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Latest Episodes:

#033 - "Yars Truly" (Yars' Revenge) Nov 03, 2019

Show notes

It's time to hop in a modded Dolorian back to the golden age of video games and talk about the Atari 2600 and Yars' Revenge. My guest, Atari enthusiast CJ aka CardiacDrop and I discuss 2600 cover art, dispensing with ageism, games that used to come with manuals, comic books, guidebooks, maps, and extras, bringing your own imagination to the game, "few rules and a tremendous play space" in design, the difference between action and adventure, the objective of an endless game, the story of the vengeance of Yars for Razak IV against the infamous Qotile, Howard Scott Warshaw and his Easter Egg, how Yars' Revenge got its name, playing Yars' at launch, the strength of retro games that were forced to design within specific limitations, E.T. infamy, the North American Video Game Crash, the VCS, the fate and future of Atari, the matter of exclusives, and why you should still play 2600 games for yourself.
Links:
thewellredmage.com/
atariage.com/comics/comic_page.php?MagazineID=48&CurrentPage=1
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @CardiacDrop

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#032 - "This Game Is Out Of This World!" (Another World) Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

Time to discuss the science of scary with my guest Mike from The Controller Throwers and the game Another World. We break down this title as horror and look at the premise of the unfortunate tale of Lester Knight Chaykin, not being an action hero, development by Eric Chahi and old indies, why the name was changed to "Out of this World", the science of cover art design, Mike finding his long lost cart after decades, why some love the game and why some hate it, the many ways to die and death animations, similar contemporary games, rotoscoping, Max Fleischer and Don Bluth, lacking gaminess, early cinematic and atmospheric storytelling, the question of a boundary between film and game, exposition vs pacing a narrative, re-releases, Heart of the Alien and Heart of Darkness, the idea of needing sequels, influential games and what Another World has inspired, experiencing as playing vs watching, oversaturation, and the definition of a classic.
Links:
medium.com/@thaisweiller/games-are-not-art-9a7e540e4bf1
twitch.tv/tcthrowers
thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/another-world/
thewellredmage.com/2018/10/23/another-world-20th-anniversary-edition-2018-switch/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @TCThrowers

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#031 - "A Miserable Little Podcast Of Secrets" (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) Oct 21, 2019

Show notes

Sing with us the bittersweet Symphony of the Night on this Castlevania episode starring SanityCrypto and Aros Elric. We discuss video game voice acting, both then and now, voice actors and union rights, character impressions, 2D platforming in the 3D era, enjoying the criticism of the things we enjoy, blemishes and flaws giving things beauty, memes and their purpose, familiarity vs popularity and intrinsic quality, the soundtrack and classical music, religious imagery and architecture, putting the -vania in Metroidvania, playing as Alucard, literature and classic art, our favorite bosses, Symphony's new artwork style, Bloodstained and modern Metroidvanias, monsters from other mythologies, the Inverted Castle, our favorite Castlevania games, the Netflix Castlevania series and issues with television entertainment, and our favorite chairs (???).
Links:
teepublic.com/stores/thewellredmage?ref_id=10322
extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=45204
thecoinboys.com/
twitter.com/theWellRedMage/status/1173809719170854912
thewellredmage.com/2019/07/25/castlevania-anniversary-collection-2019-pc/
thewellredmage.com/2016/10/31/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night/
thewellredmage.com/2019/10/19/sponsor-a-monster-a-halloween-collab-coming-to-get-you/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guests: @SanityCrypto
@ArosElric

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#030 - "Explain It To Me Like I'm Forza" (Forza Horizon 4) Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

It's time to put the Slipstream Mage in the driver's seat and talk about Forza Horizon 4! We're discussing juggling multiple games and forgetting where you've left off, how to pronounce "Forza" and what the word means in Italian, the TWRM GOTY Forza vs Journey controversy, the appeal of racing games, immersion, the sense of speed, and wish fulfillment, the importance of finely tuned mechanics, controls, and physics for racing game quality, the question of transferrable skills between real driving and game driving, differences between the Forza Horizon games and their settings, the open-world racing game structure, arcade and simulation gameplay, comparing Forza Horizon with other racing franchises, mixing Forza and Crazy Taxi, what Forza could learn from its peers, innovation and the future of the franchise, multiplayer woes, skill-based rankings, a sportsmanship grade, the Regalia and flying cars, and why you should try Forza for yourself: spoilers, it's about freedom.
Links: https://thewellredmage.com/author/jtorto/
https://thewellredmage.com/2019/07/22/twrmgoty2012-nominees-and-voting/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @JTorto40

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#029 - "I, Error" (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

The eyes of Ganon are everywhere and we're going to talk about The Adventure of Link anyway! Featuring Ryan from Gameswithcoffee and Katy aka Absolutekaty, we talk about bragging rights and the first time we played Zelda II, and how that affected our perspective on the game, no shame and save states, why Zelda II is Ryan and Katy's favorite, the enjoyable action of the combat, the most unique traits in the game and what caught on in the rest of the series, some tawdry tart, the Peter Pan origins of Dark Link, the worst Zelda (by popular vote), a word for people wanting to play Zelda II for the first time, fair and unfair game design, Zelda II's difficulty difference from other NES hard games, patience and RPG elements, fan expectations and criticism, The Battle of Olympus and Faxanadu, what we would fix in Zelda II, and the abuse of the term "black sheep".
Website: thewellredmage.com/2019/09/07/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-1987-nes/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guests: @AbsoluteKaty @GameswCoffee

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#028 - "Perpendicular Perspectives" (Chrono Cross) Sep 30, 2019

Show notes

The epic conclusion of our Chrono mini-series is finally here, featuring Gareth from 16-Bit Dad Blog and a discussion on Chrono Cross, which is NOT a sequel to Chrono Trigger (according to its developers). Together, we unpack such ideas as how to set yourself up for disappointment in a follow-up game, comparisons with Trigger and the effects of meddling with the timeline, the handling of time and dimensions, eras and worlds, a new layer of strategy and tactics required to master this battle system, what happened to the cast of the previous game, the unresolved but retconned tale of Magus/Guile, tendencies toward backloading and frontloading exposition, Cross's handling and dismissal of central themes and message, less straightforward storytelling and tonal shifts, differences in development between Trigger and Cross, the pros and cons of such a large cast of recruitable characters, our favorite characters and settings, elements and summons, and a word on the difference between preference and intrinsic quality, psychology, favoritism, definitive reality, our senses, a theory on function, purpose, and intent, and how civilization cultivates critical methodology for analyzing merits and flaws in works of art and entertainment.
Website: thewellredmage.com
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @16bitdadblog

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#027 - "It's About Time" (Chrono Trigger, pt.3) Sep 22, 2019

Show notes

The 3rd and final episode in our Chrono Trigger podcast trilogy features Chris the Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage, and this time around we discuss the announcement of the new Philosophiraga show, the beauty of convenience for the consumer, playing Chrono Trigger on mobile iOS, Chris finishing the game for the first time just recently. First impressions, expectations, and recent overall thoughts combat dismissing opinions on the basis of nostalgia, plus talk on gaming as a newer form of entertainment and what that means for discourse about it, the phrase "it hasn't aged well", developing a standard of criticism and discussion for gaming, how to avoid disregarding groups and start looking at people individually, the theme of consequences to your actions in time travel, the importance of ideals over substance in this story, postulating why the Entity can't be the player, the equality of significance between visuals AND mechanics, the utility of graphics and sparing use of 3D elements, the techs, double techs, and triple techs, our favorite boss battles, balanced and streamlined game design, the beauty of ATB and the development of action RPGs, the value of leanness in storytelling, and the etymology and morality of nostalgia.
Website: thewellredmage.com/2017/11/17/chrono-trigger/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @overthinkery

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#026 - "Trigger Warning" (Chrono Trigger, pt.2) Sep 09, 2019

Show notes

Our 2nd Chrono Trigger episode commences with Ryan from RetroGameBrews! It's time to talk storyline, the balanced seamlessness of Chrono Trigger and the lack of "the grind", the importance of player choice, rehashing the premise of the game, what we would do if we discovered an apocalyptic alien, primeval Twitch, if Chrono Trigger is really the GOAT, the most emotional scenes for us, time travel as both a story theme and a gameplay mechanic, the value of the NPC, the Chrono series as a whole, a word on Radical Dreamers and the beautiful world of Chrono Cross, the broken dreams of Chrono Resurrection and Chrono Break, the question of another Chrono game and whether we even want to see a sequel or remaster/remake, character etymology and making sense of their elemental affinities, the Entity mystery, why video games open with sleeping characters, schools of thought on what evil is, the sundry endings and New Game Plus.
Website: thewellredmage.com/2017/11/17/chrono-trigger/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @Retrogamebrews

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#025 - "Corridors of Rhyme" (Chrono Trigger, pt.1) Aug 19, 2019

Show notes

It is time to talk about the best: Chrono Trigger, in this first episode in a CT trilogy! The ABXY Mage I and discuss the re-launch of Side Quests podcast and a new focus on video game music, the happenin' 1990s, questioning if accurate criticism is possible near launch, my first mancave, "Just let me get to the first save point!", what Chrono Trigger IS and what makes it so special, "time" as a theme in both narrative and game design, multiple endings, the necessity for stories to breathe, seamlessness and polish, the Dream Team, the unprecedented length of tracks in this soundtrack, our favorite music from Chrono Trigger, Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda's experience composing his first soundtrack, his list of works, his failing health, the mystery of "the Entity", music inspired by dreams, the scope of the soundtrack with its various time period themes, Gato karaoke, the Guardia justice system, singing along with the soundtrack, and of course, the matter of objective quality. We also take your questions!
Website: thewellredmage.com/2017/11/17/chrono-trigger/
Patreon: patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guest: @ABXY_Reviews

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#024 - "Boom! Tetris For You" (NES Tetris) Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

Zdrastvooyte! In this episode, I'm focusing on NES Tetris with streamer and competition host Retro Game Brews aka the Beer Mage and Tetris champion Mega Retro Man asking what Tetris is, describing Tetris in one word, the puzzle that changes with your skill level, the comforting, relaxing nature of fitting the tetrominoes together, why Tetris isn't an anachronism by now and what makes the game so appealing, the dopamine response and addiction to its gameplay, the pure balance of challenge with simplicity, kinder game design in modern Tetris, wading into the cultural discussion of games being too hard with the idea of practice, the hardest thing about playing Tetris (according to a pro competitor), DAS and the kill screen, having to think on your feet, the fascinating history of Tetris, the rare Tengen Tetris cart, comparing some different versions and how to ruin Tetris, tackling the question of whether Tetris is the perfect game or not, irreducible complexity, the World Championships, visiting the Soviet Union, and Tetris as an analogy for life.

Website: https://thewellredmage.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/thewellredmage
Guests: @Retrogamebrews and @MegaRetroMan

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