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Tales from the Backlog

Tales from the Backlog

By: Dave Jackson
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About this listen

 A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests break down and discuss the games they play. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects, with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.© 2025 Tube Podcast Network Science Fiction
Episodes
  • 181: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (with Ty Schalter)

    181: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (with Ty Schalter)
    Sep 3 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/V3ZHz3vYQR Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Everybody has that game they played a hundred times as a kid and therefore can't be objective about anymore, and for us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is NOT one of those! Both my guest Ty and I both tried the game at various points, but never quite got on with it. The podcast has now given us a chance to revisit Nintendo's landmark title and give it the deep dive treatment- so listen in to find out how we felt this time! Guest info: Ty Schalter (he/him) * Check out FunFactor podcast http://www.funfactorpod.com!/ * Follow Ty on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/tyschalter.com TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:15 Intros * 6:03 Our Histories with Zelda and A Link to the Past * 10:59 Opening Thoughts About A Link to the Past * 18:11 Story Setup * 27:58 Visuals * 31:59 World/Map Design * 35:44 Music * 47:13 Combat * 58:41 Difficulty Curve, Exploration and Secrets * 1:10:00 "The Zelda Formula" * 1:18:41 Dungeons * 1:23:23 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations * 1:38:37 FunFactor Podcast and Ty's Work Online * 1:45:24 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-You's * 1:47:49 Spoiler Section Music used in the episode: Title, File Select, Opening Demo, Hyrule Castle, Dark World, Kakariko Village, Ending Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures
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    2 hrs and 38 mins
  • 180: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (with Erik - Pages of Play)

    180: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (with Erik - Pages of Play)
    Aug 27 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/V3ZHz3vYQR Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (Don't Nod, 2023) represents a different type of game that Don't Nod has been making alongside their popular choice-based narrative games like Life is Strange and Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. With 2018's Vampyr, Don't Nod took a swing a narrative, decisions-matter action RPG, and while I liked Vampyr a lot, the decisions-matter part of it left a lot to be desired. Five years later, they took another swing at that type of game with Banishers, and really righted that specific area. Decisions matter in Banishers in a way they don't matter in most games, and it led to one of the most effective stories I've played in a while. Guest info: Erik (he/him) * Listen to Pages of Play podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pages-of-play/id1755937349 * Check out Erik's written work on So Many Games https://somanygames.co.uk/ TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:32 Intros * 5:03 Histories with Don't Nod and Banishers * 8:29 Opening Thoughts * 16:22 Story/World Setup and Characters * 28:43 Inciting Plot Event and Choice/Morality System * 37:51 Tough Choices * 48:02 Presentation and Side Quest Writing * 59:00 Combat * 1:13:37 World Design and Vibes * 1:22:50 Boss Fights * 1:27:20 Recommendations * 1:30:20 Pages of Play Podcast * 1:36:38 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-Yous * 1:38:06 Spoiler Section- Side Stories Tying Into the Main Story * 2:17:10 Spoiler Section- The Nightmare * 2:32:08 Spoiler Section- Endings Music used in the episode is credited to Trevor Morris. Tracks used: Main Menu, The Harrows, Intimate Moment- Harmony Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures
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    2 hrs and 50 mins
  • 179: Blue Prince (with Jenny Windom)

    179: Blue Prince (with Jenny Windom)
    Aug 20 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/V3ZHz3vYQR Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson You know a game is good when it kicks off a new round of discourse about genre names, right? Regardless, Blue Prince (Dogubomb, 2025) is the latest hit in a type of knowledge-is-power game that is really appealing to certain types of gamers. The only difference is that we seem to fully know the full depths of previous games like Animal Well, Outer Wilds, Fez, Tunic, etc....but nobody knows how deep Blue Prince goes. It's also rich with interesting design choices and contradictions, more story than meets the eye, a lowkey amazingly good soundtrack and more. Tune in for the discussion! Guest info: Jenny Windom * Check out the Geeks & Grounds game club podcast https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/ * Check out Wholesome Games https://wholesomegames.com/ * Check out Wanderstop https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299460/Wanderstop/ * Check out Jenny on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/kimchica * Check out Jenny on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/kimchica TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:28 Intros * 5:23 Personal Histories with Blue Prince * 8:50 Opening Thoughts About Blue Prince * 15:40 Story Setup and Top Level Thoughts * 17:59 Note-taking and Organization * 25:44 Drafting Mechanic, Goal Setting and Randomness * 42:55 Getting Better at Blue Prince * 47:52 "This Game Doesn't Respect My Time" * 53:28 You Said This Was a Puzzle Game * 1:03:59 Art and Music * 1:15:04 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations * 1:18:49 Geeks & Grounds, Wholesome Games * 1:25:50 SPOILER WALL/Patron Thank-You's * 1:28:00 Spoiler Section- Discoveries and the Quest for Room 46! * 2:16:00 Spoiler Section- How Deep Does This Go? and The Story, As We Know It Music used in the episode is credited to Trigg & Gusset Tracks used: Stories of All Manor, Vanitas, Bequest, Westwardly Winds, Visions of Emerald, Departure, The Baron of Mount Holly. Purchase the soundtrack here: https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack Check out Dave's guest appearance on Flashback 64: https://flashback64.com/ Social Media: BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/ Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures
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    2 hrs and 42 mins
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