Shows / The Retro Breakdown
The Retro Breakdown
Every week, Dean (twitch.tv/timewanderer) and Tom discuss current gaming news, and then check out some old (or sometimes new) piece of gaming history to see how it holds up, and test the strength of nostalgia.
Episodes
The Retro BreakdownKirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the Army Men RTS
What's next on Switch Online's Nintendo 64 service? We talk about the best and worst of what they could add, and which rights might be too expensive for them…
The Retro BreakdownBlaster Master (NES) and the Don Mattrick Kusoge
The new TMNT game is out, there's probably a new Nintendo Direct coming soon, and TW initially stopped at NieR ending A. Also, Kusogrande 7 has begun, and TW…
The Retro BreakdownPinball (NES) and the Tom's Back Mega Episode
We have a lot of catching up to do! We recap what we've been playing for the last month, take two pieces of listener mail, and talk about Fire Emblem Heroes…
The Retro BreakdownNBA Jam (Genesis) and the Netflix and Chill Lore feat. Jessi!
Jessi's back for another week, as we discuss some of the first games we bonded over in the early part of our relationship, including NBA Jam, Guitar Hero, and…
The Retro BreakdownDark Souls (PC) and the Spring Anime Season feat. Jessi!
I know it's probably not strictly "retro," but it's more than 10 years old, we'll take it! Anyway, Jessi (@lavieclarinette) is back to talk about her…
The Retro BreakdownAlien Soldier (Genesis) and the Movie Quote Quiz
VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! NOW IS TIME TO THE 68000 HEART ON FIRE! Alien Soldier is a MASTERPIECE. In this episode I will excitedly explain why…
The Retro BreakdownGolden Axe (Genesis) and the Tabe-O-Ja Sauce Controller
This week we talk more about news that is hopelessly out-of-date, and a Nintendo Switch game about catching food Pokemon. I'm serious this is a real game we…
The Retro BreakdownNinja Warriors (SNES) and the Casual Dragon Ball FighterZ Review
Because we definitely don't talk about Dragon Ball Z enough on this podcast, we have an excuse to do it again! Tom picked up Dragon Ball FighterZ, and so I had…
The Retro BreakdownNinja Gaiden (NES) and the Sega News Roundup
There's been a lot of Sega-related news lately, so we decided to hit all of it at once. Sonic Origins is coming out and the preorder chart looks ridiculous…
The Retro BreakdownMappy Land (NES) and the Technically Also Dig-Dug 2
This week, we talk about letting people enjoy things and not being a judgmental jerk just because people do things differently from you. This isn't brought on…
The Retro BreakdownLight Crusader (Genesis) and the Instant Sora Doxxing
We dive even deeper into the Treasure library to find what is maybe the LEAST "Treasure" game yet in Light Crusader. Also, Kingdom Hearts 4 gets announced, and…
The Retro BreakdownDouble Dragon 2: The Revenge (NES) and the iPod Archeology
This week, we talk Vampire Survivors, and TW plugs in an old iPod from a thrift store for some reason. But nevermind all that, DOUBLE DRAGON 2 IS WILD WHAT IS…
The Retro BreakdownAvenging Spirit (GB) and the Lime Skittles Apology
Breath of the Wild is delayed to 2023, is it a sign of a new console launch? TW's been playing stuff in Mystery Fun Fest, where he learned that Fall Guys is…
The Retro BreakdownThe Quantum Blade (PC) and the BUSINESS SUIT feat. Alex Zandra!
This week, Alex Zandra, aka Zandravandra, joins TW on the show to talk about the very first games she made as a teenager in the 90s, The Quantum Blade 1 and 2!…
The Retro BreakdownKirby's Adventure (NES) and the Doors vs. Wheels
There's a new Kirby game out this week, so we decided to go back to the game where he just turns into a wheel, instead of just stretching his skin over an…
The Retro BreakdownSin and Punishment (N64) and the Stranger of Paradise
So, it turns out Tom hasn't seen anything at all about Final Fantasy Origin: Stranger of Paradise. So if you would like to hear Tom's live reaction to the…
The Retro BreakdownDaikatana (GBC) and the Reason It's Called Discord
This week, John Romero doesn't make anybody anything, because Kemco made this game. Welcome to the little-known Game Boy Color version of Daikatana, a…
The Retro BreakdownRiver City Girls Zero (Switch) and the Gabe Newell Crypto Dunk
Before I forget, here's a link to the official source where you can hear the FANTASTIC tracks for this game recorded by Megan McDuffee, RichaadEB and…
The Retro BreakdownJoe and Mac (SNES) and the First Draft of Super Mario RPG
This week we delve into the okayest game maybe ever on the podcast! Along the way, we talk about video game camping, Road Rash 64, and the director of Super…
The Retro BreakdownBanjo-Kazooie (N64) and the Retro Bowl Review
In case last week's episode wasn't enough sports talk for you, TW puts way too much time into Retro Bowl and talks about it! Also, this week's extra-large…
The Retro BreakdownBases Loaded (NES) and the Jaleco Sports Spectacular
It's time for SPORTSBALL, because Tom randomly bought me a handheld game console containing 7 different NES sports titles from Jaleco: Bases Loaded (1-4)…
The Retro BreakdownContra: Hard Corps (Genesis) and the Dark Souls Netflix Adaptation
Another week, another game that would have completely changed my opinion on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive if I would have played it 25 years ago. It's Contra…
The Retro BreakdownShinobi 3 (Genesis) and the Consumable Double Jump
This week, Tom sends TW a handheld Jaleco sports game player, we finally start reading your emails again, and TW comes up with the absolute most disrespectful…
The Retro BreakdownAltered Beast (Genesis) and the Steam Roulette Recap
TW started playing random games off his Steam backlog, and had a sorta okay time? Let's talk about it because WOOF Shadow Warrior is more juvenile than I…
The Retro BreakdownMUSHA (Genesis) and the Sonic Boom Bait
Sorry everyone, I didn't feel like tracking down an MP3 of Sonic Boom, so you're just getting game music. But if Jessi and I actually do a Sonic CD episode…
The Retro BreakdownSonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis) and the 2022 Game Preview feat. Jessi!
TW's wife Jessi (@lavieclarinette) guest-hosts on the first podcast of 2022, as we tackle Sonic 3 & Knuckles (kinda) for the first time! We didn't really have…
The Retro BreakdownThe 2021 Retro Breakdown Tier List
IT IS TIME! Our year-end episode where we take every game we did for the podcast in 2021, and rank them on a tier list. From Startropics to Home Alone, every…
The Retro BreakdownHome Alone (SNES) and the New Holiday Tradition
Well, we have now played a Home Alone game in consecutive Decembers, and that now means that it is a set-in-stone tradition that nobody can ever disrespect or…
The Retro BreakdownActraiser (SNES) and the Rabi-Ribi Recap
TW recaps the end of Rabi-Ribi, the YouTube-exclusive series he's been playing, and begs the developers to give those girls some pants, while Tom is playing…
The Retro BreakdownEcco the Dolphin (Genesis) and the Horrors of John C. Lilly
This week, everyone learns way more than they ever wanted to about a neuroscientist who took a bunch of LSD and tried to get dolphins to communicate with…
The Retro BreakdownYoshi's Story (N64) and the Shanghai Airport
Stories of awful travel experiences, games we liked but didn't expect to, and of course, me intentionally mispronouncing my wife's username feature today…
The Retro BreakdownCastlevania: Rondo of Blood (PC Engine) and the New Popeye Game
Why is there a new Popeye game? Why is it like that? Why does it cost TWELVE DOLLARS? We may never know the answer, except that we already do, because it's…
The Retro BreakdownSuper Metroid/A Link to the Past Crossover Randomizer (SNES) and the Lost Judgment Difference
TW recaps his Extra Life charity stream and attempts to explain why it has taken so absurdly long to finish Lost Judgment, and somehow we end up talking about…
The Retro BreakdownFire n' Ice (NES) and the EA NFT Dystopia
A change of gears into a bizarre-but-fun puzzle game that Nintendo decided to drop on its NES Online platform a few months ago. It's hard to really recommend…
The Retro BreakdownBrave Fencer Musashi (PlayStation) and the Altair Alternative
This week, TW clumsily tries to explain his excitement for Altair, the streaming platform that is focused on mental health and equality, and we discuss our…
The Retro BreakdownMetroid Dread (Switch) and the "Fastest Mario" Archetype
It's time to dig deep into the bag for one of the oldest and most obscure games we're covered so far! No but seriously, we didn't cover basically the entire…
The Retro BreakdownVectorman (Genesis) and the Smash Trash Talk
This week, the multi-media sensation that wasn't: Vectorman! A game with great animations that they want to make ABSOLUTELY sure you see! Apparently they…
The Retro BreakdownDonkey Kong Country 3 (SNES) and the Background Layer 3 Problem
We interrupt this month's Metroid chain combo because we're busy playing Metroid Dread for a soon-to-be-released episode. This week, we complete the Donkey…
The Retro BreakdownMetroid Fusion (GBA) and the Best Game Bracket
We spend way too long talking about the IGN "Best Game of All Time" bracket, and how impossible something like that is to even quantify properly. Later, we try…
The Retro BreakdownMetroid 2: Return of Samus (GB) and the Mario Movie Meh
Nintendo Direct! Bayonetta 3! 3D Kirby Game! Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games coming to Switch Online! And I guess there's a Mario movie being made or…
The Retro BreakdownMetroid (NES) and the Franchise Fatigue Counter-Strategy
After several podcasts of teasing it, it's FINALLY time to talk about Metroid! Or, one of them, at least. The ORIGINAL one. The one everybody always tells us…
The Retro BreakdownLufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES) and the Nuzlocke Origin Story
Perhaps the longest game we've made into a podcast (so far), Lufia 2 is a game with a bad translation but a good story, deep and interesting but also shallow…
The Retro BreakdownMega Man Legends (Playstation) and the Forced Item Usage
This week, TW and Tom talk way too much about Metroid, TW gushes about Atelier Escha and Logy, and we discuss how difficult it is to use items in a video game…
The Retro BreakdownDay of the Tentacle and the Stuff You Said Back Then
We get a sneak-preview at future Metroid podcasts, as TW has started playing not one, but two different Metroid games, and can't help but talk about them!…
The Retro BreakdownChuck Rock and the Realistic Sports Anime
Tom and TW struggle to come up with ANYTHING to talk about this week, probably because this game just sucked all the life out of both of us. But also, TW is…
The Retro BreakdownBattle Golfer Yui and the "True Zelda Game"
In one of the absolute most bizarre narratives either of us has ever encountered, Tom and TW take their shots at the little-known Battle Golfer Yui, a game…
The Retro BreakdownElevator Action Returns and the Monday Night Grandia
This week we toss in the quarters for an unlikely choice, Elevator Action Returns, which is, in fact, the sequel/reboot to 1983's Elevator Action, a game which…
The Retro BreakdownB.O.B. and the Worst Game You've Ever Played
I hate this game. Normally I try to be a little coy about our thoughts so as not to spoil the verdict. Not this time. I hate this game as much as it hates me…
The Retro BreakdownEarthworm Jim and the Time Kompression
This week's game comes as a request from stream viewer Alianin! Thank you for supporting the show! Earthworm Jim is a complicated game, in that its aesthetics…
The Retro BreakdownFamicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind and the Dark Souls Destruction Strategy
We're back to normal this week after recording a few episodes in advance, and we have a ton of stuff to catch up on! Tom and TW are both playing some new…
The Retro BreakdownFinal Fantasy VI and the Special Guest Stars
It has been one year of The Retro Breakdown already, and we wanted to do something really special for the podcast to celebrate. We decided it would be a cool…
The Retro BreakdownThe Typing of the Dead and Tom's Assorted Garbage
It's 8 games in one today, as we do a lightning round of games Tom made me play! The Typing of the Dead is the main attraction, but we probably spend more time…
The Retro BreakdownAlisia Dragoon and the Brazil Hype
This week, Dean and Tom are shocked to find out they have a fan. It's honestly pretty cool. Thanks for writing in, Bruno! We do a super-on-time discussion of…
The Retro BreakdownPhantasy Star 2 and the Very Wrong Nintendo Predictions
E3 Discussion continues, and we recorded this before the Nintendo Direct, so please enjoy us predicting what would come up, and being EXTREMELY WRONG. Breaking…
The Retro BreakdownSonic Spinball and the Butter Suckers
Tom inadvertently invents a new phrase this week, and I don't let him off the hook for it! We discuss the first wave of E3 news, the weird Devolver MaxPass+…
The Retro BreakdownComix Zone and the Sega Technical Institute
It's a BIG episode this week! We've got a Subathon announcement (that's at 2pm, June 26, 2021 at twitch.tv/timewanderer, by the way), discussions of…
The Retro BreakdownSpanky's Quest (SNES) and the Random Snack Review
Spanky's Quest came out on Nintendo Switch Online this week, and we take a look at the latest bit of random shovelware they've put on the platform! This is a…
The Retro BreakdownDonkey Kong Country 2 and the Sudden Politics
Tom and TW get a little bit into the weeds this week talking about controversial topics like not wanting people to die for no reason, and recognizing obviously…
The Retro BreakdownMischief Makers and the Game Hype Fundamentals
TW and Tom give their super-on-time thoughts on Lost Judgment and what basically amounted to a Yakuza Direct. TW goes off about the game hype cycle and boils…
The Retro BreakdownTerranigma and the NieR Ending Grind
We have been playing a LOT of video games this last week, and we talk about a bunch of them. New Pokemon Snap, Fights in Tight Spaces, Donkey Kong Country 2…