Watch Out For Fireballs!

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross blow through Blaster Master. We've covered several NES platformers on the show, but mostly from bigger publishers. Capcom and Konami are mainstays, and of course we've talked a lot about Nintendo itself, but SunSoft has racked up more Abject Suffering entries than WOFF! entries. Blaster Master is a varied and eclectic game with some neat ideas and inconsistent execution. Those neat ideas count for a lot, though, and ambition gets points. LINKS OF NOTE: Fester's Quest (www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrElD5f3GCE) This Gremlins 2 game is pretty good (www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5D2Il569OE) Bluebeard (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj0VT1IYNoE) Blast Corps (www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzIu85jBtE4) Time Lord (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajmOLTYmZNM) Ichthyosaur (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosaur) One of a couple BM Speedruns (www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKvNkrbiUo)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to King of Dragon Pass.

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross gird their loins to battle King of Dragon Pass. File this one under "Gem that should have gotten more attention." It's a strategy-game-meets-CYOA, but it's so much more. It's a tale of barbarians, but not in the way you'd expect. It's a fusion of narrative and systems on a level you don't really see. Do yourself a favor, listen to this episode as a beginner's guide, and buy King of Dragon Pass for your device of choice. LINKS OF NOTE: White Bear and Red Moon (boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10884/…te-bear-red-moon) Thor's Angels (www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore…41-thors-angels/) Runequest (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RuneQuest) Business Time (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZcYPEszN8) [Kubrick Stare](www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/201…8/kubrickstaresu Frogloks (eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Frog…8Character_Race%29) McTeague (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McTeague)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Doom II: Hell on Earth. LINKS OF NOTE: I Love Lisa (www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8T9ZRAk7Vc) Hocus Pocus (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UUMsInka2s) Outlaws (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCMh-88a2DI) Rage (www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Vj2UpA4dE)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross mow through Doom II: Hell on Earth. It's time to talk smart about a game that (seems) dumb. Where did first-person shooters get their start? Well, not here. But for most of the 90s, FPSs were called "Doom Clones". Doom II saw id advancing their 3D trickery, and expanding on the success of their previous works. And it's mostly succcessful. LINKS OF NOTE: WOFF WAD (www.mediafire.com/download/uxxnmic…k5vzp50/woff.wad) Going Down (www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/659…ease-on-idgames/) 1024 (doom.wikia.com/wiki/Congestion_1024) Pac Land (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sRiFoJMNTU) Masters of Doom (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Doom) In The Kingdom (www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYGTb3mJJ_w) Painkiller (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAsk2Q5KeDw) Reznor on Quake (www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVOHTGYoM6E) Good Times (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GT_Interactive_Software) Doom movie (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dMA8NmdyW4) Doom controversy (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(1993_…e)#Controversies) Tapwave Zodiac (www.youtube.c

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Paper Mario. LINKS OF NOTE: Outkast (www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgvGjAhvIw) Freakin Weekend (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR0v0i63PQ4) Sat on some gum (www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sat+in+gum) Advice Hot Dog (advicehotdog.com/) Deaf Protagonist (www.clickhole.com/video/progress-v…m_source=twitter) Joy Mecha Fight (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uy7otTkfI4) Christine Love (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAgT6lGwTiY) Darkest Dungeon (www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlRBzoKN4NY)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross wrap up their series on Paper Mario. Last week, we sprinted across the finish line with gusto. Chapter 3 was one of the strongest in the game. However this week, Paper Mario hits some doldrums before ultimately coming out just fine. LINKS OF NOTE: Jerky Boys (www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzUjSt9qIoY) FFX Arena (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqaCV1S8XfU) Unnerving Burger (www.businessinsider.com/why-burger-ki…-black-2015-7) Big Man Japan (www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Cm39xDWmQ) Octopi (www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvvjcQIJnLg) Ed Wynn (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wynn) Eggs (www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_D1qTNDyJc)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross tear into Paper Mario. Simplicity and charm are two things you rarely find in JRPGs, but Paper Mario has both. It takes everything you know about the Mario universe, and runs it through a filter of pure joy. Join us for our "it's technically still Summer" JRPG, as we talk about the first three chapters of Paper Mario. LINKS OF NOTE: Camera Obscura (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura) The Best part of Mystic Quest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ZUO60kxlg) Probably the best part of Wild Arms, well, maybe not (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0) Super Paper Mario (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HKyVh52mIk) Super Princess Peach (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bhb6wXYSOY) Flying Pig (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6sdeZy-ub8) Morrowind Scar (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Ald'ruhn) Jacoby (http://twinpeaks.wikia.com/wiki/Lawrence_Jacoby) Black Lodge Burlesque (http://www.blacklodgeburlesque.com/)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Zone of the Enders. LINKS OF NOTE: Radical Dreamers (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Dreamers) Disability girls! (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katawa_Shoujo) Steins Gate (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steins;Gate) Ender's Game (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game) What stories about spoiled kids should be (www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUzDynP6zM) Wet Hot American Summer (www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLlMTn_Jzok) Vic Viper (gradius.wikia.com/wiki/Vic_Viper) To the Moon (www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqkJuSV-23U)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross fly through Zone of the Enders. It's not bad for a game to be simple, or for a game to be slight. It's bad for a game to feel incomplete. That's what we're up against with Zone of the Enders. We went in expecting satisfying, flashy combat, but what we found was a thin veneer of style covering mostly air. This is a game that's most well known for its demo, and that's a strange, historical anomaly. LINKS OF NOTE: Mad TV (www.yourepeat.com/watch/?v=bQ1N3q4Vgkg) Peace Walker (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h5Uu1XOEh4) Twin Snakes (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecmLG8j8ISw) Ground Zeroes (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltH1eWxZutE) Amazon sounds awful (www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/techno…rkplace.html?_r=1) Exo Squad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR7ktkOEeFw) Neo Genesis Evangelion (www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbksWvNv-fU) Eagleheart (www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDL9nPSukAk) Journey to Jaburo (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YJfIRmcg1Y) Firefly scene (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPRlHwwVIug)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. LINKS OF NOTE: Pizza Totino's Boy (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lPX5b9m7ro) Energy Hook (www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9xr1Z6UDEA) Enneagram of Personality (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality) Wizardry 8 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6g7ivLGKc)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross branch out into Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. 999 is the winner of our Summer Reading poll. Considered by most to be one of the best entries in the Visual Novel(ish) genre, we take a look and see if it holds up to scrutiny. What we find is that 999 is a divisive game, leading to a classic WOFF barnburner. LINKS OF NOTE: Cat's Cradle (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Cradle) Ignoramoose (home.comcast.net/~gibell/pegsolitaire/CBTips.html) Ship of Theseus (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) VLR Trailer (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYfAk1A2bQo) Deadlocked (www.imdb.com/title/tt0112822/pl…mary?ref_=tt_ov_pl) High Fidelity (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBUOhFs7t2s) The Soggies (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTYZfdDVJu8) The Running Man (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ceegnWSENQ) 100th Monkey (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_monkey_effect) Face Blindness (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia) Ever17 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ever_17:_The_Out_of_Infinity)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Spider-Man 2. LINKS OF NOTE: Jay-Z is a business (genius.com/17918) Game of Thrones Board Game (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZPbqpelVjs) The Red Balloon (www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Y1tRBOXfA) Tomb Raider Suicide ITT (www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2W2K8oUplw) Just look at this cool fucking character (torment.wikia.com/wiki/Ignus)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross spin a yarn about Spider-Man 2. What happens when you have one great mechanic, one okay mechanic, and a bunch of other stuff that surrounds them? You get Spider-Man 2, the first superhero game that did a great job of making you feel like a superhero. The swinging is damn near perfect, but does everything else stand up? LINKS OF NOTE: Brown Widow (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrP1_5XuKLI) Billy Dee Two Face (comicbook.com/blog/2013/11/02/bi…or-batman-forever/) Donald Glover as Spider Man (www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/…piderman-we-need/) American Gladiator Assault (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QjXQnt_7kA) Blank Check (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf-7OvD6oFQ) Man-Wolf (www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Wy5GxnDSw)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to L.A. Noire. LINKS OF NOTE: Toonstruck (www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIIXjulD3_w) How to Get Ahead in Advertising (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQHdhjQXgg) 3rd Man Sewer Chase (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMgdpXvMeqo)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross get to the bottom of L.A Noire. It's 1947. The war is over, and changed men are returning to a changed nation. Cole Phelps, a Marine-turned-cop, must face down his own demons while tackling corruption in the system. This is a unique game, and while not everything holds up, the investigation, interrogation, and atmosphere make L.A. Noire a game to remember. LINKS OF NOTE: Madvertising Men Extras (i.imgur.com/DaC2ecM.jpg) Prometheus Unbound (andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/…rometheus.html) Floyd Rose (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Rose) Custer Syndrome (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_disease) I don't know how this is going to help, Cole (img.gawkerassets.com/img/199zcorjof…f/original.gif) Big Lebowski (www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNLWbT3W0EQ) Wayne's World 2 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yluZgzkA8MM) The Naked City (www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3WHT4HpsCo) Mediocre! (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX-FMvt83fA)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Demon's Crest. LINKS OF NOTE: Kemco iOS games (www.kemco-games.com/global/games.html)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross blaze through Demon's Crest. The Summer of SNES continues with Demon's Crest, a neglected entry in a neglected series. It takes non-standard platforming mechanics, and spreads them across a non-linear story rich with bosses and evocative gothic imagery. Be sure to grab this one on Virtual Console. LINKS OF NOTE: Maximo (www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQRM6druzG0) Alexia (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYH1O60JZYE) Zeromus (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aJbM2QGsxQ) Monster Manual 3 (www.goddessfantasy.net/Upload/dnd/3e/MM3.pdf) Modulok (www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nUPYXfm…1534540C6&index=7)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Harvest Moon and SimCity. LINKS OF NOTE: Robert Moses (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses) Butthead and his son Beavis do America (www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7WoJvEAuPU) Turboteen (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_Teen) Hancock (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZQQgvhn4jg) Bunnies gotta jump (www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9YWm6T_hc)

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross manage to talk about Harvest Moon and SimCity (the SNES versions of both). This Split EP is dedicated to two SNES games that take it a little bit slow. Both Harvest Moon and SimCity ask the player to make decisions about how to use limited resources like time and money in order to get some kind of return. Sometimes that's a bountiful turnip harvest, and sometimes that's a happy populace. While both series would go on to grow and change, these SNES versions are the simplest distillation of what they are trying to accomplish. LINKS OF NOTE: Growth Hacking (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hacking) Retronauts on Slow Life Games (www.retronauts.com/?p=1066) Bush (www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFkTSPjER6o) Harvest Moon for iOS (www.technologytell.com/apple/150687/…-this-winter/) Dog's Life (www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0WsnngckdU) Blood in Chocolate Milk (www.snopes.com/horrors/food/chocmilk.asp) Raid on Bungelin Bay (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeCZaxVP0nk) LGR on Simcity (www.youtube.com/watch?v=O42