Cheerful Ghost Radio

Cheerful Ghost Radio Mini-Episode: Justin Baldwin "Wild at Heart" Interview

Recently Cheerful Ghost went to an event put on by local PDX indie game developers Moonlight Kids showing off their upcoming game The Wild at Heart. Justin Baldwin was awesome enough to talk to us about the game and their upcoming show at Double Fine’s Day of the Devs convention!

Check out more about Moonlight Kids and The Wild at Heart here: https://www.moonlightkids.co/wild-at-heart

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 39: Will Nintendo Flip Another Switch?

Rumor has it that Nintendo is working on a new version of the Switch! Red Dead Redemption 2 takes nearly 100gb of hard drive space on your console! We played and watch some things! Come listen as we talk about all of this fun stuff.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 38 : Ghosts 'n Goblins Halloween Spooktacular!

In this extra spooky episode, we played Ghosts 'n Goblins and were haunted by the experience!

Ghosts 'n Goblins is a brutally difficult action platformer on the NES and NES Classic that has delighted and tormented people for decades. It spawned a sequel on the SNES, two spin-off series, and a few thousand broken controllers probably.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Mini-Episode: Cheerful Ghost at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo

In this episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, Adam and Jon are on the floor at PRGE talking about all the fun they're having while Tim and Travis sit at home and wish they were there.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 37: Disenchantment

In this episode, we talk all about Matt Groening's new Netflix series, Disenchantment, and whether we think it lives up to the standard of The Simpsons and Futurama. But first we discuss what we've been playing and watching over the last month and discuss games that might not need sequels (thanks to @noigelarcane on Twitter for the idea).

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 36: Hold the Dark

Netflix is on fire lately, releasing new movies and shows at light speed. Recently they released Hold the Dark, by Jeremy Saulnier (director of Blue Ruin and The Green Room) and in this episode Jon and Travis give their reviews and talk about some of the fan reaction. If your hyper-specific Netflix categories suggest that you watch dark, slower paced, mysterious, cerebral movies, check out Hold the Dark and then come check out the episode!

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 35: Infinity War Review, Part 2

In the newest episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio yet, we talk about the home release of Avengers: Infinity War, how our thoughts have changed since we saw it in the theater, and the extra stuff on the Blu-Ray.

But because it's us, and we love talking about Star Wars... we talk about Star Wars first.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 34: What Makes a Good Game Sequel?

In this episode we ponder what makes a good game sequel. This started as a conversation between Jon and Travis and as we discussed and debated sequels we decided this would be the perfect topic for an episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio! Have a listen and let us know what you think: what makes a good sequel, and what are some of your favorites?

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 33: Kirby's Adventure

Travis gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Travis gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

In this episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, we're talking all about Kirby's Adventure!

Kirby's Adventure was the sequel to Kirby's Dream Land, and is the first game to introduce Kirby's copy ability. It was developed by Hal Laboratory in 1993, late in the lifespan of the NES. Come check out our thoughts on the game and the legacy of the Kirby series in this pink and puffy episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio!

In season two of Cheerful Ghost Radio we are doing bite-sized NES Classic review episodes. We want to make you all part of these episodes, so if you want to join in the fun, head here and join in the event for next month's NES Classic review, Metroid!

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AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 09/04/2018 at 02:02pm

Another fun episode!

I'll answer your last question first before talking about Kirby and the review. I love that you're going through these NES Classic games. I don't think there's many "great" games on it, but it's been fun listening to you talk about all these old games, and it's basically a curated list for you, by Nintendo. I doubt many of these games would ever make a CGR podcast, but I'm enjoying the conversation around them.

That somewhat ties into this point about the ratings you guys have been giving the NES Classic games. First, I want to say that this is a critique on your scores, but I'm not lobbying you to change your scores. Everyone has their own reasons for scoring the way they do, and all of your reasons are just as legitimate as my own reasons. BUT, I've noticed that "historical significance" (or something along those lines) often seems to bump a game from one rating to the next. I have often heard the phrase "because of the historical significance of this game, I'm going to rate it _______". Again, all reasons are equally valid, but, it seems like these games are often recommended not because they're good games, but more so because they were popular games in the past. I should give Kirby a "Meh" because it's an ok game, but not one I'd ever recommend a friend to out and buy. And I can read an article (or listen to a podcast) to find out about the historical significance. BUT, I'm not everyone. I am sure there are people out there that do want to play historically significant games, even when they're not great, so your recommendations for those people are great. I do appreciate the context you give to your scores. Just something I've noticed on most of the Classic games. Hopefully 5his doesn't read too harshly; it's meant more as an observation and opinion than a criticism :)

Playing through Kirby, you're super correct that he's overpowered lol. The first time I played it, I just flew until I got to the tree boss. It took forever and I thought "Well, this is a super boring game!" Lol. But, I've recently put some more time into it, and learned the copy command, and it definitely was more fun playing it "properly." Not super challenging, but a decent game to try, since I have the NES Classic. Like I said before, it's only a "Meh" score for me though. (Oh, one last thing, and I'm on my phone, so I'm just typing here, rather than scrolling back before my eating lol. The controls are much better than a lot of NES classic games, but Up making Kirby fly was super annoying for me at the end of levels, trying to leave through the door, and not being in just the right space, so I fly away from it lol)

(And I'm looking forward to that Disenchantment discussion lol. I've only gotten through 5 or so episodes myself and haven't found a reason to go back)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2018 at 02:20pm

Hmm you make good points. I’d give this one a Must Play regardless of the historical significance because of the fun and polish. When I do use that as a deciding factor I’ll usually give two scores for it. But I think as a reason to play a game it is definitely a factor. It would be for me. I feel like the people who would seek out an episode about classic NES games would be more likely to care about that history.

And historical significance is the only saving grace for Ice Climber 😂

But I kinda agree with your last parenthetical. I think we are also 5 episodes in and I haven’t felt the drive to finish them. It’s not a bad show, don’t get me wrong. There’s humor and charm there but ... there are funnier things to watch.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2018 at 02:26pm

And also yeah, having ⬆️ be the float button took some getting used to. I’m used to games where you can float having that mapped to holding the jump button (and I think later Kirby games added this).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2018 at 03:56pm

Actually I take back what I said in my first reply. I wouldn’t give Kirby’s Adventure a Must Play without the historical significance. A high Rad, but there’s enough to pull it down if you don’t take that into account.

But I do stand by considering it as part of the reasoning. I want to play a lot of these games but i wouldn’t without the historical reasons.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2018 at 04:49pm

If you have a NES Classic, I think playing all of the games makes sense to me because they are all a piece of history. I'm not sure I recommend anyone go out and buy one if they don't care about that sort of thing.

Thanks for the comments, trying to keep these reviews fresh is something I think about quite a bit! Next time i'll recommend someone play the game based on the box art alone!

10/10 Metroid art is better than new game art therefore MUST PLAY

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 09/04/2018 at 06:14pm

Some sort of Metroid guide better be a Must Read then lol

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 09/04/2018 at 06:15pm

And I totally get adding in the historical significance. I'm glad you at least state that that's part of the score :)

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 09/04/2018 at 06:54pm

Also, if anyone hasn't played Metroid, it would be interesting getting an opinion of someone who doesn't look up any tips online!

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2018 at 07:31pm

I read it out of a book. Does that count?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2018 at 09:41pm

I have barely played the original. I remember nothing from it. I wonder if I'd be able to get very far without looking things up.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2018 at 10:40pm

Ha. Yeah, good luck.

You can map it but even so it's fairly hard. Knowing where to go help me out a lot.

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Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 32: Kid Icarus

In this episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, we play Kid Icarus!

In Kid Icarus you play as Pit, and you're tasked with finding three treasures to save Angel Land and its queen, Palutena. Kid Icarus is a mash up of many styles of gameplay, but mostly action platformer. It's bizarre and pretty tricky, and has become a cult classic over the years. Come be a part of Cheerful Ghost Radio by discussing Kid Icarus with us!

In season two of Cheerful Ghost Radio we are doing bite-sized NES Classic review episodes. We want to make you all part of these episodes, so if you want to join in the fun, head here and join in the event for next month's NES Classic review, Metroid!

... Read All