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Episode 557: What's So Great About Video Game History, Anyway? (Patreon)

Published:
2023-08-28 11:57:53
Imported:
2026-06
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Jeremy: Here's a topic we surprisingly haven't really tackled before across more than a decade and a half of making these podcasts: Why is video game history worth talking about in the first place? Why even make these podcasts?! There was no monetary consideration in mind when I first started recording Retronauts at 1UP.com; I just knew that all the other podcasts were talking about new releases and current-at-the-time-generation software, and no one was talking about the things that came before. (That's also how I got my start writing about old games at 1UP; I saw a vacuum that, like Nature, I abhorred.)

So, I took some time at Long Island Retro Expo this year to put the question to my fellows at the show, or at least as many as I had mics for: Kevin Bunch, Nadia Oxford, and Kat Bailey. But that wasn't enough! Oh no. Since a bunch of other smart, active, impassioned, and talented game journalists and historians were on-site at Long Island, I decided to put the question to them as well. Rather than listing all the people I managed to pin down, I'll just let them introduce themselves. There are some obvious contributors, but also some interesting people who have never been on the show. And a lot of background babble... 

Enjoy!

Art by Amanda Neipris; edits by Greg Leahy.

10:36 - Star Fox: Boss (Titania)

18:07 - The Misadventures of Tron Bonne: Favorite Kobun Saves the Day!

26:24 - Secret of Mana (SNES): A Curious Tale

33:55 - Blaster Master: Boss Battle 2

40:36 - Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run (SNES): Game Won

49:34 - Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (X68000): Salamander Boss (OPM + MT-32 ver.)

58:50 - Eorzean Symphony: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (FFXIV Orchestral Album Vol. 3)

1:08:51 - Smashing...Live!: Super Smash Bros. Great Medley (Balloon Fight)

1:17:19 - Chrono Trigger (DS): Wings that Cross Time

1:23:50 - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home OST: Main Title

1:35:35 - The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition: Introduction

Closing - Chrono Cross (PSX): Radical Dreamers -Le Trésor Interdit-

Files

Comments

Multiplayer Dungeon

This episode is like a quilt keeping me warm on the recently chilling mornings. Video game history and preservation is important to me because a lot of developers simply don't do it. There is art being lost to time as the maw of capitalism shuts around live service games and games that simply won't work on modern hardware. The people doing emulation are a big help, but that's all hobbyist endeavor. Hardly anybody is getting paid to archive and update releases for accessibility. Hardly any live service has a server software release before being shut down. Money is against art, and it's such a shame to see things just being tossed because they're old. I'm old! I don't want to be tossed! I guess the realest answer to the question is that I am mortal and am striving for immortality, and the art I enjoy is an extension of that desire.

Tall Rob

I enjoyed the format of this episode a lot. Not just the informal nature of the quick conversations, but how the main thread of the episode with the hosts and co-hosts kept weaving in and out of the overall discussion. That was a clever editing choice and it worked well. It was amusing that Jeremy likened his enjoyment of all possible nooks and crannies of his passions (such as music) to the full exploration of the confines of a metroidvania game. So I guess that makes it like metroidvania in real life because, after all, you can't spell "metroidvania" without "meta."

Vanja

The good folks over at FamicomWorld forums are an excellent resource for English language history of bootleg Famicom games. There's a few people that have been trading, buying, and selling huge amounts of bootlegs for many years and they've got a good idea of what is out there and where it comes from. I'd recommend asking around there for future bootleg deep dives

Sean Ryan

What fuels my interest in video game history is that so much of what I thought I knew growing up was basically lore generated by marketing media and schoolyard jabber. Once I found so much access to the real stories behind the creative development and company decisions, I became fascinated! Almost as much as I was when I devoured that stuff as a kid!