It's the last episode of 2023 so it is time to reflect on how this past year went! Joining me, as always, to help me reflect is my good friend from the Great White North TJ from the Hodder Show! We discuss what our favorite experiences were this year, which were our most popular episodes released this year and much more! End Song: Staff Roll Artist: Helynt Album: Mario & Chill https://gamechops.com/mario-and-chill/ CAPTAIN N FINALE SHIRT HERE ...

This year's holiday episode has my wife on it! This week on the show my wife and I chatted about the Living Books games! An edutainment series of interactive storybooks originally published by Broderbund. You all may remember I interviewed Mickey W. Mantle on the show a while ago and he was the CTO of Broderbund at the time Living Books was coming out. Well ever since that episode I've been dying to do a proper Living Books episode and joining me to do so is my wonderful wife Courtney! ...

With every console generation there are bound to be a few games that slip through the cracks that are fantastic, but very few have heard of them. Joining me on today's episode is the founder of Syncoplay Retro Gaming, Joe Bourrie. Syncoplay is an online store that creates accessories for gaming collectors and enthusiasts. Besides founding Syncoplay, Joe is also currently working on a book called Beyond The NES, which is a book that is focusing on the games on Famicom that did not see a...

It is here. After 2.5 years, Dexter Morrill and I have finally watched and discussed EVERY episode of Captain N The Game Master (minus the clip show episode at the end of season 2...) This has been a long time coming. Dexter and I started this series as a way to help me keep the podcast weekly after my kid was born and it grew into something we could not have expected. This series was an absolute joy. So much so that recording week became known as Captain N week. This would entail watching...

It's been a long while since I had an informal chat on the show. Joining me on this episode is co-founder of Premium Edition Games Barry Carenza. We chat about what its like working as a game publisher, his thoughts on the state of video game preservation and we also dive a bit into our thoughts the habits of gamers and how they have evolved over the years. I really enjoyed this more laid back and chill chat so if you enjoyed this kind of thing and would like to see more of it let me know! ...

It seems like 2023 has been the year of authors here on the show! Joining me on this episode is James Batchelor, who is the Editor in Chief of GamesIndustry.biz and host of the Bond & Beyond Podcast. James joins me today to talk about a book he has recently written called "The Best Non-Violent Video Games". We discuss the ins and outs of working in games media, how it influenced his work on the book and so much more! Buy James' book HERE Follow James on Twitter HERE End Song: Mega Man...

Everyone's favorite cuddly firebreather is finally making his appearance on Still Loading. This episode dives into the first game in the Spyro serie, Spyro the Dragon. I'm joined by my good friend Chris (@britishbondaddict) to talk about Insomniac's landmark PS1 3D platformer. We discuss why this game was so important for sony, how it feels to control today and we debate over if the music is good (I may have some hot takes). End Song: Ice Ice Dragon Artist: RobKTA + Starstorm Album: N/A ...

Its another not-so-mini mini episode! It is the penultimate episode of our Captain N series and we are covering episodes 5 and 6 of season 3! Dexter of course is back and we break down the episodes A Tale of Two Dogs  and Battle of the Basketball Know-it-Alls. This month we finally see the return of the entire N team being all together in an episode! And Mother Brain's crew is here too! End Song: Mega Man 3 Snake Buster Artist: Shinray Album: N/A https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03767 Check...

This episode has long been in the making. Back in August I shared on social media that I finally was having my mom on the show, though I kept it vague as to what she was coming on to talk about. This episode is a bit hard to describe what it's about, but at it's core it is a very personal episode for me. I'm joined by my Mom, my friend CJ and my friend Jamie to talk about the various memories of gaming growing up. And while this isn't focused solely on memories of a games, console or genre;...

Nostalgia, as they say, is one hell of a drug. This week on the show I'm revisiting a game I covered A LONG time ago, in fact this topic was originally covered in the 2nd episode ever of the podcast! But that episode, along with 5 or 6 others, is hidden away over on soundcloud; so I figured it was about damn time I cover it again. This week I am talking about one of my favorite childhood games, an obscure Mac game called Power Pete (later renamed to Mighty Mike). Joining me to help me break...

October can't end without me at least TRYING to play a spooky game! I'm joined by my good friend Lukas Eggen from the LAN Parties Podcast to discuss the Tarsier Studios' puzzle platform horror adventure game Little Nightmares. I'm not normally a fan of horror games but it was a lot of fun getting to explore this little game. Lukas and I discuss the game's themes, mechanics and more. Does this game show the darkness hidden in all of us? Or is it a representation of how the world can wear us...

Video game history has had a special place in my heart for quite some time. I've done a full episode on the topic with my Captain N co-host Dexter, I include history about all the games I cover in each episode and I interview people who write books on game history. It's a topic that I'm very passionate about. Joining me today on the show is Stephen Frost, who is the head of production at the game developer Digital Eclipse. Digital Eclipse is the studio responsible for the Atari 50 collection...

In this month's Captain N episode Dexter and I get to return to Castlevania and Tetris! The two episodes from season 3 that we cover are episodes 3 & 4, Return to Castlevania and Totally Terisized. Learn all about the Simon Belmont Awards, the confusion of names on gravestones and why this Tetris episode scared the crap outta Dexter when he was a kid! End Song: Vampire Killer Artist: James Landino Album: Smooth McGroove Remixed 2 https://gamechops.com/smooth-mcgroove-remixed-2/ Check...

FRESH MEAT! This week on the show I am joined by Shane Koski from the Retro Hangover Podcast to discuss the first entry in the iconic Blizzard series Diablo. Shane and I go a little off the rails while somehow staying on topic? We discuss how the game's mechanics were super influential at the time, how the game's loot system is so unique and even we find some time to debate what having fun in a game really means.  Check out Retro Hangover HERE End Song: Diablo "Wet Grass Inspired" Artist:...

It's been quite some time since I have covered an Uncharted game. I started a Naughty Dog series a long while ago and went through all the Uncharted games made by Naughty Dog and FINALLY I am rounding out my coverage of the game series with a wonderful discussion on Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a Vita title that helped shape more of the Vita than you know and featured a lot of new an unique mechanics because of it being on the Vita. I am joined by Bill Barber from the...

The final season of Captain N is HERE! Season 3 is a little different than 1 and 2 for a few reasons, but notably the episodes are only 10 minutes long now! So to compensate for that Dex and I are covering 2 episodes of season 3 for each episode of our ongoing look into the show. Not gonna lie either, these episodes have been the wildest yet... End Song: Born To Rave Artist: Graz and E*Tank Album: Super Standards https://gamechops.com/graz-and-etank-born-to-rave/ Check out the Bit by Bit...

Licensed games are interesting. Either they are phenomenal adaptations like GoldenEye and Spiderman 2, or they are absolute garbage like Superman 64 or (insert most Simpsons games here). This week on the show I had a chat with author Chris Carton, who has written a book all about games that are based on movie licenses. We talk about his research process, how many games he covers in the book, what movies he wish had games and so much more! Check out his book HERE Find Chris's other books...

As with every decade, there are hobbies and activites that propell beyond just a temporary fad. Skateboarding had growing and waning periods of popularity but after the release of a small little game called Tony Hawk's Pro Skater it propelled into the stratosphere. I'm joined this week by Dave from Remember 64 and Jiggy from the YouTube channel Jiggy Lookback to discuss the iconic skateboarding video game. While it may not have been the first skating game it sure as hell set the standard for...

One of my favorite parts of podcasting is getting to meet some of the incredibly talented people that lend their voices to help our favorite characters come to live. Joining me this week on the show is actress, voice over artist and improvisor Elizabeth Saydah. We talk about her performance as Riley in the recently released Oxenfree 2, improv and we even find time to talk about what her favorite smell is. End Song: Star Festival Artist: Helynt Album: Super Lofi World 2 ...

It's BACK! Last year I released an episode called "Final Fantasy Fantasy Draft" which was a 2.5 hour long episode where 4 guests tried to "draft" their ideal Final Fantasy while competing with each other. It was basically what happens when Final Fantasy and fantasy sports mixed. Luckily, there is no knowledge of fantasy sports required to enjoy this episode! Just tune in and enjoy this celebration of all things Final Fantasy This time there are some new things added/changed! Ther are 4 new...

It's hard to believe but we have reached the finale of season 2 of the Captain N series. There is only one season (more like half a season) left of the show. Dexter Morrill and I break down episode 13 of season 2, Germ Wars. What is a video virus? Why does Kid Icarus have an arrow for everything and yet nothing? And apparently Kevin is actually the only human on the N team? Even though season 1's finale involved Mega Man becoming a real boy? Find out the answers to all of this and more in...

It seems like more and more indie games are causing big waves in the gaming zeitgeist. One of the earlier examples of this is the game being covered in this episode. I am joined by Anthony from the Indie Diarist Podcast to discuss the acclaimed indie game To the Moon. We discuss some of the game's history, its thematic material and how it affected us personally. We discuss the morality explored in this game and how sometimes just one line can really affect you. It was an amazing discussion...

This episode has been a LONG time coming. I am joined by Kade from the Gaming Memories Podcast to talk about one of my personal favorite games, Medal of Honor. The original Medal Of Honor games holds a VERY special place in my heart as it was something my dad and I bonded over and sparked my interest in World War 2 history. Kade and I dive into the game's history, how it changed the FPS genre and much more! Check out Gaming Memories HERE End Song: Terra Artist: Tee Lopes Album: N/A ...

What episode topic could POSSIBLY follow a full 2.5 hours retrospective on the Famicom? Of course it is a breakdown of basically the first Nintendo movie, The Wizard. I am joined by two wonderful returning guests to discuss this bizarre film. Jared from the Play Along Podcast and returning from last week and Stephan Reese also known as the Art of Nintendo Power. We discuss how carving your name into a tree could be a good business card, the logistics of twinkie truck delivery routes and we...

The Famicom, known as the Nintendo Entertainment System over here in North America, is arguably one of the most important systems of all time. Well it turns out this year is the 40th anniversary of the console's launch in Japan so it is WELL overdue for me to cover it here on Still Loading. To help me discuss this legendary system I am joined by Stephan Reese from the non-profit Interactive Art Collection (also known as The Art of Nintendo Power on Twitter), Try from the YouTube channel My...