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Game Club 199X
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The internet has completely changed the way we play video games. Any time we get stuck, help is only a few clicks away, whether it be direct through GameFAQs, or through asking on message boards. Modern games rarely need such guidance, but in the days of old, design that alternated between complex and obtuse was the order of the day. The only way to get help was to hope the local book store had a guidebook, spend a lot of money to buy specific hint guides from the publisher, or, if they were lucky to know anybody else playing the same game, ask them for help, either in person or through bulletin board systems. Game Club 199X is a podcast aimed at playing vintage games in the context they were meant to be experienced - that is, with no walkthroughs, no cheating, no save states, and the only external help being the other members of the community posting on the HG101 forums. Artwork by KaL Yoshika. Subscribe to the podcast here! |
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Episode 18: Home Improvement For April 2013, Snarboo plays the hardest sitcom game ever AND hosts a live podcast at the same time. |
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Episode 17: Blue Stinger For March 2013, we played Dreamcast survival horror koan Blue Stinger. We conclude that Hassy is just Hawaiian Punch and codine. |
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Episode 16: Electro Man For February 2013, we played the "Worker and Parasite" of DOS platformers, Epic Megagames' Electro Man. Will one of us insult YOUR homeland? Stay tuned! The game is now freeware. You can download it here. |
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Episode 15: Blackthorne For January 2013, we played Blizzard's cinematic platformer Blackthorne, and discuss the finer points sci-fi nomenclature and 90s comic book excess. |
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Episode 14: Dr. Chaos For December 2012, Snarboo, Xerxes, Joseph Joestar and Sotenga talk about the flawed action/adventure NES title Dr. Goonies II-esque Chaos. |
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Episode 13: Wonder Project For November 2012, Snarboo, Bobinator, Xerxes, Joseph Joestar, KaL Yoshika and Kristina Potts discuss what it means to be a parent. Of a machine boy. As a fairy. In a video game. |
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Episode 12: Hybrid Heaven For October 2012, Snarboo, Joseph Joestar, Xerxes and WildWeasel, talk about wrestling aliens in Konami's unusual N64 RPG Hybrid Heaven. |
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Episode 11: Crystalis For September 2012, Snarboo, Joseph Joestar and EksFaktr talk about collecting swords, dealing with level cap enemies and more in SNK's famed Zelda clone. |
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Episode 10: Deus Ex For August 2012, Snarboo, Joseph Joestar and Feynman discuss Ion Storm's masterful FPS/RPG hybrid Deus Ex. |
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Episode 9: Summer of Love Tournament USA Also in July 2012, Bobinator hosts a tournament, featuring SNK's tag-team fighter, Kizuna Encounter, and a special score-challenge on Metal Slug. Hosted by Snarboo, featuring interviews with tournament winners Sotenga and NamelessFragger. Guest-edited by wildweasel. |
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Episode 8: Gauntlet II For July 2012, Snarboo, Xerxes and Bobinator discuss the pits and perils of Gauntlet II. |
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Episode 7: Wonder Boy in Monster Land & The Dragon's Trap For June 2012, Snarboo, Xerxes, Joseph Joestar, and special guest Ray Barnholt (of Retronauts and Scroll.vg fame) discuss the ins-and-outs of Wonder Boy in Monster Land and its sequel, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, along with a bit of a history on the series' tie-ins with Hudson and the Takahashi-Meijin series. |
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Episode 6: Landstalker For May 2012, Snarboo, Sotenga, Muteki and AceWhatever discuss Landstalker, Sega/Climax's isometric Zelda-style action-RPG for the Genesis. |
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Episode 5: King's Quest V For April 2012, Snarboo, Sotenga and Bobinator, along with Xerxes and Discoalucard, chat a bit about King's Quest V: The Heart Grows Yonder, available for Amiga, DOS and NES. It was one of the best selling DOS games of the time and won several awards. It also features some rather obtuse puzzles! |
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Episode 4: Vagrant Story For February 2012, Snarboo, Sotenga and Zogbog chat a bit about Square's Vagrant Story, an incredibly atmospopheric and moody dungeon crawler with an elaborate series of statistics to keep track of and an advanced weapon crafting system to keep up with it. |
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Episode 3: Maze of Galious In the third episode of Game Club 199X, Snarboo, Sotenga and Discoalucard talk about their experiences with the Famicom version of The Maze of Galious (also known as Daima Shikyou Galious), the second in Konami's Majou Densetsu series, which was otherwise confined to the MSX. It's a side-scrolling action-RPG similar to The Goonies II and Legacy of the Wizard, and while difficult, isn't quite as obtuse as it first appears to be. |
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Episode 2: Wasteland In this second episode of Game Club 199X, Xerxes, Snarboo and TheChosen spend a little over an hour discussing Wasteland, the mid-80s RPG from Interplay which is known as the spiritual predecessor to the famous Fallout series. |
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Episode 1: Snake's Revenge The first episode is devoted to Snake's Revenge, the wrongfully slagged successor to Metal Gear, oft criticized by fanboys parrotting misguided notions of discontent without actually experiencing the game firsthand. It's not that it's without its flaws - some of the boss battles are stupid hard, and the side-scrolling areas are ill-conceived at best, but in many ways it's more faithful to the concept of Metal Gear than the original NES port. In this episode, Xerxes, Sotenga and Snarboo spend a bit under an hour and a half discussing the merits and demerits of Snake's Revenge, as well as their experiences in toughing out this rather difficult title. |
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