Explore every episode of the podcast The Gaming Journal
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 214 Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii) Discussion | 03 juin 2026 | 00:31:28 | |
Episode 214 is a (non-spoiler) game discussion on Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors on Nintendo Wii. I cover the story set up, characters, gameplay, and my overall thoughts and experience playing this wonderful spin-off of the main series. Hope you enjoy! Song: Southbound Music by: CreatorMix.com | |||
| 213 Finished: Frog Detective The Haunted Island, Undertale (NSW), Popcorn Rocket, Kids on Site (PS4) | 22 mai 2026 | 00:43:06 | |
In Episode 213, I discuss four games I’ve recently finished: Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island, Undertale (Nintendo Switch), Popcorn Rocket, and Kids on Site: Hard Hat Edition (Playstation 4). Hope you enjoy! Song: Southbound Music by: CreatorMix.com | |||
| Pickups: RPG Strategy Guides, Control & DQ: Emblem of Roto Art Books, & Dragon Quest Manga | 09 mai 2026 | 00:34:42 | |
Welcome to another bonus episode! Here I share about video game-related pickups including: Stardew Valley, Xenosaga, Vandal Hearts, Breath of Fire IV, Chrono Trigger, and Lunar 2 Strategy Guides; Art & Making of Control and Dragon Quest Emblem of Roto Art Books; and Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick Vol.1-3 manga. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 212 Pickups: Eternal Castle (PS4), Banner of the Maid, Star Ocean FDR, DQ7R, CrossCode (NSW), etc | 05 mai 2026 | 00:31:19 | |
212 is another pickups episode (it’s been a while!) Join me as I share, read, and discuss all the game pickups I’ve made since the last! Games: The Eternal Castle (PS4), Suikoden I & II HD Remaster (PS5), Vertigo (Xbox One), Dark Deity I & II, Banner of the Maid, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Remake, Star Ocean First Departure R, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, CrossCode (Switch). Thanks for listening and hope you enjoy! | |||
| 211 Pragmata Sketchbook Demo (PS5) Discussion; Xenoblade Chronicles X: DE (Switch) Mini-Discussion | 14 avr. 2026 | 00:25:21 | |
Episode 211 is a discussion extravaganza! I talk about my experience and impressions of playing the Pragmata Sketchbook Demo (PS5) and provide a mini-discussion on Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (Switch). I also talk about what I’ve been up to for the last several months in terms of other media I’ve been enjoying and why there’s been less frequent episodes. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 210 Pickups: Crow Country (NSW), P4 Dancing (Vita), 428 Shibuya Scramble (PS4), Sable (PS5), etc | 06 janv. 2026 | 00:37:12 | |
Episode 210 is a big pickups episode including the following games: Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (PC), SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, Crow Country, Rusty Rabbit, Fear Effect (NSW), Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS), Persona 4: Dancing All Night (Vita), 428 Shibuya Scramble, Lunar Remastered Collection (PS4), Persona 3 Reload, Sable (PS5). | |||
| 209 Top 17 Favorite Games of 2025 | 03 janv. 2026 | 00:53:22 | |
209 is my annual top favorite games episode, where I spend some time talking about and ranking all the games I played throughout the year. *There might also be a mini-discussion on Fate/Stay Night Remaster towards the end. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 208 Pickups: Remember Me (PS3), LOTR: Two Towers (PS2), Halo Combat Evolved (Xbox), Recore (XboxOne) | 06 nov. 2025 | 00:22:25 | |
Episode 208’s a thrift store pickups including: Remember Me (PlayStation 3), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PlayStation 2), Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox), Recore (Xbox One), and a used Xbox and PlayStation 2 console. At the end, I share a brief update of my ongoing playthroughs of Xenoblade X and Dragon Quest Swords. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 207 Pickups: Dragon Quest I&II HD2D (NSW), DQH Rocket Slime, DQMJ 2 (DS), DQV (PS2), Sand Land (PS5) | 01 nov. 2025 | 00:29:13 | |
Episode 207 is a Dragon Quest, Akira Toriyama themed pickups including: Dragon Quest I & II HD2D Remake (Nintendo Switch), Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 (Nintendo DS), Dragon Quest V (PlayStation 2), Dragon Warrior: Legend of the Hero Abel (Blu-ray), and Sand Land (PlayStation 5). “But thou must!”….enjoy! | |||
| 206 Pickups: FE Warriors, Dark Deity, WoFF Maxima, Harvestella, Reverie, Oneshot, Ace Attorney (NSW) | 30 oct. 2025 | 00:32:08 | |
Episode 206 is a big Nintendo Switch themed pickups including: Fire Emblem Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Dark Deity, World of Final Fantasy: Maxima, Harvestella, Reverie - Sweet As Edition, Oneshot - World Machine Edition, and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. As always, hope you enjoy! | |||
| 205 Ghostwire Tokyo (Steam Deck) Discussion | 23 oct. 2025 | 00:27:48 | |
Episode 205 is a discussion on Ghostwire Tokyo on Steam Deck. This one’s all over the place, but I talk about story and characters (with minimal early game spoilers), gameplay, sound, visuals, and performance running portably on the Steam Deck. Hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween! | |||
| 204 Pickups: Monark, Tales of Graces F, FF Tactics, Moonlighter (NSW), RF Guardians of Azuma (NSW2) | 16 oct. 2025 | 00:22:04 | |
Episode 204 is a Nintendo Switch themed pickups episode. Included: Monark, Tales of Graces F Remastered, Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles, Moonlighter, & Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 203 Tokyo Dark: Remembrance (Switch) Discussion | 12 oct. 2025 | 00:18:35 | |
Episode 203’s a discussion of Tokyo Dark: Remembrance on Nintendo Switch. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 202 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS) Discussion | 07 oct. 2025 | 00:40:36 | |
Episode 202’s a discussion on Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on Nintendo 3DS. I look at my copy, share about my experience buying the game back when I was first getting into the Dragon Quest series, and then talk about the differences between the 3DS & PS2 versions and the story, characters, gameplay, graphics, and sound. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 201 ESPN NFL 2K5 (Xbox) Discussion | 07 oct. 2025 | 00:17:32 | |
Episode 201’s a discussion on ESPN NFL 2K5 on Xbox. I look at my copy of the game, the manual, and talk through a bit of its legacy, features, and my experience playing through a full season in franchise mode. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| Addendum: 200th Episode Loose Ends (Gaming Memories with the Sega Genesis, N64, & GC) & Shout-Outs | 27 sept. 2025 | 00:14:36 | |
This bonus episode is an addendum to episode 200 where I provide a few more noteworthy shout-outs to some of the podcasts biggest supporters as well as tie up a few loose ends by sharing more memories about a few systems (Sega Genesis, N64, & GameCube) & stand-out games in my early years that I failed to mention in the previous episode. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 200 Reflecting on My Early Years of Gaming and the Podcast | 25 sept. 2025 | 00:34:29 | |
Episode 200 is quite the milestone! I take a moment to reflect, sitting in my childhood house, on my gaming life over the years and share some nostalgic memories. Then I look back at starting the podcast and how it’s become what it is today over the last 5 years. At the end, I shout out and thank a few notable names that have been a huge encouragement throughout. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 199 Chrono Cross (NSW) Discussion; Interview w/ John Paul Hayward (Cross Symphonic Tribute Album) | 01 sept. 2025 | 00:25:52 | |
Episode 199 is the delayed discussion of Chrono Cross - The Radical Dreamers Edition on Nintendo Switch. It’s a non-spoiler talk of the characters, story, gameplay, graphics & art, and the OST & sound design. Afterwards, I share a written interview, adapted for audio (& read by me), with John Paul Hayward — most known for his Cross Symphonic: Symphonic Tribute to Chrono Cross album. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 198 Pickups: SaGa Frontier, Beyond Good & Evil, Corpse Party Tetralogy…; Playing: Xenoblade X, DQ8 | 21 août 2025 | 00:24:29 | |
Episode 198 is a pickups, games I’ve been playing, and personal/podcast update all-in-one. Pickups discussed include: SaGa Frontier Remastered, Chernobylite: Complete Edition, Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition, Corpse Party Tetralogy Pack, and Trials of Mana on Nintendo Switch. I share about the two games I’ve been playing in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, and then provide a brief update on the podcast. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 197 FAR: Lone Sails (Switch) Discussion | 02 août 2025 | 00:15:48 | |
Welcome to episode 197! I discuss my experience playing through FAR: Lone Sails on the Nintendo Switch by developer Okamotive. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 196 Pickups: Arc the Lad Collection (PS1), Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection, Silver Case 2425 LE (NSW) | 25 juil. 2025 | 00:25:20 | |
Episode 196 is a pickups entirely themed around “collections” including: Arc the Lad Collection (PS1), Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection, and The Silver Case 2425 - Limited Edition (Switch). As a bonus, I share three recent anime collection pickups: Samurai Troopers (Blu-ray), Ergo Proxy, and S-Cry-Ed (DVD). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 195 Pickups: Relayer, Vampyr, King’s Quest: The Complete Collection (PS4), The Orange Box (PS3) | 24 juil. 2025 | 00:22:06 | |
Episode 195’s another pickups where I share several more games I’ve recently added to my collection: Relayer, Vampyr, King’s Quest: The Complete Collection (PS4), and The Orange Box (PS3). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 194 Pickups: Castlevania Dominus Collection (NSW), Metal Gear Solid, Vandal Hearts I & II (PS1) | 08 juil. 2025 | 00:30:31 | |
Episode 194’s recent pickups are all themed around Konami — Castlevania: Dominus Collection (Nintendo Switch), Metal Gear Solid, and Vandal Hearts I & Vandal Hearts II (PlayStation). As always, I take time to pour over these copies, share why I added them to the library, and a few facts about each. I close the episode out by providing a brief update on playing Chrono Cross and Metro Exodus. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 193 Pickups: La Pucelle Ragnarok, Rhapsody I-III, The Plucky Squire (Switch); Playing: Chrono Cross | 30 juin 2025 | 00:14:01 | |
Episode 193 is a pickups covering: La Pucelle Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles, and The Plucky Squire on Nintendo Switch. I close the episode by sharing about my experience and thoughts playing Chrono Cross - The Radical Dreamers Edition so far 7 hours in. | |||
| 192 Pickups: HyperPlay RPG Issue #2 & #4, West of/Shadows Over Loathing, Ara Fell & Rise (Switch) | 25 juin 2025 | 00:23:28 | |
Episode 192 is a pickups where I take time to pour over the contents of HyperPlay RPG Issue #2 & #4 and share a bit about the history of this nostalgic retro RPG fanzine and how I discovered it. I also talk about three recent Nintendo Switch RPG-related pickups in West of Loathing, Shadows Over Loathing, and Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition & Rise of the 3rd Power. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 191 Pickups: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 1-3, Front Mission 2 Remake, Fantasy Life i (Switch) | 23 juin 2025 | 00:28:25 | |
Episode 191’s a Japanese import themed pickups! Join me as I talk a bit about Fuga: Melodies of Steel 1, 2, & 3 and their respective novella books that came as bonuses, as well as Front Mission 2 Remake, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, all on Nintendo Switch. | Towards the end, I also briefly share about my experience playing Trails to Azure and Undertale and share some upcoming gaming plans. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 190 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Remastered (Switch) Discussion | 18 juin 2025 | 00:33:08 | |
Episode 190 is a full-on, non-spoiler game discussion of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete on Nintendo Switch. Story, characters, visuals, sound, gameplay,…comparisons between the first and the sequel and where they rank for me.. it’s all here! Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 189 Policenauts (PS1) Discussion | 14 juin 2025 | 00:36:09 | |
Episode 189’s a non-spoiler discussion on Policenauts (PS1) translation. I talk a bit about the history of the game and its various versions, the changes in the PS1 version, go over the physical copy, and then talk story set up, characters, general thoughts and feelings on Acts 1-7 and the Epilogue, and then cover visuals, sound, and gameplay. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| The Wolves of Langston Solo 5e Adventure Discussion; Pickup: Mystery of Witchhaven Solo 5e Adventure | 10 juin 2025 | 00:19:48 | |
It’s a bonus episode where I discuss my experience playing through The Wolves of Langston Solo 5e Adventure by Obvious Mimic as well as share about picking up their latest release in The Mystery of Witchhaven. *It’s still technically “games” that are being discussed and video games are mentioned a few times — so…better than nothing, right? Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 188 Pickups: Chaos;Head Noah, Robotics;Notes Elite Dash, Anonymous;Code (NSW), Steins Gate 0 (PS4) | 06 juin 2025 | 00:18:21 | |
Episode 188 is all about recent pickups I’ve made in the Sci ADV series including: Steins Gate 0 (PS4), Chaos;Head Noah / Chaos Head Double Pack, Robotics;Notes Elite Dash, and Anonymous;Code (Switch). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 187 Pickups: Dragon Quest III HD2D Remake, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - LE (Switch) | 05 juin 2025 | 00:12:17 | |
Welcome to episode 187! I share two more Nintendo Switch game pickups in Dragon Quest III HD2D Remake and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - Limited Edition. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 186 Pickups: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PS3), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox360) | 04 juin 2025 | 00:18:56 | |
Episode 186 is another pickups, this time themed on two fantasy RPGs in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PS3) and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Edition (Xbox 360). I share memories and nostalgia related to Oblivion and why it is one of the most impactful games to me. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 185 Pickups: Policenauts, Mizzurna Falls, Racing Lagoon, Aconcagua, Tales of Phantasia (PS1) | 02 juin 2025 | 00:24:19 | |
Welcome to episode 185! It’s a special pickups episode where I share all about each of the physical fan translated PS1 Longbox games purchased from Project Retro Games: Policenauts, Mizzurna Falls, Racing Lagoon - High Speed Driving RPG, Aconcagua, and Tales of Phantasia. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 184 Pickups: Metal Wolf Chaos XD, Nier Replicant, Zero Time Dilemma (PS4) | 29 mai 2025 | 00:16:02 | |
Welcome to episode 184! It’s another pickups, this time centered on three Japanese developed PS4 games: Metal Wolf Chaos XD, Nier Replicant, and Zero Time Dilemma. Per usual, I talk about why I picked up each game and share a few facts off the top of my head. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 183 Pickups: Breath of Fire IV, The Legend of Dragoon, The Granstream Saga (PS1) | 22 mai 2025 | 00:20:24 | |
In episode 183, I go over the back of the cases, booklets, a few interesting facts, and reasons why I bought three recent PS1 RPGs in: Breath of Fire IV, The Legend of Dragoon, and The Granstream Saga. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 182 Pickups: Ever 17/Never 7 Double Pack, STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy, Stardew Valley (NSW) | 18 mai 2025 | 00:18:27 | |
Episode 182 is another pickups, all on Nintendo Switch, with two Japanese imports in Ever 17 / Never 7 Double Pack & Stalker: Legends of the Zone Trilogy, as well as Stardew Valley. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 181 Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Demo (PS5) Discussion | 16 mai 2025 | 00:18:04 | |
Episode 181 is a discussion on the demo of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon (PlayStation 5). I talk about the gameplay, graphics, art design, sound design and OST, and general impressions as well as other media I felt this compared to. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 180 Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams (PS1) Discussion | 15 mai 2025 | 00:13:55 | |
Episode 180 is another game discussion, this time on Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams on PlayStation. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 179 Lunar: Silver Star Story Remastered (Switch) Discussion | 09 mai 2025 | 00:34:15 | |
Episode 179 is a game discussion of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on Nintendo Switch! I briefly share a bit about the history of the different ports of Lunar 1 and then talk characters, story, gameplay, visuals, soundtrack, and voice acting. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 178 Pickups: 8 Bit Adventures 2, Cosmic Fantasy Collection 2 (Switch) | 06 mai 2025 | 00:11:23 | |
Episode 178’s another pickups, this time on two recent Limited Run games in: 8 Bit Adventures 2 and Cosmic Fantasy Collection 2 (Nintendo Switch). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 177 Pickups: Stories from Sol: The Gun-dog, Trek to Yomi (Switch), Lunar Dragon Song (DS) | 29 avr. 2025 | 00:15:14 | |
It’s another pickups, this time sharing about: Stories from Sol: The Gundog - Starship Edition, Trek to Yomi - Deluxe Edition (Nintendo Switch) and Lunar Dragon Song (Nintendo DS). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 176 Pickups: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5), Control Ultimate Edition & Soul Hackers 2 (PS4) | 25 avr. 2025 | 00:17:23 | |
In episode 176, I talk about 3 recent pickups in: Clair Obscur Expedition 33 for PlayStation 5, and Control Ultimate Edition & Soul Hackers 2 for PlayStation 4. At the end, I provide an ongoing update to my playthroughs and general impressions of Suikoden III, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition, and Lunar Silver Star Story. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 175 Pickups: Lunar Remastered Collection, Wizardry Remake, Trails through Daybreak II (Switch) | 22 avr. 2025 | 00:11:15 | |
It’s another pickups, this time sharing three new Nintendo Switch games in Lunar Remastered Collection (and my time with it 4 hours in), Wizardy: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Remake, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II. I close the episode out by briefly talking about what I’ve been playing. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 174 2025 Gaming Plan | 09 avr. 2025 | 00:42:02 | |
Welcome to episode 175! It’s my 2025 Gaming Plan, laid out in full — including 25 games I’d love to finish before the year ends. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 173 Suikoden I HD Remaster (Switch) Discussion | 29 mars 2025 | 00:36:06 | |
Welcome to episode 173! I provide a discussion on Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War on Nintendo Switch. I rank the three games I’ve played in the series so far and talk story, characters, gameplay, visuals, and soundtrack. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 172 Pickups: Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition (NSW), The Thing Blu-ray, Supernatural S1-3 | 26 mars 2025 | 00:14:01 | |
Welcome to episode 172! It’s another pickups! I talk about my brief history and excitement for Xenoblade Chronicles X - Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch as well as share about picking up a copy of John Carpenter’s The Thing on Blu-ray and Supernatural Seasons 1-3 on DVD. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 171 Pickups: Gundam Breaker 3 (Vita), Mobile Fighter G Gundam Complete TV Series DVD | 18 mars 2025 | 00:11:29 | |
Episode 171’s another pickups. This time it’s all Gundam related with Gundam Breaker 3 on PS Vita and Mobile Fighter G Gundam Complete TV Series DVD. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 170 Pickups: Earth Defense Force 2 (Vita), Bomb Rush Cyberfunk & Immortals Fenyx Rising (Switch) | 16 mars 2025 | 00:11:49 | |
Welcome to episode 170! It’s another pickups, this time on Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space (Vita), Bomb Rush Cyberfunk & Immortals: Fenyx Rising (Nintendo Switch). Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 169 Pickups: Suikoden I & II HD Remaster (Switch), Magic Knight Rayearth Complete Series DVD | 14 mars 2025 | 00:13:25 | |
Episode 169 is another pickups episode. I hold and discuss my copy of Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune & Dunan Unification Wars for Nintendo Switch and Magic Knight Rayearth Complete Series 15th Anniversary Edition DVD set. Hope you enjoy! | |||
| 168 Buddy Simulator 1984 (Switch) Impressions | 11 mars 2025 | 00:16:45 | |
Welcome to episode 168! It’s an impressions/pickup on Buddy Simulator 1984 on the Nintendo Switch! I talk about picking up my copy, read the back of the box, look at the booklet, and then share my impressions of playing the opening hour (I loved it). Hope you enjoy! | |||