In this special episode, Wiedo welcomes guest co-hosts Rob (King Octavius) and Mr. Sparkle to suss out Earthion, Yuzo Koshiro's jaw-dropping 2024 shoot-'em-up that squeezes every last drop of power from the Megadrive. The trio bond over their shmup origin stories—from rental-game rage-quits to recent conversions—before diving into Ancient Corporation's visual spectacular. They're blown away by pseudo-3D ship intros, mind-bending color cycling, and that glorious moment when a giant robot hand rips through your ally's capital ship. Rob gushes about theatrical destruction sequences, Mr. Sparkle drops advanced tactics about weaponizing V-Fire option pods for point-blank carnage, and everyone agrees the adaptation pod upgrade system is brilliantly addictive. Between debating whether you can tank too many bullets, lamenting 50-minute run times, and wishing for a proper practice mode, they land on the perfect verdict: it's a four-star shooter wrapped in five-star presentation that would've melted minds in 1993. All wrapped up with community resource recommendations for aspiring bullet-dodgers.

76. Focus: Earthion

Back together at last, the crew kicks off this episode with a surprisingly heated debate over what really counts as a sandwich—are crackers allowed, does it have to be square, and can you get away with a “convertible” one-slice version? From there, we catch up on life outside the mic: Wiedo finally unveils his custom-built bike and dives into the long-awaited Silksong, Andy thinks about packing in the CRT and moving on to the RetroTINK 4K, and Diego steps out of his gaming backlog long enough to play his first ever bass gig in front of an audience.

On the games front, Wiedo brings us the colorful Hungry Huey (Gameboy Color), a demo puzzle gem that mixes Bejeweled-style chaining with slime-feeding chaos, Andy straps in for the roguelike chaos of Blind Jump (Gameboy Advance), and Diego spotlights Emu’s Massive Hunt (VIC 20)—a jump-and-collect platformer that proves the little Commodore still has some life in it.

75. Jelly sandwich

This week, Wiedo and Diego reunite after a five-week Scandinavia road trip—complete with charging stops, supermarket pit-stops, and tales of Finland’s early school starts as summer fades fast. With sore thumbs from too much messaging, Wiedo dives into control hacks (Quake jump on the mouse, keyboard over D-pads) to keep gaming pain-free.

On the games front, Wiedo brings along a free Squid Game demake on the Gameboy, while Diego spotlights Yandex comp standouts Cubix and Kubanoid for the ZX Spectrum—a clever, dice-driven, Columns-style puzzler that squeezes surprising depth out of tiny memory.

We also gush over the C64 Mini Black, packed with 25 modern homebrew hits like Sam’s Journey, before signing off with Andy still away on holiday.

74. Dicey Dice

In this heat-soaked pre-holiday episode, Andy and Diego swap tales of water park nostalgia, snack discoveries, and mysterious fizzy drinks before diving into two challenging retro releases. Diego revisits the Commodore 64 with Mic Mac 2 by Luca Carminati, a tightly crafted single-screen platformer where dodging aliens, flipping switches, and navigating teleporters demands both precision and patience. Andy takes on MS-DOS curios game Alien Intruder from Juan José Martínez, a rescue-and-shoot platformer where time pressure is as deadly as the enemies themselves. In the news, the duo chat about the ZX Spectrum Next’s final Kickstarter run, intriguing rumblings from a revived Commodore brand, and upcoming releases like Copper Storm for the Mega Drive, Neo Geo, and SNES. All wrapped up with community shoutouts before both hosts dash off to their summer breaks.

73. Bag of bags

Today Diego and Wiedo talk about four inventive retro games with clever mechanics and classic vibes. Time Wizard (Atari XL) lets you rewind time to dodge traps and collect hourglasses across 70 cleverly designed levels. Petris (Game Gear, Gameboy Color) brings a pet-themed twist to falling-block puzzles, combining animal parts to build cute creatures across five colorful modes. Plyuk (NES, ZX Spectrum) introduces cloning mechanics for inventive platforming, with distinct visuals and level design on each system. And Prisonela MD (Megadrive) delivers lightning-fast, one-screen platforming where every death resets the room instantly—no loading, no mercy. With sharp controls, brutal traps, and an intentionally chaotic level order, it’s a twitchy trial-and-error experience that keeps you hooked.

72. Tiny games

Today we chat with special guest Juan José Martínez, developer of retro microcomputer games. Discover Juan's journey into game development for vintage systems, his thoughts on game jams as a solution to scope creep, and his experiences creating titles for classic platforms like the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.

Listen to the intricacies of developing games with hardware limitations, the rise of modern expansions like cartridges with extra RAM and ROM, and why some retro communities thrive more than others. Juan shares insights into the appeal and technical challenges of creating authentic retro experiences and discusses how the right game design can shine regardless of graphical constraints.

71. Interview: Juan José Martínez

Andy, Diego, and Wiedo are joined by special guest Dale Coop, who shares insights about his journey into indie game development and his unique experiences creating games for classic hardware.

The crew then dives into reviews of modern indie games for classic platforms. Diego brings Gravity Boy (Commodore Plus/4), a clever adventure where you control gravity itself to solve spatial puzzle rooms infested by weird-looking aliens. Wiedo presents Kero Kero Cowboy (Gameboy Color), a Western-themed platformer featuring Kirby-like mechanics of swallowing enemies and shooting them out.

Andy shares his experience exploring Deep Dungeon (Gameboy), a surprisingly complex RPG where reading the manual would have greatly helped him navigate intricate combat and inventory mechanics. Dale discusses What Remains (NES), an environmentally-conscious narrative adventure filled with intriguing political messages wrapped in compelling storytelling.

70. Sixteen KiloBytes

In this year's Game Club Shortlist episode, Andy, Diego, and Wiedo each bring three brand-new games—built for old-school consoles—to the table. Only three will survive the nomination gauntlet and become the next picks for the July Game Club. Along the way, we get updates on sourdough laziness, shattered PCs, chaotic home renovations, and obsessive Quake map tinkering. Expect a mix of roguelikes, puzzle-platformers, sprawling adventures, and at least one game that pushes its retro hardware to the limit. Which new-old classics will make the cut? Join us for the debate and start planning your summer backlog.

69. Game club shortlist (June 2025)

In this episode, Andy, Wiedo, and Mark continue the tradition of the yearly shoot’em-up special. Andy kicks things off with Frontier Force for the Sega Master System, an intense fixed-screen shooter reminiscent of Space Invaders but elevated with dynamic weapon cycling and epic battles against waves of aliens and imposing bosses. Mark dives into Red Shift for the ZX Spectrum, spotlighting its accessible mechanics, unique shield regeneration system, and collectible ship parts that boost your capabilities, despite challenges posed by its monochrome visuals and tricky bullet visibility. Finally, Wiedo introduces Changeable Guardian Estique on the NES, an inventive horizontal shooter featuring a mech-transforming spaceship, strategic shield replenishments, and branching paths offering varied environmental challenges. Come shoot up some time with us!

68. Very almost spiritual Shm'ups #2

Andy and Wiedo return after a busy break to tackle Hero GP (Gameboy Color), an addictive racing experience reminiscent of Super Hang-On, with its vibrant visuals and simple yet engaging gameplay, and Crater Song (NES), a sci-fi puzzle adventure filled with rich lore, unique cooperative mechanics using two NES controllers simultaneously, and a compelling narrative set on a mysterious musical planet.

The crew also touches on recreating Quake maps purely from memory in the "Quake from Memory" project, the trials and tribulations of the never-ending TV repair, sourdough baking, the upcoming shmups episode, the MiSTer Multisystem2, and much more!

67. Original scanlines

In this day and age you'd expect old consoles and computers to be discontinued and forgotten, but contrary to any expectation they are alive and thriving with new exciting content from a new generation of developers! We intend to explore these new games for old platforms!

Andres Menegazzo

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