The Insert Credit Show

Get the App

The Insert Credit Show

Brandon Sheffield

A relentlessly on topic smorgasbord of hard hitting video game questions as addressed by a panel of experts. Featuring Frank Cifaldi, Brandon Sheffield, and a rotating group of special guests. Hosted by Alex Jaffe. Edited by Esper Quinn. Original music by Kurt Feldman.

1 hour 10 minutes

Ep. 425 - Hooves for Nipples
Our heroes confront video game movie adaptations, how controversy sells games, and Tom Cruise in Sonic 3 & Knuckles the Porn Parody the Official Game of the Movie.

Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank “Baseball” Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: What are some good games with built in breaks? (08:20)
2: Which character has suffered the biggest design downgrade in video game history? (15:50)
3: Who’s your Mario? (21:29)
4: Is the average video game based on a movie better than the average movie based on a video game? (25:42)
5: SaveaSaturn asks, what game that you’ve never played would you take to a desert island with you? (31:39)
6: What makes bad video games successful? (38:30)
7: What is the “Maybe it will happen today” of video games? (44:17)
LIGHTNING ROUND: GameFAQ&As - Genshin Impact (49:54)

Recommendations and Outro (56:38):
- Brandon: From the Fields granola, Dosa Chips, American Rickshaw (1989), please review Demonschool positively on Steam
- Frank: Rate and review things in general
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
26 January 2026, 8:14 am
2 hours 39 minutes

Ep. 424 - Insert Credit Annual #7
As has become tradition, Insert Credit ranks the best games of all time. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: Frank’s Mom’s Favorite Game (08:56)
- Super Mario series
2: Ash’s Cousin Eric’s Favorite Game (14:07)
3: Brandon’s Partner Christina’s Favorite Game (19:45)
4: Frank’s Co-host Ash’s Favorite Game (25:08)
5: Ash’s Friend Nicki’s Favorite Game (34:34)
6: Brandon’s Dad’s Favorite Game (39:52)
7: Frank’s Best Friend and Editor Esper’s Favorite Game (45:31)
8: Ash’s Friend Will’s Favorite Game (55:34)
9: Brandon’s Friend Scott’s Favorite Game (01:04:38)
10: Frank’s Friend Lucy’s Favorite Game (01:11:42)
11: Ash’s Cousin Jason’s Favorite Game (01:24:29)
12: Brandon’s Former Coworker Christian’s Favorite Game (01:32:36)
13: Frank’s Wife Amanda’s Second Favorite Game (01:38:38)
14: Ash’s Husband Travis’s Favorite Game (01:42:33)
15: Brandon’s College Friend and Insert Credit Co-Founder Vincent’s Favorite Game (01:47:42)
16: Frank’s Pal Ian’s Favorite Game (01:52:31)
17: Ash’s Sister Alexis’s Favorite Game (01:59:53)
18: Brandon’s Friend Chaz’s Favorite Game (02:06:00)
- Shining Force II
- N-Gage
19: Frank’s Other Friend Ian’s Favorite Game (02:10:48)
20: Ash’s Best Friend Abby’s Favorite Game (02:17:11)
21: Brandon’s Coworker Tara’s Favorite Game (02:28:43)
Final List (02:28:43)

View the finalized list right here!

This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
19 January 2026, 9:33 am
1 hour 34 minutes

Ep. 423 - Explode My Bones
The panel reviews Mr. Bones, a Sega Saturn classic featuring frustrating design choices, a certain comedy level, and skeletism.

Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: How did we get here? (03:57)
2: What are the good versions of the ideas presented in this game? (27:20)
3: Brenton Woodrow asks, which Saturn or Dreamcast game that never had a sequel is best suited for a sequel in 2021? (37:02)
4: If not Mr. Bones, what’s the best skeleton in a video game? (42:04)
5: Let’s talk about this game’s comedy level (44:46)
6: What can we learn about the blues from this video game? (51:07)
- Paul Pena
- Jet Airliner
7: Do you like Mr. Bones? (56:43)
LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design - Mr. Organs (01:02:31)

Credit Report (01:08:16)

Recommendations and Outro (01:13:08):
- Brandon: The All New, All Astonishing Insert Credit Patreon, May I Ask For One Final Thing?, Journal with Witch, Blackhawk Museum
- Ash: Ball x Pit, touch grass, tell people you care about them, this empire shall burn too
- Frank: someone make a thread in the forums of media where fascists lose and die
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
12 January 2026, 8:13 am
1 hour 7 minutes

Ep. 422 - Gearslop
Our heroes convene to discuss the Sega Game Gear, the most satisfying punch in video games, and sports MMOs.

Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: What kinds of video games do you think we’ll never see again? (07:27)
2: What’s the most satisfying punch you can throw in a video game? (12:15)
3: Which Game Gear games are most faithful to their source material? (17:07)
4: The Adaptation Game - Betty Boop (21:50)
5: littleboat asks, what is the word of the year in videogames? (27:42)
6: Are there sports MMOs where everybody is one player? (35:38)
7: Has making a video game gotten harder or easier over time? (39:42)
LIGHTNING ROUND: GameFAQ&As - Baldur’s Gate III (45:15)

Recommendations and Outro (52:52):
- Frank: King Leo peppermint
- Brandon: Dickens Fair, Dark Angel (1990), Cat Eyed Boy
- Ash: Greyhound (2020), I, Claudius
- Jaffe: I, Podius (for Ash), Pluribus (for Brandon), Ragman (1991 series) (for Frank), leave us a review, watch a couple Insert Credit Show episodes in a row on YouTube, support us at patreon.com/insertcredit
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

This week’s horrible buzzer was sent in by selib. Thanks! To submit your own horrible buzzer, send an original recording no longer than two seconds in mp3 or wav format to [email protected], and maybe we’ll use it on the show!

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
5 January 2026, 5:28 am
1 hour 15 minutes

Ep. 421 - Clearing the Question Hole
Frank, Ash, and Brandon spend the end of the year clearing out the Question Hole, finding brainslop, Tommy Tallarico’s new alias Sammy Salazar, and the death of Sonic the Hedgehog. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: MarkJ asks, what’s the most inappropriate time and place for a video game merchant to set up shop? (04:02)
2: Call Me By Your Name asks, which game would you play until eternity ends? (7:30)
3: David asks, what would it take to make a consistently funny game? (10:36)
4: Ryan asks, if you could be the best in the world at one video game what would it be? (12:37)
5: NVB asks, how would you bring back text adventure games? (13:56)
- Ace Attorney series
- Twine
6: Gallander asks, do you have any game or experience that makes you reflect on how things that once were won’t ever be again, or makes you too sad? (14:58)
7: Horizontal Hold asks, what video game soundtrack is most analogous in its sound as it is to its gameplay? (16:56)
8: Billy asks, what modern non-arcade games would be improved if only available in arcades? (18:25)
- Beat Saber
- Balatro
- CloverPit
- Dogpile
9: Corey asks, what is the next phenomenon that will be predicted by a Hideo Kojima game? (19:18)
10: SvenserSblant asks, how has working in the game industry impacted your ability to enjoy games? (22:20)
- Game Boy Advance
11: Gaagaagiins asks, what would be the for a cool run? (23:58)
12: MDS asks, if you knew better in the past, what game or console would you have been super into? (27:20)
Online Multiplayer: Two Game Blister Pack Pairing (30:36)

13: FLCL Forever asks, If Sega had nigh-unlimited money, what could they have done to save the Saturn? (32:47)
14: Chin asks, what do you think of violence in video games? (39:31)
15: Dan Cantou asks is licensed crap inherently worse than original crap? (41:39)
16: Malcove asks, how do we make a Studio Ghibli game? (44:37)
17: Chopemon asks, what setting would you design for a Resident Evil-style one location video game? (45:52)
18: Devilsblush asks, who is your favorite developer of video games you aren’t interested in playing? (48:35)
19: TapeVulture asks, how can we describe Yuji Naka’s legacy? (49:39)
20: Dilson asks, how could loading screens be made better? (52:43)
- Uncharted series
- Sonic Frontiers
21: Eric Hamilton Schneider asks, if you discovered a door into a video game world, what would would you be most happy is real? (54:17)
22: Garrett asks, how can or should pinball continue its evolution? (57:23)
23: BreadyToDie asks, which games do time travel the best? (01:00:01)
24: Katon asks, do you think Terry Basio could make a Donkey Konga game work? (01:02:06)
25: Spencer asks, do a majority of game players have an unhealthy relationship with games? (01:03:08)

Recommendations and Outro (01:04:24):
- Brandon: Touring After the Apocalypse, Priscilla Chan’s Autumn Colors, Paradox’s first album, be nice to each other
- Ash: Love in the Clouds
- Frank: Try to relax
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

This week’s horrible buzzer was sent in by selib. Thanks! To submit your own horrible buzzer, send an original recording no longer than two seconds in mp3 or wav format to [email protected], and maybe we’ll use it on the show!

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
29 December 2025, 10:53 am
1 hour 10 minutes

Insert Credit Gaiden #15 - The 2025 Feast, with John Linneman
DigitalFoundry’s John Linneman returns for what is seemingly becoming an annual event: sitting with Brandon Sheffield to discuss games purchased while in Japan. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman..

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:

1: Brandon’s F1 Triple Battle, F1 Circus Special: Pole to Win, and F1 Circus ’92
2: John’s Ridge Racer V demo and Japanese Ridge Racer 6
- Ridge Racer
- 8-4
- Xbox 360
3: Brandon’s Out Live: Be Eliminate Yesterday
4: John’s Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku - The Apocalypse IV
5: Brandon’s Knight Rider Special
- Chase HQ
- Magical Chase
6: John’s Virtua Fighter for PC
- Panzer Dragoon
- NV1
- Sega Saturn
- 3DO Blaster
- PC-FX
- FM Towns
- Amiga
- Commodore
7: Brandon’s Volfied
8: John’s Namco History Vol. 4
9: Brandon’s Koudelka and Clock Tower II demos
10: John’s Hungry Ghosts
11: Brandon’s RayForce soundtrack
- Zuntata
- Xevious
12: John’s Goemon: Shin Sedai Shūmei!
- Ganbare Goemon series
13: Brandon’s Anearth Fantasy Stories: The First Volume
- Seiya Monogatari: Anearth Fantasy Stories
14: John’s Gunparade Orchestra
15: Brandon’s Cardcaptor Sakura: Clow Card Magic
16: John’s Virtual Boy Wario Land
17: Brandon’s Macross VF-X2
- HUMMING BIRD
- Ace Combat series
18: Brandon’s The Note
- Doctor Hauzer
19: Brandon’s Laplace no Ma

Insert Credit Gaiden is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
24 December 2025, 10:40 am
1 hour 12 minutes

Ep. 420 - The Weed Episode, with Patrick Miller
Insert Credit Fighting Game Correspondent, author, and cannabis connoisseur Patrick Miller joins the panel to answer questions Jaffe wrote while stoned, and play another round of Smokey Bong Bluntry.

Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Patrick Miller. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
0: How does smoking weed or other drugs affect playing video games? (07:05)
1: Are video games art? (13:16)
- Scott McCloud
- Understanding Comics
2: Apart from military or law enforcement, what are the most suitable professions for a video game character to have?(14:39)
3: How do you sell Densha de Go to Americans? (20:45)
4: Take a title of a Western Video Game, pretend it’s a Japanese Video Game, and then localize the title for a western audience. (24:06)
The Insert Credit Quick Break: Videolamer.com (31:32)

5: Moshworld asks, design a Yakuza side story about weed (32:54)
6: Has a game company or game series ever had more than just one good logo design? (38:19)
7: Who are the Phineas and Ferb of video games? (44:21)
LIGHTNING ROUND: Smokey Bong Bluntry - Hard Mode No Zeldas (49:43)
- that short of Brandon rattling off all them damn games
Recommendations and Outro (54:56):
- Brandon: Kamikaze Girls (2004), Azumanga Daioh, The Outfoxies, Check out old websites, play Christmas NiGHTS and Blue Stinger
- Frank: Check out the Video Game History Foundation, play Raw Danger! and Sonic Adventure
- Patrick: Play golf at the Montclair Golf Course, From Masher to Master 2: The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Fighting Game Player
- Ash: Take your PTO, put a coat on that baby
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by Videolamer.com and patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
22 December 2025, 9:02 am
1 hour 3 minutes

Ep. 419 - Half-Life 3: Rd Person
Guest host Esper Quinn asks Frank, Ash, and Brandon about Xbox’s Black Friday failure, The Game Awards, and creative uses for soy sauce. Hosted by Esper Quinn, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: Vanessa B asks, what is the most ridiculous fighting game outfit you’ve seen and what about it irks your nerves? (04:51)
2: You guys see the Nex Cube outsold the Xbox on Black Friday? (09:29)
3: If you ran a video game history foundation, what would you do with an unreleased NES game? (18:30)
4: Given that we record this show on the Thursday before it’s released, recap what happened at The Game Awards (23:46)
5: Yeso asks, if video games had a currency, who would be on the $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills? (30:05)
6: What age should a person play their first video game? (37:27)
- Intellivision
- Atari 2600
7: What is the soy sauce of video games? (41:04)
- Soy sauce
- Men’s Testicles Have Taste Receptors?
LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design - Even More Magic the Gathering Cards (45:39)

Recommendations and Outro (52:47):
- Frank: The Video Game History Foundation’s Winter Fundraiser Calendar of Events
- Brandon: Bullets Over Summer (1999), Jai D - Keichitsu Vol.1, Yoshie Kashiwabara - Luster, please review Demonschool
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

This week’s horrible buzzer was sent in by selib. Thanks! To submit your own horrible buzzer, send an original recording no longer than two seconds in mp3 or wav format to [email protected], and maybe we’ll use it on the show!

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
15 December 2025, 11:29 am
1 hour 24 minutes

Ep. 418 - Keep Cringe Alive, with Vanessa B
Crystal Dynamics and GDQ Community Manager Vanessa B joins Ash and Brandon to talk about Horses discourse, engaging with game communities, and Juri’s feet. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Vanessa B. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: What’s the best community in speedrunning? (04:57)
2: How does a community manager keep the fanbase of a series engaged between release cycles? (13:23)
3: Here in 2025, how do you explain the significance of Lara Croft? (20:54)
4: What is Gex like in real life? (30:17)
- Gex
- Geoff Keighley
- Conker
- Bubsy
- Sonic
- Alex Kidd
- Crash Bandicoot
- Ratchet
- Jak
- PaRappa Rappa
- Nathan Fillion
- Geico Gecko
- Batman
5: spencergifs asks, how would one make a video game that had the fewest amount of players while generating the largest amount of discourse and content? (37:07)
6: Are there specific racial stereotypes within the video game industry and community that we have to contend with? (43:29)
LIGHTNING ROUND: Synestheatre (50:05)

Recommendations and Outro (01:10:21):
- Vanessa: Back to Black 2026, Speeding Through the Holidays
- Ash: Sit with art that makes you uncomfortable
- Brandon: Under Siege (1992), the blu-ray commentary for The Hunted (1995) if you’re interested in the craft of making movies, Unglued - Way Back When
- Jaffe: Demonschool
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

This week’s horrible buzzer was sent in by selib. Thanks! To submit your own horrible buzzer, send an original recording no longer than two seconds in mp3 or wav format to [email protected], and maybe we’ll use it on the show!

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
8 December 2025, 8:53 am
42 minutes 22 seconds

Insert Credit Gaiden #14 - Arcadevania, with Ben Fiquet
At Tokyo Game Show 2025, Necrosoft’s Brandon Sheffield (Demonschool, Hyper Gunsport) interviews Lizardcube’s Ben Fiquet (Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Streets of Rage 4) on animation, working with larger studios, and the right amount of exploration in action games. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED:
Insert Credit Gaiden is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

Subscribe: RSS, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
4 December 2025, 5:17 am
1 hour 30 minutes

Ep. 417 - Large Mangle
Frank, Ash, and Brandon hang out and talk about Steam’s censorship, friendslop, and the Never Gonna Give You Up of video games.

Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Watch episodes with full video on YouTube

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

SHOW NOTES:
1: How, if at all, should video game distribution services be screening submissions of video games? (05:15)
2: Where is the line between inspiration and plagarism? (11:40)
3: What are the best video game tiles? (16:43)
4: What is the newest kind of video game? (22:36)
A Statement from Frank Cifaldi (30:01)
- Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
5: Esper Quinn asks, who is the best game developer in literature? (32:33)
6: Should every roleplaying game have romance options? (39:56)
7: What is the Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up of video games? (45:44)
LIGHTNING ROUND: Jaffe didn’t come up with a name for this one but he’s asking the panel to name games from a specific year and they’re knocked out if they can’t (54:12)

Recommendations and Outro (01:19:29):
- Brandon: Please review Demonschool on Steam if you’ve bought it, Doritos has three levels of spiciness now
- Ash: News Tower
- Frank: Lucky That Way by Brad Fregger
This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you.

This week’s horrible buzzer was sent in by selib. Thanks! To submit your own horrible buzzer, send an original recording no longer than two seconds in mp3 or wav format to [email protected], and maybe we’ll use it on the show!

Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
1 December 2025, 6:35 am
More Episodes? Get the App