Legion Gaming Podcast
Welcome to Legion Gaming! A retro gaming retrospective podcast hosted by lifelong best friends (really, over 30 years), Donny (DonVanDam) and Deucy. We love to talk about video games and share our passion with other gamers. Each episode we’ll revisit some of our favorite video games over the last 35+ years and talk about development, history, memories, and how well these games hold up. Go back to the future and get ready for Deep Dives, Top 10 Lists, Retrospective comparisons, and more!
New episodes every other Friday!
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Episodes

Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Have you ever really enjoyed a game and then you reach a boss fight that just somehow is the WORST part of the game? Even rage inducing? We have too. This week, Deucy and I are sharing some of our not quite fondest memories of some of the most difficult and, in some cases, flat out cheap and quarter munching bosses we've faced throughout our gaming lives, right down to the Game Over. Not every game can be amazing but that doesn't stop us from having some fun and coming back for more pain.
Next week: Games Based on Movies
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Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
We're concluding our Donkey Kong miniseries today with Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64! Before DK64 celebrated it's 25th(!!!) anniversary later this year, we wanted to go back and see if it's still as great as we remember it. We'll talk about how this was originally supposed to be a 2.5D game before Rare decided to transform DK64 into a 3D game using Banjo-Kazooie's engine. 1999 was also a pretty huge year for releases in general and we dive into some of those before we breakdown what magazines thought of DK64 on release. As huge and impressive as Donkey Kong 64 was, this episode would not be complete if we didn't talk about the over 3,000 collectibles the game has to achieve 101%. One of us did it 25 years ago and we share our memories of how we did it and how long that took! We close the episode out with our final thoughts on the legacy of DK64 and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. This was another fun episode so kick back in your banana hoard and press start to continue
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Thursday Jan 11, 2024
Thursday Jan 11, 2024
This week, we're covering the final release in the DKC trilogy on the SNES with Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Released in November 1996, just before the final year of the SNES' lifecycle, DKC3 would be among one of the best swan songs to the console you could hope for. A unique open world inspired by the European countryside, nearly 50 levels, over 100 secrets, bigger and badder enemies, a trade quest with a family of bears - DKC3 had everything you could ask for in a new adventure - why didn't people like this one as much as 2? Deucy and I break down the development, reviews, and all of our memories for this underappreciated gem. DKC3 was in a rough spot with the N64 being brand new and against PSX and all of the incredible games that released in 1996. Join us as we give our final thoughts into the trilogy and what our favorite of the three were. We'll conclude our DK miniseries next week with Donkey Kong 64, an incredible (but more bloated than Donkey Kong after a banana binge) and ambitious game for the Nintendo 64!
Next episode: Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
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Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
We're continuing our Donkey Kong miniseries this week with Donkey Kong Country 2 for the Super Nintendo. The second in the iconic Donkey Kong Country trilogy was released in November 1995 and quickly became one of the best games on the SNES. In this episode, Deucy and I talk about the development and origins of Dixie Kong, including the insane amount of possible names that were pitched for her and how badly people missed Donkey Kong. We had a lot of memories about this one and share how our most recent playthroughs compared to what we thought of it in 1995. The comparisons become a lot more interesting since both of us recently played through the first DKC! This episode was really fun to record since we both have so much history with DKC2 and made us more excited to get to DKC3 and Donkey Kong 64. Follow us and let us know what you think and what games you'd like to see us cover!
Next week: Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES)
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Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
We wanted to close the year out with a big one, today we're covering Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. DKC bookended a great year for the SNES (with Mega Man X coming out early 1994) and we revisited this classic to see how well it holds up. We go into Rare's development with the SGI workstations and how Diddy Kong was almost "Dinky Kong," Nintendo's huge marketing push and what reviewers thought at the time. Deucy and I share our playthroughs along with bosses and levels we loved and hated and a whole lot more. This episode the first in our series as we'll also cover DKC2, DKC3, and see how long it takes Donkey Kong 64 to drive us bananas with its collectibles.
Next episode: Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
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Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
This week we're doing something a little different for our first holiday episode. Deucy and I, and many other gamers, have lots of fondness for Christmas since it usually meant we were getting new games or systems so we thought it'd be fun to share our favorite Christmas memories. Deucy talks about getting his Super Nintendo, I talk about how I dodged a Jaguar sized bullet by getting a PS1, and we go into games that remind us of the holiday season. Pour yourself a beverage in your Griswold moose mug, nestle into your 1990s Nintendo Low Rocker gaming chair and prepare to feel festive and nostalgic as we share our Christmas gaming memories!
Next week: Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
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Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
In this episode, Deucy and I talk about our favorite console of all time and some of the WORST consoles we've ever owned or played. You'll get to know us and our tastes a little better after listening to this episode. We've played just about everything from the Atari 2600 to today so some choices may surprise you and some choices may disgust you. We talk about the original console wars and more including Sega's uphill battle with the Dreamcast facing the PS2, Nintendo's failures, and Tiger's own portable misery the Game.Com. Join us and then share your favorites!
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Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
What more can you say about Aladdin? A lot, actually. In this episode, Deucy and I take a dive into the Cave of Wonder and decide what version makes the escape with the magic lamp. We talk about the differences between both versions and which one we think is the best between the two. We'll share how closely Disney worked with Virgin games on the Genesis version and what developer was originally approached to develop it. You'll have to listen to find out which game had an Aladdin easter egg in it!
Join us on a magic carpet ride and discover a whole new world through two of the most memorable games on the Super Nintendo and Genesis! Press Start to Continue
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Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
2023 is quickly closing and it's been one of the best years in gaming ever. The last time releases were this great was in 1998 with games like Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Starcraft and countless others. In this episode, our friends Mike and Randy join us to talk about our favorite games we played in 2023 but also dive in to games we thought were disappointing. There's bound to be some controversial takes with a list that includes Dave the Diver, Street Fighter 6, Spider-Man 2, Forza Motorsport, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, Super Mario Wonder, and even some retro picks! Pour yourself a nice class of crisp and refreshing Surge soda and find out what each of us thought was our 2023 Game of the Year. Press Start to Continue!
Next week: Aladdin - The Final Verdict (Genesis/SNES)
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Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Prepare yourself! The original Mortal Kombat ports were released on September 13th, 1993 and in this episode Deucy and I celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the series and compare the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis versions. We talk about the development and release of the arcade, how fatalities were introduced, the origins of the mysterious and hidden green ninja Reptile, the GameGear and GameBoy ports, and which version we prefer. We dive into the history of the iconic blood code and how the ESRB ratings system was created because U.S. Congress was upset about video game violence! Mortal Kombat has cemented its legacy into gaming history and we had a lot of fun talking about our memories - you might be surprised that one of us thinks the SNES version is better! There is no knowledge that is not power so join us as we immerse ourselves in 30 years of MORTAL KOMBAT!
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