Send us a Text Message. Final Fantasy 6 is a tale of two stories. In this episode of A Gamer Looks at 40, we look at the first half of this epic tale, The World of Balance. Starting as a traditional rebellion vs the Empire story, the tale quickly morphs into a character study worthy of books, poems and film. Join a cast of friends and I as we explore the world before the fall.  STARRING (all handles from Twitter)   Aiden Moher (@adribbleofink) Greg Sewart of the Player One Podcast and Generation 16 (@sewart)  James and JJ of RetroFits on YouTube (@FitsRetro) Julian Titus (@juli ..read more

Send us a Text Message. From the second the title faded from my 19 inch Zenith CRT and the opening montage began, I was an insta-fan of Fina Fantasy 3/6. Nothing could have prepared me for the epic adventure that awaited me. An experience rich with high drama, interesting characters, engrossing gameplay and a story for the ages, FF3/6 remains one of my Top 5 games of all time. Anyone who's played this world class RPG has a similar story. So, let's hear them! On Part 1 of our multi part exploration of Final Fantasy 3/6, over a dozen guests share their unique first impressions and why this game ..read more

Send us a Text Message. Before I spend the next month and a half speaking all sorts of sugar about Final Fantasy 6, I figured I'd fill in the time with a quick pod update and AMA session. Silly questions get answered seriously, life mistakes are shared, and somehow I end up blathering about Cheez-Its. Questions Provided By: My Discord Mike Albertin of Games My Mom Found Phillip Cipherxzero The Let's Play Princess Distorted_Illumination Kev Gamer's Week Patron Only DiscordEMOesque wrytersview Zach Hugethanks Sir Coffee of House Blend terrybacca Games My Mom Found DiscordKenneth Sanity &nbs ..read more

When I asked Justin Hamm of The Stage Select Podcast which game he would like to do for Tales From the Bargain Bin, he immediately responded, "NBA All Star Challenge on the SNES". Almost too quickly. Turns out, Justin was trying to exorcise some 16-bit demons 'cause this is - whew - this is a game. Join Justin and I as we play "Guess the Team", bemoan the dunk button and spend an hour working through trauma, one feature at a time. STARRING: Justin Hamm of the The Stage Select Podcast (@TheStageSelect on Twitter) My Website: agamerlooksat40.com My Discord: https://discord.com/invite/SdaE4atG ..read more

While North American gamers dined on Mystic Quest, our pals in the East were chowing down on Final Fantasy 5. Full of customization, intrigue and a killer soundtrack, this game was often considered unattainable aside from emulation and a handful of re-releases. Is this game worthy of celebration or did Square do us Western fans a huge favor? Find out in this week's episode! STARRING (all handles from Twitter) Aiden Moher (@adribbleofink) Barry Carenza of Premium Edition Games (@HawkHellfire) Greg Sewart of the Player One Podcast and Generation 16 (@sewart) Julian Titus (@julian_titus) of The ..read more

While Final Fantasy was already a Japanese phenomenon, things here in the states were slower to gather steam. FF4 did well in stores, but nowhere near the numbers overseas. So, what to do with Final Fantasy 5? Release this complex, job heavy dungeon crawler to a market not ready for it or maybe soften the blow. Just a bit. That lighter game became Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, a stripped down version of the Final Fantasy formula made accessible to everyone. By combining the bare bones of an RPG with the kinetic fun of platforming, this oft maligned game remains a fascinating artifact, if nothi ..read more

As we put a bow on our virtual round table regarding Final Fantasy 4, there's still so much to discuss. In this, the third and final installment on FF4, we take a shotgun approach to the stories by sharing - well - all the things we didn't on the previous episodes. We talk themes, story, logos, sound effects, and one particularly nasty wall in this omnibus episode.  STARRING (all handles from Twitter) Barry Carenza of Premium Edition Games (@HawkHellfire) Greg Sewart of the Player One Podcast and Generation 16 (@sewart) John Trenbeath (@crazyjohnt) Julian Titus (@julian_titus) of The St ..read more

Last week, we started the FF4 fire by documenting our initial impressions. On this week's episode, we go deeper into the big (and small) moments that left an impact along with the  characters that made this SNES launch title a game to remember.  STARRING (all handles from Twitter) Barry Carenza of Premium Edition Games (@HawkHellfire) Greg Sewart of the Player One Podcast and Generation 16 (@sewart) John Trenbeath (@crazyjohnt) Julian Titus (@julian_titus) of The Stage Select Podcast (@StageSelectPod) Mekel Kasanova (@MekelKasanova)  Mike of the Distorted Illuminations YouTube ..read more

In the winter of 1991, Final Fantasy 2 stormed onto North American shores as an SNES launch title and was met with middling enthusiasm. US gamers were too busy stomping Goombas and driving hovercrafts  to worry about turn based combat and wandering in circles. But for those who took the plunge, they discovered not only a love for the series but a new genre to adore. Join myself and a host of  fans as we share our earliest recollections and memories of Final Fantasy 2 - I mean, 4. STARRING (all handles from Twitter) Barry Carenza of Premium Edition Games (@HawkHellfire) Greg Sewart ..read more

Wrestling and videogames. The two combined conjures up images of late night sleepovers hopped up on Jolt Cola, Pixie Sticks and sweaty man-beasts. But for two brothers in Northern New Jersey, our first blush with digitized pugilism was  M.US.C.L.E. on the NES. Join Bobby and I as we explore old wrestling games, Fallout, obscure manga, and diminutive plastic collect-em-all figurines from the late 80's.   Play M.U.S.C.L.E. in browser here: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_059-NES.php My Website: agamerlooksat40.com My Discord: https://discord.com/invite/SdaE4atGjC My Twitter: @agamerlo ..read more