76. Focus: Earthion

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.