Retrofecta

It's been a minute but Marin's singing has pulled us back to record a new Retrofecta! Link's Awakening did amazing things when it only had 4 bits to work with, but what do Gregg and Kenneth think of this modern remaster for Nintendo's Switch? Does the gameplay hold up, how are the graphics, would they want to see more Zelda games get re-made like this? Listen to find out all that and more!

It's Retrofecta's big 2-0 episode and what better way to celebrate than with the newest old Super Nintendo game to be released! 21 years after it was supposed to come out, Star Fox 2 finally burst into freedom last year and Gregg and Kenneth are checking it out to see if it holds up to the test of time, or if this was a game that was better left buried. Opinions are split between us so come check out who dug it and who just wasn't feeling it! Mentioned in this Episode: -The Court of Nerds http://www.thecourtofnerds.com/ -If Memory Serves http://notlg.com/ifmemoryserves/ -Star Fox 2 Speed Runs http://www.speedrun.com/sf2

You asked for it and we listened! Due to popular demand, Retrofecta played through our first non Mario/Zelda/Samus game and now we're here to talk about the cult classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Neither Gregg or Kenneth played this growing up, so they both approached it fresh, 25 years after it's release. Does it 'live' up to the hype or are the enemies not the only zombies here? Come listen to their thoughts!

It's been a hot minute but Retrofecta is back in your ears and talking about arguably one of the greatest Zelda games ever made, Majora's Mask! Guest host Gregg from Court of Nerds joins to talk with Kenneth about Nintendo's first foray into the bizarre Clock Town and the numerous weird and interesting people in and around it. Does this game deserve the hype? Did their three day time recursion work well? Is Link actually dead and this is all just him processing that fact? Tune in and get our thoughts on all this and more!

Retrofecta is trying something new this month and we hope you like it! Ocarina of Time is a much lengthier game than we'd anticipated, so we're pushing the second half of our playthrough out until November, but in the mean time we're giving the Metroid 2 remake a go. Come join Kurt and Kenneth as they pop the game open while recording and then play through the first hour and a half or so (with all the dead air cut out as talking + jumping is pretty difficult). They were both pretty critical of the Gameboy version, so does this remake fix their complaints? Listen and find out!

It's time. While opinions may vary, for many people Ocarina of Time is the pinnacle of Zelda gaming and we're covering it! Or, at least the first half of it because dang, this game ramps up the playthrough time. Come join Kurt and Kenneth as they reminisce about the first time they saw Hyrule Field, discuss the pros and cons of OoT's controls vs Mario 64s, and take bets on who everyone in the Nintendo team voted as having the most difficult job on the project.

We're hopping consoles again and heading to the first of the Nintendo 64 generation! Super Mario 64 was one of only two games to launch with the N64 so expectations for it were huge; does it live up to the hype it garnered? Do we think it helped start a new genre of platformers? Just how much do we want to set the camera system on fire? Kurt and Kenneth cover all this and more in this month's Retrofecta!

What happens when you take a Mario game starring....not Mario? Welcome to Yoshi's Island, definitely one of the weirder sequels (prequels?) to a previous game we've played through. Kurt and Kenneth have a lot to unpack with this game, especially including why they were having a hard time getting into it when each of it's components was so well received by them. Did they ultimately enjoy it? Would they recommend it to fans of the series? Come listen and find out! Mentioned in this Episode: Current World Record Speed Runs Check Out Explodeyman!: Follow Him on Twitter! Check Him Out on Soundcloud! Buy & Listen to His Music!

It turns out that Retrofecta's lucky number 13 is also one of our favorite games so far. Come check out what we thought about the first Metroid game that both of us actually enjoyed! Plus learn why it was the game that jump started speed runs, why you should always check out the controller config screen, and and why we love maps so much. Mentioned in this Episode: Current World Record Speed Runs Check Out Explodeyman!: Follow Him on Twitter! Check Him Out on Soundcloud! Buy & Listen to His Music!

Come join Kurt and Kenneth as they close out Retrofecta's first year with a game that's held up exceedingly well, Link's Awakening. Tuckered out from saving Hyrule once again, Link takes hops on his boat and crashes on a bonkers island. What do we think of the first big departure from the series norm? Do owls show up way too much? Is this a good spiritual successor to Link to the Past? Come listen and find out!

Kurt and Kenneth are almost out of the 4 bit generation as we power through Six Golden Coins worth of adventure. Picking up right after Mario Land 1's story, we help Mario get his castle back from the debut character Wario and then we chat about it! Come listen to what we think of Nintendo's much better than it's predecessor Game Boy platformer! Mentioned in this Episode: Current World Record Speed Runs Check Out Explodeyman!: Follow Him on Twitter! Check Him Out on Soundcloud! Buy & Listen to His Music!

It's finally time! After months of saying "well this was a decent game but I can't wait until we hit Link to the Past" we're here and Kenneth's trying not to gush too much. Come listen to our ramblings about Zelda's timeline, which items we're glad to see added in, our nitpicks with the game, and why we think indie game developers landed on 16 bit graphics as their go to. Plus as always we give shout outs to the best speed runners for this game and answer some listener questions.

Retrofecta is back with our first mid-month release and Kenneth is flying solo today. Come get his initial thoughts on the Switch's launch line up of games and which he'll be picking up on day one. Spoiler, one of them is shockingly Breath of the Wild.

Come hang out with Kurt and Kenneth as they talk about the Return of Samus (with a healthy side of Nintendo Switch theorycrafting.) Did their first Super Nintendo game spoil them when they try and return to 4 bit graphics? Just how many Metroid staples did this game introduce? Why has the speedrunning scene never really caught on with Metroid 2? Come find out!

It's a new year and a new system for Retrofecta! Kurt and Kenneth are back to start 2017 out with potentially the most difficult game to talk about yet as....we may just love it too much. There's probably a negative comment in the 'cast somewhere but even we're not sure! Tune in for cape feathers, Yoshi, all new level designs, and more speed runs than you can shake a fire flower at. Happy new year to all you gamers out there!

Come say a fond farewell to the Nintendo with Kurt and Kenneth as they wrap up their first console this month. They're back for Super Mario Bros 3 and there are many thoughts and feelings! Is this their favorite Retrofecta game yet? Why the heck did it take so long to ship between the Japanese and NA release? Just what is a tanooki anyway? All this and more can be found within!

It's Retrofecta's six month anniversary and what better way to celebrate than with our first Gameboy game! Join us as we travel with Mario (sorry Luigi, you're sitting this one out) to Sarasaland because Tatanga's trying to take it over. Can a Mario game hold up if Miyamoto didn't develop it? Will a game developed for 160x144 pixels entertain us? Tune in for all that and more!

Take some mind-altering substance and tune in for a trippy adventure through Mario's dreams. Join Kurt and Kenneth as they play through the second sequel in Nintendo's trifecta; it looks like Nintendo is really starting to hit their stride at this point. Can a game initially created for Fuji Televisions hold up when it's converted to a Mario game? How are speed runners still getting these crazy times even twenty five years later? Why is Toad the biggest beast of the group? Listen and find out!

It's a new month and we're back with the first sequel for Retrofecta! Both Kurt and Kenneth are a bit shocked to find out Zelda 2 held up better than they though and actually pulls from all three of the games they've previously covered. What are their final thoughts on it? Where do they rank it out of the four they've played now? Should Zelda experiment with more side scrollers? Tune in and find out!

Our initial push through the NES continues as we hit the third tent pole game, Metroid. We've now played a game from each of our three big series so our hosts Kurt and Kenneth have a bit more to compare and contrast. Listen in as we learn the morph ball came about due to lazy programming, which parts made us want to rage quit, and just how much quicker other people can beat these games.

Retrofecta is back and this month we dive into The Legend of Zelda (The Hyrule Fantasy as it's known elsewhere). Kurt and Kenneth cover everything from rabbits being the most dangerous of enemies to how Miyamoto pushed this release into new social areas of gaming. As always, we go over the speed runners who put us to shame and dig into our thoughts both on this game as a stand alone title and how it influenced the industry.

Welcome to the first Retrofecta! Hosts Kurt and Kenneth will be meeting monthly to chat about their trials and adventures playing through Nintendo's big three tent pole series: Super Mario Bros, the assorted Legends of Zelda, and Metroid. They jump right into the action with Super Mario Bros 1 for the NES and range from how speed runners can clear it in under five minutes but they keep falling into pits all the way to how a platformer that traveled right to left would blow their minds. Huge thanks to Explodeyman from http://explodeyman.bandcamp.com/ for the intro/outro music from his kickass song, Fireball.