Retro Game Squad Podcast

Resurrecting our long-dead radio series until our main show can resume production, we bring to you the outstanding music of the Panzer Dragoon Trilogy on the Sega Saturn, a testament to how artistic a series about laser-spitting dragons can truly be.

Speeding towards the horizon, we turn our attention towards the On-Rails Shooter genre by taking aim at games such as Panzer Dragoon, Star Fox 64, Sin and Punishment, and more. We also deliberate over our Retro Game of 2019, and Jon proclaims that a certain F-Zero clone is more influential than it actually is.

Celebrating our 7th anniversary with our biggest episode yet, we re-visit some games that we covered in the first year of our show, such as Powerslave, Galactic Attack, Alien Crush, and more. We also bring in our guest Alex (@retr0drift on Twitter) to educate us on restoring & repairing retro gaming hardware, and we wonder how long it would take a Ninja Turtle to surf from Key West to Manhattan.

Lest we get pummeled by Segata Sanshiro himself, we dedicate another entire episode to Sega's 32-bit wonder, the mighty Sega Saturn. Covering unique titles such as Astal, Fighter's Megamix, Deep Fear, and more, we also talk about recent developments in the Saturn community, the current state of Saturn emulation, new ways to play Saturn games in 2019, and Jon shocks Jeff and Alex with a happy bombshell.

Joined by returning guest Retro Nick, the squad unites to take on some cooperative games such as Dungeon Explorer II, Lost Vikings 2, Darius Gaiden and more. We also play (a hilarious) Round 4 of "Name That Tune", and Nick expresses his profound disdain for kale, KOTOR, and the PlayStation's lack of light gun standards.

To cap off 2018, we turn our focus to Capcom, one of the most popular publishers in the "retro" era. Delving into this company's history, we also take a look at some of its iconic titles, such as Bionic Commando, Duck Tales, and Saturday Night Slam Masters. We also crown our "Retro Game of 2018", and Jeff's facial hair gets some cowboy influence.

Celebrating our 6th anniversary by embarking on another quest, we give RPG's a second chance. Discussion includes 4 epics; Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Robotrek, Paper Mario, and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. We also play another round of trivia, and Alex explains who "The Littlest Hobo" is.

Getting slightly out of our "retro" comfort zone, we pay our respects to one of Nintendo's dominant handhelds; the Game Boy Advance. Discussion includes games such as Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Metroid: Zero Mission, Drill Dozer and more, all while trying to figure out what the definition of "shovelware" really is.

Our fearless trio wonders if the third time is indeed the charm by looking at "Three-quels", aka the third entry in video game franchises. Covered are games such as Super Metroid, Streets of Rage 3, Tekken 3 & more. We also belatedly crown our best retro games of 2016 and 2017, and question whether a toddler gorilla can be a worthy hero.

Guest host Chris Alaimo of Classic Gaming Quarterly joins us to talk about and appreciate the music of the shoot-'em-up genre. Sampling tracks from Life Force, Gun.Smoke, Lords of Thunder and more, there's plenty of thumping tunes to help you blast some evil space monsters.

We top off 2017 by looking at some modern video games made in the retro style. With games such as Axiom Verge, Shovel Knight, and Sonic Mania, it seems old-school gaming is alive and well. We also give our thoughts on the RetroUSB AVS, an NES FPGA clone system, and Jon finally gets to gush about some indie PC games.

We're ready to throw (virtual) fisticuffs with music from some of the most iconic fighters out there; from Virtua Fighter 2, to Tekken 3, to Samurai Shodown II & everything in between, join us as we get our blood flowing with some kicking fightin' tunes!

We spend this episode discussing all things Konami and marvel in their former glory by covering beloved classics such as Contra III: The Alien Wars, Rocket Knight Adventures, Sexy Parodius, and more. We also share our amazement at how faithful an 8-bit Star Trek game can be, and Jeff deals with the disappointment of his first ever bootleg video game.

Our first Radio show is dedicated to some of Konami's finest audio. Featuring music from games such as Castlevania III, Contra III, Sunset Riders, Axelay, and more. Konami's given us lots of great tunes to listen to over the years. So sit back and relax, it's Retro Game Squad Radio!

Unable to resist the urge to continue playing games & podcasting, the crew takes time to appreciate some exquisite art by experiencing some beautiful 2D games. With masterpieces such as Kirby's Adventure, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves there's no shortage of eye candy. We also make some major breakthroughs as Jon confesses to actually liking a fighting game, and Jeff slips into denial about liking side-scrolling platformers.

From the darkest depths of the RGS archives comes our first ever recording along with some content that got left on the cutting room floor. Featuring our pilot/test episode, it's followed up with some outtakes that were cut out of previous recordings. Not for the faint of heart, this episode is rough, unpolished, and crude, but does help illustrate that practice makes perfect, and that laughter is the best medicine.

Celebrating our 4th anniversary and final podcast, we indulge ourselves by playing whatever games we please, such as Ninja Gaiden Shadow, Operation Logic Bomb, and Tempest 2000. We also take time to reminisce about our humble beginnings, hear what some of our colleagues had to say about us, and express our gratitude to you, our listeners. Without you, there would no Retro Game Squad and no hot butter through knife. Thank you.

As the show winds down, we turn our attention to Sega's final home console, the mighty Dreamcast. Discussing the impressive variety in this platform's game library, we go in-depth with titles such as Jet Grind Radio, Power Stone, Confidential Mission, and more. We also marvel at how awesome the Dreamcast mouse is, and share our jubilation for tuna sandwiches.

With GunCons and Light Phasers in hand, the crew takes aim at the light gun genre! Setting our sights on games such as Virtua Cop 2, Time Crisis: Project Titan, and Rescue Mission, no tube TV is safe from getting (virtually) shot. We also talk about the history of light guns, the challenges in playing light gun games in the modern era, and detail the different types of light guns out there and how they work.

Looking to add a little international flavour to the show, we're joined by Paul "The Drisk" Driscoll to cover some import video games. Included are discussions on the various challenges in importing for retro consoles, how cultural differences affected the industry in different territories, as well as an in depth look at games such as Micro Machines 2, Alien Soldier, and Soukyugurentai. We also discover the origins of the infamous "All your base" meme, and feel awkward about piloting phallic and/or trash-truck shaped spaceships.