Chris and Hamilton are joined by special guest Patrick of the Boss Rush Network to discuss Inti Creates’ first entry in the Mega Man series: Mega Man Zero (2002). Be sure to support Patrick’s work by visiting https://bossrush.net/, following him on Twitter using the … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E10 – Mega Man Zero

Hamilton and Chris conclude their coverage of Capcom’s Mega Man Battle Network (2001) with a close look at the game’s plot. Even as the level design grows tedious and the story meanders, boss fights remain a highlight. No need to listen … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E9 – Mega Man Battle Network (Part 2)

Chris and Hamilton tackle the development, gameplay, and early hours of Mega Man Battle Network (2001). Along the way, they lavish praise on the deckbuilder format and uncover the startling commonality between Capcom’s abandoned IPs. Sources No need to listen … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E8 – Mega Man Battle Network (Part 1)

Chris, Hamilton, and Spencer discuss Mega Man X4 (1997), the first Mega Man X game developed from the ground-up for 32-bit consoles. Are the updates worthwhile, or do they just over-complicate a classic formula? Development Sources No need to listen … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E7 – Mega Man X4

Chris and Spencer discuss the development, gameplay, and plot of 1997’s Mega Man Legends (Nintendo loyalists may know it as Mega Man 64). If our show piques your interest, don’t miss the great development team interviews available on shmuplations. No need … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E6 – Mega Man Legends

Hamilton and Chris go in-depth with Capcom’s first 32-bit Mega Man game: Mega Man 8! Along the way, your hosts give a primer on the series’ extended sidekick roster, offer their thoughts on the (in)famous auto-scroll stages, and get to the … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E5 – Mega Man 8

Chris and Hamilton are joined by special guest Nadia Oxford, author of the Maverick Hunter’s Field Guide, to talk about Mega Man X (1993). Along the way, they learn about Capcom’s difficulty growing Mega Man past its 8-bit roots, discuss … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E4 – Mega Man X

Chris, Hamilton, and Spencer talk about the first Mega Man game developed after the departure of creator Akira Kitamura: Mega Man 3! Along the way, your hosts discuss yet another troubled development period, a bewildering localization, and what happens when … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E3 – Mega Man 3

Chris, Hamilton, Spencer and special guest Eddie V (@thatretrocode) discuss the development, gameplay, and stage design of Capcom’s Mega Man 2. Don’t miss Eddie’s work over on The Boss Rush Network! No need to listen to the episode to join … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E2 – Mega Man 2

Chris, Hamilton, and Spencer embark on a new season covering Capcom’s 11 classic Mega Man side-scrollers. Unfortunately, in order to appreciate the heights which the series would later reach, this requires taking a critical look at the franchise’s inauspicious 1987 … Continue reading Franchise Festival S4E1 – Mega Man 1

Hamilton and Chris explore Sonic the Hedgehog’s first “open zone” adventure, Sonic Frontiers (2022). Along the way, they discuss the game’s development, its peculiar minigames, and how well it succeeds at shifting the franchise away from linear stage design. Noteworthy … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E9 – Sonic Frontiers

Spencer and Chris get downright crunchy with Supergiant’s Hades (2020), working through the finer details of how its gameplay systems interact with one another to produce one of the best roguelikes of the last decade. Along the way, they explore … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E8 – Hades

Chris and Hamilton recall the first 20 years of Sonic the Hedgehog by taking a close look at Sega’s Sonic Generations (2011). Along the way, they discuss what happened to the property over the preceding decade and why some characters’ … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E7 – Sonic Generations

Chris and Spencer discuss the development, gameplay, characters, and story of Supergiant’s Pyre (2017). Enjoy! If you’d like more details on how Pyre was made, we recommend NoClip’s documentary on the subject. No need to listen to the show to … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E6 – Pyre

Chris, Hamilton, and special guest Rosalie discuss the development, gameplay, and plot of Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). Along the way, they also explore the game’s amazing soundtrack and what led Sega to exit the home console market in the early … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E4 – Sonic Adventure 2

In this month’s episode, Chris and Spencer discuss the development, gameplay, and story of Supergiant’s Transistor (2014). No need to listen to the show to join in the discussion, though! Let’s talk about your favorite (and least favorite) parts about … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E3 – Transistor

In this month’s Franchise Festival episode, Chris and Hamilton discuss one of the best platformer games ever made: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles! In this episode, you’ll learn about Sega’s evolution from its arcade origins, how Sonic the Hedgehog … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E2 – Sonic 3 and Knuckles

Let’s discuss Bastion! What are your favorite weapons, monsters, and areas? In the podcast linked below, Chris and Spencer kick off the third season of Franchise Festival with a discussion of Supergiant’s 2011 debut. Along the way, they explore how … Continue reading Franchise Festival S3E1 – Bastion

Let’s discuss Resident Evil Village! What are your favorite moments, monsters, and characters? Do you like the hub-and-spokes approach to world design, or do you prefer previous entries’ linear stages and puzzle boxes? In the podcast below, Chris and Hamilton … Continue reading Franchise Festival S2E17 – Resident Evil Village

Welcome back to Franchise Festival, a column where we explore and discuss noteworthy video game series from the last four decades. Older entries can be found in the archive here. This week we’ll be pulling all of the details about … Continue reading Franchise Festival #125: Half-Life / Portal

Let’s discuss the Resident Evil 3 Remake! What are your favorite moments, monsters, and characters? Do you think it succeeded at modernizing the original, or did it strip out too much of what you loved about Jill’s escape from Raccoon … Continue reading Franchise Festival Podcast S2E16 – Resident Evil 3 Remake