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This Month In Retronauts: May 2025 edition (Patreon)

Published:
2025-05-25 11:00:13
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Last month an unprecedented amount of breaking news resulted in our longest community podcast ever. Today, without anything on par with a new console reveal, I present our second-longest community podcast ever. How did this happen? Don't ask me, I just work here.

Me, of course, is Diamond Feit and I am joined by Stuart Gipp (Google him). Thank you for indulging me in an unorthodox monthly question in April; I promise I came up with something more specific this time, possibly a headscratcher even!

Specific items mentioned in this episode include:

Doom: The Dark Ages

Pepsi in Japan, like Coke, has Pepsi Zero

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

the "baguette outfits" are so real, there's even cosplayers wearing 'em

Jedi Survivor

巨影都市 (full playthrough on YouTube)

officially a spinoff of Zettai Zetsumei Toshi (Disaster Report et al)

Stu asks about Robot Alchemic Drive (from the makers of EDF btw)

Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3

Skin Deep

Blendo Games have since announced a "mod museum"

looks like one of New Hampshire's largest liquor stores is in Nashua!

Breath of Fire IV on GOG based on 2003 PC release

Toaplan has a dedicated developer page on Steam

my column on Eschatos: still good

the two-game Cho Aniki "collection" remains Switch exclusive

Sakura Wars 2 English translation for Saturn

Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon was also recently translated

developed by Compile, not Chunsoft

Mega Drive Metal Gear!?

see also h0ffman's previously released Amiga port

Dinosaur Planet: Recompiled

unreleased game now playable via N64 Recompiled project

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link has been cancelled

Dragon Quest Walk launched in 2019 and continues to earn yen

fans cooked up Kingdom Hearts Melon Mix to play the DS games on PC

new inductees in the World Video Game Hall of Fame!

Defender

GoldenEye 007

Quake

Tamagotchi

take a look at the latest model coming this July

talk of Rochester prompts a sidebar about Buffalo, NY

I remain confident I ate lunch with Mako at the Anchor Bar in 2007

OutRun movie starring/produced by Sydney Sweeney?

directed by Michael Bay? sure why not

I maintain that AmbuLAnce is worth watching

speaking of movies: next Mario picture is called Super Mario World

or is it!? title since REMOVED from the announcement

Satellaview+

fan-made "broadcasts" for the long-defunct Satellaview platform

Epic WINS suit against Apple taking cut of all sales on in-app purchases

obviously Apple will appeal

since this recording Apple actually relented, allowed Fortnite back on App Store

also breaking news: unions are suing over the Darth Vader chatbot

support ending for the 3DS Louvre audio guide in September

important distinction: Near vs Nier

Ecco the Dolphin countdown clock on official website

Gears of War: Reloaded coming August 26 (PS5, Steam, free on Game Pass)

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition owners get a free upgrade

Xbox saw Sony raise prices and called

Series S/X up by 20% or so in the US, less so elsewhere

accessories like controllers are also going up

games will be $80 in the US. This is now normal.

Polygon sold to "click-farm powerhouse" Valnet

Giant Bomb survives shakeup to go independent

I recommend Aftermath if you're looking for a gaming/tech blog to read

did you know I've written for IGN? I have, and hope to again!

watch Justin Wong go ham with a CvS2 boss team

or with Level 4 Dan?

https://antifandom.com/

Stu calls it Atmosfear but most Americans know it as Nightmare

Matt McMuscles' Iron & Blood video in his Worst Fighting Game series

he has indeed covered Rise of the Robots & its sequel

YES, the next Metroidvania Book Club game is on PS+

Ranma ½ Hard Battle

Tom and Jerry: The Movie for the Master System

according to JP Wikipedia PlayStation sales have steadily declined post-PS2

compare 6.5 million PS5s with 37 million Switches

Speedy Eggbert? Speedy Eggbert 2??

I am once again asking you to watch Akiba Maid War (singular)

"I think Alfred Chicken is marvelous" quote this on a box, Mindscape

Brian Clark's take on Double Dragon 3 (arcade)

my own take on Double Dragon 3 (arcade)

cannot find evidence of DLC getting my name wrong in the MK podcast…

Chris Evans, not Chris Evans

criminally under-nominated Challengers

I apologize for multiple f-bombs when praising Katy O’Brian & Panos Cosmatos

My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ

Millennium Actress 千年女優 / Perfect Blue

really all of Satoshi Kon's work is worth viewing, RIP

Studio Ghibli likewise has a great batting average

I wonder if you can see me in this video? I sure can't!

I used the audio from this moment back in June 2023

Eric Cantona's infamous kick from 1995

Peterborough United does have an official LGBTQ+ Supporters Group

please write in with your thoughts on enigmatic British man Mick George because I want this jersey

Art & edits by Diamond (photo source). Music heard in this episode:

12:33 audio from Pepsiman (1999)

20:53 comedy highlight from my 巨影都市 playthrough

30:52 "Nina Pasadena (Skin Deep)" by Priscilla Snow

40:10 Gradius VRC6 cover by Shimoine

51:15 "Theme of Tara" from h0ffman's Metal Gear Amiga port

57:03 "Simple and Clean" cover by Gates Of Ivory

1:07:08 "Mario! Stay Alert!" by Mario Club Band

1:18:21 "Open Ocean" (Ecco the Dolphin for Sega CD)

1:31:10 impromptu acapella musical performance from Giant Bomb in 2011

1:41:29 "Mahna, Mahna" by CAKE

1:50:33 "dataDyne Central Extraction" (Perfect Dark)

2:00:52 music from Alfred Chicken for PS1

2:11:31 "Run" by Susumu Hirasawa

2:22:31 "Osaka Lover" by Dreams Come True

Finale: music to disappear to by John Ottman

Files

Comments

Patrick McClafferty

Picked a hard one this month. Guess my favorite faceless monster are the Metroids. Seem so nice and squishable despite the teeth. Wish there was a plush (the Amiibo where you can squeeze it like a stress ball was nice).

Jason J

Headcrabs from Half Life. They definitely have a mouth but no obvious face as far as I can tell.

Jason J

Great discussion as always. I agree that video games (and media in general) are heading for some kind of reckoning, which is ironic considering the virtually limitless high-quality content out there. Unfortunately it will be individual creators that suffer the most, but long term I hope the business models evolve be more niche with direct relationships between creators and consumers. I don't think AAA gaming is going away but I don't see how $100M+ budgets with sky-high sales expectations and laying off whole dev studios is sustainable long term for the industry. Case in point, I can't afford $80 for the new Doom game so I'll buy it on sale in a year, but I'm happy to spend $25 on Animal Well now.

K-S-O

The first faceless enemy that came to my mind is the Corrupt Heart from Slay the Spire. When you get to its chamber, you have to face against two mini-bosses at the same time. They are not easy and may deplete some health and resources. Then you have to battle the heart without being able to rest. The actual fight can be very brutal if the RNG is not in your favor. That has often been the case for me.

Julian

How about the Dead Cells protagonist? He’s sometimes called The Beheaded, so I expect he’d qualify as faceless. Quite an expressive flamehead though.

Taskbaarchitect

QotM: Metroids immediately sprang to mind - they're iconic, they go 'skreeee!', you could sit on one like a cushion and fly around. What's not to like? But then I realised that if Metroids are in their native environment of SR-388, that's effectively just their larval stage. When they grow up they develop faces, which is frankly just rude of them. So instead I'm going to go with an equally iconic Zelda enemy: the Wallmaster. Especially as a kid with limited experience, the idea of being dragged back to the start of a complex labyrinth that would then reset and undo all of my hard work was genuinely upsetting. Even now I've grown up (and have therefore developed a face) encountering the Wallmaster-adjacent Gloom Spawn enemy in Tears of the Kingdom instantly invoked that same childhood terror. I didn't even know what would happen if it caught me given that I was already outside, I just ran like hell. So yes, I think Wallmasters win... hands down.

Craig

Expedition 33 is fantastic, super early GOTY favorite

Ana

I agree with you that the price of mainstream games and hardware is leading the industry to backlash and market correction, possibly even to a 1983-like event. But I also think that can be a good thing in the long run. The Atari crash led to companies like Activision jumping ship for microcomputers like Commodore 64 (which in 1985 sold for a measly $149, whereas a 2600 was roughly the same in price or more adjusted for inflation just a few years earlier). And the games coming out by that point were some of the most innovative ever produced: 1985 alone saw the release of Ultima IV, Paradroid, Bard's Tale, Silent Service, International Karate, and Little Computer People. The year before, Activision put out Ghostbusters, and the year after Murder on the Mississippi. The mid-80s wound up being a golden age of video game innovation. Back to today, as much as I love a Nintendo game, the reality is that they're losing touch. I could certainly be wrong, but I suspect people may look at the Switch 2 selling with Mario Kart World and say, "I already own a Switch with Mario Kart on it." There's no wow factor. Same goes for the new Doom game vs the previous 2 Doom games, and yet they want us to buy a whole new GPU and pay $70 for it. The industry is cruisin' for a bruisin'. I'm just thankful that indie and retro gaming have become bigger and easier than ever.

Jonathan Kade

I would love a Chess episode. Two requests: Shining Force 2 and Fidelity Ultimate Chess Challenge on Atari Lynx. Fidelity is not much remembered but Telegames is a fascinating company and it was the best home chess game at the time it was released.

Jonathan Kade

Puyo Puyo is a spinoff of the Compile RPG series Madou Monogatari. So for it to go back to an RPG is just full circle.

Jonathan Kade

Mark Hollis is alive in our hearts. Also if you like Mark Hollis check out the band Shearwater.

Jonathan Kade

My favorite faceless enemy is the Qotile from Yars' Revenge. So creepy!

CapNChris

Since Stuart brought up his nationality so many times, I was reminded to openly thank him for his public service of dispelling the harmful myth (which is very prevalent in the United States) that British people are charming, sophisticated, and cultured. I also want to hear about the United Kingdom that includes white cider, the Daily Mail, and holidays in Spain. But seriously, I appreciate Stuart’s sense of humor and the fun mix that it adds to the podcast.

Astrogamer

For the QotM, I'll go with the Waterwraith from Pikmin 2. It's a bizarre enemy that only appears if you stick around a floor too long in a particular hole. So if Play the game normally, you will randomly be exploring and then a cutscene will play with two iron logs dropping and then a gelatinous creature rolling around and crushing everything that ends up in its path. And since you can't hurt it normally, it's pretty scary and devastating. The hole becomes more of a stealth mission where you kite the wraith away from the other captain trying to recover treasure. But if you make to the end of the hole, you are rewarded with Purple Pikmin and the ability to wallop the guy and break its logs. He then becomes harmless and a scaredy cat as you chase it around the arena.

Thomas Anderle

Wasnt Michael Bay involved in Need for Speed The Run? That game Was fun and Movielike. So Outrun could Work

PurpleComet

"Shitty but in a way I find compelling" might be the ultimate Stu quote.

Guillermo Jiménez

QotM: I'm surprised no one has said Pyramid Head but since I've never played a Silent Hill game I'll let someone else pick him. My actual pick is the Shadow Beasts from Twilight Princess, who not only fit very well in that game's spooky Twilight Realm but look unlike virtually any other enemy in the series so they really stand out. (Come to think of it, so do the Guardians in Breath of the Wild.)

Wood Duck [Legacy Edition]

.... Learning about simply adding "anti" to the fandom url is going to make MINUTES of my life every year more bearable from now on! Wonderful and appreciated. And I now just noticed all the bold parts of the patron post are hyperlinks, thankyou for the effort Diamond.

littleterr0r

You already put so much work into the notes, but could you also put the question of the month in at the end? By the time I'm ready to answer it later, I forget what it is :)

littleterr0r

I thought of Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 and Fingercreepers from Elden Ring, but I'm gonna go with the Faceless Nurse from Silent Hill: Origins. No, I have not played Origins, but it's right there in their name!

Phoequinox

QotM: My pick for faceless threat is the Wallmaster from the Zelda series. No matter what game they appear in, they're terrifying. And they aren't even particularly dangerous! They just set you at the entrance of a dungeon unharmed. But creepy, grabby spider hands are a unique kind of horror I can appreciate.

Craig

The Jim Abbott story is so great. Vivid memories of catching that one on TV. Go Yanks.

haughtybiscotti

QotM: Mettaton from Untertale starts the fight with no face just a bunch of blinking lights... he eventually gets a whole sexy humanoid form tho

PurpleComet

The mention of Wallmasters in Zelda, makes me think of other 'hand' enemies like Master and Crazy Hand in Smash Bros and the Fingercreepers in Elden Ring. But what about the lower half of the body? Enter the Mimicuties from Kid Icarus Uprising. These mimics pose as treasure chests that sprout a pair of feminine legs once you get close. True to form, they have high HP and hit hard. And they're persistent! I ran away only to discover they'll pursue across gaps and down the stairs.

Shrunken Shrine

QOTM: Scalding Coffee Cups from EarthBound are my favourite faceless enemy. I always wondered if they were supposed to be a joke about the infamous '92 McDonald's lawsuit about hot drinks.