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Hi Patrons, Diamond Feit here. I love having this gig where you spend money and I get to talk about video games that you might remember but in this case, I'm specifically talking about a video game that one of you asked me to remember on purpose. More specifically, Ryan Hoss requested a podcast about Perfect Dark, Rare's follow-up to the wildly successful GoldenEye 007.

Our conversation ran a bit long because we had to include a warmup about said James Bond game and touch upon the other video games called Perfect Dark, including a few that got cancelled but remain noteworthy nonetheless.

Joining me are regular Retronaut Kevin Bunch and first-time guest Cara Ellison! One of us might be an alien in disguise but the real question to ask isn't "which one?" it's "why admit that now?"

Art by John Pading, edits by Greg Leahy. Music heard in this episode:

08:50 - GoldenEye 007: Aztec

20:59 - Perfect Dark (N64): Enter the Dark

34:08 - Perfect Dark (N64): Chicago: Stealth

44:23 - Perfect Dark (N64): Combat Simulator Menu

54:45 - Perfect Dark (N64): Carrington Institute

1:07:53 - Perfect Dark (N64): Carrington Institute: Defence

1:17:44 - Perfect Dark (N64): Pelagic 2: Exploration

1:26:57 - Perfect Dark (N64): Maian Tears

1:35:27 - Siam Shade: "Sexual Sniper"

1:43:10 - Perfect Dark (GBC): Cutscene BGM | Perfect Dark Zero: Mission Select

1:56:36 - Perfect Dark Zero: Glitter Girl

2:06:33 - Phantogram: "Cruel World"

2:19:24 - Perfect Dark (N64): Institute Menu

Closing - Perfect Dark (N64): Credits

Files

Comments

Andrew O.

I must've played hundreds of hours of Perfect Dark back in the day and it's one of my favorite games ever. There's so much to do between the main story, the various challenges, and even hunting down wedges of cheese. Halo came out just under two years later and I've always said it's the worse game. It's areas are repetitive and bland. It lacks multiplayer leveling and AI. Plus it normalized the 2-gun setup while Perfect Dark gave you 2-times the guns with the secondary mode. It may sound like hyperbole, but Perfect Dark was truly ahead of it's time.

Nat

With regard to the cheating, my friends and I would call it “screen peeking”.

Alex Forsyth

That opening is Principal Skinner still trying to decide what detergent to buy

Patrick McClafferty

I was the weirdo who got the expansion pack right away. I needed to play South Park at the best possible "quality." I was dumb as a young teen.

Astrogamer

On the topics of prequels, Ocarina of Time is probably the best example. But I'd agree that origin stories are bad generally. Prequels can work if they are expanding on like a distinct event significantly separate from the events of the main series. Like Halo Reach works kind of because you know everyone dies in the end and the game explores the tragedy that paved the way for Master Chief.

BlueWeaselBreath

To me, the Japanese Joanna Dark looks like Tilda Swinton.

littleterr0r

I absolutely loved Goldeneye but I took one look at Perfect Dark struggling on my friend's N64 and noped out until the Xbox 360 HD version.

Tim Maness

Wonderful to hear from the great Cara Ellison on this episode. She's consistently one of the smartest, most reflective people writing about games, and you can really hear that in her commentary. I'd love to hear from more Rock Paper Shotgun alumni on Retronauts!

Andrew Eikum

Cara is a fantastic guest, wow. Really knowledgeable and confident. Great listen about a series I didn't know much about, thanks.

Peter Monks

This episode, along with Stuart's 5 part Sonic 3 & Knuckles epic, is one I've been waiting a long time for. Perfect Dark came at exactly the right time in my life to enjoy all it had to offer, and formed so many memories with me and my friends. Cara is also a fantastic guest. Her insights on narrative - and, let's face it, Perfect Dark doesn't have the greatest story - really made me think of the game in different ways.

Jason J

I had a N64 and GoldenEye back in the day but somehow completely missed this game, probably because it was so late in the console life cycle. I just gave it a go on NSO but I struggle going back to N64 more than any other console, mostly because dual analog 3D control wasn’t a thing yet. Thankfully I can enjoy the experience vicariously through Retronauts.

Kaelan Ramos

Cara Ellison's fresh perspective and takes really elevated this episode beyond my expectations. Please find a reason to bring her back for another episode!

TeamVenom

Fun guest! We always called it "screen looking".

SilverHairedMiddleAgedTuxedoMask

Great episode! Indeed I think the movie Eraser was the major influence on the Farsight, but you can also do an entire podcast on the weird gaming influence Eraser had since a TON of games after that movie had rail guns with X-Ray sights in them. I also remember shortly after the games launch Nintendo or Rare announced that a Perfect Dark TV series was in development, but clearly nothing has been done with it since.

Nuno Amaral

Bah! I hate origins/prequels too. Move the narratives forward, you cowards!

Sean Madson

While I agree on the sentiment about prequels, I will say that Yakuza 0 is an example of an excellent video game prequel.