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PODCAST

Podouken

A PODCAST FOR ARCADE LOVERS. From the owners of 100+ arcade and pinball cabinets, and the proprietors of a real-life arcade comes PODOUKEN, a brand new podcast that takes a deep dive into the world of video arcade games, and explores the history, story, strategy, art, music, restoration, preservation and fun of arcade games.

games & hobbies video games

All Episodes

01:42:57

Chunithm - Episode 149

Podouken ·

2025/10/08

Sega is no stranger to the arcade rhythm games but they really hit their stride with their Performai series of games. So scan your Aime card, select your song, and let’s play the game that literally translates to “pre-teen kids who think they’re cooler than they are playing a rhythm game” - Chunithm. What is it about Chunithm that makes it so addictive? Do you really need gloves to play? Was Adam a part of any other bands? Why does Chunithm have a penguin mascot? We teach our co-hosts about a

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01:48:44

Guitar Hero Arcade - Episode 148

Podouken ·

2025/09/24

This “Behind the Music” is an 8-part retrospective of the biggest rhythm game franchise to ever hit the States (and the reason so many of us still have plastic guitars stashed in our hall closets). Featuring opening acts Harmonix and Red Octane, and headliner trio that gave us Guitar Hero Arcade - Activision, Konami, and Raw Thrills What is the musical instrument-based peripheral you never got but always wanted in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game? Could we see a reunion tour of Geriatric Drive-by in

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01:39:07

Taiko No Tatsujin - Episode 147

Podouken ·

2025/09/10

Namco set out to create a super popular rhythm game and accidentally created the most popular mascots since Pac-Man. Don-chan and Katsu-chan are unavoidable as we talk about the extremely popular in the East but largely ignored in the West drum game, Taiko No Tatsujin! Why was this game never released in the U.S. until now? How did an instrument mishap lead to the most embarrassing moment of young Rob’s life? Is every arcade game released after the year 2000 just a Playstation in disguise? How did

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01:30:10

Jubeat - Episode 146

Podouken ·

2025/08/27

Finally a rhythm game that is unlikely to give you a cardiac arrest. We explore the often mispronounced (hint: the “j” is silent) BEMANI hit that is DDR for your fingers, jubeat! What is the magic behind this geometric anomaly of an arcade game? Is Scatman or Y.M.C.A. the most beloved of all western songs by Japanese game developers? How hard is it to get a jubeat in the States? Does everyone want a Dance 86.4 Funky Radio Station now? This episode we answer questions about what hobbies we’d pursue

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02:47:26

Dance Dance Revolution - Episode 145

Podouken ·

2025/08/13

This miniseries is all about rhythm - rhythm games, that is. We recognize that three middle-aged white guys may not be the best option to talk about this episode’s game so we asked local (and international) legends Chris Austin and Leon Brunson to give us an insight into the strategy, gameplay, and tournament scene of Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution. What kind of hardware do Leon and Chris (literally) bring to the table? How many times have we moved Adam’s DDR? What ever happened to Toshiba? Did we

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01:56:06

The House Of The Dead 2 - Episode 143

Podouken ·

2025/07/02

It’s the last featured episode of the Light Gun series! The portal to carnage opens again as we dig up arguably Sega’s best light gun series - and arguably the best game in the series - with The House of the Dead 2. When will G-nome Theory be touring next? How did the AM1 team’s demand for more time to work on the sequel lead to a hardware upgrade? Will you suffer like G did with some of the rabbit holes we go down in this episode? Do you remember where you were on 9/9/99? Want to know about

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01:40:02

Time Crisis - Episode 140

Podouken ·

2025/05/21

ACTION! We put the pedal to the metal in our light gun miniseries with Namco’s Time Crisis. Seek cover as we explore the entire series starting with V.S.S.E. agent Richard Miller and ending with whatever Time Crisis 5 was. Did Namco’s attempt to top Sega’s Virtua Cop succeed? Is Time Crisis 2 the most complete light gun game experience? What are the most addictive roguelikes? Does Wild Dog, leader of Wild Dog, own a wild dog? With the Krispy Kreme/Pac-Man donut partnership it seems like a good

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02:24:01

The House Of The Dead - Episode 138

Podouken ·

2025/04/23

Step into the rotting halls of Curien Mansion, where bullets fly and the undead just won’t stay down. With cinematic flair, branching paths, and enemies that lurch ever closer, this horror-themed arcade shooter became one of the best in the light gun genre. Welcome to Sega’s The House of the Dead. How did a broom help bring a terrifying boss to life? What are the worst words used in place of “zombies”? Why didn’t they check the barn for Sophia at the beginning of the season? How did this

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02:24:45

Area 51 - Episode 137

Podouken ·

2025/04/09

We draw on a new miniseries that is all about light gun games. And we start with getting to the truth behind the biggest conspiracy of them all: Area 51. How did this game save Atari Games (at least temporarily)? Was every CiCi’s Pizza contractually obligated to have an Area 51 game in their arcade? How did a bodybuilder from a theme park and a model next door neighbor become arcade icons? What do we actually believe is in Area 51. We answer questions about the origins of Arcade Obscura and get

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02:19:49

Crime Fighters / Vendetta - Episode 130

Podouken ·

2024/12/04

Are you tough enough to take on the sleaziest underground characters imaginable in order to rescue several beautiful girls? That’s not us asking. That’s Konami trying to entice arcade goers to play their first four-player beat ‘em up (and largely failing). We take the humanic weapons out for a spin in the largely forgotten Crime Fighters and its vastly improved sequel Vendetta. How did Crime Fighters lay the groundwork for Konami’s much more successful games? Who thought it was a good idea to

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02:18:24

Gauntlet - Episode 129

Podouken ·

2024/11/20

Welcome to Podouken - formerly an arcade history podcast, now rebranded as one of the vast multitudes of D&D podcasts. Let’s roll a d20, hope that our history modifiers are high, and talk about Atari Games’ four player hack ‘n slash, Gauntlet. How did a game about Dungeons & Dragons inspire this game about Dungeons & Dragons? Is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (or M.O.M.) a good movie? Do focus groups provide anything of value? Why did we wait 128 episodes to discuss four player beat

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01:53:14

Virtua Tennis - Episode 127

Podouken ·

2024/10/23

Are you the best tennist? Well then, slap on your Citizen watch, drink a fresh bottle of Evian, and prove it on Sega’s virtua carpet courts against tennis legends like Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Mark Phillipoussis. Lets Power Smash it with Virtua Tennis! Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world? Should we have a Real Arcade Wives of Podouken episode? What are our controversial takes on Pickleball and will those takes alienate some of our listeners? Our questions this episode include some

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01:44:21

Ninja Baseball Bat Man - Episode 126

Podouken ·

2024/10/09

It was the best Batman game in arcades. It may have been the best baseball game in the arcades. It wasn’t the best Ninja game in arcades but two out of three ain’t bad. For the first episode of our Listeners’ Choice (part 5) miniseries (and our 5th year anniversary episode) we’re going to discuss the most known unknown game out there - Irem’s Ninja Baseball Bat Man. How did this intoxicating combination of words come to be (and why is it so irresistible to say out loud)? Which of Mr. SNK’s kids had

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01:33:55

Space Ace - Episode 124

Podouken ·

2024/07/31

Defender of justice, truth, and the planet Earth. Ace is being attacked by the evil Commander Borf. Struggle with Dexter to regain his manhood. Destroy the Infanto-Ray. Defeat the evil Borf. Be valiant, space warrior, the fate of Earth is in your hands in the Don Bluth animated, RDI programmed, and Cinematronics produced Space Ace! Is Space Ace the best laserdisc arcade game? What The Simpsons voice actor first lent her voice to one of the game’s characters? Who is “the strongest man… in the

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01:30:58

Cliff Hanger - Episode 123

Podouken ·

2024/07/17

So you’re telling me there was a LaserDisc arcade game… made by popular pinball manufacturer Stern… in 1983… featuring the film directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki… based on the popular Lupin the III anime… called Cliff Hanger… that is not related to the Sylvester Stallone movie? Yes we are, and we’re going to talk all about it in this episode. Will Count Dreyco strike the first blow? Will the princess be forced to marry someone she can’t stand? Will Cliff get stuck in a trapdoor for the rest of

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02:33:34

Neo Geo 1996 - Episode 118

Podouken ·

2024/05/01

It’s 1996 - maybe the best year ever - where we got the Macarena (plus some actual good music), “draw me like one of your French girls'' entered the popular vernacular, and the worst console controller was released. It also might have also been the best Neo Geo release year as we show with our 4 slot selections of Neo Mr. Do!, Neo Drift Out: New Technology, Twinkle Star Sprites, and Ghostlop (AKA Ikaruga JezzBall). What Nintendo console is our favorite? How do we identify the difference between

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02:13:26

Neo Geo 1995 - Episode 117

Podouken ·

2024/04/17

Travel back to the year 1995 when we all found out who shot Mr. Burns, Apollo 13 came out so that all future movie trailers can use James Horner’s music for their dramatic themes, and Calvin & Hobbes sled off into the snow one final time. Reminisce as the Podouken crew assembles their Neo Geo 4 slot with their picks of 1995 with Savage Reign, Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash, Pulstar, and Puzzle de Pon! Why are this year’s MVS releases an attack of the clones? How did this episode become so…

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01:41:15

Arcade Obscura (Beast Mode) - Episode 115

Podouken ·

2024/03/20

It was fun while it lasted but it’s time to retire the Beast Mode miniseries in the best way possible - with an Arcade Obscura! Each host brings their pick of an obscure or underrated arcade game that (mostly) fits the theme. What obscure arcade game is so divisive it has Rob yelling into the microphone? How does Adam take the purest sport in the world today, and Texas’s national pastime, and turn it into some kind of game?! Did Jarrod once again subvert the miniseries rules with his game

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02:19:33

Joust - Episode 113

Podouken ·

2024/02/21

Hear ye, hear ye! His Majesty King Williams invites you to witness the magnificent tournament in ye Land of Molten Magma and Stoned Clouds where brave knights shalt ride their bird and shalt fight with lance. It is long past time to talk about one of the best arcade games ever made… Joust! Who are you playing as in this game? How did the popular ‘Fire’ button get replaced with another four-letter ‘F’ word? What is the “Rob Throb” (and why should we never talk about it again)? How many Joust

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01:41:43

Trog - Episode 112

Podouken ·

2024/02/07

Long, long ago in the land of Og there lived a one-eyed caveman by the name of Trog, and in that land there lived four friends: Rex and Bloop, Spike and Gwen. Let’s control some colorful claymation dinos and grab some eggs in Bally/Midway’s Trog - in PLAYmation! Why was the original game much different than the Trog that we got? Exactly who’s cloaca did all these eggs come from? Is this the first arcade game to use claymation? What comic strip character did Jack Haeger base the titular character

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133 results

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