Remember The Game? Retro Gaming Podcast

Pro wrestling is probably the only thing on the planet on par with retro video games when it comes to making me feel nostalgic. Being a teenager during the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era was something special. If you liked wrestling in those days (and who didn't?), you know what I'm saying. Combine the Attitude Era with the Playstation and the Nintendo 64, and you have nostalgia overload. Enter WWF Attitude.When people talk wrestling games from the 90's and early 2000's, the instant focus falls on THQ. WCW/nWo Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and of course, WWF No Mercy are all absolutely incredible. But before the WWF got in bed with THQ, Akklaim was in charge of bringing Stone Cold and friends into the world of video games. And while WWF Attitude doesn't have anything close to the legacy WWF No Mercy (or even SmackDown does), it doesn't deserve to be overlooked like it usually is.A lot of features that are common place in wrestling games today began with WWF Attitude. Things like super deep rosters, in depth create a wrestler, and even the ability to create an event all started with this game. While the THQ titles were taking the game in an "easy to approach and simple to control" direction, Akklaim focused on trying to make their wrestling games a more complicated, simulation type of experience. And while it's easy to look back on some of their decisions and laugh - and believe me, we do on the podcast this week - I think the powers that be behind this game deserve a little bit of credit for trying something different. It may not have worked all that well, but they helped lay the groundwork for what wrestling games would become. My guest this week is fellow wrestling nerd and podcast host Kyle Shaw, and we had a great time sharing stories about not only playing video games, but watching wrestling as well. Enjoy the podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Feb 201946min

In an era filled with weird animal heroes like the Battletoads, Samurai Pizza Cats, Bucky O'Hare and Biker Mice from Mars, Earthworm Jim still managed to stand out. His video games are hilarious, and the original game launched a franchise that went on to produce an animated series, comic books, and action figures, along with several video game sequels, as well.  Whenever I hear the word "groovy", I can't help but think of Earthworm Jim. It's funny, because I don't remember when I discovered the franchise, just like I can't remember when it all disappeared. But there was definitely a time in the 90's where Earthworm Jim could do no wrong. his entire universe was fantastic, propelled by an insane cast of characters that included Queen-Slug-For-A-Butt, a Killer Goldfish named Bob, and of course, Peter Puppy. The characters transitioned perfectly between television and video game. Possibly more than any game before it, Earthworm Jim felt like you were playing a Saturday morning cartoon. A very difficult Saturday morning cartoon. These games are vicious. I replayed this one quite a bit in preparation for this podcast, and hardly got anywhere. I think some criticism of the controls is warranted, but I still myself wanting to play some more. This game is from the era of "practice makes perfect". If you wanted to beat it, all you had to do was play it enough to get good. It didn't hold hands, and it rewarded skill.  Did I mention it was funny? I did? Well, I'll say it again. This game is hilarious. There's a level where you go to Hell and the bad guys consist of lawyers. Evil crows try to pull Jim out of his suit, reminding you that at the end of the day, he's just an earthworm. You're trying to save Princess What's Her Name? Really, that's what she's called.  Jim steals the show. He uses his own body as weapon, a hand while he hangs from clotheslines, and a jump rope when he's bored. This game is one of the first I can remember playing that legitimately made me laugh while I stared at the screen. This game is a beauty. It's too bad the franchise doesn't get more love today.  My buddy Patrick is back on the show this week, and we had a great time remembering the Grooviest hero in gaming; Earthworm Jim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

13 Feb 201949min

Welcome to a special Friday edition of Remember The Game! For this episode, we're jumping forward in time. Instead of looking at a game that took over our lives in the 80's or 90's, we're talking about a game that is taking over our lives right now. Today I'm talking Fortnite and Super Smash Bros Ultimate with my nephew, Ben. Ben is a returning guest to the podcast (we talked about the Mario Party franchise way back in episode 8), and I love talking games with him. He's twelve years old, and every bit as passionate (addicted) to video games as I am. I like talking to younger gamers today, and seeing what fires them up about the industry. Not only do Ben and I dip into two of the biggest franchises on the planet, but we talk a little about game streaming, Youtube, and the politics that come with it. Not only is Ben a gaming junkie, but he's incredibly well spoken and intelligent. He's big into creating on Youtube, etc, and he's a natural behind a microphone. He was a great guest, and I had a really good time recording this episode with him. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did. Thanks Ben! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Feb 201949min

This episode is for all you "PC Master Race" nerds. Outside of Oregon Trail and some shareware games, there's really only one PC game I played growing up, and holy hell did I play a lot of it. I loved building roller coasters, charging people $5 to use the bathroom, and of course, picking people up with tweezers and dropping them in the middle of nowhere. This week, we're talking RollerCoaster Tycoon. I don't remember where I first saw this game, but I remember being excited for it before it even released. I probably read about it in a gaming magazine leading up to March '99, and I vividly remember going to the store after work and buying it one day. I didn't even know if our computer was powerful enough to play it, but I figured it was worth the risk. And it was. Partially because my computer could play the game, and partially because this game is awesome. It's sad that this franchise has lost it's way as hard as it has in recent years, because when it launched, it was incredible. I didn't know a ton of people that played it in my circle, but my brother and I played it non-stop. The various challenge levels got old fast, but that's not why anybody played this game. It was all about building the greatest amusement park in the world. Sitting there, studying your customers and watching the money roll in was as addictive as anything I had experienced in gaming up to that point. I bought it years later for my Xbox, and I have it installed on my iPad and my phone now, too. I'll never stop giving this game my money.RollerCoaster Tycoon is a phenomenal game, and it's still my favourite simulation style game of all-time. My buddy Mark McCue loves it, too. He's my guest this week, and we're going to take you to the official Remember The Game theme park. Admission is free, and good times are guaranteed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Feb 201941min

Does anyone else hear the chorus to I Ran (So Far Away) and instantly think of Vice City? Oh, all of you? At least it isn't just me then....Everyone played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I know there had been the original top-down style GTA games, and GTA 3 had been out for a little while, but this seemed like the one that really kick-started the Grand Theft Auto phenomenon. I know personally, this one the first one I played. I never actually finished the story, but I'd spend hours just driving around causing chaos and running away from the police. I'd never played a game like this before, it felt so....real (for lack of a better word).The soundtrack for this game is absolutely iconic. Just driving around listening to the radio was so much fun. The amount of time Rockstar spent on the radio DJ's conversations was incredible for the time. As someone that would usually turn the sound off on my video games and listen to a CD instead (fuck I'm old), this game really grabbed my attention from an audio perspective. It was so good. I'm sure kids that grew up on GTA V would take one look at Vice City and laugh, but for us old folks, this game was the cat's ass. I've been looking forward to uploading this episode for a while, because I know every gamer from my generation remembers ripping around, seeing if they could max out their stars and still get away from the cops. This game was like playing a movie. It's unquestionably one of the most iconic games of it's generation, and I had a great time chatting about it with my buddy Andre. I hope you guys have as much fun with this episode as we did.Find us on Twitter and Instagram - @memberthegameAnd check out our website! https://www.rememberthegamepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

30 Jan 201941min

Battletoads is one of those franchises that has always had a strong cult following, but nobody really  knows why. They're blatant Ninja Turtle ripoffs. The games are ridiculously difficult. The characters have some of the grossest names in gaming history (Zitz, Pimple, and Rash). Nothing about the franchise makes sense whatsoever.  But people really like them. Myself included.  Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is, for my money, the best game in the series. At times it almost plays like a 16-bit remake of the NES original. The levels, enemies, and attack animations are similar, but they all look much, much better. While criticisms of it's controls, collision detection and difficulty are valid, nobody can say this game doesn't look gorgeous. It's like playing a really bad-ass cartoon. After recording this episode of the podcast and reflecting on the series, I think it's art style and "edginess" (for lack of a better word) are the primary reasons the series developed a following in the first place. It just feels like a cool video game.  Battlemaniacs is also home to undoubtably one of the best soundtracks of the 16-bit era. When I edit these podcasts, one of the highlights for me is going back and listening to the music from games I played growing up. The music from this game is so good that I actually downloaded some of it's songs to my phone, and plan to keep them there. Maybe that's part of the reason players keep coming back, despite knowing they can't win; that music makes you feel like a badass.  My buddy Patrick makes his podcast debut this week, and we had a great time looking at Battletoads in Battlemaniacs through a very critical lens. This game has it's faults, no question. But at the end of the day, it's just fun to play. Except maybe those fucking speed bikes.... We have a website! https://www.rememberthegamepodcast.com And we're on Twitter and Instagram (we follow back, too!) @memberthegame Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

23 Jan 201938min

I vividly remember getting this game for my birthday the year it came out. And despite the fact that I had a house full of my friends over for a party, and this was a single player game, it was all I did for the rest of the day. No regrets. The first thing that stands out about this game are the graphics. It's simply gorgeous. It was released less than a year before the Nintendo 64 launch, and the advancement Nintendo made between the original Super Mario World that debuted alongside the SNES and this game are undeniable. Clearly, the powers that be had a firm handle on what the Super Nintendo was capable of at this point. I consider this game to be the SNES's swan song. It's a hell of a way to go out. Everyone had fallen in love with Yoshi after his appearance in Super Mario World a few years earlier, and we were excited for the opportunity to play as him some more. It took one game (if you don't count spinoff appearances and the awful Super Scope game) for the dinosaur/sacrificial lamb to leap into a starring role. It took poor Luigi like 20 years to do that! (Again, no spinoffs. Looking at YOU, Mario Is Missing.....) This game featured some new gameplay mechanics, like launching eggs and the debut of Yoshi's "flutter" jump. The levels are deep and lengthy, and I *think* this was the first "Mario" game to feature collectibles in each level that you had to seek out if you wanted to 100% the game. And 100%ing this game was hard. I haven't done it to this day, although it's something I intend to do at some point. It gave you a ton of bang for your buck, and while it isn't really a sequel to the original Super Mario World per say, it lives up to the name sake from a quality perspective. I'd be curious to know how it would've sold it they had simply called it "Yoshi's Island", without slapping Super Mario World 2 on the cover. I have to assume it would have hurt sales somewhat, especially after Yoshi's Safari was such a disappointment a couple years prior. And without the success of this game, Yoshi might not be as big of character in the Nintendo universe as he is today. People forget that Yoshi didn't appear as a "power up" in a Mario game again until Super Mario Galaxy 2 15 years later. It doesn't really matter in the end, I suppose. Yoshi is awesome, and so is this game. My buddy Kyle and I had a great time explaining why on this week's podcast. Enjoy. You can find everything 'Remember The Game?' at our new website; rememberthegamepodcast.com! We're on the social media, too! Instagram & Twitter @memberthegame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Jan 201939min

If Mario was the video game Heavyweight Champion in the 90's, Sonic The Hedgehog was the #1 contender. I didn't own a Sega Genesis growing up, but I played all the Sonic games. I watched the cartoon. I read the comic books. Sonic was everywhere! He was fast, he was cool, and he was the face of SEGA. But, were his games fun to play? My buddy Andre was a Sega kid, and he returns to the podcast this week to help me remember not one, but TWO Sega Genesis games that are attached at the hip (thanks to "cutting edge, lock on technology"); Sonic The Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. Enjoy!'Remember The Game?' is on Facebook! facebook.com/rememberthegameAND Twitter! @memberthegameAND NOW Instagram! @memberthegameThanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Jan 201937min