The Retro League

Episode 131 - Racecars, Lasers, Aeroplanes

This week the Retro League is looking way back to a time when video games were still new. We're starting our launch-lineup feature and until episode 150 we'll be looking at the launch titles for specific systems. While we're light on news, we're heavy on virtual re-releases and updates in this week's show.

Hot Topics
Modern 3D Games with Retro Souls
Dead Malls/Label Scar...

Virtually Retro
Fairy Well (C64)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Virtual Console)
Monster World IV (Virtual Console)
Wolfenstein 3D (Javascript)
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II (PSN)
Goldeneye 007 Reloaded (PSN)

Myst (PSOne Classics)

Red Faction 2 (PS2 Classics)

News
Retrogaming Times Monthly - May 2012

Games of the Week
Indy 500
Air-Sea Battle

Random Links
24 Video Game Plot Twists That Would Have Blown Your Mind
Computing fossils: Old tech holding on for dear life

Freeloader game of the month
Skyroads (DOS)

Download | Duration: 01:14:29

Posted by The Retro League at 5/16/2012 9:07 PM

Episode 130 - It's the end of the world again

On this episode of The Retro League we talk about 8-bit game endings and the end of the world itself. With a little help from Sony we have a huge stack of virtually retro games to cover. In games of the week we have some unrealistic, but extremely fun, hockey and racing simulations. We even squeeze in a little time to remember some old schoolyard game rumors.

This Day in Gaming
Wolfenstein 3D released
... << MORE >>

Posted by Hugues at 5/7/2012 5:54 PM

Bonus Round - Behind the Scenes 2

This week we're unscripted and off-the-record. We've recorded a lot of audio that never makes it into the show, and now you'll get to hear how we pass the time until Rob is finally ready to start the show. We ramble off the topic of video games, then back onto the topic of video games, wrestle with Skype problems and often drag special guests into the mix. The clips cover most of the last year of podcasting and might even have something from our early days!

Download | Duration: 03:06:22

Posted by The Retro League at 5/2/2012 12:39 PM

Episode 129 - Scrolling off the Screen

This week we're experimenting with taking calls from listeners and remembering video games with great soundtracks. There are a lot of great game franchises that we never played, but we'll probably get around to them eventually. Someone has put real New York traffic into Frogger, and someone else is time-travelling through Zelda 64 on this episode of the Retro League.

This Day in Gaming
Game Boy released in Japan

Hot Topics
Game franchises you've never played
Ho hum games with killer soundtracks
The retro end is near

Virtually Retro
3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (iOS)

News
Prince of Persia source code freed from floppies posted online
New Zelda: Ocarina of Time bug beats game in 23 minutes as child Link
Hacked Frogger Arcade Now Has You Dodging the Real Traffic On Fifth Avenue
2012 German Mega Drive Championship recap
Revisiting Nintendo's Arcade History

Games of the Week
White Water (Intellivision)
SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millenium (NeoGeo Pocket Color)

Random Links
27 Small But Disastrous Changes to Famous Video Games
Net of the 90's

Freeloader Game of the Month
Hardwired (Sega Genesis)

Download | Duration: 01:33:14

Posted by Hugues at 4/22/2012 7:52 PM

Episode 128 - Capture the flag

It's always Saturday morning on The Retro League podcast and this week we're kicking back with some Final Fantasy speedruns, Team Fortress Classic, Space Harrier, and Ocarina of Time. We also mourn the passing of a computing pioneer, remember the birth of the Apple ][, and proudly display our ignorance of popular PlayStation 2 titles.

Hot Topics
The History of Nintendo (Brawl in the Family #400)
Megaman Series
BEST Cartoon Theme Songs EVER

Virtually Retro
Saturday Morning RPG (iOS)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PlayStation 2 Classics)

News
Computer Legend and Gaming Pioneer Jack Tramiel Dies at Age 83
Ocarina Of Time Documentary Part 2
Square-Enix launches streaming radio stations
Final Fantasy Tool Assisted White Mage speedrun
The Greatest Justification For Messed-Up Video Game Graphics I Ever Saw
Miyamoto Keen On New Zelda Based on Link to the Past

Games of the Week
Space Harrier (32X)
Team Fortress Classic

Random Links
30 Video Game Characters Who'd Suck at Other Games
The RPG Consoler - Ys: Book 1&2
Make your own paper arcade games
Nes Guitar

Freeloader game of the month
Hardwired (Sega Genesis)

Download | Duration: 01:12:29

Posted by The Retro League at 4/17/2012 3:55 PM

Episode 127 - A Swirling Miasma of Scintillating Thoughts and Turgid Ideas

In addition to a couple of great 8-bit platformers, this week the Retro League talks about (in no particular order): EA's shady business practices, Bullfrog games, Sega in South America, the waterparks of Wisconsin Dells, out-of-print table-top RPGs, AOL America Online, and Jem & the holograms.

Hot Topics
Action figures on the 80s and 90s
Nintendo going the way of Atari or Sega?
Super Mario Tennis

Virtually Retro
Pinball Arcade (XBLA)

News
Leisure Suit Larry looks to Kickstarter for new life
Spring 2012 Issue of Retrocade Magazine
Square Enix Involved in NES Google Maps April Fool
An old Game Boy saved me from buying a PS Vita
Castle of Illusion sequel coming to 3DS
Turtles in Time prototype

Games of the Week
Pitfall! (Intellivision)
Metal Storm (NES)

Random Links
25 Years of IBM’s OS/2
Before the Internet: The golden age of online services

Freeloader Game of the month
Hardwired for Sega Genesis

Download | Duration: 01:39:39

Posted by The Retro League at 4/12/2012 10:01 PM

Episode 126 - Banned in the U.K.

No we haven't changed formats but we just might be banned in several countries and states after this episode. If this podcast makes it through your government's anti-violence filter then you'll get to hear part 2 of our discussion on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. We also learn about the origins of junk email and ponder when Super Mario Bros was first released in the western hemisphere.

This Day in Gaming
March 31, 1993: The term 'SPAM' is coined

Hot Topics
Gaming Jeopardy
New cart labels
Name that game

Virtually Retro
Final Freeway 2R (iOS)

News
Sad But True: We Can't Prove When Super Mario Bros. Came Out
Prince of Persia’s Source Code Found in Dad’s Closet
Kickstarter for Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Google Maps 8-bit for NES
10 Legend of Zelda Facts You May Have Missed Out On
Interview with the Zelda Cartoon Cast
Long Lost Emulation Easter Egg Discovered in GoldenEye

Games of the Week
TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (iOS)

Random Links
The Tough Life of a Games Tester
23 Unseen Backstories of Classic Video Games
Arnold Schwarzenegger in Super Contra (Speed Run)

Download | Duration: 01:27:13

Posted by Hugues at 4/2/2012 6:01 PM

Announcing the Orbis 720 League!

We've been living in the past far too long, it's time to embrace the future.

We've been reading about the upcoming Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 ("Orbis") and are totally psyched about the radical transformation they will bring to gaming.

These exciting new consoles will finally address the biggest problems that have plagued video games since the Atari 2600:

Ending the fleecing of honest game publishers like Electronics Arts by dropping support for used games. Every time you buy a five year-old version of Madden football for $1 you force them to make another developer work unpaid overtime.
Requiring an online account to play offline games fights piracy. Given Microsoft and Sony's outstanding records on security you have no reason to fear giving them your personal information.
No backwards compatibility, no problem. Any game over 2 years old is stale anyway.
Finally eliminating all the lame button pressing in favor of motion controls and touchscreen. Say goodbye to "Nintendo thumb" forever.
Who has room for all those bulky game cartridges? Downloading all your games onto proprietary media formats is a perfectly economical solution.

So effective immediately we're re-branding ourselves as "The Orbis 720 League". Each week we'll be covering the latest news on these new consoles.

We'll also be going explicit to appeal to a younger audience that expects constant hardcore profanity.

We know this will come as a disappointment to some of our listeners but we ask that learn all you can about these new systems and we just know you'll feel the same way we do!

Update (4/2): Yes, this was an April Fool's prank, thanks for playing along.

Posted by Hugues at 4/1/2012 12:03 AM