Nintendo Cartridge Society

With a little less frustration and little less timeliness, Patrick and Mark chat about the second third of the Legend of Zelda. Your hosts realize it’s easier to play this game like it’s Breath of the Wild than like it’s Bloodborne. Maybe chess is the better is the better analogy… Plus, sometimes you collect 100 rupees, and sometimes you have to pay 30 rupees to fix a strange man’s bush-door.

There are lots of great games on the Wii U that will probably be orphaned on the system forever, and Patrick and Mark want to play them! This week they dive into Retro’s Donkey Kong Country Returns Tropical Freeze, which in turn sparks a lively conversation about the game’s excellent soundtrack. Plus, Breath of the Wild impressions, some fighting game love inspired by King of Fighters ‘94, and a furtive plea for help understanding Sonic the Hedgehog.

Patrick’s parents are in town, so he’s putting them on mic! Lyle and Jeanne go hands on with the Switch and give their impressions. Plus, Patrick and Mark are slowly making their way through Breath of the Wild (no spoilers, duh) and totally missed that six Neo Geo games came to the Switch last week. They’re dumb! (But you already knew that.) This episode is brought to you by MackWeldon.com - enter promo code “NINTENDO” at checkout to get 20% off your order.

Don’t smoke in front of the Dodongo! Turns out those first three levels don’t take quite as long to finish as we originally thought. How are the original Legend of Zelda and Breath of the Wild similar? Well, we die a lot - that’s for sure. With a lack of olfactory clues, Patrick and Mark refer to a map to find all the heart containers! (Also, look, we know we said we’re beating the game next time: really we’re just playing through Level 6.)

At long last, both Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are in our lives, and Patrick and Mark can't wait to talk about it. Plus, high praise for Snipperclips and Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment (notice the absence of 1-2 Switch), and a breakdown of the Nindie Showcase.

Patrick and Mark are joined by comedian and podcaster Ryan Mogge for a flashback to 1989’s “The Wizard.” It’s not just a feature length Nintendo commercial! Plus, the Switch comes out on Friday and there's a deluge of new releases. What a time to be alive! (Check out Ryan’s excellent Buffy the Vampire Slayer podcast “Hellmouthy” on the Nerdist School Network.)

Your hosts are making up for their past mistakes and picking a game that they actually want to play! (So long, Metroid: Other M!) Before they get started, the boys talk about the place this series holds in their collective heart(piece)s. Parenthetical jokes aside, prepare to join your NCS hosts as they play the OG Zelda!

This week, Patrick and Mark dive deep into the music in the menus of Nintendo’s consoles and games, and surface with some real gems. Plus, Switch consoles are out in the wild, Breath of the Wild DLC is announced, and a gentle plea for Nintendo to stop announcing news on Tuesdays.

Who is the deleter? What is MB? Didn’t I fight this boss already? All those questions and more are asked and (partially) answered as Patrick and Mark reflect on the final cut-scene-heavy hours of Metroid: Other M.

With 1-2-Switch on the horizon, Patrick Patrick and Mark Mark reminisce about the sometimes goofy, sometimes ugly history of Nintendo’s mini-game collections. Plus, they get pumped up for the Splatoon 2 Testfire and don’t know what to make of the grimdark tone of Netflix’s new Castlevania animated series.

Power has been nice! Any objections, Adam? Patrick and Mark fought Ridley, which means there’s all kinds of crazy stuff to talk about. Clones? Goo? Evolution? Plus: the Nightmare. Two good bosses! Both less chaotic and more exciting than anything that has come before. Plus, a spirited debate about how to responsibly dispose of waste in outer space!

Gird your loins and prepare for battle! Patrick and Mark take to the fields of war and test the mettle of Nintendo’s latest mobile offering: Fire Emblem Heroes. A little drop of rain can hardly hurt them now!

Patrick and Mark do their best to not make too many Borat jokes as they discuss their favorite boss fight in game so far. (Very nice!) They realize that one of the game’s primarily mechanics is failure, which is deeply depressing. Instead of solving puzzles, you just need to fail at it. Daddy didn’t say you could solve the puzzle!

Patrick and Mark get off to a real mistake-o-rama start, but then it’s all strawberry nerds as they catch up on Nintendo news from the past week. Later, it’s the final installment in their epic, three-part Hardware Round-Up. They tackle what went so, so right and what went so, so wrong with the Wii, 3DS and Wii U.

Don’t worry - now that you’ve been burning for a solid 30 minutes, Patrick and Mark give you permission to enable your heat armor. AREN’T THEY KIND? Your hosts debate what is real and what is artificial on this space station. Trees? Simulated. Volcanos? Probably real! And - is it possible that it’s the combat that ruins this combat-focused action game?

After last week’s Fire Emblem Direct, Patrick and Mark ponder the question “hey, what’s up with Fire Emblem?” Plus, a round-up of the latest Switch news (Shovel Knight! I Am Setsuna! A second Legend of Zelda!??!). Oh, and they totally saw Split. No spoilers.

Patrick and Mark have some fun trying to figure out what they’re supposed to be calling these Galactic Federation dudes. Marines? Recruits? Never mind, they’ll just use first names. Your hosts demand sass-tisfaction as the action elements of the game quickly overshadow the atmospheric and storytelling portions. Also, how many times can you describe a creature in this game by combining two other animals? (1) Chocobo-Pikachu (2) Spider Ent (3) Flying Jellyfish with Fangs (4) probably others...

The blessed Day of Pre-order is upon us! Nintendo’s big Switch presentation was last week and Patrick and Mark are here to break down the good, the bad and the awkward. Plus, the thrilling conclusion to the million-dollar bet.

(Listen to part two after you defeat the worm bosses in Sector 1). Join your brain-fried hosts as they try to process the first hour-and-a-half of Metroid: Other M. Confession time: Patrick and Mark don’t enjoy it. But, it’s the early-going, and the experience has mostly been marred by the now-infamous crappy cut scenes. Patrick and Mark struggle, but they do find (at least one) good thing to say about it.

With the Switch presentation fast approaching, Patrick and Mark have one last shot at predicting EVERYTHING about Nintendo’s new system. The stakes? A million dollars. The predictions? Ranging from obvious to outrageous! Plus, a listener email prompts a discussion about impossible game mechanics.