Allen's Gaming History (Extended Mix) [September 2026]

By

 


Welcome to Gaming History (Extended Mix)! This is a video series that serves as an "extended" version of #MonarchyGamingHistory, a regular segment on the Tuesday (tech news) edition of the Morning Monarchy radio show (hosted by James E. Pilato of Media Monarchy). 

If you like this content and the other work that I do (Pokémon ROM hack walkthroughs, DJ sets, manga/comic book podcasts, Weekend Bonus Stage and more), you can support me from here https://mrtkallen.blogspot.com/2023/09/support.html

If you're new here and need to catch up...


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday 6 September 2026



Episode 15: OutRun 40th Anniversary

40 years ago last week, on 4 September 1986, Sega released OutRun for arcades in Japan.

Watch on the Internet Archive


00 Hiroshi Kawaguchi - Magical Sound Shower [OutRun]

01 OutRun Arcade 1986 (Japanese version) [Jamess Cornejo]

02 Out Run (Arcade) - Video Game Years 1986 [Pat the NES Punk]

03 Megadrive OUTRUN Japanese Commercial Video アウトラン [Trader Games]

04 The Out Run Story [Little Car]

05 -OutRun segment, 8 Minutes In- Yu Suzuki Interview [ACMI Collection]

06 OutRun - Arcade Review | How to Retro [How to Retro]

07 -First 6 Minutes- Icons S2E04 Yu Suzuki [Unimportant Entertainment]

08 OutRun: Top 5 Things You Didn't Know [Scarflix]

09 -First 15 Minutes- The History of Outrun - 2025 edition - アウトラン - arcade console documentary - Remastered [PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries]

09.5 Hiroshi Kawaguchi - Passing Breeze [OutRun]

10 -Snippet- Out Run Series - Review - Game Sack [Game Sack]

11 -Snippet- Yu Suzuki And His Classic Games - Which Way Games [Sy Retro]

12 -Snippet- Out Run: The Complete History | SEGA's most iconic driving game - SGR [Slope's Game Room]

13 -Snippet- OutRun Game Evolution (1986 - 2009) [Game Evolution]

10 (Ending theme) Hiroshi Kawaguchi - Last Wave [OutRun]

Apologies for the super late posting of this episode, it would've come out on Friday if we didn't have one of those really busy weeks here. Busy at work and busy at home because there was a house guest that had to be looked after until they left yesterday. Also, I do have to apologise for the minor dip in audio quality. I ran the original video file (which was over 2GB) through two different video compression programs: the first program kept the audio quality well enough but the visuals looked a bit squashed. The second program maintained the visuals but the audio has that little telltale sign of a file that has been compressed, especially when you hear the Out Run songs. The dip doesn't spoil the episode but I just wanted to let you know, especially those of you with good ears for sound quality.

Out Run was just a few years before my time and as I've tried to recall to my arcade venturing days in the early 90's, I can't remember if I saw the game in either of places I would visit. It could've been there but I just didn't play it. But I do appreciate the influence that it had on racing and driving games which came years later such as Need For Speed and Gran Turismo that I did have a chance to play. I couldn't find any video interviews with Kawaguchi, those would've been a nice addition because I wanted to hear him talk about putting together the game's amazing soundtrack. I like jazz so I'll be sure to search for that jazz album mentioned in the Scarflix video which the Out Run team had to listen to, maybe some of those songs will make it into a future #SoulfulSunday set 😎

**Honourable Watchables**

Best Video Game Creator: Yu Suzuki's interview with english subtitles [Actu, sport, musique et jeux video !!!]

OutRun (1986) Retrospective | SEGA Talk Podcast [SEGAbits]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday 9 September 2026


Episode 16: Wonder Boy & Adventure Island 40th Anniversaries

40 years ago, on 21 April 1986, Wonder Boy (developed by Escape and published by Sega) was released for arcades in Japan. Hudson Soft was tasked with developing a port of the game and on 12 September 1986 this port was released as Adventure Island on the Nintendo Family Computer and the ASCII Corporation's MSX video game systems.

Watch on Substack
Watch on Rumble


00 Jun Chikuma - Title Theme (Hudson's Adventure Island)

01 Wonder Boy Arcade Version Intro - 1986 - Retro Gaming [Arcada]

02 Wonder Boy - Classic Arcade Game - Retrospective & Review [Classic Arcade]

03 -First 4 Minutes- The Making of Wonder Boy / Monster World [strafefox]

04 -First 6 Minutes- The History of the Wonder Boy Franchise - Arcade console documentary [PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries]

05 -Area 1 Round 1- Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima (Adventure Island) [NES] játékmenet (gameplay) 1. rész [Retro Játékos / Retro Gamer]

06 Adventure Island - TV commercial 1 (Japanese) [PyoroX]

07 Adventure Island (NES, 1988) - Video Game Years History [Pat the NES Punk]

08 Adventure Island (NES) - Angry Video Game Nerd - NES Marathon Exclusive [Pat the NES Punk]

09 Adventure Island - 1986 Alternative Japanese NES Commercial [Daniel-san SV]

10 CGR Undertow - TAKAHASHI MEIJIN NO BOUKEN JIMA review for Famicom [CGRundertow]

11 -First 4 Minutes- Story Breakdown: Hudson's Adventure Island Series - Defunct Games [Defunct Games]

12 -First 5 Minutes- Adventure Island Has a BIG Localization Problem... [Thane Gaming]

13 -First 10 Minutes- Wonder Boy vs Adventure Island - Review - Game Sack [Game Sack]

14 Takahashi Meijin: Adventure Island model toy [famicomchannel]

Ending theme: Jun Chikuma - Ending Theme (Hudson's Adventure Island)

This was going to be an episode just about Adventure Island since its anniversary is coming up in a few days, but as I was watching these videos about the game I'm finding out about this other game Wonder Boy and learning that Adventure Island was meant to be a port of it for the Famicom. I had never even heard of Wonder Boy before so after learning more about it I thought it would be best to showcase both games since they are so connected and both came out in the same year just a handful of months apart.

For the Konami Classics episode Show Notes I mentioned a 56-in-1 TV Game cartridge that I had many, many years ago and that it included games like The Goonies and Circus Charlie. Adventure Island was also on that cartridge, one of the games which were listed on the first selection screen alongside Super Mario Bros., Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star, Contra, Legend of Kage, Battle City and others that I can't remember now. Adventure Island stood out because of the music, the island setting and this cap-wearing guy whose name I didn't know (at the time I just called him Islander 😂) but I cared enough to want to see where his journey will take him. Fun game, but challenging as well and yet I still kept coming back for more, even though I never finished Adventure Island during that TV Game era. I did finish it many years later on an emulator, one of MANY old games that I aim to get back to and finish...someday.

**Honourable Watchables**

Evolution of Wonder Boy games (1986-2021) [EvolGam]

Wonderboy / Monsterworld review retrospective [strafefox]

Every Wonder Boy Game [Reviewed] [NeverChris]

Wonder Boy (1986) - Sega's Arcade Hit | Video Games Over Time [ballerscuba]

Hudson's Adventure Island & Milon's Secret Castle retrospective: The Hudson proxy | NES Works #087 [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]

Famidaily - Episode 0140 - Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima/Adventure Island (高橋名人の冒険島) [RndStranger]

Adventure Island Retrospective: The NES Original and its Revivals [Thane Gaming]

Evolution of Adventure Island games (1986-2009) [EvolGam]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Saturday 12 September 2026


Episode 17: Crash Bandicoot 30th Anniversary

30 years ago this week, on 9 September 1996, Crash Bandicoot (developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment) was released for the Sony PlayStation in North America.

Watch on BitChute
Watch on the Internet Archive
Watch on Substack


01 -N. Sanity Beach- Crash Bandicoot | Longplay | Gameplay Walkthrough | No Commentary (PS1) [Virtual Game Collection]

02 Crash Bandicoot Ad from 1996 [SeansShowStudios]

03 Crash Bandicoot - Trailer 1996 [konzolista]

04 CGRundertow CRASH BANDICOOT for PlayStation Video Game Review [CGRundertow]

05 Crash Bandicoot as PlayStation Mascot TV Commercial 1 for PlayStation - PS1 - PSX - 1996 [Echoes of PlayTime]

06 -Snippet- E3 1996 Showfloor [Crash Bandicoot, Sonic X-Treme, Mario Kart 64 and more] [NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive]

07 -1 Minute in- Sony PlayStation E3 Satellite Feed, May 16, 1996 [Game Zero]

08 -First 5 Minutes- What's So Great About Crash Bandicoot - A New Age of Platforming [What'sSoGreatAboutGaming]

09 Crash Bandicoot for Playstation One Commercial (1996) [augustv123]

10 -7 Minutes in (6 Minutes)- G4 Icons Episode #34: Naughty Dog [G4Icons]

11 Crash Bandicoot (Dance) (Long) Japanese Commercial [83Chrisaaron]

12 -Jungle Rollers (4 Minutes)- Crash Bandicoot - E3 Demo - 1996 [FenderXT]

13 Sony PlayStation - Bandicoot in the Hood [Foulowe59]

14 -First 5 Minutes- Crash Bandicoot review - ColourShed [ColourShed]

15 -First 3 Minutes- [Old] Crash Bandicoot - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Caddicarus [DidYouKnowGaming]

16 -6 Minutes in (6 Minutes)- Crash Bandicoot: How Naughty Dog Changed the Course of PlayStation and American Video Games [GTV Japan]

17 Crash Bandicoot as PlayStation Mascot TV Commercial 2 for PlayStation -PS1 - PSX - 1996 [Echoes of PlayTime]

18 -First 5 Minutes- CRASH BANDICOOT - An Icon Decline [Good Blood]

19 -4 Minutes in (5 Minutes)- How Crash Bandicoot Hacked The Original Playstation | War Stories | Ars Technica [Ars Technica]

20 -First 4 Minutes- E3 Coliseum: Crash Bandicoot Reunion [gameslice]

Ending theme: Josh Mancell - Main Menu theme [Crash Bandicoot]

When I think of the PS1 (whether it's the original design or the slim design), Crash Bandicoot is one of the games that comes to mind and I go back in time to the late 90's because that's when I first saw and played on a PS1. One of my next door neighbours in 1999 had a PS1 and games such as Jumping Flash, Spyro, Tomb Raider, plus demos of Tomba and a fighting game called Zero Divide. As someone who had only played games on a TV Game console, at the arcades and on old Windows desktops, and watched shows like Video Power, the PS1 was quite the shock to system. By the time the 2000's rolled in, those arcades which I would frequent in the early 90's were gone and instead the new arcades which were around had PS1 and later on PS2 consoles. It was at one of these arcades where I found Crash Bandicoot (they didn't have the first game, they had Warped). Just like Jumping Flash and Spyro, I had fun playing Crash Bandicoot: Warped because it wasn't too complicated to pick up and learn (which might explain why it was among the popular games at the arcade, along side Tekken 3). I lost track with the rest of the games in the series as the years went by (there were always other games to be found and played) so I didn't know about what happened with Naughty Dog and other developers working on the other games until all these years later. 

**Honourable Watchables**

Crash Bandicoot Co-Creator Andy Gavin: Extended Interview | Ars Technica [Ars Technica]

Crash Bandicoot Games with Caddicarus - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) [Cinemassacre and Caddicarus]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tuesday 15 September 2026


Episode 18: Tekken 2 & X-Men vs. Street Fighter 30th Anniversaries

30 years ago in Japan, Namco released Tekken 2 on 29 March 1996 for the Sony PlayStation and several months later on 9 September 1996 Capcom released X-Men vs. Street Fighter for arcades.

Watch on YouTube
Watch on Substack


01 Tekken 2 - Game Soundtrack - Intro Movie [Yukiko]

02 Tekken 2 (PSX) Longplay - Kazuya Playthrough [Darius320]

03 -First 5 Minutes- Tekken 2 PlayStation Review [PSX Gaming Memories]

04 Tekken 2 Japanese Commercial [83Chrisaaron]

05 -First 10 Minutes- Tekken 2 - A Retrospective On The Second Coming [LarsJinn]

06 Tekken 2 "The Greatest Fighting On Earth" (Sony PlayStation\PSX\PSone\Commercial) 4K [RGTV]

07 -11 Minutes in, 1 Minute- The Godfather of 3D Fighting Games – Seiichi Ishii [〚Mild Conviction〛]

08 X Men VS Street Fighter Trailer [MMSTHfanatic]

09 -First 3 Minutes- X-Men vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation 4) Arcade as Ryu/Cyclops [TheInnocentSinful]

10 -First 8 Minutes- X-Men vs. Street Fighter 25 Years Later [Shacknews]

11 -First 5 Minutes- X-Men vs. Street Fighter: Arcade vs PS1 vs Saturn Comparison [RetroPort]

12 X-Men Vs. Street Fighter - Official Arcade Trailer | Summer of Gaming 2020 [IGN]

13 -First 5 Minutes- X-Men vs. Street Fighter Arcade1Up Review | MichaelBtheGameGenie [MichaelBtheGameGenie]

14 -First 5 Minutes- How X-Men vs. Street Fighter Revolutionized Fighting Games | Full Documentary [Retro Reload]

14.5 Ending theme 1: Namco Sound Team - "Almost Frozen" (Anna stage theme) [Tekken 2]

15 Tekken 2, Playstation (Namco, 1996) UK TV ad [Transmit Him]

16 Ending theme 2: Namco Sound Team - "Silent Assassin" (Nina stage theme) [Tekken 2]

As you can tell from the Show Notes above, there wasn't a whole lot as far as major non-YouTuber reviews go. I found a couple of reviews from Classic Game Room, this one for Tekken 2 and this one for XMvSF's Sega Saturn port. I've enjoyed CGR's reviews but this time I thought the Tekken 2 review was terrible (less of a solid review and more of, "Let me pepper the review with more talk about what I was doing in college around the time Tekken 2 was fresh) and I didn't feature the other review because this episode is about the arcade version (it turns out the Sega Saturn port came out over a year later anyway). 

I've only played XMvSF once - outside a restaurant that we had stopped at while on holiday in South Africa sometime in the 2000's. The arcade cabinet was just standing out there, waiting for any would-be challengers and that one lucky day I happened to be in the area 😂. I had been a fan of X-Men thanks to the 90's cartoon and I was familiar with Street Fighter thanks to one of the local arcades back in the 90's having Street Figher 2. So it was really cool to find this crossover game and even if it was for a few minutes, to play as and against some familiar characters.

As for Tekken 2, I have Tekken 5 to thank for it. It is 20 years this year since I received my original PAL PS2 as birthday gift. It came bundled with Tekken 5, Gran Turismo 4 and either my dad or uncle decided to through in an extra game in the form of WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006. Myself, my brother and our friends spent a lot of time with Tekken 5 and SvR and eventually in Tekken 5 we unlocked Tekken 2 and it was a nice little surprise. This wasn't my first meeting with a Tekken game, I had become aware of the series through Tekken 3 a few years before at one of the newer arcades (same arcade which had Crash Bandicoot 3, Star Wars Episode 1, Men in Black and other games). What drew me in was the characters and their stories around the King of Iron Fist Tournament, they were interesting enough and that made playing through Arcade Mode worth it because we wanted to see each character's ending or the interactions with other characters before fights.  

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday 18 September 2026



Episode 19: God Hand 20th Anniversary

20 years ago this week, on 14 September 2006, God Hand (developed by Clover Studio) was released by Capcom for the Sony PlayStation 2 in Japan.

Watch on BitChute
Watch on the Internet Archive
Watch on YouTube


00 -Audio- God Hand - PS2 Playstation 2 [Retro Hawk]

01 God Hand • 4K AI Upscaled E3 2006 Trailer • PS2 [PlayscopeTimeline]

02 -First 5 Minutes- God Hand - PS2 Playstation 2 [Retro Hawk]

03 GameSpot - God Hand Video Review (PS2) [ClassicGamespotRevs]

04 God Hand - Trailer 01 [PS2 JP] [DDDJr]

05 PS2 God Hand Gameplay, PS2, E3 2006 Video, 70 of 141 [unitedgamesvideos]

06 GAF TV: God Hand video review [GamesAreFun]

07 God Hand • 4K AI Upscaled TGS 2006 Trailer • PS2 [PlayscopeTimeline]

08 Shinji Mikami talking about GOD HAND [Milk 肉 Koba]

09 God Hand PlayStation 2 Trailer - Trailer [IGN]

10 -First 5 Minutes- The reasons why Capcom is afraid of GOD HAND [Milk 肉 Koba]

11 -First 4 Minutes- God Hand Review | Beat Thugs™ | Demons™ | Women™ [SsethTzeentach]

12 In Defense of God Hand [IGN]

13 -First 5 Minutes- GODHAND - What Happened? [Matt McMuscles]

14 -3 Minutes in (5 Minutes)- God Hand (2006) Is Capcom's Greatest Failure [Skooch]

15 God Hand - A Retrospective On Style [Indie Bytes]

Ending theme: Masafumi Takada & Jun Fukuda - Gene's Rock-A-Bye [God Hand]

I should be kicking myself now even after all these years because there was a time in the late 2000's or early 2010's when my good friend Alex had a copy of God Hand that he was playing. It kicked his ass multiple times but he had fun with it. I had never heard of the game before until he told me about it at the time but for whatever reason I didn't borrow it and try it out for myself. All is not lost though, emulators are there to save the day so I still have a chance to get beaten within an inch of my life by God Hand too 😂

**Honourable Watchables**

Shinji Mikami, Part 2: An Eclectic Journey [Archipel]

Why God Hand Is Expensive God Hand PS2 Review - Every Day Retro Gaming [Every Day Retro Gaming]

God Hand - This is why we can't have nice things [TotalBiscuit]

God Hand Will Change Your Life [Review] (GhoolyTV)

God Hand is VISIONARY Action Game Design [The Electric Underground]

God Hand | PS2 vs PS3 vs PS4 vs PS5 | Graphics Comparison - 4K [Group M Pro]

Why You Should Play God Hand [Syy]

How God Hand Tests Your Skill [Turbo Button]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday 23 September 2026


Episode 20: Ōkami 20th Anniversary

20 years ago, on 19 September 2006, Ōkami (developed by Clover Studio) was released by Capcom for the Sony PlayStation 2 in North America.



00 Masami Ueda, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Rei Kondoh, Akari Kaida - Rising Sun [Ōkami]

01 Okami PlayStation 2 Trailer - TGS 2004 Trailer [IGN]

02 Okami PlayStation 2 Gameplay - A first look [IGN]

03 Retro GAMEPSOT - Okami Developer Interview 1 (2005) [Austin532]

04 Okami • Trailer E3 2006 • PS2 [PlayscopeTimeline]

05 GameSpot - Okami Video Review (PS2) [ClassicGamespotRevs]

06 okami commercial ps2 [Ingrid Mejia #1]

07 Okami PlayStation 2 Gameplay_2005_05_16 [IGN]

08 Okami PlayStation 2 Interview - Okami Video Interview [IGN]

09 #1 ((58 seconds version, 3 in 1)) okami commercial ps2 [Ingrid Mejia]

10 Okami PlayStation 2 Review - Video Review [IGN]

11 -6 Minutes- Okami - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Yuriofwind [DidYouKnowGaming]

12 #3 ((58 seconds version, 3 in 1)) okami commercial ps2 [Ingrid Mejia]

13 -First 5 Minutes- Okami - In-depth Review [Thinreaper]

14 -First 6 Minutes- Hideki Kamiya on Ōkami (1UP Interview) - PS2 [byte.me]

15 -6 Minutes- The Rise and Fall of Clover Studio | The Untold Story Behind Okami [WestCoastNinja]

16 Okami sequel - Project Teaser Trailer [Capcom USA]

17 "Trust Us" - Okami 2 Developers on the Surprise Sequel and Okami's Legacy [IGN]

Ending theme: Masami Ueda, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Rei Kondoh, Akari Kaida - Ōkami Shiranui [Ōkami]

Okami director Hideki Kamiya shares special 20th anniversary message as work continues on the sequel

I did not find out about Ōkami until a few years later when the Wii port was released. I thought the game was a Wii exclusive title, probably because of the art style and the Celestial Brush mechanic, and only many years later did I learn that it was a PS2 game first and who would've thunk it, the same crew that dished out Viewtiful Joe and God Hand were responsible for Ōkami. So in the end Clover Studio got their big happy ending, with cult classic games that many people still care about 20 years later and one of those games has a sequel in the works now. 

**Honourable Watchables**

Behind the Scenes - Okami [NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive]

Okami Soundtrack E3 2005 Promotion [GameMusic17]

The Disturbing Mythology of Okami [Ghost Surge]

On the Spot #20050526 - E3 2005 Highlights | Killzone 2 | Okami #retrotv #retrogaming [Spacies TV]

E3 2005 - Capcom - 6 Games [Brad Lynch (MarinoV1)]

Retro GAMESPOT - Okami Developer Interview 2 (2005) [Austin532]

Retro GAMESPOT - Okami Developer Interview 3 (2006) [Austin532]

Atsushi Inaba on Ōkami (1UP Interview) - PS2 [byte.me]

Okami, Bayonetta & Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya: unblocking memories with Ikumi Nakamura Pt 1 [UNSEEN]

Ōkami, Bayonetta & Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya: Memories unblocked with Ikumi Nakamura Pt 2 [UNSEEN]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday 25 September 2026


Episode 21: Castlevania 40th Anniversary

40 years ago this week, on 26 September 1986, Konami's Castlevania was released in Japan for the Nintendo Family Computer Disk System.

Watch on the Internet Archive
Watch on Substack


00 Kinuyo Togakushi - Game Start Prologue [Castlevania]

01 -2 Minutes- Castlevania (NES) Playthrough [NintendoComplete]

02 Castlevania (NES, 1987) Feat. James Rolfe - Video Game Years History [Pat the NES Punk]

03 All Castlevania Commercials - 悪魔城ドラキュラ ＣＭ 集 [Lunar Cafe]

04 -First 5 Minutes- The Year of FDS - Part 15 - Akumajou Dracula/Castlevania (悪魔城ドラキュラ) [RndStranger]

05 CGRundertow CASTLEVANIA for NES Video Game Review [CGRundertow]

06 Nintendo eShop - Castlevania (NES) Trailer [HD] [GamerSciz]

07 -First 5 Minutes- Castlevania (Part 1) - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) [Cinemassacre]

08 -First 5 Minutes- What's So Great About Castlevania? - A Crash Course in Adventuring [What'sSoGreatAboutGaming]

09 Castlevania 40th Anniversary – Overture [Konami]

10 Castlevania - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Remix of WeeklyTubeShow [DidYouKnowGaming]

11 -First 4 Minutes- All Your History - Castlevania [felman87]

12 -First 4 Minutes- The History Of Castlevania [GameSpot]

13 -First 6 Minutes- Castlevania's Mystery Dev: Hitoshi Akamatsu w/ ‪@igotkings‬ [Majora T]

Castlevania – Developer Commentary

14 -First 5 Minutes- Kinuyo Yamashita Interview - One of the Original Composers Celebrates The 40th Anniversary! [Dongled]

15 -First 7 Minutes- The History of Castlevania the Complete Saga – documentary [PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries]

15.5 Ending theme: Satoe Terashima - Vampire Killer (Stage 1) [Castlevania]

16 -Snippet- Evolution of Castlevania Games [1986-2024] (Eryx Channel)


17 Castlevania: Belmont‘s Curse Announcement Trailer (ESRB) | KONAMI [Konami]

18 Castlevania: Belmont‘s Curse Release Date Trailer(ESRB) | KONAMI [Konami]

I give credit to the the GBA and DS games for being my first experiences of Castlevania since I wasn't around yet when the Famicom games came out and would only get to play them many years later via NES emulator. With so many games that have come out in the series, maybe it would be best to stick with just the older main titles if/when I decide to dive back into Castlevania? Hmm. For this episode, I did over-prepare because there was were so many interesting videos that were found which I would've liked to put a spotlight on if I didn't run out of time. For example, I had wanted to include videos about the Metroidvania genre during the second half of the episode. But I decided to save those for an "Episode 21.5" which I'll try to get out next week after Episode 22. 

**Honourable Watchables**

The Unused Content of Castlevania [The Sacrifice]

The Myth and Meaning of Castlevania 1 (NES) [OldManZu]

How the Legendary Castlevania was created in 1986 - Documentary(Subbed) [Retro House]

Castlevania (Part 2) - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) [Cinemassacre]

Castlevania (1986) Part 1 – Konami’s Gothic Masterpiece | Video Games Over Time [ballerscuba]

Castlevania (1986) Part 2 – Konami’s Gothic Masterpiece | Video Games Over Time [ballerscuba]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday 2 October 2026


Episode 21.5: What is Metroidvania?

This is a bonus episode that explores the video game sub-genre Metroidvania through various games that fall under that category. I thought it would be a cool extra episode to wrap up the 40th Anniversaries of the two franchises that the sub-genre gets its name from - Nintendo's Metroid and Konami's Castlevania.

Watch on the Internet Archive
Watch on YouTube


00a Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano - Title Theme [Super Metroid]

00b Michiru Yamane - Metamorphosis 1 [Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]

01 Metroidvania Works #00: A Mission Statement [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]

Metroidvania Works [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]


02 What is Metroidvania? [HirusMetroidVania]

03 -2 Minutes in (10 Minutes)- The History Of The Word "Metroidvania" And How It Spread [Critical Kate (of A Critical Hit!)]

04 -10 Minutes- What Makes a Good Metroidvania? [ingeniousclown Gaming]

05 What Makes a Great Metroidvania? [Polygon]

06 Deconstructing the Metroidvania Genre [RoToG]

07 15 Metroidvania Games We’re Excited For in 2026 [I Dream of Indie Games]

08 -First 5 Minutes- Backtrack to the bookstore: Metroidvania: The First Decade | Metroidvania Works Special [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]

Citations needed: Metroidvania The First Decade (Errata, Pt. 1) | Metroidvania Works Special 2 [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]

Back to the ’80s: Metroidvania The First Decade (Errata, Pt. 2) | Metroidvania Works Special 2 [Jeremy Parish | Video Works]

Ending theme: Michiru Yamane - Prologue [Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]

**Honourable Watchables**

((Auto-dubbed)) Metroidvania (History of the Genre) a.k.a Метроидвания (История жанра) [DTF] 

((Auto-dubbed)) THE RISE OF THE METROIDVANIA GENRE a.k.a ВЗЛЁТ ЖАНРА МЕТРОИДВАНИИ [IGM] 

((Auto-dubbed)) HOW THE METROIDVANIA GENRE DIED a.k.a КАК ПОГИБ ЖАНР МЕТРОИДВАНИИ [IGM]  

What is a Metroidvania Game? [Sam Smith]

Define: Metroidvania [Plexicraft]

Top Twenty Metroidvanias of All Time! (2025 Update) [Metroidvania Guru]

What Does It Mean To Be A Metroidvania? [Adam Millard - The Architect of Games]

What is a "Metroidvania?" A miserable little pile of secrets! [shoogles]

Super Metroid vs Castlevania Symphony of the Night | Video Game Faceoff!! [Tony Brasel]

The World Design of Super Metroid | Boss Keys [Game Maker's Toolkit]

The World Design of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Boss Keys [Game Maker's Toolkit]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tuesday 29 September 2026


Episode 22: Pokémon Diamond Version & Pokémon Pearl Version 20th Anniversary

20 years ago this week, on 28 September 2006, Game Freak's Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version were released in Japan for the Nintendo DS.

Watch on the Internet Archive
Watch on YouTube
Watch on Rumble
Watch on Substack


00 -Audio- Go Ichinose - Opening Movie [Pokémon Diamond & Pearl]

01 Pokemon Diamond Intro (Nintendo DS) [Pokemon Dungeon]

02 Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Gamespot Review [LiminKitty]

03 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Nintendo DS) - Japanese Trailer [AshPokemaster]

04 Pokemon Diamond and Pearl launch at Nintendo World [PBCProductions]

05 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl TV Commercial 1 for Nintendo DS - NDS - 2007 [Echoes of PlayTime]

06 Pokemon Pearl Version Nintendo DS Gameplay - [IGN]

07 Pokemon Diamond and Pearl UK Commercial [Japancommercials4U2]

08 -First 4 Minutes- Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Launch Event (2007/04/22, Nintendo World Store @ Rockefeller Plaza, NYC) [nobodyasked]

09 -First 5 Minutes- Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Were Brilliant… and Painful [AOKCraig]

10 -First 7 Minutes- What's So Great About Pokemon: Fourth Generation? - Always Improving [What'sSoGreatAboutGaming]

11 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl TV Commercial 2 for Nintendo DS - NDS - 2007 [Echoes of PlayTime]

12 -First 5 Minutes- Pokemon Diamond and Pearl - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Remix (Nintendo DS) [DidYouKnowGaming]

13 Pokemon Diamond and Pearl UK Commercial 2 [Japancommercials4U2]

14 -52min31sec in (Junichi Masuda & Shigeru Ohmori interview), 10 Minutes- Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Launch Event (2007/04/22, Nintendo World Store @ Rockefeller Plaza, NYC) [nobodyasked]

15 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl TV Commercial 3 for Nintendo DS - NDS - 2007 [Echoes of PlayTime]

16 POKEMON DIAMOND AND PEARL (Honest Game Trailers) [Honest Game Trailers]

17 -First 4 Minutes- Is Pokemon on the DS REALLY That Good? [StrawHatMidas]

18 -First 4 Minutes- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Retrospective [KingK]

19 -First 6 Minutes- A Deep Dive Into Pokemon Diamond & Pearl's Scrapped Content [Turtlebro]

20 -First 5 Minutes- How We Uncovered Pokemon’s Biggest Secret [Lewtwo]

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD MAKE ALL


Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD — MAKE ALL [Full Documentary] [KASHIWA 3RD]


Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD — MAKE ALL [Full Documentary]

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD — MAKE ALL [Bonus Content]

21 Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl – Announcement Trailer (Nintendo Switch) [NintendoAU]

22 Honest Game Trailers | Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl [Honest Game Trailers]

Ending theme: -Audio- Go Ichinose - Introduction [Pokémon Diamond & Pearl]

Interview: Masuda on Developing Gens 1-4

Gen 4 Beta Leak: Cut Gender Differences

IGN Interviews Game Freak director Junichi Masuda and game designer Takeshi Kawachimaru


**Note: The article isn't available on IGN's site for some reason now, but the page was archived at least and you can read the article via the Archive.is links below.

Pokemon Creators on Platinum (Page 1 of 2)

Pokemon Creators on Platinum (Page 2 of 2)

It's been 20 years since Gen 4 came out, can you believe that? A whole two decades. It would be around 2009 when I first played this generation, Pearl Version specifically, and at that point in time I was mostly checked out from Pokémon. Had I not been curious enough about Gen 4 to dive back into Pokémon after finding out about Diamond and Pearl, I don't know if I would've returned to the franchise. Gen 3 had come out at a time when I was still young enough to care about and invest in new Pokémon, new characters and a new region. Gen 4 had new Pokémon, new characters and a new region but it just didn't hit the same way and perhaps it's in this generation where my attachment to the official games started to crack. Sinnoh didn't do a fine job of drawing me in from the get-go, it seemed less livelier than Hoenn and not as bright and colourful. The characters did not stand out enough to be worth remembering even after all these years, except maybe for Cynthia whom I was at least looking forward to meeting and facing after reading up about her being a strong Trainer. Team Galactic gave off some Team Rocket vibes and the plot involving powerful Pokémon associated with space and time didn't exactly light my world on fire. I've just never cared much about those kinds of stories, or stories involving multiple dimensions, multiverses, alternate timelines and universes, that sort of stuff...and this is why I was not a fan of Gen 7's Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon because rather than being sequels to Sun and Moon, they were alternate universe stories and I thought that was lame. As for Gen 4's Pokémon, it would be much later during my Pokémon ROM hack years when I had enough time to spend on them and learn about them through training. They might not have captured my attention the first time round like Gen 3's crew but I liked some of them such as Chimchar, Shinx, Starly, Croagunk, Gible, Buizel and the new evolutions for familiar Pokémon like Magmortar and Electivire. The soundtrack took a bit of getting used to but I've warmed up to it thanks to themes such as Jubilife City, Mt. Coronet, Oreburgh Mines, Team Galactic HQ, the Gym Battle theme and the Route themes. 

Seeing the direction that the franchise would go in over the years, I can understand why many fans still have fond memories of Gen 4 and why it (or maybe Gen 5?) were the peak as far as the classic Pokémon experience is concerned. I don't have the same memories for Gen 4 but I am glad to have played it (SoulSilver was part of that generation and I did enjoy playing that) because now 20 years later it's probably safe to say that Pokémon will never truly capture people the same way again. It's mainly newer, younger and long time diehard fans who will continue throwing money at Nintendo for an experience which will continue to be lesser-than it once was, even if the games look all super cool and shiny. 

This was going to be a much shorter episode when I started the search for videos. I'd found the commercials, the trailers, the reviews and the handful of retrospectives. It's when I tried searching again a day later that I stumbled across the Nintendo World event videos then the videos about the Gen 4 leaks and finally the videos about the Gen 4 development documentary. Once I found all these videos, it became clear that this episode was going to run a little long 😅😂but worth it though, I hope you and many others will enjoy the source material. It's definitely a nice way to wrap up the month of September.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walkthrough for Pokemon Saiph 2 v1.4 (8 May 2024 Full Release)

By
Image
  Platform: Game Boy Advance Hack of: Pokemon Fire Red Language: English Creator: Vytron Sources:  www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=458509 https://discord.gg/dpqNwfw In the RAR you will find the walkthrough text document as well as screenshots of hidden item locations and a short video clip that shows how to navigate Hia Lake. https://archive.org/download/pokemon-rom-hack-walkthroughs/Pokemon%20Saiph%202%20v1.4%20%288%20May%202024%20Full%20Release%29%20Walkthrough.rar You can also read the walkthrough online at PokemonCoders . Many thanks to Admin Jeiboy for the platform, editing and publishing the page there. All my previous walkthroughs can be found here  https://archive.org/details/pokemon-rom-hack-walkthroughs  and if you would like to support my work please check out the support page here  https://mrtkallen.blogspot.com/2023/09/support.html   A big thank you to Vytron for the game and all the best to him for his next project.
Read more

Checking In (Friday 6 September 2024)

By
Image
Hello hello, how's it going? I have some good news to share with you, something which I hope will be a nice way to end the week. Behold... It took a while but here we are with the internet upgrade that I had been hoping for. That's the router in the photo above, sitting on one of our old TVs in the dining room. Bought from one of the local mobile networks for $200 USD and monthly we'll be paying $45 for a 5mbps semi-unlimited data package (the actual data cap 1TB but nobody here will be live-streaming or online all day everyday so I doubt we'll reach that cap...unless of course someone decides to save all their super downloading for the days just before the subscription ends. Hmm...). For any of you reading this and shaking your head at the price and the speeds for that price, I totally understand because I know it's a rip off but that's the best package being offered currently outside of what Elon Musk's Starlink is apparently asking for (lowest price is ab...
Read more

Updated Walkthrough for Pokemon Liquid Crystal Beta 3.3.00512

By
Image
  Hack of: Fire Red Language: English Creators: linkandzelda and Synyster Zeikku Sources: http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=242023 https://archive.org/download/pokemon-rom-hack-walkthroughs/Pokemon%20Liquid%20Crystal%20Beta%203.3.00512%20Walkthrough.rar The RAR contains the walkthrough document as well as screenshots of hidden item locations and a few video clips showing how to navigate a couple of spots along Route 57. Previous walkthroughs:  https://archive.org/details/pokemon-rom-hack-walkthroughs I have teamed up with the site Pokemon Coders and will be publishing walkthroughs there as well. The page for this one is here https://www.pokemoncoders.com/pokemon-liquid-crystal-walkthrough/ A big thanks to Admin Jeiboy for the platform and the chance to share the walkthroughs on his site, my hope is that this will help to get more eyes on them and perhaps encourage more people to try out the games since there will be a walkthrough for them available.
Read more