The infamous odd-one out. Nintendo SPD collaborated with Tecmo's Team Ninja for the Wii-exclusive follow-up to the Prime trilogy, with results that weren't greeted entirely enthusiastically by press or punters alike. Leon, Chris Worthington, Leah, Rich and community correspondents get to grips with Metroid: Other M - its quirky cameras and unintuitive interface, and perhaps most controversially, its character-changing portrayal of series hero, Samus Aran.

Two shoot 'em ups with two names each, from Capcom's arcade heyday of the late 80s/early 90s. Leon, Chris Worthington, Michiel and expert guest Ed Tremblay equip formidable loadouts and launch into the skies of Area 88 / U.N. Squadron and U.S. Navy / Carrier Air Wing.

"Ahead of its time" is a barely adequate phrase with which to describe Star Raiders. Doug Neubauer's 1979 space combat simulator was a sensation at the time, and still manages to impress 45 years later. Leon, Chris O'Regan and Jesse activate shields and take on the might of the evil Zylon empire, before diving into the game's incredible legacy, including long-range scans of its various conversions, spin-offs and follow-ups.

Here comes the medium-jumping sequel that was 15 years in the making, reuniting a cast of James, Jon, Leah, Ryan and Chow Yun Fat. Get ready for a Hard Boiled treat, from Midway and the master of balletic action, John Woo presents Stranglehold.

We're up to the fifth show in our mainline Yakuza series of podcasts, which, therefore, is all about Yakuza 4. Because we started with 0, you see? Anyway, Leon, Brian, Leah, Michiel and community correspondents share their thoughts on this change of direction for the Ryu ga Gotoku series, with its four playable protagonists. Tune in to hear possibly the most gaping chasm in appreciation between the least and most positive panellists in the history of the show.

Our second PlatinumGames joint of the year, comes in the form of 2019 Switch exclusive Astral Chain. In a sense - as regards to gameplay if not aesthetic - something of a spiritual successor to The Wonderful 101, with its twin-stick, dual character centrepiece. Leon, Josh, Leah and community correspondents wrap their minds, tongues and chains around legions of combat possibilities in this interdimensional disco anime bondage cops extravaganza.

A long-awaited podcast sequel for a long-awaited game sequel, in the year 2022 we re-enter Tim Schafer's mind in order to analyse Double Fine's Psychonauts 2. Leon, Leah, Tony, guest Peter Scheffer (@retrogamepapa) and community correspondents intern in the psychonauts programme.

Almost a decade after we covered the original Darksiders, the Cane and Rinse panel reconvenes to review the sequel. Leon, Brian, Josh, Leah and community correspondents compare the experiences with Vigil's lootier second outing, through the lenses of both 2012 and 2022.

With some delay, we bring you our podcast about the Hungarian/Japanese developed shoot 'em up, Sine Mora. Originally a 2012 Xbox Live Arcade title, but since ported to multiple formats, this supergroup developer mashup with an Akira Yamaoka soundtrack is a game that pleased mainstream game reviewers more than it pleased the dedicated shmup community. Leon, Michiel, Tony and community correspondents debate the benefits of bullet time and popcorn.

Welcome to the Blunderdome! Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout brought candy-coloured fun into millions of homes during the darkest hours of the COVID pandemic, and has since enjoyed an Epic, free-for-all relaunch around the time of show's recording. Join eager beans Tom, Chris, Darren and Tony as they dodge, fall, grab, dive and smash their way through an analysis of Mediatonic's multiplayer hit.

In 2017 Supergiant games returned with the launch of their next game. A unique complement of high fantasy role playing game and pseudo sports simulator. Join Rich, Leah, Brian and James as Cane and Rinse make a return to the Supergiant Games oeuvre to discuss Pyre, it's prescient themes, and inspect what Supergiant learned from this experience to conquer the gaming world with 2021's Hades.

Deceptively wholesome dating sim by way of visual novel, Cane and Rinse covers some less well trodden genre ground in this 'very special episode' of the podcast. Leon, Jon, Leah and guest Collin Miller go through all of the available options in Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator and return with their findings and red flags. We also have a modest amount of correspondence and Three Word Reviews from the faithful community as we examine Game Grumps' debut title.

An interactive rumination on what death means to the living, is one way to describe Giant Sparrow's follow-up to The Unfinished Swan. Or, a walking simulator set in a big house is another. Leon, Brian, Leah, Tony and community correspondents follow in the Finch's footsteps to attempt to decide for themselves whether they believe a curse, fate or simply the fragile nature of existence is at play in What Remains of Edith Finch.

A visual novel about ten hours in Shibuya, Tokyo. Not much could possibly happen, right? Spike Chunsoft’s cult classic, originally released for the Nintendo Wii in 2008, would tell you differently.  Join Chris Worthington, Brian, Karl and Leah as they peel back the layers.

Although Taito ultimately followed up the original with some more formulaic, direct type sequels, Rainbow Islands tells the real and true Story of Bubble Bobble 2. Leon, Karl and guest Sadie Flayeh - along with correspondents from the Cane and Rinse community - muse on a more innocent time, when the deliriously cute and colourful Rainbow Islands was widely available on then-contemporary systems and a beloved part of the late 80s/early 90s gaming zeitgeist.

Psychokinetic superhero Jesse Faden investigates the FBC's X-Files in Remedy's Control. Leon, Brian, Karl, Leah and community contributors fling increasingly large items of furniture at one another, using only the power of their minds. We also consider how Alan Wake fits into all this and consider Control's place within the expanding 'Remedy-verse'.

The World of Assassination trilogy redefined Hitman for a new generation. It also redefined the position of IO Interactive in the gaming industry. Join Brian, James, Rich, and Ryan, as we close out Cane and Rinse’s coverage of the trilogy with Hitman III.

Chicory is not the dog. Find out what (or whom) Chicory actually is - beyond a Zelda style 2D colouring book adventure - in our podcast. Leon, Chris, Leah and a couple of community correspondents get creative in bringing brightness back to a drab world, overcoming crippling self-doubt along the way.

Our Tony's pick for the year's podcasts is The Outer Worlds. Not to be confused with Outer Wilds (Issue 500). Leon, Karl, Leah, Tony and community contributors review their experiences with Obsidian's 2019 first -person action RPG, from the creators of the original Fallout CRPG and Fallout: New Vegas. As usual we get right into the minutiae of the story, writing and performances, the design, the art, the audio and music, the gameplay as well as the technical aspects of the game.

Getting on for five years since our first Super Mario Kart podcast (and five years on from the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), we finally conclude our series of shows on the venerable Mario Kart series. Leon, Darren, Ryan and community correspondents leave skid marks as they burn rubber back to the launch of the Wii U original, remember their many fun and furious game nights, and even attempt to embrace that incongruous Mercedes Benz DLC.

Why settle for controlling just a single solitary hero when you can wrangle a supergroup of 100? The Wonderful 101 is PlatinumGames' answer to the question that possibly no-one was asking. Leon, Brian, Josh, Michiel and community correspondents bust out their Wii U GamePads one more time to wrap their tongues and thumbs around combos, launchers, Unite Morphs and Unite Mixes in this deceptively deep cartoon action game.

Chris, James, Jesse and Jon discuss Innerspace VR's Maskmaker, in which you play as a maskmaker's apprentice, learning the magic of crafting masks to immerse yourself in this intriguing and enigmatic game.

For this week's issue, Tom, Ryan, Brian and Jon tackle Unknown Worlds Entertainment's open world survival action adventure, Subnautica.

This week, Ryan, Leah, Jon, and James take the long journey home through the twilight roads and caves of Kentucky Route Zero, discussing the mysterious visions along the way.

The summer of 1984 and Activision lights a fire under Davd Crane's butt, giving him and his team six weeks to get a computer game out to ride the hype-wave of smash hit supernatural comedy movie, Ghostbusters. 40 years later, Leon, Chris O, Chris W, Jesse and community contributors fire up unlicensed nuclear accelerators and wave P.K.E. Meters at the C64 resulting software, as well as its many conversions to other formats.

Buy One Get One Free co-op only multi-genre adventure It Takes Two is the subject of our latest show. Team up with Leon, Darren, Ryan and returning guest Johannes Nichell - as well as community correspondents - as they dive back into the microcosmic world of Cody and May's doll forms. The panel discusses the story, writing and subject matter of It Takes Two, as well as developer Hazelight's artistic achievements and those varied gameplay mechanics.

In honour of the legendary British coder's 60th birthday, we bring you a new type of Cane and Rinse podcast focused entirely on the career and work of one single developer - Jeff Minter. Leon, Chris, Jesse, Chris Worthington (Retro Asylum) and Sean Bell (The Computer Game Show) - along with contributions from the Cane and Rinse community - come together to celebrate over four decades of zapping Zzyaxians, luminous lights, psychedelic sounds, rampaging ruminants and undulating ungulates.

In recognition of its 20th birthday, we recall the life, library and legacy of Nintendo's noisy baby, the GameCube. Leon, Brian, Darren, Michiel and community correspondents thumb giant green buttons, pop toilet lids and clasp pencil microphones in honour of the little purple (other colours also available) box of delights.

“ONE PLAYER ONLY” In the third of our current run of Castlevania series podcasts, we arrive at the 1988 arcade game, Haunted Castle. Although the […]

The post Haunted Castle – Cane and Rinse No.509 appeared first on Cane and Rinse.

This week, Ryan, Jesse, and Jon are joined by The Computer Game Show's Sean Bell to take a jaunty wander through the Tarot-inspired world of The Fool's Errand, a 1987 puzzle game created by an enigmatic and inventive designer. Learn the history of a game designer who doesn't play or enjoy videogames, see the sights of a world gloriously realized in two-color silhouettes, and puzzle along with the Fool and his companions.

Leon talks to returning guest, author David L. Craddock, about his forthcoming work Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1 - The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era - the first book in a series (hence “Round 1” in the title) about the making of and enduring passion for the Mortal Kombat franchise of videogames.

From Destiny Islands to The End of the World, with stops at all the Disney worlds you could want in between, join Leah, Brian, Josh, and Ryan (and Sora, Donald, and Goofy) as they battle the darkness and save some hearts in the first game in the long-running Kingdom Hearts series.

All back to Zebes for the third instalment of our Super Metroid series of podcasts. Leon, Darren, Leah, Rich and community correspondents consider the hushed tones with which this second sequel is often spoken and consider if it is more widely renowned than it is widely played. The panel also looks at some of the changes and innovations made when compared to its 8-bit predecessors in terms of both aesthetics and design considerations, plus as usual we feature a selection of Three Word Reviews from our social media.

No mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering, born of God and Void... James, Jon, Josh, and Tom venture into the depths of Hallownest to uncover the secrets and shocking truths behind the creation of the Hollow Knight. Join us to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Team Cherry's multi-million selling, Kickstarted, 2D action-platformer, which leans heavily on ability-gated exploration (don't say the word!)

Dad-mode Kiryu comes to the fore in our fourth Ryu ga Gotoku podcast. Leon, Brian, Leah, Michiel and community correspondents head to Okinawa for orphanage antics with one of gaming's most taciturn protagonists. Find out what we made of Kazama-san's first 'HD' outing, his bromance with Rikiya and his inevitable return to the criminal underworld of Kamurocho in Yakuza 3.

Lucasfilm Games teamed up with Infocom's visionary creative Brian Moriarty in 1990 for the fifth of the studio's SCUMM-based point and click adventures, the whimsical and musical Loom. Leon, Chis Worthington, Jesse (who selected this game as his pick for the Volume) and Ryan - along with contributions from the Cane and Rinse community - pick their way stitch-by-stitch through this unusual and accessible yarn.

Five years ago we covered the first two distinct entries in Konami's Contra series of run and gun shmups. Now, on the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the alien wars, we regroup to battle Contra Spirits, aka Contra III: The Alien Wars, aka Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Leon, Michiel and returning guest Ben Cartlidge of One Credit Classics flip into the future and drive back the hideous menaces - along, as usual, with contributions from the Cane and Rinse forum and Patreon communities.

In this record-breaking issue, Ryan Zhao, Leah Haydu, Tony Atkins, and James Carter strap in to discuss almost 20 years of TT Games-created LEGO videogames. From the streets of Gotham City to the heights of a galaxy far, far away, the team discusses well over 30 games in LEGO's extensive digital history. Listen along as the team puts all of the pieces together, but be careful not to step on any stray bricks.

Join Brian, Michiel, Ryan and guest Ben Cartlidge as they look back over the journey of Little Mac in the Punch-Out!! series. From arcade cabinets to the Nintendo Wii, the team examines the sweet science of what makes this series stand out.

For our milestone 500th podcast we investigate 2019's multi award-winning critical darling, Outer Wilds - an ambitious debut title to say the least. Leon, Chris, Josh, Tom and community correspondents spin off into space, with its cavernous planets, quantum puzzles and questions on the nature of existence itself.

In the penultimate podcast of our tenth year, we mark the 30th anniversary of Eric Chahi's Another World. Leon, Chris, Karl, Tony and community contributors recall being blasted from the comfort of their swanky science bunker to the cold, dark, tentacle filled water of an alien realm, and beyond. Furthermore we talk about the game's remarkable prescience and legacy, as well as a little on its SEGA CD only sequel, Heart of the Alien. It's out of this world!

Leah, Josh, Brian and Ryan discuss Austin Jorgensen's post-apocalyptic role-playing videogame LISA: The Painful.

In a genre-defying podcast, we bend at the knees and keep our backs straight in order to deliver our take on Hideo Kojima's first post-Konami game, Death Stranding. Leon, Brian, Leah and a swathe of correspondents (with wildly differing opinions), get into the loopy lore and many mechanics of this unusual, intriguing and divisive title.

The 'difficult second album' middle child of the NES Castlevania trilogy. Leon, Josh, Leah, Michiel and community contributors raise their eyebrows at the solutions to some of the puzzles made famous by the notoriously byzantine Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

Moon Studios' magical Metroidvania sequel demands our attention in this follow up to our Ori and the Blind Forest show from some five years ago. Ori and the Will of the Wisps boasts sumptuous new graphics, significantly revised gameplay and a lavish new score, but does it tell the same old story? Leon and a vintage Cane and Rinse panel of James, Josh and Ryan - along with contributors from the community - twirl nimbly among the trees to untangle the entrancing from the tedious.

When a beloved game is remade, there’s always the question: what will it be when it comes out...again? So many people have been asking that same question since the original Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997 that the long (long, long) awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake couldn’t help but be a pretty big deal. But is it really a remake? Or a sequel? Or something in between? Join Leah, Brian, James, and Tom as they try to figure it out, and examine how the game got to where it is now.

Somehow, nearly six years has passed since we covered the original Pikmin back in podcast issue 321. 20 years on from the sequel's original GameCube release in Japan, we get cosy with Pikmin 2. Leon, Brian, Chris O'Regan plus community contributors weigh in on Nintendo's much-expanded and divisive follow-up.

Regrettably late for Halloween and the game's 15th anniversary (as well as the fifth anniversary of its last-gen rerelease), we tardily tackle Capcom's zombie-infested mall simulator, Dead Rising. Leon, Jon, Karl and community contributors ruminate upon whether the notoriously bounce-offable 2006 title was in fact ahead of the curve, with its RPG roguelite elements and emphasis on learning by doing, dying and retrying.

Tony's the host this week aided and abetted by Karl, Jon and Darren as they switch on their black lights to forensically pick over what's left of Monolith Productions' 2005 first-person survival horror Condemned: Criminal Origins

25 years have passed since a fresh, if flat-face Lara Croft made her first graceful bow. Leon, Jon, Karl and community contributors swan dive into the cavernous depths of her debut adventure, the original Tomb Raider.