Nostalgium Arcanum - Episodes Tagged with “Super Nintendo”

NBA Jam

Doug Lief — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Boom shakalaka! In 1993 NBA Jam abandoned videogame basketball verisimilitude in favor of wild 2-on-2 arcade action and like its playable athletes, caught fire. Comedian and improviser Rich Baker (www.daretofailimprov.com) is ON FIRE! He joins us to revisit this classic game, its impressive (and sometimes even presidential) roster of all-stars, and the phenomenon that ensued when hoops gave way to havoc.

Support us, join the discussion, and get bonus content at www.patreon.com/nostalgium!

Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By Ear" (https://playingbyear.fireside.fm) and our limited-run Jim Henson Series, "Still Muppeting" (patreon.com/stillloadingpod).

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You can also use YouTube, if that's your thing: https://www.youtube.com/@NostalgiumArcanum/podcasts

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
All music from NBA Jam by Rick Fox

Video Game Soundtracks

Doug Lief — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

From the moment you pop in a quarter or press start, video games have used music to enthrall, entice, and plumb even more complex emotions, far more than one might expect from the push of a button. On this podcast we celebrate the composers who have wrestled microchips, midi, and mp3s into the rich sonic (and sometimes Sonic) tapestries that elevate simple zeroes and ones into powerful musical experiences. We're joined by a full panel of games podcasters including Dave Jackson (Tales From The Backlog), Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio) and Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover) to roundtable our favorite game soundtracks.

Check out the incredible podcasts from our panel:

Retro Hangover (https://retrohangover.captivate.fm/)
Pixel Project Radio (https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio)
Tales From The Backlog (https://talesfromthebacklog.fireside.fm/)

Support us, join the discussion, and get bonus content at www.patreon.com/nostalgium!

Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By Ear" (https://playingbyear.fireside.fm) and our limited-run Jim Henson Series, "Still Muppeting" (patreon.com/stillloadingpod).

You can also use YouTube, if that's your thing: https://www.youtube.com/@NostalgiumArcanum/podcasts

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
Pac-Man -Shigeichi Ishimura, Toshio Kai
The Legend of Zelda – Koji Kondo
ActRaiser – Yuzo Koshiro
Crash Bandicoot - Josh Mancell
Live & Learn – Crush40
Legend of Mana – Yoko Shimomura
Silent Hill 2 - Akira Yamaoka
The Legend of Zelda – Ocarina of Time – Koji Kondo
Narita Boy - Salvador Fornieles
Grandia - Noriyuki Iwadare
Skullgirls - Michiru Yamane, Vincent Diamante, Brenton Kossak, Blaine McGurty
Shovel Knight – Jake Kaufman
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse - Hidenori Maezawa, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto, Yoshinori Sasaki
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Brad Buxer, Sega Sound Team, and maybe Michael Jackson?
Kingdom Hearts 2 - Yoko Shimomura
Hotline Miami – Paris (M|O|O|N)
The 7th Guest – The Fat Man
Final Fantasy VIII – Nobuo Uematsu
Final Fantasy IV – Nobuo Uematsu
Final Fantasy VI – Nobuo Uematsu
Sadow of the Colossus – Kow Otoni
Super Mario Galaxy – Koji Kondo
Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch – Joe Hisaishi
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean – Motoi Sakuraba
Street Fighter EX Plus α - Takayuki Aihara, Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht - Yasunori Mitsuda
F-Zero X - Taro Bando, Hajime Wakai
Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag – Bryan Tyler
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana - Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Yukihiro Jindo, Mitsuo Singa
Drakengard - Nobuyoshi Sano, Takayuki Aihara
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War - Keiki Kobayashi, Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Okubo, Junichi Nakatsuru
Hollow Knight – Christopher Larkin
Chrono Cross - Yasunori Mitsuda
Nine Sols – FFXX, Im Baek Hun, Troy Lin, Shih-Wei Yang
Dead Kennedys – Police Truck
Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 – Lorien Testard – Lumiere
Streets of Rage 2 - Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima
Lisa: The Painful - Austin Jorgensen
Nier - Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, Takafumi Nishimura
Megaman 2 - Takashi Tateishi – Wily Stage 1
Chrono Trigger - Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda
Pentiment - Alkemie Early Music Ensemble
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Jamie Christopherson
Super Mario World – Koji Kondo
Conker’s Bad Fur Day - Robin Beanland

Super Mario Kart

Doug Lief — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:15:00 -0800

3... 2... 1... Go!!! By 1992 Mario had conquered koopas, rescued the princess (again and again), played tennis, practiced medicine, and more, but that year launched a new venture, Super Mario Kart. Buoyed by the Mode 7 chip, a new racing genre was born as beloved Nintendo characters zipped around tracks, blasting each other with shells, lightning bolts and more. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbakeractor) grabs a controller and joins us to revisit the first entry in this venerable franchise.

If you want to take an online improv class from Rich, go to www.daretofailimprov.com (first class is free!).

Support us, join the discussion, and get bonus content at www.patreon.com/nostalgium

Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By Ear" (https://playingbyear.fireside.fm) and our limited-run Jim Henson Series, "Still Muppeting" (patreon.com/stillloadingpod).

You can also use YouTube, if that's your thing: https://www.youtube.com/@NostalgiumArcanum/podcasts

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
All music from Super Mario Kart by Soyo Oka

Super Mario World

Doug Lief — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:15:00 -0700

35 years later Super Mario World remains a high watermark in video games. The venerable plumber and new pal Yoshi the dinosaur's adventure features pixel perfect platforming, satisfying secret scouring, and whimsical wonder. Guests podcaster Matt Storm a.k.a. Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite) and comedian Rich Baker (richbakercoaching.com) hit the Star Road to celebrate a classic that is still tubular, groovy, and funky today.

Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, Playing By Ear! - https://playingbyear.fireside.fm

If you want to take an online improv class from Rich, go to www.daretofailimprov.com (first class is free!).

You can also use YouTube, if that's your thing: https://www.youtube.com/@NostalgiumArcanum/podcasts

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:
Dark Flute - Jim Guthrie
All music from Super Mario World by Koji Kondo

Blockbuster Video

Doug Lief — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:15:00 -0700

It's time to be kind and rewind back to the days when home media rental was a pillar of daily life. Whether it was Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or your local mom-and-pop shop, renting movies and games was a ritual of living in the 80s an 90s that is now lost to the dominance of streaming. We're joined by Chris Coplien of the Retro Hangover podcast to rack up a few very late fees in service to the lost world of video rental.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles