Retro Ridoctopus

Tonight we'll be spotlighting characters that have had a ton of different VARIATIONS over the years. Think costumes, alternate dimensions and even the dreaded heel turn! We plumbed the depths of video games and comic books to find just the right candidates to create quite the motley crew for you to enjoy. Ever see #Batman on the same list as #SimonBelmont ? Well, now you have! And the medium that shows off these different versions of our characters can be anything. Action figures, cartoons, games, comics and movies. For this episode, we are all over the place! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show your RETROID PRIDE! Get your official GEAR right here! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

The black sheep of the 16bit console generation of video games was definitely the TurboGrafx-16, but does coming in third mean it wasn't great in it's own right? Heck no! (link in comments) We run down a list of our nine favorite TURBOTASTIC games (plus a few more in there for good measure) on the system that was called the PC-Engine in Japan. We cover everything from head-banging cave babies to everyone's favorite Jason Voorhees clone. SHUBIBIN! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Back in the early to mid 90s, when a popular movie was turned into a video game, that game was often released for both of the 16-bit systems that dominated console gaming of the day. This meant that whether you owned a Super Nintendo or a SEGA Genesis you'd be able to snag a copy and play! The thing is, in those days, these licensed games would often involve completely separate developers for each system, leading to a pair of games that were actually, nothing alike! Tonight, with the help of our pal Aldo Aroujo, we will be talking about 16-bit licensed games that did just that! A single property that resulted in two totally different games... one for the SNES and one for the Genesis/Megadrive. Sure, the debate over which variation on a beloved theme was major fuel for the fires tended by partisan gamers of the day, but those days are long gone. Heck, we're gonna play 'em all! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained, special mission force. Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world. For millions of fans, the exploits of G.I. Joe have been chronicled in the forms of action figures, plastic vehicles, cartoons, video games and even live action movies! It's a lot to cover, but tonight, General Coopster Gold will lead this important mission briefing, aiming our battery operated searchlight on the characters of the "A Real American Hero" cartoon which ran from 1983 to 1994! So fire up your Skystrikers, because we'll be shouting out six Joes and six agents of Cobra, all while managing to airdrop in an Octoponder and some UNCOMFORTABLE NATURE FACTS about actual cobras! YO, JOE!!! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

In what might be our longest episode ever, we welcome back one half of the Throwdown Thursday Podcast (the great Ashes Von Nightmare) to talk about some of our favorite movies that feature fictional bands! After a STONEHENGE-sized presentation on the one that started it all, Rob Reiner's seminal classic THIS IS SPINAL TAP, we move onto 8 other films that are also GONNA ROCK YOU (tonight). We've got everything from outright comedies to hard-hitting Oscar-winning dramas. Some of these flicks have full soundtracks by their "fake bands" and others only a track or two. Does the cast sing and play their instruments? Who did the writing? Make no mistake, while the bands are all made up... this ROCK AND ROLL is as real as it comes! \,,/ And if horror and indie films are your idea of a good time... check out the what Ashes came to promote, the Dead of Winter Festival coming to Worcester, Massachusetts Feb. 21st & 22nd 2026! NOTE: This episode is dedicated to the wonderful Catherine O'Hara, who passed just hours after this recording. Our hearts were not ready and are thoroughly broken. #RIPCatherineOhara #SpinalTap #ThisIsSpinalTap #ThatThingYouDo #Airheads #AMightyWind #AlmostFamous #2gether #StillCrazy #Rockstar #SteelDragon #Stillwater #StrangeFruit #TheFolksmen #MickeyandMitch #TheWonders RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

This week, things are gonna get a little MESSY, as we welcome back a true comic book expert. In the virtual studio is artist Derek Rook, (from Rough House Publishing) to talk about his newest book and horror comics as a whole! After a excruciatingly cool expose on the (hot off the presses) GORE SHRIEK RESURRECTUS Vol. 3, we take a SCARY amount of pleasure spotlighting HORROR-CODED stuff from the 60s, 80s, 90s... all the way up to today! Expect some serious GUSHING about the characters, creators, titles and story lines that left their marks on us. Get your copy of GORE SHRIEK RESURRECTUS Vol. 3 at the Rough House Publishing website! #Hellboy #SwampThing #DeadWorld #JunjiIto #BlackestNight #HorrorComics RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

2025 ended with a truly unthinkable tragedy that we are all still reeling from. Retro Ridoctopus could think of no better way to pay tribute to the great Rob Reiner, than by dedicating the first episode of season 8 to those films of his that have brought us so much joy for so many decades. From tense courtrooms, to the Cliffs of Insanity and the thousand laughs and tears in between, we each picked two movies Rob directed and try our best to put into words what these true classics have meant to us over the years. #afewgoodmen #theprincessbride #princessbride #ghostsofmississippi #robreiner #standbyme #asyouwish #youcanthandlethetruth RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

All tentacles are in the air as we reflect on and celebrate another successful season of the Retro Ridoctopus cephalopodcast! After copious amounts of reminiscing over another amazing year, we dive into our annual final topic. Like every year, we asked you for voice mails, giving your quick reviews of a classic movie you watched for the first time this year. Every single year, this block gets longer and longer and season 7 was no exception. Thank you for coming out in droves to be a part of the show and for helping to make Retro Ridoctopus what it is. But listener beware... for lurking within this finale is the startling HORCHATA SCARE OF 2025... SHUBIBIN!!! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network and is brought to you by Deadly Grounds Coffee. Podcast intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

For our last regular episode of season 7, we are talking about a childhood experience everyone out there can relate to. Sitting down with a big box of crayons and a coloring book! With the help of guest host Christine (AKA Mrs. Parasite), we'll share a bit of history on the Crayola company before diving into some colorful childhood memories revolving around crayons. Get ready for some personal coloring techniques and a run down of our favorite and least favorite #Crayola crayon colors of all time. Then, after the Octoponder, we expand the discussion into numerous other ways we were able to play with color. Things like markers, colored pencils, water color paint and much much more! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

It's time to play the music... It's time to light the lights... It's time to meet the Muppets on Ridoctopus Tonight! Your host of the moment Coopster Gold has a backstage pass to the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational show around! For this episode, we celebrate some of our favorite all time characters from Jim Henson's The Muppets! We're talking Frogs, Pigs, Dogs and all the wacky Whatevers in between! And later on, 8-bit Alchemy delivers a Muppetational installment of his long running music-focused segment, Compose Yo'Self! YAAAAAAAYYY!!!!! #themuppets #themuppetshow #KermitTheFrog #kermit #misspiggy #gonzo #Drteeth #electricmayhem #bigbird #sesamestreet #jimhenson RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Double, double, toil and trouble... fire burn and cauldron... (well you know). With the help of our be-broomed co-host Greenie (AKA The Green Witch of the Shire) we squeeze one last episode into the spooky season! This one is all about movies involving witches! We're talking mean ones, green ones and even seldom seen ones! Some are sort of nice, but some will turn smelly little children into mice! #witches #thewitches #hocuspocus #warlock #kikisdeliveryservice #wickedwitch #pumpkinhead #haloween RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

This episode is not for the faint of heart, nor the weak of mind... For our second spooky episode of 2025, we tackle the cosmic horrors of H.P. Lovecraft--and we do it through the lens of... well, a LENS! We've picked six Lovecraft inspired films to raise from the unknowable depths. Three direct adaptations of his stories, and three more that are what has come to be known colloquially as... LOVECRAFTIAN. Hold onto your sanity folks, things are about to get cosmic. #Lovecraft #HPLovecraft #Lovecraftian #Cthulhu #Dagon #StewartGordon #JohnCarpenter RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Hey gang! Fire up those ascots and tie off your Mystery Machines because it's time to dive back into the topic of everyone's favorite mystery-solving scaredy dog... Scooby Doo! This time, we are focusing on a few of the nearly 50 Scooby movies. Whether they were released on TV, VHS, DVD, streaming or theatrically, they all count. We each pick two to spotlight and, as usual, get thick into the weeds as we creep up stairs, down abandoned mines and through haunted amusement parks to unmask those pesky mystery men! #scooby #scoobydoo #mysterymachine #hannabarbera RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

About 100 episodes ago, we recorded Ep 060: Nintendo Hard / The Triumphant Return of Nintenjoe where we discussed some NES games that we loved despite their extreme levels of difficulty. Tonight, we are dipping back into that topic with the awesome Mike Levy from the Dongled channel on YouTube. We've got a whole new crop of tough as nails games for ya, and this time we decided to widen the scope to include SNES and Genesis titles as well! Expect limited continues, plenty of one hit kills and definitely no Konami code for extra lives. Will your favorite hard games make the list? Listen and find out! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

This week, all your BASE are belong to Retro Ridoctopus! We are celebrating the crown jewel of any action figure toy line! Whether you called it a base, playset, headquarters, or battle station... we all drooled over those commercials. Begging our parents to pony up even more cash so we could bring a little piece of our action figures' world home! He-Man had Castle Grayskull and the Thundercats had Cat's Lair... but that's barely scratching the surface. In this episode, your Octo-hosts rattle off a veritable city's worth of play sets across all different toy lines from the 80s and 90s. So go pick out your favorite "guys" and familiarize yourselves with the locations of all available foot pegs because it's time to play! #heman #mastersoftheuniverse #thundercats #tmnt #teenagemutantninjaturtles #Starriors #gijoe #sectaurs #starwars RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Legendary comedic actor John Candy left us on March 4th, 1994 at the age of 43, much to the dismay of his millions of fans. To help celebrate his life and career, we have a returning guest-host and John Candy super-fan, Retroid and co-host of the Spooky Picture Show, Raina Madison ! We each picked 2 of our favorite Candy films to spotlight, but knowing us, it's a safe bet we'll mention way more than that. Though John was probably far too humble to have ever believed it, his enormous absence is still felt these 30 years later. Fortunately, he left us a library of fun to remember him by! #johncandy #planestrainsandautomobiles #UncleBuck #SCTV #whoisharrycrumb #spaceballs #johncandymovies #homealone RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

Love him or hate him, the career of John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was one for the ages. With the help of our pals Synopsis Grim and Portland Maine's own, DJ Rick Johnson, we'll hop on a crazy train and journey across five decades—spotlighting five albums from the solo career of heavy metal's one and only Prince of Darkness. Along the way, we'll share plenty about each track and what listening to these albums has meant to us over the years. Obviously, we are all huge metal heads and Ozzy was a major influence in shaping the music that shaped each one of us. And since you're here... check out Rick Johnson's blog: HEAVY METAL NOMAD! #ozzy #ozzyosbourne RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

We welcome back Randy Carter (from Swarm of Comics) for a soaring discussion on the Golden and Silver Ages of superhero comics! The Golden Age of comic books in the United States spanned 1938 to 1956, beginning with the 1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1. And the Silver Age is generally considered to span 1956 to 1970. That period began with the publication of DC Comics' Showcase #4 (October 1956), which introduced the modern version of the Flash, Barry Allen. For this episode, your Octo-hosts will each pick 1 superhero from the Golden Age and 1 from the Silver Age! As usual, you can expect plenty of deep cuts and rambling as we navigate this enormously important period of time. Nuff said? Follow Randy Carter's Swarm of Comics, on his ongoing CGC unboxing adventures! And if thrashy death metal is your thing... you gotta put Swarm of Eyes in your ear holes! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

For this episode, we get in touch with our softer sides... Get ready to hear a handful of super rad GIRL TOYS that go way beyond playing with dolls. Properties like the Care Bears, My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite have been slapped on as many things as He-Man or the Transformers over the years, and have had just as many reboots. And while we may mention the cartoons, our focus here is on the TOYS! Parasite Steve is on assignment (wrestling crabs in the Outer Banks) but stepping in as guest host is the amazing and velvet-voiced Taryn Barber! A very long time friend of the show, Taryn is the President of Amalga-Mania and the mastermind behind all the incredible artisan soaps over at ACID KITTY! We are so happy to have her back! #CabbagePatchKids #CareBears #StrawberryShortcake #RainbowBrite #PollyPocket #LittlestPetShop RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.

RELOAD!! RELOAD!! PER-KANNG!! Whether you're aiming your NES Zapper at some 8-bit ducks or feeding quarters into an arcade to head-shot some video zombies, you're experiencing the white-knuckled action of a niche sub-genre of video games known as a LIGHT GUN GAMES or ON RAILS SHOOTERS!! Tonight, with the help of our old buddy, Nintenjoe, we'll spotlight some personal favorites! We start with beloved titles like Duck Hunt, House of the Dead and Time Crisis and, as we are want to do, move to a bunch of obscure hidden gems that went under the radar! RETRO RIDOCTOPUS is ----------------------------------- "Parasite Steve"...... AKA Steve Van Samson (read) "8-Bit Alchemy "...... AKA Tim Krikorian (listen) "Coopster Gold"...... AKA Justin Cooper (subscribe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retro Ridoctopus is a proud member of The Dorkening Podcast Network. Intro and all heavy metal interstitials by Enchanted Exile.