Tipping the Turtle Gaming

With no agenda or episode outline to work from, the Turtle Guys bid farewell to season 2 in their most digressive episode yet. Nick discusses the impact of the COVID pandemic on retro game shopping, and Jeff explains how awesome RetroAchievements are. Plus: the cause of season 1's abrupt conclusion is finally revealed, and Jeff and Nick discuss the cut episode that was so bad it will never see the light of day.

As the second season winds down, Jeff and Nick present some of the best moments from the first two seasons of Tipping the Turtle.

Jeff and Nick discuss the Nintendo e-Reader, a unique peripheral for the Game Boy Advance that used dotcode LED technology to read special e-cards for games and additional content. Also featured: the e-Reader's surprisingly awesome menu music and BRRRRMP! READ ERROR.

It's TurtleMania, brother! In our first-ever wrestling special, the tag team of Jeff and Nick discuss and rank all 11 wrestling games released for the NES. They also reveal the dangers of taking a wrench to the head, and Nick does a confusing Goldust impression.

Jeff and Nick spend a few minutes discussing whether the increase in prices for retro games over the past decade is caused by organic supply-and-demand changes or market interlopers, then spend an inordinate amount of time trashing-talking scalpers.

Jeff and Nick talk about what makes a good retro game anthology. Nick discusses the world of PlayStation demo discs, and Jeff reveals the awesome Game Boy Advance compilation Capcom almost made. Plus, did you know Sears is going out of business?

The Turtle Guys discuss the gaming industry's transition to digital download-only games and how that both serves and threatens video game preservation. Jeff makes an impassioned defense of video games as a legitimate artform, and the duo try to figure out how to ensure future generations can access these works while protecting IP holders' commercial interests. If that all sounds really dry, maybe just tune in and see what dumb voice Nick does this week. Tatum Joe returns for like a minute.

The Turtle Guys continue their discussion of devices that allow you to play Game Boy games on television, including a bizarre pair of peripherals designed for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation. Plus, Jeff and Nick take their first listener email as a challenge and play one of the best Gina Davis movie-based video games for the Game Gear.

In the first half of a two-parter, the Turtle Guys discuss devices and consoles that allow you to play Game Boy games on your television, including the Super Game Boy and the Game Boy Player. Plus: the debut of Tatum Joe, and Jeff reveals how Tipping the Turtle nearly ruined one listener's professional reputation.

Jeff and Nick discuss cheat devices like the Game Genie, the GameShark, and the Action Replay, and reminisce about their favorite cheats for games like GoldenEye 007 and Pokémon Red.

The Turtle Guys continue their dive into the world of great, terrible, and weird controllers. Plus, Nick is given one more chance to redeem the Nick's Picks segment and gives a surprising retro game recommendation.

In part 1 of their first-ever two-part episode, the Turtle Guys discuss some of their favorite and least favorite retro game controllers. Jeff shows perhaps too much adoration for the Interact SNES Superpad, and Nick reveals the strangest-looking NES controller ever conceived. Plus, in the return of Nick's Picks, will this finally be the week Nick actually recommends a decent game?

Jeff and Nick discuss the exhilarating highs and heart-breaking lows of searching for retro games in shops, yard sales, and other bazaars of forgotten things. They talk about the flea market with the worst name ever and another flea market with the worst N64 ever. Plus, after disappointing Jeff by recommending Superman 64 last week, Nick tries to redeem himself in the return of Nick's Picks.

The Turtle Guys discuss three controversies from the least controversial game ever, Tetris. Then, Jeff solicits the help of the listeners in solving a mystery surrounding an old Windows game that only seems to have existed in demo form, and Nick offers a retro game recommendation. Plus: monkeys, scalpers, and scalper monkeys.

Jeff quizzes Nick on retro video gaming miscellany in the return of Test Your Might. Plus: Jeff needs too many takes to get the intro right, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson comes up more than once somehow.

In effort to alienate just about everybody, Jeff and Nick talk about the universally-reviled games that they love--and then talk about the games everybody else loves that they just can't get into. Do the Turtle Guys hate your favorite game? Only one way to find out!

In the season 2 premiere of Tipping the Turtle, Jeff and Nick chronicle the events that led up to the 1983 video game crash, a crisis that almost fatally devastated the video game industry. Plus: Jeff finally discovers a movie Nick has never heard of, and Nick talks about skulls. Piles and piles of skulls.

Jeff and Nick examine the history and games of Wisdom Tree, an unlicensed NES publisher who would create and then corner the religious video game market.  After that, Contra-versy Code returns as the Turtle Guys discuss the pros and cons of after-market clone consoles.  Plus: Mark Wahlberg, Nick's cursed Genesis cartridge, and zero Buddhas.

The Turtle Guys face off against each other for retro gaming trivia glory in the return of Test Your Might.  Later, they talk about their favorite games in the fishing and alien-moles-pushing-around-boulders genres.

Jeff and Nick play AI Dungeon, a text adventure game with stories written by artificial intelligence.  Things break down almost immediately in a bizarre tale of murder, magic, and pro wrestling that leaves Jeff and Nick barely clinging to their own sanity.  Plus: canyon justice, goblin negotiations, and the best town hall meeting ever.

Jeff and Nick discuss how Atari CEO Ray Kassar's short temper cost them a lucrative deal with Nintendo but indirectly saved the video game industry.  Plus, in a new segment called Contra-versy Code, they discuss the nuanced morality (but less nuanced legality) of video game emulation while Nick tries nervously to distance himself from Jeff's cavalier disregard for the law.

Nick and Jeff talk about the importance of word-of-mouth urban legends in 90s gaming culture, and Jeff does a deep-dive into an obscure arcade game/possible mind control conspiracy, Polybius.  Nick gets quizzed by Jeff on gaming urban legends in a new segment called Test Your Might.  Plus: Nick reveals how to unlock multiple totally fake characters in Mortal Kombat, and Jeff breaks Nick's head with a shocking revelation about Super Mario World.

Jeff and Nick examine the development history of Action 52, the worst NES game of all time, and speculate about the mysterious businessman behind its creation.  Then, in Seal of Approval, Nick talks about two of his favorite retro games you can find in the bargain bin at your local used gaming shop.  Plus: cheetahs, drug lords, and bicyclical child abuse.