Podouken

Shall we play a game? For the first episode of the Listeners’ Choice miniseries we distill Capcom’s trivia arcade game, Quiz & Dragons, back to its truest form - a board game! Who will win the trivia…

HOLY SH...EBOYGEN! It’s time for another Arcade Obscura where each of the hosts pitch their choice for underrated or underappreciated two-player beat ‘em up game. PastBlaster brings us a game from a …

CYBORGS AIN’T LADIES!! We grab Technos Japan’s ultra-violent and over-the-top The Combatribes by the heels and take it for a spin - and have a lot of fun doing it! Join us as we rediscover this often…

The Mad Gears must pay. We are joined by special guest co-host Chris Antista to discuss Capcom’s Final Fight! Capcom goes “huge and cool” to bring us one of the best beat ‘em ups ever made. Who is re…

Are you a bad enough dude or dudette to listen to this episode? That’s right, we’re talking about the game that sounds like it was made by an 80s word generator (and probably was) - Bad Dudes Vs. Dra…

What do you get when you mix a little Rambo, a lot of Conan, some Altered Beast, throw in some swords and sorcery, and put it all on a PCB that likes to kill itself? Golden Axe! Somehow this is our f…

A new miniseries kicks (and punches) off with twin brothers trying to rescue their one lover -- Technos Japan’s Double Dragon. What 1970s film did Technos use for inspiration to bring about the age o…

It’s time to put all the pieces together and finish the Puzzlers miniseries with our choices for the overlooked or obscure games in the genre. What virtual insanity leads us to consider Jamiroquai a …

Capcom brings us the perfect mix of fisticuffs with gem debuffs - plus a heavy dose of chibi - with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. What is the connection between puzzles and violence that makes us lo…

Bustin’ makes us feel good as we explore the origins of Taito’s Puzzle Bobble (or Bust a Move). We try to make sense of the Bubble Bobble family tree which includes a long, lost ancestor. Why was thi…

It’s all downhill from here as we roll with Marble Madness. We discuss the Doogie Howser of arcade games who at the age of 18 created a major arcade hit for Atari and went on to do a whole lot more i…

Strap in for our most profane episode yet (or not, as we’ll explain). It’s time to talk about Gottlieb’s biggest arcade hit - Q*bert! Find out how this game by Warren Davis and Jeff Lee became a pop …

The pieces have fallen into place for our new miniseries and we’re facing a Soviet invasion! Tetris breaks through the Iron Curtain to take hold of American and Japanese cultures, but in very differe…

We’re bringing the Invaders from Space miniseries in for a landing as the co-hosts talk about their pick for underrated or obscure space shooter. Did Mr. SNK and PastBlaster switch brains? Is it poss…

Beware, I live! The untold (until now) history of Sinistar is explored with the help of the co-creators of the game: John Newcomer and Noah Falstein. Get the inside information on how Williams create…

We revisit Namco to talk about what they built on with Galaxian to bring us (arguably) the best arcade game ever - Galaga! What does an extinct species of shark have to do with spaceships? What is th…

Williams breaks into the arcade scene (and record books) with Defender. Find out how a pinball company entered into the video game race and nurtured some thrilling talent that is still pumping out ar…

My God, look at the size of that thing! Atari makes a cultural impact with Asteroids and introduces the masses to high scores. When did the golden age of video games get literal? How did landing on t…