Region Free Gamers: A Video Game Podcast

Today's episode could alternatively be called, Honourable Mentions or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Hate Vagrant Story. What else didn't make the cut for the King of Games 2000? Paul, Kelly, and Chris and Shane from Retro Hangover have all the answers! Listen and find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Capcom vs. SNK - From K.O To Win

Today, Kelly, Mike, and Arnaldo are joined by special guest and obscure PlayStation game connoisseur, Sean Seanson! First we open up the show talking about Sean's YouTube channel, its growth and the ups and downs of creating a niche channel before moving on to our favourite licensed games, starting with Danger Girl for the PS1 (25:00) followed by The Lion King (SNES), The Simpsons Hit & Run, and Xena: Warrior Princess (PS1). But unfortunately (or fortunately!) we have some less stellar licensed games to balance things out with Batman Forever (SNES), Ren & Stimpy: Space Cadets (Game Boy), Way Of The Dogg (X360) and last but certainly not least, Sabrina The Teenage Witch: A Twitch In Time (PS1).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Simpsons Hit & Run - Bonestorm Storm Way Of The Dogg - Trailer

It's time for the semifinals in our tournament to determine the greatest video game of the year 2000! For such an important episode we've got Kelly, Anthony, Paul, and special guests Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast and sometimes nintendhost, LPTyger! Crazy Taxi has been something of a Cinderella story so far, but will it find its glass Vans in time to take down Tony Hawk? Listen to find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBC) - Skate's Theme

Today it's Mike, Kelly and Paul talking about the most disrespected genre in video games, Tower Defense! The crew starts out talking about recent video game and anime purchases because we're a bunch of nerds and we can't help ourselves (3:30) before moving on to how Tower Defense games even got started and evolved to the well oiled machine we see today (18:20). Next let's talk about straight Tower Defense games with no frills like Bloons, Kingdom Rush, and more (38:30). Following that we've got the hybrids where TD is combined with other genres like Castlestorm and Mindustry and more (1:11:30). And we wrap things up with what is probably the most popular TD subgenre, the TD/3rd person hybrid, featuring games like Orcs Must Die! and Dungeon Defenders (1:46:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Plants vs. Zombies - Day Stage Dungeon Of The Endless - Wrecking Bad Orcs Must Die! - Battle Theme 1

Another quarterfinals matchup today with Arnaldo, Paul, and special guest Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast determining whether Dreamcast darlings Skies of Arcadia or Marvel vs. Capcom 2 move on to the semifinals! Will the sky pirates be able to battle their way through or will they get taken for a ride? Listen to find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - Character Select Skies of Arcadia - Air Pirate Secret Base

Today Kelly, Mike, Arnaldo, and Paul are talking about what games we've been playing lately! Paul starts things off with Psyvariar Delta (8:00) and Dicey Dungeons (26:15). Arnie needs an entire segment to go over Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (44:30) followed by Mike with our second shmup of the day, Image Striker (1:16:30) and then our third one, the Mega Drive / Genesis classic, Forgotten Worlds (1:26:40). Then Kelly rescues the show with Soul Blazer (1:42:00) and Last Cloudia (1:59:50)   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Dicey Dungeons - Fighting Chance Xenoblade Chronicles - Engage The Enemy Soul Blazer - Intro

We're now into the quarterfinals of The King of Games 2000, and Arnaldo, Kelly, and special guest Shane Koski of the Retro Hangover podcast are here to see which of Final Fantasy IX or Crazy Taxi will make it through to the semifinals! Will one of Sega's reckless taxi drivers manage to run over Square's strangely proportioned fantasy heroes? Listen to find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Final Fantasy IX - The Place I'll Return To Some Day

Today Arnaldo, Kelly, and Paul are talking about one of our favourite 2D game developers, Vanillaware! The crew starts off talking about George Kamitani and the origins of the developer (5:00) and their first game, Princess Crown (12:50). Yes, we absolutely discuss the origin of the name 'Vanillaware' (22:30) followed by the first two games under the Vanillaware moniker, Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire (25:00). Another two simultaneously developed games are up with Kumatanchi on the Nintendo DS, and Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the Wii and PS Vita (48:00). We wrap things up with another Japan only release in Grand Knights History on the PSP followed by fantasy beatemup tour de force, Dragon's Crown and insane visual novel / RTS, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. (1:07:30)   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Princess Crown - Lonely Village Odin Sphere - Town Of The Mysterious Pooka 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - VALINE

On today's episode of the King of Games 2000 we've got Geoff, Kelly, and special guest Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast breaking down whether it's Grandia II or Skies of Arcadia moving on to the next round of our tournament to crown the greatest game of the year 2000. Somehow, by sheer luck, all four Dreamcast games in this tourney got matched up with each other in round one, and somehow the system's two most notable RPGs are in the same matchup together. Glass half empty - at least one gets eliminated. Glass half full - at least one goes ahead! But which? Listen and find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Grandia II - Fight!! ver.1

Today Arnaldo and Paul conclude a trilogy four years in the making with their final (or is it?....) look at Intelligent Systems, this time through their sometimes beloved Paper Mario series! The show starts off with the first proof of concept for the Mario RPG, uh.. Super Mario RPG! (6:00) The N64's RPG magnum opus Paper Mario is next (27:00) followed by a detailed look at our favourite Paper Mario video game, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (42:30). The road diverges a bit from the RPG formula with Super Paper Mario on the Wii (1:26:00) and the wheels start falling off with Paper Mario: Sticker Star on the 3DS (1:42:30) but Paper Mario Colour Splash and Origami king try valiantly to get back things back on track (1:51:00).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Paper Mario - Battle Theme Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - Rogueport Paper Mario: The Origami King - Main Theme

On this episode of the King of Games 2000, we've got Arnaldo, Kelly, and special guest Shane Koski of the Retro Hangover Podcast breaking down which of Diablo 2 or Deux Ex will move on to the next round of this tournament to crown the greatest game of the year 2000. Will the Illuminati push Deus Ex over ultra polished heroin simulator Diablo 2? Listen to find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Diablo 2 - Roger And Me

Today it's Arnaldo, Mike, and Paul having a casual chat about Werthers Originals, Tom Brady, and, of course, what video games we've been playing lately! Arnaldo starts us off comparing Dr. Lautrec And The Forgetten Knights to Nicolas Cage (8:00) followed by Paul gushing over what Technocop should have been: Huntdown (25:00). Mike is up next with the better version of Pokemon Snap, Umarangi Generation (43:00) followed by Paul with an homage to speedy tofu delivery in Inertial Drift (1:02:30). Mike takes us through a game that could be all too real in Going Under (1:22:00) while Arnie takes us home with Metroid: Zero Mission (1:40:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Huntdown - Main Theme

Although we said goodbye to Geoff late last year, he'll always be in our hearts, and also on mp3s of King of Games 2000 episodes we recorded months ago and are finally releasing now. Including this one, co-hosted by Anthony and Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast - a Dreamcast only battle featuring Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio! If you're wondering where Jet Grind Radio is, please understand that here at RFG, we don't believe Jet Grind Radio ever existed.   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Jet Set Radio - Sweet Soul Brother

Today, Arnaldo, Kelly, Mike, and Paul are here to talk about the year we all thought would be great, but in fact, was not: 2021! Except when it comes to video games, where we had a lot to celebrate! The show starts off on a bizarre tangent with tales of hypothermia and river survival before moving on to our first GOTY category, our favourite non-2021 video game of the year, aka: The Backlog Award (16:30). Our most pleasant gaming surprise of 2021 is up next (44:00) followed by our biggest gaming disappointment of 2021 (1:13:30). Finally we wrap things up with our very, extremely, official 2021 Video Game Of The Year awards (1:49:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Sayonara Wild Hearts - Wild Hearts Never Die Pyre - Surviving Exile Persona 5 Scramble - Sophia's Shop

The King Of Games is back, baby! This time we're holding a no holds barred tournament to determine the best video game of the year 2000! And we're doing it as a collaborative effort with the Retro Hangover podcast! So today, please join Arnaldo, Paul, and special guest Shane Koski of Retro Hangover as we determine which game gets the boot in this first matchup of the round of 16. Will Arnie cry when Pokemon loses? Or will Paul quit video games altogether when Pokemon wins? Listen to find out!   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Pokemon Gold/Silver - Come On

Today it's Arnaldo, Mike, and Paul diving deep into the weird world of Alternate Reality Games! After reminiscing about the previous Christmas, the crew starts off talking about what exactly Alternate Reality Games are (19:15) followed by what is considered the first ARG, Majestic, and arguably the most famous one, the Halo 2 ARG, ilovebees (33:50). The insanity that is Portal 2's ARG is up next (1:07:30) followed by the dedicated ARG you can play today, The Black Watchmen (1:23:30). We wrap up the show talking about what makes for a successful ARG and whether we would play one today (1:40:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Halo 2 - Halo Theme (Mjolnir Mix) Portal - 4000 Degrees Kelvin The Black Watchmen - Power And Influence

Today it's Kelly, Arnaldo, Mike, and Paul talking about the roller coaster that is collecting video games over the last ten years. We start off talking about how we became game collectors and what kind of video games we collect (3:30), before moving on to a discussion about the past and future of the collector's edition video game (30:00). Next up we talk about how collecting video games has changed over the years, from the retro store itself to garage sales, flea markets and everything in between (1:12:00) and wrap things up with with talk about why retro video game prices have skyrocketed and whether we think this trend will continue (1:42:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: .hack Infection - Forest Field - Battle Vambrace: Cold Soul - Cold Soul Battle Out Run - Boss 1 Pursuit - Capture

Today it's Arnaldo, Kelly, Mike, and Paul talking about the meteoric rise and fall of the rhythm video game; most notably, Rock Band. After spending some time praising the existence of the private karaoke room, we start off with the most important question: Rock Band or Guitar Hero? (8:00) With some answers in tow we talk about the creation of the company most responsible for the rhythm game wave, Harmonix (21:00) and their PS2 games, Frequency and Amplitude (27:00). The publisher Red Octane and their role in the DDR mat market and their plastic guitar dreams are up next (36:30) followed by the creation of the phenomenon, Guitar Hero (44:00). Next we talk Rock Band itself (57:00) and our own band names (1:11:00) and wrap things up with the sad list of reasons the genre has fallen off a cliff (1:30:00)   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: All music by the Arnaldo Perez Experience

The Hall Of Fame Games and Movies Podcast host Matt Levy joins Arnaldo, Kelly, and Paul to talk about what video games we've been playing lately! Arnie starts us off with the announcement that ends an era (5:00) before talking about Yuppie Psycho (21:30) and paying tribute to Mara with Shin Megami Tensei V (25:00). Matt is dodging E.M.M.I.s in  Metroid Dread (43:30) and figuring out how to load the PS5 enhanced Ghost Of Tsushima (1:00:30). Kelly takes a trip back to the future with Final Fantasy IV: Pixel Perfect Remaster (1:16:30) and prepares some tissue for Imposter Factory (1:32:00). Paul wraps things up with a callback to our Compile episode and GG Aleste 3 (1:47:00) followed by the unique pain of For The King (1:57:00).   Links! Hall Of Fame Video Games and Movies Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/4itnRYUlzHUOrRBiPAhvyz   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Shin Megami Tensei V - Tokyo (Daybreak) FFIV Pixel Remaster - Mt. Ordeals Aleste Collection - Menu

Today it's Arnaldo, Kelly, Paul, and special return guest, Stephan Reese of Art Of Nintendo Power (Twitter @ArtofNP) picking up our frying pans and baseball bats while we talk about the Super Nintendo's quirky classic, EarthBound! We start off the show catching up with Stephan and talking about his nonprofit, The Interactive Art Collection before moving on to the video game du jour and its creator, the world's most interesting man, Shigesato Itoi (14:00). EarthBound's Famicom predecessor Mother gets a mention (36:00) before moving on to EarthBound itself and its infamous ad campaign (48:00). Our first experiences with EarthBound are up next, including how we reacted to its underwhelming graphics (54:00) followed by the story and our favourite parts and characters (1:08:30). And we wrap things up talking about the legacy EarthBound left behind (1:51:00)   Links! Art Of Nintendo Power - https://twitter.com/ArtofNP The Interactive Art Collection - https://twitter.com/GameArtCollect   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: EarthBound - What A Great Picture! EarthBound - Sunrise and Onett Theme EarthBound - Sanctuary Guardians EarthBound - The Sky Runner

Today it's Mike, Arnaldo, and Paul talking about some of our favourite Indie horror video games! The show starts off with an unexpected appearance by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick! (2:50) We capitalize on this explosion of charisma by talking about some of our spookiest movie and gaming memories (15:00) followed by first recommendation, Yuppie Psycho (32:30). One man homage to Shadowgate, The Horror Of Salazar House is up next (49:30) followed by grotesque run n devour game, Carrion (1:02:30). The show is taken over by HAL 9000 with Observation (1:19:00), and we close things out with the geometric horror of Oxenfree (1:30:30) and unusual pick, Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent (1:46:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Yuppie Psycho - A Great Place To Work Carrion - Appetite For Destruction Oxenfree - The Beach, 7am

Today it's Arnaldo, Paul, Mike, and special guest Rick (@ashevent on instagram) talking about what video games we've been playing lately! The show begins on a high brow with a debate about Denny's vs. IHOP before we get into Mike's picks, Contra: Rogue Corps (10:50) and much better game, Psychron (23:50). Paul is up next talking about meeting up with some friends of the show in Toronto (38:30) and some of the tire fires they played, including Bible Adventures (45:45) and BAFTA award winning (not really.. but it also hasn't been nominated yet...) bootleg SNES classic, Hong Kong '97 (1:00:00). Rick moves us along touching on No More Heroes 2 and Catherine before a deep dive on Psychonauts 2 (1:25:30) and Arnie brings us home with Evan's Remains (1:50:00) and Learn Japanese To Survive: Hiragana Battle! (2:00:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Psychron - Boss Fight Hong Kong '97 - I Love Beijing Tiananmen Psychonauts 2 - Noodle Bowl

Today it's Mike in the hosting chair for the first time, joined by Arnaldo and Paul as we talk about PlayStation video game developer, and creator of highly questionable ad campaigns, Kronos Digital! After some catching up including talking about the jankiest carnival rides (Zipper forever!), the crew talks about their favourite video game ad campaigns (18:00) before moving on to the first game Kronos helped develop, Phantasmagoria (27:00). Criticom, Dark Age and Cardinal Syn (the Trilogy Of Terror!) are up next (32:00) followed by little known PC one-of, Meat Puppet (51:30). We then talk about Kronos' biggest hit, Fear Effect and its sequel, Fear Effect 2 (1:00:00) which is conversation that can't be had without talking about Fear Effect 2's ad campaign (1:24:00). We close things out with Fear Effect's nearly complete but abandoned PlayStation 2 sequel, Fear Effect 3: Inferno and the reasons that led to the demise of Kronos Digital (1:44:30)   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Gaiares (Guy Are Us) - Mission 1 Cardinal Syn - Intro Movie   Monkeys Spinning Monkeys by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.com Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/Msm-Km Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/GQCoV1TarO4  

Kelly, Kelly's cat, Arnaldo, and previous guest now full time host Mike Doucet (!) are talking about the queen of crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter, and how it has contributed to the video game industry in ways both positive and negative. We start off talking about the beginning of Kickstarter and the ways it showed promise (4:00), and of course, the first big kickstarted video game, Broken Age (14:30). But it's not just games as we talk about as we delve into whether the OUYA was actually a successful console or not (32:30). We talk about one of the bigger successes, Pillars Of Eternity (51:00) and groan over the unending saga of Star Citizen (55:30). Nostalgia milkers Mighty No. 9, the Bloodstained series, Shenmue III and Yooka Laylee are up next (1:09:00) and we close out the show talking about which projects we've personally backed and whether they delivered (1:51:00).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Broken Age - March In The Clouds Towerfall - Flight Shenmue III - Forklift Race (yesss!!!)

Today it's Geoff, Arnie, Kelly, and Paul talking about what great (and merely ok) video games we've been playing lately! We open things up with some big news for the show that then devolves into Paul's apathy towards his PS5 (4:30). Arnie saves the day with 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (25:30) and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (36:30) followed by Kelly breezing through Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (51:00) and slogging through World's End Club (1:03:00). The show wraps up with Paul and Atelier Ayesha (1:13:30) and Geoff with Metal Gear Solid V (1:36:30) and Axiom Verge 2 (1:52:30).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: SMT Strange Journey Redux - Battle 2 Atelier Ayesha - Invitation Flower (Summer)

Today we're working up a sweat as Anthony, Kelly, Arnaldo, and Paul are here with a special Patron request episode to discuss video game motion controls! First, we dive into the biggest question: why do we want motion controls in video games? (10:30). Some of the first motion control concepts are up next with arcade classics like Hang On (19:00). With the arcade in the rear view mirror, we move to the home market, first with the Atari Mindlink (27:00) and then the inspiration for the Infinity Gauntlet (probably) and antagonist of lefties everywhere, the Power Glove! (35:00) Pathetic flailing simulator the Sega Activator is lovingly discussed next (57:00) followed by the Sony Eye Toy (1:07:00) and the first big motion control success, Babysitting Mama! On the Nintendo Wii! (1:12:00) For the last segment we try to capitalize on the success of the Wii with the Microsoft Kinect (1:30:00) and Playstation Move/PSVR and talk about what the future of motion controls will look like (1:59:00).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Terminator Theme - Arnaldo Perez Daytona Match - Super Spike V'Ball Mario Kart Wii - Luigi Circuit

Today Arnaldo and Paul are joined by Youtuber, Shmup Junkie, to talk about our favourite shmup video game developer, Compile! We start off the show getting to know Ilya and hear his recommendations for the best shmups for beginners (spoiler: not Battle Garegga) before moving on to the early history of Compile (23:00) and a chat about Caravan shooter competitions (29:30). Our first experiences with Compile games are up next (36:00) followed by talking about Compile's early efforts Zanac and The Guardian Legend (43:30). We cover Compile's bread and butter, Aleste, in detail (1:10:00) followed by fan favourites Blazing Lazers and Spriggan (1:41:30) and wrap things up with Compile's end as a shmup developer (2:03:00).   Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! https://linktr.ee/regionfreegamers Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Blazing Lazers - Intro and Area 1 Power Strike - The Challenger GG Aleste 3 - Dogfighter

Kelly, Arnaldo, Anthony, and Paul are working together toward a common goal today: talking about our top picks for couch co-op video games! After discussing odds on Mario carrying the torch in the upcoming olympics and our preferred co-op gaming partners, Anthony gets the ball rolling with A Way Out (19:00). Paul is up next with oft ported arcade oddball Gain Ground (35:00) followed by wizard abuse simulator, Trine (57:00). Kelly keeps the party going with Children Of Morta (1:07:00) and divorce lubricator Overcooked 2 (1:21:30) before Arnie brings it home with action packed split-screen Stardew Valley (1:31:30) and Guncon killer app Vampire Night (1:45:30)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Sega Ages: Gain Ground - Origin, Awaken, Theme Of Heroes Children Of Morta - Soundtrack Of Love Stardew Valley - Winter (The Wind Can Be Still)

Arnaldo, Kelly, and Paul are joined by special guest from the future, Luke (@lukelikesgames on Instagram!) to talk about what video games we've been playing lately. Kelly starts us off with Sayonara Wild Hearts (12:30) and Nier Replicant (27:00). Luke is up next with Astro's Playroom (37:00) and Maquette (49:30). Arnie chips in with Tearaway (1:04:30), Cat Quest (1:13:50) and Earthbound (1:26:15). Paul rounds things up with video game tire fire, Time And Eternity (1:34:00), and the conversation devolves into some a chat about other bad games including Michigan: Report From Hell, Battle Construction Vehicles, and Fight Crab (1:48:30).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Sayonara Wild Hearts - Fighting Hearts Astro's Playroom - SSD Spiderman: The Arcade Game - BGM2

Today it's Geoff, Arnaldo, and Paul bringing you the best and worst (there's a lot of worst!) video games based on movies. The guys start out talking about when and why movies largely translate into bad video games (13:00) before Arnie rescues us with some picks for actual good games based on movies, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Scarface, and The Warriors for PS2 (26:30). Paul is up next with Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves for the NES and Super Star Wars for the SNES (55:00) followed by Geoff with Rogue Leader on the Gamecube, Alien 3 on the SNES, and of course, Goldeneye 007 for the N64 (1:11:00). But we can't talk about movie based video games without our picks for some of the worst, including the likes of The Lion King, Jurassic Park: Trespasser, and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! (1:29:00)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Aladdin (SNES) - Magic Carpet Ride Super Star Wars - Desert Journey Rocky (SMS) - Fight

Live from ATgames headquarters, Paul, Anthony, and Arnaldo are here to talk about the home arcade revolution! After a little catching up we start out talking about our earliest memories of the arcade and all the weird places we played arcade games at (21:00). Of course, it would be odd to talk about arcades without talking about the titan of arcades worldwide for the better part of a decade, Street Fighter II (38:00), followed by the overall decline of the arcade (47:30). Arcade 1up and the reasons for their success in the home arcade market are up next (57:00), and we close out the episode talking about their main competitors and our own home arcade wishlists including a game that was announced shortly after we recorded the episode! (1:25:00)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Virtual On - In The Blue Sky Street Fighter II - Spain (Vega) Out Run - Magical Sound Shower

Today it's Anthony, Paul, and extra special guest, Patron from Day 1 or possibly 3, Jay Berrones, talking about what video games we've been playing lately! After some discussion about swearing in other languages and people enjoying their accents a bit too much, Paul starts off talking about surprise PC hit, Loop Hero (15:30) before moving on to Total War: Shogun 2 (32:30) and Initial D: Extreme Stage (47:00). Jay is up next with Turbografx-16 classic Vigilante (1:04:00) followed by Pixeljunk Monsters (1:12:00) and the original Samurai Shodown! (1:23:30) Anthony wraps it up with tales from the retro arcade with Super Off Road (1:33:00), Robocop (1:44:00) and some Michael Magic with Moonwalker (1:52:00)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Loop Hero - Dark Matter Moon Initial D - Eye Catch

Arnaldo, Kelly, Geoff and Anthony are extremely excited today to talk about arguably the greatest platforming video game ever made, Super Mario World! After catching up, the crew talks about the team responsible for Super Mario World and their own varied experiences with the game (10:50). The story, game mechanics and all the cool suits are up next (48:00). The show is rounded out with a discussion about the game's critical reception, legacy, and where we all think it ranks in the pantheon of Mario games (1:25:30). Spoiler Alert: it's ahead of Mario Is Missing.   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers@gmail.com   Music: Super Mario World - Fortress Theme Super Mario World - Underwater Theme

Kelly, Arnaldo, Anthony, and Paul, are alone on Vita Island today talking about the underrated portable game system that almost could, the PlayStation Vita! After Arnie shares his story of getting Johnny Yong Bosch to sign a game he wasn't in, we start talking about the pre-Vita hype (17:00) and then the launch itself (36:00). Our anger at Sony rears its righteous head as we talk about the various reasons the Vita flopped (1:05:50) but we end the show on a fun note as we talk about our favourite video games on the Vita (1:36:00) and the legacy it left behind (1:57:00).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Gravity Rush - Resistance And Extermination Tales Of Hearts R - Battle Theme #5 Persona 4 Golden - Never More - Welcome Home

Arnaldo, Kelly, and Geoff are on deck today to talk about what video games they've been playing lately! At first, after catching up with some general video game and pandemic chat, Geoff gets the ball rolling with Jak and Daxter (14:50) followed by grooming raptors for killing guests in Jurassic World Evolution (22:40). Kelly chooses from among the obscene amount of games she's finished so far this year and comes up with Persona 5 Strikers (33:25), Octopath Traveler (45:45) and AI: The Somnium Files (58:30). Arnie brings the show home on an indie binge with Donut County (1:11:15), A Short Hike (1:17:30) and Leena's Inception (1:21:10).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Persona 5: Strikers - Scramble The Phantom Strikers Donut County - Garbage Day

The Ultra Combo of Arnaldo, Kelly, Paul, and Geoff are diving into British video gaming royalty with a retrospective on Rare! After catching up with the madness of 8 player Killer Queen Black on the Switch and the relentless harassment of Duolinguo (5:30), we start the topic of the day with a look at Rare's early history in video game development (15:30) and their dive into the venerable Nintendo Entertainment System (34:00) followed by the SNES (44:40). The legendary Rare N64 catalogue is up next (1:10:00) and the show is wrapped up with a discussion about the Microsoft purchase and the legacy left by Rare that IGN got so very, very wrong (2:02:00).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Battletoads - Title Theme Killer Instinct (Arcade) - Intro Conker's Bad Fur Day - Poo

Today Arnaldo and Paul welcome previous guest and new member of the RFG rotation, Kelly (sierranight) to talk about what is commonly considered one of the best video games of all time, Chrono Trigger! After a brief interlude into the world of phallic Personas, the crew starts off talking about their first experiences with Chrono Trigger, including how unimpressed Paul was (14:45). For a glimpse into Arnaldo's terrible taste in game mechanics, look no further than (36:20) and his disdain for the ATB system. Debates are had over favourite characters (1:11:50) and the show is wrapped up with a chat about our favourite endings and the legacy Chrono Trigger left behind (1:50:40).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Chrono Trigger - A Premonition Chrono Trigger - Chrono Trigger (Main Theme) Chrono Trigger - Battle Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene

Arnaldo, Paul and Geoff are joined by RFG podcaster emeritus Ozzy Garcia for a special Patron request episode discussing why various video game franchises have failed! After rightly embarrassing Ozzy for his love of the Filet O' Fish, we start off with Patron Joao's first suggestion, Final Fight, and its not very streetwise descent into mediocrity (8:50). The disappearance of the lovable, pettable fuzzies of Bloody Roar are up next (43:40) and the show is concluded by our discussion of Wave Race's vanishing act (1:19:10).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Final Fight CD - Slum Above Ground Bloody Roar 2 - Bringer Of The New Age Theme

Today, Geoff, Arnaldo, and Paul talk about what video games they've been playing lately! Paul starts things off with Oxygen Not Included (8:15) and bizarre DS cult favourite, Rocket Slime (28:30). Geoff is up next with a few quick hits including Hades and Dark Souls 3 (41:00) followed by Fire Emblem: Three Houses (47:00) and Mario and Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (1:01:20). Arnie wraps things up with a bucketful of Ratchet And Clank games (1:12:40) and one of the more surprising franchise resurrections we've seen, Rygar (1:32:45).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime - Cutscenes Hades - Out Of Tartarus

Today it's Paul, Arnaldo, and Geoff on deck with another choice selection of the best/worst video games ever offered! After some catching up with dogs and horrible house odors, Geoff starts us off with the classic Die Hard Trilogy for the PS1 and Saturn (13:00). Paul is up next with Die Hard Trilogy's video game spirit animal, Technocop on the Genesis (28:15) followed by Arnie with a mouthful of Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries Of Fujisawa (45:45). The parade of delightful mediocrity continues with Jurassic Park on the Sega Master System (58:30), Double Dungeons for the Turbografx-16 (1:12:15) and finally, last but not least, Xbox 360 masterpiece, Bullet Witch (1:22:35).   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Kotodama The 7 Mysteries Of Fujisawa - Story Double Dungeons - Field 1 Bullet Witch - Ferocious Cheer From Voice Extras

Today Geoff and Paul are joined by special guest and artist extraordinaire, Ryan Medlock (@videogamebear on Instagram) to talk about arguably the most successful British gaming developer and publisher, Team 17! First we catch up with Ryan and get some of his favourite platforming picks before heading into the Amiga era (of course!) and the birth of Team 17 (15:00). We talk about Alien Breed and some of their other earlier efforts (31:00) before moving on to the game that launched a thousand sequels, Worms! (45:30). Then we wrap up the show talking about Team 17's brilliant pivot to indie games with hits like Overcooked and Blasphemous (1:02:00)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Alien Breed - Menu Overcooked - Restaurant  

Today Arnaldo, Ozzy, Anthony, and Paul are here to celebrate the end of a miserable year in general, but a pretty good year for video games! The guys start the show catching up and talking about a bizarre year before getting on to the never confusing favourite non-2020 video game of 2020 including classics like Dark Souls and wish-they-were-classics like Chibi Robo (32:30). Some of our video game disappointments of 2020 are up next (54:00) followed by our picks for 2020 video game of the year! (1:25:00)   Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Chibi Robo - So dododo Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin - Winding Roots Streets Of Rage 4 - Mrs. Y

In our most personally anticipated episode of the year, Arnaldo, Ozzy, Geoff, and Paul talk about the wrestling video games they grew up with and which ones managed to climb the ladder and grab the championship belt! We start off talking about our early experiences watching wrestling (04:30) followed by the earliest 8-bit wrestling games featuring King Slender and Doctor Guildo (15:00). A discussion of our favourite wrestlers comes next (The Rock may or may not be mentioned) (40:30) followed by the 16-bit and arcade wrestling games of the era (58:30). The crowning achievements of the 32bit era, WCW/nWo Revenge and their ilk are up for discussion next (1:04:30) and we close out with the PS2 generation of wrestling games (1:36:00) and our favourite wrestling moments! (1:55:30)   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Tecmo World Wrestling - Fight Music 1 Pomp And Circumstance (Macho Madness!!) WWF No Mercy - Intro

Today Arnaldo, Geoff, and Paul are joined by special guest Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover Podcast to talk about our (mostly!) favourite RPG of the 16-bit era, Final Fantasy IV! We start off the show getting to know Chris and discuss his time flying in airplanes for a living and sneaking around on the Big Shell (2:30), followed by an intro to Final Fantasy IV and our experiences with this superlative video game (15:30). The all-star team of developers is up next along with their stories and a deep dive into the game and characters (33:30) and the show is wrapped up with some of the weird quirks from the game and a discussion of the legacy Final Fantasy IV has left behind (1:31:00)   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Final Fantasy IV - Red Wings Final Fantasy IV - Main Theme Final Fantasy IV - Battle 2

Today Arnaldo, Geoff, Anthony and Paul talk about the release of the next generation of video game consoles, including the Xbox Series X, the Playstation 5, and the Nintendo Game & Watch! We really did actually get immediately distracted by the Game & Watch before getting to business with Anthony's hatred of UPS, our experiences trying to purchase these systems, and Anthony's surprising experience with the improved performance of the XBSX (04:00). Next we talk about what Microsoft will have to do this generation to get a foothold against Sony (31:00) followed by the next generation of controllers (1:06:00) and whether this will be the last generation of consoles (1:24:00). We close out the show with the most important thing: what next generation video games are we most looking forward to? (1:37:00)   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Yakuza: Like A Dragon - Hei An Ru Encounter Sackboy: A Big Adventure - The Journey... Begins! Astro's Playroom - SSD Speedway Music 2

Today Arnaldo and Paul are joined by special guest James Moller (@pintsandplatformers on instagram) to chat about what video games we have been playing lately! Arnaldo starts us off with the terrified teenagers of Until Dawn (16:30), followed by Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (24:30), and the toothbrush wielding Chibi Robo (30:30). James is up next with the stress of Darkest Dungeon (43:00), Supergiant's artful gem Transistor (47:30), and not-a-peeing-simulator Firewatch (55:00). Paul closes out the show with Vanillaware masterpiece 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (1:08:00), dream fulfiller Star Wars: Squadrons (1:23:00) and Slay The Spire-like, Monster Train (1:34:30).   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Transistor - Apex Beat 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim -DEOXYRIBOSE

For this Halloween-centric episode, Ozzy is joined by Geoff and Arnie, with special guest Josh (a/k/a @NinjaArtorias on Instagram) to discuss the game of the decade that was Dark Souls. The crew goes for a deep dive on FromSoftware's beloved title, exploring its story and lore, the beauty of its gameplay loop and the type of imprint they believe the game will leave behind. It is a super fun episode with knights, dragons and more souls talk than you can shake your hilt at.  Visit us!www.regionfreegamers.comPatreon!www.patreon.com/regionfreegamersTalk to us!Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcastTwitter @regionfreegamerEmail regionfreegamers at gmail dot com Music:Firelink Shrine (30:00)Prologue (51:25)Great Grey Wolf Sif  (1:05:03)Gwyn, Lord of Cinder (1:46:35)

Today Geoff, Arnaldo, and Paul talk about one of the great British video game development houses of the 90's, Psygnosis! We can't stop ourselves from immediately getting into the logo and iconic artwork for Psygnosis' games (8:00) and continue with Psygnosis in the Amiga era and hits like Shadow Of The Beast and Lemmings (24:00). The 32-bit era is up next with system seller and spelling mystery WipEout (55:30), followed by Psygnosis' space based games G-Police and Colony Wars (1:21:00). Alas nothing good lasts forever, and we close with the interesting story behind Psygnosis' demise (1:40:00). Visit us!www.regionfreegamers.comPatreon!www.patreon.com/regionfreegamersTalk to us!Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcastTwitter @regionfreegamerEmail regionfreegamers at gmail dot com Music:Shadow Of The Beast - The CavernFormula-1 - StatesideColony Wars - Track 03

Arnaldo, Ozzy, Paul, and Anthony are up today answering some video game (and non-video game!) related questions! Our first question leads to a bizarre discussion about Blade for the PS1 and why exactly Wesley Snipes isn't in it (8:00). Other questions and answers include our thoughts on Limited Run Games (30:00), how we can improve diversity in gaming (1:02:30), our favourite 3rd party video game controllers (1:30:30) and how to avoid video game burnout (1:50:00).   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Super Robot Wars F - Getter Robo! Super Mario World - Underwater Theme Ridge Racer Type 4 - Garage Talk

Today, Arnaldo and Ozzy are joined by special guest and Nintendo Power art collector, Stephan Reese, of the Collector's Quest podcast, to talk about collecting all things video games! After talking a little about about Stephan's collection, the crew talks about his first days of gaming and getting into the video game industry (21:00) followed by how he got into collecting video game collectibles (25:00). The nitty gritty of Nintendo Power specific collecting is next (38:30) and why going from collecting games to other items happened at all (52:00). The guys wrap things up talking about the old Nintendo Game Counsellors and what kind of collectibles come from that world (1:16:00) and finding artwork that readers submitted to Nintendo Power (1:36:30).   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Super Mario World - Overworld Theme Mega Man 2 - Flash Man

It's Geoff, Ozzy, and Paul today talking about what video games they've been playing! After talking about empty airports and crowded airplanes, Geoff starts us off with a trip down memory lane into City 17 and Half Life 2 (10:30), followed by embarrassing Paul over his lack of pop culture acumen with point and click classic Blade Runner (24:00). Ozzy is up next with stories about peeing (literally) thanks to PSVR (37:00), drifting terribly in Out Run 2 (53:00), and going back to basics with Samurai Shodown for the PS4 (1:03:31). Paul wraps things up trying avoid depressing thoughts in Disco Elysium (1:12:30) and the video game that is the opposite of depressing, Shovel Knight! (1:26:00)   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Patreon! www.patreon.com/regionfreegamers Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Out Run 2 - Magical Sound Shower Shovel Knight - Strike The Earth! (Plains Of Passage)