Vidya Game News – September 8, 2016
– So! Nintendo, as usual, has been aggressive pursuing fan games using their characters, with the latest target being a mash-up of Mario and No Man’s Sky. Those developers responded by turning it into DCMA’s Sky. You can read more on Polygon here.
– From The Dreamcast Junkyard, a great series of articles on their hunt to find a legendary barber from some commercials.
– The Couch Potato over at New Castle News has a fine personal essay on his experiences with Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super Nintendo and other gaming stuff. Read it here.
– Reddit and YouTube deliver this week with Midway’s pitch video to the NBA for a little game called NBA Jam. You can check out the video here, and listen to our episode on Jam here!
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– A little deep, story-driven game known as Final Fantasy VII came out for the PlayStation on September 7, 1997. The indie darling sold a ton of copies, and it’s wildly recognized for popularizing RPGs outside of Japan. (And by the way, the PlayStation itself came out on September 9, 1995.)
– Parasite Eve, an oft-mentioned favorite of Steve, came out September 9, 1998. It was an odd action RPG with guns that spawned an incredibly underrated sequel, and an iffy PSP game with a completely indecipherable plot.
– Also from 1998: Spyro the Dragon! The little purple dragon started doing like, dragon stuff, on Sept. 10. By Insomniac Games, it was pretty popular with a wide range of gamers, including more casual folks.
– 9/9/99 for $199! The Sega Dreamcast came out on Sept. 9, 1999. God, it was such an awesome little system, but Sega eventually lost its stomach for the console business. It had a strong start that it ceded as hype for the PlayStation 2 ramped up.
– Ready 2 Rumble Boxing by Midway came out in 1999 for the Dreamcast, and then later for the N64, PSX and Gameboy Color. The colorful boxing came made people more nostalgic for better boxing games, but it sold well.
– Also for the Dreamcast in 1999: Soulcalibur! The fighter from Namco featured a heavy emphasis on weapons, and it was highly rated at the time and in ensuing years as the series continued.
– Final Fantasy Tactics Advance bastardized a great PSX game, but, well, it came out this day in 2003 for the Gameboy Adance. Some people like it. Those people are wrong.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Episode 069 – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure (1991)
Episode 069 – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure (1991)
This week in Your Parents Basement, we are righteous dudes dealing with a totally bogus game! From 1991, we’re playing Bill & Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure by LJN (shudder) for the NES.
You can manually download this week’s dude-tastic podcast here or subscribe to the show via the iTunes store. To manually subscribe, use this link in the device / podcast player of choice. You can also follow us on Twitter, or ‘like’ us on Facebook.
As always, if you like the show, support us by buying from Amazon! You can use this link to go to Amazon, and any purchase you make will kick a couple bucks to the show, with no extra cost to you. It’s a win-win!
Want to have an email or comment read on the air? Send us a message on the ole Twitter or Facebook, or, shoot that mail to parentsbasementpodcast@gmail.com.
TIMESTAMPS
- 0:00 – Intro, which features one of the nifty commercials for the movie, which is seriously much, much better than the game.
- 41:30 – Emails! We learn more about Ole Scooty, and there is a check-in from everyone’s favorite Pokemon lover.
- 56:00 – It’s the hottest new feature on this show! Ask The Sweet Boys.
- 1:03:00 – Snifferoo. Thank god, we’re playing a GOOD game next week… For reals.
SHOW NOTES
– According to Price Charting, the various Bill & Ted games are cheaply priced. The cart costs about $9, and the box and manual go for $22.99. However, it’s a horrible game, so do something more effective with your cash, like burning it with fire.
– According to Entertainment Weekly and other sites, Bill & Ted 3 is still on-track to be made.
Vidya Game News – August 19, 2016
– Stoughton Farm in New York has an awesome Mario theme now!
– From Charlie Hall at Polygon, Frank Cifaldi might have found the first bit of programming that former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata did. Read more about it here.
– ESPN does a mashup of Michael Phelps and Duck Tales here. (And check out our episode!)
– Via Nerdist, someone has re-created the first level of Super Mario Bros. in Microsoft Excel. Check it out in action here.
– GameReactor and a bunch of other sites have confirmed that Sega has renewed the Virtua Fighter trademark.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Some sites source today as the day that Dune II came out for the Genesis. Developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive originally for December 1992 for the PC, it has an odd historical footnote of being the first RTS game, despite being a licensed game. It’s a bit clunky to play now, but still fun.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – August 12, 2016
Today’s roundup is a day late because Steve has a case of OLYMPIC FEVER. It’s unclear if he contracted it from the waters of Rio, or some other way. Without further ado though, the links!
– Anddddd it’s gone. Nintendo Power has been removed from the Internet Archive, per Polygon.
– Band of Savers has a very important article posted: “10 Things Duck Tales Taught Me About Money.” And, check out our old episode on the vidya game!
– Nintendo Everything has a translation of an interview a Nintendo official did about the NES Classic Edition. Apparently, the save states are going to be more integrated and extensive than originally thought, and there will be several new visual modes for the games.
– Fun times, as Entertainment.ie has a screenshot quiz on SNES games.
– From Mike Diver at VICE, a Top Ten list of Sonic games.
– The AV Club has an insanely long roundtable on the camera in Super Mario 64.
– Unsurprisingly, a fan remake of Metroid 2 was quickly taken down, according to Twinfinite.
– Kotaku has a look inside Smash Hell, the server where Nintendo banishes spammers and others.
– Shack’s Arcade Corner on Amazon looks at Black Tiger, a past YPB game! [WARNING – The first is a video link!]
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Hint for next week’s show: August 13 marked the 25-year anniversary for a slew of SNES launch games, namely, F-Zero, Pilotwings and Super Mario World. And hey, the SNES itself came out! Good times, good times.
– System Shock 2, one of the biggest cult classics ever on the PC, came out on August 11, 1999. It was designed by Ken Levine, and developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios, but a sequel has been caught in rights snafus for years.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – July 28, 2016
– Nintendo is mining its past heavily for the Christmas season, as in addition to the NES Classic Edition, they also plan to come out with the Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics retrospective book on 17 games. Read more on the Prima Games site here.
– Hey, Sega also licensed their systems for new productions years ago! Except, according to Polygon, they kind of suck.
– From Geek, the Retroist has a fun feature on misleading Atari 2600 box art.
– Surprisingly, the new Ghostbusters game is just as bad as the old one, according to Brett Makedonski of Destructoid.
– On IGN and a bunch of other sites, a wireless receiver is now available to use PS4 and other current gen controllers on the SNES.
– Jason Schreier of Kotaku has a good retrospective on Final Fantasy III for the NES.
– Surprisingly, Honest Game Trailers tackles the awful Superman 64 this week.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour came out in 2003 for the Gamecube. It was the second game in the Mario Golf series and well-received during its release.
– Pokemon Crystal came out on July 29, 2001 for the Game Boy Color. Seemingly, Nintendo is the only company releasing good games in the dog days of summer…
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Episode 065 – Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992)
Episode 065 – Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992)
This week in Your Parents Basement, we are going where no man has gone before! From 1992, we’re playing Star Trek: 25th Anniversary developed by Interplay and published by Ultra (Konami) for the NES. We’re joined by special guest and lover of Ghostbusters (for real), Bob Hanson!
Set your phasers to STUN and manually download this week’s podcast here, or subscribe to the show via the iTunes store. To manually subscribe, use this link in the device / podcast player of choice. You can also follow us on Twitter, or ‘like’ us on Facebook.
As always, if you like the show, support us by buying from Amazon! You can use this link to go to Amazon, and any purchase you make will kick a couple bucks to the show, with no extra cost to you. It’s a win-win!
Want to have an email or comment read on the air? Send us a message on the ole Twitter or Facebook, or, shoot that mail to parentsbasementpodcast@gmail.com.
TIMESTAMPS
- 0:00 – Intro, which features the tiny bit of the Star Trek theme that is in the game’s main theme.
- 54:00 – Emails! Ole Scooty writes in, and someone wants to know what Steve’s favorite number is.
- 1:03:00 – It’s our fastest growing segment! Ask The Sweet Boys.
- 1:14:00 – Snifferoo. For some reason, we’re actually playing a good game next week! One of the ultimate cult classics for the SNES.
SHOW NOTES
– According to Price Charting, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is reasonably priced, at $10.80 for the loose cart and $29.14 for the box, manual and cart. The Next Generation is a bit more, in the $18.95 to $40 range.
– The Angry Video Game Nerd has covered a couple Star Trek games.
– Ultra was a publishing company for Konami, setup to bypass Nintendo’s strict five-per-year limit for companies in the U.S. Read more about the company on its Wikipedia page.
Vidya Game News – July 21, 2016
– Gizmodo has an awesome write-up of the find of a Seattle man: The incredibly rare Nintendo 64 disk drive.
– Of all places, Playboy has a long read on how the really good 2009 Ghostbusters game came together. You can read it here, although your work’s spam filter might block. And hey, listen to our show on the NES Ghostbusters here!
– Engadget has a good summary article of Ben Heck ripping into the “newly” discovered Nintendo-Sony CD unit.
– There is now a Kickstarter for the old NES Wisdom Tree games, which were pretty horrible games based on Bible stories. But still, if you want to support it, go here.
– Now in Japan! Kirby restaurants. (And check out our Kirby show.)
– From The Daily Mail, games like Mario Kart might make you a better driver, according to a study. (Check out our episode here!)
– Gizmodo’s Adam Clark Estes has a review of the Analogue NT, a souped-up clone of the NES. It’s basically like a great version of the NES Classic going on sale this November. And, oh, it costs $500.
– From Mashable and Reddit, Matt Damon might be interested in doing some video game stuff.
– Posted on a bunch of sites, including the developer site: Obduction, a spiritual successor to Myst, has been delayed from July 26 to the week of Aug. 22.
– Looking to move out of your parents basement? Booooo! But if you are, then don’t go to Worcester. Your parents’ basement is good enough for Jeff Teague, so it should be good enough for you.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– A pair of classic Genesis games, Shinobi III and Road Rash 2, came out in 1993.
– On July 22, 2008, a remake of Final Fantasy IV came out for the DS. It was… really bizarre. Developed by Matrix Software, it was in 3D and had an augment system that allowed you to power up characters after they left your party. The difficulty was also ramped up, and some story segments were added back in.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – July 14, 2016
A sweet baby boy NES!
– Pretty much everyone shared this article with Steve on a mini-NES loaded with 30 games. My mini-review: Eh. It’s kind of steep at $59.99, and there’s no indication whether you can load more games on to it. (Note: Nintendo later told Kotaku that no, you can’t.) The HDMI hook-ups are nice, though. However, it feels like a missed opportunity for the Big N. By offering a viable alternative to emulators – like a device that allowed for game downloads, using your old carts and third-party support – they could have taken a nice chunk away from that market.
– A fox takes a Playstation controller from a house and drops it in a garden. Video!
– From Kotaku’s Patrick Klepek, and some other sites, the Saturn’s copy protection has finally been cracked.
– Tech Radar has an interesting list of the most disappointing games of the past 10 years.
– Because Nintendo needs more of your monies, there is now Mario-themed Hot Wheels cars. Read about them on Gaming With Swag.
– Ron Gilbert, the creator Maniac Mansion, talks to Deveop’s James Batchelor about his new game, Thimbleweed Park.
– Anna Pulley, the author of The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (With Cats!), loves Duck Tales.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– WWF War Zone came out for the Playstation in 1998. Developed by Iguana West and published by Acclaim, it got pretty decent reviews, but tends to be overshadowed by other, better games.
– This was a popular time of year for NCAA Football games to come out, as 2005, 2009 and 2011 editions came out between July 13 and July 15. Unfortunately, the series is now defunct, as EA Sports couldn’t come to an agreement with some NCAA members.
– Tales of Symphonia came out for the Gamecube on July 13, 2004. It was later ported to the PS2, and then an expanded version came out for the PS3. Namco is now up to seemingly 700 different Tales games, by the way.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Episode 063 – Ghostbusters (1988)
Episode 063 – Ghostbusters (1988)
This week in Your Parents Basement, busting is NOT making us feel good! From 1988, we’re playing Ghostbusters by Bits Laboratory for the NES, which is based on an earlier Commodore 64 game.
You can manually download this week’s spooooky podcast here or subscribe to the show via the iTunes store. To manually subscribe, use this link in the device / podcast player of choice. You can also follow us on Twitter, or ‘like’ us on Facebook.
As always, if you like the show, support us by buying from Amazon! You can use this link to go to Amazon, and any purchase you make will kick a couple bucks to the show, with no extra cost to you. It’s a win-win!
Want to have an email or comment read on the air? Send us a message on the ole Twitter or Facebook, or, shoot that mail to parentsbasementpodcast@gmail.com.
TIMESTAMPS
- 0:00 – Intro, which features the Ghostbusters theme. As mentioned on the show, this is the only music for the entire game, and it plays on a god damn loop the entire time.
- 51:30 – Emails! People wanna know about free-to-play games, and fightin’ games!
- 1:04:15 – Snifferoo. There’s no way next week’s game will be worse than this week’s! Probably!
SHOW NOTES
– According to Price Charting, loose carts of Ghostbusters go for about $9.50. The box and manual will set you back about $30. However, for that price, you can buy the far superior Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Wii, PS3 and 360. Do that instead.
– For a bunch of neat trivia, like the info on John Belushi originally being tabbed for Ghostbusters, check out this long Vanity Fair article.
Vidya Game News – July 7, 2016
– Polygon has an awesome full-length feature on where Blizzard’s Starcraft: Ghost went wrong.
– Also from Polygon, a good, long read by Colin Campbell on an Atari artwork book.
– A translation for Wizardry Gaiden IV has been released, according to the folks at ROMhacking.net. Check out this “new” SNES game here!
– Hadlee Simons at Gearburn has a look at five failed handheld systems.
– From various websites, Stephen Colbert attempts to eat a Hot Pocket quicker than a guy completes Super Mario Bros. 3. Video here!
– As expected, Nintendo shut down a Kickstarter project for an NES coffee table book.
– The latest video on Cracked from Cody Johnston is about how Christopher Nolan stole his ideas from DuckTales. No word yet from Todd how this infraction ranks on the DuckTales scale.
– From TechTimes, Paul Rudd has barely aged since starring in SNES commercials back in the day.
– Also on TechTimes, Chinese companies are constantly making bootleg games with all the Nintendo characters.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– On July 10, 2001, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec came out for the Playstation 2. The effort from Polyphony Digital set a new standard for realistic racing games. The sixth installment came out in December 2013 to glowing reviews for the PS3, and Gran Turismo Sport is due out in November as a PS4 exclusive.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Your Parents Basement 