Legion Gaming Podcast

Episode 31: Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium - The Legacy of Sega's RPG

This week, it's guest's choice as we have have our friend Mike from the Hollywood Video Guys podcast joining us to talk about Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium! The final chapter in Sega's original sci-fi fantasy RPG was received with mixed reviews at the time, but is now one of the most underrated RPGs of the era. We talk about the history of the series beginning on the Master System and where Phantasy Star is today. All of us compare how PS IV holds up today and how we wished we'd played it much earlier on in our lives. This truly is an amazing game that introduced RPG systems that were far ahead of it's time and would influence so much later. Join us as we take you through the Algol system for one last jump into profound darkness!
 
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Episode 30: Do a Barrel Roll! The History and Development of Star Fox (SNES) and Star Fox 64 (N64)

This week we're venturing back into the Lylat System to talk about one of Nintendo's greatest franchises - Star Fox!  The original Star Fox was released in 1993 and blew everyone away with 3D graphics that were thought to be impossible on the Super Nintendo. The on-rail shooter looked unlike anything else released on a console and it was all possible because of the Super FX chip. We talk about how the origins of the Super FX chip and how a GameBoy game would ultimately lead to the development of Star Fox. We also revisit Star Fox 64 and how much of the unreleased, but eventually released in 2017, Star Fox 2 influenced it. Star Fox 64 is one of our favorite N64 games and we also share our impressions of how it holds up nearly 27 years later as a re-imagining of an SNES classic.  We didn't forget Star Fox 64 3D for the 3DS and talk about how this version compares to the N64 original. Press start to continue and - Good Luck!
 
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Episode 29: Retro pickups and What's New? - Stellar Blade, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, and much more

This week, Deucy and I go through our recent pickups from our local game store and talk about what we've been playing recently. This is a bit of a catch up since Deucy was gone for our Ghostbusters episode and we also just really like talking about what new (or old) games have held our attention. We'll talk about Pong: The Next Level, Reboot, The Punisher for Sega Genesis and more for our retro picks. I talk about one of the most aggravating final bosses I've played in a while with Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the new metroidvania Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Dave the Diver, the badass action in Stellar Blade and more.
 
Next week we're covering Star Fox (SNES) and Star Fox 64!
 
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Episode 28: Ghostbusters Video Games - The Supernatural Spectacular

This week is a little different! I invited our friend Vito, @8BitBarrister on Instagram, to talk about games based on the iconic Ghostbusters series. The original movie is one of the most successful comedies of all time and one of our favorites, so Vito though it'd be fun to cover a few of the hits (and definitely misses). We talk about memories and origins of the first movie what led to the Commodore 64 game that would eventually be ported to the NES. We also cover the incredible 360/PS3 versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game and the remaster that released in 2019. Put the Ecto-cooler on ice and enjoy!
 
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Episode 27: It's Morphin Time! Revisiting the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Games

It's morphin' time! The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers TV series launched in 1993 and became an instant cultural phenomenon and was the top conversation during ever recess. The Rangers were PERFECT to translate into video games and this week, Deucy and I revisit all of the early Mighty Morphin' games for the Super Nintendo, Genesis, GameGear, GameBoy and even the Sega CD version! We'll also talk about the history of the Rangers and the 1995 movie as well as two of the more recent games in the series - Power Rangers: Mega Battle and the incredible Marvel vs Capcom-style fighting game Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. Don't miss this morphenomenal episode!
 
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Episode 26: The BEST Gaming Characters Ever featuring Mike and Randy

In this episode, we invited our friends Mike and Randy to talk about our Top 10 favorite game characters ever! Everyone meticulously put their lists together and we revisit the games they originated from and why they're among the best in the history of video games. We hope you'll enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it; we all have pretty different tastes in gaming and it was a lot of fun to see what everyone's favorites were.
 
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Episode 25: Wrestlemania Mania - The Episode of the Immortals

Welcome to WRESTLEMANIA MANIA! With Wrestlemania XL just a few days away, Deucy and I felt it was only right to go through our own royal rumble of every Wrestlemania game from the NES to WWE 2K24's most recent Showcase of the Immortals. In this episode, we chronicle nearly 35 years of Wrestlemania games starting with the history of the very first pay-per-view event and the development of the original NES game in 1989. While the NES games were jobbers, we would slowly get better wrestling games with Super Wrestlemania for the SNES and Genesis. Deucy shares his impressions of one of my personal favorites, Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game why it surprised him so much. Wrestlemania X8, XIX, and 21 are all here, too. So know your roles, shut your mouths, and get ready to listen to the best Wrestlemania podcast there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
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Episode 24: Samus Goes Portable - Metroid II: Return of Samus/Metroid: Samus Returns and AM2R

We're continuing our mini-series this week with the original Metroid II: Return of Samus for the GameBoy and its remake Metroid: Samus Returns for the 3DS. Metroid II was a sequel specifically developed for the GameBoy and featured lots of enhancements and changes that would influence future Metroid games. Deucy and I talk about how Nintendo R&D1 crafted a unique portable game that was unlike anything else at the time (in 1991!). We share our memories of playing the original version and then dive into the stellar 3DS remake developed by MercurySteam. Released in 2017, Metroid: Samus Returns was rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of the 3DS' capabilities while also keeping much of what made the GameBoy original so great and underappreciated.  Finally, we talk about our experiences with the fan made remake Another Metroid 2 Remake, or AM2R as its known. AM2R was created by fans in their spare time and was a incredible reimagining of Metroid II before Nintendo forced the team to take it down. Find out what we thought of AM2R and the great things the developers went on to do in their careers.
 
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Episode 23: The Beginning and Rebirth of Samus Aran - Metroid (NES) and Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)

This week, we're diving into the original Metroid and one of the best remakes ever made in Metroid: Zero Mission for the GameBoy Advance. It's the first in our mini-series that will culminate to our episode celebrating Super Metroid's 30th Anniversary in April! We thought it would be fun to revisit the beginning of gaming's first bounty hunter and her iconic remake.
In 1987, Nintendo R&D1 was inspired by Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror classic 'Alien' and released Metroid for the NES. To say it's influential is a bit of an understatement considering it spawned an entire genre that would be known as "metroidvanias" (and one of Donny's favorites). It was one of the earliest NES games that broke the mold. You weren't going from left to right the entire time, you were going back and forth collecting items and abilities to progress. The sense of dread and isolation coupled with graphics that were heavily influenced by the works of H.R. Giger gave way to an experience that was never seen before, or thought possible on the NES. We also can't forget one of the biggest mindblowing twists in gaming history when we discovered Samus Aran was a woman!
 
17 years later, Nintendo wanted to reinvigorate the original and introduce the original Metroid to the new fans who played Metroid: Prime on the GameCube and the previously released GBA classic Metroid: Fusion. By this point, the original NES Metroid already felt dated and brutally difficult. Nintendo R&D1's remake is one of the best games you can play on the GBA and perfectly captures what made the original so great while modernizing it. This was one of our favorite GBA games to playthrough and we talk about the differences and similarities between the two games. It's incredible Zero Mission recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary and still feels amazing to play, even more incredible is the original Metroid is now 37 years old itself. Join us as we dive into Planet Zebes once again and celebrate gaming's first female bounty hunter!
 
Next week: Metroid II: Return of Samus (GameBoy) and Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
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Episode 22: The Definitive Mega Man Ranking

In our newest episode, Deucy and I rank 19 games from the Mega Man and Mega Man X series. We thought it'd be fun to individually rank each game and combine our lists into one definitive, no argument, ranking. We'll be covering Mega Man 1-11 and Mega Man X-X8, spinoffs or remakes like the excellent Mega Man X remake on PSP, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, will have to wait for their time to shine on the pod, but we wanted to be sure we covered the mainline games in both series. Both of us share our memories and love for the series and it's always nice when there's only one real stinky stinker in the series to talk about (take a wild guess). What will take the #1 spot as the best Mega Man game ever? Join us as we tune the nostalgia fiddle and play a symphony of classic retro Mega Man greatness!
 
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