PLAY RETRO 161: Rampage

On this week’s episode of Play Retro, Rampage, from 1986. The classic arcade destruction game developed by Bally Midway that puts players in control of giant, mutated monsters—George the gorilla, Lizzie the lizard, and Ralph the werewolf—as they wreak havoc on cities across the United States. Turns out, this thing holds up!

PLAY RETRO 160: Zaxxon

On this week’s Play Retro podcast with Scott Johnson and Brian Dunaway, ZAXXON! Sega’s revolutionary 1982 arcade game that introduced an isometric perspective to shoot-'em-ups, setting it apart from the top-down and side-scrolling shooters of its era. Its sequel, Super Zaxxon, amped up the difficulty with faster enemy movement and trickier level designs. We’ll also briefly mention Future Spy, a lesser-known Sega shooter that borrowed elements from Zaxxon while adding a military espionage theme.

PLAY RETRO 159: The SSX Series

SSX, EA Sports BIG’s legendary snowboarding series that defined arcade-style extreme sports in the early 2000s. From the original SSX on the PS2 to the fan-favorite SSX Tricky and the open-world masterpiece SSX 3, these games combined fast-paced racing, gravity-defying tricks, and an unforgettable soundtrack.

PLAY RETRO 158: Space Quest

Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, Space Quest II: Vohaul’s Revenge, and Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon. These games, developed by Sierra’s "Two Guys from Andromeda" (Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy), combined comedy and science fiction in a way that few adventure games had done before. QUEST IN SPACE!!!!!

PLAY RETRO 157: Pole Position

Pole Position and Pole Position II, the classic arcade racing games that defined an entire genre. Developed by Namco and distributed by Atari in the US released in the early '80s, Pole Position introduced the world to realistic track-based racing with qualifying rounds, intense time-based competition, and scaling sprite graphics that made players feel like they were truly behind the wheel.

Play Retro 156: Wario Land for Game Boy

Wario Land 1–4, the beloved side-scrolling platformer series that gave Mario’s greedy, garlic-loving rival a starring role. Beginning with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 on the Game Boy, the series evolved into a creative and quirky take on platforming, replacing traditional power-ups with bizarre transformations, treasure-hunting mechanics, and Wario’s signature brute force.

Play Retro 155: Dino Crisis

Survival horror meets dinosaurs. Regina and her team are sent to a mysterious research facility where prehistoric creatures are on the loose. Capcom’s attempt to mix survival horror with dinosaurs. Released in 1999, Dino Crisis introduced players to a sci-fi thriller where Velociraptors and T-Rexes replaced zombies.

PLAY RETRO 154: Fuzion Frenzy!

Microsoft throws everything at its launch titles to see what sticks for the Xbox original release in 2001 including this Party Game; Fuzion Frenzy with its host of fast paced mini games aimed at gamers of a certain drinking age and their 3 friends. Light and competitive and addicting as all get out. We discuss the Official Xbox Magazine launched that alongside and gave Fuzion Frenzy a fairly positive score.

PLAY RETRO 153: Wave Race 64

Wave Race 64: a showcase game for the Nintendo 64 showing off the power of the N64 with this early 3d game on water that challenges the player to control their vehicle while bouncing around on choppy water. Look at those waves! Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed by Nintendo EAD players compete for 1st place by out racing and stunting their way past their opponents.

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