Play Comics

Read transcriptLock your squad into formation, charge your bolters, and prepare your genetically-enhanced blue skin for a parade of panzer-busting action because this week on Play Comics we’re putting boots to dirt in the grim, industrial wastelands of Rogue Trooper, the 2005 third-person shooter that took Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons’s iconic tale of a genetically engineered super-soldier and transformed it into a cover-based combat experience that somehow managed to capture the grit, the fury, and the desperate isolation of being a lone warrior against overwhelming odds. Originally deployed across PS2, Xbox, and Wii, Rogue’s had more platform changes than a soldier has armor repairs, eventually landing a remaster invasion on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, proving that some grimdark British sci-fi concepts just refuse to stay buried in the trenches. Speaking of refusing to stay down, we’re genuinely thrilled to have Steve Morris from Shelfdust joining us for this deep dive. When he’s not busy operating as the marketing manager for 2000 AD itself, essentially being the guy who decides which corner of Judge Dredd’s dystopia gets the spotlight treatment, he’s the critical voice behind one of comics fandom’s most thoughtful, hilarious, and incisive podcast ecosystems. Steve brings both the insider knowledge of how 2000 AD operates AND the fan’s perspective that makes him the perfect guide through this particular adaptation’s journey from glossy magazine pages to console warfare. Together, we’ll investigate whether this hyper-violent squad-based adventure managed to capture what makes Rogue Trooper such an enduring character, a soldier stripped of everything but his wits, his weapons, and three AI companions implanted directly into his equipment. Does the game understand the existential dread of being created solely as a weapon? Can it convey the isolation that defines the character while also providing the kind of multiplayer mayhem that defines the era? And perhaps most importantly: does this game explain why blue skin became the ultimate badge of being expendable in the far future? Grab your tactical visor, synchronize your biometric links, and prepare for an episode that’s more explosive than a Rogue Trooper ambush and considerably more thoughtful than you’d expect from a game about murdering aliens on a lifeless planet. Learn such things as: What happens to character development when your entire supporting cast is literally just AIs living in your equipment? Does covering the same ground across four different console generations change how audiences perceive the story being told? How do you make a character who exists specifically to be expendable actually matter to players emotionally? And so much more! You can find Steve on Bluesky @Shelfdust which makes sense since you can also find him on the Shelfdust website. And if you want to check out the 2000 AD stuff, there’s always and the If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to the Kickstarter campaign for TEN #1-5 and the new game Murderworld from Austin Auclair for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who is really disappointed that I didn’t do some sort of “war never changes” intro like I did for that one Gundam episode.<iframe style="display: none;" src="about:blank"></iframe> Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome, web-slinging console warriors and handheld hop-scotchers! Prepare your cartridges and grab your controllers, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving into the gloriously chaotic streets of New York with Spider-Man: Battle for New York, the 2005/2006 portable powerhouse that took Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s Ultimate Spider-Man universe and somehow crammed all of Manhattan’s mayhem into a GBA and DS-sized punch-up bonanza. Because apparently, someone looked at one of the most beloved comic runs of the 2000s and thought, “You know what this needs? A brawler where Spidey spends most of his time frantically hammering the same three buttons while dodging increasingly ridiculous villain attacks.” Released across Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, this wasn’t your typical web-slinging adventure—it was more like someone distilled all of Ultimate Spider-Man’s most explosive moments into a side-scrolling arcade experience where the city itself becomes just as much of an enemy as Green Goblin ever was. With a roster of villains pulled straight from the comics and more “beat stuff up” objectives than you can shake a web at, this game proved that sometimes the best way to honor a beloved comic series is to completely reinvent what it means to be Spider-Man. This week, we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome the phenomenally knowledgeable Jarrett Tyree from Has To Do With Spider-Man I Think, who brings an encyclopedic understanding of all things Arachnid and animated to help us untangle whether this game managed to capture the kinetic energy of Bendis’s run or if it just left our webbing all tangled in the wrong places. Jarrett’s the kind of Spider-expert who can probably explain exactly why this game makes the choices it does, while also gently reminding us that sometimes video game adaptations are more “inspired by” than “faithful to” the source material. So strap in your web-shooters, prepare for some serious button-mashing mayhem, and get ready for an episode that explores whether this dual-platform adaptation is a hidden gem of portable gaming or just another case of “well, we had to do SOMETHING with this license.” Let’s see if Battle for New York is worth defending! Learn such things as: How connected to the actual comic storylines is this game, or does it just borrow character names and call it a day? Does an action-packed comic run actually translate better into a side-scrolling brawler than into an open-world adventure? Why do handheld games keep trying to squeeze console-sized epicness into screen sizes that make text completely illegible? And so much more! You can find Jarett as part of Has to do With Spider-Man, I think on BlueSky @smitpod and of course the Has to do With Spider-Man, I Think website. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky or hear Chris on his other podcast Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine. A big thanks Talkin’ Comix and Orphaned Entertainment for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who would never let us even be at the top of that bridge in the first place.<iframe style="display: none;" src="about:blank"></iframe> Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Crack open your Millennium Puzzle and prepare to roll some incredibly awkward polygonal dice, because this week on Play Comics we’re delving into one of the most bewildering spin-offs to ever stumble out of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe! We’re talking about Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeondice Monsters for the Game Boy Advance—a game so determined to turn Kazuki Takahashi’s trading card phenomenon into a dungeon crawler that it somehow forgot to ask if it should. Joining us for this delightfully confusing journey through Dungeondice Monsters is none other than Marcus Stewart from Game Informer, who’s armed with the kind of gaming knowledge that only comes from actually playing this thing. Whether he’s here to defend it, destroy it, or just figure out what the heck is happening on a 240p screen, we’re thrilled to have his voice in the mix as we attempt to understand why anyone thought “card game meets roguelike dice mechanics” was the logical next step for the King of Games. So lock your monsters in the vault, prepare your dice for rolling, and get ready for an episode that’s far less about card strategy and far more about watching two people gradually lose their minds over a game that inhabits some kind of strange liminal space between “ambitious experiment” and “fever dream at a game arcade.” The dice have been cast. The dungeon awaits. Our sanity? Well, that’s negotiable. Learn such things as: Does the dice-rolling mechanic create engaging strategic depth or just mask random chaos behind a veneer of math? Does the actual Dungeondice Monsters storyline tie-in justify the existence of this video game adaptation at all? Does the very small mention of what this game actually is give young gamers their first instance of bait and switch marketing? And so much more! You can find Marcus over at Game Informer in either digital or physical format or on BlueSky @marcusstewart7 If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to Piecing it Together and “Fun” &amp; Games for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who rolls dice to see which dice he should roll. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.Read transcript

This is a 1 time only crossing of the streams. The episode can be found on the Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine website at https://sugarspiteeverythingisfine.com/robin-hood-socioeconomic-policy In this debut episode of Sugar, Spite, and Everything Is Fine, hosts Chris and Karrington revisit the 1973 Disney animated classic Robin Hood—not just as nostalgic adults, but as media-literate observers of politics, social structures, and childhood lessons that shape us long after we grow up. What begins as a lighthearted walk through a beloved children’s film evolves into a sharp, insightful discussion about wealth inequality, community care, political complacency, and how stories told to children often hold uncomfortable truths for adults. Using Robin Hood as both a lens and a launchpad, the hosts connect its themes to the modern economic landscape, increasing instability, shrinking middle class, and the collective power of communities to resist tyranny. With humor, honesty, and plenty of relatable frustration, Chris and Karrington explore why this movie still matters—and why its lessons might be more relevant in 2025 than ever. Key Topics Covered Why Robin Hood is the perfect starting point for the show Childhood media literacy (or lack thereof) and adult reinterpretation Wealth inequality, middle-class erosion, and modern parallels to medieval class divides The ethics of “stealing from the rich, giving to the poor” in a contemporary context Community power and resisting unjust leadership Universal healthcare, taxation misconceptions, and social safety nets Political polarization, voter apathy, and the myth of “my vote doesn’t matter” Historical examples of justified lawbreaking (Civil Rights Movement, Underground Railroad) How stories like Robin Hood frame morality, justice, and resistance Key Quotes “Half-assed is better than no-assed—or 1% progress is still progress.” — Chris “People don’t care until it affects their life or their family.” — Karrington “Nobody questions that Robin Hood is the good guy—unless they’re trying to be contrarian.” — Chris “Redistribution of wealth isn’t about getting rich; it’s about helping people survive.” — Karrington “The law isn’t always right—and history has proven that.” — Chris Resources & Links Mentioned Disney’s Robin Hood (1973) — streaming on Disney+ Nottingham comic series (referenced by Chris) BlueSky community feedback & listener submissions Call to Action If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to Sugar, Spite, and Everything Is Fine and leave a review to help others discover the show. Share the episode with someone who loves childhood classics—or someone who’s ready to rethink old stories through a modern lens. Follow the show on social media for episode prompts, updates, and listener discussions. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.Read transcript

Read transcriptDust off your cowabunga collection and prepare your fists for some serious turtle-powered mayhem, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving shell-first into TMNT: Mutant Melee, the 2005 arena-based fighting bonanza that took the 2003 animated series and asked the most important question: what if we just got all the turtles, their friends, AND their enemies into one room and let them beat the absolute snot out of each other? Developed by Konami for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC, this isn’t your typical one-on-one fighter—it’s more like if Smash Bros and Power Stone had a shell-covered baby and that baby knew all of Splinter’s teachings. Joining us for this body-slamming brawl is the incomparable Tommy Proffitt from Distant Echoes and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge, a podcast wizard who understands the intricate art of dissecting character-based chaos and canon coherence like few others can. Plus being able to bring his signature blend of gaming nostalgia and comedic precision to help us determine if this colorful chaos simulator managed to capture the spirit of its source material or if it swung its nunchucks at empty air. Together, we’ll navigate the treacherous waters of Last Man Standing mode, contemplate why anyone thought having 22 playable characters was a good idea, and investigate whether the game’s holiday-themed cosmetics (seriously—set the date to December 25th and watch the turtles rock Santa hats) are feature or bug. Learn such things as: What does it say about a game when its best feature might legitimately be the ability to unlock the original arcade game inside it? What’s the difference between a party fighter and a fighting game that doesn’t know what it wants to be? Can the 2003 cartoon’s tone can survive being translated into “everyone fights everyone all the time? And so much more! You can find Tommy on Bluesky @awkwardcomma, and his podcasts Distant Echoes and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to Byrds Eye View Comics and There Are Houses In The Woods (brought to you by Blue Frog Den Comics) for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who’s favorite turtle is Franklin. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptLock and load your law enforcement credentials, plug in your justice-dispensing visor, and prepare for some megacity-sized mayhem as Play Comics dives into the brutal, unforgiving world of Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death—the PSX, Xbox, and GameCube shooter that proved you could make a genuinely compelling Judge Dredd game if you weren’t afraid to lean into the dystopian carnage and stylized ultraviolence that makes Mega-City One such a joy to read about. Released when Judge Dredd was already a 2000 AD institution spanning decades of comic book brutality, this game took the Dredd vs Death story arc and transformed it into a first-person adrenaline rush where the law doesn’t negotiate—it just executes. This week, we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome the phenomenally knowledgeable Chloe Maveal from the official 2000 AD podcast In Orbit Every Wednesday, where she and her co-host Molch-R break down the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with the kind of passion and insight that would make even Judge Dredd stop and listen (okay, maybe not, but he’d at least acknowledge it happened). Chloe is also the publisher behind the critically acclaimed TRASH HUMPER zine, where she explores everything from comics criticism to culture with a sharp, witty eye. When she’s not busy being the voice of sophisticated 2000 AD fandom, she’s creating comics-focused content that makes you think twice about what you’re reading. Together, we’ll investigate whether this brutal pixel-based interpretation of Judge Dredd’s most gothic storyline managed to capture what makes the Judge such an iconic character—a faceless instrument of a broken justice system who’s somehow still the hero we deserve, even if we don’t deserve him. Does the gameplay hold up after all these years, or does it feel like it belongs in the Iso-Cube? How faithful does it stay to the source material, and does that even matter when you’re blasting away at demonic horrors and mutant abominations in a mega-city dystopia? And perhaps most importantly: in a game where you’re literally fighting the undead, where does Judge Dredd rank among other video game adaptations of 2000 AD’s most iconic characters? Grab your daystick, practice your best “I am the law” growl, and join us for an episode that’s guaranteed to be bloodier than a Justice Department discipline report. Learn such things as: Should Judge Dredd games take themselves as seriously as Judge Dredd takes the law? Does the choice of console actually impact how you experience a multi-platform release? What did Anthrax ever do to Chloe? And so much more! You can find Chloe on the official 2000 AD podcast In Orbit Every Wednesday, checking out the TRASH HUMPER zine, or on BlueSky @cuntersthompson. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to Comic Book Club News and the new game Murderworld from Austin Auclair for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who hopefully isn’t getting the judges to come take care of me for everything I’ve said here. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome, mechanical marvels and atomic adventurers! This week on Play Comics, we’re firing up our reactor cores and diving headfirst into the absolutely electrifying world of Astro Boy Omega Factor for the Game Boy Advance – because apparently someone at Banpresto looked at Osamu Tezuka’s groundbreaking manga and thought, “You know what this 1950s icon needs? A portable fighting game experience where he punches evil robots directly in their non-existent feelings.” Released in 2003, this 2D brawler took the mighty atom himself and somehow convinced an entire development team that what fans REALLY wanted was the chance to mash buttons while watching our favorite nuclear-powered pint-sized hero exchange haymakers with increasingly ridiculous mechanical adversaries. Sure, the original manga was about philosophical questions of robot rights and what it means to be human, but why dwell on existential dread when you could just… punch things? Joining us for this high-voltage episode is Hamish Steele from Super Mario Moment – a man who knows a thing or two about platform and fighting game mechanics, though probably with significantly fewer isotope-based superpowers than Astro Boy packs. Together, we’ll explore whether this GBA adaptation captured the essence of Tezuka’s revolutionary creation or if it just left us feeling like we’d been on the receiving end of one of Astro Boy’s arm cannons. So charge up your atomic energy reserves, practice your most devastating uppercut, and prepare for an episode that’s absolutely radiating with gaming chaos. Will this manga adaptation prove to be a shining beacon of handheld excellence, or will it fizzle out faster than Astro’s battery in a poorly designed dungeon? Time to find out if this portable pugilist belongs in the Hall of Mighty Adaptations or the scrapheap of forgotten GBA obscurities! Learn such things as: Should we be concerned that a 50,000 horsepower robot is solving all his problems with his fists instead of, you know, actual diplomacy? How many obscure Astro Boy villains can one GBA cartridge possibly hold before it achieves sentience? How many different episodes will at least partially focus on a character’s butt? And so much more! You can Hamish on BlueSky @HamishSteele, his website HamishSteele.co.UK, and his podcast Super Mario Moment. If you want to get your hands on some of his books then go grab Go-Man: Champion of Earth or any of the DeadEndia series in The Watcher’s Test, The Broken Halo, and The Divine Order. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to Distant Echos and D’ohmance Dawn for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who is very disappointed in me for not asking about Astro Boy’s relationship to Astro Man. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptStrap on your meat-based wrestling tights and oil up those biceps because Play Comics is about to suplex you straight into the absurdly wonderful world of Kinnikuman! This week we’re tag-teaming not one, but TWO Ultimate Muscle games—The Path of the Superhero for GameCube and Legends vs New Generation for Game Boy Advance. That’s right, we’re going double or nothing like a Choujin who forgot leg day exists and decided to compensate with twice the spandex. These games, spawned from the legendary Kinnikuman manga and anime, brought us a universe where wrestling isn’t just a sport—it’s the entire basis of intergalactic civilization, which honestly makes about as much sense as any other comic book logic we’ve tackled on this show. Whether you’re commanding Kid Muscle through his heroic quest to not embarrass his legendary father or settling the age-old debate of who would win between old-school wrestlers and the new generation (spoiler: everyone’s finishing move is magnificently ridiculous), we’ve got you covered. Joining us for this muscle-bound mayhem is none other than SerpyMatt, who hasn’t quite gotten around to launching his own podcast yet—but he’s told me the concept and folks, when it finally drops, you’re going to absolutely love it. Assuming he ever stops procrastinating long enough to record episode one, that is. So crack your knuckles, practice your most intimidating wrestler growl, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to have more body slams than a physics textbook thrown at a trampoline factory. It’s time to find out if these games captured the magnificent weirdness of their source material or if they just left us feeling like we got hit with the Kinniku Buster of disappointment. Learn such things as: What happens when you give character designers unlimited freedom and a fever dream? What’s the exchange rate between friendship power and actual wrestling skill? Should we be concerned that intergalactic peace depends entirely on entertainment wrestling? And so much more! You can find SerpyMatt on BlueSky @serpymatt.bsky.social. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to the Byrds Eye View Comics and The Last Comic Shop for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, whose wrestling gimmick here would probably be something based around weaponizing VHS tapes Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptDigivolve your PlayStation controllers and prepare to shuffle your way through the most wonderfully confused identity crisis in gaming history, because this week on Play Comics we’re tapping into the pixelated card-battling chaos that is Digimon Digital Card Battle for the PS1! Released in 2001 when every entertainment franchise on Earth was racing to cash in on the trading card game gold rush sparked by Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, Bandai decided their digital monsters deserved a piece of that sweet, sweet card-slinging action. The twist? They didn’t just adapt the existing Digimon trading card game – oh no, that would be far too simple. Instead, they created an entirely NEW card game exclusively for this PS1 title, because apparently someone at BEC thought “You know what kids collecting physical cards really need? A completely different set of rules that only exists in digital form!” What emerged was a gloriously polygonal fever dream where Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon became your partners in a card-battling odyssey through Battle Arenas, all while you sacrifice Digimon from your hand like some kind of digital monster cult leader gathering “DP” (Digivolve Points, not whatever your brain just went to) to evolve your creatures into increasingly ridiculous forms. It’s rock-paper-scissors meets card game mechanics meets “please stop making me grind the same battles 300 times to unlock the secret final boss.” Joining us for this digivolved discussion is the phenomenally talented Sahoni from Bramble Wolf Games! When they’re not busy crafting games that actually mean something or channeling their Queer and Indigenous (ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ) storytelling magic into unforgettable tabletop experiences, Sahoni brings their narrative expertise to help us understand how this PS1 oddity somehow convinced an entire generation that carrying around 30 digital cards was infinitely more practical than the hundreds of physical ones weighing down their backpacks. So crack open that PS1 jewel case, practice your best “I’m going to pretend I understand these Support Card effects” face, and prepare for an episode more entertaining than watching the same Digimon battle animation for the 47th time. We’ll explore whether this card-game-that-never-was actually honored the spirit of the Digimon franchise, or if it just left us wondering why we couldn’t trade our digital cards with friends like we could in literally every other TCG game of the era! Learn such things as: If watching the same PS1-era polygonal battle animations 300+ times builds character or just destroys your will to live? Why the game forces you to read tiny PS1-resolution text on cards and whether that counts as an accessibility nightmare or just “authentic retro experience” Why creating a brand-new trading card game that only exists in one video game is either pure genius or complete madness (spoiler: probably both) And so much more! You can find Sahoni on Bramble Wolf Games, on Tumbler @sahonithereadwolf, or on BlueSky @Sahoni. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Group on Facebook. A big thanks to The Monitor Tapes and Nerd Best Friends for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who might actually be  the champion my friend. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptGrab your duel disk and prepare for the ultimate test of patience, because this week on Play Comics we’re shuffling into the notoriously punishing world of Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction for Game Boy Advance! This 2003 Konami creation took the beloved manga and anime franchise and somehow managed to turn it into a gaming experience more brutal than being sent to the Shadow Realm by a pack of rare holographic cards. Based on the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh series that taught an entire generation that the real power of friendship is having really expensive cards, Reshef of Destruction promised an epic adventure featuring Yugi, Joey, and the gang facing off against an ancient evil. What it delivered was a grinding experience so merciless that even seasoned duelists found themselves questioning their life choices faster than you can say “Exodia, obliterate!” Joining us for this masochistic journey through the world of impossibly difficult AI opponents and deck-building restrictions is the absolutely delightful Max Golden from The Pop Quiz Podcast. When he’s not busy creating the most creative trivia games known to humanity or making movie nights infinitely more entertaining, Max brings his pop culture expertise to help us understand how this handheld nightmare somehow spawned from one of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history. So dust off that Game Boy Advance, practice your most dramatic card-playing poses, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to be more satisfying than finally beating that one opponent who’s been destroying your carefully crafted deck for the past three hours. We’ll explore whether this digital duel was faithful to its source material, or if it just left us feeling like we’d been trapped in our own personal tournament from Hell. Learn such things as: Why does grinding for cards feel more exhausting than actually working a real job? What happens when the AI cheats harder than a politician during election season? How many times can you fight Yugi before you start questioning your sanity? And so much more! You can find Max as part of The Pop Quiz Podcast. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to D’OhMance Dawn and the Glitterjaw Podcast Collective for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who was wearing a strangely evil smile when telling me to meet up in the shadow realm…… Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptGather around power-level enthusiasts and tournament fighters, because this week on Play Comics we’re charging up our ki and diving headfirst into the legendary slugfest that is Dragon Ball Z: Budokai for PS2 and GameCube. That’s right, we’re looking at the 2002 fighting game that asked the burning question “What if we took the first three arcs of Dragon Ball Z and squeezed them into a button-mashing experience that makes even the most patient Z-Fighter want to go Super Saiyan with frustration?” Developed by Dimps and published by Infogrames (back when they still existed and weren’t just a nostalgic memory floating in gaming’s hyperbolic time chamber), this cel-shaded beatdown promised to let players experience everything from Raditz’s surprise family reunion to Cell’s perfectionist power trip. What it delivered was a fighting system so basic that even Yamcha could probably figure it out, paired with enough beam struggles to make your thumbs file for workers’ compensation. Joining us for this Saiyan-sized discussion is the one and only Doc Issues from Capes on the Couch, because when you need someone to analyze the psychological implications of repeatedly punching people until they explode into light particles you call a professional. Together we’ll explore how this game managed to compress roughly 100 episodes of screaming, power-ups, and “next time on Dragon Ball Z” frustrating end caps into a tournament format that somehow made sense. So grab your orange gi, practice your best Kamehameha stance, and prepare for an episode that’s over 9000 times more entertaining than waiting five episodes for Goku to finish charging his spirit bomb. Will this manga-to-game adaptation achieve its final form? Or will it get sent to Other World faster than you can say “Kakarot”? Time to find out if this Z-Fighter deserves a senzu bean or a one-way ticket to Snake Way! Learn such things as: What happens when you try to balance Goku’s overwhelming power level against characters who can barely survive a Saibaman encounter? Is there a psychological explanation for why watching grown men scream for five minutes while powering up never gets old? What’s the secret to making players care about story mode when everyone already knows Goku’s going to win everything anyway? And so much more! You can find Doc @CapesOnTheCouch on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and of course the Capes on the Couch website. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Nerd Best Friends and Super Switch Club for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who still hasn’t reached his final form. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptHoly hybridized heroes and gamma-powered game adaptations, comic crusaders! This week on Play Comics, we’re diving beak-first into the pixelated pandemonium that is Disney’s PK: Out of the Shadows for PS2 and GameCube – because apparently someone thought the best way to honor The New Papernick Adventures (or The Duck Avenger for us North American folks) was to trap Donald Duck’s superheroic alter ego in a 3D action-adventure that makes even the most patient gamers quack under pressure. Released in 2002 by Ubisoft Casablanca, this cel-shaded space opera promised to let players wield PK’s X-Transformer gadgetry while battling the dastardly Evronians in their quest for galactic domination. What it actually delivered was a gaming experience that had all the depth of a Duckburg puddle and combat mechanics so repetitive that even One, PK’s AI companion, probably wished he could compute his way out of this digital disaster. Joining us for this intergalactic expedition into mediocrity is Esh Johansen from the YouTube channel Fiction Addiction – a man who’s already subjected himself to this very game and lived to tell the tale with his signature blend of wit and existential gaming dread. Together, we’ll explore how this comic book adaptation managed to take one of Disney Italy’s most innovative sci-fi superhero series and transform it into a linear platformer that makes rescuing scientists feel like actual work. So grab your cape and prepare for an episode that’s infinitely more entertaining than grinding through the same alien duck enemies for hours on end – which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly setting the bar at Ducklair Tower heights. Will this Evronians-versus-earthlings adventure redeem itself through sheer nostalgic charm, or will it vanish into the shadows faster than Donald’s secret identity? Tune in to discover if this galactic game deserves a place in the Hall of Heroes… or should be banished to the Phantom Zone alongside Superman’s worst enemies! Learn such things as: What else can Donald Duck get himself into? Did the developers even get to see the comics before working on this one? How many people are going to come ask me about doing other Disney Duck related games now? And so much more! You can find Esh on YouTube @FictionAddiction. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to There Are Houses In The Woods (brought to you by Blue Frog Den Comics) and Distant Echos for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who might have been arrested at the mall for stalking Donald Duck. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptHoly Gallic mayhem, comic crusaders! This week on Play Comics, we’re trading our Roman shields for DualShock controllers as we dive headfirst into the digital disaster that is Asterix & Obelix Kick Buttix for PS2 and Xbox – because apparently someone at Étranges Libellules thought the best way to honor René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s beloved comic masterpiece was to trap our favorite mustachioed warriors in a 3D brawler with combat mechanics more repetitive than Obelix’s “These Romans are crazy!” catchphrase. Released in 2003 as Asterix & Obelix XXL in Europe before getting the wonderfully ridiculous “Kick Buttix” rebrand for American audiences, this licensed adventure promised players the chance to experience authentic Gallic village life while punching approximately 70 Romans per level across 40 different stages of cartoon chaos. What it actually delivered was a gaming experience so mindlessly button-mashy that even Caesar would file a complaint with customer service about the repetitive gameplay loop. Joining us for this Roman-bashing bonanza is the incomparable Chas! Pangburn – a man who when he’s not busy lettering the actual Asterix comics from the depths of his creative dungeon, brings his insider knowledge of what makes these characters tick both on the page and in polygonal form. His expertise in both the source material and the art of comic creation makes him the perfect guide through this particular journey from panel to PlayStation. So grab your magic potion and prepare for an episode that’s more entertaining than actually grinding through the same three enemy types for hours on end – which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly setting the bar at Vercingétorix levels. Will this portable Gallic adventure redeem itself through sheer nostalgic charm and cartoon physics, or will it crash harder than a Roman chariot race gone wrong? Tune in to discover if this comic adaptation belongs in the Hall of Fame… or should be buried deeper than one of those references that you’ll only catch if you read this in French! Learn such things as: Can a video game really handle the comedic timing that makes Asterix comics so brilliant? How do you translate cartoon physics into actual game mechanics without breaking the universe? Do magic potions even come with flavor options? And so much more! Technically you can find Chas! on BlueSky @chasexclamation.bsky.social but you’d have a much better time checking out Double Booking and any of the other wonderful work he puts his hands on over at Papercutz. Or just check out his website at ChasExclamationPoint.com If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Capes on the Couch and the TransMissions Podcast Network for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who can read Asterix in 3 more languages than it has ever been published in. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome web-slinging warriors and joystick jockeys to another thrilling episode of Play Comics where we untangle the sticky situation of comic-to-game adaptations with the precision of Peter Parker trying to explain away his sudden photography skills! This week we’re diving headfirst into the cel-shaded spectacular that is Ultimate Spider-Man, the 2005 game that took Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s comic masterpiece and somehow convinced every gaming platform from here to the Daily Bugle that they needed a piece of this web-slinging action. Released across more systems than Spider-Man has quips in his arsenal—PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS—this Treyarch-developed adventure let players experience both sides of the symbiote coin. Whether you were swinging through Manhattan as everyone’s favorite wise-cracking wall-crawler or stomping around as the terrifyingly toothy Venom, this game promised to deliver more comic book authenticity than J. Jonah Jameson has anti-Spider-Man editorials. Joining us for this ultimate discussion are two absolute legends from the podcasting multiverse: Derek B Gayle and Doug Fink, the dynamic duo behind Walloping Websnappers and a whole constellation of other fantastic shows on the Glitterjaw Queer Podcast Collective that may not be directly relevant to our web-slinging shenanigans today, but are undeniably brilliant nonetheless. When they’re not busy dissecting every Spider-Man cartoon ever created or exploring the depths of various other pop culture phenomena, these two bring their encyclopedic knowledge of all things Spider to help us determine whether this game truly captured the essence of the Ultimate universe or if it just left us feeling like we’d been caught in one of Green Goblin’s elaborate schemes. So dust off those early 2000s gaming controllers, practice your best Venom growl, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to be more entertaining than watching Eddie Brock try to explain his sudden career change from journalism to alien symbiote hosting! Learn such things as: Can you make a game that really fits in with the continuity of the comics AND have it stay that way? Will we sucker any artists into making Venomized versions of The Muppets? What kind of good butt battle would ensue between Venom and Captain America? And so much more! You can find Derek and Doug on a bunch of stuff on the Glitterjaw Queer Podcast Collective, including Walloping Websnappers, Skreeonk!, and Falling With Style. You can also find Doug on Novel Gaming and on BlueSky @ickybooley. You can also find Derek on Gimmicks and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge, and on BlueSky @derekbgayle. Or you can find Walloping Websnappers on BlueSky @wallopingwebpod and play the game where you guess who is using the account at that moment. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Keeping the Zoo and The Wheel Weaves for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who would probably make a good theme song for a yet to be made Spider-Man cartoon. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptGet ready for some black-and-white mayhem that’s more chaotic than trying to untangle Christmas lights while wearing oven mitts! This week on Play Comics, we’re diving headfirst into the wonderfully ridiculous world of Spy vs Spy for the original Xbox—the 2005 game that took MAD Magazine’s iconic feuding spies and somehow convinced them to blow each other up in glorious 3D. This delightfully deranged espionage extravaganza comes courtesy of the twisted minds at Vicious Cycle Software, who apparently looked at the classic NES version and thought, “You know what this needs? More explosions and better graphics!” Whether you’re here for the nostalgic callback to those legendary MAD TV shorts or you just enjoy watching cartoon spies meet their doom in increasingly creative ways, this episode promises to deliver more backstabbing action than a corporate boardroom during budget season. Joining us for this masterclass in mutual assured destruction are two absolute legends from the podcasting world: Anthony Sytko and Doc Issues, the brilliant minds behind Capes on the Couch. When they’re not busy psychoanalyzing superheroes and providing much-needed therapy to fictional characters who definitely have trust issues, these two bring their expertise in comic psychology to help us understand why watching two spies repeatedly murder each other is somehow deeply satisfying. So dust off that original Xbox controller, practice your best evil laugh, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to be more explosive than a briefcase full of dynamite left by your nemesis. We’ll explore whether this modern take on the classic formula captured the essence of those timeless comic strips, or if it just left us feeling like we’d been caught in one of the White Spy’s elaborate traps. Learn such things as: Does choosing Black Spy make you morally superior? How many ways can a cartoon spy die before it stops being funny? Why do we find such joy in elaborate revenge schemes involving household appliances? And so much more! You can find Anthony and Doc @CapesOnTheCouch on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and of course the Capes on the Couch website. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Escape the Mojoverse and The Monitor Tapes for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who cloned himself and is both of the spies at the same time. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome to another gloriously chaotic episode of Play Comics, where today’s adventure features everyone’s favorite lasagna-loving, Monday-hating tabby cat stumbling through the digital wasteland of Garfield: The Search for Pooky on the Game Boy Advance. Because apparently, losing a teddy bear is serious enough business to warrant an entire platforming odyssey filled with death pits, questionable physics, and mice that probably deserve their own organized crime documentary. Joining us for this tale of feline desperation and handheld gaming horrors is the phenomenally creative Ryan Estrada—artist, author, and genuine adventurer who has somehow managed to create official comics for everyone from Star Trek to Popeye to (yes, indeed) Garfield himself. When he’s not crafting award-nominated graphic novels like Banned Book Club or wandering through actual adventures that sound like they belong in their own comic series, Ryan brings the perfect blend of insider knowledge and artistic sensibility to help us navigate this particular slice of orange cat chaos. So grab your favorite plush companion (and maybe hide it somewhere safe), prepare for some seriously questionable level design choices, and settle in for an episode that explores what happens when beloved comic strip characters get translated into the unforgiving world of Game Boy Advance platforming. Will our heroes survive Garfield’s glacially-paced walking speed? Can anyone explain why this cat can leap tall buildings but still can’t find a simple teddy bear? And most importantly, does this game capture the essence of Jim Davis’s creation, or does it just make us want to curl up for a very long nap? Learn such things as: Is there anything more important than lasagna and naps? Do you ever need to grow out of your favorite stuffed friend? How do you manage when your worst enemy is your own laziness? And does that make Garfield much deeper than we ever gave it credit for? And so much more! You can find everything you could ever want to know about Ryan on RyanEstrada.com. Let’s see if anyone can pick out my favorite part. I’ll give you a hint, it’s on the home page. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to The Last Comic Shop and Life, Death, &amp; Taxonomy for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who was going to tell me something about what I’ve been saying here at the end of the show notes. And then realized that it just wasn’t worth the effort. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome, card-slinging strategy seekers, to another episode of Play Comics where we shuffle through the deck of comic-to-game adaptations with all the precision of a first-turn Exodia draw gone horribly wrong! Today we’re summoning not one, but TWO Yu-Gi-Oh! adventures that took Yugi’s world from the small screen to handheld hysteria and living room chaos. First up, we’re diving into Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition – Stairway to the Destined Duel for the Game Boy Advance, a portable card battler that somehow managed to cram the entire Battle City tournament into a device smaller than Joey’s brain capacity. Then we’re teleporting to the GameCube dimension with Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, where virtual reality meets real-time strategy in a combination so bizarre it makes Kaiba’s obsession with ancient Egyptian card games seem perfectly reasonable. Joining us for this interdimensional dueling discussion is the magnificent GothJon from the 2 ACT Podcast, whose expertise in anime, cinema, and all things delightfully dark makes him the perfect co-host to help us navigate these shadow realm gaming adventures. Whether we’re discussing the satisfying simplicity of portable dueling or the ambitious madness of strategic monster management, GothJon brings the kind of analytical insight that would make even Pegasus jealous. So grab your duel disk, power up that millennium puzzle, and prepare for an episode that explores how faithfully these games captured the heart of the cards… or whether they sent us straight to the shadow realm of gaming disappointment. Will these Yu-Gi-Oh! adaptations prove they’ve got what it takes to stand the test of time, or will they end up banished to the extra deck of forgotten licensed gamesmes? Time to duel… digitally! Learn such things as: How well do these card games hold up these days with rules and metagame changes? Do you really need to be a character from the franchise to feel emerged into the franchise? Will Chris realize that he can watch the anime without playing the card game? And so much more! You can find GothJon on YouTube @gothjon, the 2 ACT Podcast on Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Super Switch Club and Tales from the Backlog for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who thinks I’m insane for looking at multiple games here. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptHoly cowl-wearing console catastrophe, comic crusaders! This week on Play Comics we’re grappling-hooking our way into the surprisingly deep shadows of 2005’s Batman Begins video game – because apparently someone at Eurocom looked at Christopher Nolan’s gritty reboot and thought, “You know what this needs? A fear meter and the ability to summon actual bats to terrify thugs into submission!” Released across more platforms than Batman has traumatic childhood memories, this movie tie-in somehow managed to land on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance without completely embarrassing itself in the process. While most movie games crash and burn faster than if I tried to drive the Batmobile, this stealth-action adventure actually tried to do something interesting with its “High Frequency Transponder” gadget and environmental intimidation mechanics that made enemies drop their weapons in sheer terror. Joining us for this digital descent into Gotham’s criminal underworld is the incredibly talented Wells Thompson, creative mastermind behind indie comic sensations and the brilliant mind that helped bring us The Scorpion and the Queen (among a bunch of other Kickstarter projects) and the force over at WellsThompson.com. Wells brings his unique perspective on comic storytelling and adaptations to help us figure out whether this game captured the essence of both the Dark Knight’s origin story and Nolan’s cinematic vision, or if it belongs in Arkham Asylum alongside the rest of the movie tie-in disasters. From the surprisingly robust stealth segments that actually rewarded patience over button-mashing, to those Batmobile sequences that had us questioning our life choices, we’ll explore how this Eurocom-developed title managed to be the last Batman movie to get a proper video game adaptation – and whether that’s a good thing or a tragedy. So grab your utility belt and join us as we investigate whether fear really is the best weapon, or if this game should have stayed in the cave where it belongs! Learn such things as: Where does this game fit into the timeline of the movie? Is it a problem that I could just buy the driving parts by themselves? How many times can you do the same puzzle? And so much more! You can find Wells on BlueSky @wellsthomp, his newsletter Comics, Cats, and Cocktails, his current Kickstarter The Scorpion and the Queen or just go ahead and see all of his stuff on Kickstarter, and of course his website WellsThompson.com. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Capes on the Couch and for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who would probably actually use that Batsuite for spelunking. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcriptWelcome comic book crusaders and button-mashing vigilantes to another skull-crushing edition of Play Comics! This week we’re strapping on our tactical vest, loading up our favorite dual-wielded firearms, and diving headfirst into the wonderfully violent world of The Punisher from 2005 – a game that dared to ask the important question: “What if we took Thomas Jane’s already pretty intense Frank Castle and gave him access to every torture device known to humanity?” This PlayStation 2 and Xbox gem emerged from the blood-soaked minds at Volition (yes, the same folks who would later give us Saints Row) and decided that your typical comic book game needed more creative interrogation techniques and fewer moral boundaries. We’re talking about a game so gloriously brutal that it nearly earned an Adults Only rating before getting the black-and-white censorship treatment that somehow made watching a guy get fed to piranhas even more artistic. Joining us for this revenge-fueled rampage is the incomparable Alex Squires from The StarWell Foundation and Opinions May Vary, a person who knows a thing or two about giving comic book villains interesting character development – though probably with fewer wood chippers involved than Frank Castle prefers. Together, we’ll explore whether this 2005 digital bloodbath successfully captured the essence of Marvel’s most morally questionable “hero,” or if it left us feeling like we’d been interrogated by the wrong end of a drill press. So grab your favorite non-lethal beverage, practice your best intimidating one-liners, and prepare to discover if this early PlayStation 2 era adaptation proved that sometimes the best way to honor a comic book character is to let them be exactly as unhinged as they were meant to be. Will we declare this game worthy of the Punisher skull, or will it get tossed off a building faster than a Gnucci crime family lieutenant? Time to find out! Learn such things as: What happens when power tools are used for evil? Are black and white things just inherently less violent? When are Gun and Knife a super power? And so much more! You can find Alex’s current project, The StarWell Foundation, and his past project, Opinions May Vary, both on OMVPodcast.com and whatever method you use to listen to podcasts. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Invasion of the Remake and Last Sons of Krypton for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who probably wouldn’t go nearly as far as Frank here. And by probably I mean almost definitely wouldn’t. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Digital monsters, handheld mayhem, and nostalgic button-mashing collide! Prepare to jack into the Digital World as Play Comics takes a pixelated punch at Digimon Battle Spirit on the Game Boy Advance. This portable fighting game promised to capture all the Agumon-punching, Gabumon-grappling action of the beloved anime and manga series, but did it deliver a champion-level experience or just leave us saying “that’s not very digivolving of you”? Joining us for this pocket-sized digital duel is Joshua Moore, the brilliant mind behind Morphenomenal: How the Power Rangers Conquered the World. Together, we’ll explore whether this GBA gem successfully translated the franchise’s monster-battling essence into something more substantial than a Rookie-level disappointment, or if it left players feeling like they’d been banished to the Dark Area of gaming history. So dust off that Game Boy Advance, charge up your Digivice, and prepare for some serious handheld heroics! Will Digimon Battle Spirit prove itself worthy of the Crest of Gaming Excellence, or will we discover it’s about as useful as a chocolate D-3 device? Time to find out if this digital adventure was truly the digimon we deserved, or just another case of “close enough” licensing magic! Learn such things as: Can a game be both the best and worst thing ever? How do you connect different eras of a series that are only loosely connected anyway? Will Chris ever be able to make a Digimon episode without bringing up Pokemon? And so much more! You can find Joshua on BlueSky @joshuamoore.com and of course his website JoshuaMoore.com and of course check out his book Morphenomenal: How the Power Rangers Conquered the World. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to the Glitterjaw Queer Podcast Collective and Fun and “Games” for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who insists that Digimon must me real and that’s what’s messing up his tech. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.Read transcript