Abnormal Mapping

Latest Episodes:

Abnormal Mapping 170: Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman and Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

We’re playing two not very classics of their respective genres today as we go back to the back half of the 90s to play an early action game and a relatively early 3D platformer. We’re kind of split on which game we prefer along lines I expect you’d predict, but we both had a pretty good time with both games anyway! Also, before that, Jackson gives the MOTHER of all segment 1 updates.

At 16:15 or so until 1:15:30 Jackson's Audacity file broke and we had to use the backup. Em's a little quiet during this section but it's mostly okay. I did my best with the edit. Sorry about that!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Devil May Cry 1, The Bouncer, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, TMNT 89 Arcade, Oni, Maken Shao: Demon Sword, Final Fight, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Double Dragon 2: The Revenge, Downtown Nekketsu Story, Shinobi, Black Belt, Rolling Thunder, Altered Beast, Aliens, Ninja Gaiden (NES), Contra, Super Contra, Double Dragon (NES), Shadow Dancer, Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone, Mega Man 2, Galaxian, Defender, Scramble, Tempest, Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos, Space Harrier, Shadow of the Ninja, Xevious, Devil Blade Reboot, Batsugun, Varyznex, The Hurricane of the Varstray: Collateral Hazard, Alien vs Predator, Shoot 1Up DX, Exed Exes, Gradius, Terra Cresta, Twinbee, Slap Fight, Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom, Streets of Rage 2, Bare Knuckle 3, TMNT 4: Turtles in Time, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Final Fight 2, Final Fight 3, Knights of the Round, Jackson's shmup diaries on their youtube, Touhou 1 and Touhou 2, Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman, Devil May Cry, Godhand, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, Froggun, Lode Runner, Tomb Raider

Next Month’s Game Club: Soul Blazer

Music this Episode
Johnny No More byDavid Nowlin and Greg Weber
Rising Zan Them by Hironobu Kageyama, Atsunori Namba, Yoshichika Shimamura
Volcano Island 4 by Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin and Martin Gwynn Jones
Bonus Theme 1 by Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin and Martin Gwynn Jones
Snow Island 4 by Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin and Martin Gwynn Jones

Abnormal Mapping 169: 1000xRESIST Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

We tackle a newer game this month as we talk about the critically acclaimed adventure game 1000xRESIST. We found plenty to love and plenty to pick at during our time with this one, but it’s exactly the kind of messy game we tend to like around here, so we’re glad we played it and I hope you enjoy listening to us talk through it!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Balatro, Sonic Colors, Crash Bandicoot, Dynasty Warriors 9 and 3, Saga 1, 1080XRESIST, science fiction metaphors, queer reads, trauma and parents and children, a little bit about China and Hong Kong (but less than you'd think)

Next Month’s Game Club: Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman and Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

Music this Episode
Watcher Haunted by Drew Redman
The Orchard - In Motion by Drew Redman
Inside Sunrise by Drew Redman
Fixer's Song -Extended- by Drew Redman

Abnormal Mapping 168: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006): Legacy of Solaris Dec 25, 2024

Show notes

We close out the year by playing one of the most infamous games we’ve ever covered, a game that has been a running joke and shorthand for bad game for nearly twenty years. And yet, do we find the judgment of history fair? Do we believe in redemption for a certain blue hedgehog and the anime princess who loves him? We’re going to try our best, as we finally play Sonic 06 (with as much help as modding can give us)!

To install Legacy of Solaris for yourself, please watch this video!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Stellar Blade, Infinity Nikki, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Jumping Flash 1 & 2, Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic 06, Sonic at large, the video Jackson referenced Em had no idea about, game projects, controller preferences, dreaming up better worlds for video games

Next Month’s Game Club: 1000xRESIST

Music this Episode
Boss Solaris Phase 2 by Hideaki Kobayashi, Tomoya Ohtani, et al.
Wave Ocean ~ The Inlet ~ by Hideaki Kobayashi, Tomoya Ohtani, et al.
Town Mission 3 by Hideaki Kobayashi, Tomoya Ohtani, et al.
My Destiny (Theme of Elise) by Hideaki Kobayashi, Tomoya Ohtani, et al.

Abnormal Mapping 167: Shenmue II Nov 24, 2024

Show notes

We’re joined by Dia Lacina once again as Ryo continues the next leg of his quest to track down Lan Di, his father’s killer. What strange challenges will he find in China? How does Yu Suzuki follow up one of the most ambitious, incredible games of all time? We find ourselves surprised at almost every turn as Shenmue II goes big and goes small and goes adventuring!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Stalker 2, watch Dia and Em play Gabriel Knight 3 on Dia's YouTube channel, Vanishing Point, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup, Super Mega Baseball 4, Streets of Rage, Some Sonic Games, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Mother, Ninja Baseball Bat Man, Arctic Eggs, Shenmue, Shenmue II, Shenmue 3 predictions, the most a game has ever made us laugh

Next Month’s Game Club: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the Legacy of Solaris mod (install tutorial video)

Music this Episode
Joy by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, et al.
Queen’s Street by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, et al.
Campfire Discussion by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, et al.
The Path to Destiny by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, et al.

Abnormal Mapping 166: Racing Lagoon Oct 27, 2024

Show notes

One of the hot new releases of … wait, 1999? That can’t be right. Oh, it’s a fan translation. One of the hot new fan translations hitting the inter-oh I’m being informed the fan translation is from three years ago! How embarrassing. Well, we’ve been meaning to play this one for a hot minute, and when Em finally tried it they were so instantly in love with it they insisted we cover it for the podcast. So we did! Turns out, we had a great time! Please join us as we try to discover what is beyond speed!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Lollipop Chainsaw, Akiba's Trip, Oneechanbara,Oneechanbara 2, Ys IX Monstrum Nox, Etrian Odyssey, Ratchet and Clank 4 and 5 PS2, Air Comabat, Ace Combat 2, Ace Combat 3, Ace Combat 4, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Racing Lagoon, Racing Lagoon plot summary from Dungeon Chill, Ashita no Joe, Final Fantasy, Initial D, the lost generation and the bubble economy, fan translations, gallery of all the loading screens in Racing Lagoon

Next Month’s Game Club: Shenmue II

Music this Episode
Loop Demo by Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda
Taiman Battle by Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda
Yuka Suzuki by Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda
Forgethill by Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda

Timestamps
(00:00:00) - Segment 1: We’re Gaming!
(00:54:20) - Segment 2: Racing Lagoon
(02:00:45) - Segment 3: Questions

Abnormal Mapping 165: Mister Mosquito Sep 29, 2024

Show notes

Sometimes you decide to finally pick up one of those games you’ve always heard of but never got around to, the curiosities that you are pretty sure aren’t must plays, but stick in your brain anyway. Some might argue this has been the history of Abnormal Mapping at large! But this month we do one of the epitomes of this style of game as Em chose one of the big PS2 curiosities from the era of “I can’t believe they localized that!”

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: PlayStation 5 Pro, Ratchet & Clank PS2 trilogy, Harmful Park, Ranger X, Haunted Castle Revisited, Castlevania Judgment, CybeRRRevolution, Phantasy Star Online, Astro Bot, Mister Mosquito, quirky games

Next Month’s Game Club: Racing Lagoon

Music this Episode
Pit of Peril by Kenneth C M Young
Bossa 1 by Akihito Okawa and Houzou Okazaki
Jazz 1 by Akihito Okawa and Houzou Okazaki
Funk 1 by Akihito Okawa and Houzou Okazaki

Timestamps
(00:00:00) - Segment 1: Gaming Catchup
(01:03:00) - Segment 2: Cassette Beasts
(01:43:20) - Segment 3: Questions

Abnormal Mapping 164: Final Fantasy XI Sep 19, 2024

Show notes

Jackson is joined today by official Final Fantasy Correspondant Austin Walker to talk about Final Fantasy XI - specifically the base game and Rise of the Zilart. It’s been a busy MMO summer and we simply needed to get it out of our systems and into microphones somewhere. Please enjoy this three hour tribute to a game that’s still around and still good as hell.

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, all the other Final Fantasies a little too, World of Warcraft and MMOs. It’s mostly just FF11 though.

This Month’s Second Game Club: Mister Mosquito

Music this Episode
One Last Time by Nobuo Uematsu
The Grand Duchy of Jueno by Naoshi Mizuta
Voyager by Naoshi Mizuta

Abnormal Mapping 163: The Forgotten City Aug 25, 2024

Show notes

Em is back from the month off to talk about the joy of a kind of cheesy mystery with a great sci-fi premise as we get to live out our Star Trek: The Original Series dreams by lecturing ancient peoples about how our modern world view is clearly the best one. This sounds like it’s selling The Forgotten City short, but I promise it isn’t, we really liked this game. Sometimes good things are also kind of silly things, is all, and we delight in the silliness in this episode.

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Dwarf Fortress, Neon White, Jackson's MMO Summer, The Forgotten City, Immortals of Aveum

Next Month’s Game Club: A Bonus Final Fantasy XI episode, and then Mister Mosquito at the end of the month!

Music this Episode
The Forgotten City by Michael Allen
The Die is Cast by Michael Allen
The Voice of the People by Michael Allen
Life's Greatest Blessings by Michael Allen

Abnormal Mapping 162: Citizen Sleeper Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

This month it’s just me, Jackson, being joined by Crystal to play Citizen Sleeper. Em is currently in Hospital after major surgery and so I’m taking over and organizing the podcasts while they recover! Please send them well wishes. It’s time to talk about RPG systems, and the strange act of critiquing leftist video games that you mostly agree with. I think this is a good discussion about a fun game and I hope everyone enjoys it!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Pokemon NetBattle, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy XI, Citizen Sleeper, Skyrim, Fallout New Vegas, Dragonstomper

Next Month’s Game Club: ??? Possibly The Forgotten City, we shall see

Music this Episode
Possible Futures by Amos Roddy
Ember’s Wake by Amos Roddy
A Window to the Sun by Amos Roddy

Timestamps
(00:00:00) - Segment 1: Dragon Age/FFXI
(00:31:21) - Segment 2: Citizen Sleeper

Abnormal Mapping 161: Cassette Beasts Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

We enjoy one of the major modern attempts at making a Pokemon-style monster collecting and battling RPG with Cassette Beasts. We talk about surprising scope of the world, the intense battle system, what your numbers say about your priorities, the weirdness of dating mechanics, and much more! This game was a great surprise and a huge delight, so please check it out!

Thank you so much as always for listening, please rate and review the podcast, and tell all your friends on whatever social media you call home that they should check us out. See you next month!

Send us questions about our game clubs, other games, or gaming in general to abnormalmappingpodcast@gmail.com!

If you would like to support us please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping for exclusive podcasts!

Things Discussed: Doom 4, Summer Games Fest, baffling Square Enix decisions, Cassette Beasts, Pokemon, rpg battle mechanics, open world design, dating mechanics

Next Month’s Game Club: The Forgotten City

Music this Episode
Cross Your Heart by Joel Baylis
Like Chimeras by Joel Baylis
Wherever We Are Now by Joel Baylis
Same Old Story by Joel Baylis

Timestamps
(00:00:00) - Segment 1: Summer Games Fest chat
(00:16:40) - Segment 2: Cassette Beasts
(01:21:20) - Segment 3: Questions

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