Question Of The Week [October 23rd 2024]

Q: What Is Your Favorite Retro Game?

A: This one is actually kinda hard for me. I spend a ton of time (especially on Retro Game Nights in the stream) playing a ton of retro games. One that I continue to think about, and the one that sparked this question was when I was building the new studio, and listening to the Game Of The Year Podcast for 2019. The new Toejam and Earl game came out, and I was gushing over it (it was my favorite game in 2019 after all). So, when I think back to playing the original Toejam and Earl for the Sega Genesis. I have a ton of fond memories.

For those who have no clue what Toejam and Earl is. They are two funky aliens from the planet Funkotron and their spaceship crash lands on Earth. It’s up to them to find their spaceship parts on various levels and fix their ship. The game is a multiplayer Co-Op experience, and it’s one of the best and my favorite “chill out” games.

The funky beats keep the atmosphere chill and you easily can groove along to the game for hours. It also uses randomized prefabricated parts to make the levels always new and interesting every time you play. It’s a very early “rouge-like” predecessor. The randomization keeps going with the main mechanic of presents. Picking up various presents and either selecting one to open and see what it does, or using money you get throughout the game, to have a “wise man” (which is just a dude in a carrot suit) tell you what the present does.

It’s a great game for friends, and easily one that I constantly look at and think about as a “yeah, I should just play that! There was a sequel on the Sega Genesis, and then a third game on the original Xbox (originally supposed to be on the Dreamcast). Then in 2019, a soft reboot came out and basically combined all three games into a modern day remake of the 1st game with elements from 2 and 3. I recommend it to anyone who wants a fun single/multiplayer co-op experience that focuses more of fun and good times than one that is supposed to be “hard as nails” retro.