Ten questions with Drew Mackie, host of the Singing Mountain podcast

I've got a confession to make: although I dearly love video game music (VGM from here on out), I pretty much never listen to it when I'm not actually playing a game.

Except, that is, for when I'm listening to an episode of the Singing Mountain podcast.

The thing is, I'd likely ignore Singing Mountain just I like ignore most out-of-context VGM if Drew Mackie weren't its host.

That's not just because of the dulcet tones of Drew's NPR-ready voice, by the way. You see, he and I go way back--in a manner of speaking.

Drew Mackie and Wario

I first became a fan of Drew's around the time I launched the blog you're reading right now. He had his own blog at the time, Back of the Cereal Box--it still exists, though it's been defunct since early 2018--that not only regularly covered video games, but regularly covered the kind of games I tend to enjoy.

In the years since, we've become friends via the comments sections of our respective blogs as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Anyway, between our similar taste in games and my appreciation of Drew's way with words, you bet your sweet bippy my ears perked up when he announced in mid-2017 his next venture would be a VGM podcast.

Speaking of which, Drew recently agreed to answer a few questions not only about why he started Singing Mountain, but how he named it, why he likes 16-bit VGM so much and more.

The Gay Gamer: You launched the Singing Mountain podcast just over two years ago. What spurred its creation?

Drew: To be honest, I had my first podcast and I thought I might do this as a side project to draw attention to the main project--do short little episodes about VGM and then tell people at the end that I have this other nostalgia-based podcast about movies. Very quickly thereafter, Singing Mountain ended up being the project I enjoyed more and before long, I ceased that first podcast and started tinkering around with what I could do with this VGM podcast format. I actually didn't know much about the VGM podcast community and quickly had to educate myself.

The Gay Gamer: Why did you name it Singing Mountain anyway?

Drew: Chrono Trigger! The original OST for Chrono Trigger has one track that you don't hear in the game because that area ended up being omitted from the final version of the game. That's "Singing Mountain." And that name alone evoked something magical and made me wonder about what this lost area might be like. The song has since been used in subsequent ports of Chrono Trigger, but I would still like to see the creator's original vision for it.

This wonderfully beefy piece of cover art wasn't used
for an episode, but I'm including it here anyway

The Gay Gamer: What has been your favorite episode so far?

Drew: "Ric Ocasek in Moonside," an episode I liked so much I actually made it twice, just to iron out the kinks and make it as good as I possibly could. This episode is about EarthBound, but also me and the general way that music can linger in your head for years, unattached to lyrics or anything that could help you identify what song you're actually remembering. If that makes sense.

The Gay Gamer: Which episode do you think is most emblematic or representative of Singing Mountain or even of your taste in game music?

Drew: People make fun of my titles sometimes, but as a gay dude who likes pretty things, I gotta say that the most representative episode of my show is one is called "A Beautiful Place by Moonlight." A big theme throughout Singing Mountain is how I like softer, quieter, more relaxed music, and this episode was all about music that evokes the night but not in a way that's sinister or, like, dark, if that makes sense. It's about how sometimes things are prettier at night. I like thinking of a really abstract theme and then figuring out the weirdest collection of music I can get together that fits that theme. Also, the cover art made me happy.

Runner up: the one about VGM that sounds like italo disco, because I feel like people aren't aware of italo disco, generally, but would be into the idea of disco and new wave having a baby. They actually have an italo disco night at one of the gay bars in L.A. and this makes me very happy. (Not that I'm taking credit for it.)

Drew's Birdo-focused cover art for Singing Mountain's
"The Best Saxophones in Video Game Music" episode

The Gay Gamer: What is your favorite aspect of creating an episode?

Drew: Knowing that I'm my own boss and can do whatever I want. That sounds bratty, but I like that I can break format any way I want and it's OK. I've never had an in-office job where I had that much freedom.

The Gay Gamer: What's the hardest or most annoying part of creating an episode?

Drew: Trying to decide between "I can make this work" and "maybe I can't, maybe I should go in another direction." I don't like putting something out there that I don't think is worth the listener's time, and if I can't deliver the goods, then I need to go with plan B. This last week, I actually ended up not posting an episode, just because nothing was coming together. I'm hoping the time off lets me come up with a good idea.

The Gay Gamer: I always look forward to seeing the cover art you create for each episode, and I'm sure I'm not alone there. I'm guessing you enjoy it too? How long does it usually take you to make a piece of cover art? And what's your process for making one?

Drew: Sometimes the pixel art takes me as long as the episode itself, but only because it's my favorite part. It's basically just doodling, really, because I'm taking existing, official pixel art from Spriter's Resource and then screwing with it and making it weird or taking stuff from two different contexts and making them exist together. It's weirdly relaxing, even when I'm doing it at 2 a.m. because the episode is done and I'm still trying to figure out the art.

The rad cover for a heart-pounding episode
called "A VGM Dance Party"

The Gay Gamer: You obviously have a particular fondness for game music from the 16-bit era. Is that simply because you grew up in the '90s, or is there more to it than that?

Drew: On one hand, yeah. I was born in 1982, so most of my video game playing happened in the 1990s. It's my pop culture sweet spot. However, there is a less objective reason why I focus on 16-bit stuff. Super Marcato Bros. is another VGM podcast, hosted by composers who can talk about music on a technical level. One of the hosts (I think it's Will) has said that he thinks 8-bit VGM is the pinnacle of the genre--and yes, it is a genre--because the technology with which VGM composers could make music was very limited. In order to make music sound good, those 8-bit composers had to be clever enough to work within those restraints and find was to make the technology sing. Alternatively, they could compose melodies that are so purely good and catchy that they'd sound good even being played with those limited means. Often they did both.

I totally think this is true. As video game technology evolved, the restraints gradually went away. So composers coming along later didn't have to be as clever or the melodies nearly as perfectly composed. Coming right after the 8-bit age, the 16-bit stuff is still feeling those restraints but also getting a little more wiggle room, technologically speaking. To me, 16-bit is the best, because you still had to be fairly clever but you could also benefit from a wider range of sounds and consequently do a little more. And then as you get into the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era it kinda gets... less catchy, I would say.

Drew and his adorable pup, Thurman

The Gay Gamer: Regardless, what are your favorite 16-bit soundtracks?

Drew: EarthBound (because eclectic), Seiken Densestu 3 (which is Trials of Mana now and I'm so glad people get to hear how Hiroki Kikuta took his work from the first Secret of Mana to a slightly darker place), and Super Mario RPG (because I actually think Yoko Shimomura is the most versatile composer working today, having composed this and the original Street Fighter II and Kingdom Hearts and Mario & Luigi and a billion other things). Oh, and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. And then Treasure of the Rudras would probably be the one less famous OST from this era. Also Lufia II is better than you might remember.

The Gay Gamer: Do you have any favorite game soundtracks or even individual songs that come from outside the 16-bit era? If so, what are they?

Drew: Samurai Shodown! Especially the first three. Because I feel like the SNK fighters aren't remembered necessarily for their music, but the composers really nailed the mood of these games. And the DarkStalkers games are where Capcom always liked to get weird and experimental and kinda gay, if I'm being honest. And that includes the music. And then Wario Land 4 is just.... fascinatingly bizarre.

See also: 'Ten questions with the guys behind the best GameBoy game you've probably never played, Tobu Tobu Girl'

Introducing: the Singing Mountain podcast

I've been a fan of Drew Mackie's Back of the Cereal Box blog ever since I first came across it--which was shortly after it made its debut in early 2003, if memory serves.

If this is the first you're hearing of Back of the Cereal Box, boiled down, it's a pop-culture blog. Or, as Mackie himself puts it, it's a "record of the weird ways pop culture intersects with [his] life."

Often, it's a record of how pop culture intersects with his life as a gay man who has long loved video games.

Considering all of the above, it shouldn't surprise that Mackie piqued my interest when he revealed his plans to launch a podcast about video game music.

Singing Mountain is the result of those plans. In the four podcasts he's published so far, Mackie's discussed Super Mario RPG, the Mega Man series, The Great Giana Sisters and EarthBound.

That's not the full extent of what's covered in Singing Mountain's initial batch of episodes, mind you. The latest ("Ric Ocasek in Moonside"), for instance, focuses on EarthBound while also bringing Mackie's childhood, The Cars, Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory,” the litigiousness of Beatles and even Janet Jackson into the mix.

Hell, Mackie may even introduce you to a new word or two if you keep your ears peeled. He certainly expanded my vocabulary a bit when he dropped the word diegetic into his commentary on Onett's arcade theme.

See also: posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

The Gay Gamer x Retronauts Micro x GameBoy THE SEQUEL

Two months ago, I appeared on the 41st Retronauts Micro podcast. USgamer's Jeremy Parish and I chatted about the 1989 launch of Nintendo's GameBoy.

Specifically, we talked about the handheld's first batch of games: Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land and Yakuman.

This time around, we discuss the GameBoy's next two titles (in Japan, at least): Tennis and Tetris.

I was especially happy to be able to share my thoughts on the latter. I've been a fan of the sport of tennis since I was a youngster, and I've long had a soft spot for Nintendo's (initial) portable take on it.

That's not to say I don't also have a soft spot for Tetris. Who doesn't love this game--and this version of it, in particular?

Anyway, if you like the GameBoy (or you're at least curious about it), you're OK with listening to two guys talk about a couple of its titles and you have just over 30 minutes of free time, head on over to retronauts.com and check out Retronauts Micro #41.

About that GameBoy-centric podcast I recorded ages ago with Jeremy Parish...

I don't know if you've heard, but a podcast I recorded with Jeremy Parish, of 1UP.com and USgamer fame, made its way onto the Internet yesterday.

We actually got on the horn, as the old saying goes, and recorded the 'cast this time last year. Why is it only now seeing the light of day? Here's the explanation Parish shared in a related usgamer.net article:

"I've sat on this audio conversation all this time for a few reasons—chief among them being that I wasn't sure I really wanted to commit to another podcast project. And as much work as I'm putting into detailing the GameBoy's history, building yet another retrospective layer seems a bit like overkill."

You may have noticed that he described this as being part of a larger project. That's because it was--originally.



Parish approached me about a year-and-a-half ago to see if I'd be up for combining forces to create an on-going podcast that would complement his Game Boy World site and books. I agreed on the spot, of course.

It actually took us a good number of months to coordinate the recording session that produced the podcast that can be listened to here. (It covers the system's Japanese launch as well as its first four games--Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land and Yakuman.) I want to say it was about six months, but it doesn't really matter in the end, does it?

Speaking of the end, despite what Parish himself said in the USgamer write-up mentioned above, it's possible he and I will reconvene to chat about Nintendo's first handheld system--and its underrated catalog of games--in future Retronauts Micro episodes.

In the meantime, give this "almost lost" pilot a listen. If you enjoy it, please let me know in the comments section below or on Twitter. Even better: pass it along to others who you think may get a kick out of it.

See also: every blog post I've published about the GameBoy

We're nearly legal (aka The Nichiest Podcast Ever #17 is now available for your aural pleasure)

Are you the sort who likes to listen to silly people chat about video games during your free time? If so, you'll probably get a kick out of the latest installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

What do Anne, Mollie and I blather on about this time around? A bunch of recently released and soon-to-be-released North American games, for starters, Also, a small handful of just-announced Japanese games.

Oh, and all of the above are niche-y as hell, of course.



We also spend a couple of minutes discussing our ever-embarrassing backlogs, with SaGa Frontier 2, We Love Katamari and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D being a few of the games I singled out.

Finally, we pull out our favorite pom-poms and cheer on a trio of titles we think deserve a bit more attention. (Actually, my pick--the fabulously EarthBound-esque Undertale--has gotten a whole lot of love on line as of late, but I bring it up here anyway because I'm enjoying it so much.)

Sound scintillating? Point your Internet browser of choice to radio.morningproject.com--or search for "The Nichiest Podcast Ever" on iTunes, I guess--and have a blast.

The Nichiest Podcast Ever: Take 16

If you need a little Monday pick-me-up (and, really, who doesn't?), you could do worse than listen to at least a few minutes of the latest edition of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

That's especially true when you consider that this "take" is: a) a bit shorter than usual--just an hour and 21 minutes--and b) perhaps a bit more fun than usual, too.

The latter's purely my opinion on the matter, of course. Regardless, though, Anne, Mollie and I had a blast recording this installment, and I think that comes through in the finished product.



Which games and systems brought out the best in the three of us? Here are a few examples: the North American launch of the smaller New 3DS, the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX in the Western world, the revelation that New Style Boutique 2 (aka Girls Mode 3 or Style Savvy 3) will hit Europe this November, a whole slew of recent Vita game announcements and releases and more.

Sound appealing? Head over to radio.morningproject.com to check it out. (Don't worry if you'd prefer to listen to it via your smartphone or even tablet, as relevant links can be found there as well.)

Also, keep an eye (ear?) out for the 17th iteration of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, as it will include banter about the saddest (because we've yet to play them) as well as most embarrassing games in our enormous backlogs.

The Nichiest Podcast Ever: Take 15

Did you think The Nichiest Podcast Ever was a goner? If so, I'm happy to inform you that you were mistaken--as a new episode is now available for your aural pleasure.

That's not to say this particular "take"--which is The Nichiest Podcast Ever's 15th, if you can believe that--is of the "par for the course" variety. For starters, some exciting news is shared in its first few minutes. I won't spoil that news here, but I will say that it involves the podcaster formerly known as shidoshi.

Other than that, we spend the bulk of this episode chatting about the slew of niche-y games that have been announced since we last found the time to sit down and record together--which was all the way back in May.



Specifically, we talked about: Crypt of the Necrodancer (PS4/Vita), Dragon Quest Builders (PS3/PS4/Vita) Dragon Quest XI (3DS/PS4), Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS), Hatoful Boyfriend (PS4/Vita), Odin Sphere Leifdrasir (PS3/PS4/Vita), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus (3DS) and Zero Escape 3 (3DS/Vita).

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though, so if the list above sounds at least a smidge appealing to you, you'll probably enjoy the entirety of "Take 15."

Should you take the time to listen to the latest iteration of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, please leave a comment about your experience on radio.morningproject.com. Better yet, leave a question--so we finally can have one or two to answer when we go to record our 16th episode.

See also: previous posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

The Nichiest Podcast Ever gets even nichier in its 14th episode

Those of you who enjoy spending a couple of hours listening to three people blather on about all sorts of niche-y gaming experiences should get a kick out of the latest episode (or "take," if your name is shidoshi) of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

This is the 14th time we've recorded together, by the way, which I think is pretty cool. Oh, and it's the first time my portion of the discussion was captured using a real microphone, pop filter, sound board and the like, which I also find kind of cool.

Another "cool" element of this particular Nichiest Podcast Ever take, in the opinion of yours truly: we cover even more ground than usual, or at least that's how it felt while we were chatting. For example, some of the games we discussed this time around were A-Train: City Simulator (3DS), Amnesia: Memories (Vita), Class of Heroes 3 (PSP), Fatal Frame V (Wii U) and Starlight Vega (PC).

That's far from the extent of what's included in this latest, greatest installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, mind you. We also talk about a few other 3DS, Vita and even PC games during its just-over-two-hour running time.

If you're curious to find out which PC, Vita and 3DS titles I'm talking about here, or if you're really itching to hear what Anne, shidoshi and I have to say about any or all of the aforementioned releases, head on over to radio.morningproject.com at your earliest convenience.

The Nichiest Podcast Ever turns 13

Not 13 years old, mind you. Thirteen episodes--or "takes," in shidoshi speak--old.

Anyway, another iteration of The Nichiest Podcast Ever is available for your listening pleasure, should you be a person who enjoys hearing a trio of fellow humans blather on about niche video games and systems.

As always, we cram a lot of niche-y game-y chatter into the latest episode, take, whatever you want to call it of the podcast. Among the topics covered this time around:

• the impending release of the New 3DS in North America
• the episodic visual novel, Harvest December, that's being localized by the folks at Circle Entertainment
• the many Japanese 3DS, Vita and even PC titles that supposedly are being worked on (for Western audiences) by the folks at Xseed
• the plethora of Vita game announcements that followed the holidays (one of which was tied to an English release of Steins;Gate)

Oh, and during our "Cheerleading" section, Anne declares her love for Pikmin 3 (Wii U), while I do the same--to various degrees--for Coming Out on Top (Mac), Woah Dave! (3DS) and Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (also 3DS).

Speaking of which, look for me to expound on my feelings--both positive and negative--regarding The Lost Valley in a post that will be published tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out The Nichiest Podcast Ever 13 at radio.morningproject.com, if you dare.

(Almost) right on time, another episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever appears

Those of you who enjoy listening to shidoshi, Anne and I wax poetic on anything and everything related to niche-y games and systems may recall that I ended my last blog post about The Nichiest Podcast Ever with an announcement that we're aiming to make this sucker a monthly thing from here on out. (Or from here until whenever we quit doing it, I guess.)

Although we didn't quite meet that goal this month, we got pretty darn close. We're only a week late, after all.

Anyway, this episode, take, whatever you want to call it touches on a ton of niche-y titles, including the Brandish PSP remake that's supposedly coming to North America (via PSN) by the end of the year, Etrian Mystery Dungeon (3DS), Hatoful Boyfriend's second-quarter 2015 release for PS4 and Vita, Keita Takahashi’s (Katamari Damacy) new game, Rodea The Sky Soldier (3DS and Wii U), Suikoden II's long-awaited appearance on PSN, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (3DS) and Yakuza 5's just-announced localization.

During the much-loved "Cheerleading" segment, Anne discusses Monster Monpiece (Vita), I blather on about a curious Japanese 3DS eShop title known as Pinch 50 and shidoshi attests to the quality of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.

Oh, and before I forget: the three of us also spend a good amount of time at the start of this podcast chatting about the 10th anniversary of the DS' North American release and the 20th anniversary of the original PlayStation's Japanese launch. (Sadly, we completely forgot to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the PSP's emergence. Maybe we can belatedly cover that in our January "take"?)

Should all, or at least some, of the above sound like something you'd like to hear me, Anne and shidoshi talk about, head over to radio.morningproject.com at your convenience.

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gents--a new episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever is here

Can you believe it? The Nichiest Podcast Ever is back, and only four months have passed since its last episode appeared, fully formed, as from the head of Zeus (or something like that), on the World Wide Web.

OK, so four months actually is kind of a long time. Still, there have been far bigger gaps between Nichiest Podcast Ever recordings than that in the past, so I guess we (Anne, shidoshi and myself) shouldn't be too hard on ourselves.

Anyway, as is typically the case, the three of us cover the niche-gaming gamut in this particular 'cast. Among the topics of discussion: shidoshi's experience at this year's Tokyo Game Show, all of our impressions and opinions of the just-released (in some parts of the world) PlayStation TV and new 3DS systems and the miraculous appearance of Vib Ribbon on the North American PlayStation Store.

We also chat about Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse), Mini Metro, Fantasy Life, Bayonetta 2 and Banshee’s Last Cry, a Chunsoft-made "sound novel" that began life (in the mid-1990s) as a Japan-only title--for the Super Famicom, PlayStation and GameBoy Advance--but earned a worldwide iOS release earlier this year via Aksys Games. Can you guess which ones I personally talked up?

Should any of you want to give it a listen, you can do so via iTunes or radio.morningproject.com.

Also, some of you may be interested to hear that, moving forward, the three of us are looking to record a new episode on the first Tuesday of every month. Here's hoping we're actually able to stick with that plan.

See also: 'Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released its quirky 3DS eShop title, Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse), outside of Japan' and 'I've spent two weeks with Fantasy Life (3DS) and here's what I think of it so far'

The Gay Gamer x the Go For Rainbow podcast

In case you weren't already made aware via my Twitter account, the three-person crew--Laurie Banks, Jagger Gravning and Dutch Mogul--of the Go For Rainbow podcast invited me to join them for an episode a couple of weekends ago.

The resulting 'cast is now available for your listening pleasure, should you be the sort who enjoys such things.

One little nugget of information that may help sway a few of you in favor of listening to it is that it's less than an hour in length.

As for what the four of us chat about during our 58-minute tête-à-tête: for the first quarter we talk about my blog--what prompted me to start it back in 2007, what kinds of systems and games I've tended to blather on about in the ensuing seven-and-a-half years, that kind of thing.

After that, we dish on some of the games we're currently playing (or were playing at the time the recording was completed) before we move on to a rather lively discussion about difficulty in games.

Sound like a fun way to spend a smidge of your free time? If so, head over to goforrainbow.com at your earliest convenience and give it a listen.

All you need is Nichiest

Can you believe that shidoshi, Anne and I have gotten together and recorded two episodes of The Nichiest Podcast Ever in the last month? I sure can't.

The latest one is our 10th, by the way--which is pretty impressive ... until you're made aware of the fact that the first Nichiest Podcast Ever was published 24 months ago.

Anyway, we're doing our best to get things back on track. Just don't go expecting to hear our 11th one in the next three or four weeks, as Anne's traveling to Japan shortly (jealous!) and I believe she won't be back until mid-August.



In the meantime, I hope those of you who enjoy listening to gaming podcasts get a kick out of this one. We certainly had a blast recording it.

As for what's covered in this "take": we chatted about the many niche games that were announced at or around E3 2014, we talked about Tomodachi Life and the likelihood of its sequels allowing (or not) same-sex relationships, we discussed Anne's JRPG Community Game-Along (aka #JRPGJuly) and a whole lot more.

Should the above have piqued your interest, you can download or listen to the latest Nichiest Podcast Ever at radio.morningproject.com.

See also: previous posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

The reports of The Nichiest Podcast Ever's death have been greatly exaggerated, take two

The last time I published a post about The Nichiest Podcast Ever, it was late January. So, if you thought I might never write about it again, I can't really blame you.

Anyway, what do shidoshi, Anne and I cover in this particular episode of the podcast, our ninth? Well, we chat about what we’ve been doing in the months since we last recorded, we reminisce about tennis RPGs (yes, you read that correctly), we look into the big Harvest Moon shake-up, we discuss some of the niche games that were on tap for E3, we talk about the titles we’d most like to see announced at the show (one of which came true!), we go rogue in our re-titled segment "Harassment Squad & The Lone Cheerleader" (Hyperdimension Neptunia Producing Perfection, Tomodachi Life and Yoshi’s New Island) and we square off once again in "The Nichiest of Them All." Oh, and we read a letter sent in by a listener!

Should you want to check it out, you can do so by directing your favorite Internet browser to radio.morningproject.com.

And if you'd like to check out previous posts I've published about The Nichiest Podcast Ever, click here.

Oh, hey, it's another fresh-from-the-oven episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever

OK, so this episode of The Nichest Podcast Ever, our eighth, actually was pulled from the oven yesterday, it's still pretty fresh.

Anyway, a new episode. Yay! Assuming you like podcasts, I mean--and this one in particular.

What kind of ground do Anne, shidoshi and I cover this time around? Well, we begin by chatting about our "holiday halls" before moving onto the return of Wonder Momo (don't feel bad if that means nothing to you), the newly announced Senran Kagura and Persona 3DS and Vita sequels and spin-offs, the censorship (or not) of Bravely Default and Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder as well as Anne's Twitter-based #Falcomonth.

Finally, we grab our pompoms for that Nichiest highlight, the "Cheerleading" section. This time around we chant, bounce and shake our booties in support of Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. (That last one was my pick, by the way--and, yes, I know it isn't a very niche-y title. Sue me!)

Anyway, if you'd like to give it a listen, direct your favorite Internet browser to radio.morningproject.com as soon as time permits.

The reports of The Nichiest Podcast Ever's death have been greatly exaggerated

Considering Anne, shidoshi and I haven't gotten on the horn together since April, some of you may have started to believe the Nichiest Podcast Ever had been quietly put out to pasture, as the saying goes.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it's still alive and kicking--and not only that, but another episode (or "take") is ready for your listening pleasure.

We cover a lot of ground this time around, including the just-released Sweet Fuze: At Your Side for PSP, Sayonara Umihara Kawase for the 3DS and a ton of other niche-y Japanese games that have been announced for Western release in recent weeks. 

Oh, and of course we have another spirited discussion during the "Nichiest of Them All" segment, which finds Anne and shidoshi chatting about a pair of DS treasures (although some will obviously argue that designation) and me talking about a long-forgotten (for most) GameBoy title that features a beret-wearing penguin. 

Should you want to tune in after reading all of the above, please direct your favorite web browser to radio.morningproject.com at your earliest convenience. 

I just discovered Chunsoft's Homeland, and now I'm sad that it never left Japan

Actually, the header above isn't completely accurate, as I know I heard about Homeland in some form or fashion around the time of its 2005 release.

I'm pretty sure my interest in this import-only GameCube title quickly vanished after I heard it was an MMO, though, so let's just pretend that I wasn't introduced to it before this past weekend, when I heard British game developer Hayden Scott-Baron mention it while listening to a recent episode of the Chic Pixel Plus! podcast.



Unsurprisingly, Scott-Baron's chatter caused me to look up a gameplay video of the title (see above or here) and, man, does it look good. I'm especially fond of its art style, which recalls other quirky titles of the same era like Chulip and GiFTPiA.

So, I'm now on the lookout for a cheap-ish copy of this Chunsoft-crafted (another point in its favor, by the way) curiosity. Sure, I won't be able to understand much, if any, of it for some time to come, and I won't be able to check out its online multi-player mode (thankfully, it has an offline single-player mode, too), but it's hard to care too deeply about that when everything looks as charming as it does here.

My Chic Pixel Plus! debut

Sick to death of E3 2013 predictions? If not, you might want to check out episode three of Chic Pixel Plus! sometime this weekend, as hostess Anne Lee and I spend a good bit of time discussing the upcoming event during the just-uploaded podcast.

Don't worry, E3 2013 wasn't the only thing we chatted about while recording this episode of Chic Pixel Plus! We also spent some time talking about learning Japanese and about Anne's rapidly approaching trip to the erstwhile Land of the Rising Sun.

Would you believe the latter topic spurred us to talk about the games--both new and old--Anne's hoping to pick up while in Japan? I didn't think so.

Speaking of old games, the final segment of the podcast finds me attempting to sell Anne on a couple of retro Japanese consoles. Can you guess which ones?

Should all or even part of the above sound appealing, I'd highly recommend heading over to Anne's blog, Chic Pixel, and taking in episode three of the Chic Pixel Plus! podcast at your earliest convenience (preferably before E3 starts early next week).  

See also: posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever, another podcast that features both Anne and myself

Coming soon: me on the Chic Pixel Plus! podcast

Those of you who follow me on Twitter likely already know this, but here's a little heads up for the rest of you: last night Anne Lee and I recorded the third episode of her podcast, Chic Pixel Plus!

We discussed all kinds of fun stuff during our hour-and-a-half chat, although the majority of it focused on Japan--as in, why Anne and I decided to learn Japanese (I just started; Anne's been at it for years) and how Anne's planning to spend her time in the erstwhile Land of the Rising Sun when she and her husband travel there in just over a week.

While discussing Anne's upcoming trip, by the way, we spent quite a bit of time talking about some of the games--GameBoy Advance ones, especially--she's considering buying while perusing Osaka's main shopping district, "Den-Den Town."

Anne even challenged me to try to sell her on one of the many retro consoles she's sure to encounter while in Japan. Which one did I go with? The PC Engine, of course, although I also suggested she couldn't go wrong with the Famicom.

Anyway, according to Anne, this episode should be available--on her blog, Chic Pixel--sometime early next week. In the meantime, feel free to check out the first two episodes of her podcast here.

See also: posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

All-new Nichiest

If you're looking for something to do today (or even next week), you could do worse than listen to the latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

This "take" covers the gamut as far as niche-y and even not-so-niche-y games are concerned. PSP games like Sweet Fuse: At Your Side, Class of Heroes 2 and Black Rock Shooter are discussed this time around, for instance, as are 3DS games like Bravely Default, Fantasy Life and Sayonara Umihara Kawase.

Speaking of the 3DS, each of us whipped out our pom-poms in support of one of that system's many worth-playing titles during this show's "Cheer- leading" segment, with me hemming and hawing about HarmoKnight, Anne raving about Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and shidoshi gushing over Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers.

Anyway, to take in all of that fabulosity, direct your browsers over to radio.morningproject.com at your earliest convenience.