Tales from the Backlog

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For some, the halcyon days of PC gaming involved D&D-based RPGs with unwieldy UI and gauntlet-shaped mouse cursors, and that is precisely what SKALD: Against the Black Priory (High North Studios, Raw Fury, 2024) is calling back to with its mix of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and cosmic/Lovecraftian horror. It's well-worth your time if you're nostalgic or even curious about that era of RPGs, while not being nearly as obtuse or and without relying on advance knowledge of early D&D systems. This episode's guest, Phil Morgan, has an extensive history with that bygone era of CRPGs, even appearing on this podcast to discuss the original Baldur's Gate, so we had a great conversation here. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Phil Morgan (he/him)

Listen to Deleted Saves https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/deleted-saves/

Check out Phil's art: https://philmorganart.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start

0:18 Introductions

6:02 Our Histories with SKALD and Its Inspirations

10:11 Top-Level Thoughts about SKALD

18:15 Story Setup

22:13 Pixel Art and Writing

30:43 Subverting D&D Tropes

37:29 Role-Playing

48:38 Combat

56:54 Controller vs Mouse/Keyboard

1:04:54 Music and Sound

1:09:35 Closing Thoughts and Who Should Play?

1:13:48 Deleted Saves and Westland

1:18:37 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:23:08 Spoilers- Early Game Quests

1:38:27 Spoilers- Horryn

1:47:37 Spoilers- Firgol

1:57:06 Spoilers- The Story Expands

2:07:04 Spoilers- Ending Sequence and Thoughts

Music used in the episode is credited to Surt R. Tracks used: Against the Black Priory, The Curse of Knowledge, Sellsword's Honor, Horryn's Plight, Shores of Idra, Tomes Bound in Skin, Bane of the Starstrider

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Everyone's got that game, book, movie, etc that a longtime friend has been recommending for years, decades or more and you just haven't quite gotten around to it. One of those for me and one of my oldest friends was Telltale's series of games based on The Walking Dead. For many reasons, despite believing that the games would be good, I just waited a wild amount of time to finally give them a shot, and hey- we did it! And I brought that friend back onto the podcast to give season one the deep dive treatment. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Aaron Angle (he/him)

Check out A Top 3 Podcast https://atop3podcast.fireside.fm/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:35 Introductions

5:19 Our Histories with The Walking Dead

9:21 Top-Level Thoughts about The Walking Dead

13:57 Story Setup, Characters, Tone

27:21 Choices and Consequences

46:19 Puzzles and QTEs

51:18 Art, Music and Sound

1:01:46 Who Should Play?

1:04:14 A Top 3 Podcast

1:07:23 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:09:06 Spoilers- Episode 1

1:25:35 Spoilers- Episode 2

1:40:23 Spoilers- Episode 3

1:56:01 Spoilers- Episode 4

2:11:09 Spoilers- Episode 5

Music used in the episode: Clementine, Twist of Fate, Terror Mysterious, Folk Loop, Mother and Son, The Guantlet, Jewelry Store

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Games gather reputations for a variety of reasons, but one of the most unique among those are the games that are so hard to purchase that above all, they have a reputation for being expensive. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Team Andromeda, Sega, 1998) is one of the top examples of that phenomenon nowadays, after only tens of thousands of English-language copies were pressed, Team Andromeda was shuttered quickly after the game's release and Sega now claims to have lost the source code. All of this may leave you wondering...what is Panzer Dragoon Saga like as a game? I was certainly left wondering that, and Chris Coplien of Retro Hangover was up for the task of discussing the game behind the massive price tag. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Chris Coplien (he/him)

Check out Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/retrohangover.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Start

0:24 Introductions

5:13 Our Histories with Panzer Dragoon Saga

13:16 Top-Level Thoughts

20:41 Story Setup and Worldbuilding

28:16 Pacing and Storytelling

33:41 Visual Presentation

39:04 Music

43:05 Combat

1:07:41 Exploration and Side Quests

1:16:37 Who Should Play?

1:20:12 Retro Hangover Podcast

1:24:40 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:26:37 Spoilers- Setting the Stage

1:42:26 Spoilers- Some Big Themes

1:51:53 Spoilers- A Philosophical Dilemma

1:59:16 Spoilers- Uncovering a Very Familiar Trope

2:17:28 Spoilers- Revisiting the Dilemma and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Saori Kobayashi and Mariko Nanba. Tracks used: Behold the Precious Wings, A Premonition of War, Metamorphosis 1, Atolm Dragon, Rest, Area 3 Background, Wandering, Breath of Life

Panzer Dragoon Story and Lore Walkthrough https://youtu.be/BVc7QxiAO1k

Max Derrat's Development History Video: https://youtu.be/sIqM80qEY8s

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

One of these days it was bound to happen, the remake announcement solidified it- it's time to give The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998) the Tales from the Backlog treatment. This was Dave's favorite game for decades and is still by far one of the most influential games in his life, but this was the first time in a while that he had played all the way through it. Join Dave and special guests Gooey and McKenna of Flashback 64 for the deep dive. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Gooey (they/he) and McKenna (she/her)

Check out Flashback 64 https://flashback64.com/

Follow on Bluesky http://bsky.app/profile/flashback64.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start

0:16 Introductions

7:48 Our Histories with Ocarina of Time

12:10 Top-Level Thoughts

18:50 Story Setup, Storytelling and Cinematography

31:57 Navi and Handholding

36:26 Combat

42:16 The N64 Controller

46:41 "The Zelda Formula" and Exploration

57:50 Dungeons and Complexity

1:12:56 Visual Flourishes and Art Design

1:25:41 Our Hopes for the Remake

1:35:33 Soundtrack

1:45:50 Re-Evaluating Childhood Favorites and Who Should Play?

1:57:48 Flashback 64

2:05:29 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

2:07:06 Spoilers- The Water Temple Is Good

2:30:08 Spoilers- Favorite Temples and Ganon's Castle

2:35:12 Spoilers- Sheik and More Temple Talk

2:47:48 Spoilers- A Theory for the Remake

Music used in the episode is credited to Koji Kondo. Tracks used: Title Theme, Kokiri Forest, Saria's Song, Forest Temple, Kakariko Village, Hyrule Field, Gerudo Valley, Zora's Domain, Zelda's Theme

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

When we talk about older games, we often use phrases like "this holds up!" or "this hasn't aged well!", but what do we mean when we say stuff like that? What do they hold up against? What aspects age well or poorly? Are there better ways to convey our thoughts? To help me dig into this, I've brought Patrick and James from the Retro Spectives Podcast back to the show. Hope you enjoy the discussion!

Guest info: Patrick Arthur (he/him) and James Tuerlings (he/him)

Check out Retro Spectives podcast https://rspodcast.net

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Episode Start

0:22 Introductions

2:50 Topic Introduction

10:00 Why Do We Say Things Have Aged Poorly?

54:36 Patron Thank-Yous

56:29 Does This Hold Up?

1:39:07 Conclusions and Wrap-Up

1:57:59 Retro Spectives Podcast

Music used in the episode:

Bloody Tears (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest)- Kenichi Matsubara, Satoe Terashima

Save Theme (Resident Evil (2002))- Shisaku Uchiyama, Makoto Tomozawa, Misao Senbogi

Ending Theme (Dragon Warrior)- Koichi Sugiyama

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures