Podouken

From one sentence in a notebook to a hundred digital legs, we talk about Atari’s second best selling game ever and one of the highest-grossing in arcade history, Centipede.

What makes Centipede so appealing to female players? How did Space Invaders lead Dona Bailey from Cadillacs to Atari? Why was there a delay in releasing this episode and is our excuse good enough for forgiveness? How did the first Atari World Championships spotlight that women could be better than men at video games?

The excellent listener questions for this episode ask us to insert our choice for the most deserving creature that has never been featured into a video game, and if our lives depended on having to 1cc an arcade game what would it be? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Hear ye, hear ye! His Majesty King Williams invites you to witness the magnificent tournament in ye Land of Molten Magma and Stoned Clouds where brave knights shalt ride their bird and shalt fight with lance. It is long past time to talk about one of the best arcade games ever made… Joust!

Who are you playing as in this game? How did the popular ‘Fire’ button get replaced with another four-letter ‘F’ word? What is the “Rob Throb” (and why should we never talk about it again)? How many Joust cocktail tables did Williams really make?

Questions for this week include how we would suggest modernizing classic arcade games from the 80s and if we had to eat the concept of an arcade game which would be the most delicious? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Long, long ago in the land of Og there lived a one-eyed caveman by the name of Trog, and in that land there lived four friends: Rex and Bloop, Spike and Gwen. Let’s control some colorful claymation dinos and grab some eggs in Bally/Midway’s Trog - in PLAYmation!

Why was the original game much different than the Trog that we got? Exactly who’s cloaca did all these eggs come from? Is this the first arcade game to use claymation? What comic strip character did Jack Haeger base the titular character on?

Listener questions this week put us in a moral quandary on whether we should give advice on converting a Neo Geo cab and the other asks us if the traditional arcade is ever going to come back - and we have some thoughts on that. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Welcome to Urth! It’s like Earth but in the future and all the continents look like a dinosaur skull burping fire. This is the world of stop-motion dinosaurs, peetalities, and human volleyball. This is the world of Primal Rage.

Why is the Tiger R-Zone the superior arcade port console to play Primal Rage on? How was a stealthy musician involved in this game? Why are level inputs so despised when compared to edge inputs? Who has the best names for the Primal Rage fatalities?

We are tasked with designing a Podouken-based early 90s beat ‘em up which includes the storyline for the adventure. Bonus action, we add hidden bonus characters to be included in this fake game. Do you have questions you’d like answered in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Now, it is beginning of a fantastic story! Let’s make a journey to the Cave of Monsters! Good luck! In this beastly episode we will visit with Bub and Bob as we become the best Bubble Bobble bubble blowers on the block!

Is Bubble Bobble the ultimate introvert shaming game? What is a potato party? How much money did Jarrod find in his newly acquired coin pusher? How much “Ice Ice Baby” is too much “Ice Ice Baby?”

All that and listener questions! This episode we answer, “What is the largest arcade purchase regret that we have made” and “what home console or computer game would we like to see adapted into an arcade game?” Want us to answer your question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Ending episode credit to Lame Genie for their rock cover of the Bubble Bobble theme.

We’re back and we have a doctor’s note for our absence. So let’s continue our Beast Mode series by exploring the ultimate game of cat and mouse with Namco’s Mappy!

Why did Pastblaster just pick up two new meowkies of his own? What ever happened to Micro Machines icon, Motormouth John? How did a Journey discussion make its way into this episode? What free games did Jarrod just score from a local laundromat?

The listener questions this week are some thinkers: what new Marvel and Capcom characters would we place in a Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 remake, and what is our favorite year for arcade releases? Want us to answer your question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

We’re going Beast Mode in this new miniseries by starting off with a “g*ddamn kids game!” It’s time to play the Konami developed and the Sega/Gremlin released Frogger.

How did a “cross the road” joke turn into this super successful arcade game? Who was the heroine responsible for bringing Frogger to the States? What unfortunate series of events led to a breakdown on the side of the road, in a swamp, in the rain, with a bunch of pinball and arcade games in an open trailer? Who finally beat the Costanza Score?

Plus we recap our time at Free Play Florida 2023, the difference between alligators and crocodiles, and answer two listener questions: what arcade game deserves a toy line that hasn’t gotten one yet and what is our favorite video game memorabilia that we own. Want us to answer your own question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon. The final episode of the fourth Listeners’ Choice miniseries is going full shoujo with the short-lived Gazelle’s Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.

How did a fateful encounter with a cat lead to the reawakening of a millenia old moon princess? What’s the difference between Rhett Butler and Brett Butler? Why can’t we skip certain cutscenes in this game? What type of censorship did the Sailor Moon anime experience when it traveled overseas?

Join us and Matt (MomSecretRecipe on Discord) as we discuss all things Sailor Moon and answer the question, what was the title that first made us fall in love with video games? Want us to answer your own question in a future episode? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Our Listeners’ Choice miniseries continues with the penultimate episode! It’s a bird… It’s a plane… But is it a good game? It’s Taito’s Superman!

Why is Superman fighting the Elephant Man? How do we know geography wasn’t the Taito development team’s strong suit? What does Muhammed Ali have to do with this game? How cheap were the prices for the world’s oldest profession in 1989?!

So sit down and enjoy a bowl of fresh Giger Orbs as we offer our suggestions on how to make a good Superman game along with listener Bizarro Aids and answer the episode questions! Want us to answer your question? Join the Podouken Discord and ask away: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

It’s time for the 4th annual Listeners’ Choice miniseries! And we’re excited to search the world for our perfect man with listener RaymondTheFrog as we explore Jaleco’s City Connection.

How did Clarice, the punky teenage protagonist, get replaced by a no-name blonde smoker dude on the NES port? Did Jarrod just receive a newly minted nickname? Why is this game constantly compared to Pac-Man? Excuse me but what animal is pictured on the can of oil you’re throwing at the police?

Find out why cats really suck, how Tchaikovsky entered into the arcade, and our picks for favorite spooky Halloween arcade games. And, as always, join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Growing up in a glass bowl with chameleons, lizards, and tadpoles, it hardly enters your mind that there’s something better than this. But pizza power - a flying saucer food delight. Pizza power, oh, that’s what makes us feel alright! Time is up for the Cartoon miniseries as we explore the questionable history that is TMNT: Turtles in Time.

When did this game actually hit arcades and why is Jarrod ready to fight someone over it? Why is this the only licensed beat ‘em up that Konami gave a sequel to? How easy is it to confuse John Ryan and Jack Ryan? Did anyone else watch the national broadcast of Hondo in 3D?

Hear our answers to this episode’s listener question/challenge: build a 4-player arcade cabinet using any characters from the Cartoon miniseries playing through one of the featured games.

Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode or nominate your picks for the upcoming Listeners’ Choice series: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Sound Boy makes its triumphant return! Since it’s nearly our 4th birthday it’s fitting we talk about the Cartoon arcade game that puts cake on full display - Konami’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

What is the devastating truth behind the origin of this game? Is this the first arcade game based on a doll? How many times is “Yo Joe!” uttered in this episode (seriously we’ll send some prizes to whomever counts it up)? Is this the most carnivore-friendly episode we’ve ever released?

We discuss some of our favorite game shows, cajun cooking, the dark web, and answer the question, “what cartoon deserved an arcade game that never got one?”

Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode or nominate your picks for the upcoming Listeners’ Choice series: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

We were too late to throw some poop into the Caddy, hop in the two-seater, and evacuate from the impending hurricane so why not record an episode of the show? And this time we’re not even talking about a Konami property! We’re headed into the future to talk about Capcom’s Captain Planet meets Jurassic Park beat ‘em up, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs!

By what name is the uber-popular bootleg of this game known as? Does the cartoon’s theme song slap like our past entries? What is the Hurritrain game? Why did Capcom create a fourth character for a three-player game?

Jarrod explains his hangups with hurricanes that smash in the night and the whereabouts of Sound Boy. Rob tells the younglings about antenna-based television. Adam recounts playing the Sega CD version of this game.

Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

After a brief hiatus we are back to continue the Cartoon miniseries with another Konami title. If you’re not a fan of bovine puns that get milked for all they’re worth then this may not be the episode for moo. We are discussing the super punctuated Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa!

Is this the spiritual successor to Sunset Riders? Which Macaulay Culkin character did young PastBlaster emulate? Will Rob’s voice (and body) ever recover? Does Moo Mesa have the best country theme song ever aired on television? Can Seth Rogan please stop voicing animated characters?

The listener questions get heavy this episode by asking us if we’ve ever owned a full-motion cabinet and delves into our distant past by asking us to explore our first arcade memory. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions to be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

We're rolling over the episode count to triple digits and pulling out all the stops. For our hundredth episode we are covering THE cartoon arcade game - The Simpsons. And who better to talk Simpsons than with guest Chris Antista!

What characters appear in the arcade game that never have appeared in the cartoon? Was Brian Dennehy really Bigfoot? Is this the longest (and last) episode? Why is Marge throwing ass all around Springfield?

We close out our marathon show with the origin of the Podouken theme and a huge thanks to all the listeners who have supported us along the way.

In another dimension, another time and space, a parallel universe was fallin’ on its face. When out of the chaos, who else could it be but the animal adventures from S.P.A.C.E.? It’s time to talk about Bucky - Konami’s Bucky O’Hare!

Are we the only podcast to ever spend 2+ hours talking about the Bucky O’Hare arcade game? Did Konami pour more time and effort into this game than any of their other licensed titles? What part does Sugar Bear from “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” play in the cartoon and game? Is “indefatigable” a real word?

Plus we fall down the hare hole on TMNT toys, rewritable laser discs, infomercials, and our upcoming 100th episode. Let’s croak us some toads!

A new miniseries begins as we explore arcade games based on cartoons (and there’s going to be a lot of bangers). To start, we enter the animated sewers to bring you the #1 most-requested arcade game - Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

How did this game pave the way for Konami arcade domination in the early 90s? Does TMNT have the best gag of any arcade game? Did Lindsay Lohan draw the training scene art for Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! on a V-Tech Video Painter? Did Konami try to give the turtles guns in this game?!

So buckle up for some unadulterated love of Eastman and Laird’s joke-turned-billion-dollar-property. We rank our turtle preference (and stumble upon the perfect personality test) as well as answer some listener questions. Turtle power!

We bring the Mounted Gun miniseries to a close with a good old fashioned Arcade Obscura. Each of us brings our pick for an obscure or underrated mounted gun game but one game is so obscure we invite the only person known to own it onto the podcast - Doc Mack from The Galloping Ghost arcade!

Who is giving all these zombies guns? What American city has its own arcade game named after it? Are birthday cake Oreos really as gross as we make them out to be (yes)? Will an arcade game nearly 30 years in the making ever come out?

Some listener questions get some love as Jarrod answers the three films he most recently watched (and they are on brand) and we identify what game is missing from The Galloping Ghost lineup.

Special thanks to Craig Bass from Year of the Phoenix Productions and director of the upcoming documentary Ghostlord and the Quest for Dark Presence and Doc Mack (@GGA_Ghostlord). More information about the documentary can be found at https://www.ghostlordsquest.com.

We’re back in the saddle again with another Midway mounted gun game that’s not the same old song and dance. So if you don’t want to miss a thing then walk this way as we cover this amazing and crazy game. Let’s get back in the saddle with Revolution X: Music is the Weapon. Featuring: Aerosmith - Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer.

Why should this game really have Featuring: Kerri Hoskins instead of Aerosmith? Who is responsible for this game not becoming Boot Shootin’ Boogie: Featuring: Brooks & Dunn? Would that have been a better game?

On a serious note, this episode contains discussion about gun violence in public settings. All discussion is specifically about the game, the actions within the game, and should not be interpreted as commentary on real-world events.

Konami trains an entire generation to become snipers as they task you with saving the model 90s American First Family, but not their secretary. In this episode we’re taking a long, focused look at the biggest gun in the arcade, Silent Scope.

Why are there so many “wow” moments in this game? Will Jarrod ever reclaim the Mr. SNK title from Rob? Is this the only video game where you can shoot Tom and Jerry in the head or are they in Fortnite? Which version of Silent Scope 2 had the best subtitled name?

Finally we answer some Discord questions like what game show would we like to participate in, how far have we traveled to get a game, and was it worth it? Now die and go to heaven!