In April we went through Fire Emblem: Awakening. As a 3DS game on an “officially” dead platform (one getting lots of headlines for preservation efforts made by the community to get it back online recently), as well as the game acknowledged widely to be the first in the “modern” Fire Emblem era and a last chance for Fire Emblem in the west (if not successful we may not have gotten more games here), this one is very interesting.We talk about how to play this game given that the 3DS isn’t so easy to find on the secondhand market anymore (for a reasonable price), the game’s team-up mechanics as a one-off of sorts, but a very interesting way to expand the possibility space, as well as the multiplicity of abilities that each character can use, weapons, and the general expansion of this as a builder RPG (where you have a great deal of influence on how your party is specced and what they can do). Toben also contextualizes this game in the wider series in terms of accessibility and incfluence, a eugenics/tactics inheritance sim, as well as a kind of spaghetti-against-the-wall experiment to see where things might go (and it turns out have gone in some ways). Also we talk about its much more anime-influenced direction in storytelling. Check out the liner notes here for links to some of what I’ve mentioned here, as well as our standard fare in music, speedrunning, and learning more about the games and contexts of play we talk about. Catch you next month with our discussion of Resident Evil 2 (remake), which is a bit of a tonal and genre shift relative to Fire Emblem (to put it mildly). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month (March) was Unicorn Overlord. Turn-based (in the way it plays out on screen), but a kind of real-time strategy style in terms of how your units act on their own (after you set their behavior and kit them out), this one was an interesting grab bag of RPG influences blended into a surprisingly appealing slurry (visuals of that process aside). UO owes in part its mechanical flavor, approach to narrative, and UI design to Ogre Battle and Fire Emblem, as well as other popular and less popular RPGs across the canon (like the Sega Saturn’s Dragonforce series). Visually, however, its all Vanillaware (the developer), which is in our opinion a bold thing to behold. Toben appreciated the attention given to animation, as even small movements of characters during cut scenes or idle animation are given more detail than in other similar style games. We thought it was a bit strange that enemies don’t scale with the player’s level or access to equipment, but were otherwise impressed by the way UO’s many systems overlap and play off of each other — looking forward to more. There’s also an update to Chocobo Hot and Cold (the mini game) for those Final Fantasy IX super fans just waiting for that mantle to be taken up.Check out the liner notes for a closer look at aspects of the UO’s design and visuals, as well as our usual flavor of hyperlink.Coming up in April is Fire Emblem: Awakening. We will have things to say (THINGS!). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

On this month’s podcast (February) and backlog foray we shovel our way through Harvest Moon. Its legacy is of the farm simulator that planted the pixel-art seeds of farm management and buying the affections of others with gifts in the hearts of many a 90’s gamer. In particular, those seeds blossomed and inspired a rush of modern farm sims, not least of which is Eric Barone’s Stardew Valley, which shares a number of deliberate similarities to Harvest Moon. In our opinion improving on nearly all aspects of its inspiration (except oddly enough in the area of character animation). In its time and in summary Harvest Moon is a farming RPG that looks a bit like SNES games you may already know. Zelda: A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy, and maybe even the Ys series and others, seem to have inspired HM’s designers. And in the end, in light of advancements its inheritors have made to the HM bones — farming and management loops, inventory system, and expansive levels of interaction with NPCs — it’s the aesthetic of HM (1997) that endures or stands strongest against its more expansive and modern counterparts. Check out the liner notes for backround on the wild publishing history of HM as a franchise, as well as music and speedrunning as per usual for us. And then stay tuned for a podcast on Unicorn Overlord, which is a rare first-month (new game) pick up for us, in keeping with our clear fascination with turnbased strategy games. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month (January) was Camp Santo’s Firewatch an indie darling from 2016, arriving last on Nintendo Switch in 2018. You are Henry, a man fleeing a sense of fatalism and helplessness related to your wife’s deteroriating medical condition to go to the Wyoming wilderness and watch out for fires. In the process, through the unfolding mysteries of the area you’re responsible for and your relationship with the dispatcher, Deliliah, you find out some things about yourself. The game is beautiful and cinematically framed and paced (each day has meaningful events, less of the mundane), with the intrigue and mystery ratcheting up as the days go on. The player has control over Henry’s dialogue, including choosing to be silent in some cases, or to continue the conversation by pointing out random features of the wilderness in front of you. On the cast we talk about the relationship between Henry and Delilah, nostalgia for the radio, the sort of narrative purpose of the ‘other’ events, the game’s relationship with red herrings and tension, as well as the sort of magic trick (and work) of crafting a meaningful story around all that walking and talking. For more context on this aspect, as well as music and art, check out our liner notes. Camp Santo, acquired by Valve in 2018, was working on a new game at least for a while, but this was put on hold in 2019 in favour of other projects happening at Valve.Check out our podcast at the end of this month (February) on Harvest Moon for the SNES/Super Famicom. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This podcast, our last of 2024, was about The Banner Saga Trilogy. In the spirit of our enduring preference for turn-based strategy games, we compared this one to Fire Emblem when it seemed like a good idea or was relevant, but Banner Saga is so much its own mix of genres and influences that it wasn’t always useful to compare across the other things we’ve played. Check out the liner notes, with further information and cool links, as usual, here. The thread of our conversation, after a while, seemed to settle in on the ways in which there is a lot happening to ground Banner Saga in a consistent and consistently stylized world. The caravan or banner clan management aspects, often interspersed with branching narrative decisions, create a mundanity and a pace that feels different and contrasts against the just-over-there possibility of unending battle (represented by frequent turnbased battles). The trudging along and bleakness of the scenarios the game pits you against, with frequent caravan decisions resulting in disaster or loss, set a bleak tone for this world and your place in it. The interplay and eventual perspectival switchs between the cosmic mythological level and the human (or Varl/Horse Friend) level of politics creates a feeling of a wider lived-in world than the perspectives of the characters shown directly to the player. And nevermind the art and music (which we didn’t even touch on), being incredibly well-realized and deployed, while evoking possible visual influences (like Sleeping Beauty or Don Bluth’s animation), and just being satisfying to see happen (that bow animation though). We highly recommend people check out the The Banner Saga Trilogy if you’re at all interested in Norse mythology, branching narratives, or even as a first turnbased strategy RPG. It’s well worth the (relatively short but well-paced) journey. Next month, January 2024, is Firewatch! If you’re new, hello! And if you’re a subscriber than thank you for listening in 2023!Cheers, Alex and Toben This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month (November) was Guardian Heroes on the Sega Saturn and Xbox 360 (XBLA). You can catch this one on the Xbox Series X/S using backward compatibility if you wanted to pick up an high definition (or higher definition) copy today. Otherwise, consider emulation a viable option. The conversation this time centered on the interesting connections that Treasure makes with Guardian Heroes to other genres of game (including, surprisingly, the branching narrative paths of Banner Saga). Part fighting game, sidescrolling brawler, arcade/home hybrid, and something of a dead or dying breed (what with arcade-first “big budget” games being unheard of now), Guardian Heroes is a super interesting almost-relic of a time-gone-by. There’s a lot to appreciate if you’re willing to put in the time. And surprising depth if you have more time than we did to experience all the characters, endings, and possible builds.We also lay out the coming year of Super Combo Cast and reflect a bit on where we’ve been and where we’re going. Check out the liner notes here for more information and interesting links. Our season finale coming up (December) is all about The Banner Saga. Look for that soon! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This (last) month’s game Shining Force II podcast had us reflecting on the handheld gaming experience in the 90’s, emulation, and Sega’s possible version of the turn-based strategy game genre if the legacy of Shining Force II had extended in more directions (or Sega had continued making hardware, perhaps). It was fun to imagine what that future could have been. Check out our liner notes with the usual links and extras here. And later on, this month, we have Guardian Heroes on either the Sega Saturn or XBLA (Xbox 360). This one was a weird beat-em up RPG hybrid, that almost, but not quite, sets the player into a rogue-like progression system (more on this later). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month (September) was Donkey Kong Country Returns (DKCR). Apologies for the late release. We had some thoughts about DKCR! The changes to Rare’s SNES formula and the new “feel” for a lack of other terms in the Wii/3DS versions made the early game and then perceived higher challenge level later on, harder to push through for us. Momentum and the feel of controlling Donkey Kong and Diddy are a bit different if you are someone who grew up on the original DKC series, but if DKCR was your first game, it also checks all the same boxes as the first game. It’s using three-dimensional space to have the levels collapse around you in interesting ways, which is new, and the collectibles and bosses and level-design conceits are all there and in force (reminiscent of if not replicating the vibes from the original games). Toben compares this release to a Costco pizza (relative to your favourite takeout pizza). It’s good, it’s got all the parts, but if given the choice we’d still opt for the other variety.Check out our liner notes here for the standard lineup of speed running, music, and other content around Donkey Kong Country Returns. And for the Retro Studios fans, don’t worry, we’ll be playing Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze next year to see their spin on DKC taken to snowy extremes.Next month (October) is Shining Force II, another foray/return into our (apparent) favourite genre of turnbased strategy games. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month’s podcast (August), was Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. This one was divisive in that my approach and experience as a new player wasn’t as favourable as Toben’s as a longtime fan of the series. But really, that makes sense. Kingdom Hearts was a particular flavour of RPG back in the day on the PS2 and I can see its strengths clearly enough after spending some hours with it. But boy does it play like a game of its time (which, on reflection, I haven’t really played a lot of from that era). It’s interesting to consider too where this one could have gone before the series spent multiple games and console generations retconning and adding and re-imagining this game.In this episode we also sidebar a bit on Yakuza: Like a Dragon, as well as September’s game/series Donkey Kong Country Returns. Check out the liner notes here, and consider if you’re new to this series, consider approaching with a guide or guides in hand. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com

This month (last), was Shovel Knight, the beloved old-school platforming game from Yacht Club Games. We talked about the references and nostalgia factor, the game’s difficulty and boss/character design, upgrading, and whether or not platforming game literacy is necessary for this one (where it might fit for new-to-the-genre players and old hats). Check out the liner notes here for the usual assortment of links and interesting tidbits. Consensus is that we enjoyed it a lot, and that Shovel Knight has a ton of replayability and just a wealth of content (a treasure trove even), for those looking for a platforming and nes/snes style experience with some lighter rpg mechanics. The game feels responsive and accurate, and the aesthetic is spot on in terms of feeling like the 8-bit era. There are multiple single player campaigns, a boss rush mode, a versus mode, and in-game achievements to accrue. On steam, at least, you can pick this one up as a “collection” of games with each of the modes included, or individually with each separated off as its own game. We recommend the whole collection when you can find it on sale, or even at full price if you suspect this is for you. Stay tuned in early September for our podcast on Kingdom Hearts the first (Final Mix), which we’re going through in August. Check out previous podcast episodes here along with all the liner notes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit supercombotech.substack.com