PPR 127

Did anybody else catch that video game documentary on Netflix, High Score? We personally forgot to finish it with all of the EXCITEMENT that was coming out of Gamescom 2020! Oh well, I guess we’ll have to talk about the weird omission of Dragon Quest in the RPG episode some other time…

Anyway, with pandemic still being a major threat, this year’s iconic trade show took a remote approach, featuring a showcase that brief lineup of upcoming next generation games appearing on next generation hardware that we STILL don’t know the release dates, or more importantly, the retail cost for.

These games include Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, Marvel’s Avengers, Proto Corgi, The next Dragon Age, Fall Guys Season 2 and more. We also talk about the new PlayStation ODE, the X-Station, the latest wave of games announced for the Sega Astro City Mini, GameTap, the 25^th anniversary of the Sega Saturn, Bon Appétit, 8K Display technology, Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón Chips, the confusion of Wii U marketing along with a whole mess of other topics.

With that being said, enjoy the show, and wear a fucking mask when you go outside…Thanks!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on our Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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25 years of the Sega Saturn: Part 1-The Doomed Singularity

ut of all the rituals that you’d expect a seven-year-old to have in the early nineties, feverishly running to the supermarket newsstand for the latest video game magazine isn’t one that I’d imagine topping a Family Feud chart anytime soon. Yet there I was, a twinkle-eyed sap who cared for nothing more than to drool over the latest news and gossip of the one brand that ruled my kid life: SEGA.

The year 1994 was a particularly lucid period, because of the gaming hype for releases like Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, and Sonic & Knuckles, nothing was more exciting to me than Sega’s 32-bit project, the Sega Saturn. I couldn’t tell you how many times I read the August issue that year of Electronic Gaming Monthly, and the preview coverage they gave to the specifications of the system, and games that were going to be able to run on it like Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter, and Virtua Cop.

May 11th, 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the polarizing console—even to this day, the same fevered school ground arguments over the Saturn have transcended into keyboard wars across online forums and social networks because unlike anything else like in the medium. The Sega Saturn is a complex story that peels back like an onion; so I figured what better way to way to reminisce on my favorite game machine than with an editorial series on it.

In this chapter, we’re going back to where it all began, as the system’s origin is one that’s born through a gradual divorce between the East and West divisions of SEGA, with the Saturn being the child that was caught in the middle of it all.

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PPR 123

Holidays are rough but boy-howdy are they really just the Gosh-dammed best!

Hey y’all, we took a bit of an impromptu break from Press Pause Radio for a few weeks because among the many preparations that the holiday asks of us, we also needed some time to refresh, and actually sit down with some of the games that we picked up o that we could properly talk about them.

The Golden Zonkies for the year of 219 is right around the corner, until then, this episode is a jam-packed what’s in your console, where we’ll be discussing ALL the damn games we’ve been plugging away at since we last recorded. Those games include Radirgy, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Tatsujin Ō, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Galaxy Force II, Shenmuee III, Death Smiles XX, Death Stranding, Control, Pokémon Sword/Shield, and so much more.

So strap in folks, because we’ve got enough 5 Minute Craft tips, box cakes, and third-party Taki impersonators to blow your mind with in this week’s jamboree of an episode.

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on our Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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QCF: Sonic Mania

he power of fandom is a fickle force to be reckoned with; the passionate devotion of a dedicated following can either propel the object of said affection to perpetual stardom, or alienate any sort of appeal it may have had with an obsessive toxicity that could stigmatize it beyond repair, for years upon years.

This sort of phenomenon has struck a number of video game franchises, but none have been more affected by it quite like the Sonic the Hedgehog property. The speedy SEGA mascot has been an industry icon for over 25 years, and yet has fallen from the place of universal acclaim, into a spot of irreverent polarization. These two camps are broken down into the somewhat ambivalent spectators who barely bother to care about him, and those who still swear their loyalty to the spikey-haired hero, in spite of the checkered past that he’s led in recent in years.

It’s been clear for near a decade now that most of the folks still on Sonic Team have forgotten what made the character so appealing in the first place, but it’s only now that SEGA has finally arrived at that same conclusion. The big wigs have tried a myriad of ideas to reinvent their icon, and most have them have fallen flat; why not give the reigns to the only force that could give their star mascot the justice that he deserves—the fans themselves.

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PPR Presents Play Play: Sonic CD

 

onic Mania is fast approaching, and while we don’t have our review ready just yet, we do have a few special looks at some choice cuts from the Blue Blur’s past that we think have influenced the direction seen in the new 2D throwback.

The next game up is one that gets a lot of praise despite being another obscure entry from the Hedgehog’s prime, as we sit down and play Sonic CD on the SEGA CD. Unlike Chaotix, this title has recently seen re-releases across a bevy of modern platforms, and it was in that re-release that Christian White got his start with the franchise under SEGA’s payroll as well.

Join Ser and George as they discuss whether or not this game deserves the distinction of being the best 16-bit Sonic title ever done in another new Play Play!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

PPR Presents Play Play: Knuckles' Chaotix

onic Mania is fast approaching, and while we don’t have our review ready just yet, we do have a few special looks at some choice cuts from the Blue Blur’s past that we think have influenced the direction seen in the new 2D throwback.

The first game in this little mini-series of ours is Knuckles’ Chaotix for the SEGA 32X. While this one is particularly obscure, it’s certainly notable for being the only 2D Sonic title that was developed for a 32-bit platform, as paltry as the 32X may seem to that distinction—and weirder enough, Sonic isn’t even playable in it.

Join Ser and George as they wax some nostalgia with equal parts trivia over may arguably be one of the most bright-ass games you’ll ever see in this latest Play Play!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

NEW SERIES! Import Heaven [#001] - Fantasic Pinball: Kyuutenkai

n this pilot episode of Import Heaven, we take a look at Fantasic Pinball Kyuutenkai, a video pinball game from none other than... Tecno Soft?! How does this unlikely title stack up?  

** BECOME A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/Serraxor **

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PPR Presents Play Play: Project AXSX Demo

ne of the more intricate nuances of video game culture strangely enough is all of the content that doesn’t leave the cutting room floor. The unreleased treasure trove of games and levels comprise a sense of personal history that actively distinguishes video games from any other media form to this very day.

When these canceled bits of code and projects actually manage to see the light of day, the gaming community strives to make sure that spread the forbidden lovejoy of these unearthed games for as many as they can to play it; and sometimes, it takes some fan efforts to go on and finish what the original team never could. Chris Senn’s effort for the famous hedgehog’s flagship Saturn effort for example is a holy grail of sorts for unreleased games; and a team of fans by the name of Project AXSX has taken it upon themselves to deliver a fan completion of the mythical Sonic X-treme.

We got our hands on a demo of it, a really early work-in-progress of it, and well, we try to be really over optimistic over whether or not this ambitious take on the blue blur deserves to exist.

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!