final episode of The Stage Select’s first season! It’s been a wild ride so far, so we wanted to close things out by taking a look back at the year in gaming, the status of the show, and what you can expect while we take a much-needed break, as well as next season. Enjoy, and thank you for being here!

00:00 Introduction, tires

06:51 Looking back at a catastrophic year for the video game industry

42:00 The failure of Concord, and the blame left at its feet.

55:58 Despite all the woes in the industry, it continues to be an incredible time for gaming, looking towards next gen

01:48:42 Looking forward to gaming in 2025

02:13:17 Looking at the state of The Stage Select: year one

02:37:46 What to expect between seasons, wrapping up

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Our penultimate episode of our first season has our final guest for the year, and it’s a big one! We’ve got Jeff Eckman from No One Can Know About This, Julian’s favorite podcast (and a must-listen for RPG fans). Join us as we catch up with Jeff, talk about The Game Awards, and much more!

00:00 Introduction, catching up with Jeff Eckman

18:05 The state of the TV industry, Telltale Games

39:02 Five questions

46:55 Recapping The Game Awards

01:29:19 Taking Jeff Eckman to space

01:57:38 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel Rivals

02:05:22 Fields of Mystria, Closer the Distance

Check out Mike Fallek’s new project, Tents: https://linktr.ee/BigWeasel

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Hey there! Justin and Julian watch The Game Awards together every year, and we decided to record ourselves. What we have here is our isolated, clean audio tracks. Executive Producer tier Patrons have access to the video version, and other Patrons got the version with the audio from The Game Awards included, but this is just us talking, with me calling out where you can sync up to the presentation on YouTube if you like.

We talk so much that it's probably fine, though, I'm not gonna lie.

As we get dangerously close to the end of the first season of The Stage Select (and our Game of the Year episodes), it’s time to have some final thoughts on a couple games, such as Life is Strange: Double Exposure and 1000xRESIST.

00:00 Introduction, beverages, announcements

09:17 Final thoughts on Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS5)

23:49 Hitman: World of Assassination, getting into Hitman speedrunning

47:37 Neva

01:02:16 Julian started Dragon Age: The Veilguard

01:41:05 Marvel Rivals

02:10:42 Hololive news is bumming Julian out

02:32:14 Final thoughts on 1000xRESIST (NOTE: Spoilers throughout!)

Listen to Julian talk about God Hand on Games My Mom Found

episode 308: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-e94nu-17580c7

Check out the Hitman speedrun channel Justin mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/@Aspecticor

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

After back to back monster-sized episodes it was high time for a smaller show. This is just us having some closing thoughts on a couple games, sharing what we bought on sale, and making some predictions for The Game Awards. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction, announcements

07:12 Final thoughts on Metaphor: ReFantazio, Star Wars Outlaws

43:24 Sale pickups, Pockedate

01:11:35 Life is Strange: Double Exposure, 1000xRESIST

01:38:24 Predictions for The Game Awards (because we ran out of stuff)

02:22:58 Comments, Questions, Concerns

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Mike Fallek returns to talk about the Mass Effect series in depth. BECAUSE YOU (some of you) DEMANDED IT. We also talk about a few other things before that. But 75% of this episode is Mass Effect, spoilers and all. You have been warned.

00:00 Introduction, what IS a Shasta McNasty, anyway?

08:22 Announcements

20:12 Undisputed, NBA 2K25

34:10 Berserk

43:30 Final thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard

01:14:14 Mike Fallek has questions for us about Mass Effect. Buckle up.

RetroFits is BACK! For Real! Go give them a sub! https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroFitsShow

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to either a super lengthy episode of The Stage Select, or a super short one, depending on how much you care about us talking about Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth! Julian finally finished it, and he has THOUGHTS. But we save the spoilers for the end, so if you don’t want those you can bounce early. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction, movies shown at school, meet The Stage Select’s new Head of Security

17:17 Final thoughts on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

44:23 A small Dragon Age update, falling back into Magic: The Gathering Arena

01:02:24 Storage Hunter Simulator, even MORE Magic

01:19:51 Thank Goodness You’re Here, planning what games to play before Game of the Year

01:42:15 Metaphor: ReFantazio

02:02:37 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

02:18:32 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth mini spoilercast

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome back to The Stage Select! This week we’re joined by Addie. She and Julian have been internet friends for a long time, and she’s a former podcaster and current OnlyFans creator. Enjoy getting to know her as we talk about her love of video games, get way too in the weeds with Magic: the Gathering, and much, much more!

00:00 A surprise pick-me-up from Abramo

04:03 Introduction, 5 Questions

17:42 Getting to know Addie

38:12 “Let’s talk about coin flipping for 30 minutes”, being deep into World of Warcraft in the 40-man days

52:31 Becoming an OnlyFans creator, embracing sexuality and aging

01:18:00 TCG Card Shop Simulator

01:35:45 Balatro, Pokemon TCG, getting back into Magic

02:00:52 Vampire Survivors and its DLC, UFO 50, Shadows of Doubt, This Bed We Made

02:32:38 Persona 4 Golden, Crime Scene Cleaner

02:44:25 Becoming a professional PlayStation 5 player, Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered

03:07:37 Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Ask Sherwin Williams

Follow Addie! Twitter: https://twitter.com/Addiemantium 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/addiemantium.bsky.social

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show,

and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Theme song lyrics:

What could this possibly be?

Seems a lot like a podcast…

Wonder what specifically?

Talkin’ bout video games,

With your hosts, you’re in good hands.

Not more of the same!

Now we’ll jump right in,

So expect the unexpected and more.  

Now we’ll get groovin,’

Never know who’s gonna walk through the door!

There just might be some treasure in this chest,

Having fun with our special guests,

Time for Stage Select!

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions