The Retro Zoo Super Show!

Wow, what a week! Thanks for all the new listeners who joined us for the Realm Online interviews. We have an update on the Realm Online, discussion of Billy Mitchell and Twin Galaxies, and finally starting our Dragon Quest / Dragon Warrior series! So much to do, no wonder this is a super-sized episode! Show notes at http://www.technofunkboy.com/32 Our Patreon page is at http://www.patreon.com/technofunkboy 

Part 3 of our series on the Realm Online, a 1996 MMORPG developed originally by Sierra Online. The series has gone in a direction we did not expect as the Realm is being relaunched by the efforts of the current owners at Norseman Games and a former developer for a private server, Rat Labs LLC. Check out our full notes at http://www.technofunkboy.com/31

We wanted to talk a little JRPG and their relation to western role playing games or tabletop RPGs, but first Steven introduces Kai to a new robot, one that doesn't like people all that much, and DRUM definitely proves jealous of the newcomer. Patreon: http://patreon.com/technofunkboy Show notes: http://www.technofunkboy.com/30

News came up that Toys "R" Us is going out of business, so we are taking the occasion to discuss memories of the store and shopping there. Show notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/29

Part 2 of our series on music from Earthbound - this time on the "Your Sanctuary" themes found throughout the game. Also Kai's experience streaming of Twitch. Correction: We kept saying "My Sanctuary" in the episode - Kai got that stuck in his head and Stephen followed his lead on it. It is properly "Your Sanctuary." Apparently we were getting too into it and taking ownership. Show notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/28 Patreon is at http://www.patreon.com/technofunkboy 

You read right! Stephen is back and joins Kai for one of our funniest episodes ever. We're going to chat about where Stephen was, a little bit about Kai speedrunning Final Fantasy IV and the famous Mist Clip, and take a phone call about pronouncing names in FFIV. You do not want to miss it!  Show notes at www.technofunkboy.com/27

Kai takes Pokemon Go out into the streets and invites you to come along with him. He travels through several Pokespots, a gym, a raid battle, and just some general discussion about Pokemon and its history. We also listen to messages that YOU left for us about your own memories of Pokemon in all its forms. Show notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/26

Tackling a few different games from the GameBoy today, but most notably a series of organization/learning games from InfoGenius that sought to take the GameBoy into more of a PDA/pocket computer direction. Show notes at http://www.technofunkboy.com/25 

Updates on Kai's speedrunning of Final Fantasy IV, then an extended discussion of one of the battle themes from Earthbound (Mother 2) and Hip Tanaka's brilliant contributions to the soundtrack of a very strange game. A couple of phone calls, because we haven't had any for a while. Find links, sheet music, and more at http://www.technofunkboy.com/24

We have Omnigamer on the show today to talk about his upcoming book SPEEDRUN SCIENCE: A LONG GUIDE TO SHORT PLAYTHROUGHS. This was a fantastic chat that you do not want to miss. Show notes, including a link to a free preview of the book, are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/23

Today we got to chat with SandyClaws about the Realm Online, the 1996 MMORPG originally published by Sierra. We dig into 22 years of the game's history, changes made, different owners, but most of all the community. This online game was really the first of its kind, transitioning from the older MUDs to the more modern MMORPGs, and proved to be an important step in gaming history. Show notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/22

We redo the lost interview about the Lord of Rings film tie-game The Third Age. Also starting to speedrun Final Fantasy IV. Show notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/21

Starting a larger series on Sierra's early MMORPG The Realm or The Realm Online. In this episode, we discuss how the internet outside of the game itself played a role in how the game was played. Episode notes are at http://www.technofunkboy.com/20

We have a live update from AGDQ 2018, a chat about board games made into video games, and also voicemails from our listeners. Show notes are at www.technofunkboy.com/19

Kai discusses a seriously flawed great game - Final Fantasy XII. Also we check in with Steven's work to see how he's doing. Show notes at www.technofunkboy.com/18