Star Castle - Episode 165
Podouken
Have fun storming the castle! We circle back with Cinematronics to see what they cooked up to compete with Atari’s Asteroids - the beautiful vector classic Star Castle. Did this game’s life begin as a game about the beginning of life? How did Atari’s failure to port this Star Castle lead to one of their biggest hits? If arcade games rose up to kill humans based on what the game was about, what would be the most terrifying game to die by? Why did Star Castle show up in so many films? Questions answered this episode include how we decide what games make the cut for our arcade, do we have...
info_outline
Battlezone - Episode 164
Podouken
Atari treads new ground with their first terrestrial vector arcade offering, Battlezone! Was this the first game with true military applications? How did constant complaining lead to getting credited in one of the best arcade games made? What genius idea did Pastblaster’s wife have to witness the Gumball 3000 rally for free? Was Battlezone the original Virtual Boy (but better in every way)? This episode’s listener questions include what animal behavior makes us question reality; and what fast food/arcade promotion would we like to see and what food would we like to see them sell? Join...
info_outline
Space Wars - Episode 163
Podouken
Roger, Roger. What’s our vector, Victor? In 1977 arcades lit up with a new vibrant and high-resolution display that brought a dead video game publisher back to life. This was the vector monitor and it did more than just connect the dots, it dropped jaws and led to some of the most memorable arcade games ever created. We kick off our new miniseries with the first vector coin-op game, Space Wars by Cinematronics! Was Larry Rosenthal, the creator of Space Wars, the best business man in the arcade industry? What elements from this game were “borrowed” by some of its more popular...
info_outline
Arcade Obscura (Three's Company) - Episode 162
Podouken
The Three’s Company apartment lease is up and it’s time to move out and move on in the only way we know how - with an Arcade Obscura on underrated or obscure three-player arcade games! The first pick is so undefineable that Jarrod had to create a new word for the genre. The next pick gives us gore and bad line deliveries to go with our beat ‘em up. The last pick takes a famous character, gives them two new friends, and has you do things with them that have never been tried again. We also talk about the recent UFO dump, the new Mortal Kombat 2 movie, and answer what things from the...
info_outline
Alien Vs. Predator - Episode 161
Podouken
Pastblaster finally gets his flowers as we cover one of his favorite games - Capcom’s excellent three-player beat ‘em up, Alien Vs. Predator. Where does Alien Vs. Predator rank on the list of all-time arcade beat ‘em ups? Are you familiar with the Vela Incident of 1979? How did comics lead directly to this game (and a movie that we’d rather not mention)? Did Christmas come early for Jarrod with a Neo Geo miracle? And we got listener questions! What is an arcade or pinball game where if we changed one element it would be perfect for us? In what may be our favorite listener question...
info_outline
Rampage - Episode 160
Podouken
We return to our normally scheduled broadcast to tear into one of the best 3-player and 80s games ever made - Rampage by Bally Midway. Did Rampage lay out the landscape for future sandbox video games? Can you tell the difference between Ralph Wolf and Wile E. Coyote? What led to the long-standing partnership between game designers Brian Colin and Jeff Nauman? Did we really just go around the moon or is it just one more elaborate hoax as the YouTubers claim? (Editor’s note: stop it. We definitely went around the moon.) We also answer these vital listener questions: which two fighting game...
info_outline
The Three Stooges - Episode 159
Podouken
While the episode title could be interpreted as a comment about the three knuckleheaded hosts, we’re taking a very foolish look at the little known Mylstar arcade game The Three Stooges in Brides is Brides. Why is this game so intent on players wiggling men’s joysticks? How does a game based on a property made 50 years before the game’s release play 45 years after it came out? Did this game stay true to the Three Stooges spirit? What happens if we don’t have a lot of content on a game and have to end an episode early? Pay no attention to the episode release date. Unrelated to that…...
info_outline
Armored Warriors - Episode 158
Podouken
In the world of three-player arcade beat ‘em ups Capcom is king. But which of their games reign supreme? In this episode we’re talking about the build-a-mech brawler Armored Warriors! Is Armored Warriors the closest we’ll ever get to an Exo Squad arcade game? What is the quarter mile time of a Night Fury Nissan GTR and how much horsepower does it have? Did Rob turn traitor while watching Olympic hockey? How did this game spawn a popular fighting game character? Listener questions asked this week include what was our first arcade machine and when did we buy it, what raster arcade would...
info_outline
Turbo Force - Episode 157
Podouken
In 1991 Video System released what is undeniably the best three-player vertical arcade shooter that retrofits Lamborghinis into flying vehicles that fight a giant Lexus in space - and 35 years later we’re talking about it. Now get your butt in the Diablo(on) as we launch Turbo Force! With its blood selling for $60k per gallon is Turbo Force’s giant horseshoe crab the most valuable boss in an arcade game? Does “C” stand for “Canada,” “controversy,” or “curling”? Did we have the opportunity to buy a famed arcade gaming IP and miss it? Is this the ultimate 90s Trapper Keeper...
info_outline
Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Super Off Road - Episode 156
Podouken
Step right up and spin the wheels (all three of them) on the best stand-up racing game to feature a vague Marvel reference - Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Super Off Road by the Leland Corporation. What is the true name of this game? Why does Rob sound like he gargled with razor blades? How many copies of Super Mario Advance can one person legally own? Was the Activator the worst gaming peripheral ever? Questions this week include which arcade PCBs have shot up in price and made us go, “huh, really, that game?”; and a three-parter: what is an arcade or pinball game that we love but...
info_outlineIt’s the end of the Light Gun miniseries and we’re down to our last remaining bullets. Now it’s time for each host to shoot their shot on their pick of an obscure or underrated Light Gun arcade game.
Did it finally happen? Did we pick the same game?! Adam brings the cinematic rage with his choice. Jarrod channels familiar territory with a game made by familiar people from a familiar company. Rob goes rogue with a controversial game that may or may not break all the rules (we’ll let you decide).
The listener questions in this episode include our favorite of the light gun games, how we define toys versus action figures, and our least favorite game from our favorite arcade company. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode or tell us why we’re wrong to rank your favorite Capcom beat ‘em up dead last: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz
You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716