The Stage Select

It’s a somber week here at The Stage Select, with some sad news and announcements to kick things off. But hopefully we still manage to entertain you with our usual brand of silly, and a decent handful of games to discuss. Next week should be jam-packed with Julian having a staycation to just binge a ton of games!

00:00 Spike in Transformers had a rough life

13:42 Some sad news and also a serious announcement

30:26 Judge My Mix

01:01:28 Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Dark Deity 2, Absolum

01:26:04 Blippo Plus

01:46:27 Hell is Us should not be missed

02:04:03 (Very) early impressions of Ghost of Yotei

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

Man, can you believe we haven’t had Xavier Kreiger on since last year’s Game of the Year Deliberations? It’s been far too long, so we enjoy catching up with him and a ton of games. Plus, back by “popular” demand: Judge My Mix!

00:00 Ouija: The New Beginning, announcements

19:52 Catching up with Xavier, Digimon Story: Time Stranger

47:44 Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Dark Deity 2

59:27 Donkey Kong Bananza, Lost Soul Aside, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

01:16:45 Hades II

01:41:07 Judge My Mix

01:55:38 Julian’s final thoughts on Wanderstop, Hell is Us, Plague, Inc.

02:15:25 Demon Slayer, thanking Patrons, The Void

02:27:47 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Pre-order The Well Red Mage’s SNES RPG book from Bitmap

Books! https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/the-definitive-book-of-snes-rpgs-vol-1

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! After only having a couple games to talk about last week we have quite a bit this week, including the new Silent Hill, Hades II, and catching up on recent presentations by Sony, Nintendo, RGG, and more!

00:00 Mad Max, Dorito flavor

10:42 Final thoughts on Chrono Gear: Warden of Time, Wanderstop

27:14 Gothic Remake, LISC

43:55 Cyberpunk is real fun, isn’t it? Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (Justin’s turn)

52:09 Hades II, Final Fantasy Tactics remaster woes

01:18:37 The Void, Hell is Us, Silent Hill f

01:40:51 Justin’s move round up (Jacob’s Ladder, every Mad Max movie)

02:09:33 Catching up on recent gaming events (007: First Light, Nintendo Direct, Sony State of Play, TGS)

02:42:14 CQC (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

Somehow we only had two games to talk about but the show is still over 2 hours long. Listen, our yap game is strong; never underestimate it!

00:00 They’re in a cube

09:06 Judge my mix CD

28:37 Final thoughts on Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

39:04 Borderlands 4

01:14:29 Let Julian cook

01:18:51 Abramo said he fixed it…

01:46:20 Thanking patrons, The Long Walk, Dangerous Animals, From Dusk ‘til Dawn

Listen to Julian talk about Chaos Legion on Games My Mom Found: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7vjqg-1965335

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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

This week we’re joined once again by Westen from Big Nerd Gaming! Since the last time he was on he has debuted his own podcast, and you should check it out! We also had a lot of games to talk about, and a surprisingly large amount of movies, as well. But per Westen’s request: NO FUN.

00:00 Introduction, The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast

18:36 Hollowknight: Silksong

36:41 Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream

58:34 Quartet, Heading Out, closing thoughts on MGS Delta, Is This Seat Taken?

01:27:50 Chrono Gear: Warden of Time

01:42:45 Movie roundup (Ready or Not, Ghost Stories, Oddity, Late Night With the Devil, Prisoners, Weapons, The Crow 2024)

02:05:08 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Be sure to listen to the first episode of the Big Nerd Gaming Podcast! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXdPwHXoCLo

Then go to the Big Nerd Gaming blog for more! https://bignerdgaming.com/

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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome back! After last week’s…debacle, we had a ton of games to talk about. So strap in for lots of different titles, candy bar taste-testing, and much, much more!

00:00 Bananas, hot dogs, gas station sushi

16:43 Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

46:33 Trails of the Sky 1st Chapter Remake, Gears of War Reloaded

01:04:46 Julian has a plan

01:19:01 Justin’s final thoughts on Promise Mascot Agency, Expedition 33 check in

01:31:45 Zagnut taste test, bad chips

01:40:00 Fine, we’ll talk about the big Metroidvania game everyone’s been waiting for

01:57:53 The Adventures of Elliott: The Millennium Tales, Quartet

02:13:35 Justin’s movie roundup

02:36:59 CQC (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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to...well, quite honestly, an episode I'm not too proud of. That reason will become apparent when you get there, but before that it's a fun ride, and we salvage it as best we can to give the show some kind of resolution. We'll do better.

00:00 Introduction, Ohio festivals

28:15 Edinburgh Fringe Fest

49:33 Food in Scotland, sightseeing

01:06:07 Promise Mascot Agency, final thoughts on Last Time I Saw You

01:43:01 Intermission, what the hell happened?

Everyone please watch The Lawn Con twice to let Mike know how much you appreciates him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SSeu4r8uXw

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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

It’s another jam-packed edition of The Stage Select thisMweek with life updates, lots of video games and movies, Gamescom, and much, much more!

00:00 House hunting, The Stage Select Socialist Minute™, home maintenance

23:09 Julian hates PC gaming

35:27 Some behind the scenes about making a podcast, finding something to play (The Alters, Last I Saw You, Wanderstop)

48:35 Promise Mascot Agency

01:01:39 Sword of the Sea

01:14:24 Justin watched a ton of movies

01:44:28 Gamescom and related events

02:40:37 CQC (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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

This week we actually finished some video games! We also have Korean corndogs, rants about the movie pre-roll, and…can a god of all creation get depressed? Tune in and find out!

00:00 Television, announcements

20:18 H Mart, The Working Man

36:02 Closing thoughts on Mafia: The Old Country

01:05:48 Closing thoughts on Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

01:24:24 Madden Football 26

01:56:19 Super Robot Wars Y

02:04:12 Hell is Us

02:15:50 Weapons

02:27:51 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Please consider donating to our Ko-Fi or taking advantage

of our Patreon sale to help us get an ad on Giant Bomb! https://www.patreon.com/TheStageSelectPodcast

                         https://ko-fi.com/thestageselect

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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome back! This week’s episode is what I like to call a potpourri show, because we’ve got a little bit of everything. Some old games, some new games. Old movies, new movies. Nacho Fries. Mattress toppers. You know, the things you expect from a video game variety show.

00:00 Introduction, eating

22:59 The Fantastic Four, Point Break

32:23 Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Starmaker Story

50:38 Man of Medan, EA College Football 26, Expedition 33

01:05:21 Mafia: The Old Country

01:23:27 Heretic/Hexen collection

01:36:32 The Naked Gun, Together

01:49:32 CQC (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]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions