Episode 641: Tales of Games Journalism & Games That Hold Up

Nadia: Once upon a time, magazine racks were filled with video game magazines. Most of these publications moved to publish exclusively online by 2010, leaving the magazines that dominated the '80s and ’90s to crumble into ash. But what did video game journalism look like during that awkward growth spurt? How did we collect, write, and deliver game news, reviews, features, and previews with one foot in the digital realm and the other still locked in on the analogue world? Put simply, how did we get our E3 2006 news up on game websites ASAP in a world without smartphones, affordable laptops, and reliable Wi-Fi signals? It was so complicated, yet so simple. Listen as Nadia and David Oxford recall that magical, often heart attack-inducing time with Jeremy Parish and Diamond Feit at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo 2024.

And, we often hear about games that "age well." When we say a human is aging well, we mean the grim specter of time is simply etched a little less obviously on their features. When we say a game ages well, we mean it has a timeless warmth that has faded little, or not at all. What's the secret sauce that keeps these games delightful? And why is the best example of this phenomenon Chrono Trigger? Okay, Nadia Oxford mentions tons of other examples alongside Jeremy Parish and Diamond Feit, but you have to admit Chrono Trigger is pretty special.

Art by Nick Wanserski.

• 12:30: Blades of Steel "And you play against..."

• 26:22: New Super Mario Bros. "Overworld"

• 42:10: Superman Returns "Superman Overture"

• 52:50: Metal Gear Solid 4 "Old Snake"

• 1:08:10: Super Mario Bros. "Overworld"

• 1:22:59: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin "Hail from the Past"

• 1:39:22: Donkey Kong Country "Acquatic Ambiance"

• 1:50:52: StarFox "Corneria"