Share

The Back Page: A Video Games Podcast
Episode 17: The Best Nintendo 3DS Games (with Joe Skrebels)
The Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old this month in the US and Europe, and in this episode, we're counting down the system's best games. We're joined by a special guest (and former employee of Matthew's) to supercharge our Nintendo expertise: IGN's Joe Skrebels! Hear about the history of this system, and learn about the many highlights of its library.
This week's music is from the Fire Emblem: Awakening soundtrack by Hiroki Morishita and Rei Kondoh; the Super Mario 3D Land soundtrack by Asuka Hayazaki, Takeshi Hama and Mahito Yokota; the Kid Icarus: Uprising soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, Noriyuki Iwadare, Takahiro Nishi and Yasunori Mitsuda; and the Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright soundtrack by Tomohito Nishiura and Yasumasa Kitagawa.
More episodes
View all episodes

How to Make a Sequel to a Successful Video Game (with Jay Baylis)
01:23:14|How many ideas get saved from the original game when you're making a sequel? Does it cost more money to make a follow-up? How do you make sure an indie sequel doesn't vanish without a trace?Our returning guest Jay Baylis answers these questions while discussing his next game with Bytten Studio, Cassette Beasts 2002.This week's music is from the Cassette Beasts soundtrack by Joel Baylis.
The Best Games of 1997
02:48:04|Stepping outside our 2000s comfort zone, this week we're sharing our two top 10 lists from 1997 in the first of a new quadrilogy of pods. Expect 1998, 1999 and 2000 episodes in the coming months.This week's music is from The Curse of Monkey Island soundtrack by Michael Land.You can get us, as ever, at backpagegames@gmail.com.Videos referenced in this week's episode: the German bloke touring E3 in Atlanta, Howard Lincoln talking about Rare, Nintendo's Space World, Games World's segment from the Sega booth at E3 1997 and B-roll of the games shown at Space World.
Mailbag
01:53:26|What if IO Interactive made an Austin Powers game? Which game has been called overrated and underrated so many times that it's now just 'rated'? And why do some big games only get 1-page reviews in magazines?All that and more as we melt to death in the endless UK heatwave.
What We've Been Playing (Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven Groove)
01:32:56|Our monthly attempt to make a normal video games podcast.Games played this week: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Duskfade, Super Scram Kitty, Dimhaven - The Lost Source, Virtue and a Sledgehammer (mistakenly referred to by Samuel multiple times as 'Virtue is a Sledgehammer', the buffoon).Here's the thread on naming games by Hannah Flynn, as discussed at the end of this episode.
Games Court – Judge Castle Decides Edition
01:55:21|The worst format in podcasting is back, fresh from the Castle Island Backrooms. This time, we've got even more moral conundrums for Judge Castle to figure out.Find the image referenced in this episode here.
Two Giant Men Play Grand Theft Auto V
03:04:59|Our irregular GTA series reaches its finale with the most recent game in the series: 2013's Grand Theft Auto 5. From the heists to the torture mission, what holds up well in 2026?This week's music is from the GTA 5 soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.
The First-Person Draft (with Jeremy Peel)
02:37:00|10 categories, 30 picks – time for another draft, this time about first-person shooters and related games. Vote for the winner here. We'll update this post with who picked what later today.These are the 10 categories:Single-player shooterMultiplayer shooterSim (including immersive sim)Game with emphasis on movement or platformingNarrative or horror gameGame from the last 5 yearsRPGFree pickWild card (has to be below 80 on Metacritic)Game with notable first-person animations (either involving your hands or the faces of other characters)This is the Deus Ex: Invisible War-like game Jeremy referenced during this episode.
Our 10 Most Anticipated Games from Summer Games Fest 2026
02:00:56|We all survived another week-plus of marketing livestreams! These were our picks of the best upcoming games, including our thoughts on the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo showcases.
Mina the Hollower, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight + Mailbag
01:43:46|Bond is done! Now for some other great games that landed in May, plus the new Onimusha demo.