Your #1 destination for discussions on Japanese games and culture; the companion podcast to www.digitallydownloaded.net. Thanks for listening!
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May 2025 Podcast: The Evolution of Mario Kart and Surprise Game Discoveries
1:37:27
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1:37:27In this episode, we dig deep into the all-time classic, iconic Mario Kart series. We chat about where we all started with the series, what our personal favourites are, and what we think of an open world, Forza Horizon style take on the formula. From there, we talk about games that surprised us. Titles that we almost didn't play, gave it a crack for…
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April 2025 Podcast: Nintendo Switch's last year and Games for Mental Health
1:33:12
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1:33:12What do Mario 64 and Wingspan have in common? Both are games that we turn to when we need to give our minds a break and relax through stress, anxiety and the like. What does Metroid and Rhythm Heaven have in common? They're among the last games that Nintendo will publish on the Nintendo Switch. We chat about what will likely be the last Nintendo Di…
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March 2025 Podcast: Xenoblade Chronicles, Music, And Our Visual Novel: The Last Waltz
1:43:54
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1:43:54Welcome to the March edition of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! In this episode we dive deep into Xenoblade Chronicles X, now that it's finally being rescued from Wii U exclusivity. We also chat about music, with one of the music team from our very own upcoming visual novel, The Last Waltz, joining to talk about the experience. And of course we tal…
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January/February 2025 Podcast: It's time to talk about the Switch 2
1:41:43
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1:41:43It's our first episode of 2025, and we're rolling January and February together, as the team is busy with lifestyle activities like getting married. For this first episode, we run through the intimidatingly big release line-up for February, and then talk in-depth about the Switch 2 - what we saw from the big reveal teaser and what we hope to see as…
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December 2024 Podcast: The games of 2024, the games we want in 2025
1:56:02
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1:56:02Join us in the final episode of the Digitally Uploaded podcast for the year as we look back at the games that were in 2024, and what we're looking forward to the most in 2025. Overall 2024 has been a really good year for releases. So much so, in fact, that so many of the really good games have already (tragically) faded into obscurity. So we dust o…
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November 2024 Podcast: Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not a good game, but Nintendo Music is great!
1:24:32
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1:24:32After ten years there's finally a new Dragon Age game. Unfortunately, it's also one of the biggest disappointments of the year. So we dig into that a bit, looking at where things went to wrong and what the game really should have been. We also look at the newly-released Nintendo Music app, and all the promise it holds. Is it just the start of bigge…
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October 2024 Podcast: It's Halloween, so we talk horror. Also, we chat about our own visual novel, The Last Waltz!
1:49:42
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1:49:42It's the spooky time of year again, and of course all the developers and publishers have been rushing out their horror games. There's some good ones, too, and this month we chat a bit about what makes a good horror game in our view. We also talk about all the other games that are releasing in October - there are a lot of them! Games to suit every t…
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September 2024 Podcast: The rise and fall of live service games, and our pure joy: Lollipop Chainsaw is back!
1:49:38
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1:49:38Lollipop Chainsaw is back! Lollipop Chainsaw is back! FINALLY! We're very excited about the imminent re-release of the game with the cheerleader, her mini-skirt, and all them zombies to slay. But we're also very interested to see if the discourse behind this game has changed in any way, because it was once a very controversial title indeed. Elsewhe…
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August 2024 Podcast: Sports, our most played Nintendo Switch games of all time, and all the big August releases
1:40:16
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1:40:16Who doesn't love their Switch? It is arguably the finest console of all time (though the arguments you can make in favour of it are very compelling), and this week we dig into some of our most played games of all time. Given that it's the 2024 Olympic Games, we also talk about sports, and the kinds of sports games we like to see. As it turns out, t…
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July 2024 Podcast: Mature N64 games, Nintendo and female protagonists, and the games of July
1:42:40
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1:42:40Welcome to the July episode of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! This month, we kick off discussing all the big games in July, highlighting anticipated titles like Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, Battle Cats Unite, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak. We also discuss niche titles and ports like Spin Rhythm XD, Princess Maker 2 Regeneratio…
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June 2024 Podcast: The woeful state of game development, Yasuke and Assassin's Creed, and the games of June
1:39:23
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1:39:23Welcome to the latest episode of the Digitally Uploaded Podcast! This month we talk about the sorry state of game development, in light of everything that has been going on with Microsoft shuttering studios (and then immediately looking for more acquisitions) Then we discuss the controversy surrounding Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed game set i…
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May 2024 Podcast: Weird, quirky games, Suikoden and literature, and the games of May
1:50:27
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1:50:27This month we delve into everything from the controversial Stella Blade to the untapped potential in Australian game stories such as Broken Roads, and everything in-between. We kick off the podcast talking about all the games we're looking forward to that are coming out in May. There are some surprising ones on the horizon that you probably weren't…
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April 2024 Podcast: Dragon's Dogma 2 is open worlds done well & how to onboard us with new games
2:11:19
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2:11:19This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we dive deep into Dragon's Dogma 2, as a rare example of an open world that delivers on the promise of open world games. It's not for everyone... but wow is it a work of art. We also discuss how game developers on board us with new games and concepts... especially at a time when we're all busy and only …
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March 2024 Podcast: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and games that come out of nowhere
1:42:40
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1:42:40Welcome to the March episode of the Digitally Uploaded podcast – your go-to destination for everything video gaming. It's a big month. It's a Final Fantasy month! We start by chatting about the big games coming out this month, including Fitness Boxing featuring Hatsune Miku, the retro Top Racer Collection which revisits the nostalgia of 16-bit raci…
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February 2024 Podcast: Accessibility, Lunar New Year, and more!
1:51:23
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1:51:23Diving into Gaming Accessible to All In the first episode of 2024, we start by looking at all the upcoming game releases for February 2024. This year has been off to an incredible start, and the momentum continues this month. Big time. Enhancing Gaming with Accessibility From Final Fantasy to Sony games, we investigate the strides taken in gaming a…
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December 2023 Podcast: The most memorable games of 2023, and Xenogears and difficult classics
1:33:03
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1:33:03It's the final podcast of 2023! We hope that everyone has played some magnificent games this year, and is looking forward to a well-earned break (and perhaps a chance to catch up on the backlog). We've rounded out the year in style, with a big podcast, looking back at all the great and memorable things we played in 2023, the big games still to come…
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November 2023 Podcast: The Nintendo Switch 2, and great games we’ve somehow never played
2:07:54
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2:07:54In among all the big games releasing in November (seriously, just check out the "games of the month" list), we found some time to muse on what to expect from the Nintendo Switch successor this month. Surely the console is reaching the end of its life, and surely Nintendo is getting closer to making the announcement of the successor... so what are w…
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October 2023 Podcast: What Jim Ryan did to Sony, and why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so special
1:38:09
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1:38:09We've reached the tail end of the year, and the games keep on coming! As you'll see from our October release list, there's a lot to look forward to - a lot - so make sure you clear those weekends away. Then, for the rest of the podcast, we tackle two topics to deal with the big end of town. Firstly, with Jim Ryan stepping down from Sony, we discuss…
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September 2023 Podcast: Games that ”get worse” over time... and games we’d never play on the train
1:40:00
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1:40:00It's September already! We recorded this episode well in advance for scheduling reasons, and so some of the things we say in here will be out of date... but we still have a good laugh, despite not knowing what has happened over the last six weeks. So this week we kick off by looking at the big games releasing in September. Then we chat about games …
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August 2023 Podcast: We rank all the JRPGs. ALL of them.
1:52:40
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1:52:40This month's podcast is a simple one: we rank all the JRPGs! Yep, that's right, we go through all the major series, old and new, and class them according to the tiers we think they belong to. We assume some people are going to yell at us over our picks! We also list out all the big games happening in August. It's yet another month where you better …
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July 2023 Podcast: Final Fantasy XVI deep dive, and do old games ”age”?
1:59:57
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1:59:57Something old and something new for discussion in this month's podcast! We kick things off as we always do with a look at all the games releasing in July. If you're a fan of Japanese games - and JRPGs in particular - steel yourself because the month is going to be intense. From there we talk about Final Fantasy XVI in-depth. What were the themes th…
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June 2023 Podcast: What makes a good sequel? And how can narrative be more accessible?
2:11:51
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2:11:51Welcome to the June 2023 edition of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! As usual we've got a great show for you planned. We start by chatting through all the big releases in June. It's dominated by one particular game, but there's a lot of other interesting stuff coming too! Then we talk about sequels - what makes a good sequel? Should it be a direct c…
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May 2023 Podcast: Our favourite Final Fantasy moments of all time... also what the heck is wrong with AAA games?
1:57:38
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1:57:38Hello everyone, and welcome to the bumper podcast we have for you for May! In addition to talking through all the big games coming out this month (it's dominated by one game in particular... can you guess what game?), we also chat through two big topics: Firstly, with Final Fantasy XVI just on the horizon (and the Pixel Remasters just out on consol…
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April 2023 Podcast: AI is ruining games, and good writing might just save them
1:56:55
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1:56:55This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we grapple with the thorniest of issues currently plaguing video games: The role that AI is increasingly playing in the "creative" side of development. In short, it's a problem. Potentially, a very big problem. Then, to be more positive, we talk about excellent writing in games. What are some of the gam…
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March 2023 Podcast: The Game Boy/GBA games we want on Switch. Also, Soulslikes and Wo Long!
2:08:36
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2:08:36This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we have a bumper episode where we talk through the GB and GBA games that we'd love to see on Switch. How do games from that era hold up, or are they just for the nostalgic, and will we get the full breadth of creativity that was released for those consoles? Then, in honour of the release of Wo Long, Koe…
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February 2023 Podcast: Our favourite snacks for gaming, and game music we’d go to a symphony for
1:40:12
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1:40:12Welcome to the February episode of the podcast! As always, we've got a cracking episode for you this month. We start out by discussing the games of the month as always. Then we move on to our favourite snacks & drinks while gaming, before capping things off with a chat about game music in symphonies; what works and what do we prefer to have as part…
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January 2023 Podcast: Everything we loved playing last year, and a chat with Lached Up Games!
2:00:33
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2:00:33We are back for another year! The January episode of the Digitally Uploaded podcast is a big, two-hour special, and we have a special guest on this week! We start the episode by talking about the big game releases in January (and there are some surprises to look forward to!), and then we each pick our three big games of the last year that stood out…
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December 2022 Podcast: The challenges of open worlds, and named character vs. self inserts!
1:49:56
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1:49:56Welcome everyone to the last podcast of 2022, and we have a bumper 2-hour special for your listening pleasure. First of all, we talk about the last wave of games to land in the year (there's more than you think!), and then we chat about the challenges of open-world games, and taking formerly linear adventures and moving them into those open spaces.…
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November 2022 Podcast: What’s the best approach for sequels & what forgotten games we want back!
1:49:02
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1:49:02Welcome to the month's podcast, everyone! As always we've got a great show to share with you this month. We kick things off by discussing all the big releases happening in November (there's a lot). Then we chat about sequels, and specifically, what is the best approach to take. Should a sequel assume that players have played the previous titles, or…
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October 2022 Podcast: People need to better understand how games are made, also rhythm games!
1:41:37
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1:41:37We've got another big, 2-hour episode of the podcast for your listening pleasure this month! In addition to our usual wrap of all the games coming out this month, we chat about a lack of understanding about how games get made and published. This is of course in response to the GTA VI leaks from a few weeks ago, but it does seem to be a timeless top…
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September 2022 Podcast: Handhelds to dominate gaming & the issues we have with endless updates
1:44:00
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1:44:00Welcome to another massive episode of the DDNet podcast! This month we kick things off with a look at all the big releases happening (it is a lot!) as usual... then we talk about handhelds. With competition heating up to bring Steam handhelds to market, will we even need consoles and PCs soon? From there we talk about endlessly updating games. Is i…
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August 2022 Podcast: How to make a game-based TV show that doesn’t suck! Also, we <3 short games!
1:34:52
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1:34:52A couple of us on the podcast made the terrible mistake of watching the new Resident Evil television series recently. It really was a mistake - don't do it to yourselves - but in watching that we realised that there was a good discussion in there about what motivates these TV/film adaptations of video games, and why are they rarely any good? In add…
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July 2022 Podcast: What is the value of blockbuster JRPGs, and how does the next year look for Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo?
1:45:18
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1:45:18This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we discuss what the next 12 months look like for the major console publishers. Now that their mid-year streams and shows have ended, what do we think will happen in the next few months... Then we discuss this concept of the "blockbuster" JRPG. In a genre that's so often niche and unassuming... do we eve…
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June 2022 Podcast: Interview! Celebrating the most indie of indie with Super Rare Games’ Ryan Brown
1:55:54
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1:55:54Hello listeners! We've got a cracking good podcast this month, with Ryan Brown of Super Rare Games jumping on to talk about his amazing Mixtape project, where he collects together some of the best indie titles from itch.io and other places, and gives you a chance to own amazing artistry and creativity in a physical format. We also talk about the ga…
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May 2022 Podcast: NFTs are going to ruin games. Also, non-linear storytelling
1:33:56
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1:33:56The news yesterday that Square Enix was selling off its western development studios to help fund a move into blockchain gaming, NFTs and other such things makes this podcast all the more pertinent. We actually recorded it before that news broke, but we actually talk about how terrible NFTs will be to the video game industry going forwards. Elsewher…
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April 2022 Podcast: Stranger of Paradise! Also... what is the game canon?
1:52:57
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1:52:57This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we chat about Stranger of Paradise - Square Enix and Koei Tecmo's new action JRPG that is turning heads and amusing people... but is also one of the smartest games that you'll play all year and highlights some important developments in video games as an art form. Then, we chat about the game canon. What…
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March 2022 Podcast: Elden Ring! Also... spoilers are silly
1:45:13
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1:45:13Howdy peeps, and welcome to the March edition of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! We've got some great stuff to chat through this month so kick back and enjoy the 2-hour ride! First, we run through all the stuff releasing in the month ahead (it's a staggering line-up of games). Then we talk about Elden Ring - a game that is surely going to be turnin…
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February 2022 Podcast: Pokémon Arceus is not an ugly game!
1:34:16
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1:34:16Welcome to the February edition of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! This month we have one thing on our minds: Pokémon! With the first brand new Pokémon title in quite some time - Arceus - landing on our doorsteps, we've been playing it like mad because this is an absolute return to form for the series. And so we have focused the podcast on this top…
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January 2022 Podcast! We’re back! Also, emulation consoles and board games!
1:30:41
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1:30:41We're back for 2022! And we've got a great podcast to kick things off! This week, we're chatting about emulation consoles - what they are, why they're great, and what we can expect from them in 2022. When it comes to archiving and accessing the otherwise lost games of yesteryear, emulation consoles are worth their weight in gold. We also chat about…
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December 2021 Podcast: The year that was, the year that is to come!
1:55:25
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1:55:25It's our special end of year extravaganza! A two-hour-long epic podcast in which we chat about the year that was, the games we loved, and then look forward to 2022 and everything that is on the horizon there. What a year it has been for gaming, and what a year it is likely to be. Thank you to everyone that has tuned in over the year - it has been a…
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November 2021 Podcast: Nintendo 64, Pokémon, and a whole pile of games
1:44:53
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1:44:53We have a very Nintendo-focused podcast this month. With new Pokémon titles out this month (or, at least, remakes of Pokémon titles), we have a good chat about those games, and the broader Pokémon experience - where are things at with the series, and what has made it so enduring? And then we have a good chat about our big DDNet multiplayer session.…
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October 2021 Podcast: Where we talk about the use of islands in video games
1:15:11
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1:15:11We have a very different topic for discussion this month, but I promise you it's an interesting one! The use of islands in games can range from the very, very large to the very, very small. But what do "islands" mean to video games, and what does it look like when it's done well? We also take a look at the rest of the game releases this month - it'…
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September 2021 Podcast: Where we love and remember the PlayStation 2
1:27:18
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1:27:18The PlayStation 2 is one of the greatest consoles of all time, and its contribution to gaming should be remembered. We've been in a nostalgic mood in recent months, so we decided to bust out our favourite PlayStation 2 games to talk about the console - there were a lot of great games on that machine that are coming dangerously close to being forgot…
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August 2021 Podcast: Remakes, Remasters, or Re-releases?
1:32:21
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1:32:21Welcome to the August podcast! This month our focus is on remakes, remasters, and re-releases. What makes a good remake, when is a remaster the better choice, or should developers respect the original? We get a lot of re-things these days, and the relationship between the original and the new is an important discussion to have in the context of gam…
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July 2021 Podcast: Remembering the GBA, the greatest console of all
1:47:26
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1:47:26Hello folks! We've got a special themed episode for you this month - it's all about Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA). The GBA turned 20 in Australia this June, and to this day remains one of the consoles that we remember fondly. It had a seemingly endless stream of excellent JRPGs, introduced us to some of our favourite properties (Fire Emblem, an…
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June 2021 Podcast: All about JRPGs!
1:41:05
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1:41:05We have a special themed podcast episode this episode! With special guest, Jay from JayRPG, we talk on for over an hour and a half about JRPGs - what we love about them, what we're looking forward to from the genre this year, and we take a deep dive into Dragon Quest. JRPGs have always been central to the Japanese games industry, and they're going …
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May 2021 Podcast: Roguelikes, Photography, Simulations and more!
1:25:34
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1:25:34The roguelike is a hot topic again, thanks to the "AAA"-roguelike, Returnal, exclusive to PlayStation 5. We chat about that this month on the podcast. We also have a good chat about photography in games, thanks to New Pokemon Snap bringing out the wildlife photographer in us... and then we chat about a favourite genre, the simulation, and some of t…
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April 2021 Podcast: NieR, Party Games, Mysteries and More!
1:41:26
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1:41:26This month's podcast is a massive one, as we had a lot to talk about. We kick things off with the games of the month, of course (and there's a lot to look forward to in April!). Then we chat about NieR, the masterpiece that it is, before also talking about our love of mystery games AND party games. Thanks as always for tuning in - let us know what …
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March 2021 Podcast: On retro-themed JRPGs and our love of the arcades
1:50:00
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1:50:00Have we got a massive podcast to share with you this month! Not only do we talk about the games of March (of which there are A LOT coming), but we also go in-depth into retro-themed JRPGs, arcade games and arcade compilations. And then we have an in-depth interview with one of Australia's leading journeyman freelance narrative writers, Lee, about t…
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February 2021 Podcast: The platformer, and why games need to be more narrative-focused
1:40:06
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1:40:06Time sure flies when you're having fun! We're already into the second month of 2021, and we've been having a lot of fun with the games we've been playing. This month on the podcast we look at the packed February lineup, discuss why games need to be orientated more towards narrative, consider the ongoing role of the platformer, and debate what quali…
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