The Cane and Rinse videogame podcast

PaRappa the Rapper, Masaya Matsuura's little lovelorn dog that could (rap) pretty much kick-started the rhythm-action genre single-pawed. NanaOn-Sha followed up with the twisted tale of a rocking ungulate destined to take a trip to Hell and back - UmJammer Lammy - before PaRappa the Rapper returned for one (apparently) final showdown on PS2. Leon, Darren Gargette and new Cane and Rinser Ryan Hamann contemplate the surrealist charm of the loose PaRappa 'trilogy' in this three game edition of the podcast. Music used in this issue: Track 1: PaRappa's Greeting by Masaya Matsuura Track 2: Say 'I Gotta Believe' by PaRappa the Rapper Vs. Double featuring De La Soul Cane and Rinse 120 was edited by Sean O'Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.

“Do exactly as I say, and I promise this will be over before the night is out.” Manhunt and Manhunt 2 have garnered a fair amount of discussion in the past 10 years, not much of it about the games themselves. In issue 119, James, Tony and special guests Andi Hamilton and Paul Shotton look at Rockstar‘s stealth series and the legacy it created. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_119.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Manhunt by Craig Conner 2: Drunk Driving by Craig Conner Cane and Rinse 119 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.

“No interest eh? I can tell you’re not going to last long here.” In Issue 76, Cane and Rinse visited Lordran to discuss of Dark Souls. With Dark Souls II mere days away James, Tony, Sean, Darren F and special guest CJ Black made their way through the fog to Boletaria to look back at the first Souls game, From Software’s Demon’s Souls. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_118.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Demon’s Souls by Shunsuke Kida 2: Maiden in Black by Shunsuke Kida 3: Return to Slumber by Shunsuke Kida Cane and Rinse 118 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Here’s James with a Quick Rinse of Demon’s Souls:

“Ah spaghetti… Ah ravioli… Ah mamma mia…” In the third of our ‘core’ Super Mario series podcasts we arrive at the dawn of the 64-bit era and perhaps one of the most esteemed launch titles of all, Super Mario 64. Leon, Tony, Darren Gargette and Karl remember the booting up and seeing Mario’s massive, malleable mug filling their cathode rays tubes for the first time, as do many of our valued forum contributors and Twitter correspondents. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_117.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: “It’s a-me, Mario!” & Title Theme by Koji Kondo 2: Slider by Koji Kondo 3: Dire Dire Docks by Koji Kondo Cane and Rinse 117 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Dave “The Unstoppable Games Animal” Perry would be jealous of Darren “dezm0nd” Gargette’s Super Mario 64 skills. Darren owns the original PAL N64 cartridge but is capturing the game emulated on PC here.

“Isaac and his Mother lived alone in a small house, on a hill…” In our second podcast covering an Edmund McMillen designed videogame, James Carter, Darren Gargette and special guest Lewie Procter discuss The Binding of Isaac and the depths that it literally and metaphorically goes to. In this issue we tackle the original story that the game is named after, talk about endlessly wailing children (again?), the future of the game with Rebirth and of course, our wonderful forum feedback and Twitter Three Word Reviews. Plus it’d be rude to not squeeze in our obligatory Super Meat Boy reference in this show, wouldn’t it? http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_116.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Those Responsible by Danny Baranowsky 2: In The Beginning… by Danny Baranowsky 3: Greed by Danny Baranowsky 4: Diptera Sonata by Ridiculon Cane and Rinse 116 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Darren Gargette walks us through the corners of Ed McMillen’s mind in his Binding of Isaac (think Zelda meets Smash TV meets a Rorschach inkblot test) Quick Rinse: Darren Gargette put his considerable The Binding of Isaac progress on hiatus when this revamp of the game was announced. Now, two years of waiting has lead to this moment of him playing The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth with teary eyes and a keen sense of anticipation: If you like these Quick Rinse videos you can find many more (plus a few other bits and bobs) over on the Official Cane and Rinse YouTube channel.

“Am I not beautiful?” Starting with the Nintendo 64 and working our way through Dreamcast and PS2 we trace the murky history of 3D Castlevania titles before arriving at MercurySteam’s 2010 opus Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Leon, Josh, Sean and guest Andi Hamilton of Midnight Resistance as well as our faithful forum correspondents discuss the pitfalls and perils of translating a beloved 2D franchise into polygons before appraising Lords of Shadow in some depth and detail. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_115.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: The Warg by Oscar Araujo 2: Waterfalls of Agharta by Oscar Araujo Cane and Rinse 115 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Josh takes a butcher’s hook at MercurySteam’s 2010 gem, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

“It’s like looking after a bunch of misbehaving kids…” Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker attempted to ring in some changes to the traditional JRPG template for Wii epic The Last Story. Leon, Darren Forman and Tony discuss the game’s protracted release schedule, its very British localisation and its all-action, real-time combat. As usual the Cane and Rinse community chips in with some invaluable contributions by way of forum posts and Twitter Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_114.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Theme of Last Story by Nobuo Uematsu 2: Toberu Mono by Nobuo Uematsu Cane and Rinse 114 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.

“Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Yoshi. On my way to rescue my friends!” In the second of our ‘core’ Super Mario Bros. series of podcasts, Leon, Darren Gargette and Sean Bell of Midnight Resistance launch into the 16-bit era. Super Famicom/Super Nintendo launch behemoth Super Mario World and cutesy swansong Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island capably book-ended the life Nintendo’s beloved early 90s machine. We remember a time of Switch Palaces and Star Roads, of Mode 7 and Super FX2 chips. Oh, and endlessly wailing infants. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_113.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Super Mario World Overworld BGM by Koji Kondo 2: Yoshi’s Island Overworld Stage (Theme 4) by Koji Kondo 3: Super Mario World Level Complete by Koji Kondo 4: Super Mario World Ending Theme by Koji Kondo Cane and Rinse 113 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Here Darren Gargette is playing the SNES/Super Famicom version of Super Mario World via PC emulation. For dessert Dr Gargles tucks in to some sweet, sweet SNES/Super Famicom Yoshi’s Island, also emulated here on PC.

Danmaku fuss about it but we’re covering a whole load of games in this issue instead of the usual one. This time out we turn our attentions to small but perfectly formed Japanese specialist developer Cave Co. Ltd. as Leon, Darren Forman, James and new guest contributor Simon ‘The Sonic Mole’ Cole try to express and impress why bullet hell is heaven to them. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_112.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Mad Symphony – Deathsmiles Image Song by Manabu Nakimi 2: DoDonPachi Resurrection Stage 2A by Manabu Nakimi Cane and Rinse 112 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.

James Carter and Darren Forman along with Joystiq's Sinan Kubba and The AI Bots' Dan Clark gather together to confer about Cavia's third-person action role playing game Nier, which was published by Square Enix back in April of 2010 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Music used in this issue: Track 1: Snow in Summer by Keiichi Okabe Track 2: Emil (Sacrifice) by Keiichi Okabe Cane and Rinse 111 was edited by Sean O'Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum

“Magical spell is Ei-Ei-Poo!” Tony ‘AiAi’ Atkins, Darren ‘GonGon’ Gargette and Leon ‘MeeMee’ Cox are your guides on this whistle-stop tour of SEGA Amusement Vision’s Super Monkey Ball series, beginning with Toshihiro Nagoshi‘s 2001 coin-op and tracing their way through to 2012’s Banana Splitz on the PS Vita. Of course we also feature some of your forum posts and Twitter Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_110.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Intro and Title Screen by Haruyoshi Tomita/Hidenori Shoji/Sakae Osumi 2: Alternate Main Menu by Haruyoshi Tomita/Hidenori Shoji/Sakae Osumi Cane and Rinse 110 was edited by Jay Taylor Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Here’s Monkey Ball mad Darren G with some Quick Rinses, showing Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Monkey Ball Adventure (all GameCube) and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (PS2) emulated on PC.

“Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!” In the first of a six podcast series dedicated to the core games of the Super Mario canon Leon, Darren Gargette, James and Karl recollect the athletic plumber’s first flurry of success in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3. We also share some of your Mario memories from the forum as well as a smattering of Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_109.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Overworld 2 (Super Mario Bros. 3) by Koji Kondo 2: Main Theme Overworld by Koji Kondo Cane and Rinse 109 was edited by Jay Taylor Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Here’s Darren again with a series of Quick Rinse videos to tie in with our Super Mario podcasts: Now Darren tackles the emulated NES version of Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (aka Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan). This Quick Rinse is of the game formerly known as Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic: Super Mario Bros. 2. Here Darren Gargette is playing the NES game via PC emulation. Next Darren enjoys some PC emulated Super Mario Bros. 3 which is available now on Virtual Console for Wii U, 3DS, 2DS and Wii. And finally, bringing all the above titles together is Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES.

“Rule number one: Don’t get me killed.” In 2012 Klei Entertainment released their love letter to the stealth genre in the form of Mark of the Ninja. With Nels Anderson at the helm, what started as a project that had the simple goal of “containing ninjas,” became one of the few experiences out there that honoured the skill set of these masked assassins. James Carter, Darren Gargette, Joshua Garrity and special guest Nels Anderson discuss the thrill that can be found in the shadows. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_108.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: MI Strings 3 by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan 2: MI Strings 5 by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan 3: Mark & Blade by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Cane and Rinse 108 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum. Darren shows off the beginning of his Mark of the Ninja New Game Plus: If you like these Quick Rinse videos you can find many more (plus a few other bits and bobs) over on the Official Cane and Rinse YouTube channel.

In addition to issue 107 of the podcast, and a coincidental update to Proteus this week, James sat down to chat with the game’s designer, Ed Key. Ed talks about Proteus from inception to release, and how the ten months since have been for him and for the game. Expect discussion of indie games vs the mainstream, indie games vs indie games, typical and atypical reactions to Proteus and that most frequent of questions. A few links may provide some reference for the discussion at the end. These are: * Formalists and Zinesters: Why Formalism Is Not The Enemy, a What Games Are blog post, was mentioned. * Chris Crawford, mentioned by Ed, is a game designer and academic on the theory of video game design. * Bogost.com is Ian Bogost’s website, where all things video game design are discussed. * An early video of Proteus, pre-David Kanaga’s score is well worth a look. * Ed is on Twitter @edclef, and Proteus can be discovered at visitproteus.com. *As is often the case with these kinds of interviews this was recorded using a combined audio feed via Skype, which accounts for the slight loss of quality to the audio. Music used in the interview: Track 1: Nodeland in Summer by David Kanaga Track 2: Nodeland in Autumn by David Kanaga Track 3: Nodeland in Winter by David Kanaga An interview with Ed Key was edited by James Carter. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_interview_with_ed_key.mp3   Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss the past, present and future of videogames (and other stuff too!) and perhaps arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Then come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.

Ed Key and David Kanaga’s collaborative musical exploration game Proteus raised eyebrows equally for its distinctive visual style and interactive music, as much as for its intentional lack of challenge and objectives. Tony Atkins, Sean O’Brien, Darren Forman and James Carter discover the wonder of nature without ever leaving the comfort of their own homes. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_107.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Sunset Form by David Kanaga 2: Nodeland Autumn by David Kanaga 3: Nodeland in Summer by David Kanaga 4: Nodeland in Winter by David Kanaga 5: Credits by David Kanaga Cane and Rinse 107 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss past, present and future video games (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.