SmashPad's Gamers Without Borders

We've had a few anniversary episodes for such a relatively short run, but this one hits a lot closer to home as the Street Fighter II 30th Anniversary brings one of the most socially-transformative events in gaming to the forefront.

Leigh is plagued by aftermarket DSi XL problems, Kayla got hold of an Xbox Series S to serve as an emulation box, Patrick found a good retro mini bargain on Marketplace, and the lack of any real news to cover resulted in the longest episode yet!

The Legend of Zelda celebrates its 35th anniversary this year! The panel looks back on the highs and lows of the series to date, before speculating on the future of Nintendo's landmark adventure franchise at a very interesting time in its history.

Without much of anything in the way of news to cover, Patrick, Theresa, and Kayla discuss game lists for theoretical mini reproductions of the N64, Saturn, Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and yes, even the 3DO.

The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is an increasingly popular device among the panel, so they saw fit to dedicate an entire episode to it. Listen in and find out exactly what makes it so great! Also, Patrick voices his disapproval of the communication approach of a major system modding group while sympathizing with their reasoning.

Once all of the rooting and hacking is done, it's clear that the PlayStation Classic is far and away the best multipurpose retro mini available.  Out of the box, however? Not so much. Filippo Dinolfo joins the panel for this deep dive into the PlayStation Classic's disastrous launch, and the road it took to the prominence it now enjoys. Finally, there's a shopping list for all of the extra devices you're going to want on hand in order to get the most out of your system.

Filippo Dinolfo is back on the panel as a pair of Sega milestones are celebrated - Sega's 60th anniversary and Sonic The Hedgehog's 30th anniversary. In addition to looking back on the company as a whole, Sega's integral role in bringing the show hosts together 20 years ago is also explored.

With Leigh sidelined by his day job, Patrick, Theresa, and Kayla are back with a short and sweet list of holiday gift selections. There are certainly a couple of obvious choices included, but perhaps the more off-the-board picks may spark your own inspiration. Enjoy!

The panel, alongside friend of the show and former SmashPad editor Filippo Dinolfo, discuss the ethics and legality of emulation, including how to satisfy the legal requirement of creating your own backups. Meanwhile, Leigh got his hands on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 (although the recording software ate part of the segment), and Kayla got hold of a Super Mario Bros Game & Watch. Yes, it runs Doom.

With Leigh out for the week, Patrick, Theresa, and Kayla discuss their individual paths into import gaming and overcoming language barriers presented in the process, while also offering up advice for any listeners looking to start taking up imports themselves. Afterward, it is only fitting that one of the consoles behind the import boom, the Sega Saturn, gets a fair bit of discussion.

SmashPad's Patrick Mifflin, Theresa Samons, Leigh Lamb, and Kayla Owen are a group of gamers disgruntled at the current state of the industry. Any backward compatibility beyond what the platform holders can resell you is an afterthought, leaving gamers on their own to protect their investments in legacy software. An endless and ubiquitous parade of AAA software is being crammed down throats at every turn, making mainstream gaming a depressingly homogenized experience for anyone who might approach it. The ever-connected, marketing-driven, FOMO-reliant game industry of today flies squarely in the face of the environment that fostered many of us, and if you look at things the same way, here's a starting point for reclaiming your personal gaming experience.

(Listener Discretion: Coarse Language)