Retrograde Amnesia: Comprehensive JRPG Retrospective

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Comprehensive JRPG Retrospective

  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E10: Cave or Lost Civilization [Guild Hall, Wreckage, Kadary]

    Do not run on the floor. Instead, run your ears on observing infinite lives, hearing about the troops, declining a free drink, enriching lives, rendering pixel ass, making sure they're bug ladies and not bunny ladies, splitting the cave-computer binary, tying into Phantasy Star III, decaying orbit, merging two guys into one guy, rejecting the M.E.T.A. meta, becoming annoyed at the cultists, uniting christ with computer, and blacking out at either snake church or tongue church. Purge the souls of the fools.

    00:00:00 Coach Dad 1-0 00:02:23 Intro / Mechanical Man 00:05:41 Hunter's Guild 00:15:09 Hunter's Guild Back Room 00:18:43 The Ranch Owner 00:22:05 Wreckage 00:34:08 Passageway 00:39:56 Kadary 00:49:46 Kadary Buildings 00:58:04 Real Net 01:03:45 Outro

    12 January 2026, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E9: A Fluid Town [Nalya, Aiedo]

    We're ex-convicts, no one will marry us now. We're doomed to a life of observing the need to fix bridges, inhabiting a dead town, fearing dentist technology, bowling alone, refusing to trust the neighbors, Wet Banditing our own house, vomiting all over the wall, observing a fluid town, stealing husband's secret savings, losing a lot in translation, interpreting a poster, panty-raiding ourselves, sneaking out of an inn, refusing to tell a fortune, and drinking to numb the pain. I don't seem to be in good shape today, come back some other time.

    00:00:00 The Server Has a Tattoo 00:04:14 Intro 00:06:22 World Map 00:09:32 Nayla 00:13:01 Nayla Buildings 00:28:37 Aiedo 00:36:54 Aiedo Buildings 00:45:43 Big Market 00:57:12 Jail 00:58:28 Real Net 01:02:20 Outro

    5 January 2026, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    Phantasy Star IV | E8: Bubblegum Crisis [Bio-Plant]

    What on earth are you, and what is this place? To figure that out, we're doing it in the Birth Valley, re-entering the Techno Drome, expanding Chris' vocabulary, touring the Porsche factory, mixing monsters with machines, creating a bioactive environment, enjoying the Professor Holt bit, referencing Nei, citing sexy lady anime, determining the cat girl origin point, upsetting mother nature, stacking computers, breeding harmful monsters, meeting a computer child, and carrying the will of Seed. Sterilization treatment completed; please follow the line on the floor.

    00:00:00 Marathon Man 00:03:06 Intro 00:04:32 Return to Birth Valley 00:05:45 Bio-Plant 00:21:32 Rika 00:31:44 Seed 00:45:57 Fresh Air in Zema 00:49:24 Real Net 00:56:20 Outro

    29 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 59 minutes 47 seconds
    Phantasy Star IV | E7: Idiots are Special [Tonoe, Tonoe Basement]

    Somehow the body has become lighter. With your new carbon fiber ears, listen to us fading white, hiding Grandfather in the back, favoring the monger, reading lady numbers, deploying a custom animation, separating charge and information, making dirt wet for too long, accepting a Motavian party member, resolving the stone mustache, separating tears from sweat, violating a sacred area, knowing our limitations, and wearing sweat pants to church. The old man doesn't have any bad intentions.

    00:00:00 On the Beach 00:02:29 Intro 00:03:46 Tonoe x Grandfather 00:16:17 Warehouse Basement 00:24:52 How Old Is ______ 00:27:18 Return to Zema 00:33:56 Igglanova Rematch 00:36:55 Exploring Zema 00:46:04 Real Net 00:51:24 Outro

    22 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E6: The Invention of Sephiroth [Krup, Valley Maze, Tonoe]

    What a pig this dog is! Before experiencing canine pork, we're finding Krup stuck in our teeth, lying about our academic career, telling people where I hurt myself today, spreading religion, leaving the cabinets open, embracing orange soda genericism, disinheriting a son, harnessing the power of CRBN, teaching kids in the home, figuring out if we're using magic, shooting meat ropes, banishing the natives to one town, sitting lost in thought, and welcoming the owl folk. It's about the only thing I'm capable of doing.

    00:00:00 Sonic Speed Simulator 00:04:01 Intro 00:06:12 Rune-inations 00:08:19 Krup 00:11:48 Krup Houses 00:23:49 Saya School 00:36:57 World Map 00:37:40 Valleymaze Entrance 00:40:27 Valleymaze 00:42:50 Tonoe 00:47:12 Tonoe Market Stalls 00:50:07 Tonoe Houses 00:53:30 Real Net 00:59:29 Outro

    15 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E5: Stoned After Dinner [Mile, Zema, Birth Valley, Molcum]

    Well, Chaz, your brain seems to work a little bit. At least enough to listen as we're speaking with the beardy-guy-vestman, swallowing a town with quicksand, adding morality to terraforming, pounding Zima, performing a community raking service, experimenting with macros, stoning everyone in town, refusing to help orphaned children, discussing mustache petrification logistics, grifting Hahn, comically tugging our collars at the sight of cum, standing and thinking while caped, sporting a winning chin, losing a fight with a stance, and calling bullshit on Rudy (1993) and Rudy (1944). What a stupid name.

    00:00:00 Dragon Quest I & II via Chris 00:02:24 Intro 00:04:36 Mile 00:15:11 Mile Houses 00:21:32 World Map 00:25:36 Zema 00:30:34 Birth Valley 00:37:17 Return To Zema 00:38:25 World Map 00:40:04 Molcum / Rune 00:52:24 Real Net 00:59:34 Outro

    8 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E4: Another Brain [Academy Basement]

    This monster business is no mystery after all. As we uncover the secrets, we're wondering if manga can be in color, installing headquarters in the basement, dropping multiple fishies, fingering to win, sweating to lose, producing the Venn diagram of veins and ticklers, conducting numerous brain activities, breeding monsters in the basement, teleporting before your eyes, hiding the basement situation, connecting the parcel to the monsters, and combining a bad guy haircut with a science robe. It seems like these are signs of something to come.

    00:00:00 Chris Is Steamed 00:03:13 Intro 00:04:16 Principal's Office 00:10:43 Hahn Mahlay 00:18:44 Piata Clean Up 00:20:24 Basement Dungeon 00:35:15 Reporting To The Principal's Office 00:45:17 Wrapping Up Piata 00:46:32 World Map 00:48:49 Intro To Mile 00:49:15 Real Net 00:54:54 Outro

    1 December 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E3: Beyond Rudy [Piata, The Town of Learning]

    I've always wanted to go to a Town of Learning, so we can learn to make a podcast of listening. We're talking about throwing away a cake, tolling the bell, fearing The Computer, Chaz'ing a Rudy, erecting character sprites, rendering a world beyond the Genesis, locking up books, flipping through options, buzzing off, measuring the dew point, learning Chris' biggest scholastic achievement, falling victim to a strange religion, setting the table for the dirty kitchen, jumping in the fountain, and doing a bunch of that dust. Stop wasting time, there's nothing here.

    00:02:24 Intro 00:03:39 Power On Prologues 00:09:36 Wake Up, Chaz 00:18:07 World Map 00:21:27 Piata Academy, Pre-Principal 00:37:21 Piata Outdoors 00:43:09 Piata Houses 00:43:55 Chris' Group Project 00:48:56 More Piata Houses 00:54:46 Real Net 00:58:28 Outro

    24 November 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 43 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E2: Genesis Mystique [Contemporary Reception & Legacy]

    On the second episode of our Phantasy Star IV background info, we're watching commercials in Japanese, realizing "cels" and "panels" are not interchangeable, looking at print ads, riding for Rick, revealing the dark phallus, appreciating the work of Boris Vallejo, speaking perfect french, traveling beyond history, citing The Cutting Room Floor, pacifying fans, filling batchin' samples, sleeping walking with thumbs, declaring Earthworm Jim "The Skyrim of Platformers," leaking prototypes, reading from zines, glitching level 99, pounding burger and cola, completing Phantasy Star, bailing on Phantasy Star II, and yearning to explore the alternate timeline. I wonder what the people will see in the final days?

    Check out the FunFactor Podcast for more fun stuff from Aidan and Ty.

    Ty Schalter (FiveThirtyEight, VICE) and Aidan Moher (Vulture, WIRED) review what rocked and what sucked about the classic video game magazines that inspired them to become journalists, authors, and critics--and what they can tell us about today's digital media and games.

    00:00:00 Intro 00:03:05 Promotional Media 00:11:40 Merchandise 00:14:02 Game Box 00:21:24 Game Manual 00:23:29 Cut Content 00:27:30 Fan Fiction 00:28:52 Contemporary Reviews (featuring FunFactor) 01:04:37 Modern Reviews 01:11:02 MODS 01:14:03 Memories 01:26:08 Expectations 01:31:04 Counts 01:34:06 Real Net 01:39:03 Outro

    17 November 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 22 minutes
    Phantasy Star IV | E1: Love and Friendship Around the Stars [Development History]

    Hello and welcome to the first episode of our eighth season! We're covering Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium for the next 25-to-70 weeks. On this two-parter of an intro episode, we're peeling the skin off the Fake Net, buying children a $212 videogame, charging more money for more megabits, realizing the Mega Drive was online in 1990, de-making to the NES, creating a million ports, overthinking world details, not just plagiarizing Dragon Quest, building love and friendship around the stars, making something no one else was making, loving Star Wars, having snacks with the staff, and wondering if we believe game localization's most powerful ego weirdo. The current millennium ends on December 31st 3000.

    00:00:00 Intro 00:02:54 What Is This Podcast 00:03:34 Release Information 00:10:52 Ports 00:19:54 Playing Phantasy Star IV in 2025 00:24:55 Development History / Interviews 01:06:42 Real Net 01:13:56 Outro

    10 November 2025, 10:00 am
  • 2 hours 3 minutes
    Lunar: Silver Star Story | E53: Raiding the Unmentionables (Socks) [Epilogue]

    The game is over but the game is not over. One our final episode for season seven, we're smelling the ocean on the breeze, losing all MP, putting faith in our strength, spending our brains out, affirming Ghaleon's insanity, declaring Jessica Day, requesting an adult, creating an open door policy, realizing Luna has no idea what the hell Ghaleon was trying to do, starting Jessica's domestic education, causing weird vibes, engaging in scat play, talking to Kyle too many times, raiding Luna's unmentionables, and realizing Victor made the game (multiple interpretations). Season 8, featuring Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, starts next week!

    00:00:00 Slop Children 00:05:39 Intro 00:09:04 Friends Assembled 00:12:56 Meribia NPCs 00:20:59 Meribia Houses 00:41:26 Black Rose Street NPCs 00:49:07 Goodbye, Nash & Mia 00:59:17 Black Rose Street Houses 01:05:51 Meribia Port NPCs 01:07:37 Mel's Mansion NPCs Part I 01:10:28 Goodbye, Kyle & Jessica 01:23:48 Mel's Mansion NPCs Part II 01:27:46 Phacia!? 01:29:15 Tempest! Fresca! 01:30:49 Epilogue Finale 01:35:57 Wrap It Up 01:42:34 Real Net 01:53:33 Outro

    3 November 2025, 10:00 am
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