Legion Gaming Podcast

Episode 55: Beat 'Em Ups Strike Back

Beat 'em ups have had a huge resurgence in the last five years or so. The genre was at its peak in the early 90's until it slowly fizzled out over the last couple of decades, partly because there wasn't a whole lot of innovation. What's old is eventually new again and we're celebrating "Beat 'Em Ups Strike Back" in this episode as we dive into three games that all have their own legacies from the past - Streets of Rage 4, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind! SoR4 and TMNT particularly injected new life into the genre and Rita's Rewind is the newest game that went back to it's early 16-bit roots. If you want to revisit our past episode that covered each of these series, check out the list below!
 
Episode 27: Mighty Morphin' Power RangersEpisode 40: The NES TMNT TrilogyEpisode 43: 16-bit TMNT Games + Tournament FightersEpisode 51: Streets of Rage Trilogy
 
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Episode 54: The Most Influential Games.. of ALL TIME (with Randy)

We've got a big episode this week for your (hopefully) long Valentine's weekend! We invited our friend Randy to put together a list of the Most Influential Games... of ALL TIME! The three of us made a list of 15 games each that we thought made a significant impact on gaming decades after they were released. Lots of outlets have done their own lists with some choices that we wouldn't include so we thought we'd 1-Up them in this episode (Sorry Fortnite, we're not going to thank you for FOMO, Battle Passes, CEO's desperate to chase live service games, and microtransactions).  We've got a wide variety of games here and we make a case for why each of these should be on anyone's list and how they've spawned entire genres or continue to influence games decades later. Of course, if you think we missed something or think we made the wrong pick - let us know!
 
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Episode 53: Onimusha: Warlords (PS2) - The Ninja Resident Evil

This week is all about demon-slaying samurai! We were very excited to see Capcom announce Onimusha: Way of the Sword and wanted to give everyone a primer on the original Onimusha: Warlords. Onimusha was an early PS2 game released in March of 2001 (just six months after the U.S. launch of the system) and was originally named "Sengoku Biohazard" as it was a ninja themed Resident Evil game. Deucy and I talk through its development history as a N64 and PS1 game before it shifted to the PS2 and dive into the game itself and how it holds up nearly 24 years later! I've had plenty of experience with this one but this was Deucy's first play so he's got some fresh impressions from the 2019 Remaster.
 
Keep an ear out for our next episode where we cover the Most Influential Games of All Time with our friend Randy!
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Episode 52: Iconic Weapons

This week Deucy and I are talking iconic gaming weapons! We took a small break from our normal deep dives and decided to spin up a big list of some of the best weapons we've ever used. Both of us made our lists and we break it down by generation starting with the NES all the way to some of the more recent favorite like the G.L.O.O Cannon from Prey in 2017. What makes a weapon iconic? It can be anything from how it looks, its utility, how badass it is, or how weird they are. You'll also get a pretty good idea of our individual tastes - we've got some of the big ones like Link's Master Sword and some unique oddities like Alan Wake's flashlight.  Lock and load this week's episode and then let us know what YOUR iconic weapons are by emailing us or visiting us on Instagram!
 
Email us: LegionGamingPod@gmail.comInstagram: LegionGamingPodcast

Episode 51: The Streets of Rage Trilogy

Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2025 covers one of the greatest beat 'em up trilogies EVER - Streets of Rage! Sega released the original Streets of Rage exclusively on the Genesis in 1991 when Capcom and Konami had been dominating the beat 'em up scene at the arcades. It released to wide acclaim for it's fantastic graphics, 90's club vibe, and an amazing soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro. Streets of Rage 2 followed in late 1992 and was even better than the original in every way possible - the soundtrack itself is timeless and was way ahead of it's time. Streets of Rage 3 later followed in 1994 as the Genesis was slowly winding down in favor of the Saturn and 32X (kind of...). Deucy and I revisit the trilogy and how it holds up today as we dive into the history and development of each game. You're bound to learn something new and maybe scratch that nostalgia itch too.. Join us as we risk everything, including our lives, on the..... STREETS OF RAGE!
 
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Episode 50: Our Game of the Year - The Best (and Worst) of 2024

We've made it to episode 50! 2024 was a very good year for game releases - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Astro Bot, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom are just a handful of the heavy hitters we saw this year. Deucy and I played A LOT and for our final episode of the year, we share our individual lists of the BEST and some of the more disappointing games we played. We first cover what we're looking forward to after all of the big announcements of the game awards. You'll hear the worst of gaming in 2024, our honorable mentions, and we finally share what we put on our Top 10 Games of the Year. Our lists are pretty different which makes this episode even more fun to listen to so let us know what you thought of where we placed everything.
 
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Episode 49: Street Fighter: The Movie 30 Years Later

We're doing something a little different this week! We're reviewing and diving into a movie based on a game and also the game based on the movie that was based on the game... We invited our friend Vito, the 8BitBarrister, to discuss Street Fighter: The Movie and Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game. After Super Mario Bros. and Double Dragon stunk up the theaters, Capcom wanted join the fight in December 1994 with Street Fighter: The Movie. The cast, notably Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia,  make it wildly fun time of a movie that's reached cult status 30 years later despite its odd James Bond-like plot. We're also reviewing the games based on the movie - Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game! Digitized graphics were all the rage in the early 90's thanks to games like Mortal Kombat and NARC and Capcom thought it'd be a good idea to make a Street Fighter game in the same style. You'll hear all about the Arcade and home versions for the PS1 and Saturn, so press start to continue!
 
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Episode 48: Gunstar Heroes (with special guest Juan) - A Genesis Run n' Gun Treasure

This week, Deucy and I invited our friend Juan to talk about one of the Genesis' run n' gun gems Gunstar Heroes! This is one of Juan's favorite games of all time and he really wanted to revisit it with us and talk about why this cult classic is one of the best games on the Genesis. Gunstar Heroes was Treasure's debut game before they would quickly be known as one of Sega's best and most unique game developers. We dive into the history of Treasure, including how much of the team were Konami vets, and the interesting deal that led to the Gunstar Heroes being created (there's a tie to McDonald's that you wouldn't expect.....). It's still one of the most impressive 16-bit games you'll ever see and we had a lot of fun talking through everything Gunstar Heroes did right!
 
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Episode 47: Turok on the N64 - From 1950's Comics to First Person Dinosaur Hunting

We've got a nice beefy episode of dinosaur hunting this week when Deucy and I revisit the entire Turok series on the N64. We're covering it from it's comic book beginnings in the 1950's to it's incredible, if underappreciated, quadrilogy of games on Nintendo's iconic fifth generation console. Deucy and I share our thoughts on recent games we've been playing including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard before we dive into all four Turok games. The N64 only had around 12 games when Turok: Dinosaur Hunter released in March 1997 and we examine how the series changed from its start as an influential console shooter and how it compared to contemporaries by the time Turok 3 was released in 2000. And we'll definitely be answering how well these games hold up with the incredible remasters from Nightdive Studios
 
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BONUS EPISODE! Episode 46: Resident Evil - Suvival Horror Defined

This episode is dropping on Halloween and there's no other game that deserves a bonus episode - Resident Evil!
We open the episode some recent games we've been getting into - I talk about how great the Silent Hill 2 Remake really is and and Retro Realms: Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead, a really cool sidescrolling slasher by Way Forward. We recently got Analogue Pockets and Deucy we get into what it is and how well it plays GameBoy/GBC/GBA/GameGear and a lot more!
 
We're revisiting PS1 classic that redefined survival horror and how it went from a supernatural horror first person game with co-op to the George Romero-esque zombie nightmare that we all loved back in 1996. We'll also dive into the Gamecube exclusive (originally...) 2002 Remake and many of the other ports and versions that existed.  It's a game with a long history and I recommend you revisit our Top 10 Resident Evil Games in Episode 7 and enjoy this deep dive into the genre defining original!