Podouken

It's the start of the Three's Company series but instead of Jack, Janet, and Chrissy (it's an old joke, look it up) we're talking about Pimple, Rash, and Zitz who star in one of the best, but woefully undersupported, beat 'em ups to hit the arcades - the Rare and Electronics Arts collab, Battletoads.

What insane decisions did Rare make to keep this game fresh? Which collects more dust: a navel or Jaz drive slot? How much profanity was removed from Battletoads prior to it hitting arcades? What was the name of that kids game show where they would run through the maze at the end and velcro games to their vest and helmet?

Answers to this episode's listener questions include our arcade pick to take on a rampaging kaiju destroying our town, which arcade character has the best hat, and what the heck do we do for our day jobs. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

This episode is about a game you've definitely heard of but likely never knew was an arcade game. Lemony Vengeance joins the show to talk about his efforts to keep this Valve and Taito arcade collaboration alive. We're talking Gordon Freeman, airboats, gravity guns and headcrabs as we discuss the super rare Half-Life 2: Survivor.

How did Lemony bring this Survivor back from its Street Fighter tomb? Is the GabeCube coming to save us? Will there ever be a Half-Life 3? What are some of our scariest game pickups?

We also answer some deeply personal arcade collecting questions like how many storage units we own and cover the joys of operating arcade and pinball games for the public. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

Let's go! Ah, the early 90s when the perfect date night meant hopping into a sit-down arcade game based on buddy cop movies, grabbing the steering wheel with one hand, gun with the other, and having you and your passenger blast away the bad guys in gory pixelated glory. Was there anything better than Namco's unique driver/shooter Lucky & Wild?

Do you believe the story that Lucky & Wild drew no inspiration from Tango & Cash? How do we like DotEmu's new Marvel Cosmic Invasion (we swear it's not a paid advertisement - unless they want it to be)? Was this entire game a thinly veiled anti-tobacco message? What exactly is that Maserati's rearview mirror attached to?

Some holiday-themed questions for this episode include what gamer gifts we do want (and don't want); asking us to identify our ghosts of arcade past, present, and future; and, do we weaponize our candy canes? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

Thanks to Mike aka Bizzaroaids on the Podouken Discord for the Listeners' Choice game nomination!

The late '80s were packed with pop-culture obsessions: arcades, action movies, neon aesthetics, and of course, a nationwide fascination with ninjas. Sleek, masked warriors showed up everywhere from toys to TV, shaping the era's love of fast, flashy combat. But no arcade game captured the ninja craze as perfectly as Sega's  iconic side-scrolling adventure, Shinobi.

How did Shinobi perform a bait and switch on poor kids at the arcade? Is a mining engineering degree the perfect educational pursuit to get into game design? Did Pastblaster enjoy Free Play Florida 2025? What is the earliest ninja arcade game and can the hosts guess it even with one of them owning it?

Listener questions include what our favorite "one then done" fighting game is and if you could have one power from an original video game character what would it be? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

Thanks to Talysman on the Podouken Discord for the Listeners' Choice game nomination!

The music is fading and the lights are coming up on our Rhythm miniseries. Time for the final encore as each host picks one more game for this rhythm Arcade Obscura.

The first pick is a helluva ride that features a very familiar arcade character. The next pick takes us to heaven with a development contract made in hell. Our final pick may be one of the most obscure games we've ever featured and requires you to bring a friend.

We field your questions like if any arcade machine could be perfectly resurrected, what would be our choice to bring back from the dead, and which video game music would we like to hear performed by ukulele? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz

You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post our listener question segments and additional content: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.