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Radio Free Nintendo | A Nintendo Podcast for Grownups

Thanks to Ondore for a fantastic OP! That list of notable episodes could be very useful. By the way, the Ocarina of Time episode is what inspired RetroActive. And for the record, my favorite RetroActive editions are Eternal Darkness and Geist -- we even had the game's producer on for the latter, which led to some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories.

New episode should be going up in a few hours, by the way. ;-) I would love if people discussed it here, a la Weekend Confirmed.

I hope all our new listeners will come see us at PAX East for our third annual panel. We are usually the only Nintendo-themed panel, but this year our sister show, Connectivity, is also doing a live version of their Nintendo Jeopardy competition.

The Geist episode was amazing despite it being about Geist, awesome insight into Nintendo.

Looking forward to the new episode Jonny.
 
I will halt my Idle Thumbs podcast replay to give this a try.

Though I fear big backlogs of episodes, because I know that importing the RSS feed will give me enough listening material for the next decade, and then I end up finishing the entire bunch a month later and my head hurts.
 

Henke

Member
I've been hoping to find a decent Nintendo podcast for a while, this'll do nicely. I find that other 'casts I enjoy don't give Nintendo much time (Giantbomb, Rebel FM, Weekend Confirmed).
 

NintendoFan

Neo Member
So glad that this podcast has its own topic. RFN continues to be the best gaming podcast out there. With it taking the crown of the now defunct 1UP Yours.
 

Penguin

Member
So glad that this podcast has its own topic. RFN continues to be the best gaming podcast out there. With it taking the crown of the now defunct 1UP Yours.

I still give that crown to 8-4 Play, I just love listening to them talk.

But so far this has been a solid listen.

Been jumping around. Listened to their e3 carcast, which was just a bizarre experience since everyone's voice just kept going up and down.
 

Ondore

Member
Episode 280 is up! http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/29305

This week's show begins with a quick celebration of Nintendo's downloadable news, with Hulu Plus, the Wii Virtual Console's resurgence, and the expansion of the 3DS Virtual Console to include NES games. Greg's New Business flows perfectly into impressions of Wario Land and the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D demo. James shares a few final thoughts on Rhythm Heaven Fever to accompany his full review here on the site. Jonny is down on Mario Kart: Super Circuit but more positive on the Mass Effect 3 demo. Finally, Jon completes not one but two games this week: God of War 3 and The Simpsons Arcade Game.

The latter half of this episode takes an idea from fellow staff member Minoru Yamaizumi, who needed to translate the word "gameplay" into Japanese and asked us to try defining the concept itself. It's a murky subject fraught with semantic traps, but we tried our best to get around the idea, how Nintendo leads in this regard, and how gameplay factors into our favorite games ever. We'd love to hear what you think of the discussion and of the topic itself, so please comment below or shoot us an email.
 
Great to hear about this, I've wanted a good Nintendo related podcast ever since IGN Nintendo went off the deep end. No idea why I haven't found this already, especially since I visit NWR now and then.

I'll start with the Geist Retroactive to see how it goes. Though it's not a great game by any means I think what it tried to do lends itself to a good in-depth discussion (that I've never really heard, it seems to get written off instantly as a poor man's shooter on a Nintendo console, yuck).
 

Pappasman

Member
I listened to episode 279 earlier and, aside from the zelda timeline hating, it was really good. Im definitely going to subscribe to RFN.
 

Viewt

Member
Ah, man, it's so awesome to see RFN get a megathread! Much like Mike, I'm a bit of a proud papa seeing everyone loving it. My tenure as host has long since past, but I WILL take credit for choosing the current cast as the replacement crew when Mike and I left. Of course, after 4+ years, they're hardly a "replacement." They totally own that show, and they've turned it into something really great.

And yes, the editing prowess of one Greg Leahy is not to be underestimated. He's a very talented fellow.
 
All the new listeners this thread may have attracted sure are in for a treat with this week's episode. An hour-long 'what is gameplay?' discussion that really hits it out of the park and shows why this show is the best. An amazingly deep and insightful discussion that gets the core of why we like games and perhaps why some of us prefer Nintendo games. Have not heard a better discussion about games in quite some time.
 
My favorite video game podcast.

Love it, and for those who may worry about it being a Nintendo ballwash it's anything but. Their fandom is balanced with plenty of discussion about the things that the Big N do to piss them off.

Keep up the good work, guys!
 

Henke

Member
I've listened to a few episodes now thanks to this thread and the podcast is quickly becoming one of my favourites at the moment. Superb stuff. Nintendo feels pretty under-represented on podcasts these days.
 

Glix

Member
This is one of my favorite podcasts, but there is something about Metts that I can't put my finger on.

Its like, he only played what he played throughout his life, and has no knowledge of other games. I mean, I never had a Saturn, but even before I finally got one (2009), I knew intimate details of its most acclaimed games.

One time that really sticks out in my mind is when they were discussing Outland, and most or all of the guys were not familiar at all with Ikaruga.

I mean, its okay if you didn't play Ikaruga, or didn't like it, but to be a games journalist, and not even have an inkling of the most innovative gameplay mechanic of a very famous game that has come out for multiple home systems seems suspect to me.

Also, James comes off like a less funny version of the guy who loves loving things from Weekend confirmed, but he's not terrible or anything.

The British dude is great, and carries the show. He is the most knowledgeable, and even though he only has owned/played Nintendo stuff (for the most part, I could be wrong about this), he has great knowledge of even the consoles he hasn't owned. His accent is soothing as well.

EDIT - I can't listen when Billy is on, as Metts ends up sounding like "Hi Billy, I love you, are we doing a good job, I love you, we miss you, I love you."
 
Didn't know they did retro stuff. Am listening to the mario rpg one. Good arguments. That game does look like pure shit on a HDTV... which is saddening =(
 

90sRobots

Member
I'm unable to get past the Power Rangers in that game because my characters are hilariously underpowered. Might have to give that one a listen.

The Wario/Mario Kart discussion this week was great. Any retro segments from other episodes worth listening to?
 
Downloading the disaster day of crysis episode to try.

Lets see how this goes.

EDIT: Mmmm, seems like the itunes 126 episode isnt about Disaster. They are talking at PAX.
Does someone know which episode is in itunes?
EDIT2: Ok found it. Fuck itunes and his random numbers.
 
One time that really sticks out in my mind is when they were discussing Outland, and most or all of the guys were not familiar at all with Ikaruga.

I mean, its okay if you didn't play Ikaruga, or didn't like it, but to be a games journalist, and not even have an inkling of the most innovative gameplay mechanic of a very famous game that has come out for multiple home systems seems suspect to me.

I welcome all criticism but I think you misunderstood something on this episode. Pretty sure all four of us regulars on the show have owned Ikaruga and played it a good bit. In fact, we played it at Jon's apartment in TATE mode right after last year's PAX East Omegathon finale and talked about it on the next episode. That was before Outland came out. I actually own the Japanese GameCube version of Ikaruga and once got to the last stage! Greg is probably much better at it, of course.
 
Just listened to the latest 4 episodes on a long car trip.

+Good discussion, they don't talk over each other and aren't afraid to dig deep into games
+They call out Nintendo for stupid shit that Nintendo deserves to be called out on
-The theme song is terrible

Overall I think I'll stick with it.
 

Ondore

Member
Episode 281 is up

Nintendo gave us an easy way to kick off the show with a few interesting announcements from the latest Nintendo Direct event. Foremost is the surprising decision to let XSEED publish The Last Story in North America, bringing further validation to Operation Rainfall and pleasing hundreds, nay, thousands of Wii JRPG fans in the West. After a bit of this and other announcements, Jon continues New Business with his long-awaited trek through Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Greg finished up Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and found a copy of a cult favorite, Slitherlink for DS. Jonny completed a trio of notable games and also betrays his skier loyalty by testing the new SSX demo. Finally, James continues his ambivalent, confusing journey through the world of L.A. Noire.

In the second half, it's time for Listener Mail! A question about balancing academics and gaming causes Jonny to reveal an uncomfortable memory from his college days. We examine the causes and possible remedies for poor GBA emulation on the 3DS. A listener wonders which system is best for downloading DSiWare (cue James: "none"). Then for the big finale, we read a very long email about "fixing" the Zelda franchise, which leads to an even longer discussion over whether that is necessary and just how it could be done. It's a classic RFN roundtable, so please to have a enjoy. Please help incite more of this chatter by sending your own email to the show!

We politely remind you that RFN's third annual live panel event shall take place at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East in Boston, April 7 at 11:30am Eastern. Join us!
 
Just started listening to this thanks to this thread. Caught up with the last few episodes during my commute this past week, and I really liked their Fire Emblem segment. It's nice that they try to devote a good chunk of their podcast to in depth discussion on various topics.

Downloaded the new ep and listening now. Also nice GAF shout out in the beginning of the podcast.
 

Anth0ny

Member
Listened to 4 episodes. I really like this podcast now. Everyone is intelligent and level headed, it's a very fun listen.

Some of those games on their bucket lists were obscure as fuck. I thought I was the only one who wanted to play Doshin the Giant on Nintendo 64DD :lol
 
It's nice to have a podcast not just constantly ripping on Nintendo. That's the reason I completely stopped listening to podcasts years ago.

That hyperanalysis about gameplay in the most recent episode was a big much for me though.
 

SmithnCo

Member
The problem with RFN: They talk about games on other system! I thought this was Nintendo-centric?!

No, it has a heavy Nintendo theme and discussion but they talk about the whole industry as well. Helps provide better perspective than just ignoring it. Plus it helps with checking out games on other systems if you know the hosts' tastes.
 
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