Devil May Cry has been an institution for what is now decades, and the original is the zeitgeist of what is now known as the character action game. Andre is joined by Matt of the "Fun" and Games Podcast to talk about their memories and give a overarching view of the PlayStation 2 trilogy of DMC: the good, the bad, and the badass!

Find all of Matt's various projects at https://djstormageddon.com/

Matt on Bluesky: @djstormageddon.com

Andre on Bluesky: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Fine Time on Bluesky: @fineti.me

[00:00] Intro

[01:35] Matt and Their Projects

[06:25] Our Beginnings As Capcom Fans and DMC Fans

[16:03] Our Tastes In The Early 2000s

[22:42] Dante

[29:32] The New Standard In Action

[33:51] Devil May Cry

[57:30] Devil May Cry 2

[01:17:19] Devil May Cry 3

[01:38:08] Would Hideki Kamiya Come Back to DMC?

[01:42:30] Bye!

Andre is joined by Thrak again to polish off the BioShock trilogy with the final entry, BioShock Infinite. A source of controversy upon its release, but has time changed its message? We dive into the characters, events, and the depictions of racism presented to us in this wile ride. Thanks for listening!

This episode contains discussion of racial slurs that were said and not said in the dialogue. Don't say we didn't warn you!

This is part of a three-part series covering the BioShock trilogy. If you haven't heard the first two parts yet, you can hear our discussion on BioShock here, and our discussion on BioShock 2 here.

Hear Thrak on The 3DO Experience right here

Fine Time on Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre on Bluesky: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

[00:00] Spoiler Warning and Content Warning

[01:43] Intro and Production History

[06:22] Overall Thoughts and What We Knew Beforehand

[12:18] Beginning and Early Moments

[27:22] The Common Gamer's Perspective

[31:52] Action, Gunplay, and Level Design

[39:54] More Racism!

[49:48] Elizabeth

[54:13] Even More Racism!

[01:06:51] The Racism Exhibit

[01:10:50] The Resistance

[01:23:34] Later Moments and Overall Thoughts

[01:32:59] Ending

[01:42:47] Burial At Sea DLC

[01:52:39] Bye!

On our final episode of Cinematic Platformer Paradise, Andre and Steve take a trip to the PlayStation era and play one of the last games of its kind, Heart of Darkness. Does this late-era cinematic platformer impress, or is it a dud? Listen and find out!

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Steve: @monotonegent.fineti.me

The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Forspoken, Diablo 4 beta, Redfall and Microsoft's current strategy, our thoughts on launch lineups of the past are all in this new Big Deal. Here's the rundown:

[00:00] Intro

[03:57] Andre beat Forspoken

[18:27] Steve played through Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

[26:13] Kevin on the Diablo 4 Beta

[39:15] Kevin's gripes with Everybody's Golf

[42:19] Break #1

[44:00] The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Did We Like It?

[01:02:51] Did Miyamoto hint at a new Mario game coming soon?

[01:05:54] Is Sony working on a new handheld called Q Lite?

[01:09:47] Redfall at 30fps and Starfield speculation

[01:14:42] Kevin's quick thoughts on E3 dying

[01:15:41] Break #2

[01:17:15] Place Your Bets!

[01:29:17] Launch Lineup Hot Takes

[01:49:21] Outro

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

In 1995, for unknown reasons, Capcom licensed out Darkstalkers to an Amercian animation studio to produce 13 episodes of complete trash. Let us regale you with tales of the horrors contained within so you don't have to watch it yourself!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Steve and Andre talk about Forspoken, Exoprimal, MultiVersus, E3, and more on this fresh All American Edition of Fine Time. John Wick 4 is at the end for easy spoiler avoidance! Here's the rundown:

[00:00] Intro

[03:51] Steve played Toem

[8:44] Andre is closing in on Octopath Traveler II

[12:01] Andre played the early moments of Forspoken

[23:24] Exoprimal Beta: Was it good?

[33:40] Break #1

[37:11] Did MultiVersus focus on the wrong audience?

[51:23] E3 is dead, right?

[01:00:03] Tears of the Kingdom gameplay impressions

[01:09:31] Break #2

[01:10:48] John Wick 4 (WARNING: FULL SPOILERS)

[01:38:10] Outro

Steve and Andre do a deep dive into what they've been playing recently on Nintendo Switch Online, including their likes, their dislikes, and plenty of debate on what they agree and disagree on.

[00:00] Intro

[04:50] Games We've Been Playing (Dig Dug 2, Contra Hard Corps, Castlevania Bloodlines, Fire n' Ice, Earthbound Beginnings, Shinobi 3, Mega Man: The Wily Wars, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3)

[30:01] Break #1

[31:05] Import Report (StarFox 64, Rushing Beat [Rival Turf], Puyo Puyo [Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine], Wave Race 64, Umihara Kawase, Harvest Moon, Custom Robo, Sin and Punishment)

[49:32] Recommended Games (Psycho Dream, Operation Logic Bomb, Spanky's Quest, Sword of Vermillion, Nightshade, Gargoyle's Quest, Demon's Crest, MUSHA)

[01:11:11] Break #2

[01:02:30] Sorry, But I Don't Get It (Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier, Joe & Mac 2, Congo's Caper, Altered Beast, Alone In the Dark: The New Nightmare)

[01:17:11] In Defense of Yoshi's Story

[01:24:02] In Defense of Banjo-Kazooie

[01:29:06] What do we want to see on the service next?

[01:35:30] Outro

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Metroid Prime Remastered, Starfield and Suicide Squad delays, 'JRPG' as a loaded term, and so much more in our new Big Deal. Here's the rundown:

[00:00] Intro

[02:17] Kevin played Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

[16:39] Metroid Prime Remastered : Does it hold up?

[36:33] Break #1

[37:37] Were Starfield and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League afraid of Tears of the Kingdom?

[43:20] Sony vs. Microsoft and the battle for Call of Duty, Pt. 68

[49:55] Yoshi-P's dislike of the term 'JRPG' and the era that derided them

[01:10:45] Break #2

[01:11:35] Name As Many Things As You Can In 45 Seconds (Working Title)

[01:22:54] Nintendo Switch Online Breaking News!!!!

[01:24:03] Favorite PS1 game?

[01:26:07] Old technology and the Toys To Life market

[01:33:24] They can't kill Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake... right?

[01:38:16] Kevin's spoiler-free thoughts on HBO's The Last of Us

[01:40:52] Outro

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

The PokéPals are back! Steve, Vin, and Ampy chat about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's initial hype, what they liked and didn't like, and their hopes for the franchise's future. Spoilers abound!

[00:00] Intro

[01:30] The initial reveal

[05:00] Pre-release announcements

[10:30] Ed Sheeran ...?!

[13:55] Terastallization -- Great for marketing?

[16:15] Customization -- Everybody is going to school

[20:30] Expectations?

[21:55] We dodged the leaks

[23:55] How did we start our Treasure Hunt?

[28:40] What did this game do well?

[31:15] Favorite story arcs?

[38:45] Quality of life improvements

[40:15] We (mostly) like how these raids got amped up

[46:15] What did it not do so well?

[49:00] Oh boy, that graphical performance

[52:10] Oh boy, those menus

[55:30] The pacing: could we really play how we wanted to?

[59:00] Oh no, the end game

[1:06:35] They tossed out some options

[1:11:11] Is it interesting going to school in-game?

[1:15:20] Are these towns exciting?

[1:20:15] Those bangin' tunes

[1:25:00] Which Pokemon did we like?

[1:30:50] Which Pokemon did we NOT like?

[1:35:55] Paldea sure has a lot of these kinds/types of Pokemon

[1:37:45] Which Pokemon teams did we settle on?

[1:43:55] How about those Paldean forms?

[1:47:55] Did we experience any insane glitches?

[1:54:20] Would we still have preferred this over the usual Pokémon experience?

[1:56:55] Do you think this game gives us any idea what to expect for future generations?

[1:59:45] Why play this if you've done other Pokémon games?

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Vin: @lucentai

Steve: @monotonegent

Ampy: @ampyluxe

Kirby's Return To Dream Land Deluxe, Minit, Hogwarts Legacy, State of Play, Nintendo quarterly sales figures, a game of Pokemon: Real or Fake?, what we want to see in a Switch successor and more are all in this new episode! Here's the rundown:

[00:00] Intro

[04:45] Andre played Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

[13:41] Steve and Andre played Minit

[20:34] Kevin finishes Hogwarts Legacy

[27:06] Break #1

[29:20] Nintendo is skipping E3 2023. Should Microsoft take advantage?

[36:35] Latest Nintendo software sales figures

[44:20] State of Play Recap (PSVR 2, Tchia, Humanity, Baldur's Gate 3, Viewfinder, Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League)

[58:24] Pokemon Presents Recap (Pokemon Sleep is real!!)

[01:01:21] Break #2

[01:02:24] Pokemon: Real or Fake? (Bear Edition)

[01:11:48] What do you want to see or not see in a successor to Switch? (Twitter Mailbag)

[01:35:55] Outro

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Aboard the USG Ishimura, an unspeakable tragedy has occured... again! Andre is joined by Patrick to talk about the Dead Space remake, compare it against the original, gawk at its visual splendor, talk favorite weapons, discuss plot and worldbuilding, and many other things too. BEWARE, FULL SPOILERS!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre finishes off the rest of the Uncharted series, Kevin gets into Hogwarts Legacy, and our thoughts on all topics surrounding the Nintendo Direct including us playing the demos of Sea of Stars and Octopath Traveler II, as well as the shadowdropped Metroid Prime Remastered, all in this new edition of Fine Time. Here's the rundown:

[00:00] Intro

[02:25] Andre plays the whole Uncharted series

[18:46] Kevin plays Hogwarts Legacy

[37:45] Steve plays Stories Untold

[41:56] Break #1

[44:41] Pikmin 3

[49:43] Xenoblade 3 and Fire Emblem Engage Expansion Passes

[52:09] Splatoon 3 DLC

[58:46] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Wave 4 DLC

[01:00:01] Samba De Amigo Party Central and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

[01:02:07] The Return of Level-5: DecaPolice, Fantasy Life i, and a new Professor Layton

[01:06:35] Disney Illusion Island, We Love Katamari REROLL

[01:11:40] Sea of Stars Demo

[01:19:25] Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

[01:24:32] Break #2

[01:27:10] Advance Wars 1+2: ReBoot Camp gets back on the schedule

[01:28:39] Game Boy and Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Switch Online

[01:33:54] Metroid Prime Remastered

[01:44:08] Octopath Traveler II Demo

[01:52:00] Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster

[01:56:21] WBSC eBASEBALL: Power Pros

[01:58:10] The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Price Hike or One-Time Zelda Tax?

[02:05:51] Outro

Vin (@lucentai) and Ampy (@Ampyluxe) chat about their experiences with rhythm gaming and delve into notable oddball titles and obscurities across the genre's long history. Come share some laughs as they dive deep into these games' zaniness!

[13:54] Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call

[28:14] Rhythm Heaven

[35:56] Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents

[45:57] Frequency

[51:54] PaRappa the Rapper

[56:11] Hatsune Miku Project Diva Future Tone

[01:03:12] Persona Dancing (Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight & Persona 4 Dancing All Night & Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight)

[01:08:09] Donkey Konga

[01:14:54] Pop'n Music

[01:21:26] DJ Max Technika

[01:25:23] DJ Max Technika Tune

[01:27:58] Pump it Up Pro and In the Groove

[01:31:37] IA/VT Colorful

[01:33:38] StepManiaX

[01:36:28] Eat Beat Deadspike-san

[01:38:05] Tone Sphere

[01:40:11] Closing Remarks and Big Questions

We've reached the point of our Cinematic Platformer Paradise journey where we've finally arrived at Blackthorne, the Super Nintendo action-adventure classic. Did Blizzard learn from the cinematic platformer sins of the past? Spoiler alert: Yes they did! Andre and Steve dig into this stone-cold classic, right now on Fine Time. Thanks for listening!

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Steve: @monotonegent.fineti.me

Thanks again for joining us for the Fine Time variety show! As always, your feedback is not only appreciated, but enocuraged. Reach out to us and tell us what you like about the show! Here's the rundown for this Big Deal:

[00:00] Intro

[01:46] Steve played Fire Emblem Engage

[15:52] Kevin revisits The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

[22:14] Kevin tries a fan translation of "The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls" カエルの為に鐘は鳴る

[37:17] Andre and Steve played Resident Evil 3 (2020)

[49:28] Break #1

[50:23] Starry soda taste test!

[54:52] Naughty Dog said they're moving on from Uncharted, but...

[59:26] Is anyone coming to E3?

[01:07:07] Marvel's Avengers is coming to an end, so what game is next?

[01:16:54] Netflix password sharing is no more

[01:26:51] Break #2

[01:28:00] God of War Ragnarok SPOILERS DISCUSSION

[01:58:48] Outro

The night is long, and so are we. Wait, what? Steve and Andre continue their journey of watching Bubblegum Crisis-adjacent anime series, this time landing on Parasite Dolls, a three-episode OAV from 2002. Can it stand up to other side stories like AD Police and Bubblegum Crash? Piece of cookie!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Thanks for joining us for another fun chat on Fine Time! Any feedback is much appreciated. Here's the rundown for this week's Big Deal:

[00:00] Intro

[02:26] Kevin explores Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

[13:20] Andre expereinces Doki Doki Literature Club

[19:16] Andre plays Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

[23:13] Steve tries Crossing Souls

[29:07] Steve gives The Red Strings Club a go

[32:25] Break #1

[34:39] Original Meta Quest discontinued and no longer supported

[40:37] The Wild Week of Ubisoft

[01:01:37] Steve and Kevin guess the top downloaded Playstation 5 games of 2022

[01:05:18] Break #2

[01:06:36] Hogwarts Legacy and the idea of consuming art ethically

[01:36:00] Have you ever leveled a JRPG character to Lv. 99?

[01:37:29] Outro

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

This week Kevin sits down with friend of the show and Twitch streamer Adan to talk about the ins and outs of what it takes to spearhead an online community, the emotional impacts of streaming, the benefits and downfalls of pre-online gaming, eating spicy nuts, and more! 

Catch Adan on Twitch! http://twitch.tv/manicsocratic

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Adan: @Manic_Socratic

A new show for the new year! Stay warm, stay safe. Here's the rundown for this Big Deal:

[00:00] Intro

[04:31] Andre played through Resident Evil 2 (2019)

[19:00] Andre played some Chorus

[22:53] Kevin has quick impressions on High On Life

[28:13] Steve played Cthulhu Saves Christmas

[34:25] Break #1

[37:00] Details on Ys X: Nordics from Famitsu

[47:03] Game Awards bullet points

[54:38] Forspoken demo

[01:02:44] Microsoft brokers a deal with Nintendo for Call of Duty

[01:05:45] The woeful state of Sports Story

[01:12:48] Bandai Namco lists jobs for making a Nintendo action game

[01:15:43] Nintendo Direct when?

[01:17:17] Break #2

[01:21:23] Hey, remember Yoshi's Crafted World?

[01:26:12] HBO Max delists Looney Tunes

[01:29:58] Place Your Bets!

[01:41:24] What's the worst game you've ever played?

[01:54:43] Outro

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

The curmudgeons are back with a new set of recommendations for the people! If you've ever looked over the Neo Geo offerings from the Arcade Archives library and had no idea what to buy, thos podcast aims to solve that for you with twenty ACA Neo Geo game reccomendations over many genres.

Our Recommendations

World Heroes Perfect

Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

Last Blade 2

Kizuna Encounter

Cyber Lip

Spinmaster

Ninja Combat

Magician Lord

Shock Troopers

Mutation Nation

Puzzle Bobble 2

Money Puzzle Exchanger

Overtop

Big Tournament Golf (formerly Neo Turf Masters)

Aero Fighters 3

Zed Blade

Pulstar

Blazing Star

Crossed Swords

Sengoku

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Vin: @lucentai

Catch Vin on Twitch at http://twitch.tv/lucentai

Steve and Andre played the latest and greatest from PlatinumGames! But was it really the greatest? Nope! Listen to the guys thoughts on Bayonetta 3 in this new edition of Postgame Show. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Steve plays Pokemon Scarlet, Kevin plays Pokemon Ruby (???) and checks out the Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC, and Andre trudges through Death Stranding. Then they discuss the new Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer, if future Pokemon sales figures might be hurt by the reception to Scarlet and Violet, a Sony Santa Monica director being interested in doing a Castlevania, Blizzard pulling their online services out of China, Yuji Naka getting arrested, and Kotaku putting Retromags on blast. They finish up with talking about franchises they never want to see make a comeback, personal GOTYs, and the one game they're looking forward to most in 2023.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

An HD-2D remake of a never-seen-in-the-west Squaresoft RPG for the SNES? What could possibly go wrong?! For Andre, quite a bit, but for Steve, maybe not as much. Hear their differing opinions on the 2022 remake of Live A Live in this new post-game discussion. Be warned though, full spoilers ahead!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

At long last, Andre goes deep on Sonic Frontiers! Kevin and Steve jointly tackle the beginning moments of God of War Ragnarok before Kevin talks a little Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Steve played some Harvestella. Then they cover the brief highlights of Nintendo's latest Indie World presentation, Naoki Yoshida's comments on racial diversity in Final Fantasy XVI, Nintendo software sales figures, and the Doom Eternal soundtrack dispute. Then they finish up with Kevin's thoughts on the debut record from Alien Weaponry, and a fresh Twitter Mailbag!

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

After their original plans for a Flashback sequel got cancelled, they started over again in the third dimension, bringing us the early PlayStation hit Fade To Black. Does this wild sci-fi universe survive the polygon treatment? Hell, is this even a cinematic platformer at all?! Andre and Steve find out in the latest installment of Cinematic Platformer Paradise.

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Steve: @monotonegent.fineti.me

The Mega Man & Bass defenders have logged on! Andre and Vin take a look at why the reputation of a game they love has been besmirched over time, dive into the reasons why they love it, and then a spirited breakdown of the complains people levy towards it.

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Vin: @lucentai.bsky.social

Catch Vin on Twitch at http://twitch.tv/lucentai

Kevin talks Grand Theft Auto Vice City, Andre talks Alan Wake Remastered, then Andre and Steve yell at each other about Zombie Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol before Steve talks about the 2019 version of Resident Evil 2. Then they talk about The Callisto Protocol being denied a CERO rating in Japan, Microsoft's Game Pass revenue, and the multiple R-Type projects in the pipeline. They finish up with a bevy of random topics including a album quiz game, the new Arctic Monkeys album, favorite meals of all time, and cancelled games we still think about.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Steve and Andre do a Dracula Double Feature! They revisit the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Bram Stoker's Dracula, a bizzare and horny adaption of the book featuring Gary Oldman at his best, Keanu Reeves at his worst, and a wild assortment of old-school trickery. Then, for the first time, they watch the 1979 adaption of Dracula featuring Frank Langella in the titular role. Come one, come all, before the werewolf does!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

The guys talk about what they've been playing, including Overwatch 2, Pilotwings 64, Murdered: Soul Suspect and Deadly Premonition Origins. Then they move on to what they thought about the Super Mario Bros. movie trailer, the Silent Hill Transmission presentation, Meta Quest Pro, Hellena Taylor vs. Hideki Kamiya in the battle over Bayonetta 3, the end of Final Fantasy VII: First Soldier, and the upcoming Pokemon Splatfest in Splatoon 3. They end with talking about spoilers on social media, a Halloween edition of Pokemon: Real Or Fake?, and our hot takes on Halloween candy.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Join Kevin and Stockton in the second half of this conversation as they continue trying to work out what components of an artist's library result in their greatest music.

Check out the corresponding Spotify playlist: https://spoti.fi/3C4Yipl

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Stockton: @Bimmysucks

The guys discuss Splatoon 3's first Splatfest, Prodeus, Symphony of the Night, Haunted Castle, Night Slashers, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Alisia Dragoon. They then move into talking about PSVR 2, the end of Babylon's Fall, the predictable demise of Google Stadia, Horizon Zero Dawn remake rumors, PlayStation Stars, and Nintendo buying out Dynamo Pictures. They finish up with Andre wondering where the comedy movies went, Kevin follows up on our talk about the fidelity of Tidal over Spotify and also plays Capcom, Taito, Or Sega?, an update on our quarterly Place Your Bets game, and Steve's thoughts on the possibility and prospects of a brand new traditionally animated Disney movie.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

In part one of another all-Canadian episode, Kevin and Stockton hash out some of the best songs from their favourite bands in an effort to find out what elements create an artists best work.

Check out the corresponding Spotify playlist: https://spoti.fi/3DQRqhx

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Stockton: @Bimmysucks

The guys talk Splatoon 3, Nintendo Direct, the Grand Theft Auto 6 leak, State of Play, Tokyo Game Show, and the demos released during TGS of Valkyrie Elysium, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Star Ocean: Divine Force.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Steve and Andre are back at the movies, and this time they have an absolute doozy. 2025: The World Enslaved By a Virus is a tale of communism, Christianity, incredibly bad acting, communism, a worldwide police state, persecution for being different, and communism!!! Or is it? They laugh, sigh, and shake their heads in disbelief at this absolute disaster that dared to call itself a movie.

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Andre plays Soul Hackers 2, Steve plays Mega Man X7, Kevin plays Tearaway, and everyone participated in the Splatoon 3 Splatfest Premiere! Then the guys talk about Sony and Microsoft's battle over Call of Duty, the latest in the Amico saga, Halo Infinite cancelling couch co-op, The Pokemon Company suing Chinese companies over clone games, and the potential Nintendo Direct this month. Then they talk about the music fidelity on streaming services, Arctic Monkeys' current musical direction, and the first sexy things they remember in video games.

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

When people think of cinematic platformers, the first one they likely think of is Flashback. And with good reason! Not only is it an incredible technical achievement, it features the crystalized vision of what was cyberpunk in the 1990s. But as we all know, ambition can often lead a video game astray. Does Flashback manage to stay on track? Andre and Steve find out in the latest in their continuing Cinematic Platformer Paradise series.

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Steve: @monotonegent.fineti.me

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Arcade Archives games available and you had no idea what to buy? Andre and Vin provide a starting point for beginners looking to expand their horizons on arcades games, providing picks from the Konami, Irem, and Namco libraries.

Full List of Recommedations

Circus Charlie

Life Force

Block Hole

Sunset Riders

Lightning Fighters

Mr. Goemon

Moon Patrol

In The Hunt

Kid Niki

Ninja Spirit

X-Multiply

Heroic Episode

Libble Rabble

Mappy

New Rally-X

Rolling Thunder

Super Pac-Man

Legend of Valkyrie

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Vin: @lucentai

Steve tries Diofield Chronicle, Kevin revisits Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, and Andre is bored by Dark Cloud. Then we get into the Sega Genesis II Mini full game list, Xbox One lifetime sales figures, the wild Embracer Group shopping spree, Nintendo's possible accessibility controller, and Warner Bros. Discovery in flames. We wrap up with Kevin's current level of Splatoon 3 hype, Andre's unease about video game crossovers, and Kevin bought a Vita! Hope you enjoy the show!

Follow us on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

The MegaTen Boys are here! Steve and Andre give their thoughts after completing the latest mainline series game, Shin Megami Tensei V. From the announcement at the January 2017 Switch Presentation to the journey it took to finally see release, was the long wait worth it? Beware, spoilers abound!

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

The whole crew is back to talk about Stray, Space Channel 5, Freedom Planet, Jak 3, Jumping Flash, Fantavision, Red Dead Redemption 2, Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct, the HBO Max roundabout, the Release the Synder Cut movement being spearheaded by bots, Knights of the Old Republic remake in big trouble, the age of the solo artist over bands, Nintendo's weird restrictions on 3DS and Wii U-era demos, and those video game ad campaigns that stuck with us.

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

We have a wide-ranging discussion about the life and times of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, including the mindset going into the generation, the stage being set after the infamous E3 2013, how Sony delivered in the face of no competiton, the rise of the live service game, mid-gen hardware refreshes, and tons more topics and hot takes all about the happenings of the previous decade.

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Andre hates Jak II, Kevin somewhat defends Blossom Tales, Steve is wowed by Returnal, and all three guys play the Live-A-Live demo. Other topics include Ubisoft's delisting of an Assassin's Creed game, more laughing at Amico, Phantasy Star Online 2 finally getting a North American PS4 release, JAV Titles: Real or Fake?, an update on Place Your Bets, and our very first Twitter Mailbag!

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Steve and Vin tackle Pokémon's extensive spinoff titles! From well-known games like Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Go, or Pokémon Mystery Dungeon to relative obscurities like Pokémon Channel, Pokémon Trozei, or Pokémon Conquest, they cover over two decades of history. Catch the good, the bad, and the odds and ends as they look back on their experiences and exchange plenty of laughs.

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Steve: @monotonegent

Vin: @lucentai

We all played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Steve played Final Fantasy 15, and Andre played Jak and Daxter. Then we talk about Nintendo's rumored 1-2 Switch sequel, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, Overwatch 2, Final Fantasy 7 25th Anniversary Celebration, the scattershot Final Fantasy 16 info dump, and the highlights of the Nintendo Drect Mini. We also chat about those games we really wanted to like but we just couldn't, plus a few mobile games recommendations.

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Andre and Vin tackle the new Namco compilation, Pac-Man Museum+. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird all get their due! How do these games hold up today?

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Vin: @lucentai

Another World is a absolute titan of the cinematic platformer genre, and it was an incredible technical achivement on every platform it released on. But can its gameplay match its audiovisual splendor? Is its status as a classic deserved? Was Heart of the Alien forgotten for a reason? Find out this week on Cinematic Platformer Paradise. Face it, you're warped!

Fine Time on Instagram: @finetimepodcast

Bluesky: @fineti.me

Andre: @pizzadinosaur.fineti.me

Steve: @monotonegent.fineti.me

[00:00] Another World

[24:31] Heart of the Alien

We all played Boyfriend Dungeon and spilled the tea about our boyfriends, and Mario Strikers: Battle League. Then we get into the multitude of game presentations over the past few weeks, including State of Play, Limited Run Games, Sonic Central, Summer Game Fest, Devolver Digital, Capcom, and the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase.

Keep up with the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

Kevin: @KevinFlevin89

Mega Tokyo just isn't safe anymore, not even the Hot Legs bar! Steve and Andre talk about themselves as anime watchers and how they got into the artform before they take on one of the biggest anime classics of all time, Bubblegum Crisis.

Follow the show on Twitter at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur

Steve: @monotonegent

The Taito Egret II Mini party continues! Andre and Vin pick up their discussion by talking about the impact of the Zuntata sound team, the early 90's high-art shmup trilogy of RayForce, Metal Black and Darius Gaiden, briefly cover other assorted shmups like Scramble Formation and Gun Frontier, tackle the insanity of Bubble Symphony and Bubble Memories, rounding up the paddle and trackball games of Syvallion, Cameltry, Puchi Carat and the Arkanoid trilogy, beat-'em-ups The Ninja Kids and Runark, and a smattering of overarching questions at the end. Thanks for joining us!

Keep up with the show at @FineTimePodcast

Andre: @pizzadinosaur
Vin: @lucentai