Podouken Laser Time

It’s 1996 - maybe the best year ever - where we got the Macarena (plus some actual good music), “draw me like one of your French girls'' entered the popular vernacular, and the worst console controller was released. It also might have also been the best Neo Geo release year as we show with our 4 slot selections of Neo Mr. Do!, Neo Drift Out: New Technology, Twinkle Star Sprites, and Ghostlop (AKA Ikaruga JezzBall). What Nintendo console is our favorite? How do we identify the difference between Arrival and The Arrival? Why does Rob enjoy music with honkers? Once again we must ask, does Jarrod’s game really fit the theme of the episode? The question for this episode asks us what PCB or coin-op game we would never sell and we quickly identify who among us has a price. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode by following this link: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Travel back to the year 1995 when we all found out who shot Mr. Burns, Apollo 13 came out so that all future movie trailers can use James Horner’s music for their dramatic themes, and Calvin & Hobbes sled off into the snow one final time. Reminisce as the Podouken crew assembles their Neo Geo 4 slot with their picks of 1995 with Savage Reign, Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash, Pulstar, and Puzzle de Pon! Why are this year’s MVS releases an attack of the clones? How did this episode become so… suggestive? Did we just stumble upon the secret inspiration of Naruto? Was the return of Time-Boy a success? The questions this week include which arcade character do we think has the most rizz (which required our old asses to look up the definition of “rizz”) and what game is at the top of our bucket list to play on dedicated hardware? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode by following this link: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

Welcome to the year 1994 where the White House launched a website with unintended results, the Mandela effect kicked into high gear, and the most-watched car race ever was televised. Let’s dust off an old miniseries, clean out the slots, and assemble the Neo Geo 4 slot with the Podouken picks for 1994 with Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy, Windjammers, Aero Fighters 2, and Zed Blade. What beloved childhood show just came back and why is the crew so psyched about it? Is up, right, left, up, right a cheat code or the directions on how to find Adam and Rob’s first business? Who did Pastblaster fall in love with in this episode? The question this week deals with our thoughts on restoring arcades and how they affect the value. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode by following this link: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

It was fun while it lasted but it’s time to retire the Beast Mode miniseries in the best way possible - with an Arcade Obscura! Each host brings their pick of an obscure or underrated arcade game that (mostly) fits the theme. What obscure arcade game is so divisive it has Rob yelling into the microphone? How does Adam take the purest sport in the world today, and Texas’s national pastime, and turn it into some kind of game?! Did Jarrod once again subvert the miniseries rules with his game selection? We answer the important questions like what’s our favorite screen clearing move, and what are the games we put enough money into to finish back in the day. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions which could be included in a future episode by following this link: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

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