Podcasts · Leisure

The Retro Breakdown

TimeWanderer

282 episodes

Every week, Dean (twitch.tv/timewanderer) and Tom discuss current gaming news, and then check out some old (or sometimes new) piece of gaming history to see how it holds up, and test the strength of nostalgia.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Mega Man ZX Advent (DS) and the Capcom Sales Numbers

    · 1 h 02 min · S5 E22

    We cap off the Zero series with a fair bit of lethargy and a begrudging understanding of why Capcom has spent so much time not caring about Mega Man. We don't like or condone it, but we do sort of understand the shape…

  2. Resident Evil 2 (PS1 + Remake) and the Cozy Massage Space Pod

    · 1 h 38 min · S5 E21

    This is definitely the game that showed me that survival horror is, once and for all, not my bag. It's still really good though and I'm glad I played it and can talk about it now. Feels like a big milestone. Send us…

  3. Rockin' Kats/Nyankies (NES) and the MORE PUPPETS

    · 1 h 28 min · S5 E20

    When good things come out and you're a little disappointed because it isn't the SPECIFIC good thing you were hoping for? You should probably just enjoy the good thing anyway, that seems like a pleasant way to be.…

  4. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (PS2) and the Persona Spinoff Character Assassinations

    · 1 h 17 min · S6 E19

    So my goal was to go into this game and laugh at how incredibly "2000s video game" it was. And I was entirely able to do that. But somewhere along the line, this game became more than just goofy physics, shootbangs…

  5. Final Fantasy (NES) and the Stranger of Paradise

    · 1 h 23 min · S6 E18

    It's sort of two games in one this week, as we played both the original NES version of Final Fantasy 1, which is incredibly broken, and the sorta-kinda prequel, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which is…

  6. Silver Surfer (NES) and the Shadows of the Empire Erotica

    · 1 h 08 min · S6 E17

    We sit down with one of the most notoriously hard NES games and discover that it is actually kinda not that bad? It also is pretty bad. But in the same way that a lot of NES games are. But the aesthetics make it...…

  7. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GC) and the Bananza Spoilercast

    · 1 h 25 min · S6 E16

    This week, we talk about getting jumpscared by Girls Gone Wild commercials on Comedy Central, the end of Donkey Kong Bananza, the beginning of the Final Fantasy franchise, and Oliver. You know. Oliver. THAT GUY. Send…

  8. Gitaroo Man (PS2) and the Fallout Class Warfare

    · 1 h 07 min · S6 E15

    The "games with good music" train rolls right along as this one is literally just about having great music. The gameplay is reasonably fun, but the vibes are immaculate. Also, we say things are "hard as balls" but…

  9. The Castlevania Adventure (GB) and the Tips to Avoid Torture

    · 1 h 13 min · S6 E14

    We're doubling up on Castlevania because I got this in a Kusogrande match! Also in this episode: There is a new live-action He-Man movie out and it is directed by a blatant nepo-baby. The Nintendo Direct that was…

  10. Castlevania 2 (NES) and the Summer Game Fest Recap

    · 1 h 24 min · S6 E13

    Wow that is a lot of game news, and we're absolutely not covering all of it, but we talk about what interests us, and also Grand Theft Auto 6, which does not interest either of us. Castlevania 2 is a game preceded by…

  11. Blast Corps (N64) and the Backlash Debate

    · 1 h 05 min · S6 E12

    Is the Backlash the worst vehicle in Blast Corps, singlehandedly responsible for detracting from the overall experience? Or is it merely misunderstood, a tricky but ultimately rewarding mechanic to finally wrap your…

  12. Wario World (GC) and the StarFox Re-Re-Re-Remake

    · 51 min · S6 E11

    According to Nintendo, there is one StarFox game. And that game is whichever remake of the original one they are currently selling. Meanwhile, Treasure made a Wario game, and it feels more like a Treasure game than a…

  13. Mendel Palace (NES) and the Famicom BASIC

    · 1 h 25 min · S6 E10

    Game Freak's very first game has a great story behind it, and some really interesting stuff, but somehow we end up talking about Activision and I promise it makes sense. Also, we do a rare look-ahead to big budget…

  14. Castlevania (NES) and the Lords of Shadow Spoilers

    · 55 min · S6 E9

    We absolutely talk about Castlevania on this podcast. We should maybe have focused a little bit more on Castlevania 1, the supposed focus of this podcast, but apparently it was time to talk about every other game in…

  15. Mario Clash (Virtual Boy) and the Nintendo Cinematic Universe

    · 51 min · S6 E8

    The first episode of many recorded from my new place in Korea, and it's a Virtual Boy game because why not? Star Fox in the new Mario movie implies that you reasonably could set up a Star Fox movie off of this and…

  16. Balloon Kid (Game Boy) and the Final Ohio Podcast

    · 55 min · S6 E7

    This podcast has always been recorded remotely, but this is the last one, at least for a long while, that will be at least half-recorded in Ohio. Perhaps appropriately, it's about a kid going on a flying adventure.…

  17. Mega Man ZX (Nintendo DS) and the Not Miis

    · 1 h 00 min · S6 E6

    The absolute best Mega Man power ever created exists in this game, which is... pretty good. It has flaws, but this series works pretty well in an open map structure. OR IT WOULD IF THE MAP WASN'T AGGRESSIVELY TERRIBLE…

  18. A Boy and His Blob (NES) and the Final Fantasy 15 Apologist

    · 1 h 09 min · S6 E5

    It seems that the standard experience with this game is "rented it as a kid, couldn't figure out what to do, took it back." It turns out the reason for that is the the intended first step is to no-clip through the…

  19. Bionic Commando (GB) and the Age of Imprisonment

    · 59 min · S6 E4

    Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a lot of fun, but I have some gripes. Bionic Commando for Game Boy, however, is black magic and I have no idea how or why it is works as well as it does on this system, it does…

  20. Fatal Fury Special (SNES) and the Grand Theft Auto 6 Failure

    · 1 h 06 min · S6 E3

    This week, we talk about fighting games, Mai Shiranui, and the absolute best thing that could possibly happen to the video game industry in 2026. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord:…

  21. Battletoads (NES) and the Air Bud Retrospective

    · 1 h 16 min · S6 E2

    I like hard games. I think hard games are often very good. Here are a bunch of reasons we don't think Battletoads is very good beyond the first 3 stages. Consequently, this also coincides with the reason why people…

  22. Resident Evil (PS1/GC) and the Farting Clowns

    · 1 h 08 min · S6 E1

    It must be a new year because we're doing survival horror! This is my actual first time with Resident Evil, and to get the full picture, I played both Chris and Jill's routes, and also played Jill's route in the…

  23. The Retro Breakdown 2025 Tier List

    · 1 h 43 min · S5 E41

    From Cool Spot to Mr. Driller 2 with a bunch of Mega Man games in between, we recap every game we played and podcasted in 2025! Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG…

  24. Home Alone (Sega Master System) and the 85% of Hot Topic Sales

    · 1 h 18 min · S5 E40

    Somehow, against all odds, Home Alone for the Sega Master System is one of the best Home Alone games I've ever played. I know that's a low bar, but still, this game came out in Europe in 1993, well after the release…

  25. Mr. Driller 2 and the Resident Evil Bulk Purchase

    · 51 min · S5 E39

    The point of this week's episode is that Mr. Driller as a game is whatever, but the LORE IS DEEPER THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE. Also, I guess I'm just gonna play all the Resident Evil games now? I bought a bunch…

  26. Alleyway (Game Boy) and the Lazy Breakout

    · 44 min · S5 E38

    It's Breakout but if you put absolutely no effort into doing anything interesting or unique at all. Ironically, this leads us into a whole discussion about how lazy game design was totally okay in 1989 because the…

  27. Chibi-Robo! (GC) and the Black Friday Work Stories

    · 1 h 26 min · S5 E37

    Before playing this game, the only thing I knew about it was "Divorce." After playing this game, that may actually still be the only thing I remember. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord:…

  28. Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA) and the Kojima AI Friends

    · 1 h 18 min · S5 E36

    "I don't want to use AI, I just want it to be a friend that does my work for me, like a co-creator." My Brother in Christ, that is WHAT USING AI IS. Have we learned NOTHING from Metal Gear Solid 2? Send us mail!…

  29. Mario's Picross (Game Boy) and the King's Field

    · 54 min · S5 E35

    We played a bunch of different things for small amounts of time this week, so let's talk about Picross, random New York Times puzzles, King's Field, and a bunch of other things? Send us mail!…

  30. The Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis) and the Clockwork Tortoise

    · 48 min · S5 E34

    One of the most impressive games on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive could have been one of the best of all time with the power of a good project manager or producer. Alas, we'll settle for "really impressive and flawed in…

  31. D2 (Dreamcast) and the Hundred Line Second Playthrough

    · 1 h 29 min · S5 E33

    There's so much to unpack here we had to come back and add another 20 minutes after we thought we were done. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed…

  32. Mega Man X8 (PS2) and the Mavericks at Will

    · 1 h 00 min · S5 E32

    THAT IS LITERALLY THE WHOLE POINT OF A MAVERICK (Reupload) Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed live at: twitch.tv/timewanderer TW on YouTube:…

  33. Drake of the 99 Dragons (Xbox) and the Blue Prince Spoilercast

    · 54 min · S5 E31

    I haven't played a game with this much edge since my last playthrough of Catherine. Also, I am absolutely going to spoil the ending of Blue Prince, so be warned if that's something you would like to avoid. Send us…

  34. No One Can Stop Mr. Domino (PS1) and the Collection Culling

    · 1 h 05 min · S5 E30

    I'm getting rid of a chunk of my retro games collection, and with the money I make from it, maybe I'll buy more games like this. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG…

  35. Mega Man Zero 3 (GBA) and the Ripple Island Sequel

    · 40 min · S5 E29

    Zero and Ciel and Doctor Weil live in a society. Which is not the same as our society, the one where somebody decided we needed an Overcooked clone based on Ripple Island. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com…

  36. Landstalker (Genesis) and the Slow Walk Taunt

    · 59 min · S5 E28

    Invisible platforms! Vapid princesses! Sassy fairy companions! Casinos in the town well! Unhinged puzzle solutions! Childish taunts from your antagonist! Fun? Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord:…

  37. Brawl Brothers (SNES) and the Termination Time

    · 42 min · S5 E27

    After five years, we finally decide to play another Rushing Beat game, and since we started with the third one, why not continue in reverse chronological order, right? Classic case here of a game with all the right…

  38. Snake Rattle & Roll (NES) and the Ice Slope Foot Licking

    · 39 min · S5 E26

    Rare has this thing where we keep going into their games expecting to be underwhelmed or even trash it, but then we end up glazing them because the game is a marvel of engineering even if it is obscenely difficult and…

  39. Mega Man X7 (PS2) and the European Normal

    · 1 h 00 min · S5 E25

    This game is basically the whole reason we started playing Mega Man games in the first place. We're finally here. Feels like an important milestone. Also. Burn. Burn. Burn to the ground. HOOOO! Send us mail!…

  40. Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA) and the Zero Babies

    · 59 min · S5 E23

    A dive into the Mega Man Zero plotline reveals that Zero has hundreds of children that he eats for power. Everyone he knows encourages this. The game tells you how messed up that is and then insists you do it anyway.…

  41. R.C. Pro-Am (NES) and the Ubisoft Whining

    · 1 h 12 min · S5 E22

    Remember kids, when you criticize Ubisoft for sexually assaulting women in the workplace and systematically covering it up for years, it makes their games worse somehow. Ubisoft is the real victim here. It definitely…

  42. Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy) and the Animal Friend Punishment

    · 36 min · S5 E21

    As we have established, Kirby is an eldritch being with powers beyond human ken. For a creature containing the power of entire galaxies as playthings, these pitiful creatures known as Coo, Kine, and Rick are beneath…

  43. Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear) and the Lost Podcast

    · 56 min · S5 E20

    Featuring 5 minutes of talking about E-SWAT, leftover from the podcast that got corrupted last week. It's okay, that's the exact right amount of time to talk about that. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's…

  44. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (GBA) and the Dumb European Purchases

    · 1 h 22 min · S5 E19

    When you realize that you both are the type of person to go to exotic locations and just buy Nintendo stuff instead of actual souvenirs. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord:…

  45. Mega Man Zero (GBA) and the Pirate Copy of X

    · 57 min · S5 E18

    Evidently, the key to making a good Mega Man game in the 21st century is to not let Capcom make it. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed live at:…

  46. Aerobiz (SNES) and the Final Fantasy Spirits Within

    · 58 min · S5 E17

    Technically three more games on tap today as we played all three Aerobiz games, but they're all similar enough to be talked about in one podcast. Thanks for all the weird stuff, Koei. Sorry I'm 30 years late finding…

  47. Ripple Island (Famicom) and the Memorable Music Runback

    · 46 min · S5 E16

    It's game 3/3 in the Sunsoft collection, and this one, while jank in some ways you might expect out of a 1980's point-and-click adventure game on a console, is actually pretty charming when it's not asking you to find…

  48. The Wing of Madoola (Famicom) and the Firework Thrower Kantarou

    · 45 min · S5 E15

    It's two games in one on this week's podcast, where we take on 2/3 of the Sunsoft is Back! Collection. These are definitely some of the games of all time. There's some potential, but... also a lot of no. Send us…

  49. Mega Man X6 and the Capcom Rough Patch

    · 53 min · S5 E14

    Why. Why is it like this. There is no reason for it to be like this. It's like they wanted to make it exactly the same as Mega Man X5 but worse in every possible way. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's…

  50. Donkey Kong Land 2 (Game Boy) and the Crappy Mail

    · 1 h 16 min · S5 E13

    There's a lot going on this week, but there's always time for Stickerbrush Symphony. Send us mail! theretrobreakdown@gmail.com TW's Discord: https://discord.gg/dTrBruG Podcast games streamed live at:…

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