The Game Exchange: Recent Episodes
TheGameExchange
Wade and Kaiya replay and overthink classic video games from their youth. Expect lots of loving nostalgia, analytical critique, and the occasional crazy headcanon. Current game: Chrono Trigger.
Wade and Kaiya are ringing in the new year by returning to the old classic, Chrono Trigger! After having spent the last (checks calendar) five months in the Guardia prisons, they find themselves unexpectedly out of time in several ways: narrowly dodging execution, finding hope in a hopeless post-apocalypse, and landing themselves in a very odd place indeed... Along the way, they discover the standard keyboard configuration for all important computers in 1999, dip briefly and unexpectedly into body horror, wave their hands really hard, and discover who the true protagonist of the game is!
Wade and Kaiya are back with the celebrated 1995 SNES masterpiece Chrono Trigger! Put on your overthinking caps and join them on a brand-new adventure as they examine political and societal tensions between humans and monsters, speculate about the state of the dungeon architecture industry, and probe the depth of the gene pool of Guardia Kingdom - all while dodging Lucca's attempts to kill them!
Wade and Kaiya are on hiatus this week! We will return on July 7th with the first episode of our season 3 game - Chrono Trigger. In the meantime, please enjoy some bonus outtakes from episodes 23 through 26!
Wade, Kaiya, and special guest Jourdan get together to talk about Lufia 2! They discuss their thoughts on the ending, reminisce about their childhood memories of the game, reflect on the ways in which their playstyles have changed as adults, explore ties to other games in the series... and reveal what game will be played next!
Thank you for following us through this wonderful journey so far! We will be taking a brief hiatus between games, so there will be no full-length episode on June 23rd. Instead you can look forward to a few extras, including a collection of outtakes from the last few episodes. We'll see you again on July 7th with a brand-new game to exchange!
Wade and Kaiya are taking aim at the Sinistrals themselves - a path that does not come without sacrifices to make and prices to pay. Along the way, they discuss convoluted reflections, puzzle over questionable final words, solve the mystery of the FLYING ISLAND LASER CANNONS?!, and reunite with an old friend and a... new frenemy?
This is the last gameplay episode of Lufia II, but don't go anywhere! We have a special retrospective episode coming up for you next time, and a lot of exciting things planned for the future!
Wade and Kaiya are back from an unplanned hiatus, and they have lots to share! In this episode, they verify the existence of a fire-breathing dragon, an underwater ghost ship, and the titular FLYING ISLAND LASER CANNONS(?!) They also discuss the finer points of scientific nomenclature, tiptoe around the subject of preemptive punishment, take advantage of some five-finger discounts, and catch up with some old frenemies. Wade denies his proclivities for grinding for random drops, Kaiya says "flame fruit" when she actually means "secret fruit", and absolutely no classified stories are shared.
Wade and Kaiya puzzle over unlikely retrofittings, deal with an unrepentant ecoterrorist, and discover unexpected racial diversity in the world of Lufia 2! They also cross paths with their second Sinistral again, scratch their heads at the world's worst couples therapy, and finally uncover Iris's secret...
Guess how Wade and Kaiya are celebrating the Game Exchange's first birthday? If you guessed "dealing with a household that came down with the plague" and "dealing with having been laid off", respectively, you'd be correct! Episode 23 will be delayed by another release cycle as we straighten out our lives. In the meantime, please enjoy some bonus outtakes from episodes 19 through 22!
Wade and Kaiya shamelessly rip off Dragonball Z, put out an urgent call for botanists, decline to comment on obvious pandering, catch fragments of what might have been a really good romance and/or tragedy and/or horror story, applaud as a princess defends a prince's honor, undergo three-quarters of a good introduction, witness a touching tale of true love conquering economic pressures, and get way, way too philosophical! We also meet our second Sinistral and get a glimpse of what's to come.
Wade and Kaiya elect not to become like rogues, fend off everything from evil octopuses to angry-chicken-heads-on-fire, get a glimpse of the careful planning behind small-town demographics, and...
...
...eulogize at length.
Note: Due to the holidays, The Game Exchange is temporarily going to a tri-weekly release schedule! Please expect Episode 22 on January 6th.
Wade and Kaiya almost save a prince and allegedly save the world! Along the way, they debate sumptuary laws for women's swimsuits, observe the rise and fall of a love triangle, discuss the finer points of baby naming, witness speedruns for both romance and shipbuilding, and finally agree on the very best strategy for optimal hostage-taking.
Wade and Kaiya are busy cooking up an extra-long episode 20 for you, as well as busy dealing with a sick baby and moving, respectively. In the meantime, please enjoy some bonus outtakes from episodes 16, 17, and 18! Episode 20 will be released on November 25th.
Wade and Kaiya overestimate their strength, lose their first party member, aid an exhibitionist carpenter, take notes on effective snappy retorts, and shake their heads sadly at a profound tangle resulting from the Dunning-Kruger effect crossing with Adlerian psychology - with further notes on optimal hostage-taking.
Wade and Kaiya continue to build their party in Lufia 2! This week they also discuss optimal hostage-taking strategy, shake their canes, justify a scam by falling back on neoclassical economical principles, ponder the value of a woman's tears, and... split the party. (And it isn't a disaster!)
Note: In this episode we stated that the Camu Armor heals each member of the party by 75% of the wearer's max HP. This is incorrect. It actually heals each member of the party by 25% of the wearer's max HP. The values cited for the Holy Wings are still correct.
Wade and Kaiya deal with hilarious amounts of incompetence in romance, rulership, and robbery. Along the way, they also demonstrate their Boy Scout credentials, terrify a small child, and exchange union cards with a guy.
Wade and Kaiya are back with the beloved 1995 SNES classic Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals! Embark on a new adventure with them as they navigate the dangers of dramatic economic inflation, small-town nosy neighbors, a dinner date with a Machiavellian mogul, hostile tectonic forces, and an unusual abundance of fish.
Wade and Kaiya are on hiatus this week! We will return on September 2nd with the first episode of our season 2 game - Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals. In the meantime, please enjoy a bonus outtake from Episode 8 (wherein Kaiya's husband becomes an Uber driver), check out our brand new FAQ page (and contribute some questions if you have any!), read about the EarthBound cartridge that went into space, and drop a comment or like on this fantastic piece of EarthBound fanart by @jackfruitchips_ on Twitter!
Wade, Kaiya, and special guest Marshall get together to talk about all things EarthBound! They discuss their childhood memories of the game, swap some crazy conspiracy theories, go on a hunt for twenty-year-old fanfiction (condensed into a montage for your convenience), suggest some baby names, attempt to reform society... and reveal what game will be played next!
Thank you for following us through this wonderful journey so far! We will be taking a brief hiatus between games, so there will be no full-length episode on August 19th. Instead you can look forward to a few extras, including a newly revamped FAQ page and a bonus clip from Episode 8. We'll see you again on September 2nd with a brand-new game to exchange!
Wade and Kaiya become monsters in order to fight monsters, and gaze into the abyss which gazes also back at them.
This is the last gameplay episode of Earthbound, but don't go anywhere! We have a special retrospective episode coming up for you next time, and a lot of exciting things planned for the future!
Wade and Kaiya help Ness with the deepest introspection, take a world-spanning shopping tour, and confront the most polite siege ever undertaken. It's the second to last gameplay episode of EarthBound!
Wade and Kaiya speculate on Ness's paternity, compare the network coverage of psychics vs. bird-phones, navigate a figurative minefield of foreign relations and then navigate a literal volcano! They finish up the episode by coming full circle and taking a peek back at the beginning of it all.
Wade and Kaiya witness the sped-up crumbling of a monkey relationship, discuss self-chosen nomenclature (twice!) and discover that the game devs are waving at them from the 1990s! Along the way, Kaiya determines that she's not playing Assassin's Creed, Wade tries (and fails) to beat the odds, and Kaiya manages to turn Wade's understanding of the ontology and ethics of EarthBound completely on its head.
Wade and Kaiya mourn the deregulation of the dungeon maintenance industry, evaluate the limitations of the local phone system, reflect on the unique economics of swamp-based usury, attempt to talk about baseball and/or literature, and agree that they're narratively lost.
Wade and Kaiya dodge a whole lot of lightning, take a ride with the worst sea captain ever, discover the hotel that offers the least bang for your buck (it doesn't even have doors!), and finally discover how to make Jeff useful!
Wade and Kaiya set a mushroom on fire, get a taste of the lives of the rich and pretentious, endure gratuitous amounts of brutality in the name of Buddhism, and finally... pursue a rat in a sewer? Just another day in the world of EarthBound!
Wade and Kaiya welcome you to Moonside. Welcome to Moonside. Wecomel to Edinsoom. Wel come to Moo nsi ns dem oons ide
Also, click here for the promised guide to the monkey caves, courtesy of the Starmen.net Earthbound Walkthrough!
Wade and Kaiya encounter a recording mishap which means that Kaiya must rerecord all her audio FROM THE FUTURE! But they manage to hold a temporally-disjointed discussion about black market weapons cartels, workplace harassment, and finding Twitch chat in the desert.
Wade and Kaiya know you are very busy today and many of you have plans with your families. Therefore, they're doing their part to speed you back to your holiday activities.
Wade and Kaiya wander into terra incognita, discuss the bizarre North America marketing campaign for the game, and demand to know about the society, hierarchy, and manufacturing capabilities of sentient piles of vomit. They close out with their thoughts on the game so far over a refreshing cup of coffee.
Let us know about your thoughts on the game and/or the podcast on Facebook, Twitter or Discord!
Wade and Kaiya join Paula in judging Ness's decisions, steal birthday cookies, discuss an ongoing theme of absent fathers, and finally fight a GIANT SENTIENT CIRCUS TENT!
Things we don't discuss in this episode:
- Kaiya's awesome new microphone
- The meme Wade created while procrastinating on audio editing (join our Discord server to see it!)
Wade and Kaiya make their way through Happy Happy Village on their way towards Threed. They discover the difference between sprites and walls, the one weakness of teddy bears (it's trees), and... the use of children for money laundering?
Wade and Kaiya leave Onett and make their way into Twoson! Along the way, they discuss the psychology of police officers, the Blues Brothers, chickens as vehicles of profit, and the power of teddy bears.
Wade and Kaiya jump right into playing EarthBound, the classic 1994 SNES RPG! Follow their adventures as they explore the town of Onett, discuss the illusion of choice, ponder bathroom placement, and critique gang fashion.