Ep.489 – SAG Episode 489: Cookies are for Closers

Who should star in the upcoming Zelda movie?

Show Notes

There’s a live-action Zelda movie in the works, and you know that means. The Stone Age Casting Gall is back! Dan and Kris (well, mostly Dan) comb through Hollywood’s finest to determine who should play the various characters that could be portrayed on the big screen in this frankly ill-advised upcoming Zelda movie. Is Liam Neeson Middle Eastern? Should Gannondorf be a buff, CGI dude? Let’s discuss! We’re also introducing a brand new segment to the show called Week Old News! Going forward, we intend to spend some time covering a handful of notable gaming news topics, but since we record a week in advance, the news will be at least a week old before it gets to you. This week, we talk about Nintendo’s recent financial reports, the announcement of the announcement for Grand Theft Auto 6, the completely unsurprising crunch involved in Call of Duty’s latest release, and more! All set to the Wii New Channel’s catchy music. Enjoy! At the top of the show, Kris set out to replace a kitchen faucet and wound up with a $350 plumbing bill. Pipes shouldn’t disintegrate when you touch them! Plus, Air Twister’s confusing existence (especially its soundtrack), Dan’s PAD-iversary is absurd, Kris falls asleep at the wheel in Horizon Chase 2 (through no fault of the game, he’s just tired), and a whole lot more!

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Ep.488 – SAG Episode 488: You’re Not a Dog Dumpster

The Alphabet Soup-er Series returns with A Hat in Time

Show Notes

After taking a month off to give the game enough proper attention, the Alphabet Soup-er Series has returned with Dan’s pick for the letter H, A Hat in Time. Because we don’t count the “A” in that title. Or at least Dan doesn’t. Anyway, if you;’re unfamiliar, the Alphabet Soup-er Series is where Dan and Kris take turns each month choosing a game to play that starts with a different letter of the alphabet, preferably a game that one or both of them haven’t played before. Dan’s been a fan of this game for years, and thinks Kris would be too if he spent time playing it. So now that he has, what did he think? Did the game’s charm win him over, or did his distaste for 3D collectathon platformers get the better of him?

At the top of the show, Dan spent even more time with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, and continues to be frustrated with Marvel Snap. They’re doing some scuzzy stuff with their cards lately, and Dan is having none of it. Kris got a review code for Colored Effects, a new game from Flynn’s Arcade that's actually quite good. Horizon Chase 2 was also finally updated, Super Mario Bros. Wonder continues to be a non-stop delight, Arkanoid is a disappointment at $3, and a whole lot more!

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Ep.487 – SAG Episode 487: Stone Age Starter Kit: PlayStation 4

If you had $100 to start a physical PS4 collection, which games should you get?

Show Notes

The Starter Kits are almost over! With the PlayStation 4, we’ve made it to the penultimate chapter in our multi-year Starter Kit escapade. So once again, we pose the question, if you had just $100 to start a physical PlayStation 4 collection, which games should you get? Assuming you had whatever peripherals required to okay said games, based on Price Charting North American listings. IS this the best way to actually start a PS4 collection? Absolutely not! But it makes for a fun conversation. PS4 was a weird category because which games will our heroes choose? Which classics will fall by the wayside? Let’s find out!

At the top of the show, Dan spent some more time with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, and well, it certainly is a Star Wars game! He also has a lot of words to say about the current state of Marvel Snap and its various workings compared to the love of his life, PAD. Kris, on the other hand, had very little gaming time this week, and has dedicated what little he had to both A Hat in Time for next week’s show, and the ever wonderful Super Mario Bros. Wonder. What did they spend the rest of their time talking about? Listen on!

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Ep.486 – SAG Episode 486: More Droids Should Have Beards

Episode Tagline - A great 20 and 40, with a bland 10 and 30.

Show Notes

As the month of October draws to a close, so must Dan and Kris dive into this month's 10 20 30 40 with enthusiastic aplomb. Each month, they look back at notable game releases from 10, 20, 30, and 40 years ago, and while there were some nasty technical difficulties preventing them from efficiently dong to (Thanks to Metacritic changing the way their site works), they still managed to pull it off! This time around, the 10 and 30 were fairly mundane, but the 20 and 40 were quite stellar with some fantastic Atari 2600 arcade port like Dig Dug and Joust, and the PS2/Xbox/GameCube generation seeing some killer classics like Jak II, Viewtiful Joe, and Crimson Skies.

At the top of the show, Kris tells the story of how he went to New York city to see The State live on stage, and how a stranger with a jump drive made his day. Dan didn't do much gaming thanks to a visit from his in-laws, but did get to catch up on some fantastic TV, and finally get some time in with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. But the big story was the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Kris spent some time with the game and it's every bit as magical as he thought it would be. Is it the best Mario game since the Super NES? Only time will tell. enjoy!

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Ep.485 – SAG Episode 485: Ranking Every Mortal Kombat Kharacter Part 2

Who is the ultimate winner of Mortal Kombat?

Show Notes

The spooky season is still upon us, and to celebrate, Dan and Kris have kompleted their attempt at ranking every Mortal Kombat Kharacter! This time around, they’re starting with Mortal Kombat 4 and working their way back to the original arcade release, and this is where things get really interesting because this is where the truly iconic characters begin. Does Raiden have a cooler hat than Kung Lao? Is Scorpion’s catchphrase cooler than Sub-Zero’s iconic fatality? Just how many points does Quan Chi’s leg rip earn him? Let’s find out!

At the top of the show, Dan and Kris finish off their Sea of Stars spoiler talks by discussing the true ending and post-game content in detail. There’s also some talk about the current status of video game discourse, with some folks out there getting unnecessarily nasty about some changes happening, particularly in the world of Mario. Plus, Intellivision Amico games release without the all-important Intellivision Amico, Super Mario Wonder demo impressions, the overwhelming delight of The Making of Karateka, Dan’s father in law comes to town, Kris gets sucked into his Virtual Boy, and more!

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Ep.484 – SAG Episode 484: Ranking Every Mortal Kombat Kharacter Part 1

There are a LOT of Mortal Kombat Characters, err kharacaters

Show Notes

The spooky season is upon us, and to celebrate, Dan and Kris have kompiled a list of every Mortal Kombat kharacter! Why? To rank them, of course! In part 1 of this 2-part ranking extravaganza, they’ll be dissecting every playable fighter working backwards from Mortal Kombat 11 back to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. And boy, are there some stinkers on the rosters of these games. But how exactly does one rank a joke character like Mokap? How will the Game Boy Advance-exclusive Sareena fare? IS there any character dumber than Kobra? Let’s find out.

At the top of the show, Dan and Kris finally dive into Sea of Stars spoiler territory, discussing all the things they love about the game, and all the things they don’t. There be major spoilers ahead, so have that fast forward button handy if you want to avoid learning about what happens in the game. Dan also tells a harrowing story about his recent trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles that’s so completely insane it has to be heard to be believed. Enjoy!

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Ep.483 – SAG Episode 483: Wii U Starter Kit

If you had 100 to start a Wii U collection, what games would you get?

Show Notes

Dan and Kris bring you the Nintendo Wii U Starter Kit! If you had $100 to start a physical Wii U collection, which games should you get? The Wii U is an interesting system because while some of its games have become fairly expensive already, many of its best titles are still shockingly affordable. But with many of those games also existing on Switch, often times in even better form, are they still worth playing on Wii U? Will Dan actually put a Mario platformer on his list? Will Kris manage to get his favorite game of all time in the budget? Let’s find out!

At the top of the show, Dan and Kris go over some preliminary non-spoilery Sea of Stars talk. Dan has completed the game, but Kris isn’t quite there yet. Expect a spoilercast next week! After that though, they get into a rather in-depth discussion about a couple of nasty things happening in the world of video games. Specifically how Atooi has been handling their Chicken Wiggle/Hatch Tales Kickstarter campaign, and their differing opinions on what the company should be doing for their investors/backers. Buckle up, this is a long one!

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Ep.482 – SAG Episode 482: They Just Won’t Shut Up

The Genesis has a heck of a month is the September 10 20 30 40

Show Notes

This week, Dan and Kris bring you the September 10 20 30 40, where they break down notable game releases from 10, 20, 30, and 40 years ago. This month was all over the map. Despite Metacritic changing their site and making it nigh unusable for the purposes of finding games by release date, they managed to find the info they needed! Some big games came out for Wii U, PlayStation 2, and more, but the big winners this month went to the 16-bit hardware, especially the Sega Genesis with what was easily the most popular home port of the original Mortal Kombat on top of another bunch of great titles. At the top of the show, Kris looks back on a recent concert-going experience where he got to see Jenny Lewis from the movie The Wizard on stage, which was a pleasant surprise all around! Dan caught us all up on his Sea of Stars progress and surprisingly didn’t mention PAD or Marvel Snap the entire time. Clearly something has gone terribly wrong and we should be concerned. And speaking of concerns, Kris laments the nigh-unplayable state of Horizon Chase 2 on Switch, and his hopes for its eventual patching. But wait, there’s more! What more? You’ll have to listen to find out because honestly, we’ve forgotten.

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Ep.481 – SAG Episode 481: It Looks Very Expensive

Nintendo Direct AND State of Play? What is this, E3?

Show Notes

This week, Dan and Kris dive into the double feature of the September Nintendo Direct and State of Play showcases that Nintendo and Sony dropped on the same day for some reason. In State of Play, Sony showed off a small handful of games we already know about, while ignoring a large swath of upcoming games that we know for a fact are coming to PalyStation. Why? Nobody knows for sure. Is Baby Steps a game about Dan’s life? Did the new Final Fantasy VII footage impress? Then in the Nintendo Direct, Nintendo dropped a number of bombs directly on Kris’s head. Kris lost his mind over Horizon Chase 2, F-Zero 99 brings back the fan favorite series in an extremely unusual way, Trombone Champ makes everyone laugh, and Dave the Diver is surprisingly fantastic. What did they think of their other reveals? Let’s find out! Plus, Dan’s been under the weather and unable to do much of anything beyond watch Ahsoka, Kris finally beat Ring Fit Adventure at the cost of using his legs for a day, Sea of Stars continues to be awesome, and more!

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Ep.480 – I Got My Money's Worth

The Alphabet Soup-er Series is back. G is for Guerilla War!

Show Notes

This week, Dan and Kris return to discuss this month’s entry in the Alphabet Soup-er Series. Each month, they take turns picking a classic game they either haven’t played before or haven’t tried in a long time that starts with a different letter of the alphabet. It was Kris’s pick for August and for the letter G he went with the SNK shoot-em-up Guerrilla War. Specifically the NES version, but with so many ports to choose from, which one did they think was best? How effective is a flamethrower outside of the world of Contra? Was that Athena running around? Does this game feature a higher body count than Uncharted? And is that a spy cam in that Jose Canseco bat? Plus, Kris tries out the SNK 40th Anniversary collection from Digital Eclipse and gets to see the origins of their new Gold Series in action, the guys discuss their progress in Sea of Stars which continues to be an excellent experience, Dan gets gifted a new computer which threatens to destroy all semblance of free time in his life thanks to the wonders of Steam, there’s a deep discussion on what makes the live action Little Mermaid so bad, and more!