To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NES, 8-4 invites retro gaming legend Kevin “tsr” Gifford, founder of tsr’s NES archive and keeper of the world’s largest collection of obscure game knowledge, to take us back (back… back…) to the 80s to talk about the birth of the era’s most popular 8-Bit system. But before that, listen to round-ups of the recent Level-5 and Grasshopper events in Japan, thoughts on Costume Quest, Vanquish, Limbo, La Mulana, and Game Dev Story, and the sad tale of Mr. Gifford’s epic attempt to clear the Tower of Druaga on a single coin…
Running time: 3:07:22
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Time – Topic Discussed:
13:19 – Level-5 Vision 2010 event
35:25 – Hopper’s 4 event
47:40 – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
48:50 – Costume Quest/Limbo
1:04:28 – Vanquish
1:10:30 – La Mulana
1:18:30 – Game Dev Story
1:28:03 – Kevin’s Tower of Druaga Journey
1:42:50 – Happy Birthday NES
3:04:14 – Closing comments
As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!
Thanks for listening!
That No More Heroes 2 song made me JIZZ MY PANTS! It made that craptastic game fun for about 10 minutes. Thanks for that!
Did anyone else think Kevin Gifford said Circus “Penis” @ 57:37. Circus Peanuts…..oh boy.
Well, obviously *someone* had a lot of fun at the circus!
Kevin’s talk about the NES anniversary was fascinating, EXCEPT that he kept smacking his lips. Oh my god, by the end of that, I was getting sick to my stomach. Back away from the microphone and get a glass of water.
Otherwise, it was an amazing show.
Awesome show. Very interesting all around. Kevin Gifford is a super podcast master, no doubt!
Once you get your system down for having Japanese speaking guests on the show, I’d like to suggest Rieko Kodama. Towards the beginning of this episode, Mark mentioned the guide that was included with Phantasy Star 2, and it reminded me of how brilliant and groundbreaking her work has been, particularly on Phantasy Star 1, 2, and 4. In America, we don’t hear that much from her, and I’d love to hear her talk about her career. (On a side-note, I can’t help but wonder why 7th Dragon did not come out in the U.S. I’d like to ask the 8-4 crew if any of you have played it and what you thought of it.)
I played it briefly, but haven’t yet had a chance to really dive in. It looks and feels very old-school, which I’m guessing had something to do with Sega deciding not to bring it over.
Agreed re: Rieko Kodama. We’ve met her a few times so perhaps someday! We have a long list of J-devs we want to talk to, so we’ll see how it goes. :)
Thanks for the reply. It’s very exciting to finally get the chance to hear Japanese developers speak on an English podcast. I can’t help but imagine how amazing a Suda51 episode of 8-4Play would be.
I read “Kevin Gifford” and clicked download.
Oh, hey, you guys talked about my Monster Party write up. Neat!
To clarify: I love Monster Party to death, and I love the (very few) odd people over the years I’ve met that ALSO love it. I just don’t love it for the same reasons I love, say, a Mega Man or Mario, y’know? I still think everyone should check it out and see where their opinion falls.
What was that book you guys were looking at? Gamespy Quarterly or something? I tried Googling it and couldn’t find it. Thanks for the help and love the Podcast: )
Hey guys! Great job on the podcast as always. I was wondering when you guys would get around discussing okamikaden. I am curious to find out how it stacks up to the original okami. Looking forward to the next podcast.
What was the name of the NES book put out by gamespy that you guys were talking about?
That would be Gamespite Quarterly! http://www.gamespite.net/ Check out right side of the page for info on the book. It’s awesome.
Oh GameSpite…I though it was GameSpy. Thanks for the link, going to order one (a hardcover of course).
Thanks! Putting it on my Christmas list right now: )
I’m almost finished listening to the episode. I can’t believe you guys didn’t talk about the only Famicom game that I know of that uses the mic on the controller. Legend of Zelda! You have to yell to stun or kill some monster. The US instruction manual for Zelda says something like “they hate loud noises”. This must have confused kids seeing as they had no idea what that was about. Also, where on Gamespy can I find that book? A direct URL would help. Keep up the good work. By the way, I found out about this podcast via Chris Grant of the Joystiq podcast. You guys should do a crossover show. It would be so good that the podcasting world would implode.
Oh, nice – did he mention it on their podcast or something? Any idea which ep?
You’re right about Zelda – forgot about that. :D
The book is available at gameSPITE :) Sorry if that wasn’t clear. You can find more info on it here: http://www.gamespite.net/toastywiki/index.php/Site/GSQ5TableOfContents
Thanks for listening!
I really enjoy the show. It has become part of my regular rotation. Chris Grant recommended it on his twitter account a while back, http://twitter.com/chrisgrant/status/25579456504
“Super Game Masters” with an image needs to be a graphic T-shirt.
Having Kevin on more often is really a great idea because he’s funny and had a lot of interesting things to say. I’ve actually listened to this thing twice, I think it’s the best one you guys have put out. Keep it up!
What is the name of the music/song from the intro?