Gavin and Stephen look back over the Phantasy Star series of games, from the the early Master System and Mega Drive RPG titles up to the more action orientated online games on later consoles like the Dreamcast, Gamecube and Xbox360.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode Gavin and Stephen look at the Ghosts’n Goblins franchise. (Known as Makaimura in Japan) From the very difficult Ghosts’n Goblins in the arcade all the way to the very difficult Maximo vs. Army of Zin on the PS2.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gavin, Sera and Stephen discuss Christmas games, games vaguely featuring Christmas and nostalgic Christmas retrogaming memories.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In the spirit of Halloween and to mark the occasion of the recent release of the latest title in the series we look back at the Resident Evil games.

Featuring: Gavin, Sera, Stephen and Connla.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!

For this episode we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter. Podcast regulars Gavin, Sarah and Stephen are joined by Brian, aka Doom, one of the most prominent members of the Irish fighting game scene and expert in all things Guile related.

Street Fighter had humble beginnings as a rather forgettable fighting game but that quickly changed with the release of the seminal Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter 2 set the template for all fighting games that followed and changed the arcade and competitive gaming scene. This explosion in popularity led to numerous updates, sequels and spin-offs. It’s not just street fighter, we also touch on the games the series influenced. Capcom’s rivalry with fellow fighting game developer SNK is discussed, Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct are openly mocked and we come to the conclusion that no fighting game will ever better the magnificent Dino Rex.

We’d also like to mention that on the 6th of October the Fighting Game Community Ireland is hosting a qualifying tournament for the 25th Masters Series to be held in Paris. Prizes include seeded positions in the main event, flights to and from Paris and accommodation. If you are interested in taking part more information and registration is available at: http://www.sf25.eu/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

From schoolyards to Coffee Mornings, Dial up to internet, Double tape decks to CD rips.Piracy has always been rife in the Videogame industry.

In this Episode Gavin,Sparks,Retro and Sera discuss the history and effects of copied floppies, Duplicated Discs and of course recorded tapes.We also discuss emulation, roms and archives.

Remember Kids Piracy is illegal, immoral and you will go to hell.

Dont copy that Floppy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week Gavin, Stephen and Sera discuss the Tomb Raider series of games.

Tomb Raider is a media franchise consisting of video games, comic books, novels, theme park rides and movies, centring around the adventures of the fictional English archaeologist Lara Croft. Since the release of the original Tomb Raider in 1996, the series developed into a lucrative franchise of related media, and Lara went on to become a major icon of the virtual gaming industry. In 2006, Lara Croft was inducted into the Walk of Game and the Guinness Book of World Records has recognised her as the “Most Successful Human Virtual Game Heroine”. The first six games in the series were developed by Core Design, whilst Crystal Dynamics developed the latest four; their fifth game is currently in production. Two movies – Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life – have been produced starring American actress Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, the first of which is still the highest-grossing film adaptation of a video game ever released in U.S., and third worldwide.

Lara uncovers a relic from her past

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week we talk about the Contra series of games from it’s humble beginnings on the NES all the way up to the current gen games.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we look back at the Legend of Zelda series of games.

We cover: The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

We also talk about the Philips CD-i titles and the Satellaview games.

We’ll be covering the rest of the series right up to the recent Skyward Sword in the next episode.

The Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説 Zeruda no Densetsu^?), occasionally called Legend of Zelda^[1][2][3] or simply Zelda, is a high fantasyaction-adventurevideo game series created by Japanese game designersShigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is developed and published by Nintendo, with some portable installments outsourced to Flagship/Capcom, Vanpool, and Grezzo. Considered one of Nintendo’s most important franchises, its gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving. The series centres primarily on Link, a playable character and theprotagonist. Link is often given the task of rescuing Princess Zelda in the most common setting of the series, Hyrule, from Ganon (also known as Ganondorf), a Gerudo chief who is the primaryantagonist of the series. However, other settings and antagonists have appeared throughout the games, with Vaati being a strong secondary antagonist during the lifespan of the Game Boy Advance. The story commonly involves a relic known as the Triforce, which is a set of three omnipotent golden triangles. The protagonist in each game is usually not the same incarnation of Link, but a few exceptions do exist.

As of December 2011, The Legend of Zelda franchise has sold 67.93 million copies since the release of the first game,^[4] with the original Legend of Zelda being the fourth best selling NES game of all time. And The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword holds the record for highest reviewed video game of all time.^[5][6] The series consists of 16 official games on all of Nintendo’s major consoles, as well as several spin-offs. An American animated series based on the games aired in 1989, and individual manga adaptations which are officially endorsed and commissioned by Nintendo have been produced in Japan since 1997.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download