Get ready for a dragon duel of epic proportions! In this corner, we have Dragon Power, the janky NES game that tried and failed to cash in on Dragonball mania. And in this corner, we have the original Dragonball manga, which captures all the absurdity and excitement that Dragon Power completely whiffed on! Let’s get ready to ruuuuumble!

Please give a warm, silly welcome to our special guest judge for today’s podcast, the one and only Kyle “Game Genie” Federline! When he’s not dropping hot takes on the K&K Indie Gaming podcast, Kyle spends his time teaching his kids about the wonders of games from his childhood and trying to find gaming’s biggest hidden gems in the indie scene. Get ready as Kyle lends his unique blend of gaming wisdom and snark to judge today’s retro showdown!Continue Reading

Sometimes things get missed. Like not realizing that a game is based on a comic. Or missing an NES game because you didn’t realize that a game was based on a comic. I know it’s a shock that I could miss something. Or an entire country can miss out on a wonderful franchise that you’d think would be a great fit if only people would know it existed and could give it a chance.

Good thing I have Doc Issues here from Capes on the Couch to help fix that mistake as we take a look at M.U.S.C.L.E. and the Kinnikuman manga that really should have been a hit over here but for some reason wasn’t because “Americans won’t get it” or something silly like that.Continue Reading

Yu-Gi-Oh is something I never really got into growing up. Or now for that matter since I’ve gotten into some things now that I should have gotten into when I was younger. Although I was kind of around it since I was into Pokemon and Magic: the Gathering so it’s not a totally 100% new thing to me. Plus the memes.

Good thing I somehow convinced Luke Herr to come back for another session of “Luke Explains Things To Chris that Chris Should Already Know About.” This time he takes on Yu-Gi-Oh and a combo shot of games in Forbidden Memories and Dark Duel Stories. Will we be trapped in the shadow realm for attempting this? Only one way to find out!Continue Reading

Digging back into the NES days with this one because I somehow missed it. Which in a weird way makes sense because I don’t think anybody that I knew back in the day would have known that Destiny of an Emperor was based on a manga. Or even what a manga was for that matter, but that’s a different issue.

Good thing we have Joey DiCarlo from So Wizard here to help take a look at this early NES RPG. Because we’re both old and can appreciate this one for what it is without wondering why it doesn’t have the sensibilities of a PS4 game.Continue Reading

Eventually we had to take a look at the world of kids and little monsters that fight. For a lot of people this was their first foray into the world of manga and anime. But we didn’t know that, and we probably wouldn’t have cared at all if we did. There were kids just like us that got to play around with these amazing creatures that we all wish we could have as a pet.

That’s right, we’re talking Digimon with Michael Shea from The Basement Lounge about that show I definitely didn’t try to make you think was that other anime about monsters fighting each other. Which I’m realizing now doesn’t narrow things down enough at all.Continue Reading

Sometimes calling something a game is a rather strong use of the word. Especially when you’re looking at it through American eyes. Double especially back in the early to mid 1990s when we just didn’t really have the concept of visual novels over here.

Listen in as Nick Weaver, creator of the Thumbles comic on Webtoon, joins the show to help take a look at a portion of the gaming medium that we didn’t have much context for based on a manga that we also didn’t have much context for over on this side of the world.Continue Reading

These days when a series is based all around fighting and punching people in the face it’s a surprise when there isn’t a fighting game to go along with it. But did you know that there was a time when Street Fighter II hadn’t come out yet? And that people were making fighting games before it?

Listen in as Andrew Mecha Davis from Popanimecomics joins the show to help take a look at Fist of the North Star 10 Big Brawls for the King of the Universe to help solve the mystery of why this anime hasn’t been bigger in the US. And possibly set a new record for longest Play Comics episode title. I’m too lazy to actually go check on that one though, it just feels right.Continue Reading

Post apocalyptic mayhem. New societies and population groups popping up and insisting that they are living the right way. The power struggle between might and right. Giant weaponized vehicles storming across the desert sands. OK, maybe not that last one, but what do I know?

Good thing I have Jordan Forbes from Shonen Flop to help me out with a look at Fist of the North Star on NES. Listen in as we look at yet another game that should have been featured earlier in the run of the show but I just didn’t know it was based on a comic so we’re making up for it now.
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It’s not often that I’ve seen a comic really follow along an entire family tree. Maybe a bit down the line but generation after generation after generation after….. well, you get the idea. Too bad I’m not a expert on the Jostar family legacy.

Good thing David Weinburger from Shonen Flop who thankfully is all over this one. Things will probably get a bit bizarre.Continue Reading

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were the introduction to anime for a ton of people my age. So imagine how cool it must have been to finally have a game of it? And a fighter at that! What could possibly go wrong?

Listen in as Luke Herr from Multiversal Q, Exiled, and RPG Pals Club comes on the show to talk about the first Dragon Ball Z game made that came out in North America, but not the first one that came out in North America. Don’t worry the craziness is just getting started.Continue Reading

Here comes Speed Racer racing around the track. But he’s got the the Car Acrobatic Team hot on his tail. Can Speed make it around the curve and onto the finish line without getting caught?

Micah Ulmer joins the show to help find out where exactly Speed got his origins and all kinds of cool things that show this franchise is more than just that anime you saw when you were 6.Continue Reading