The GameCola Podcast: Recent Episodes
GameCola
The official podcast of GameCola.net. Join our rotating cast of videogame fans as they laugh, cry, and sometimes even sing! Oh, and they occasionally talk about videogames. When they're not talking about Nicktoons or Nancy Drew.
So have a listen, and join us for the rest of the show coming soon! The accompanying document can be downloaded here: https://www.gamecola.net/podcasts/Episode_200_Livestream_Text_Record.pdf
This podcast serves as a checkpoint, if you don't think that's cheating anyway. Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, and Alex Jedraszczak as they save more than just states on this episode of The GameCola Podcast! Topics include:
- Is there anything more videogames than save states?
- Videogame dialog options and their various videogame effects, or lack thereof
- Jeddy's New adventures with Animal Crossing [Old] Horizons
- It doesn't take much to get Jeddy to give his opinions on various JRPGs
- Would certain videogames be as well received if they didn't have mascots and brands to promote them?
- Frame data and the average gamer
- What videogames have we been playing in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Welcome to the Mainline GameCola Podcast! This is the real deal you guys, not one of those weird spin-off episodes. Featuring your Very Mainline Cast of Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, Joseph Martin, and Blu Ryder, we’re here to tell you all about what videogames deserve the honor of being part of their Mainline series, and what videogame topics deserve to be part of our Mainline podcast.
- What factors do we consider important for determining a “mainline” videogame?
- There seems to be an exception to every rule
- Can a videogame become un-mainline?
- What Mario games does Anna consider to be mainline?
- Some of our and our fans’ favorite mainline edge cases.
- The people who make superhero videogames sure do have it out for Blu
- What videogames have we been playing in recent mainlines?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
The price of videogames is going up, and your GameCola Podcast friends Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, and James Pelster are here to guide you through these tumultuous times for your wallet. And don't worry, this one's on the house!
- How do you feel about $80 Mario Kart?
- Some theories as to why games are getting more expensive now
- Is it tariffs? It's probably tariffs.
- Expensive videogames are like long movies. I'm sure Joe has a point.
- Things you can do instead of spending money on videogames (cry)
- The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy has a lot of endings and a lot of Not Dying Forever
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Never before could a podcast be shared with friends digitally, but now it can! Join Joseph Martin, James Pelster, and John Rizzi as they discuss this and other technological marvels such as:
- Trying to figure out Nintendo's Virtual Game Card
- Digital games don't have limited supply
- Mario Party 3 controls on Nintendo Switch Online are inscrutable
- How do different controllers' reliabilities hold up over time?
- James flies an airplane in Minecraft
- We are in a new golden era of videogame movies
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
A battle of the titans! Join Joseph Martin and James Pelster as they witness the colossal battle between Blu Ryder and the fiend responsible for the destruction of so many DC superhero games! Pay no attention to the 3rd discussion in a row about the Nintendo Switch 2... there are plenty of other topics like:
- The new Pokémon Presents shows us who are Z-A ChamPions
- Blu's eternal battle with the new Warner Bros. and DC Comics videogames
- The PS6 and the NeXtbox
- Your Favorite RPG is not something James wants to play
- Marvel Rivals and Rank Inflation
- James' return to No Man's Sky
- Joseph's frustration with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team on Nintendo Switch Online
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
We tried to warn you! After talking about our Nintendo Switch 2 predictions, we got the Nintendo Switch 2! Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, Alex Jedraszczak, and John Rizzi as they discuss Nintendo's latest successor and what that means for videos and games.
- The Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer
- Generative AI has taken over indie game storefronts
- We try to figure out which Marvel Rivals would be good at soccer
- We celebrate the long lasting friendship of Canada and the United States
- Jeddy is once again playing a videogame he does not like
- Joe is still struggling with Golden Sun
- John made a cool list of (not) videogame movies
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
It's a New Year, and a New Switch! Well, hopefully not a "New Switch" in the way we had a "New 3DS." Look, just listen to the podcast and you'll understand what I mean. Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, Blu Ryder, and Joseph Martin have all the details on the upcoming year, up-to-and-including:
- Last call for theories, hopes and dreams for the upcoming Nintendo Switch Successor
- Joe talks about the Mega Man episode of the Secret Level animation anthology
- Blu and Anna unsuccessfully play Rock Paper Scissors
- Public Domain Mickey Mouse gives James a licensed therapy session
- What videogames not-of-the-future have we been playing in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Welcome to Blu's premiere as GM for this brand new GameCola RPG adventure! Join as he guides GameCola members you love in the roles of characters you know on an epic journey across multiple videogame worlds. This ragtag group of players consists of James Pelster as Samus Aran (from Metroid), John Rizzi as Obi-Wan Kenobi (from Star Wars) and Leaf as Grandpa (from Stardew Valley).
- This raucous episode promises to leave you on the edge of your seat, with such exciting events as:
- James losing all his items at the start of the game
- Leaf traumatizing a poor old man at least once, but almost certainly less than 12 times.
- John using awesome force powers and a lightsaber (obviously)
- Complaining about how weird Mega Man world-building has been over the decades
- Uh oh, a Final Boss battle already!!??
- Blu pulling a bunch of mean tricks on the unsuspecting players because their dice told him to
- A handful of original musical pieces and rearrangements of classic videogame themes, all done by Blu just for this series
…and much, much more!
The game played is Interstitial: Our Hearts Intertwined 1st Edition, available for purchase here: https://revryebread.itch.io/interstitial-our-hearts-intertwined
The Apparition playbook used for Grandpa was made by Little Winky and features art by scribbles_and_dragons. Get the Apparition playbook here: https://little-winky.itch.io/ and follow the artist here: https://www.instagram.com/scribbles_and_dragons/
No goody-two-shoes allowed, this time we're breaking all the rules! Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, and John Rizzi as they discuss all the ways you can do videogames in ways that aren't the ways people think videogames should be done by people who do videogames for fun. These incorrect ways of videogames include
- Playing videogames too fast
- It sucks when someone plays a videogame wrong but then complains about it
- Playing videogames for sport even when the developers don't want you to
- Using achievements to encourage people to play videogames wrong
- Using hacking to play videogames wrong
- What videogames have we been playing incorrectly in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Long ago in a distant land, one Quarrior set out Questerdly to achieve heroics of great repute. His legacy is documented in this very podcast, by Questern Questorians Quoseph Quartin (Joseph Martin), Quohn Quizzi (John Rizzi), and Quames Queslster (James Pelster). Join us on this very special episode of the QuameQuola QuodQuast including such topics as:
- John doesn't know where Japan is
- The Dragon Quarrior playthrough has got Joe's brain in RPG mode
- A brief summary of RPG history and tropes
- Joe tells of his early impressions of Golden Sun
- James recounts his adventures with Dragon Quarrior
- John compares and contrasts Kingdom Hearts
- James tells us about the next great chess game: Ace Attorney Investigations 2
You've been served! On this session of the GameCola Podcast, we deliberate upon many trials and tribulations facing crimes in the videogame community. Join Chief Prosecutor Blu Ryder, Primary Council James Pelster, and The Honorable Judge Joseph Martin Presiding as they argue their cases on the following topics:
- Nintendo is taking Palworld to court over Patent Infringement
- Why do people feel differently about patents and copyright?
- No one knows what they are talking about (except Joseph obviously)
- The last Nintendo Switch emulator has been taken offline
- The inconsistencies of ethics in emulation, preservation, and piracy
- What even happened with Concord?
- Games we've been playing in recent times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Sun Tzu said: "On this episode of the GameCola Podcast, we spend a significant amount of time discussing the subject of "tactics" games. Follow along with Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder as they discuss their experiences with the genre and more!"
Historians have been baffled by the meaning of this passage UNTIL TODAY.
- Uh-oh, Jeddy played a videogame and didn't like it again!
- Front Mission displays a lot of the major issues with tactics games
- Most tactics games we have enjoyed have had significant departures from the standard formula
- Mega Man Battle Network 4 is still frustrating for all the same reasons
- The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer was very tactical
- Tactical videogames we've been playing in recent times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Where are all the videogames? Did the Olympics steal them? Join Joseph Martin, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder as they investigate this mystery and others including:
- The conversation immediately turns to Mega Man
- Waiting for Big Game Season
- Do people care enough about Star Wars now to play a videogame?
- Will Marvel Rivals be the one to finally supplant Overwatch?
- Esports at the Olympics?
- Mario and Sonic will not be returning to the Olympics
- We're in our fan games arc
- Games we've been playing in recent times (we found them)
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Excited about videogames? Too bad! On this month's episode of The GameCola Podcast, John Rizzi, Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, James Pelster, and Alex Jedraszczak all tell you why each and every videogame you want to play will be terrible. These subjects are included but not limited to:
- Why Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be terrible
- Why Mario & Luigi: Brothership will be terrible
- Why Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will be terrible
- Why The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be terrible
- Why Marvel Rivals won't be terrible (sorry Blu)
- Why every game Jeddy plays first is terrible
- Why Make a Good Mega Man Level 3 isn't terrible (Jeddy hasn't played it yet)
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
By popular demand, it's the Gay-meCola podcast! Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Blu Ryder, and Leaf as they discuss all things gay in videogames! This includes such prideful topics as:
- How The Sims is gay
- How Paper Mario is gay
- How various other Mario characters are gay
- What the HECK is going on with Peachette????
- How Mega Man is gay
- What if Zelda was a Girl?
- How Palia is gay
- How Marvel Rivals is gay
- How The Sims is gay, for a second time
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
GameCola enters the city of dreams! Join Joseph Martin, James Pelster, Blu Ryder, and John Rizzi as they explore all the videogame world has to offer neatly combined into one megaopolis by some sort of multiple timeline shinanigans. Reality breaking, mixing and mashing topics include:
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is an interesting throwback to the early years of Mario RPGs
- Why are almost all RPGs two different videogames?
- How games combine genre different from movies
- The new Fallout show is another W for the videogames -> film pipeline of the modern era
- Various possible videogame adaptations and what could succeed and fail
- How plausible is Nueva San Nuevo Fran Mumbattokyork?
- Are DVDs videogames?
- Finals and Fantasies
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
That’s right everyone. The J-Cast is BACK! And this time John Rizzi is taking the reins to talk about whatever he can. With no interruptions or setbacks whatsoever. Especially not by our very own Blu Ryder. Listen to a wide variety of filler topics such as…
- Pizza
- Secret Wars
- More Pizza
- Doctor Doom Character Study
- Deep Dish Pizza
- Spider-Man saving the multiverse with a hamburger
- Max Payne 3 having the best looking Pizza in a video game
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier] "Pizza Time" theme from Spider-Man 2 (the videogame)
Greetings, carbon-based lifeforms! The Space Quest Adventurecast has reached its exciting conclusion, but we hope you've enjoyed it! In this episode you'll be treated to: - Droole trying desperately to befriend a water buffalo - The crew eliminating the remaining Sequel Policeman in spectacular fashion - Roger and Cliffy abusing the ability to "save" and "load" the game - Significant amounts of death ...and then they finish the adventure, or something! Music from spacequest.net, and The Space Quest Historian.
This episode of the GameCola Podcast is up to you! Select any one of our fabulous hosts as your companion, Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, John Rizzi, or James Pelster. Then, turn to the page with your favorite topic!
- Joe had a 12.5% beverage and no plan
- The gang learns to decide their own paths in life
- We could get so much great stuff if we could just get a good Mega Man show/movie
- The gang's best attempt at a Mega Man movie script
- The death of Maria is Sonic the Hedgehog's only Canon Event
- Videogames we have been playing in recent times
- Wait we almost forgot! Pokémon Legends: Z(ed)-A!
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Pokémon from Pokemon.com
Mega Man from Wikipedia.net
All other images from GameCola.net
Hey, Pals! It's time for GameCola to wade into the latest Gaming Controversy and settle things once and for all! Note: Things will most likely continue to be unsettled indefinitely. Join Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, James Pelster, and Blu Ryder as they cement their palship by discussing such topics as:
- Man, folks are really worked up about this Palword game, huh?
- Will lawsuits fly or will the controversy die?
- Pokémon Gen 10 is going to reignite the flames of passion for sure
- A fan requests we discuss the prevalence of Remake+ videogames
- The wacky world of Sonic Adventure hacking
- Legacy game engines are becoming a problem
- Jeddy's back on his Picross grind
- What times have we been recent in playing videogames?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Pals from palworld.fandom.com Pokémon from Bulbapedia and Serebii
We're back, spacefarers, with another zany episode of the Space Quest Adventurecast! The journey continues as the crew of the debris field formerly known as the S.C.S. Goliath (and S.C.S. Eureka) search the strange and wacky halls of this strange water-based... museum? Aquarium? Research facility? Whatever the heck it is, the crew certainly isn't going to leave the place unscathed before they find their way out. In this action-packed installment, you'll witness: - Insights into Cliffy's television preferences - The crew instilling fear and confusion into the cores of the various maintenance robots - A tactical use for shaken-up soda - Roger poking a tentacle with a stick, and the predictable consequences ...and much more! Music from spacequest.net, and The Space Quest Historian.
Everyone always says "It's-a Mario Time!", but when exactly is that? In order to solve this conundrum as well as many other temporal challenges throughout videogames, we gathered Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, James Pelster, Dan the Leaf, Anna Bryniarski, and Alex Jedraszczak to discuss this and many other topics including:
- What is the Canonical Mario Timeline?
- What is the Canonical Mega Man Timeline?
- What is the Canonical The Sims Timeline?
- What is the Canonical Yu-Gi-Oh! Timeline?
- What videogames have we been lining in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier] Thumbnail art based on various images uploaded to the Super Mario Wiki
What's this?! A new GameCola RPGcast? Nay, I say! This...is something a bit different. Join me, James Pelster, as the narrator, and fellow GameCola staff, alumni, and superfans as the player characters: John Rizzi as Roger Wilco, Nathaniel Hoover as Beatrice Wankmeister, Leaf as Rumproast Droole, Alex Jedraszczak as Flo, Blu Ryder as W-D40, and Joseph Martin as Cliffy, as they participate in the most open-ended and nonsensical GameCola odyssey to date!
In this part, you can expect to witness:
- James getting small Space Quest lore details wrong and it bothers Nathaniel
- A robot failing at basic math
- Beatrice apologizing with peanuts
- Cliffy being the victim of a whoopee cushion prank
- The party deliberating for several minutes over buying refreshments
...and much more!
Music from spacequest.net.
Gotta admit folks, the energy on this one is a little weird. Nevertheless! Join Joseph Martin, Bly Ryder, and Dana Dan the Leaf as they explore some of gaming's best polished-glass-in-garbage-can metaphors on this month's episode of the GCPC, featuring such discussions as
- Remember, we're not doing the videogames awards yet
- Leaf gives us the Paralives scoop
- The many ways The Sims 4 is a bad videogame yet people still play it
- Blu's taste in videogames makes it hard to come up with recommendations
- Joe lists his least favorite Mega Man game of each series
- From strategy guides to GameFAQs to wikis, what's next for how to figure out a videogame?
- Joe can't finish a Zelda game
- Blu is somehow the only one who played a videogame despite having a broken finger
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
It's Alan Wake, and there's two of him! Or maybe three? Come untangle this mystery with Dana "Leaf" Cohen, Blu "Red Passenger" Ryder, and Joseph "Very Confused" Martin as they attempt to resolve many of gaming's most confusing conundrums, including:
- Alan Wake II is a videogame and that's about all Joe can piece together over the course of 20 minutes
- Spider-Man 2 has more New York, less good gameplay, but then more good story
- The free MMORPG Palia has been farming up the online spaces, but hasn't quite hit the fish
- The the linguistic puzzles of Chants of Sennaar have been calling out to Leaf
- Viewfinder has us finding views of cats and voiceovers
- Pokémon Sleep has been keeping Joe Pokémon Awake too much
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Unity has made us upset. #grr #cry. Join Joseph Martin, John Rizzi, Alex Jedraszczak, and Blu Ryder as they lament their woes thrust upon the gaming industry and also make social media posts on the Tamagotchi Tamaverse. Two very related things. Some other related things include:
- Unity wants to charge per game install. Most people have considered this to be a Bad Move
- What do other game engines have to offer?
- Jeddy has been exploring the hip fad of the Tamagotchi Uni
- Jeddy seems to only upgrade his tech when a company forces him to
- John has been playing Mortal Kombat I, the much anticipated prequel to Mortal II: Kombat
- Blu has been enjoying the Steam Deck
- Joseph has been Pokémon Sleeping
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Live from New York, it's The GameCola Podcast! On this locally themed episode, Joseph Martin, James, Pelster, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder discuss such geographically sourced topics as:
- Joseph Martin is in New York
- How do videogames use real locations?
- The evolution of New York City in Spider-Man videogames
- The Big Games of The Big Game Season
- Joe is finally getting sleep thanks to Pokémon Sleep
- Blu bought a Steam Deck!
- John's getting swole with Wii Fit U
- James' quest for a financially reasonable copy of Silent Hill
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Quick, we don't have much time! On this speedy podcast with Joseph Martin, James Pelster, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder, we talk about these things:
- Joe's continued experiences with Mega Man Battle Network 1-3
- Don't sleep on Pokémon Sleep (or do, I'm not your dad)
- James' adventures at the Vintage Computer Festival West
- How does Spacewar! hold up after 61 years?
- Don't you guys have phoooooooooones????
- The continued exploits of Nicholas Cage in Dead by Daylight
- Blu's contributions to the resurrection of Marvel Avengers Alliance
- Is it the Switch 2 for real this time?
- What does backward compatibility look like in the era of digital game libraries?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Wow, Mario is looking better than ever in Super Mario Wonder! But could he look... even BETTER THAN BETTER THAN EVER? Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, Anna Bryniarski, Dana Dan Leaf, and GameCola's Editor Emeritus Paul Franzen as they discuss exactly sort-of that! There's also a bunch of other vaguely videogame themed topics covered this month, some of which include
- Just about everyone at GameCola has an alter-ego at this point
- What animals should Mario turn into next?
- It's finally time for Daisy to shine! (Also what's her deal?)
- The Sims 4 has horses and is a also a bad videogame
- Maybe The Sims 5 will come out? Maybe??
- Blu played an escape room and videogames helped
- Games we've play beening in recent times
The London Arc is over, and now we must determine what is in store for us in this new era of GameCola. Join Joseph Martin, James Pelster, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder as they forge ahead into the unknown future. They also talk about videogames. I thought that was a given.
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We will not be talking about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom yet
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What arc will follow the concluded London Arc?
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How have different RPGs used and abused experience and leveling up systems?
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How do you define the canon events of a videogame with multiple possible outcomes?
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Why did the chicken cross the road?
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Nicholas Cage will enter the world of Dead by Daylight
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What videogames have we been playing in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
It's-a Mario Time! And also Podcast Time! Podcast Commander Joseph Martin sits down with Guy Who is Employed in the Film Industry John Rizzi to talk about the past, present, and future of videogame movie adaptations. Of course, the bulk of the discussion covers the recent release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but let's break down a synopsis for ya anyway:
- The videogame movies of yesteryear, and how we got here
- Breaking down the success of the Mario movie
- The three key issues with the film, and why they are so prevalent
- More Mario movie talk. Seriously it is like, most of the podcast lol
- What's next for Nintendo and the film industry?
- What other videogame companies might throw their hats in the ring?
- What videogames have you been playing in recent times (as opposed to watching them on the silver screen?)
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
And now, for something completely different. This month on the GameCola Podcast, staff member James Pelster takes charge of a solo episode! He's got a lot of things to talk about, and plenty of time to do so. Sit back and take a listen to everything he's been dying to discuss, including (but not limited to):
- What the heck happened to the Danganronpa V3 and The Great Ace Attorney playthroughs on YouTube?
- What's next for the YouTube channel in the future?
- James is writing an actual article for the website after six and a half years!
- Kerbal Space Program 2 is out in Early Access, and it's pretty busted, but has the potential to be awesome!
- Forza Horizon 4 and 5 are the first racing games he enjoys.
- Fire Emblem Engage recently released, and he's really bad at it.
- Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero challenge James to not repeat the word "immersive" over and over.
- Does the Mega Man Battle Network series fit into the card game genre?
- Metroid Prime Remastered has complex controls.
- Ghost Trick is finally getting a modern port!
- Drawing maps for dungeon-crawling games, like early Shin Megami Tensei games, is surprisingly fun!
- James is trying to play Resident Evil games beyond the first one on PlayStation.
- The Spyro the Dragon games on PS1 still hold up well!
- Secret of Mana and Secret of Evermore don't hold up so well, but are still fun.
- Dragon Quest VIII is still a wonderful game, fun to play as a family activity!
- Do ROM hacks hurt the creative integrity of games?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
It's a right of passage for all gamers: Defeat the Newt. All of them. Do not leave the starting area until you do. To aid you on your quest, you have Joseph Martin, Dan the Leaf, Blu Ryder, and Alex Jedraszczak to guide you with a plethora of gaming flavored advice. A brief sample is included below:
- Videogames that are Dead and-slash-or Alive
- Sticking around too long in the starting area
- How to beat the creep of meta gaming
- The evolution of wayfinding in The Legend of Zelda series
- Blu kills some paradises
- Playing along with the The Last of Us tv show
- 10 Miles Outta Boston
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, Blu Ryder, and Joseph Martin as they gather together for a good ol' Podcast. Such topics of discussion include:
- Anna's OLED Switch mishaps prompt a discussion on how we use the system
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus joins a long list of games Jeddy plays a lot but isn't sure he actually likes
- Modern RPGs and how their fundamentals inform the current state of the genre
- Jeddy wants to make a game as bad as Super Hydlide
- Super Mario Party but you Don't Try to Win
- Joe has more Pokémon Showdown Brain Rot
- Various videogame themed tabletop RPGs for some reason
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Congratulations on winning the Piston Cup Voice Actor of Kratos Christopher Judge! And many other videogame things won many other videogame awards at The Game Awards! Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, and James Pelster as they discuss such award winning topics this month, like
- The Very Long Speech by Christopher Judge
- New game announcments like Hades II and more
- What old games with local multiplayer would we like to have online multiplayer added?
- Blu explains the paradoxes of Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- James gives us the full context on Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Joseph updates us on the competitive scene of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Other games we’ve been playing in recent times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Sometimes these things we call videogames just aren't very good, and by some pretty objective metrics. And yet, we and a lot of other folks still seem to manage to have a great time. How can this be? Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder as they attempt to address this question and other topics such as:
- Those new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games are pretty rough, huh?
- How do we reconcile games that have huge flaws yet are still popular?
- We're gonna watch The Game Awards on the Discord!
- Anna gives us her top 5 favorite The Sims 4 lores
- John has acquired GameCube
- Blu has played a videogame that they actually like !!!
- Hitmonlee
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
It's the spookiest day of the year... November 7th! What horrors await, and what do they have to do with various RPGs? Find out all about the terrifying videogame experiences of Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, and Blu Ryder on this edition of the GameCola Podcast! Various horrible topics include:
- Anna becomes a "surprise guest" in a very literal sense
- Jeddy has been enjoying the Halloween Content of Ooblets
- Anna has been playing multiplayer Skyrim and it breaks even more than you'd expect.
- Silent Hill had a lackluster showcase
- Resident Evil had a showcase with a lot of luster instead
- Jeddy is enjoying Super Hydlide despite the fact that it is objectively terrible
- Anna's favorite videogame this month has been causing her physical pain
- ... I think we may have an unhealthy relationship with videogames you guys
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier] [Super Hydlide Sprite Originally Ripped by Ryan914]
Yaar! Shiver me timbers and walk the plank. Ye be here for the tale of the Cola'd Games and how they returned to their primal monke origins, be ye? What's that? Ya say you wanted to know about the videogame Return to Monkey Island? Yaar, that be the gibberish of unknown forces to this 'ere pirate, but perhaps ye best be listenin' to Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, John Rizzi, and Blu Ryder as they regale you the tales of their exploits, which be the followin':
- Anna and John give us the details about Return to Monkey Island
- Joe is confused about what passes for a speedrun these days
- Everyone is ready to pet the cows of all the farming games coming out these days
- The Fire Emblem Engage protagonist has Joycon hair and there may be gacha??
- How will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom follow up the series?
- Street Fighter 6 takes inspiration from the Chaotic TV show
- Many other videogame presentations occurred
- Games have we been playing in recent times, what?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
YARG. ON THIS PODCAST WE ARE ANGRY. INCLUDING ABOUT MINECRAFT. WHY? YOU WILL HAVE TO LISTEN TO FIND OUT! JOIN JAMES PELSTER ANGRY ABOUT MINECRAFT, ANNA BRYNIARSKI ANGRY ABOUT THE SIMS, JOHN RIZZI ANGRY ABOUT NO E3, BLU RYDER ANGRY ABOUT WEREWOLVES, AND ALEX JEDRASZCZAK ANGRY ABOUT JOSEPH MARTIN NOT BEING ON THIS PODCAST. I WILL NOW WRITE THE TOPICS NORMALLY BECAUSE IF YOU ARE LIKE ME IT IS VERY HARD TO READ WHEN EVERYTHING IS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
- Joseph Martin is In The Sky
- Minecraft updated with new global reporting features and no one likes it
- James gushes about Xenoblade
- The Sims 4 added pronouns and werewolves, and you'll never guess which one they did better
- John goes through all the E-ish 3-ish announcements from this summer
- More topics that make more sense if you realize we recorded this episode in July whoops
- Games we've been playing in times recent
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Looking for bonus points this Pride Month, the GameCola gang find TWO binaries to be outside of. Just one more and we can be outside the binary binary. Join Alex "The Jeddy" Jedraszczak, Blu "The False Commander" Rider, Dana "Dan" Cohen, and Joseph "Joseph Martin" Martin as they explore a wide spectrum of topics including...
- Everyone's favorite GCdotnet Community Polls
- The gang investigates Hexadecimal
- Lawing mowing in videogames
- Jeddy's adventures in Indie Games with Similar Art Styles
- What makes something a roguelike?
- It's Morbin' Time
- What great or terrible licensed games would we want to see?
- The Sims 4 finally adds custom pronouns
- Games having been played in recent times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Sonc Hejeg has done it again! And by "it", I mean made a feature film. But I guess by "it" I also mean that he made a piece of media with that title? What a cool and good blue guy. Also why is he surfing across the planet in that Dune book/videogames anyway? You'll have to join Joseph Martin, John Rizzi, and Alex Jedraszczak to find out as they discuss:
- John's Objective Film Buff Opinions on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the movie one)
- Where does our favorite hedgehog go from here?
- Raiding Tombs wherever and however with OpenLara
- An extended tangent on the Dune media franchise (it includes videogames its fine)
- Play Snake on the Google! Future!
- Fears on online videogame storefront closures
- Rampant videogame market speculation
- Chess is a videogame, probably
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
The Paul & Jeddy Show is back for this special 20th Anniversary Edition podcast! Take a fun trip down memory lane as the Jedditors-in-Chief talk about:
- How GameCola got started
- The Top 5 Games of 1994—#1 will surprise you!
- An introspective discussion of the downward spiral of our Actual Internet Website
- The "Video Walkthrough"
- GameCola's Worst Christmas Ever and the loss of Shannon's Phantasy Star review
- The secret identity of Myrtle T. Blinke—revealed!
- The Random Article widget
- GameCola's first game: Mr. Face
- What the Internet was like in 1998
- Paul and Jeddy don't know how to use the modern Internet
- Tricks of the trade from Paul Franzen
We got it all this month! Pokémon, Escape Rooms, Ghost Bears and Associated Bear Puns! Yep, that's all the things I incorporated into the title. But rest assured, Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Blu Ryder have much more to talk to you about, like such as:
- Joe and Blu give their thoughts on Legends: A-R-C-E-U-S
- Spain and Portugal rejoice at being the setting inspiration of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- That Grass Cat needs to keep all four feet on the GROUND
- Anna's adventures in escape rooms and escape room games
- Fixing Game Boys but not fixing marriages because that's Not Our Job
- Carby
- Ghost Bears and Associated Bear Puns
- Joe really needs to play a new videogame, like for real.
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
A bit of an eclectic one this month. In an effort to break our topic rut, Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedrasczcak, John Rizzi, and Blue Ryder bounce around wild and wide variety of topics vaguely and or tangently related to videogames. We end up at pinball for quite a while. It's a time. Here's a sampling of what you're in for!
- The Elder Scrolls 6: Skyrim 2
- Anna has Pinball to Talk About
- Wacky things you can do with cartridge games
- Someone livestreamed to their GameBoy!
- The Classic Tamagotchi Kid
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & Knuckles
- Games in Recent Times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Could there possibly be a better metaphor for the state of Pokémon? Probably. Nevertheless! Join Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, and Blu Ryder as they discuss RPGs both great and small and give you all the insider details on why the Pokémon franchise Is The Way That It Is. Such relatably related topics include:
- Why is Pokémon changing now, instead of earlier?
- Jeddy gives a great motorcycle metaphor
- Joe breaks down his conspiracy theory about the State of Pokémon
- The gang talks about various other RPGs
- Blu is very excited that Sora is the last DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Multiversus is real and brings Cartoon Talk back to #theGCPC
- Games we have been playing in times (recent)
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
What's spookier than chocolate? Perhaps us finally getting our come-uppance for our running gag about indie game developers without follow-ups. Join Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, and Alex Jedraszczak in this post-Halloween dissection of games both spookly and spookless. This includes such topics as...
- ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier is here to follow up Stardew Valley
- Blu gives us the scoop on his hype for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- Infinity from Incube8 Games is a GameBoy Color game 20 years in the making
- Some additional musings on modern game development on retro hardware
- Warner Bros. is going to try to make an IP platform fighter, can they and others be successful?
- Joe made his own Picross game
- Blu played a bunch of Mega Man and Joe made him talk about it
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
HAHAHAHA! It is I, Martin Joeseph, here to take over hashtag the G-C-P-C in Joseph Martin's absence! While you plebeians try to listen about your "videos game," I will be bringing some actual CULTURE to this program. Ignore Alex Jedraszczak, Matt Breslau, and Blu Ryder and pay attention to ME. Oh, and I'm contractually obligated to inform you that those weirdoes talked about these topics on this episode:
- Martin Joeseph has taken over the podcast
- Light Pong is the newest 1D console to challenge God Himself
- Reactions to the Mario movie cast were... mixed...
- What would a Super Smash Bros. movie look like?
- Our suspicions, hopes, and dreams for the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character
- Some musings on the release of Deltarune Chapter 2
- Recent games we have been playing in times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
I mean, look at what number episode it is. We had to talk about all the new Pokémon news! But if you like other videogames, Joseph Martin, Blu Ryder, John Rizzi, and Anna Bryniarski have a diversity of gaming news and discussion to talk to you about this month, including like such as the following voila here it is:
- Our hopes and concerns for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and the Pokémon remakes in general.
- Musings on the scope and state of the Pokémon franchise as a whole
- Tentative anticipation for Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Anna gives us two unequal Sims 4 controversies
- Blu and John give us the update on Gamescom games
- Anna and John give first impressions on the newly localized Great Ace Attorney games.
- Joe is still playing Pokémon and everyone is shocked
- Blu hated a boyfriend so much he broke Boyfriend Dungeon
Coming to you partially from "across the pond" (as everyone keeps telling me to say), the GameCola Podcast celebrates its 150th episode with Host and Podcast Commander Joseph Martin relocating to jolly ol' London. Will this affect videogames? Probably not much! But 150 also brings us new beginnings in the form of new staff member Blu Ryder to share his thoughts on both videos and games! And if you're craving some consistiency, Alex Jedraszczak is also here to talk about the two videogames he likes, so hopefully that will ground you as you here everyone discuss such topics as...
- We are cautiously skeptical about the Steam Deck portable console
- Many RPGs refuse to abandon outdated legacy mechanics
- Jeddy's frustrated that other "roguelike" games aren't as good as Hades
- Blu mourns the loss of good RPG mechanics in Marvel games
- Joseph muses on the mechanics of Pokémon games and Nuzlockes.
- What videogames have we been playing in recent timezones?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
This month on the GCPC, we're looking at games that seek to improve themselves, whether it be by adding basic functionality years after release or continuing to update at the expense of newer games. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Alex Jedraszczak as they discuss these games and more, including such topics as...
- Multiplayer Super Mario Party, but two years too late
- Indie games that keep updating instead of making a sequel
- What games would we want updates for?
- Game remasters and collections
- What games have we been playing in times recent?
- Anna's adventures in Wandersong
- Joseph's trying out some NES/SNES classic games
- Jeddy's being a detective in Return of the Obra Dinn
- Anna's potato-themed dating sim
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
On this very somber episode of The GameCola Podcast, we mourn the loss of a gaming icon. Join Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, John Rizzi, and James Pelster as they reflect on Mario's passing and how it came to be. Also, some less depressing stuff too. Can't all be bummers.
- The death of Mario "Jumpman" Mario
- What makes a videogame expensive in the resale market?
- What do we think about the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes?
- What dangers await in the historical allegory of Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
- Joe found a long lost videogame from his troubled past
- John has played All Tomb Raider
- Jeddy dives into some overlooked RPGs
- James gushes about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Maybe it's not the best marketing strategy to imply that anyone who listens to our podcast will go directly to The Underworld, but sacrifices must be made for relevant podcast titles. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Alex Jedraszczak on this month's edition of the GameCola Podcast as they discuss such relevant topics as:
- Names are hard
- Joe recaps some highlights of the most recent Nintendo Direct
- Anna and Jeddy really like the videogame Hades
- Joe and Jeddy discuss the history of the development studio Inti Creates
- Anna's "Depression Game" of the month is Spiritfarer
- Joe is still playing Mega Man games and has A Lot of Opinions
- Jeddy has been dipping back into game development in recent times!
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Where else but the GameCola would you turn to for sound financial advice? Probably litterally anywhere else. Nevertheless, join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and John Rizzi as they discuss the best options for your financial future and the following topics:
- What's up with all this GameStop stock stuff?
- Anna couldn't buy the new Animal Crossing makeup
- Joe talks about his time with the Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero/ZX collections
- John was worried about picking the right path in Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Anna has opinions about the Sims 4 spooky DLC
- Horror movies? For some reason?
- Hades is a good videogame
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Hacks'n'Slash is back! And what better way to kick off Season 3 than a 100% OC self-insert fanfic for a 20-year-old MMORPG?
That's right, we have not one—but two—fanfics for Ragnarok Online. There's laughter. There's tears (mostly from laughter). There's game mechanics included as plot points. And there's not a single canon character in over 10,000 words.
Join Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, John Rizzi, Joseph Martin, Matt Breslau, and Shannon Hoover on their journey to the land of Rune-Midgarts, guided by Alex Jedraszczak—the only person present with any experience with the game.
We all truly live in a dystopian future, where the only videogames for miles have open world designs. In order to survive this untameable landscape, you'll have to rely on the sage advice of Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, James Pelster, and Joseph Martin. Join them as they discuss the grim future involving such topics as:
- When are the actual next gen games going to come out?
- The multiplicitous nature of Cyberpunk 2077
- How do we all feel about modern open world games?
- What changes to gaming would we like to see in the future?
- Sims 4 is slowly adding Sims 3 mechanics
- Diana details her...unique...gaming style
- James got an SNES!
- Joe has Opinions about Mega Man
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
About as modern a podcast as you can get, this month we have Anna Bryniarski, Matt Breslau, John Rizzi, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin to talk about NEW VIDEOGAME CONSOLES! And... how almost none of us have them. Luckily we have plenty of other things to talk about, such as...
- Did anyone even buy one of these newfangled consoles?
- Some thoughts about the Nintendo Switch's past and future
- A deep dive into our early thoughts on the Monster Hunter movie
- The Military Entertainment Complex
- Some fan questions about completing videogames
- The most difficult games to complete and how we measure completion
- What games have we been playing in times; recent?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
After a bit of a break, #theGCPC is back with an episode recorded back in July finally available for your listening ears! As we get back on the podcast saddle so-to-speak, you can enjoy listening to Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Alex Jedraszczak speak on such topics as:
- 1994's Prima Unofficial Strategy Guide the Complete Final Fantasy III Forbidden Game Secrets
- Jeddy's Favorite Videogame is getting an anime adaptation
- What kind of RPG character archetypes do the GC staff tend to build?
- Anna gives us an update on the Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer DLC
- Joe gives his thoughts on the Pokémon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor DLC
- Jeddy has played some videogames in recent times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
Hey there GameCola faithful! After a little hiatus, it's time to Assemble for this very special edition of the GameCola Podcast! Join John Rizzi as he brings together two of GameCola's Superfans, Blu Ryder and Chris Centofanti, to discuss the recently released Marvel's Avengers for PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, PC and soon to be released for next-gen consoles.
Tune in to listen to in-depth analysis and overview of the game's story, co-op play, unlockables, and microtransactions as well as...
- John considering actually buying the game or not.
- Gushing about how good Ms. Marvel is as a character.
- We need Wolverine in this game now.
- How disappointing Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 was.
- How good Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 were.
- Reaching into the far depths of the Marvel Encyclopedia for characters we want as DLC.
- How John is still a youngin' to the Marvel Universe.
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
Remember all that stuff that Sage Luka and Jema said back in like, I don't know, Episodes 2 through 6? Don't worry, our heroes don't either.
Finally, after ten-something episode of sidequests and filler world building and character development, the party arrives at the Lofty Mountains in search of Sage Joch! Alex Jedraszczak guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin as they:
- Destroy priceless artifacts
- Watch some veedios
- Drive the Trap Flower population to extinction
- Avoid the Palace of Darkness
- Meet Joch's weird lizard creature assistant Jehk
- Begrudgingly explore the Palace of Darkness
- Torture Jehk
I'll be honest folks, while this wonderful podcast features the stellar lineup of James Pelster, John Rizzi, Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin, there isn't really much of a coherent through-line when it comes to topics of discussion for me to pontificate on in a humorous manner as is the norm for these episode descriptions. Nevertheless! Join the GameCola crew as they address videogame news and discussion such as the following bullet points!
- How many people call Jeddy "Jeddy"?
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons' May Day antics
- What stuff do we all remember after playing a videogame?
- John's played a ton of Kingdom Hearts games and he is not OK
- Does Jeddy even still like videogames?
- Who played Moonlighter? 'Cause it wasn't James!
- James gives us the scoop on all the new content in Persona 5: Royal
- The Sims 4 has a lot of DLC, and the new one is going to have knitting just for Anna!
- Hey, you know those recent times? What videogames have you been playing in them?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
Now that Flammie is just a drumbeat away, the party can go anywhere! Which is why they decide to take a break from the canon storyline and visit a remote goblin village, where they're welcomed to be part of a grand feast—but not everything is as it seems...
Listen in as Alex "The DM" Jedraszczak guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin on this fun break from the regular plot of Super Nintendo classic Secret of Mana, in which:
- Flammie is back and all flying around and stuff!
- The goblins are very excited to see some humans
- And Sprite—Sprite is not a human
- Abusing the trust of others for fun and profit
- Valor takes a nice, relaxing bath
- Some other stuff happens that you'll just have to listen to hear about
Why are these animals so cross? Is it because people keep time traveling? Is it because of their personalities? Or maybe it's become someone keeps stealing all their videogames. Whatever the case, the Anna Bryniarski, Matt Breslau, and Joseph Martin are here to give you the scoop on Nintendo's latest gaming success. Such topics of discussion include:
- What even is Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
- EVERYTHING HAS BEEN REPLACED BY EGGS
- Every type of personality is catagorized
- Is time travel ethical?
- Do the Mario remake rumors hold water?
- What would we want the remakes to look like?
- Joe wishes Super Paper Mario would inspire the rumored new Paper Mario game.
- What videogames have we been playing in recent times?
- Everyone shares a story about a time they stole a videogame.
- MATT'S STORY IS UNCOMFORTABLE
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
FLAMMIE IS BACK.
Oh, sorry—I mean, GameCola's Secret of Mana RPGCast is back, and FLAMMIE IS IN IT. Our boy is back! Oh, and so are Alex "The Master RPGCaster" Jedraszczak, James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin...who are all very excited to ride around on Flammie! There are some other things that happen in the episode as well, including but not limited to:
- The party finally makes it to the throne room!
- Geshtar is out for REVENGE. You guys remember him, right?
- Things aren't going so well for Mech Rider.
- Things aren't going so well for the party.
- In a completely unprecedented event, Mech Rider TURNS AROUND.
- The party spends the next two minutes turning around.
- The party argues about how difficult it is to pick up dice.
- Sprite wants to ride his (Mech Rider's) bicycle.
- FLAMMIE IS BACK.
Oh boy, it's time for opinions about videogames! This month on the GameCola Podcast, we're here to talk about the newest threat to the Pokémon franchise since...itself a few months ago. Joseph is irrationally upset, Jeddy struggles with being a strong, independent woman, and Anna finds her newest, truest love. A full list of topics include...
- Temtem is a new MMORPG attempting to challenge Pokémon
- Joseph is concerned about some of the Temtem choices
- What makes a good MMORPG anyway?
- Jeddy has trouble right here in River City Girls
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Positive Skill Feedback Loops
- Anna finds love at 100th sight in Stardew Valley
- Joseph explains his cost/gameplay analysis spreadsheet
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
After hanging around in the Northtown ruins for seven months, the party is finally heading back to the Resistance base to report their battle with Thanatos. There's no time for that, though, because the Emperor has called a truce and invites the Resistance leaders—including the players—to a banquet at the imperial palace!
Join Alex "The DM" Jedraszczak as he guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin through this D&D campaign inspired by the SNES classic Secret of Mana.
- Sprite's not sure about the seating arrangements at this banquet
- The party avoids actually fighting the Metal Mantis
- The Resistance members don't seem to concerned about leaving the jail
- The party avoids actually fighting the Armored Mans
- Valor accidentally breaks a collectible commemorative plate
- The party avoids actually fighting the Dark Ninja
It's a new year, and even a new decade! To celebrate, a bunch of the GameCola staff and even the GameCola Faithful have come together to have a podcast packed with people talking about their personal favorite games of the decade! Thanks for sticking with us for 11 years, and here's to many more words about videogames in the 2020s!
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
After an extended hiatus, the Secret of Mana RPGCast is coming back! To get everyone excited about the upcoming return, Alex "The DM Or Whatever" Jedraszczak got together with James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin to talk about what they thought the show was going to be like going into it, and how that all went horribly, horribly wrong. They also talk about:
- What happens if the team just fails spectacularly at a major story event?
- What are some times the team totally derailed the session creative/spontaneous moments in the show?
- You can now watch the episodes on our YouTube channel, GCDotNet!
- How mixing canon dialogue with ad lib works...or doesn't.
- How the show is made! Or, played.
- We were doing #actualplay podcasts before it was cool.
- It's the GameCola podcast, so we veer wildly off topic...
This month on the GameCola Podcast, we attempt to tell you everything you need to know about Pokémon Sword and Shield, but end up covering a bunch of other things you'll probably need to links to pictures of. Joseph Martin is worried about GameStop etiquette, Alex Jedraszczak is excited about a Fixed Pixel, John Rizzi is interested in the new PlayStation 5 controller, and Anna Bryniarski found a Silly Bandz game. Other topics for this month include...
- New videogames allowed for some new GameStop adventures
- Anna and Jeddy are enjoying Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Pokémon SWSH causes some weird glitches with SD cards and Roku devices
- GameCola has some New Cool Video Content!
- The new PS5 controller bulked up
- Weird devkits
- Very Specific Videogame Hacks
- COPPA and how it will affect GameCola
- We games recent playing times in what been have?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
Odd indeed. Hacks'n'Slash Season 2 comes to a dramatic end in this 3rd chapter of The Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest! Once again, join Joseph Martin, John Rizzi, Anna Bryniarski, Shannon Hoover, and James Pelster as they guide Chris, Lucario, and Jeff through perilous caves, terrible fathers, and a whole lot more exploding people. Like geez man, chill out.
Read along at this link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4112682/3/The-Subspace-Emissary-s-Worlds-Conquest
Creative Commons 3.0 Sound Effects - All effects subject to editing/manipulation
Explosion_012 - by deleted_user_5405837 https://freesound.org/people/deleted_user_5405837/sounds/399303/ 07024 space laser charging.wav - by Robinhood76 https://freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/414293/
Have you ever wanted to pretend you were playing in a real basketball game? Well, this month on the GameCola Podcast, we tell you how to do just that! Anna Bryniarski is back from Disney and had a sick time. Alex Jedraszczak struggles to find an RPG he likes, and Joseph Martin remembers Multiple Things About Pokémon. All this and more just below this very paragraph in a convenient bulleted list!
- Anna says there's a lot of Pokémon GO to play at Disney!
- Jeddy tells of the wonders of DisneyQuest
- Disney lets you pretend to play basketball
- Joe remembers some of his old Disney stories
- Jeddy's confused but he thinks he killed Evolution in Y's VIII?
- Jeddy's having a lot more fun with Dragon Quest XI
- Joe gives the scoop on Untitled Goose Game
- What are our final impressions of Pokémon Sword and Shield before it comes out?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
We're back! To close out Season 2 of Hacks'n'Slash, we've returned to the Longest Fanfiction of All Time (probably) for this special two-part season finale! You'll get the next part in November, but for now join Chris (James Pelster), Lucario (Shannon Hoover), Jeff (John Rizzi) and all their friends (Joseph Martin and Anna Bryniarski) as they Bound their way to a New Earth and discover the secrets of Psi Power and the ethics of Goat Combat.
To read along, you can follow this link to go to the original work! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4112682/2/The-Subspace-Emissary-s-Worlds-Conquest
Creative Commons 3.0 Sound Effects - All effects subject to editing/manipulation
Magical Portal Open by alanmcki - https://freesound.org/people/alanmcki/sounds/401324/ Snow Ball Throw And Splat Sound by Mike Koenig - http://soundbible.com/632-Snow-Ball-Throw-And-Splat.html Walking in Snow by Mike Koenig - http://soundbible.com/660-Walking-In-Snow.html Laptop Foley Pulling out laptop from case by Coral_Island_Studios - https://freesound.org/people/Coral_Island_Studios/sounds/348206/ flapping fabric by narfnarfsillywilly - https://freesound.org/people/narfnarfsillywilly/sounds/57279/ Doorbell by urupin - https://freesound.org/people/urupin/sounds/410384/
Jeddy & The College Kids are back at it again, talking about videogames played in the recent past and in the distant past. What games did Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, and Alex Jedraszczak play while they were in middle school? We discuss this topic, as well as...
- Jeddy reconsiders his initial comments on Little Dragons Cafe
- Joseph has been playing Pokémon Masters
- Not to turn the podcast back to the law, but Diana turns the podcast back to the law
- Where does the term "gacha" come from?
- Joseph doesn't get Jeddy's oblique Mega Man reference and—oh no, now we're talking about Mega Man
- Anna is playing Untitled Goose Game (on the podcast)
- Jeddy is very sorry that he wasn't that interested in Monster Hunter
- Are there any local co-op multiplayer fantasy games???
- No, seriously—tell us on Discord if you know
- I hop we get a viteeo game
- Jeddy has been playing Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
- Joseph's been playing Link to the Past on that SNES Online
- Diana's been playing Fire Emblem 3: Houses
- It's very important that you know how good Joe is at Tetris
- People's favorite games tend to be the ones released while they were in middle school
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
We've done it again! Today on Hacks'n'Slash we point our fanfiction reading skills inward to perform a piece written not only by the GameCola staff, but by our lovely fans as well! Join returning host Nathaniel Hoover along with Joseph Martin, Shannon Hoover, Diana Gray, Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedraszczak, and John Rizzi as they tell the tale of the fabulous Tootie S. and her magical Psykic Adventures in this definitely legit Earthbound/Mother sequel. Go to GameCola.net to read along with the full fanfiction it all its glory!
Any references to the GameCola Faithful are purely cosmetic and do not reflect or represent the character of any real human person
In our ever-so-timely fashion, GameCola is here to give you the scoop on the Sonic the Hedgehog OVA released just a little while ago: 1999. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, and Alex Jedraszczak as they discuss the following videogame topics!
...but mostly the Sonic OVA.
- A brief summary of the release of WoW Classic
- Jeddy watched the Sonic OVA and has opinions
- Wait a minute, is all this stuff really in this movie???
- The gang speculates on the alleged female Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character
- Joe and Diana argue over whether D.Va or Tracer would be better DLC
- Diana talks about her summer work making sure kids get their hard earned cash
- How do we handle playing evil characters? (we're bad at it)
- What game would we keep if we had to sell all but one?
- What videogame fanfiction crossover would each of us write?
- Times videogames recent in we playing been have what?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xaivier]
What will Kirby and his best friend Purple do once all the food is stolen from the kingdom? Very little pertaining to that problem, it turns out. Join Anna Bryniarski, Joseph Martin, Matt Breslau, John Rizzi, Shannon Hoover, and Paul Franzen as they take a truly colorful cast of characters on an incredibly tonally dissonant journey.
If you'd like to read along, follow the link below to the original work! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5467264/1/Kirby-Rise-of-Dark-Shard
[Background music sourced from Hoshi no Kaabii, Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]
[Banner image by Shannon Hoover]
Imbued with the forbidden power to create life, the GameCola Gang proceeds to completely abuse the responsibility they’ve been given. Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Dan Conlin create both life and podcast this month, bringing a whole human man into the world along with videogame topics such as…
- The Hero from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has some interesting qualities
- The Sims 4 has made it so you can quiz a man into existence
- The Gang proceeds to quiz a man into existence
- Will Pokémon Masters be able to avoid the curses of mobile microtransactions?
- Games we have been playing in recent times
- Anna finds a very old M.A.S.H. game
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xaivier]
What mysterious mysteries await our good friend Shadow the Hedgehog as he enters the Pokémon world? And what will become of him and Alana the amnesiac Eevee? You'll have to listen to this jam-packed episode of Hacks'n'Slash to find out! Featuring host Diana Gray along with Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedraszczak, Dana Cohen, Joseph Martin, James Pelster, and John Rizzi, this podcast is something you should really have a look at!
If you'd like to read along, you can use the following link to reach the original Fanfiction.net posting. Alternatively, you can go to GameCola.net to view our reformatted version in the official post.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10836579/1/Shadow-The-Hedgehog-and-The-Mystery-of-Pokemon-Mystery-Dungeon
On this month's edition of the GameCola Podcast, we call upon the greatest tool in our arsenal: Friendship. Joseph Martin, Alex Jedrasczcak, and Anna Bryniarski use the power of their platonic partnerships to tell you everything you need to know about videogames for this month, including amicable topics such as...
-
TheNationalDexIsAComplicatedSituationWithoutASimpleSolution
- Jeddy gives us the scoop on the Dragon Quest heroes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Some other post-E3 thoughts
- Little Dragons Café had a lot of friendship but not a lot of fun
- Blaster Master Zero 2 had a lot of fun and friendship
- Breath of the Wild's speedruns are crazy
- Stardew Valley is getting another multiplayer focused update this year
- Celeste is a very good videogame that deals with tricky topics
- Joe is a little nervous about the Breath of the Wild sequel's DLC-esque origins
- Jeddy knows some videogames with pretty weird names
- Pikuniku is a fun game about kicking things
- Joe remembers nothing during his second playthrough of Pokémon Ranger Shadows of Almia
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
It's time once again for Hacks'n'Slash! After some time away adventuring in fantasy land, the gang is back to read some romance of questionable quality. Join Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, Anna Bryniarski, John Rizzi, and James Pelster as they flirt, fumble, and have a really difficult time parsing the terrible formatting of this love story featuring characters from the videogame: Kid Icarus Uprising the Videogame.
Follow along with the official text of The Rise of Piridi: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10884979/1/Kid-Icarus-uprising-the-rise-of-Piridi
Links to the midis/remixes I was able to find:
Sannin no Dragon Slayer - Fairy Tail [Piano Tutorial] (Synthesia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoaQHhnPn34
Coldplay - A Sky Full of Stars | Piano Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C23Qeh8tlhw
Hatsune Miku - The princess snow white is... 『白い雪のプリンセスは』 | MIDI piano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dz3Nxp4lIs
DragonForce - The Last Journey Home (FL Studio Instrumental Cover) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVIFJzTY2s
Summer's here, and that means it's time for podcasts! Well, it's always time for podcasts. But this podcast is unlike any other, because Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, John Rizzi, and Alex Jedraszczak are here to help you learn all the hip new hamchats so you don't blanko and seem pooie in front of your hamigos at the hamboree. From wacky new Pokémon stuff to frustrating fighting games to weird space girlfriends, the GameCola Podcast is your one-stop shop for the things specifically listed both above and below!
- Nintendo only wants you to play Super Mario Maker 2 with complete strangers
- Pokémon announces that you need to become a Master of Sleeping at Home
- Sony releases a bunch of trailers and announcements in lieu of E3
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is getting VR and we're very confused
- Jeddy gives us the details on Blaster Master Zero 2
- Anna wants to talk about petting animals in videogames
- What games are we have been play in time recent?
- The Titular Cool Hamster Slang
- Jeddy needs help turning off his Switch
All of Harper's friends are in ruins—the Northtown ruins, that is! Phan phavorite Phannah returns, Dyluck actually talks this time, Harper dies, there are two boss battles, and Harper dies again!
Spoiler alert.
Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak? Yeah, he's here. James "Valor" Pelster? He's here, too. Of course Anna "Harper" Bryniarski is here—and Joseph "Sprite" Martin!
You know what you want: A classic SNES game transformed into a tabletop RPG campaign. What's new isn't the concept, but the content, so let's get to what's in store for this episode:
- The secrets of how GameCola podcasts are recorded
- Jeddy can't remember what characters sound like
- Battle with Doom's Wall
- The difference between magical spells and non-magical spells
- Speaking of magic and spelling, what does "MP" stand for?!
- The trouble of fighting a wall
- Harper sees the reaper!
- Harper no longer sees the reaper.
- Finally, Harper is reunited with her lost love, Dyluck!
- ... Harper sees the reaper. Again.
- Out of the Doom's Wall and into the Vampire!
Look, we all know the new Sonic movie looks bad. But first, have you heard the legend of the City of Heroes games server? It's not a story that SCORE will tell you. And hey, maybe we'll figure out if they're going to fix Sonic 'cause it is VERY bad right now. Join Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, and Dan Conlin as they discuss such topics as:
- The Legend of the Secret City of Heroes Server
- How do we preserve online-only games?
- Jeddy has an "exclusive" on Intellivision's hit new console: the Amico
- Wow, both Sonic's face and movie look very bad
- Joe explains the 20+ canons of Sonic the Hedgehog
- Are the director's claims of the Sonic redesign actually a conspiracy?
- Anna wants to talk about BIRDS. NOW.
- What videogames would we save for future generations?
- Videogames we've been playing in recent time and/or times
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Op- oh.. oh-oh uh-oh uh what uh UH UH-OH UH WHOOPS OH-NO OOPS OH-NO UH-OH UH-OH UH-OH oh-no WHOOPS! OOPS! OOPSY-DAISY OH-NO
Put this one back int the oven cause it seems half baked! On this totally normal episode of the GameCola Podcast premiering on the totally normal first day of the month of April, it seems our cast is a little more...redundant than normal. Nonetheless, join Joseph "Podcast Commander" Martin, Joseph "Jost with the Most" Martin, Joseph "Joseph Martin" Martin, and--of course--Joseph "Mega Man" Martin as they videogame news and discussion such news and discussion as...
- The limited details of Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Nindie's Highlights like Cuphead and Cadence of Hyrule
- Mega Man: Fully Charged is in fact actually decent
- I don't know if videogame movies are getting better or I'm just tired
- Baba is You is a very fun videogame that I have been playing in recent times
- OH DUNK I FORGOT ABOUT MARIO MAKER 2
- Fortnite and Anthem news so I can boost the SEO
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
Now we're getting somewhere! The party heads west to Southtown so they can go east to get to Northtown—the capital city of the Empire! Those are the bad guys, right? Wait, why do we want to go there again?!
Join Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak as he guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin on this tabletop campaign based on the classic SNES title Secret of Mana, in which today's episode involves:
- The tale of the tail of the rain bringer
- A brief geography lesson
- The team has trouble remembering the numbers 7-2-§
- Harper really appreciates some art
- The team actually has money, so they can actually buy something from the store!
- They buy Two Pieces of Candy.
- Battle in the sewer!
- Battle in the sewer...against monsters this time.
- The party escapes the sewer and meets with the Resistance!
- Jeddy tries to convince the players to read the canon text
- On to the conveniently located ominous temple
Who will win the videogame battle royale? Will it be the up-and-coming Pokémon challenger? Will the reigning champ be able to get past its legal troubles? What about Tetris with its years of experience added to the fight? You'll just have to join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Diana Gray as they judge the plethora of contenders in this month's edition of #theGCPC. Some of the highlights of their commentaries include...
- Joseph goes into the past-future to tell you about Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Detective Pikachu says a SWEAR
- We always forget that the Switch has touch controls
- Fortnite had some legal troubles with regards to dancin'
- Apex Legends is not Anthem
- The best battle royal is Tetris 99 and you can't convince me otherwise
- How to Win Tetris
- Do we have games we like to play at a certain time of year?
- 20-Somethings pretend like they're old about videogames
- Anna reveals the legend of Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS
- Joe explains and dunks on Persona 5 despite never having played it
- Videogames recent have played we in what times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
We've been talking about it since Episode 6, and we've finally made it to the Fire Palace! Much like the story getting to this point, the path through the palace to place the Mana Seed on its pedestal is a labyrinth in its own right.
Listen in as Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak DMs this tabletop RPG campaign based off the SNES classic Secret of Mana, guiding James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin through Kakkara and the Fire Palace. Along the way they encounter entertaining shenanigans such as:
- An impromptu dance party!
- The secret of Sprite's hair
- The party being terrified of children
- Staying at an inn for the first time in the podcast
- Watts powering up ALL of the weapons, #GCRPGCast, #CoolWhip
- Jeddy speaking in a manner that makes the party anxious and causing everything to go wrong
- The revelation that the Fire Palace does, in fact, contain fire
- Creative solutions to simple problems
- Is this game fun yet?
- The first time a character has missed a charged attack
Share the podcast using #GCRPGCast!
Everyone was so excited to talk about videogames this month that we had to try to cram them all into one podcast! There's a lot of news and discussion to cover, so it's great that we have a full team of Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedraszczak, John Rizzi, James Pelster, Matt Breslau and Dan Conlin to get us through our Quality Content. Speaking of content, some of our incredibly topical topics include...
- Metroid Prime 4 is restarting development
- The new Animal Crossing game has a rumored release date!
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is great and has a very good plantman
- Anthem's release has a complicated spreadsheet
- GameStop's failings have us questioning the retail games market
- Jeddy updates us on Little Dragons Café and his disappointment with YIIK
- Kingdom Blarts 3: Heart Blart Mall Cart
- James is surprised to be enjoying the Resident Evil 2 remake
- Other games we've been playing in recent times
*** Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier
Half the fun of the RPGCast is ignoring the canon story—and we finally get around to doing that in a major way in this episode! Your Jeditor-in-Chief, Jeddy the J-Man Jedraszczak, guides James "Velour" Pelster, Anna "Harpér" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprité" Martin on this not-entirely-classic retelling of Secret of Mana. In this episode:
- The party gets a refund on their free vacation
- They try to remember why they were going to the desert in the first place
- The Republic's sandship appears!
- The crew arrests the party for being imperial spies
- Sprite turns this into a business opportunity
- Mech Rider gives them the run-around!
- The party FINALLY makes it to Kakkara
It's a new year, and that means it's time for radical changes. To start us off, Alex Jedraszczak has played some new viteeogames (that's how we spell it now), much to the shock of Joseph Martin and Anna Bryniarski. Listen in awe as Jeddy regales us with tales of gaming in the future year of 2019 with such topics as:
- Jeddy got a Nintendo Switch and has been playing viteeogames!
- The Switch's HD Rumble is pretty neat
- Joseph is really excited for the new Wargoove tactics game from Chucklefish
- Anna could've stopped her friend from getting a PS1 Classic
- Jeddy's grandpa had an eclectic viteeogame collection
- Installing modern viteeogames is hard
- Final Fantasy XI still exists...!
- Sadly, Jeddy bought Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn
- Jeddy saves his mom with a Little Dragon's Cafe
- Anna and Joseph have both been playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in recent times.
It's a very special Christmas edition of The GameCola RPGCast! The party has arrived at the Ice Palace, and you know what that means--as part of the time-honored Christmas tradition, they're about to fight Santa!
Alex Jedraszczak guides the GameCola crew on this D&D-style rendition of Secret of Mana, while James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin play the parts of the characters as they:
- Make their way through all the padding plot-important, mentally-stimulating puzzles.
- Stumble across the library, where it's time to hit the books!
- See one of the few instances of questionable content making it past the Nintendo of America censors.
- Gerald has returned! And now he's triplets!
- Barold, Harold, and Larold need to be taught some manners.
- "I don't wanna punch a baby!"—Joseph Martin, 2018
- The party defeats Santa to save Christmas, and they learn the true reason for the season.
- Sprite somehow fails to sit on a chair.
The GameCola Podcast is back and meme-ier than ever! Podcast Commander Joseph Martin is out of commission this holiday season, so join host Anna Bryniarski along with Dan Conlin, John Rizzi, Matt Breslau, and James Pelster as they talk about such meme-tastic topics such as...
- It is made very clear that Joseph Martin is not with us
- Pokémon has made some neat changes over the years
- How online services work
- What new characters we're excited for in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Red Dead Redemption II...it sure is a thing!
- Who are the DLC fighters going to be and who do we want in Smash?
- We've played videogames? Recently?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xiavier]
Leaving Flammie with King Truffle, the crew heads back to the Cannon Travel Center to catch a flight to Kakkara Desert. But instead, they're gifted with a free vacation in paradise! Though things don't go quite as planned...
Alex Jedraszczak serves as dungeon master for a tapletop campaign based on the SNES classic Secret of Mana. James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin venture off on this quest, which in today's episode includes:
- Aforementioned free tropical vacation!
- ... The flight doesn't go quite as anticipated.
- The party is extremely confused by the item shop
- Looting and destroying Santa's house
- Rudolph needs heeelp!
- Is this game actually fun?!
- The party expositions their way through a long and tedious part of the game
- Jeddy mixes up part of the map and adds a battle meant for next episode
- Revenge of the Pineapple Face
- Ah, finally, paradise!
It's a common experience for fans of GameCola. You're watching our Let's Plays, you're listening to our podcasts, and there's just one thing on your mind: Diana is wrong.
That was the thought going through the mind of long-time superfan Julia Fletcher when she e-mailed us with today's DebateCast topic:
- Is Zero Time Dilemma a good game? -
On the defending side, we have GameCola's Ace Fangirl and resident Zero Escape franchise expert Diana Gray maintaining that Zero Time Dilemma is a good game! On the opposing side, we have guest GameCola superfan Julia Fletcher proposing that the game has a list of critical failures.
That's right! The GameCola DebateCast has finally returned after a six-year hiatus--and finally it's a proper debate and not just a bunch of people swearing and mostly agreeing with each other! Now it's two people politely agreeing with each other while the moderator slowly begins to question his sanity.
So, join Joseph Martin as he hosts the debate in the proper format as read about on the Internet five minutes before starting through:
- Topic introduction
- Opening statements
- Too much agreeing going on in this debate
- In-depth character analysis—spoilers ahoy!
- Actually, maybe try one of our other podcasts if you're not familiar with Zero Escape
- The snail thing is crucial!
- Oh, and don't forget the aliens
- The transporter is stupid
- Closing statements
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the GameCola Podcast as a monthly videogame news and discussion podcast featuring such hilarious hosts as Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, and Anna Bryniarski, though it is known to introduce entirely new members to the cast such as Matt Breslow. Those who listen to the show may be interested in the quality of the new Mario Party game or getting Diana's "expert" opinion on law in videogames. The show has also been rumored to answer fan questions from time to time. Whether you Love Nikki or hate together-cars, this podcast will meet all of your videogame topic needs, including such topics as...
- Is Super Mario Party finally a good entry in the series?
- Diana updates us on the legal cases of Quantic Dream and Telltale
- A fan asks us what RPG archetypes we would be in the fictional fantasy: Alocema: G
- We speak to the dictionary for a bit
- Why does everyone Love Nikki so much?
- Matt is doing a ridiculous Pokémon completion quest
- How does the Oxford English Dictionary define the videogames we have been playing in recent times?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
The Sprite Village has been saved (?) and now it's on to Matango! And what quicker way to get there than by exposition? Join Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak as he D&D-ifies the SNES classic Secret of Mana for James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin. Don't miss out on:
- EXPOSITION!
- The party reaches Matango and they meet King Truffle in Fung Castle!
- King Truffle has a majestic mustache and very important things to say
- And Sprite has an important need to sit on the throne...
- The party explores The Cave of Exposition
- Where they battle the Giant Viper!
- And learn about kanji and racism.
- Harper becomes the new protagonist
- Failing that, Sprite becomes the new protagonist
- Joseph is hit by the dreaded status effect "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES"
- The viper is defeated and they save the baby white dragon, Flammie
Your Spider Sense isn't failing you, it's another web-slinging edition of The GameCola Podcast! Well OK, we don't usually sling any webs, but we're an internet podcast which you could call a web podcast, and we swing it into your ears? Look man, I'm doing my best here. Let's hope that John Rizzi, Joseph Martin, and newcomer Dan Conlin can provide even better witty banter as they discuss such topics as...
- N1RV Ann-A—a sequel to VA-11 Hall-A—was recently announced
- Luigi's Mansion 3 and Animal Crossing are highlighted in the latest Nintendo Direct
- John has a lot to say about Marvel's Spider-Man
- I mean a lot
- What defines the new "Arkham" trend of games?
- Nintendo's physical shortages and its popularization of traditionally non-western franchises
- The Mega Man 11 demo is pretty dang sweet my dude
- Videogames have been played recently by us, which?
[Podcast Intro/Outro “5 is Average” by Meteo Xavier]
Now that they can return to their village, the Moogles are having a super fun dance party! Will Sprite be able to say the same by the end of the episode? Alex Jedraszczak guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin through the second half of the Upper Lands saga. Enjoy such tabletop RPG shenanigans as:
- Sprite distracts the others with a dancing baby Moogle to steal all the treasure
- Why would you buy the Kung Fu dress when you could get the Spiky Suit for less?
- Walk the seasons, spring to winter, spring again and we can enter
- Our secret revealed: Jeddy's poor descriptions are largely because they play through a web-based system he built
- Valor gets Silence Lv 4'd, and Harper carries him over her shoulder so he doesn't get lost
- Sprite finally makes it home!
- Valor learns that any weapon can be ranged if you try hard enough
- Sprite has a very confusing half-canon conversation with Gramps
Don't touch that dial! Because today we've got James Pelster, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin here to bring GameCola back to its early days where childhood television shows often superseded videogame discussion. But don't worry, because we met in the middle and took a critical look at how videogames in TV have changed over the years. Check channel 3 below to see your local listings of discussion topics, including...
- Joe gives us his thoughts on the newly released Mega Man: Fully Charged
- Why are cartoons about videogames so bad?
- Why are live action shows about videogames so bad?
- Old GameCola staffers have been making some cool videogames
- Director's Cuts, Deluxe Editions, and Extra Darkness
- How many videogames could you buy with a million dollars?
- How would we fix the canons of our favorite games?
- Jeddy's translating Crystalis for The END DAY!
- In times that are recent, what videogames have been played by us?
We join our heroes deep in the forests of the Upper Lands, having just heard the plight of the Moogles. Will they help the Moogles return home, or will they get spend the entire episode being distracted by everything in the forest? Alex Jedraszczak leads James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin through a D&D-ified version of Secret of Mana. On today's episode:
- The hunt is on for the rocks the Moogles lost!
- For the peddlers who bothered the Moogles?
- Something like that...
- Neko doesn't seem like much of a deals warlock, if you know what I mean
- Spoiler alert: The team gets lost in a magical maze forest
- Harper climbs a tree and sees a dragon
- Everyone does their best Jaleel White impressions during their battle with Sonic--er, the Pebblers
Things get TOPICAL on this edition of the GameCola Podcast. David Cage? Octopath Traveler? If it weren't for a smidgen of Mega Man news, I wouldn't believe that it's #theGCPC! Nevertheless, your stalwart heroes--Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, and Anna Bryniarski--are here to deliver all your gaming news, including such topics as...
- Diana's back from Japan and Korea!
- What is Octopath Traveler and why should you buy it?
- Joe gives you updates on the Mega Man TV show that's finally been released!
- Quantic Dreams' legal issues come to a head
- Detroit: Become Human needs to get its priorities in order
- The games we have been playing in recent times are what?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 is Average" by Meteo Xavier] Helicopter Sound Effect © RNaudioproductions Robert Nichol
We return to the show as the party returns to the Water Palace to return the Mana Seed—but what's this? Something fishy is going on! Join Alex Jedraszczak as he leads James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin though moments of excitement, laughter, and heartbreak, including but not limited to:
- Coming up with a creative solution to a problem "for once".
- Actually succeeding in a creative solution to a problem for once.
- The party skips half of the script and instead busts in on Justin Bailey Geshtar.
-
HarperIsRipped
- We find out that there is a reason for that one room that's just a pool of water.
- Meet Gerald Jr!
- Valor almost dies.
- Sprite almost dies.
- Meanwhile, Jema was apparently just hanging out with Luka this whole time.
- And now it's off to the Upper Lands to...why were we going there again?
Talking about the presentations of E3 2018 is what a normal gaming podcast would do, but The GameCola Podcast isn't your normal gaming podcast. I mean, we did write articles about Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo's presentations, but today we're talking about those poor games that didn't get a showing during the biggest gaming news event of the year. Join Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, and Joseph Martin as they discuss such topics as:
- A very brief but very accurate summary of E3 by Anna
- A short history of Animal Crossing and why people are bummed it didn't show
- We try to predict details about the new main-series Pokémon games, specifically what their names will be
- How Anna spent all her money on videogames during the Steam Summer Sale
- James has a million visual novels now
- Recently, what videogames have been played by us?
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 Is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
We're BAAAaaack! After an extended hiatus due to scheduling difficulties, the GameCola Secret of Mana RPGCast returns for its fifth episode!
In case you forgot, the party just ran Thanatos out of the ruins near Pandora. In this episode, we pick right back up and follow James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryaniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin as they:
- Meet the King of Pandora! And try to sell the guards on a throne inspection
- Raid the royal treasury
- Discover that the Mana Seed is missing from the Water Palace!
- Head back to Gaia's Navel (again) to retrieve it
- Get some sweet weapon upgrades
- Receive a magic rope from the Dwarf Elder
- Eat candy they found under a rug
- Encounter the Scorpion Army and battle their super-deluxe robot, Kilroy!
- Find out what a moogle is...the hard way
- Find out what the Mana Seed tastes like
It's the reason for the season! With E3 and Year-End Awards just around the corner, the GameCola crew gets a head-start on this year's predictions. Just a heads up, we recorded this episode before the most recent game trailers were released, so expect coverage of those in future articles! For now, join Joseph Martin, Colee Koballa, Alex Jedraszczak, James Pelster, and John Rizzi as they discuss such wonderful topics as:
- Sims 4 is going to have seasons!
- Paul and Jeddy's Definitely Happening Videogame: Alex to Alex
- What we thought of the Pokémon: Let's Go! rumors (which turned out to be true!)
- Other E3 hopes and dreams
- Our predictions for GameCola's Year-End Awards
- A fan sponsored discussion about dynamic characters
- What videogames have we been playing, particularly recently?
Swamped with the trials and tribulations that come with the May season, your intrepid GameCola Podcasters are still here to deliver you informative, funny, and just plain weird content. What's with that photo of Jeddy in the title card? You'll have to listen to this month's episode--featuring Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, John Rizzi, and the aforementioned Alex Jedraszczak--to find out! You'll also be able to learn about such wonderful topics as:
- Stardew Valley finally has multiplayer!
- John gives us the scoop on the new Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer.
- What impact has the "open world" format had on the games industry?
- We don't complete games 100% like we used to.
- What are our cosplay aspirations?
- What videos-game have we been playing in recent times?
If a big Nintendo Direct comes out, you know the GameCola Podcast is going to be all about that discussion! Join Colee Koballa, James Pelster, and Joseph Martin as they discuss everything coming out soon for Nintendo, with a brief aside to discuss the newest Mega Man TV show information. Topics of discussion include:
- Is the new Super Smash Bros. game a port or a sequel?
- Detective Pikachu sparks a discussion on why Pikachu keeps talking
- Joe and Colee argue about Kirby: Star Allies
- Should Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time have been ported to 3DS before Bowser's Inside Story?
- A few short discussions on a couple of other games from the Direct
- Splatoon 2's DLC and success suggests the series may be defining this generation of gamers
- What are the updates to the 2018 Mega Man TV series?
- What games have we been playing in recent times?
Link to Discussed Mega Man Image:
http://www.rockman-corner.com/2018/03/new-mega-man-animated-series-robot.html
[Podcast Intro/Outro "5 Is Average" by Meteo Xavier]
The crew returns with Harper to her hometown of Pandora, but between avoiding her dad and chasing her childhood friend, they end up at the ruins outside of town! Follow James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "Sprite" Martin as they:
- Hear all about the sweet sweepstakes Phanna just won.
- Wonder where exactly the Tomato Man is storing those zombies...
- Ruin the Tomato Man's groove
- Have a sword fight...literally!
- Immediately exit a room before the DM can even describe the scene
- Meet Thanatos and hear his evil plan!
- Who's on the right, what eye's on the left, and I don't know what I'm attacking.
It's back down to the Dwarf Village for the Sprite—but now they're back with Valor and Harper, and ready for the Underground Palace! Don't miss Joseph Martin, James Pelster, and Anna Bryniarski as they...what are they doing here again? Whatever it is, the following things (and more!) happen to them in this episode:
- Sprite just wants to explode things! It doesn't matter if it's using ice.
- Shouldn't a Goblin come out of a Ma Goblin, not the other way around?
- Valor has an epic DBZ-style contest of strength with a Goblin when both roll natural 20s.
- In this episode of "The Secret of Mana RPGCast", we bypass all combat entirely by just shoving enemies off of ledges.
- Why can't all battles take place in rooms with bottomless pits?
- Paul Franzen makes a guest appearance!
- Sprite makes an excellent tank.
- The party defeats the Fire Gigas, saves the Gnome, and restores the Mana Seed.
- Now Sprite, Whip Girl, and Sword Boy are off to the ruins!
On this somewhat eccentric episode of the GameCola podcast, we attempt to solve a few of gaming's most recent mysteries! Why has Nintendo been winning so many awards? Why is D&D so popular lately? What's keeping Joseph up at night? Join Joseph Martin, John Rizzi, and Colee Koballa as they answer these questions and talk about other topics such as...
- How did Nintendo win so much of the DICE Awards?
- Fanmail!
- The rise of D&D and Actual Play Podcasts
- Is Betrayal at House on a Hill a good game?
- What videogames have we been playing?
- Joseph falls asleep on podcast.
Our three weary adventurers have survived their first trials, and now James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "I Think I Have Amnesia" Martin all separately approach the Water Palace at the same time. Awkward!
There's a lot of excitement in this second episode of our Secret of Mana tabletop campaign, but here's a list of just a few points you're missing out on if you haven't listened:
- The return of everyone's favorite element of the last episode: Stairs!
- Sage Luka gives all the deetz and tells the crew to find Undine, the Water Elemental.
- The party chooses the Mercy option on one of their foes...what is this, Undertale?
- Harper offers and armband to hold back the Sprite's soaked hair after walking through a waterfall.
- Valor Koolaid Mans through a rock wall and finds Undine!
- You can do magic! You can have anything that you desire...as long as it's vaguely water-related.
- The crew gets shot out of a cannon.
- Harper flirts with Watts, the hipster blacksmith.
And that's just the summary!
In time for the release of the HD remake, and ahead of the 25th anniversary of the original release, we've ported the SNES classic Secret of Mana to tabletop format!
That's right, the wait is over and the latest GameCola PorTable RPGCast is here! Join Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak as he guides James "Valor" Pelster, Anna "Harper" Bryniarski, and Joseph "I think I have amnesia" Martin through Secret of Mana, customized around three players and based vaguely off of D&D 5e rules.
This first episode is an extra, extra long three-part session leading each party member to the Water Palace. There's adventure and exploration! There are battles and boss fights! There's book theft and questionable eating decisions! All the great things you'd expect from a tabletop version of Secret of Mana.
Considering the nearly two-hour length of the episode, I'll stop talking and let you get to it. But if you find yourself wanting more after the end and you just can't wait for the next episode, be sure to check out our other RPGCasts--some videogame related and some not so much--or any of our other content! And be sure to Tweeter about the #PorTableRPGCast!
New things are strange and scary. Luckily, you have the GameCola Podcast to tell you how to feel when Nintendo announces their strange products! Join Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, John Rizzi, and Colee Koballa as they explain to you about some new stuff coming your way including:
- Joseph's audio got messed up, but we have a backup!
- Everyone has a wrong opinion about Nintendo Labo
- Diana gets a chance to defend Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- What videogame character would we jump at the chance to portray?
- Joseph goes mad with power
- What videogames have we been playing recently?
- Joseph has an existential crisis
GET HYPE! It's the new year, but Joe is more excited about the announcement of Mega Man 11, which is the first official classic Mega Man game since 2010! Luckily, James Pelster and Anna Bryniarski are able to use the power of fan-mail to talk about more than just the Blue Bomber. Within this podcast, you will find discussion of:
- Mega Man 11
- MEGA MAN 11
- Ok, just a little more about Mega Man
- Unrealistic body expectations for women and monsters
- What Pokémon should be Digimon?
- James goes FULL HAM on Nintendo and its practices regarding fan content
- Do we have any videogame annual traditions?
It's the wintertime holiday season, and that means you're probably wondering if Nintendo's latest game console should be on your gift wishlist. Worry not! For Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Brancliff, Colee Koballa, and John Rizzi are here to tell you everything they've learned about having a Nintendo Switch. We may have focused on one game in particular a bit more than others. But our other topics include:
- What games do we have for the Nintendo Switch?
- Super Mario Odyssey is a very good videogame.
- How have we used the Switch's portable and docked functionalities?
- Super Mario Odyssey is a VERY good videogame.
- What do we think of the Switch's controls, including HD Rumble?
- Super Mario Odyssey is a VERY GOOD VIDEOGAME.
- What are some questions and misconseptions about the Switch that we can clear up?
- What Switch and non-Switch videogames have we been playing this month?
- SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY IS A VERY GOOD VIDEOGAME FIGHT ME
As mentioned, here is the link to Colee's Flying Horse Adventure: https://twitter.com/DrWuhvwee/status/922356848228839424
Greetings, GameCola Faithful! On today's special episode of the GameCola Podcast, we have a special guest interviewee: Paul Franzen, creator of games such as Beard in the Mirror and Cat President: A More Purrfect Union! And maybe he's had something to do with GameCola, too? After recently having his game The Awkward Steve Duology featured at the Smithsonian, he joins Anna Bryniarski, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin to talk about the experience and what else he's been up to. Our discussions include such topics as:
- What games has Paul been working on since starting full-time gamedev?
- How did Awkward Steve make it into the Smithsonian of all places?
- What other games were at the Smithsonian exhibition?
- Awkward people and awkward videogames
- How new media makes it easier for us to consume old media
- What videogames have recently been played by us?
It's a wild west train robbery! Or rather, it's a podcast that features discussion of both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Thomas the Tank Engine. Join cow-folk Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, and Anna Bryniarski as they rustle up some gaming talk about such topics as:
- What is the "sequel" equivalent of each feature of Red Dead Redemption 2?
- Jeddy's journey to Boston FIG 2017
- What makes a good tabletop game?
- Jeddy got a steal of a deal on a Game Boy Color
- The GameCola gang has been messing around with Dungeons & Dragons
- Anna has a collection of Thomas the Tank Engine apps
- Jeddy is on the fence about Mother 3
- Joseph has been having fun with Pokémon and the weather
...and much more! So if that sounds interesting to ya, par'ner, then have a gander at our podcast, y'hear?
This time on the GameCola Podcast, we take to the Internet and answer the world's most pertinent gaming questions–using Yahoo! Answers as our searching tool. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, John Rizzi, and Alex Jedraszczak as they decipher the wild ramblings of the 'net (and get sidetracked on an argument about the Super Mario Galaxy series). Questions and topics include:
- How do you ask someone out using Pokémon?
- How can you play Nintendo Switch with strangers in health class?
- Can you trick your body into not dying by playing videogams?
- Will a 3DS remain in a mall's Lost–and–Found for 4 years?
- Can you hire a babysitter while you play videogames?
- A few more rapid fire questions
- What games have we been playing?
- Super Mario Galaxy vs. Super Mario Galaxy 2
There's no code to skip past this episode of the GameCola Podcast, so you'll just have to enjoy yourself as you listen to Brandon "Brancliff" Tan, Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak, Joseph "Podcast Commander" Martin, and Anna "Social Media Trash Queen" Bryniarski talk about how they tricked their way into being good at videogames! From cheating devices, to cheat codes, to game mods, we've got every way to not play a game correctly! And it all started with a fan email. Totally legit topics include...
- Jeddy tries out the Game Genie codes that were sent to us by a fan
- Were cheating devices common back in the day?
- Mods are the modern equivalent of cheating
- What are some stories of cheating from GameCola's past?
- Can you stack multiple Game Genies?
- Jeddy's on a Game Boy Advance kick
- What games have we been playing?
- This month's Featured Article __________
Cool Game Genkie Codes Under the Cut (for Super Mario Bros.)
Weird Levels: TNLPOG, VNLPOG, ENLPOG, GNLPOG, PNLPOG, TNLPLG, VNLPLG, ENLPLG, GNLPLG.
Code that let's you go down every pipe in every level, and also the same pipe that you come up you can go back down in to: AGAPPT
Makes Mario Invincible on all levels: XXPPPO
It's the original power couple back with the (mostly) original crew! On this edition of "Hacks'n'Slash", Paul Franzen, Michael Gray, Diana Gray, Christian Porter, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin revisit Luigi and Daisy on a vacation to Delfino Island and a mysterious mansion. Listen to your favorite voices and some twisty turns of events like Luigi going Super Saiyan and everyone doing their best Delightful Children from Down the Lane impression (hey, if Paul gets to make an obscure reference, then so do I).
Today we're reading two separate pieces: Luigi and Daisy's Unhappy Vacation and Luigi and Daisy's Unhappy Vacation 2, which are centered around Super Mario Sunshine and Luigi's Mansion respectively.
This podcast features music from the following sources: - Super Mario Sunshine - Luigi's Mansion - Super Mario Galaxy - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - NES Remix 2 - Hey Dude
Games, games, and videogames! Diana Gray, Colee Koballa, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin cover some big gaming events like the Steam Summer Sale and E3 2017. Also included are a few previews of our year-end awards and some fun facts about the Grand Canyon. Have a listen to such intriguing topics as:
- Tim Schafer and Jack Black had an E3 interview that only Jeddy witnessed.
- Get Diana to E3 2018.
- Mario has had some weird crossovers.
- Jeddy played a videogame that was only 10 years old!
- Diana is excited for Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
- What are all the Switch games that are coming out?
- Daniel Dugovic has a few questions for us.
- What games did we get during the Steam Summer Sale?
- What's it like to own a Nintendo Switch?
- What videogames were played by us in recent times?
Do you like time travel? Random battles? Japanese Adventures? Then do we have the podcast for you! Join Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, Michael Gray, James Pelster, and Joseph Martin as they discuss interesting game mechanics and other more specific topics such as:
- What is a humble piano bum?
- Jeddy's spoils from the land of the rising sun
- Interesting RPG battles systems
- Using time travel to undo our mistakes
- Shadow of Mordor's AI progression system
- How can Joseph break the previously discussed system?
- Michael wants to make a game that is triangles
- What does the "SD" mean in a game title?
- What videogames have we been playing in times that are recent?
It's time for Hacks'n'Slash and this month, Diana Gray, Anna Bryniarski, and Shannon Hoover will take you on a very quick jaunt through the world of Tetris - possibly far deeper than you ever wanted to go. We do this with two vastly different fanfictions.
The Player and the Board - "dark, unusual...much deeper than Tetris had any right to be." ~ Shannon Hoover Tetris Blocks Falling - "20/10" ~ Anna Bryniarski
Are you intrigued yet?
It's a match to the death! Or more realistically, it's Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and Diana Gray riled up and ready to shout at each other about questions that you sent in! From zombies to actual factual videogames, you're in for a host of great topics including:
- When is 101010 being finished?
- What do we hope to get out of GameCola?
- Which videogame characters would we want with us in a zombie apocalypse?
- What are our favorite games?
- What makes or breaks a game for you?
- Which games should be made into TV shows?
- What are our favorite consoles?
- What videogames have we been playing in recent times?
In this month's installment of "Hacks'n'Slash," we explore a beyond-ridiculous Animal Crossing farce, Tales of Tikitaki. Although it is a short fanfiction, containing a measly two chapters, it definitely packs a comedic punch.
Join Shannon Hoover, Nathaniel Hoover, Anna Bryniarski, Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, and James Pelster as we face such scintillating adventures as:
- An increasingly fed-up girl
- A klutzy former president
- 20 gallons of coffee
- Capitalism
- Too much pink
- Pie
- Property destruction
- THE EVIL CABBAGE MAN!!!!
-
Punctuation without spaces
-
rated NSFW due to mild pole dancing * the opinions and word choices of the author do not reflect those of GameCola or its staff
On this Fooling April edition of the GameCola Podcast, we talk about things that are only off topic!
...on purpose this time, we swear
Join James "Neutral Boring" Pelster, Stefano "Chaotic Old" Wohsdioghasdhisdg, Anna "Chaotic Sorry" Bryniarski, Joseph "Lawful Crazy" Martin, Brandon "Chaotic Videogames" Tan, Diana "Lawful Absent" Gray, Colee "True Newcomer" Koballa, and Smimming "Chaotic Watermelon Hating" Rox in a podcast of truly epic (and random) proportions with such off-the-wall topics as...
- We don't watch Nicktoons
- Stefano is old
- What are our favorite foods?
- Various shapes of watermelons
- GameCola's wonderful beards
- Who on the GC staff would win in a Battle Royale?
- What are our D&D allignments?
- We crash Diana's psychology review
- Watermelon Wrestling
- Dangerous lab stories
- Diana's great cheese caper
On this month's edition of "Hacks'n'Slash", the GameCola crew takes a look at one of the LONGEST FANFICTIONS IN EXISTENCE. Clocking in at over 4 million words, The Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest is a landmark piece of Internet writing that should be experienced by all. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Shannon Hoover, and James Pelster as they manage to complete just the first chapter of this Super Smash Bros. Brawl-themed behemoth!
Special thanks to Diana Gray for editing this podcast. If you'd like to hear more, let us know in the comments and consider subscribing to us on iTunes to hear more GameCola podcast fare! Have a suggestion? Send an email to podcast[at]gamecola[dot]net!
We've got a great crew this time on the GameCola Podcast, and we use that opportunity to check out some of the emails that you guys sent us!
...a long time ago.
Turns out that during the site hiatus, some emails got lost as Jeddy was trying to fix things. But it's better late than never as Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, James Pelster, Stefano Wohsdioghasdhisdg, Smimming Rox, and Brandon Tan dive into these old emails to discuss topics such as:
- Have you ever been disappointed by a game?
- Has anyone on the staff played Trigger Happy Havoc Dangan Ronpa, or any of its sequels?
- What is your favorite licensed videogame franchise?
- Has a community every influenced your feelings toward a game?
- What fanfiction have we written?
- Kingdom Hearts and dance games are weird...
- Some "Hacks'n'Slash" recommendations.
- Are games that used to be popular still considered mainstream?
- The new Pokemon GO update featuring Gen II!
- What games have we been playing?
Guests and 'fests abound in this landmark edition of the GameCola Podcast! Today we have the honor of bringing in Cameron and Noelle, friends of Anna Bryniarski and Diana Gray respectively, to talk about the group of four's experiences at MAGfest, a popular New England music and gaming convention. The discussion includes an all-encompassing summary of the Music and Gaming Festival, including...
- How did our motley crew travel to MAGfest?
- All the famous celebrities everyone met, including The Runaway Guys, Jirard the Completionist, Smooth McGroove, and many more.
- All the videogames everyone got to play on the show floor (spoiler: mostly drum rhythm games)
- So much money that was lost to the artist's alley showcase featuring cool merch. -A plethora of productive panels attended by our lovely crew.
Welcome to the REBIRTH OF HACKS'N'SLASH!
That's right, we're back to reading fanfiction, and what better way to return birds? We, James Pelster, Diana Gray, Shannon Hoover, and Anna Bryniarski, are here with not one, but four Hatoful Boyfriend fanfictions! Join us as we read through:
- Fellowship of the Wings: Ryouta and Nageki used to be friends, but for some reason they are no longer friends...it has something to do with Shuu being a jerk, I guess.
- A magnificent Jewel (Reader X Yuuya): A self-insert date with Yuuya.
- Wanderer's journey: Book 2: Freedom of Birds: An OC is dropped into the world of Hatoful Boyfriend. Hijinks ensue.
- An Interesting semester: A sort of expanded take on the first portion of the game. Now with less birds and punctuation!
- And as an added bonus: The GameCola ghost calls Diana on Skype.
So sit back, grab some birdseed, and enjoy the beauty of bad Hatoful Boyfriend fanfiction.
It's been a fun year, and we've actually played some videogames! This time around the GameCola cavalcade of Diana Gray, Anna Bryniarski, James Pelster, Alex Jedraszczak, and Joseph Martin take a look at the cult futuristic hit Read Only Memories, which Jeddy just finished. Then we try to talk about monster collecting RPG's, but we mostly just end up talking about the most recent Pokémon game. If you'd rather see that paragraph in list form...
- Read Only Memories is a great point-and-click adventure game and Jeddy's new game of the year 2015, and it's getting an update!
- VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a similar game in the visual novel space.
- What makes a good monster collection game?
- Pokémon Sun and Moon have a much more in-depth story and complicated setup than previous games.
- Dragon Warrior Monsters, Spectrobes, and Monster Rancher failed to capture the Pokémon magic.
- We talk about Pokémon more instead of addressing Jeddy's topic about monster collecting games.
- We address Jeddy's topic about monster collecting games.
- What videogames have we been playing?
This month on the GameCola Podcast, we're hype as heck for the Nintendo Switch and all of the announcements and rumors that come along with it. Join Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, and Joseph Martin as they discuss what the future holds for all of us, as well as a bit of reflection on the past. These topics and more include:
- What is the Nintendo Switch?
- Various rumors about Mario and Zelda releases
- Metroid Prime: Federation Force might be good, but no one likes it
- A reflection on the Wii U (and yes, they're still making them)
- Can Cluster Analysis give us any insight into the enigmatic mind of Terrance Atkins?
- There might be a new Hatoful Boyfriend
- A history of unpublished articles and videos
- Anna's writing a game about potatoes
- What games have we been playing?
In what is arguably one of my best/worst lapses in judgment, this month I, Joseph Martin, Podcast Commander, gave the podcast reigns to Diana Gray to get all the Ace Attorney talk out of GameCola's system before we move into the holiday season. Along with her partners in defeating crime, Stefano Wohsdioghasdhisdg and James Pelster, she takes on the challenge of saying everything there is to say about Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice which released last month.
It takes a while.
So if you're all buckled up for a ride, take a gander at this mega-sized podcast with such Ace Attorney related topics as:
- Case 1 is fun.
- Case 2 is too.
- Case 3 is an interesting departure from the general narrative pattern of Ace Attorney games.
- Case 4 should have been the first part of case 5 instead.
- Case 5 is literally composed only of spoilers.
- What are some other works the voice actors of the games have been in?
- The DLC cases are a riot and worth the price of admission.
In thanks for being such great fans, we've dedicated this month's podcast to fan interactions on the site and beyond! Listen to Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, Diana Gray, and newcomer James Pelster, as we delve into the comments and talk about our own personal stories of when we were but wee fans of the site. More comprehensively, our topics may include:
- Fan comments on the website
- How do fans find GameCola (and our personal stories)
- Fan comments on the YouTube channel
- The games we have (or haven't) been playing
- James and Diana's Ace Attorney progress
- Diana's playing Mystic Messenger on the Podcast
- Jeddy tried out some Virtual Reality
- A brief anime and localization detour
Welcome to the final part of Podcast 100! After you've listened to the classical and modern editions, we hope you've been enjoying this centennial celebration and we look forward to bringing you more 3-digit podcasts in the future! As we wrap things up, the Current Crew of Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, Stefano Wohsdioghasdhisdg, and Joseph Martin talk about such, new, interesting, and novel topics like:
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Mega Man
Wow! Such a dense list of topics! There's actually probably some more stuff hidden in there (like an extra blooper at the end) so you should definitely check it out.
Podcast #100 continues! Not every podcast makes it to episode 100, so to celebrate this momentous occasion, we're reliving the three eras of podcast we've gone through—classical, modern, and post-modern/contemporary.
In Part 2, Alex Jedraszczak, Nathaniel Hoover, and Mike Ridgaway bring back the elements that really made the podcast's Jeddy Era what it was. They discuss such topics as:
- Mike's hatred of Nickelodeon's Doug
- What's changed since the podcast
- Livestreams with the face of the person livestreaming
- We do things nobody else does and we celebrate that
- Mike Ridgaway is an old fuddy-duddy elitist who doesn't understand kids these days
- Growing older and still trying to like gaming and general nerdery
- Being a completionist in the era of Achievements
- We've spent too much time on-topic—Let's talk about the good ol' days of Napster and misattributed music
- How do people find GameCola? (Hint: Most people search for "NES porn games")
- Why do people STAY at GameCola?
- Hey! We're talking to you, the listener! What makes YOU listen? Let us know!
- Home Alone could have easily been part of the Saw franchise
- We're in the Cool 100 Club, now! Are we going to be compared to other podcasts with 100 episodes?!
And, that's just the summary! If you've got an hour or so to listen, then don't miss out on Part 2 of our big Podcast #100 celebration!
(Special Saxophone version of Meteo's "Five is Average" played by SaxDudeMaloyS26)
It's Podcast #100! To celebrate this milestone achievement of podcastership, we're reliving the three eras of podcast we've gone through—the olden days, the middle ages, and the modern era.
Here in Part 1, we're celebrating our earliest podcasts, with veteran host Michael Gray joining weird uncles Paul Franzen and Christian Porter as they talk about the following topics!
- Lady Layton
- The upcoming movies for Legends of the Hidden Temple, Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life
- Why haven't there been any new Nancy Drew games since May, 2015?
- Older adventure games
- Visual novels, especially Cat President
- The Sierra Games Humble Bundle
- Games we're playing now
- Pokémon GO
- Super Smash Bros.
- Coming up with game titles is hard
- Uploading games to Steam
- Achievements for old NES games?
- Telltale's Batman and Telltale Games in general
- Making game artwork is hard
- Double Dare
- GameCola Family Game Night
- We talk about Phoenix Wright Case 1-5!
- Why we didn't like Phoenix Wright 5, even though we should have
- If Apollo becomes a luchador in the new Phoenix Wright game, we will love it.
As we approach the daunting future of the centennial podcast, the GameCola Podcast Crew looks at the future as a theme in games as well as fictional dates in games that have passed us by. Join Diana Gray, Joseph Martin, Alex Jedraszczak, and Anna Bryniarski as they look off into the horizon and discuss topics such as:
- Future dates in games that have now become the past.
- Apocalypses and dystopias in videogames.
- Videogame cities with weird names.
- The Jackbox games are fun (and so is hijacking Paul's stream).
- Given the choice between endless games and games with a clear stopping point, which do you prefer?
- What games have we been playing?
On this midsummer edition of the GameCola Podcast, we take a look at games from obscure franchises like Pokemon and the Legend of Zelda. We also talk about more conventionally popular titles like Zero Escape and Dice with Buddies.
We may need to go outside and get a better idea of what's mainstream huh? Regardless, join Joseph "I've probably said this on the podcast before" Martin, Paul "Can I take this towel off my head" Franzen, Alex "Videogames" Jedraszczak, Diana "So speaking of Ace Attorney" Gray, and Anna "..." Bryniarski as they speak on such topics as:
- The "obscure" "indie" title Pokemon GO
- Paul and Jeddy's intense Dice with Buddies/Yahtzee rivalry
- Board/Card Games We Hate
- There are equally too many and too few Twilight Games
- We spent too much on games at the Steam Summer Sale
- Zero Escape: Our past present and future with the series (including a fan email)
- Diana's Adventures at Anime Expo
- What's in a quel?
- Will Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild outdo Skyward Sword?
- What games have we been playing in recent times?
After the hooterin' and hollerin' of dealing with the hiatus, we take a minimalist approach to today's podcast. Join Joseph Martin, Anna Bryniarski, and first time podcaster Ryan Mather as they talk about exciting events for the future, however briefly. Stuff like...
- GameCola's Christmas in July Ho-Ho-Holiday LIVEcast Year End-stravaganza Awards Spectacular 2015 in 2016!
- People did not like the Mighty No. 9 trailer (including Joe).
- They also didn't like the promo image for the Mega Man TV show.
- Reminiscing on the previous Ho-Ho-Holiday Livecasts.
- Is E3 going out of fashion?
- What's up with Miitomo?
- Lots of little games we've been playing.
- A fan email...!
GameCola is back! But at the time this podcast was recorded, the site's relaunch was just around the corner. Join Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, and Joseph Martin as we talk about our excitement for the new site, as well as the following:
- Jeddy talks about everything he put into the site redesign.
- Cat President: A More Purrfect Union is a game being made by Paul Franzen and Michael Gray (which has now been Greenlit!).
- Jeddy has been playing a videogame! (Hyper Light Drifter)
- How to game the Tetris Battle system.
- The Mega Man TV show has finished its pilot episode.
- NewSite.JPG
- Mighty No. 9 doesn't understand it's target audience.
- Alchohol[sic] in videogames.
- What controllers do we use when we play games that use them on PC?
In today's edition of the GameCola Podcast, Joseph Martin, Diana Gray, and Anna Bryniarski actually talk about videogames! Like, seriously, there's not really much of a theme outside of that. This podcast was hard to name; I'll tell you what. Have a sample of the games and gaming things we have to offer in the handy chart below:
- Anna gives us the details on Deponia: Doomsday.
- Diana has been playing Dandelion and Joe can't pronounce it correctly.
- A Zero Escape themed Real Life Escape the Room event in preparation for the new release.
- More details on developments in the Ace Attorney world.
- Joe likes Stardew Valley but not the save file rules.
- Anna talks about a couple games she's played like Night of the Rabbit and Whose Your Daddy?
- "Get Diana to E3 2016"
- Joe likes Pokken Tournament and explains its mechanics.
- What games is Steam recommending to us?
On this edition of The GameCola Podcast, we talk about a lot of stuff that had major developments after recording! Whoops. Still, this podcast featuring Diana Gray, Joseph Martin, and Stefano Whostiohastahistig has been whittled down to good discussion about:
- Deponia Doomsday is being released (It was)
- Are Pokemon Sun and Moon going to be the next games in the franchise? (Yes)
- Are they going to make Pokemon Z? (Probably no)
- Is the Ace Attorney anime going to be good? (Yes)
- Did the characters we wanted in Super Smash Bros. get released in the last DLC? (Not really)
- A future Mega Man TV Show (Still future)
- Do we trust the Might No. 9 TV show to be good? (Nope)
- What games have we been playing? (Some)
Welcome to another exciting edition of the GameCola Podcast! Today, some of the youngsters of the staff talk about the intersection of college and videogame in their lives. More specifically, you'll hear Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, and Joseph Martin talk about:
- How have we been able to incorporate videogames into our assignments?
- Terrible College Internet
- Do we play games online with our friends from home?
- How do people react when we tell them about the videogame stuff we do?
- Super Smash Bros. at college
- What games have we been playing?
- Future media plans with GameCola
Welcome, everyone, to the long-time-in-production official GameCola Musical Podcast! Today, Anna Brinyarski, Nathaniel Hoover, Diana Grey, Stefano Wohsdioghasdhisdg, Shannon Hoover, and Joseph Martin bring you the best their musical talents can offer (through a Skype filter). In addition to our musical performances, we conduct our way through such topics as:
- What are some of our favorite video game music pieces?
- What do we look for in a videogame soundtrack?
- What are some of our least favorite soundtracks?
- Are there songs that represent the entire game individually?
- Some suggestions of great videogame-inspired music.
- Fun rhythm games!
Greetings GameCola Faithful! Today on The GameCola Podcast, Alex Jedrazczak, Anna Bryniarski, Nathaniel Hoover, Diana Gray, Shannon Hoover, and Joseph Martin take a look at the recent (at the time of recording) Nintendo Direct.
Check out the description of that video for the same list we were looking at while coming up with topics, or look at the topic list compiled below for your ease:
- Diana gushes about Xenoblade Chronicles X
- The Mega Man Legacy Collection and certain amiibo
- What's up with the name Linkle?
- "So, Typoman seems interesting."
- Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam is something we want to like but expect to hate.
- There are some big problems with how Fire Emblem: Fates is being released.
- What games have we been playing?
- A fun surprise!
As the month of November draws to a close, things get less spooky than ever. Alex Jedrazczak, Nathaniel Hoover, Anna Bryniarski, Jeff Nemeth, Shannon Hoover, Joseph Martin, and newcomer Stefano Wohsdioghasdhisdg wrap up our e-mail adventures and then talk about our own videogame adventures. More details below, including:
- What is the oldest game that we've played in its original form?
- What games have caused us the most stress?
- Who is the most pointless main player character?
- "Videogames: The Reality" is REALly funny.
- We should probably link to "The END DAY: A Tale of Love" because we've been quoting it like this entire podcast.
- The ending of Super Mario Bros. 2 is not the cop-out everyone makes it out to be.
- What videogames have we been playing?
GameCola.net: Gaming Outside the Mainstream is known for asking the hard-hitting questions, and the GameCola Podcast is no exception. On this month's edition, we ask the question on everyone's mind: Do they have tacos in Britain? Join Alex Jedraszczak, Matt Jonas, and Joseph Martin as they answer this question and many others, including but not limited to:
- Why is videogame music a course in college?
- Why is Gandhi so bloodthirsty?
- How much time has Jeddy wasted on poorly tagged GameCola articles?
- McDonald's had Sonic the Hedgehog videogames in their Happy Meals?!
- Why does Japan love Donaldo-san?
- Why didn't I think of recording Mario Paint movies to VHS?!
- Why did developers always try to cram popular games from other systems onto the Game Boy?!
- Why did developers switch from A is Select, B is Cancel to A is Cancel, B is Select?!
- What's your favorite Cooking Mama game?
- What cool weather systems have you seen in games?
- What was your first console?
- What's the secret to the longevity of the original Game Boy?
- What do you do when you run out of classic games to play?
- What's the worst game that's part of a generally good series?
- How is Ragnarok Online still around after almost 15 years???
Look at all of those questions! And, a few of them even actually have answers.
April is a month of holidays, here at GameCola! Not only was it April Fools' Day on the first, and not only is it Easter Sunday today, but it's GameCola's birthday on the 22nd! What a time to be alive.
To celebrate all three of these holidays at once, Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, and Joseph Martin joined forces on March 26th to make this podcast! Together, they talk about such exciting holiday podcast topics as:
- What's everyone's favorite Easter games?
- ... Are there even Easter games?
- OK, what's everyone's favorite videogame Easter eggs?
- Oh, hey, it's also Anna's birthday this month! Happy birthday, Anna!
- Animal cruelty.
- Super Mario Galaxy is eight years old.
- Would GameStop accept a first-generation Game Boy if you tried to sell it to them?
- Jeddy's experiences at the 1999 Pokémon League Summer Training Tour
- Remember that time that Anna killed CHAOS with a shirt?
- Anna can't tell if she hears music or a printer.
- Long-awaited fanmail! I'M SORRY CARMEN.
- Should Let's Players be able to make a living on their videos?
- Are there any foods seen in games that you'd want to eat in real life?
- What are some good chiptune game OSTs?
- How long has the podcast even been around?!
- When is a game not video enough for GameCola? Would Digimon count? What about Atmosfear?!
Greetings, one and all! Today, we have a very special treat for all of our fans. We're sure you've heard of the GameCola RPGCast—our special blend of classic videogames with tabletop RPG rules and gameplay. This time, we're bringing you the Pringles Special Edition AdventureCast!
We're taking the classic 1993 Choose Your Own Adventure-style story, Nintendo Adventure Books Featuring the Super Mario Bros. in Double Trouble Pringles Special Edition, and giving it the RPGCast treatment—as well as the "Hacks'n'Slash" treatment! Not only do you get to join the GameCola crew on what is surely a well-written and completely canonical Super Mario Bros. adventure, but they'll be reprising their roles from previous Nintendo-based "Hacks'n'Slash" installments as well.
So, join guest narrator Paul Franzen as he guides Alex Jedraszczak, Nathaniel Hoover, Diana Gray, Michael Gray, Joseph Martin, and special-guest-star-turned-staff-member Shannon "Z-Saber" Hoover as they choose Mario's adventure! If you're ready, just click the play button below to get started.
Welcome, sports fans, to the number-one sports-related sportscast on the Sportsternet! As you all know, we here at GameCola love games. Sports games, that is! We are definitely known for our love of sports and sport-related things that are related to sports. That's why, for this month's podcast, we've gathered together Alex "Sportsrazczak" Jedraszczak, Anna "Sports" Bryniarski, Robyn "The Sport" Tyrfing, and returning guest Paul "Just Sports It" Franzen to talk about such topics as:
- GameCola League Blood Bowl!
- Seriously, we don't actually know anything about sports.
- The Words With Friends Tournament is about as close as we've gotten.
- America's SECRET first President!!!
- We're still waiting for the PC version of Life in the Dorms!
- Jeddy doesn't like Dragon Quest V?!
- The Internet has ruined the age confirmation questions from Leisure Suit Larry.
- Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego?
- What ever even happened to the Ouya?!
- Paul doesn't know about Monster Rancher, so Robyn raps for him.
- Should we have a GameCola Monster Rancher league?! Or maybe Digimon World...
- Florida weather vs. Ohio weather (pretend it's sports)
- Jeddy's wild business ventures
If you're ready for the sports jam, then put on your headphones and give a listen to this month's vaguely sports-related podcast! Oh, yeah! He's on fire!!!
It's that time of year, again! The holiday season, where we gather around and talk about the games that terrified us as children.
What's that? Halloween is over? Oh, uh...then, we'll talk about the games we're thankful for!
What? You mean that nobody thought of that topic? Did we at least talk about turkey or football or something? Fine, what topics did Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, Jeff Nemeth, Michael Gray, and Matt Jonas talk about?!
- Character tropes in dating sims
- How moe tropes affect game design
- Is this the horror part of the podcast?
- The GameCola staff plan out a horror-themed dating sim
- Was there a ReBoot game?
- The late '90s were really weird for videogames
- Jeddy and Matt just start quoting bad Capcom voice acting
- Fanmail!
- (NoTe ThIs Is NoT sPaM)
- Are people still upset about Oculus Rift?
- There was a Halloween-themed GameCola logo!
- DisneyQuest isn't as cool as it sounds.
- FANMAIL.
- Donkey Kong Country is old enough to vote.
- That Sega girl anime that just came out.
- FAN. MAIL.
- Who is Shulk and why is he feeling it?
- What ever happened to Super Mario Land 2?
- Did people actually care about Balloon Fight or Ice Climbers before Smash Bros.?
- ... FANMAIL.
- Pizzarian's NEW Pumpkin Spice color scheme!
- Why Jeddy has cat ears
- Fan...mail...?
- What childhood games completely frightened you?
- They apparently don't have infomercials in Britain
In this podcast, Jeddy forms a band! OK, maybe that's not actually true, but "Jeddy & the College Kids" would be a great band name. Join Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, Joseph Martin, and Diana Gray as they talk about topics, laugh more than they should, and talk about such amazing topics as:
- Podcasting-related injuries sustained by the participants
- The results of the GameCola The END DAY race
- A reference to Army of Darkness
- Why does wind knock down rock walls but not ice walls?!
- That reminds me of a puzzle!
- If you have a lamp in one room and three switches in another room, how do you tell which switch turned on the lamp if you can't go back to the room with the switches?
- Hint Coin: The lamp has an incandescent bulb.
- When would this puzzle ever be useful in the real world?!
- Life in the Dorms happens in the background of the podcast.
- Jeddy checks the comments on his Steam Greenlight submission.
- Fanmail about The Great Ace Attorney
- Jeddy searches for images of Iris Watson on Google Image Search
- Weren't people supposed to switch from Twitch.tv to Hitbox?
- Is the podcast over or not...?!
Join staff members Diana Gray, Michael Gray, and Joseph Martin in this podcast!
- People always lie to Nancy.
- Bad people have bad accents.
- Apparently, people like to eat a lot of ice cream after they get shot.
- Diana has a hard time playing as Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy when they're in the same room together.
- Our heroes take a break from the action to contemplate the captain's love life.
- Did someone accidentally mention nuclear weapons?
- Nancy stops one terrorist by throwing another terrorist at him.
- Tranquilizer darts aren't as good as they used to be.
- Please note that the villains and the heroes had equally stupid plans to recover the nukes.
- Joe puts six points into swim, but he still ends up drowning.
- Nancy wrecks two relationships at the end of the game, just because.
Did I mention the fate of the world is at stake? That happens a lot when the Hardy Boys are involved.
It's been a whole month, but the wait is finally over! The next podcast is already here! Alex Jedraszczak, Anna Bryniarski, Jeff Nemeth, Joseph Martin, Michael Gray, and Nathaniel Hoover joined together at beautiful GameCola HQ to talk about videogames and so much more. Actually, we do mostly talk about videogames. What do we talk about, exactly? I'm glad you asked!
- Michael Gray's Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys RPGCast
- At what point does a game just become a ripoff of another game?
- Is the GameCube a "classic" console, now that the next generation consoles are here?
- Jeddy's game in which you deliver pizzas in space is, in fact, a real game
- Go sign up for Bing Rewards! You can spend it on Meteo's book, or Life in the Dorms
- Is hitch-hiking illegal?
- How far ahead of time do writers plan out a game series?
- WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE DARK TIMES.
- Angry Birds Stella: Because girls don't play Angry Birds.
- Fan mail!
- Those touch-screen soda machines they have at Burger King
- I mean, FAN MAIL
- What kind of character do you make in games with customization?
- Super Mario Sunshine really wasn't that great.
This podcast features Diana Gray and Michael Gray, and they're here to talk about all the Phoenix Wright news! They're also here to respond to everyone's comments from the last Phoenix Wright podcast.
We discuss the following topics and more!
- Neither of us know what the Japanese Meiji era is.
- Phoenix Wright is basically a superhero.
- Timeline theories. Oh, the timeline theories in Phoenix Wright. They should just introduce time travel into the series and be done with it.
- Goku would definitely win in a battle against Sonic.
- Is there a game called Phonics with Sonic? If there's not, there should be.
- Diana says she hasn't finished the DLC, which prompts Michael to talk about it nonstop.
- All of our listeners enjoyed Case #3 of Dual Destinies, even though we insulted it.
- Apollo's character development depends on a dead person.
- We've got a new shipping couple! Maya/Athena. Make it happen, fanfic authors!
Like an annoying telemarketer, "Hacks'n'Slash" is back! Paul Franzen recommended today's bad fanfic: a crossover between My Little Pony and Chrono Trigger.
We're guessing Paul didn't read the fanfic in question, because it's actually not bad. You can decide for yourself, as you listen to the story being read out loud by Anna Bryniarski, Diana Gray, Jeff Nemeth, Joseph Martin, and Michael Gray!
Sometimes, we record for an hour and don't really say much. Sometimes, we record for four hours and don't really say much. For this month's podcast, we recorded for nearly four hours, and nearly the entire recording was on-topic and entertaining.
So, this month! Join Alex Jedraszczak, Matt Jonas, Anna Bryniarski, Joseph Martin, and Jeff Nemeth as they talk about everything from the Neo-Geo to The Sims. Enjoy such exciting topics as...
- What games we're playing RIGHT NOW
- Fanmail!
- Tomodachi Life sounds like the best game ever
- Key mapping in emulators
- What even was the TurboGrafx-16?
- They finally found the legendary burial site of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for Atari!
- Does the Konami Code include pressing the Start button?
- The most amazing EarthBound concert you probably didn't know existed
- Game naming conventions
- Nintendo and the Curse of the Golden R.O.B.
- How many games is too many games?
- Hold W: The Game
- The great use of adjectives in Scribblenauts for iOS
- People who feel like indie games need to cater directly to them personally
- The tale of Cheetahmen II
- How long can a YouTube personality last before getting worn out?
- And, so much more!
- No, seriously, we really did cut this podcast in half.
- The second half will be released in a couple weeks.
Here at GameCola.net, Gaming Outside the Mainstream, our tagline often prevents any two of our staff members from having played the same game. In fact, our staff members rarely even share the same interests in gaming (excluding Ace Attorney).
In this month's podcast, however, we manage to talk at length about games we've played and experiences we've had with different genres! This month, join Alex Jedraszczak, Kate Jay, Nathaniel Hoover, Anna Bryniarski, Matt Jonas, and Jeff Nemeth as they talk about the days when they used to actually play videogames. Topics include such exciting bulleted point as:
- Twitch Plays Pokémon
- PAX East and ACTION CASTLE [torch hands]
- Games with unnecessary sequels
-
- Super Bomberman
-
- Mega Man?
-
- Call of Duty
-
- Dynasty Warriors?!
-
- Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
-
- Hyper Dimension Neptunia
-
- Metal Gear Solid
-
- Resident Evil
- GameCola.com: Feel the Taste of Free Games!
- Does GameCola lose money because of ad blockers? (Short answer: Yes)
- What does the staff think of tower defense games?
- Has anyone played any MMOs?
- Just how does the GameCola hierarchy work?
- What was the first videogame the staff members played?
- There are not one, but TWO Zelda rap commercials
As Nathaniel "the GM" Hoover lets Michael “PANC the Fighter” Ridgaway get away with riding off toward Coneria atop the fearsome WarMECH, Michael “ALPH the Red Mage” Gray, Joseph “JOEV the White Mage” Martin, and Anna “LITA the Black Mage” Bryniarski join with the what's left of the LIGHT WARRIORS to take on CHAOS, who is a totally appropriate final boss fight for Level 5 characters.
Brace yourself for the final installment of this misguided quest for pancakes, in which you can expect to hear:
- Unnecessarily environmentally friendly camping gear
- The GM's miscalculation almost allows WarMECH to deal 63,000 damage. Stay in school, kids—it saves lives. Well, if it were anything other than WarMECH, it'd save lives.
- LITA kills someone with a shirt
- PANC TURNS DOWN PANCAKES
- Double regicide
The adventure concludes here!
Continuing to cut a path of lucrative destruction through the Temple of Fiends, Michael “PANC the Fighter” Ridgaway, Michael “ALPH the Red Mage” Gray, Joseph “JOEV the White Mage” Martin, and Anna “LITA the Black Mage” Bryniarski finally run out of treasure rooms to explore, leaving them no recourse but to resume looking for the princess they vaguely remember being asked to rescue. Additionally, Nathaniel "the GM" Hoover is pleased to be able to initiate one of the contingency plans he was kinda hoping he'd get to use.
Here's what's in store (or in temple, technically) for you in this installment:
- A hat! It's not for you, though.
- The sobering truth that not every monster will care as much about guarding your treasure as you do
- Tactical cowardice
- The sobering truth that not everyone in the party has played Final Fantasy all the way to the end
- Exposition! Turns out this game had a plot all along.
- Resting up for the final boss battle, during the final boss battle
The adventure continues here!
Returning from a podcast that didn't get recorded and another shopping trip in town, our heroes resume their investigation of the Temple of Probably No Princess But We're Here Anyhow. Michael "PANC the Fighter" Ridgaway, Michael "ALPH the Red Mage" Gray, Joseph "JOEV the White Mage" Martin, and Anna "LITA the Black Mage" Bryniarski find more baddies to slice and dice (it's funny, because they're rolling dice) as Nathaniel "the GM" Hoover barely holds things together.
Here's what you can expect from this installment, which is pretty much the same as the one you missed, but with different monsters:
- The GM and the players have a disagreement about what exactly constitutes a pony
- The PANC song
- The players judge on the basis of color, in a completely non-racist way
- The reality of targeting enemies in a game where terrain and distances are irrelevant
- Imps suffering existential crises
The adventure continues here!
Here's what you can expect to hear in this part of the adventure:
- Nothing
That's right! We had a critical error with the podcast audio and accidentally recorded two glorious hours of silence. Fortunately, nothing important happened. Still, that's a sizable chunk of your life that you were planning to dedicate to us...it'd be a shame to let that go to waste so you can go do homework or something. That's why we've prepared a special treat for you.
To read what happened in this chapter, please visit our actual Internet website: http://gamecola.net/
In place of this chapter's audio, what you DO get to listen to is leftover audio from a session that was never intended to go public! Only the best for our listeners.
Actually, the session in question is a completely improvised one-shot campaign to give Joseph "JOEV the White Mage" Martin a little bit of practice with live roleplaying before jumping into the official adventure. Unlike the rest of the RPGcast, the audio from this session has only undergone minimal editing, cinching up overly long pauses and leaving in all of the behind-the-scenes technical discussions that aren't really meant for an audience. I think I might even burp once.
That adventure begins and concludes here!
It's "Hacks 'n' Slash", the podcast where we read bad fanfiction! Today, GameCola writers Diana Gray, Michael Gray, Joseph Martin, and Jeff Nemeth read a selection of stories from ChrstnWrtr (AKA Shannon), who mostly writes Legend of Zelda crossovers. This author may be the only person in the world who has written three separate crossover stories between Zelda and William Shakespeare.
Having arrived in Coneria, accepted their quest to rescue the kidnapped princess, gotten themselves decked out with equipment, dilly-dallied around town, and survived their first combat encounter, our four heroes press on toward the Temple of Friends Fiends. Listen to the horrifying creativity of Michael “PANC the Fighter” Ridgaway, the hazardously nonspecific battle commands of Michael “ALPH the Red Mage” Gray, the gentle breeziness of Joseph “JOEV the White Mage” Martin, and the frequent minor pokings of Anna “LITA the Black Mage” Bryniarski as Nathaniel "the GM" Hoover puts one monster after another between them and the pancakes they were promised.
Here's what to expect from this battle-tastic second installment:
- The Black Mage isn't exactly sure how to spell or pronounce her own name
- We earn our NSFW ratings
- The GM doesn't know what a brain is
- Basically everybody participates in a brief, impromptu, and completely unorganized a cappella jam session
- There is clearly something wrong with the people of Coneria
- A skeleton clown
- The party seems surprisingly calm when discovering something that IS CLEARLY DESIGNED TO KILL EVERYONE WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING AWAY
The adventure continues here!
Following in the podsteps of the Maid RPGcast and Crystalis D&Dcast before it, I humbly present to you the Final Fantasy RPGcast, GameCola's third foray into the realm of podcasted videogame-themed tabletop role-playing games. The story and game mechanics of the original NES Final Fantasy were adapted by Nathaniel "Guy Who's Writing This Post" Hoover to create an adventure so authentic that you'll swear we really are playing the original NES Final Fantasy, up until the part where the players open their mouths and turn it into a quest for pancakes.
Starring in this edition are Michael "PANC the Fighter" Ridgaway, Michael "ALPH the Red Mage" Gray, Joseph "JOEV the White Mage" Martin, and Anna "LITA the Black Mage" Bryniarski. Here's a small sampling of what to expect in this first installment of their hungry, hungry heroics:
- Bruce
- The realization that the towns and castles of Final Fantasy are pretty terrible when you think about them too hard
- Shopping! I swear this is more interesting than it sounds.
- The players ignore the main quest to fabricate a subplot about treasury thieves, which the GM just kinda goes along with
- A quick lesson in Conerian economics, where indiscriminate murder is the lifeblood of the economy
- Discussions of defacing corpses for charity
- We are horrible people
The adventure begins here!
It's the GameCola Podcast! On this month's exciting episode, the topic up for discussion is game consoles! But, not the other game consoles that everyone is talking about lately. We're talking about the kinds of consoles that GameCola staff members actually have! So, join Alex Jedraszczak, Nathaniel Hoover, Kate Jay, Joseph Martin, and Anna Bryniarski as they talk about consoles, peripherals, and all the other stuff that I'm putting in this cool bullet list!
- Why the 2DS was actually a great idea
- How many batteries does a modern handheld even take?
- Comparing different Game Boy models
- Game Peripherals: The Good, the Bad, and the Pointless
- Abusing poor game design decisions
- Did the Nintendo 64 have more than five good games?
- What gives a game good replayability?
Videogames. Who knew we could make 68 different podcasts about them? We truly are living in the future. However, it's not the future until you listen to the podcast! So, translate the pattern of colors emitted by your magical crystal box and use your mystical guidance device to click the play button on the thingy below!
That's right, GameCola Faithful! The GameCola Podcast is BACK, and this time we're actually talking about videogames! No talking about sliced bread or the evils of Disney in this podcast! Join Alex Jedraszczak, Michael Gray, and podcast newcomer Kate Jay as they talk about such exciting topics as:
- Things the listeners can't possible see
- It's pronounced "Chrono"
- How many games people bought because they were mislead by cool box art
- Localizations and accents in games
- Does Professor Layton have a British accent in Japanese?
- New Jersey... That's a city, right?
- Videogames that take place in New York City
- Fallout was clearly inspired by hit 1999 film Blast from the Past starring Brendan Fraser
- That riddle where the answer is "E"
- Games where you can skip all the story
- Games where you can skip all the gameplay
- The era of DLC, microtransactions, and premium content
- Who even is Tim Schafer?
With all the recent news coming out, it seems that videogame companies hate the people who keep them in business. Alex Jedraszczak, Nathaniel Hoover, Anna Bryniarski, Matt Jonas, Stuart Gipp, and Michael Gray all get together to talk about the various ways that videogame companies are opposing, stealing from, or otherwise just ignoring their customers. To highlight some of the topics, have a friendly bullet list:
- I'm Matt Jonas
- YouTube playing the part of Robin Hood, stealing from people who swear a lot and giving to Nintendo
- The Xbone
- Conspiracy theories about why Microsoft is focusing on TV
- What does a Nintendo DS even look like?
- Jokes about the name "Xbox One"
- Sega is looking for a new mascot
- Has XBLIG been Xboned?
- A bee I am... NOT!
- Matt Jonas tells a Christmas joke
It's our Podcast Diamond Jubilee over here at GameCola, and to celebrate, we're going to talk about videogames! No, no, that's not an April Fools' joke. For our 60th podcast, we return to a classic topic: What videogames are we currently playing–and we actually talk quite a bit about videogames this time around! Join Alex Jedraszczak, Michael Gray, Joseph Martin, and Diana Gray as they talk about such videogames as:
- Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
- Terraria
- Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
- Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon
- Ragnarok Online 2 (the new one, not that other one)
- Mario's Time Machine
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest
- Secret of Evermore
- Space Ace Hard Rain
- That Pinball Game That Comes Preinstalled on Windows XP
We also managed to talk about a number of videogame-related topics! I'll let those be a surprise for those who actually want to listen to the podcast instead of just reading bullet lists about the podcast topics.
We have an extra-special treat for you folks, this month! You've heard of the Michael and Paul's Excellent Adventure, you've heard of the Mike & Jeddy Show, but now! Now, you can wonder in amazement at the one, the only...Jeddy Show starring Jeddy!
This is what happens when no one else shows up for the podcast. Jeddy is forced to take on the entire podcast by himself! Listen in as they cover such hilarious topics as:
- Probably videogames
So, what are you waiting for? Listen in now!
The GameCola Players return with the newly dubbed "Hacks'n'Slash" podcast (formerly known as "Read it and Weep," which is a title apparently already owned by some other high-quality podcast). In this episode, we have: Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction.
Oh yes. Be afraid.
Performing in this episode are yours truly, Alex Jedraszczak, Diana Gray, Christian Porter, Joseph Martin, Matt Jonas, Anna Bryniarski, and Michael Gray. Join us!, as we try to figure out who's an OC and who's actually from the game—a task easier said than done—in the land of cyborg armies, sand-castle defenses, SpongeBob rip-offs and stress-sweeping. You can follow along in your book if you'd like! (In fact, you probably should, because the audio quality's a bit spotty at times; we're still working on that.)
If you have any awkward videogame fanfics you'd like us to read in an upcoming episode of "Hacks'n'Slash," post about it in the comments. Until next time...listen and weep! (They can't take that away from us, can they?)
Returning this season at its previously scheduled time, the Mike & Jeddy Show is back! Join Alex Jedraszczak and Michael Gray as they talk about stuff vaguely related to videogames! Cut down to an hour and twenty minutes from almost four hours of recorded podcast, listen as the two of them casually discuss such exciting topics as:
- The PlayStation 4 is coming out!
- Neither Jeddy nor Michael even has a PlayStation 3
- Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears, and other games we used to enjoy but were actually bad
- Final Fantasy X HD is announced, but still not Final Fantasy VII HD
- Jeddy hasn't owned a Nintendo console since the Super Nintendo
- Monster Rancher
- Let's Plays of Let's Plays
- Flying unicorns are totally a thing
- Meteors hitting schools in The Sims 3
- Modern gaming technology has finally been able to replicate Space Ace and Dragon's Lair
- Are "Bonus Editions" worth the money? How much gaming is a dollar worth?
- Almost three hours of off-topic that was cut out of the podcast
No, seriously, most of the podcast was Michael and Jeddy talking about Disney, The Simpsons, and Dragon Ball Z. The excised content has been saved for posterity, but don't expect to hear it until I get through the other three or four hours of off-topic content already in the queue. Should Michael and Jeddy be allowed to podcast by themselves anymore? You be the judge!
Few things in life give me greater joy than things that are terrible. This is why you should never ever trust me when I say you should buy games like Enchanted Arms or Runaway 2; I think they're wonderful, but that's only because I'm rating them on a scale of "boring" to "hilariously bad," where the only way to get a perfect 10 is to hire all your writers from Mars, and then just keep bopping them on the head until words come out.
Luckily, I'm not the only one whose idea of a fun story is one that devotes entire paragraphs to what the main character's eating for breakfast. In this brand-new GameCola podcast, I was joined by fellow ironic hipsters Michael Gray, Diana Gray, Alex Jedraszczak, and Christian Porter in a fine table reading of "Luigi and Daisy's Journey of Love and Sadness"—a fanfiction about two people who are so MADLY in love with one another that they occasionally forget each other's names. Please listen and review!
You've probably been noticing some changes, here at The GameCola Podcast. We're casting pods longer, and staying on topic more than ever before! In this podcast, we're taking out all the stops and talking about videogames for the entire show. Who would have imagined that such a thing could be done! Join Alex Jedraszczak, Paul Franzen, and Michael Gray as they talk about such videogame topics as:
- Curiosity: what's inside the cube?
- Avatar Curiosity Miner
- Stupid money-making tactics employed by freemium games
- Are ROMs actually legal if you own a physical copy of the game?
- How long should developers wait before remaking a game?
- A tender and poignant tale of Jeddy's youth
- An in-depth discussion of Final Fantasy for the NES
- The Ominous Voice's new column
- Habitues
- How we prepare for the podcast
Just imagine—you could be listening to all of these topics about videogames right now, if only you were listening to the podcast!
To celebrate another anniversary of The END DAY—the apocalypse of October 1, 1997, which I'm sure we all remember—GameCola staff members Alex "Zebu" Jedraszczak, Christian "Tornel" Porter, Vangie "Asina" Ridgaway, and Mike "Kensu" Ridgaway have taken on the personas of the four wise men (or "wise persons") of Crystalis for this, the first and longest installment of a D&D campaign that we swear was only supposed to run for one or two sessions.
In this part, you'll hear...
- A superb editing job by Alex "Zebu" "Jeddy," who makes me sound like I know many more words than "like" and "um."
- Six minutes of uninterrupted exposition that will cause you to fall irrevocably in love with my voice. Or writhe in pain.
- Deliberations over such crucial decisions as whether or not to order dessert.
- SHOPPING! Which always takes forever.
- An amazing impression of a drunk person that goes completely unappreciated by the group, probably because it starts sounding like that guy from Kung Pow around the 35-minute mark.
- Putting out a fire...with a sword.
- A battle with a dragonsnake and a turtlepod, whatever the heck those are.
- The first signs that Kensu is going to have way too much fun with that polymorph spell.
...and much, much more! But you've probably already skipped ahead and are listening to the podcast right now.
This episode stars Paul "Paul" Franzen and Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak as they embark on a journey through the GameCola Podcast Topic Pile before making their way through the mountain of fanmail the p'cast receives on a constant basis. Topics covered in this podcast include but are not limited to:
- Gaming pet peeves
- Jeddy and Paul have no friends
- Jeddy might actually buy a current-gen game!
- Paul made a game where the main character turns into a coffee cup
- Oh, wait, that's right, the site has been updated!
- OR HAS IT?
- Just kidding!
- OR ARE WE.
- How to pronounce Jeddy's last name (It's pronounced "Jedraszczak")
- Who has the nicest beard on GameCola
- How did Avatar Planking make so much money?
- Jeddy is a total hipster
We recently decided to experiment with a possible new podcast to add to our repertoire. The GameCola DebateCast—where GameCola staff members present balanced arguments and engage in a riveting point/counterpoint and leave the audience informed of both sides of this debate.
Join your moderator, Christian Porter, and debaters Matt Jonas and Mark Freedman as they fervently debate on the side of consoles while Stu Gipp presents solid facts on the side of PC gaming.
It's the hour you've all been waiting for on the GameCola 10th Anniversary Ten-Hour Podtacular at 10 AM Live Podcast Internet Show! In this hour, you are the star! It's you! At least, if you were there at that time and were logged into Skype and were invited into the call. But, if you were, then you must have been Diana, Julianne, Anna, Sarah, Rizziman, Saxdude, or Joe Reviewer! Or, maybe Christian Porter or Alex Jedraszczak, but that last one is me, so I don't think that's you. Or, wait. Wouldn't that make it me since I'm reading this right now? I'm confused, so let's just distract ourselves with this bullet list:
- Trying to get all of the stragglers into the chat
- Technical difficulties!
- Phoenix Wright shipping
- Finally figuring out what a "Tails sweater" is
- The new Ace Attorney movie will star Matt Damon as Phoenix Wright
- Power pellet rationing strategies in Pac-Man
- Everyone's favorite videogames
- Everyone's first videogames
- Why people blow into cartridges before putting them in the console
If you were there, then this one's for you! You can show all your friends that you were actually famous on the Internet for a while. If you weren't there, then maybe you should have been! There's always the 20th anniversary podtacular, I guess.
On this podcast, Alex Jedraszczak, Paul Franzen, Michael Gray, Christian Porter, and Matt Jonas get together to talk about some stuff that I've laid out with bullet points for you:
- An awesome saxophone cover of our opening theme song by constant commenter SaxdudeMaloyS26
- Matt Jonas writes basically all the content on GameCola
- There were some awards and stuff, people played videogames, &c
- Matt Jonas has never seen Back to the Future.
- The GameCola staff members get distracted when someone mentions Phoenix Wright
- The new Phoenix Wright game features Voldemort
- Miles Edgeworth rides a dolphin into the sunset
- Matt Jonas doesn't understand how our Game of the Year won
- (He probably also doesn't understand how our Staff Member of the Year won)
- John Madden is clearly a license
- The GameCola staff expounds their vast knowledge of sports videogames
- Paul Franzen was very disappointed in Kinect Disneyland Adventures
With all of these crazy podcasts we've been having lately, with their live feeds and their guest stars and their sing-offs, we've built up quite a backlog of Sara-submitted content. It's time we caught up on all that! With that in mind, I present to you...
GameCola Podcast #46! Starring almost all of the people who have previously edited the GameCola Podcast—Alex Jedraszczak, Nathaniel Hoover, and Michael Gray. With this all-star cast, we cover such exciting bulleted topics as:
- Reviews from our iTunes page
- Comments from Podcast #41
- Comments from the Turnabout Musical Podcast
- Comments from Podcast #44
- Listener-submitted e-mails
Other topics mentioned in the podcast include the fictional stylings of Diana Lily and Isabella, the GameCola Bottom 50, Paul cosplaying Bebop, Nathaniel's Backloggery, emoticons, and what exactly is a tanuki.
In case you missed our LIVE COVERAGE of the Spike TV Video Game Awards, we're presenting to you GameCola Podcast Forty-LIVE! While we already released our uncut audio commentary, the full podcast version is complete with the audio from Spike TV's Spike TV Video Game Awards as broadcast on Spike TV and streamed for free on Spike TV's Spike TV Video Game Awards website! PLEASE DON'T SUE US.
That's right, we've overlaid our audio commentary criticizing the event over the actual audio of the event that we in no way own or imply that we have any rights to, as those rights are strictly the property of the company that produced it and any of its parent or subsidiary companies.
Here comes a bullet list full of things you missed out on!
- The live chatroom! Sadly, the chatroom text has been lost to the ages.
- Advertisements
- Commercials
- Zachary Levi being mistaken for Geoff Keighley
- DJ Creepy Mouse
- The 2012 Chevy Sonic
- The 2012 CES in Las Vegas
- People getting teabagged
- Felicia Day cheating at various games
- All of the awards being given out in the span of about a minute
- PLEASE DON'T SUE US
That's right, folks, this is GameCola Podcast number FORTY FOUR. Alex Jedraszczak, Paul Franzen, and Christian Porter got together very recently to record this one. While we were sad to find that Sara-mail was down compared to the podcast that came three podcasts before it, we made up for that by inviting a Sara to guest star! That's right, we called one of our Saras to come on the show.
Despite the lack of Sara-mail, podcast FORTY FOUR had plenty of topics to discuss! So many topics, that we had to call someone else because we couldn't fill up a full podcast on our own. Just take a look at this beautiful bullet list:
- This is podcast number FORTY FOUR.
- Christian Porter finally released a new Speak American!
- Paul has substantial proof of the pronunciation of Mario.
- Paul cosplayed a girl!!!
- He also cosplayed as the star of his own videogame, Life in the Dorms.
- Long-time Sara Rizziman33 is our first call-in guest!
- The podcasters get into some great roleplay of the title characters from Zelda, Tetris, Halo, and Metroid.
- This is definitely podcast number FORTY FOUR.
So, go listen to podcast FORTY FOUR already!
With the vaguely recent news about a Phoenix Wright/Professor Layton crossover, we here at GameCola had a podcast about crossover games! Crossover games covered in this podcast include:
- Battletoads & Double Dragon
- Tinkle Pit
Listen as Alex Jedraszczak, Michael Gray, Michael Ridgaway, and Paul Franzen discuss such topics as which Phoenix Wright characters should date which Professor Layton characters, Disney sing-alongs, and why Paul hates the original cast of Back to the Future. We also talk about crossover games we wish existed, and the recent marriage of Michael Ridgaway and Vangie Rich Ridgaway!
It's Jeddy's first podcast as host, and as such, the topic of the day is RPGs! Christian Porter, Michael Gray, Paul Franzen and Jeddy all discuss their likes and mostly their dislikes of RPGs, however you define the genre. Join ALEX, CRIS, PAUL, and MIKE as the party journeys through such topics as:
- Everyone's first RPGs
- How Paul pronounces "Mario"
- RPGs aren't what they used to be
- Neither are most other games
- Leveling is fun; grinding is not!
- GameCola has a Facebook page?!
- SPOILER: The butler kills Santa Claus
- Everyone misses Sprite Monkey!
- Are cross-genre games a good idea?
- Everyone e-mail Paul Franzen about World of Warcraft
- Wikipedia defines RPGs as "Loosely defined"
- There aren't enough beards in videogames
- Magic Pengel is a great game
- Christian Porter is a terrible person
WARNING: This podcast does not include discussions about Phoenix Wright relationships. Sorry, everyone! The two remaining people who are still going to listen to this podcast, please enjoy! Thanks for always being there, Mom and Dad!
In this installment of The GameCola Podcast:
- Paul defends his love of Indiana Jones 4, much to Mike's chagrin.
- Paul defends his opinions of EarthBound, also to Mike's chagrin.
- Paul describes his attempts to play Icewind Dale, once again to Mike's chagrin.
Also, everyone talks about the games they hope to include in the upcoming "Top 50 Games of All Time" feature that Christian Porter is coordinating, the games they're playing right now, and much, much more.
These clips were cut out because they didn't fit the theme of their respective podcasts; they were "off-topic", as it were. In one recent podcast, the topic of discussion was Phoenix Wright...and somehow, our staff got side-tracked into arguing about whether Disney Land was cooler than Disney World. That segment is in Off-Topic #2, along with many, many others that are totally worth listening to, we swear.
0:00 - 1:52: Introduction
1:52 - 7:22: Bonus Clips from Podcast #20: Something New, featuring Paul Franzen, Michael Gray, Nathaniel Hoover, Justin Luschinski, Vangie Rich, and Michael Ridgaway
- Podcasting from the ice planet Hoth
- Weather similes from the Star Wars universe
- PAX East, and the love lives of the GameCola staff
- How every edition of The GameCola Podcast is all about making fun of Paul
7:22 - 13:51: Bonus Clips from Podcast #21: The YouTube Podcast, featuring Paul Franzen, Michael Gray, and Nathaniel Hoover
- The podcasters' thoughts on alcohol (Spoiler alert: Yucky.)
- Made-up Phoenix Wright spoilers, and the game that's banned from GameCola
- Will our YouTube page survive the apocalypse?
- The fall of PWNorDIE
- Nathaniel's voice acting career
13:51 - END: Bonus Clips from Podcast #22: Grab Bag, featuring Paul Franzen and Michael Gray
- Pending changes to the Disney World ride Star Tours
- Disney World vs. Disney Land
- How fangirls of any story always want the two lead male characters to get together
- Phoenix Wright fanfiction
- Boy Meets World/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover fanfiction
- Why Paul owns a DS
- Phoenix Wright's staffing woes
- Phoenix Wright's motivation
The latest GameCola Podcast—featuring hugs, tears, depression, and love—has just been released. It’s made of up two discrete segments: One in which Michael Ridgaway and Vangie Rich talk about the emotional impact of many different videogames and of videogames in general, and one in which Paul Franzen and Michael Gray go in-depth on Case 4 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
When Michael and Paul got together to record Podcast #18: Michael and Paul's Excellent Adventure, they found themselves getting off-topic a lot. So much, in fact, that when they cut all the off-topic stuff out of the podcast, there was enough leftover to make a whole new podcast. So they did, and you're listening to it right now.
The GameCola higher-ups decided to call this podcast Off-Topic #1, instead of The GameCola Podcast #19, for two reasons:
1) To allow for more future podcasts that are just cobbled together from leftover podcast clips, and 2) Because the rest of the staff would be mad if GameCola allowed Michael and Paul to have two entire podcasts to themselves again.
Here's what you get to listen to in this podcast:
- Intro (0:00 - 1:54)
- GameCola columns and writers (1:54 - 6:17)
- Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials (6:17 - 15:17)
- Audio books, and the people who read them (15:17 - 17:40)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Turtles Forever crossover special (17:40 - 21:17)
- Anime, because Michael and Paul know a lot about it (21:17 - 23:38)
- Mega Man's family and follies (23:38 - 27:27)
- Paul's notes for Podcast #18 (27:27 - 28:44)
- "The Gates of Life" in the new GameCola (28:44 - 30:23)
- GameCola on YouTube and Facebook (30:23 - 34:27)
- GameCola on Wikipedia and TVTropes (34:27 - 36:10)
- Outro (36:10 - 36:36)
It's Podcast 18, where Paul Franzen and Michael Gray talk about Deja Vu for the NES/GBC/PC/MAC, and Case 1-3 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the DS. Michael and Paul were supposed to limit their conversations on these games to 10-minute segments, but they ended up talking so much that it filled up a whole podcast. Whoops!
Hello, everyone. Paul here, hosting and editing the latest edition of "The GameCola Podcast," because...because...actually, I'm not sure how I got saddled with this. I think somebody must've died.
Anyway, we've got a great show lined up for you! GC newbie Matt Jonas, Nathaniel Hoover, Michael Gray, Elizabeth Medina-Gray, and myself all came together to talk about the recent PS3 price cut, licensed videogames, and the games we're all playing right now. There are cookies, and there's also a big twist: We all recorded our own podcast segments individually, instead of recording the podcast together on Skype. We did this because we wanted to allow people who aren't normally able to join the podcast to participate—some people are in different time zones, some people don't have hours of free time to talk about Mega Man, but everyone should have 20 minutes to spare at some point in their day, right?
Well, at least we got Matt Jonas to participate. Enjoy the podcast!
Hey all, Mike Ridgaway here. So we had a great podcast lined up for you, but I botched the recording. In the meantime, here's me playing the through the first levels of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. We'll be back soon with an actual podcast, so stay tuned!
In this edition of "The GameCola Podcast," Michael Gray, Michael Ridgaway, Zach Rich, and Nathaniel Hoover discuss:
- The new GameCola
- Save Points : good or bad?
- People are more excited for re-releases than completely new games.
- Some series (i.e. Sonic) get away with making millions off of bad games, just because of the license.
- Batman Begins is a franchise reboot, not a remake. I (Michael Gray) don't really understand the difference.
- Live multiplayer is better than online multiplayer.
- Michael Ridgaway played the Ghostbusters game, tried to play Tales of the Abyss and is playing Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
- Zach wants to see a game with Bowser as the main character.
- Voice acting in the Mario games.
- Nathaniel Hoover is playing Tales of Symphonia, Dragon Warrior III and Final Fantasy VIII.
- Michael Gray is playing Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships, Duck Tales 2 (both the NES and GameBoy versions) and Kwirk.
- Zach Rich is playing Pokémon Red, Sam & Max: Season One, Magic: The Gathering, Peggle, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, and Mass Effect 2.
- Everyone discusses the upcoming Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal.
This edition of "The GameCola Podcast" features Michael Gray, Michael Ridgaway, Colin Greenhalgh, Nathaniel Hoover, Paul Franzen, and Captain Eric Regan, and it's our E3 2009 wrap-up. With so many people on the podcast, we couldn't help but bump up against each other a bit, so it's no surprise that, by the end of the podcast, everyone has gone into the corner to cry. We discuss the following things, and more:
- Motion controls
- The cool-looking new Metroid game
- Game titles (mainly what they should call New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
- How the world needs more vegetable-tossing side-scrollers
- BioShock 2
- How the Beatles promoted The Beatles: Rock Band
- The Last Guardian, AKA Project Trico, AKA Ico 3
- Turok 64
- "Evil Chocolate" is a great band name
- Achievement Points
- Facebook/Twitter bashing and Facebook/Twitter defending
- The new Monkey Island games
- Lego Harry Potter
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Achievement Points again
This edition of "The GameCola Podcast" features Michael Gray, Paul Franzen, and special guest star Marianne Fenwick. This one was recorded at the same time as The Big E3 Preview, so if you hear Marianne playing with puppies' squeaky toys, that's why.
It's the tenth episode of the GameCola Podcast! Our E3 Spectacular! Listen as Marianne Fenwick, Paul Franzen and Michael Gray discuss E3 and get far off-topic! The podcast starts off right, with Marianne refusing to join the podcast because she's too busy playing with the puppies that Michael is dog-sitting for.
- Paul is pretty hesitant about Bioshock 2 and Ghostbusters the Videogame.
- We argue whether or not Rick Moranis is lazy.
- Wikipedia is awesome.
- Paul did not like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, but since Miyamoto is working on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, it might be good.
- Michael wants to see a Wii Zelda. This leads to discussion on Twilight Princess, Link Rides a Train, and the Zelda series in general.
- Are there more Wario games than Mario games nowdays? Yes.
- Marianne wants to see "a Hyrule that hasn't gone through the Industrial Revolution."
- Once again, we have rumors that Sony will drop the price of the PS3.
- Paul explains why the point-and-click adventure genre died.
- Paul thinks Nintendo is going to announce Kid Icarus Wii.
- Please don't attribute the success of the Fire Emblem series to the fact that there are Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros.
- We will never see an English version of Mother 3.
- Will we ever see an English version of Professor Layton 2?
- The in-depth summary of the Case Study of Fable II's Localization has been removed from the Internet for some reason, but it turns out that they know localization increases sales, because they have released games in certain parts of the world, then re-released localized copies of the same games, and the localized copies consistently sell better.
- Michael talks about localizing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
- Paul wants Rock Band: Weezer. Michael wants Rock Band: They Might Be Giants. Marianne wants to play with the puppies rather than participate in the podcast.
- Michael's mom calls, and we ask her about Rock Band: Beatles.
- Unlocking Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes about fifty hours.
- Capcom and Telltale Games are Friends of Gamecola™.
- Miis are fun on the first day, but it's impossible to make one that looks realistic.
- Michael wants the ability to play his DS on the TV.
- Marianne is wrong—speedruns are NOT impressive when someone does it on a computer and lets the computer do all the work. END OF DISCUSSION.
- And as the dogs leave for the backyard, so the GameCola Podcast Crew must leave you.
This edition of "The GameCola Podcast" features Michael Ridgaway, Michael Gray, and Zach Rich.
This edition of "The GameCola Podcast" features Michael Gray, Nathaniel Hoover, Zach Rich, Elizabeth Medina-Gray, and Paul Franzen.
Hey folks! This time around we have myself, Michael Gray, Colin Greenhalgh, and Nathaniel Hoover talking about the big news out of the GDC 2009: OnLive. We explain what it actually is, discuss our initial thoughts on it, talk about whether it will be successful, and try to imagine the effects it will potentially have on the game industry. It's a pretty straightforward discussion, but I think it's a really good one. Enjoy!
This edition of The GameCola Podcast features Michael Gray, Elizabeth Medina-Gray, Zach Rich, and Paul Franzen.
Hey folks, here's the latest podcast from the GameCola crew. This time around we have Michael Ridgaway, Michael Gray, Colin Greenhalgh, and Paul Franzen.
This edition of "The GameCola Podcast" features Michael Ridgaway, Michael Gray, Nathaniel Hoover, and Colin Greenhalgh, and it is split up into three basic segments:
- Versus Mode: The Podcast Crew talks about gaming news. (starts 2:30)
- The two Michaels debate the quality of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (starts 16:45).
- What's Coming Out Next Month and What We're Playing Now (starts 42:35)
Various topics discussed include:
- Part of Your World.
- The atlasphere in Dead Rising 2 is awesome.
- Sony says the PS3 will take off any day now.
- Watching movies on your video game system.
- The podcast crew argue whether or not Shirley Temple would have done a better job in Wizard of Oz than Judy Garland did.
- Let's Tap for Wii is coming States-side.
- Bad economy means lame games.
- Nintendo, cut your prices every once in a while.
- Michael Ridgaway plays Pokemon one-handed.
- It's possible to kill Ganondorf with an empty bottle.
- The Michaels are confused by the lack of continuity in the Zelda series.
- The Michaels want to see another Majora's Mask.
- Michael Gray explains what slash fanfiction is.
- The Michaels argue about whether or not it's obvious that Tetra is Zelda.
- Michael Ridgaway thinks Michael Gray is lame.
- The Michaels argue about Wind Waker Link's victory dance.
- The Michaels argue whether or not the impossible jumping challenge is impossible.
- Michael Ridgaway is tempted to play one of Tingle's games.
- If you look at the Ocarina of Time Quote FAQ or Text Dump, Navi does not say all that much.
- Beethoven thinks the GameCola podcast is awesome.
- Michael Gray is trapped in the 1940's.
- Buy Guitar Hero: Metallica so Colin can feed his kids.
- A Thomas Edison impersonation.
- Paul Franzen is stalking the male GameCola staff members.
- Crystal Chronicles could be good.
- Halo Wars could be good, too.
- Michael Ridgaway wants to read The Miles Edgeworth Files.
- Pokemon Plantinum is coming out, so no one will hear from Michael Ridgaway for the next few months. Pikmin Wii? Maybe it'll be good.
- Nobody is surprised at how nerdy Michael Gray can be.
- It's over now.
In this edition of "The GameCola Podcast," Michael Ridgaway, Michael Gray, Zach Rich, and Nathaniel Hoover talk about...Mega Man! Why he's awesome, why he sucks, what his best and worst games are, and so on. And that's pretty much it.
Check out this month's edition of "The GameCola Podcast," in which Michael Ridgaway, Michael Gray, Zach Rich, and Marianne talk about games that they're playing, games that they're looking forward to, and games that they'd like to see made, and make fun of just about everyone who writes for GC.
The first-ever edition of the GameCola Podcast, starring Michael Ridgaway, Colin Greenhalgh, and Michael Gray as they talk about:
- The best games of 2008
- The games they expect to be the best in 2009