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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
  • 194: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (with Michael Berger - Bits of Time)

    194: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (with Michael Berger - Bits of Time)
    Dec 3 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson What could Nintendo possibly do to follow up the game that "saved gaming" for me? Well, they simply iterated on and evolved everything about Breath of the Wild to make one of the most creativity and freedom-focused games ever. It's simple, really- why don't more people think of this? Sarcasm aside, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute wonder, and we're lucky to have it. Hope you enjoy the discussion! Guest info: Michael Berger (he/him) * Check out Bits of Time on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@bitsoftimemedia * Check out the Bits of Time podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-of-time/id1616941089 * Check out everything else Michael is doing https://campsite.bio/matterofmichael TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:21 Introductions * 5:35 Our Histories with Zelda and Tears of the Kingdom * 8:49 Opening Thoughts About Tears of the Kingdom * 16:39 Story Setup * 20:26 Storytelling and Nonlinear Design * 25:34 Emergent Story and the Adventure * 29:52 Link's New Toys * 48:58 Emergent Gameplay and the Magic of Scrounging * 57:18 Dungeons and Boss Fights * 1:03:15 Enemy and Boss Variety * 1:08:07 The Depths and Exploration * 1:16:33 Art Design and Music * 1:23:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations * 1:31:31 Bits of Time * 1:36:11 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous * 1:38:25 Spoiler Section- Favorite Temples and Backstory * 2:03:11 Final Boss and Ending Music used in the episode is credited to Hajime Wakai, Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi and Tsukasa Usui. Tracks used: Title, Hyrule Castle - Upheaval, Shrine Battle, Seized Construct Battle, Skydive, Lookout Landing, Ganondorf's Theme, Final Dive 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 28 mins
  • 193: Asura's Wrath (with Nick & Will - Friday Night Gamecast)

    193: Asura's Wrath (with Nick & Will - Friday Night Gamecast)
    Nov 26 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Some games just stand out from the pack, and with its episodic anime structure, QTE-heavy cutscenes and South Asian religious inspirations, there is nothing quite like Asura's Wrath (CyberConnect2, Capcom, 2012). A quintessential flawed game that everyone should try, Asura's Wrath overcomes its bad combat and dated approach to player engagement by just simply being cooler and more hype than basically every other game. Listen in to find out more! Guest info: Nick (he/him) and Will (he/him) of Friday Night Gamecast * Check out Friday Night Gamecast https://fridaynightgamecast.buzzsprout.com/ * Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/fngcpod.bsky.social * Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fridaynightgamecast/ TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:27 Introductions * 5:17 Our Histories with Asura's Wrath * 11:16 Top-Level Thoughts * 19:44 Story Setup and Worldbuilding * 28:47 Episodic Anime Structure * 37:03 Presentation and Spectacle * 43:48 More QTEs Than You Can Shake a Stick At * 51:33 Action Gameplay * 1:14:00 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations * 1:17:26 Friday Night Gamecast * 1:20:28 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous * 1:22:32 Spoiler Section- Hype Moments, The Gohma and the Demigods * 1:46:55 Spoiler Section- Asura's Revenge & Epilogue Music used in the episode is credited to Chikayo Fukuda. Tracks used: Main Theme, Furious, Orphan Wolf Legend - Fang, One Who Spins Ideas, Option, Asura's Wrath, In Your Belief, Trembling Belief Catch Dave on Geeks & Grounds all of November and December for a deep dive into Final Fantasy X: https://www.geeksandgrounds.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 13 mins
  • 192: Heaven's Vault (with Rebekah Valentine)

    192: Heaven's Vault (with Rebekah Valentine)
    Nov 19 2025
    Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson Ever have one of those games that sits in your library, untouched for years, until something finally gives you the push to play it...and you end up kicking yourself for waiting so long? That's Heaven's Vault, and without our community Backlog Resolutions challenge, I would have missed out on one of the coolest games I think I've ever played. Listen in to find out why! Guest info: Rebekah Valentine (she/her) * Read Reb's work on IGN https://www.ign.com/person/duckvalentine * Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/duckvalentine.bsky.social * Check out Nintendo Voice Chat https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nintendo-voice-chat/id276268457 TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:22 Intros * 5:05 Our Histories with Heaven's Vault and Language Learning * 9:43 Opening Thoughts * 14:30 Story Setup and Reactive Storytelling * 29:37 Aliyah and Six * 35:52 Language Learning * 50:22 Visuals and Music * 55:40 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations * 58:13 Reb's Work at IGN * 1:01:34 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous * 1:03:35 Spoiler Section- What Happened in Our Playthroughs? * 1:35:53 Spoiler Section- Language Discoveries * 1:44:40 Spoiler Section- The Wildest Turn of Events * 2:03:54 Spoiler Section- Ending Discussion Music used in the episode is credited to Laurence Chapman. Tracks used: An Ancient Language, The Desperate Ways, Before the Fall, The Nebula, Fantasia on One Good Moon, Heaven's Vault, An Ancient Language (Cello & Piano) 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 35 mins
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