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It's been a while since I had a musician on, so it's time to fix that. Joining me today is Carmine from the YouTube channel Game & Sound. Game & Sound is a YouTube channel that features covers of video game music using guitar in various styles. I have been enjoying Carmine's work for years so I figured it was about time I would have him on! We talk about his influences are, what types of genres of music he likes, what are some of his favorite games and much more! He also shouts out of some Italian prog rock artists and songs which are linked below along with his channel and a link to his upcoming video! Go check it all out! Check out Game & Sound on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@gameandsounds Check out some of Carmine's musical influences: Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Metamorfosi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDcUm3NRE9s&ab_channel=SirCrow Premiata Forneria Marconi - Dove... quando... (II Parte) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh46DEf0-ws&pp=ygUXcGZtIGRvdmUgcXVhbmRvIHBhcnRlIDI%3D Are

Celeste is a platformer that I think is a prime example of how games can, and should, be considered art. I'm joined by friend of the show Ryan Kern to discuss the iconic indie platformer Celeste developed by Maddy Makes Games. We talk a lot about the game's themes and how those theme's were reflected in the game's creator's personal journey. Celeste is worth trying, even if you don't like 2D platformers. Check out the episode to find out why. Follow Ryan on Facebook and YouTube End Song: First Steps Artist: Lena Raine Album: Celeste Original Soundtrack https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/album/celeste-original-soundtrack Get Still Loading Podcast merch! https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod

About a year ago I was joined by Rockman Cosmo and Naoya Shinota to discuss their efforts in preserving Japanese feature phone games. Since so much time had passed I wanted to bring them back on the show to talk about how their efforts are going, the progress they made in a year and what their goals going forward are. I had a wonderful time catching up with them and I can't thank them enough for setting aside more of their time to share what's been going on in their corner of the preservation community. Follow Rockman Cosmo on Twitter @RockmanCosmo Follow Naoya Shinota on Twitter @NaoyaShinota Check out Rockman's recent article over on Hit Save! https://hitsave.org/the-state-of-japanese-feature-phone-preservation-in-2023/ End Song: The Prelude Artist: Rifti Beats Album: Chocobo & Chillhttps://gamechops.com/chocobo/ Get Still Loading Podcast merch! https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.

2024 is here! And to kick off the new year it is an episode asked for by my Patrons! This week's episode is all about the Final Fantasy VII prequel, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Joining me to break down all things Zack Fair and his spiky hair is Kolby Moyer from the Switch It Up podcast. Kolby is a gigantic FF7 fan and it was an absolute blast to discuss this game with him. Check out the episode and find just how long Nomura has been on his bullshit. End Song: Aerith's Theme Artist: Rifti Beats Album: Chocobo & Chill https://gamechops.com/chocobo/ Get Still Loading Podcast merch! https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod

It's the last episode of 2023 so it is time to reflect on how this past year went! Joining me, as always, to help me reflect is my good friend from the Great White North TJ from the Hodder Show! We discuss what our favorite experiences were this year, which were our most popular episodes released this year and much more! End Song: Staff Roll Artist: Helynt Album: Mario & Chillhttps://gamechops.com/mario-and-chill/ CAPTAIN N FINALE SHIRT HERE https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/53880568-still-loading-captain-n-finale?store_id=565593 Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod

This year's holiday episode has my wife on it! This week on the show my wife and I chatted about the Living Books games! An edutainment series of interactive storybooks originally published by Broderbund. You all may remember I interviewed Mickey W. Mantle on the show a while ago and he was the CTO of Broderbund at the time Living Books was coming out. Well ever since that episode I've been dying to do a proper Living Books episode and joining me to do so is my wonderful wife Courtney! Courtney has a degree in early childhood education so I thought it would be interesting to hear from her perspective what the Living Books games to well, where they could improve and what she does/doesn't like about them! I hope you all will enjoy this episode and I hope you find it interesting. Happy Holidays! Check out the Zoom Platform store HERE End Song: Uwa! So Jingle Bells Artist: Tee Lopes Album: Video Game Xmas https://gamechops.com/video-game-xmas-tee-lopes/ CAPTAIN N FINALE SHIRT HERE https://www.teepublic.com/t-shi

With every console generation there are bound to be a few games that slip through the cracks that are fantastic, but very few have heard of them. Joining me on today's episode is the founder of Syncoplay Retro Gaming, Joe Bourrie. Syncoplay is an online store that creates accessories for gaming collectors and enthusiasts. Besides founding Syncoplay, Joe is also currently working on a book called Beyond The NES, which is a book that is focusing on the games on Famicom that did not see a release in North America. It is specifically going to target which of those games can be played by English speaking audiences with little to no knowledge of the Japanese language! The idea of this book is what let to todays topic, the idea that because a game was never localized into English we tend to overlook instead of giving it a chance. In this episode Joe and I each chose 5 games that we feel do not get the love they deserve. If you have a list of 5 games please share it! I would love to see more overlooked and underloved

It is here. After 2.5 years, Dexter Morrill and I have finally watched and discussed EVERY episode of Captain N The Game Master (minus the clip show episode at the end of season 2...) This has been a long time coming. Dexter and I started this series as a way to help me keep the podcast weekly after my kid was born and it grew into something we could not have expected. This series was an absolute joy. So much so that recording week became known as Captain N week. This would entail watching the same episode multiple times, a few of which were with my daughter and then laughing about it for over an hour with my friend, the co-host with the mo-host, Dexter. And of course with all this Captain N being watched, my kid loves the show now. Go figure. I of course need to send a sincere thank you to all of you for listening and following along with this series. It has meant the world to Dex and I and we could not be happier with how it turned out. Be on the look out for the next cartoon series.... Follow Dexter on Twi

It's been a long while since I had an informal chat on the show. Joining me on this episode is co-founder of Premium Edition Games Barry Carenza. We chat about what its like working as a game publisher, his thoughts on the state of video game preservation and we also dive a bit into our thoughts the habits of gamers and how they have evolved over the years. I really enjoyed this more laid back and chill chat so if you enjoyed this kind of thing and would like to see more of it let me know! Follow Barry on Twitter HERE Check out Premium Edition Games HERE! End Song: Micromanagement Failure Artist: Ultrasyd Album: Chipsters EP Remastered https://ultrasyd.bandcamp.com/album/chipsters-ep-remastered Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

It seems like 2023 has been the year of authors here on the show! Joining me on this episode is James Batchelor, who is the Editor in Chief of GamesIndustry.biz and host of the Bond & Beyond Podcast. James joins me today to talk about a book he has recently written called "The Best Non-Violent Video Games". We discuss the ins and outs of working in games media, how it influenced his work on the book and so much more! Buy James' book HERE Follow James on Twitter HERE End Song: Mega Man 3 Snake Buster Artist: Shinray Album: N/A https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03767 Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

Everyone's favorite cuddly firebreather is finally making his appearance on Still Loading. This episode dives into the first game in the Spyro serie, Spyro the Dragon. I'm joined by my good friend Chris (@britishbondaddict) to talk about Insomniac's landmark PS1 3D platformer. We discuss why this game was so important for sony, how it feels to control today and we debate over if the music is good (I may have some hot takes). End Song: Ice Ice Dragon Artist: RobKTA + Starstorm Album: N/A https://youtu.be/xNOpQvFFSrA?si=DRqn3Y3odP9jWyx2 Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

Its another not-so-mini mini episode! It is the penultimate episode of our Captain N series and we are covering episodes 5 and 6 of season 3! Dexter of course is back and we break down the episodes A Tale of Two Dogs  and Battle of the Basketball Know-it-Alls. This month we finally see the return of the entire N team being all together in an episode! And Mother Brain's crew is here too! End Song: Mega Man 3 Snake Buster Artist: Shinray Album: N/A https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03767 Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

This episode has long been in the making. Back in August I shared on social media that I finally was having my mom on the show, though I kept it vague as to what she was coming on to talk about. This episode is a bit hard to describe what it's about, but at it's core it is a very personal episode for me. I'm joined by my Mom, my friend CJ and my friend Jamie to talk about the various memories of gaming growing up. And while this isn't focused solely on memories of a games, console or genre; it is focused on memories of gaming with friends.... kinda. In the episode I call it gaming in a social space, if that even makes sense. This episode is filled with stories of times when I would play games outside of the standard living room setup or the classic game night sleepover. It is about the times when video games were bigger than the worlds they inhabited on the TV. This episode is about Rocking Chairs, Halo 2 and LAN Parties.   Songs used: 1: Name: Donkey Kong 64: Jungle Japes (Vector U Remix) Artist: Vector U Al

Nostalgia, as they say, is one hell of a drug. This week on the show I'm revisiting a game I covered A LONG time ago, in fact this topic was originally covered in the 2nd episode ever of the podcast! But that episode, along with 5 or 6 others, is hidden away over on soundcloud; so I figured it was about damn time I cover it again. This week I am talking about one of my favorite childhood games, an obscure Mac game called Power Pete (later renamed to Mighty Mike). Joining me to help me break down this favorite of mine is Phil Salvador. Phil is the Library Director at the Video Game History Foundation and he also runs the website The Obscuritory, which is a blog about less known games and software. Phil and I talk about the highs and lows of the game, everything from the joy of exploding cakes to the horror of Little Miss Muffet. If you have ever wanted to learn more about an obscure Mac game than this is the episode for you! Follow Phil on Twitter HERE Check out The Obscuritory HERE Check out the Video Game Hi

October can't end without me at least TRYING to play a spooky game! I'm joined by my good friend Lukas Eggen from the LAN Parties Podcast to discuss the Tarsier Studios' puzzle platform horror adventure game Little Nightmares. I'm not normally a fan of horror games but it was a lot of fun getting to explore this little game. Lukas and I discuss the game's themes, mechanics and more. Does this game show the darkness hidden in all of us? Or is it a representation of how the world can wear us down? Listen and find out! Follow Lukas HERE Follow LAN Parties HERE End Song: Tonberry Takeout Artist: Chjolo Album: Haloween EP https://gamechops.com/halloween/ Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

Video game history has had a special place in my heart for quite some time. I've done a full episode on the topic with my Captain N co-host Dexter, I include history about all the games I cover in each episode and I interview people who write books on game history. It's a topic that I'm very passionate about. Joining me today on the show is Stephen Frost, who is the head of production at the game developer Digital Eclipse. Digital Eclipse is the studio responsible for the Atari 50 collection and more recently, The Making of Karateka and the Wizardry remake. This company is doing some of the most important work for game preservation and making it accessible to consumers and so I HAD to get someone from the company on the show to talk about it. Stephen was a wonderful guest and we have a great conversation about Digital Eclipse's work, his opinions on the game industry and so much more. Make sure you listen to this episode to learn about all the amazing work Digital Eclipse does! Check out Digital Eclipse's web

In this month's Captain N episode Dexter and I get to return to Castlevania and Tetris! The two episodes from season 3 that we cover are episodes 3 & 4, Return to Castlevania and Totally Terisized. Learn all about the Simon Belmont Awards, the confusion of names on gravestones and why this Tetris episode scared the crap outta Dexter when he was a kid! End Song: Vampire Killer Artist: James Landino Album: Smooth McGroove Remixed 2 https://gamechops.com/smooth-mcgroove-remixed-2/ Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

FRESH MEAT! This week on the show I am joined by Shane Koski from the Retro Hangover Podcast to discuss the first entry in the iconic Blizzard series Diablo. Shane and I go a little off the rails while somehow staying on topic? We discuss how the game's mechanics were super influential at the time, how the game's loot system is so unique and even we find some time to debate what having fun in a game really means.  Check out Retro Hangover HERE End Song: Diablo "Wet Grass Inspired" Artist: AmIEviL Album: N/A https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00129 Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast

It's been quite some time since I have covered an Uncharted game. I started a Naughty Dog series a long while ago and went through all the Uncharted games made by Naughty Dog and FINALLY I am rounding out my coverage of the game series with a wonderful discussion on Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a Vita title that helped shape more of the Vita than you know and featured a lot of new an unique mechanics because of it being on the Vita. I am joined by Bill Barber from the Gaming & Collecting Podcast and The 3DO Experience to discuss the only portable entry in the Uncharted series. Does the game hold up? Is it worth tracking down a Vita to play? Find out in this episode! End Song: Burnt Sienna Artist: DJ Cutman Album: Free to Stream https://djcutman.bandcamp.com/album/free-to-stream Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still

The final season of Captain N is HERE! Season 3 is a little different than 1 and 2 for a few reasons, but notably the episodes are only 10 minutes long now! So to compensate for that Dex and I are covering 2 episodes of season 3 for each episode of our ongoing look into the show. Not gonna lie either, these episodes have been the wildest yet... End Song: Born To Rave Artist: Graz and E*Tank Album: Super Standards https://gamechops.com/graz-and-etank-born-to-rave/ Check out the Bit by Bit Foundation! https://www.bitbybitfoundation.org/ Support the Podcast! https://www.patreon.com/stillloadingpod Want to buy some Still Loading merch? https://www.teepublic.com/user/still-loading-podcast