Region Free Gamers: A Video Game Podcast

Not all bad video games are created equal! Today Ozzy and Paul talk about some of their favourite bad video games and why their wholes are more enjoyable than the sum of their awful, awful parts. The conversation starts with Beat Down: Fists Of Vengeance for the Xbox (13:00). Total Recall for the NES is next (36:00) followed by Drakengard 3 for the PS3 (56:00). The episode is wrapped up with little known Legend for the PS1 (1:19:00) Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail.com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music: Beat Down: Fists Of Vengeance - Downtown Street Total Recall: Earth Stage Theme Drakengard 3: Descendeus

Today Arnaldo, Ozzy, and Paul, are here to talk about the third matchup in our King Of Games 98 tournament featuring Half Life versus Unreal. Which of these two classic FPS video games will come out on top? Was Half Life's platforming really that bad?  Why does Unreal remind us of Cape Cod and Jay Gatsby? Listen and find out!   Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail.com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music Unreal Gold - Twilight Horizon

Today all five of the Region Free Gamers are on deck to talk about the art and fun of collecting video games! First, Arnaldo and Ozzy come back from the VR world to discuss the Playstation VR as we catch up and talk about what video games we found out there on Black Friday (4:30). We then move on to the subject of collecting video games, the effect Instagram has had on the hobby (24:00) and Ozzy's passion for collecting bad games (42:00). Our video game family trees are up next as we lament all the games and systems we sold as kids to move on to the next big thing (46:00) including a debate about how awful Gamestop is (49:00). We wrap things up talking about the most sentimental video games in our collections (1:03:00), whether anyone ever Beat The Wiz (1:13:30) and whether collecting old video games as a hobby will ever die (1:22:30).   Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail.com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music: Astro Bot Re

Join Arnie, Paul, and special guest Benja of indie review site, Welcome To Last Week (@frau_lametta on Instagram) for the second quarter-final match in our King Of Games 98 tournament! Does anyone have patience for Thief: The Dark Project anymore? Is Pokemon actually responsible for all millenials' problems? Which of these games will advance? Listen and find out on this borderline ridiculous episode! Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail.com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music Pokemon Red/Blue - Opening Collegehumor Pokerap

Geoff, Anthony and Ozzy wade fully into the nostalgia well to discuss their experience with those martially minded reptiles (or are they amphibians?) that served as caretakers to our childhood. In particular, the crew explores the many games that let us live out our fantasies of being heroes in a half-shell, spanning games from the Nintendo Entertainment System and up to the systems of the mid-90s. The crew first delves into the pop culture phenomenon that was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then go into the NES games and the original Arcade game (31:22), discuss the merits of the Game Boy games (54:10) and finish off with Turtles in Time and the remaining 32-bit games (1:08:30). So grab some pizza and tune in to this radical episode!

Xenogears and Gran Turismo go head to head in the very first match of the inaugural King of Games 98, wherein we pit the great games released in 1998 against each other in a battle for supremacy. Arnie and Ozzy are joined by Kelly a/k/a @sierranightgaming as she goes to bat for Xenogears. Who will prevail? Find out on this very fun episode. Music on this episode:  Yasunori Mitsuda: Knight of Fire (Xenogears) Gran Turismo: TVR Car Shop Menu Music Follow us on Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast and Twitter @regionfreegamer. Also make sure to check out our website at regionfreegamers.com.

Today all five of the Region Free Gamers are on deck for an episode where, at first you may not believe it, but we do actually talk about video games! First though, we're getting to know our new crew members as we talk about working in stand-up comedy, cheering for football teams that constantly break our hearts, The End Of Evangelion, and our very own Puerto Rican Tom Selleck (6:00). We do get back to video games though, with Slay The Spire and a discussion about video games we had to stop playing before we started hating them (46:00). We move on to our favourite video games of ALL TIME (48:30) with a special message for fans of Ocarina Of Time, and finally, our biggest video game disappointments starting with every 8-bit arcade port ever (1:24:00) This episode brought to you by IHOP, but not really.   Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music Etrian Odyssey V - Source of the Morning Gl

We start off getting to know Andrew and his history with today's featured video game system before moving on to the Turbografx-16 itself, where it came from (19:00), and our first experiences with it (39:00). The meat of the episode lies in us talking about the crazy decisions made by NEC's video game division and how they led to the relatively early demise of the Turbografx-16 (52:30). We finish things up talking about the brief, almost revival of the Turbografx-16 via the TurboDuo and TTi Technologies before wrapping with our favourite Turbografx-16 video games you might not have tried! (1:35:30) Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Music Blazing Lazers - Area 1 Dungeon Explorer - Town Ys Book I&II - First Step Towards Wars Lords Of Thunder - Cielom Stage

Join Ozzy, Anthony, Paul, and special guest Dennis (@strillivanilli on Instagram) as we discuss not only what is one of the greatest horror video games ever made, but also one that is often considered the best video game ever made, period - Silent Hill 2. The guys set the table talking about the original Silent Hill and how it relates to the sequel (6:30) before moving on to the development and subtle symbolism behind Silent Hill 2 (26:30). The characters are discussed next (58:30), followed by the enemies including Pyramid Head and his bizarre orgy scene (1:18:00) and the deliberate lack of difficulty in the game (1:23:45). The episode is wrapped up talking about one of the great video game soundtracks (1:31:45), followed by the various endings in the game and and the game's overall legacy (1:41:15).   Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com Talk to us! Instagram @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter @regionfreegamer Email regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music Silent Hill 2 - Theme Of Laura Silent Hill

Today, Arnaldo and Ozzy are joined by special guest James of the Klutch Kitten Gaming podcast to talk about arguably the most relaxing video game franchise ever, Harvest Moon! The guys start out getting to know James and talking about the current state of indie video games and development before plowing into Harvest Moon (31:30) and their experiences with the game, its origins, and how the franchise has turned into a confusing mess with Story Of Seasons. We wrap it up by comparing the various video games in the series (1:27:30) and talking about our favourites! Talk to us! www.regionfreegamers.com Instagram: @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter: @regionfreegamer Email: regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life - Quiet Winter Harvest Moon: Back To Nature - Main Theme Harvest Moon: Save The Homeland - Spring (Town)

The crew welcomes Anthony Arriaga a/k/a Polybits into the permanent rotation of hosts, making the podcast 20% more Puerto Rican. And what better way to start it off than by chatting about what the crew has been playing lately. The crew first starts chatting about the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, which Arnie, Anthony and Ozzy recently attended. Arnie then talks about his quest to complete all the mainline Final Fantasy games, starting with the very first one and then reminisces about the death of arcades (24:00). Geoff then lets out all his (very British) rage that he has accumulated after playing Bloodstained, but not before ending on a delightfully cheery note with the Zelda Link's Awakening remake (42:45). Anthony rounds it out by chatting about A Way Out, Gears 5 and his impressions of the Sega Genesis Mini (1:15:20). 

Arnie, Paul and Ozzy change the format from the usual to bring you an interview with Patrick Hickey Jr., author of The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews with Cult and Classic Video Game Developers. A lifelong gamer, Patrick currently spends his time teaching and talking to video game developers that have worked on some of your favorite games like Bully, Doom, Deus Ex and Mutant League Football and maybe not so favorite games like E.T. the Extraterrestrial on the Atari 2600. Patrick goes into his process of interviewing game developers and provides a ton of fun anecdotes about what he has learned so far finding long forgotten developers and digging up their stories.  

Typing up the title of this episode makes us feel old, but talking Dreamcast instantly makes us feel twenty years younger! The guys start off talking about the Sega Saturn's demise leading up to the Dreamcast launch, and Paul's perhaps unhealthy obsession with former Sega president Bernie Stolar (4:00). Our first experiences with the Dreamcast are up next as well as a chat about the corporate politics at Sega at the time (8:20). We discuss the memorable launch (31:00) and then the era of unparalleled creativity in the system's video games! (45:00) But every good thing must come to an end as we discuss the reasons for the Dreamcast's failure and the legacy the system left behind. (1:36:00)

Ozzy and Paul are joined today by previous guest Cam and new permanent addition to the RFG crew, Geoff Ivatts, to talk about the three 16-bit Castlevania games (and Dracula X for SNES, I guess...) First we start off re-introducing Geoff to everyone and congratulating him on his poor choice of podcast to join before moving on to Castlevania IV for the SNES (7:30) and in particular its stellar sounDtrack (25:00). Rondo Of Blood for the PC-Engine is next (46:00) with a quick rundown of its uglier brother, Dracula X for the SNES (1:17:30). The show is finished up with Castlevania Bloodlines for the Genesis (1:23:30) and our picks for the top 16-bit Castlevania game (1:48:30) Talk to us! Instagram: @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter: @regionfreegamer Email: regionfreegamers at gmail dot com Visit us! www.regionfreegamers.com   Music: Castlevania IV - The Submerged City Castlevania IV - Bloody Tears Castlevania IV - The Chandeliers Castlevania IV - The Cave Castlevania IV - Dance Of The Holy Man Castlev

Arnaldo, Ozzy, and Paul get together for a rare evening recording that sees strange, sleep deprived ramblings from Ozzy about Chinese surveillance before moving on to the video games, starting with a look back at the entire Persona Dancing series from someone who fell while playing Dance Dance Revolution (10:00). Ozzy is up next with Front Mission DS (36:30) and scratching that retro video game itch with Blazing Chrome on the Switch (54:30). Paul finishes up by redeeming a previous Ozzy shaming with Gradius V for the shmup fans (1:07:30) and a discussion about Tetris 99 (1:21:30) that causes us to come an inevitable conclusion: We are all Tetris.   Talk to us! Instagram: @regionfreegamerspodcast Twitter: @regionfreegamer Email: regionfreegamers at gmail dot com   Music: Persona 5 Dancing - Hoshi To Bokura To - Tofubeats remix Blazing Chrome - Snow Base

Arnaldo, Ozzy, and Paul are joined today by special guest Cam (@sixteen_bit on Instagram) to talk about the genre defining video game, NBA Jam and its various spinoffs and clones. The guys start off introducing Cam before moving on to some of NBA Jam's weird sports game predecessors like Cyberball, Arch Rivals, and Basewars (13:00). The 16-bit era and how it led to NBA Jam is next, but not before discussing the evil Bill Laimbeer and his awful video game (34:00). The guys start heating up when talking about the star of the show, NBA Jam (50:15) and the various video games it inspired, like NFL Blitz. They finish up the show ON FIRE when talking about how and why this subgenre of sports video game vanished from the landscape (1:46:00), and.. could it make a comeback?   Talk to us on Instagram! @regionfreegamerspodcast

In celebration of the Instagram retro community's #RCEweekofsound, Ozzy takes a look at soundtracks that have gone unnoticed for far too long. These are soundtracks connected to games that were not well-received at the time or that just seem to have been forgotten by time. More importantly, we will consider composers like the Follin Brothers, Dean Evans and Kota Hoshino, who remain fairly unknown, but have made great contributions to the world of video game soundtracks. This is a particularly exciting episode for us, as there is a lot of music for our listeners to discover, so sit back and tune in to to the smooth sounds of Region Free Radio.

Join Arnaldo and Paul as they follow the rise, and fall, and rise again of the Great Lord of SRPG video games, Fire Emblem! The guys start off talking about the core gameplay mechanics of the series and the key minds behind it (amid some horribly dated Toronto Raptors references) before moving on to the Famicom Fire Emblem games (24:00). After the break we get into the Super Famicom era and the amusing way Thracia 776 compares to Final Fantasy XV (34:00). This is followed by lawsuits, the aborted Fire Emblem 64, and the Gameboy Advance entries in the series (54:30). The not-so triumphant return to consoles with Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn is next followed by the series on life support with the Nintendo DS entries (1:06:00). However, the series is resurrected by the masterpiece, Fire Emblem: Awakening, followed by Fates and Echoes (1:28:00). And we can't finish up this show without taking a trip on the hype train for Three Houses! (2:03:00)   So many games!   Talk to us on Instagram! @regionfreegamer

Arnaldo and Paul are on deck today talking about what video games they've been playing, but not before talking about the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA title, followed by some Canadian beat poetry by Arnaldo, because this is a video game show, right? It doesn't take long to get back on track with Paper Mario on the Gamecube (14:00), followed by Persona Q2 (33:00). Paul then mangles the pronounciation of Lapis X Labyrinth, but barely redeems himself before talking about 428 Shibuya Scramble (50:30). The guys then move on to E3 and what they think of games like The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Cyberpunk 2077 and the Final Fantasy VII remake (1:16:00) and finish up the show talking about the era of mini videogame consoles with the announcement of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini (1:52:00).

Arnaldo, Ozzy, and Paul are joined by good buddy Mike and start off the show talking about Mike's unusual road to developing video games at Ubisoft before talking about their favourite entries on the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini (33:00). Ozzy then takes the reins and talks about which games he would cut and which ones he would add in their place (1:08:30) followed by Mike doing the same (1:24:30). Arnaldo starts a heated video game controversy with his cuts (1:39:00) while Paul wraps things up discussing how one of his additions would be applauded at a wedding reception (1:55:30).   Talk to us on Instagram! @regionfreegamerspodcast