If Nintendo was right in keeping Lost Levels away from the NES, the unpredictable rise of speedrunning, what your favorite Mario character says about you, and questioning the truth of the familiar claim that SMB2 is "just" a reskin... I'm the W

#095 - "No Japanese Required" (Famicom)

Sep 18th, 2023 1h 54m

Your favorite imports you've never played and why they didn't come to the West in the first place, the differences between translation and localization, and why the Famicom isn't merely the "Japanese version of the NES"... this is MageCast X fe

#094 - "Welcome Back, Raven" (Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon)

Sep 4th, 2023 2h 48m

Catching up with a content creator from the Aloha State, finding an analogy for Hawaiian history in Armored Core, breaking down the assemblage of an AC, and how to interact with a game's difficulty positively... this is MageCast X feat. the Wel

#093 - "And All It Took Were Some Memes" (Quest 64)

Aug 21st, 2023 2h 26m

Seeking out new emotions from old favorites while avoiding the illusory oasis of "aging well", the point of 10-point scales and the average score, how sensationalist and hyperbolic headlines replaced inquisitive video game content, and asking w

#092 - "A Colossal Return" (Shadow of the Colossus)

Jul 25th, 2023 1h 49m

Nostalgia vs new experiences, improving upon a masterpiece, facing the colossi of grief, methods for dealing with loss, and asking if the hero is the hero of his own story... I'm the Well-Red Mage with CriterionX and this is MageCast X! Patreon

#091 - "New Game Plus" (MageCast X remake)

Jul 25th, 2023 1h 25m

Introducing MageCast X, the newly rebranded podcast! Meet returning host Moses aka the Well-Red Mage and Jared aka CriterionX as we start this new journey once again. Yes, the Cast of the Mage is back with more episodes, more guests, and more i

#090 - "Tears of the Dragon" (Breath of Fire II)

Sep 13th, 2022 2h 31m

Where to start with the Breath of Fire series, Katt vs Nina, populating township, the immense suffering and sadness of the dragon tears, and the formative experience of Capcom's darkly religious 16-bit classic... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this

#089 - "Back to Loc Lac" (Monster Hunter Tri)

Sep 5th, 2022 1h 30m

The innovations of Monster Hunter on the Wii, the challenge of underwater combat, restoring what was lost when the online servers went down, and the importance of game preservation... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. InusualZ f

#088 - "The Textual Revolution" (King's Quest)

Aug 29th, 2022 1h 25m

The key differences between adventure and role-playing games, tinkering with the Adventure Game Interactive engine, existing in a game world vs trying to beat it as quickly as possible, and how to make classic adventure games cool again... I'm

#087 - "Jurassic World of Warcraft" (Total War: Warhammer II)

Aug 9th, 2022 2h 2m

Tabletop wargaming in the 90s, the difference between strategy and tactics, macromanaging and micromanaging for the uninitiated, and how to rise up lights in Australia... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. @KhaylAdam!Joypad Lad p

#086 - "Wanna Take You For A Ride" (Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes)

Jul 26th, 2022 2h 21m

American, Japanese, and Australian arcades, #FreeMvC2, the best characters not in the game, the death of 2D AAA animation, and why more fighters need a color edit mode... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. David Giltinan!Joypad L

#085 - "Channel-6 Player Melee in Manhattan" (TMNT: Shredder's Revenge)

Jul 18th, 2022 1h 54m

The lasting appeal of the TMNT, the original voice cast for the 4 shell-heads, the turtles as personality archetypes, and how to nail retro authenticity without being tempted to subvert expectations... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAS

#084 - "Simon SNEZ" (Super Castlevania IV)

Jul 5th, 2022 1h 45m

The dark lord of censorship and the puritanical cultural movement fueling it, what makes a game a horror game, fake Castlevania titles, the future of Castlevania, and so much delicious Mode 7... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat.

#083 - "An Introvert's Guide to Geology, Dating, and Horticulture" (Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town)

Jun 26th, 2022 2h 7m

The idealized work of video games contrasted with the manual labor of real life, the value and practicality of play, the very first farm sim, and how casual is not a dirty word ... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. JR Sommerfeld

#082 - "You're Gonna Need A Bigger Podcast" (Jaws)

Jun 14th, 2022 1h 57m

A randomized single-screen permadeath shmup roguelike with a stalker enemy, top-down overworld, and RPG elements, speedrunning and shark week, fishing games and horror movies, and the odd surprise of an LJN game that's better than the movie it'

#081 - "Hayao Miyazaki's Legend of Zelda" (Crystalis)

May 31st, 2022 2h 1m

Oppenheimer, the Cold War, the Bomb, and Crystalis, a hidden gem or cult classic? Plus learning to forgive the negative qualities of retro games chalked up to their contextual limitations while holding them accountable for bad design decisions.

#080 - "Do the Mario" (Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix)

May 23rd, 2022 1h 50m

How Dance Dance Revolution lived and died on home consoles, how classical music actually fits the Marioverse, and how to think of rhythm games as timing-based games if you're not so musically inclined... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE C

#079 - "Finger Prince" (Elden Ring)

May 16th, 2022 2h 6m

Navigating the swamps of difficulty discussion, inspirations behind FromSoft's latest going all the way back to the NES, two very different approaches to designing an open world, and the benefit of letting a new game experience sit and relax li

#078 - "Super Mario's Second Family" (The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening)

May 3rd, 2022 1h 43m

We are the music makers but are you the dreamer or merely part of someone else's dream...? I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. Chris Osborne of Play Comics podcast!Promo code: RED10PatreonJoin BuzzsproutJoin our DiscordTwitchTeePu

#077 - "A Lynx to the Past" (Radical Dreamers)

Apr 25th, 2022 1h 17m

A chronological interpretation of the Chrono series in earnest pursuit of Magus and Schala, a deep dive into the lore of Cross and Trigger, and how the direct cause and effect of Radical Dreamers still remains relevant to the series today... I'

#076 - "Ted Sephiroth" (Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin)

Apr 11th, 2022 2h 16m

Nomura's Big Reveal, a Final Fantasy multiverse, how to hijack a creative project with bad marketing, how to love an experience whilst acknowledging its flaws, and *sigh* Anakin Skywalker... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. Jul

#075 - "Abzulutely not a Swimulator" (Abzu)

Mar 28th, 2022 2h 2m

What is a game? What is play? Join me as we explore these questions, discovering the myths of Abzu, the identity of the Diver, walking simulators and environmental storytelling, plus the Hawaiian state fish... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is

#074 - "Games On Consoles Deader Than Uncle Ben" (Spider-Man)

Mar 22nd, 2022 2h 14m

The uniqueness of Spider-Man as a character, the difficulty adapting him to games, the Uncle Ben storytelling trope, an overview of more Spidey games than you can shake a web cartridge at, choosing between Tobey, Andrew, and Tom, and what IS re

#073 - "Hell March Madness" (Command & Conquer: Red Alert)

Mar 7th, 2022 1h 28m

War as entertainment, time travel in video games, winking at the camera, love for the underappreciated RTS genre, and the lost or maybe not so lost art of the FMV... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. John aka Sector 6!Promo code

#072 - "The Divine Absurdity" (Final Fantasy VI)

Feb 21st, 2022 2h 17m

The cinematic language of 16-bit RPGs, the lost art of character development, Nobuo Uematsu's favorite works, and why Jaws doesn't need a backstory... I'm the Well-Red Mage and this is MAGE CAST feat. actor, filmmaker, martial artist, streamer,