Giraffe Feels: A Retro Video Game Podcast

Final Fantasy Tactics just passed its 20th anniversary, which qualifies the game for the podcast! At times I have called Final Fantasy Tactics my favorite game of all time. I do not quite feel that way anymore, but join me to discuss the high and lows of this game, how I played it in both college and grad school, and how I feel about the game nowadays.  The background music for this episode’s mailbag is from Lunar: Silver Star Story. The break music is from Super Castlevania. This Wednesday at 8pm I will be streaming The Legend Of Zelda on Twitch. You can find a schedule for upcoming streams on our website.  We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

(I just noticed the typo in the art for this episode...I'll fix it in a few days...) Baseball Stars II was a very disappointing followup to the amazing Baseball Stars. This episode is our second "500 Words" episode and discusses where the game fell short.  This Wednesday at 8pm I will be streaming Baseball Stars II on Twitch. You can find a schedule for upcoming streams on our website. I will update our stream schedule for March over the weekend.  We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive.  Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

In our first every "500 Words About" episode, which we will use to discuss games that don't need a longer episode, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers is discussed. The release of the Disney Afternoon Collection pushed me to replay this game back in the fall. What I found was a decent platformer that has held up over the years.  This Wednesday at 8pm I will be streaming Super Ghouls N Ghosts on Twitch. You can find a schedule for upcoming streams on our website.  We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

When we covered Mega Man II originally, I still didn't have good equipment to record with yet. I thought it would be a good idea to record a new version of this episode. I'm just getting over a cold, so I apologize if my voice still sounds a bit rough.  This Wednesday at 8pm I will be streaming Mega Man III on Twitch. In a few days there will be a schedule for upcoming streams on the website. Future episodes will also have it listed in the notes for that episode.  We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

This is a quick update announcing that I will be doing game streams on Wednesday nights at 8pm on Twitch. See you tonight for Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers and then next week for Mega Man 2 (Wily Wars Version). 

It turns out I don't have quite as profound a set of memories of getting a Sega Genesis as I did a Super Nintendo, but it was still a pretty neat day due to some inquisitive purchasing choices by my mother. This episode discusses Christmas Day 1992 and what I loved, and hated, about the Genesis.  There is also some discussion of our plans for 2018.  Games Discussed:  Strider Sonic The Hedgehog Madden 1993 Phantasy Star III NHL 94

This episode began as another thematic mix tape, but ended up being a bunch of interesting tracks I curated for this podcast. We will have one more episode this year, which will be our annual holiday episode. This years episode focused on the Sega Genesis and the Christmas of 1992.  Tracks are from... Batman (Genesis) River City Ransom Lunar Silver Star Story Super Play Action Football Sim City 2000 Final Fantasy IV Castlevania Chronicles The background music for this episode’s introduction is from Final Fantasy V. The break music is from Super Castlevania. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

In one of our first episodes, I promised an episode about River City Ransom. This is one of the best games games I have every played and its combination of side scrolling beat em up and role playing game mechanics has held up really well.  The background music for this episode’s mailbag is from Chrono Trigger. The break music is from Super Castlevania. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

Duck Tales is one of the best video games ever made. I was so happy when the Disney Afternoon Collection came out earlier this year and spent an evening replaying this wonderful game.  The background music for this episode’s mailbag is from Final Fantasy IX. The break music is from Shining Force II. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

NHL 94 is one of the best sports games ever. In this episode, we look at the early years of the series that made me want a Genesis. Games Discussed: NHL 92 NHLPA 93 NHL 94 NHL 95 NHL 2001 Ice Hockey Blades Of Steel There is also some additional music from the Sega CD version of NHL 94, which is so good! The background music for this episode’s mailbag is from Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. The break music is from Shining Force II. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

Over the summer I spent some time playing through various games on the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PS3. This is a great anthology of a lot of cool Genesis games, but also some that are not that good. This episode discusses some of them. There is not much about Phantasy Star or Shining Force because we will do full length episodes about those series in the future. Games Discussed: Alex Kidd Alien Storm Altered Beast Columns Shinobi III Streets Of Rage To further discuss these games, there is also some discussion of: Ninja Gaiden Tetris Strider The background music for this episode's mailbag is from Super Castlevania. The break music is from Shining Force II. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

I never played Mega Man 4 back in the old days! Join me as I offer some thoughts on the game after playing through it on the Mega Man Legacy Collection. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

On Christmas Day 1991 my focus was on Super Mario World, but my parents also got me Super Ghouls N Ghosts. I love this game and am so impressed with how well it has held up over the years. The background music during the Tweets & Emails segment is from Earthbound. NOTE: Whoops, around the 3:50 mark I meant to say Ghosts N Goblins, not Ghouls N Ghosts. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

Here is a preview of our episode about Super Ghouls N Ghosts. The full episode will be out September 19th.

To celebrate our first anniversary, I went back and made a new version of the first episode of the podcast with updated content and significantly better audio quality. Thank you for supporting the first year of the podcast. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast.

Here is a preview of our next episode, which is about Castlevania III. The full episode will be out on September 1st.

I gave a presentation about Valkyria Chronicles at an academic conference back in the fall. While it is pretty rough as it was an in progress work, I decided to make a recording of the presentation for the podcast. I love Valkyria Chronicles and hope you enjoy this episode.

We are on hiatus during August, but there will still be a few things coming out in the feed. First off is an update of the changes I have made to our Patreon recently. I also offer some notes on future episodes of the podcast and a few reflections of how our first year has gone so far. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast. Background music during this episode comes from... Duck Tales River City Ransom Super Ghouls N Ghosts Final Fantasy Tactics Lunar: The Silver Star Sim City 2000 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Animal Crossing: New Leaf Final Fantasy V

Metal Gear was an "okay" game that frustrated me in many places. In 1989, I would have never believed it would become such a popular gaming franchise to this very day. Before we start: Just wanted to warn that there is some discussion of PTSD and domestic violence near the middle of this episode. We are also on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. You can also download episodes from the Internet Archive. Please consider becoming a Patron of the podcast. We will be on hiatus during August. There MIGHT be some content in the feed at some point during the month, but normal episodes will resume on September 1st. Links Cart-Ography Stream #001: Let's Map Metal Gear, Pt. 1

Here is our first mix in a long time. This one covers some of my favorite end game themes plus an additional track that I threw in because I love it. Games Covered: Mega Man II Super C Final Fantasy IX Ninja Gaiden Chrono Trigger