Starter Quest
A podcast where we look at classic video games through the eyes of a noob. Each episode, Alessandro Crolla shares his 30 years of gaming experience with gaming newcomer Jen Hughes by taking a deep dive through a classic game, to see how it holds up to fresh eyes and beginner thumbs.
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Episodes
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
It’s time for another shot at shooting, as we take to the streets of Neo Los Angeles to play PC’s most un-PC character; Duke Nukem 3D. Come join us as we grab a big gun in one hand, a hot babe in the other, and spit angry takes over gaming’s biggest meathead (until Super Meat Boy, obviously).
Episode theme - Bassbag by bLiNd - Available as part of BadAss: Paragons & Renegades albumCONTENTS(00:17) Introduction (04:53) Pre-playthrough interview(16:11) Rules of gameplay(19:11) Intermission to post-playthrough(32:16) History & design (45:35) Back story...Kinda(51:28) Epsiode 1 - L.A. Meltdown(01:05:58) Episode 2 - Lunar Apocalypse(01:15:30) Episode 3 - Shrapnel City(01:23:50) Aftermath & legacy(01:29:26) Final analysis(01:45:25) Write-in stories(01:49:48) Conclusion - The 3 Anti-Jens
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
We're back with the Side Quest series, putting down the controllers and taking a trip to the movies instead. We take one final look at Final Fantasy VII to watch the sequel movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Come join us to see how Square Enix handle the memory of the most successful Final Fantasy game.
Episode theme - Love Everlasting by DDRKirby(ISQ)
Special thanks to Spad;ly for One winged angel, but I’m playing it on the recorder
Monday Apr 03, 2023
Monday Apr 03, 2023
We return to the PlayStation for another epic journey into the world of Japanese roleplay gaming, to play one of it’s most famous (and expensive) titles with Final Fantasy VII. Come join us as we tell the tale of adventure, love, eco-terrorism, and Chocobos.
Episode theme - A World of Piano by kLuTz
CONTENTS(00:21) Introduction (04:53) Pre-playthrough interview(19:41) Rules of gameplay(20:57) Intermission to post-playthrough(36:12) History & design (45:19) Introduction to Midgar - Meet Cloud & Barret(53:41) A love Triange Forms - Tifa & Aerith join the party(01:06:49) Storming the Shinra Building - Rescuing Aerith & Red XII(01:13:54) What Happened Five Years Ago... - The Legend of Sephiroth(01:19:54) Through the Forest and the Ocean - Yuffie Attacks!(01:22:17) The Most Magical Place on the Planet - The Gold Saucer(01:32:06) Back to Neibelheim - Vincent Rises, Cid Rebels(01:43:37) Locating the Lost Lands - The Temple of the Ancients & The Forgotten City(01:50:55) Through the Northern Continent - Snowboarding to the North Crater(01:54:51) The End of Days... - Finding Cloud(02:00:28) A Very Important Quest of Supposed Importance - Saving the Huge Materia(02:10:35) Time for Some History - Aerith's plan and Vincent's Past(02:15:10) The Boys (and Girls) Are Back in Town - Return to Midgar(02:18:11) The Final Battle - Finishing Sephiroth(02:30:48) Aftermath & legacy(02:36:57) Final ranking & analysis(02:57:46) Write-in stories(03:03:54) Conclusion - The 3 Jens
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Welcome to our very first bonus episode of the podcast; Side Quest.
In this inaugural episode, we take a look back over our first full year (and the 2 episodes from 2021) of the podcast. We give our thoughts and feedback on each episode, share our highlights, and make some corrections to the mistakes we made. We also share some cut content from our first 8 episodes to bring you a few outtakes, derailed discussions, and other hilarious pieces we salvage from the cutting room floor.
Episode theme - Love Everlasting by DDRKirby(ISQ)
CONTENTS(00:26) Introduction(02:08) Super Mario Bros 3(10:36) Secret of Monkey Island(14:58) Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen(18:47) Sonic the Hedgehog 2(25:49) Doom(31:07) Earthbound(34:02) Street Fighter 2 vs Mortal Kombat(40:16) Resident Evil(44:32) Final thoughts, and favourite & worst episodes(48:10) Outtakes(01:21:23) Outro
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Our first episode to feature a guest host as we invite our editor Mark O'Hare out from the editing booth to come talk about one of his favourite games. We go back to the world of platforming for a game (or should I say 8 games) with Nintendo's most adorable pink abomination, in Kirby Superstar. Come join us for platforming’s last chance to impress our resident noob before she writes the genre off as something she doesn’t like.
Episode theme - Ska Buffet (All You Can Eat: Clean Version) by The OverClocked Plaid Muffins
CONTENTS(00:14) Introduction (04:30) Pre-playthrough interview(16:41) Rules of gameplay(18:02) Intermission to post-playthrough(25:32) History & design (33:30) Music(36:14) Spring Breeze(42:12) Gourmet Race(43:43) Dyna Blade (52:13) Megaton Punch(53:20) The Great Cave Offensive(01:00:27) Samurai Kirby(01:01:26) Revenge of the Meta Knight(01:07:59) Milky Way Wishes(01:21:04) Final ranking(01:22:53) Aftermath, legacy, & Final analysis(01:33:08) Write-in stories(01:36:08) Conclusion - The 3 Jens
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Happy Halloween! To celebrate the month of scares we play our first PlayStation game to play the highly influential zombie classic Resident Evil. Come join our cowardly noob as we try to spend a night alone in the house of survival horror.
Episode theme - Resident Evil 1 - Save Room Music Remix by Mono Memory
CONTENTS(00:20) Introduction (03:52) Pre-playthrough interview(17:79) Rules of gameplay(20:03) Intermission to post-playthrough(25:01) History & design (35:14) Music(42:03) The back story & opening scenes(51:10) Chapter 1 - Meeting the Mansion(01:11:18) Chapter 2 - To the Guardhouse(01:17:16) Chapter 3 - Back to the Mansion & into the Sewers(01:26:05) Chapter 4 - Finding the Secret Laboritory(01:42:13) Chapter 5 - The Final Escape(01:49:10) Compared to Chris - The other playthrough(01:55:50) Aftermath, legacy, & Final analysis(02:08:16) Write-in stories(02:12:34) Conclusion - The 3 Jens
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Come join us for our first double feature episode! We take the battle to the arcades to find out which classic fighting game is going to take home the title of Starter Quest Champion; between the Japanese legend Street Fighter II, and the American classic Mortal Kombat. Two games will enter, and only shall leave with the title of being better for our resident noob!
Episode theme 1 - Frets of Fury by vertexguy
Episode theme 2 - Mortal Konfrontation by The Dual Dragons
CONTENTS
(00:37) Introduction (05:19) Pre-playthrough interview(26:29) Rules of gameplay(27:43) Intermission to post-playthrough(33:03) History & design (50:17) Street Fighter II - The plot (ish)(52:30) The Fighters 1 - Chun-Li, Ryu, Ken, E. Honda(01:12:21) The Fighters 2 - Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim(01:30:43) The 4 Heavenly Kings - Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M.Bison(01:47:51) Victory! Ending cutscenes(01:54:12) Jen's Street Fighter II tier list(01:57:13) Mortal Kombat - The plot(01:58:21) The Fighters 1 - Liu Kang, Raiden, Kano(02:08:57) The Fighters 2 - Johnny Cage, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Sonya(02:22:39) The Final Fights - Endurance run, Goro, Shang Tsung(02:33:08) Victory! Ending cutscenes, and the absence of Reptile(02:45:30) Jen's Mortal Kombat tier list(02:47:53) Aftermath, legacy, & Final analysis(03:01:43) Write-in stories(03:05:26) Conclusion - The 3 Jens (plus a bonus Jen)
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
We play our first game on the Super Nintendo to play a proper J-RPG this time with the deeply underrated Earthbound. Come listen along as we hear the tale of Jen’s out of this world experience with a game that is supposedly a stinker (according to the ads).
Episode theme - Twoson Hits the Road by djpretzel
CONTENTS
(00:18) Introduction (06:27) Pre-playthrough interview(21:46) Rules of gameplay(23:50) Intermission to post-playthrough(36:36) History & design(46:04) Prologue(50:15) Starting off - Onett & Twoson(58:55) Jeff joins the jam - Threed & Fourside(01:13:59) I dream of Poo - Summers to Scaraba(01:21:16) The last notes - Deep Darkness to Lost Underworld(01:25:17) All the melodies - Magicant to Giygas(01:31:14) Giygas... Just Giygas... And epilogue too(01:41:41) Aftermath and analysis(01:46:35) Write-in stories(01:51:55) Conclusion - The 3 Jens
Sunday Jun 12, 2022
Sunday Jun 12, 2022
We go back to the world of PC gaming to introduce Jen to her very first FPS game, as we summon the highly influential Doom from the depths of hell. Come listen in as Jen starts to descend into madness by putting herself through the worst that hell has to offer.
Episode theme - Hangarmageddon by Evil Horde - Available as part of The Dark Side of Phobos album
CONTENTS
(00:25) Introduction (03:47) Pre-playthrough interview(14:23) Rules of gameplay(19:30) Intermission to post-playthrough(25:11) History & design(38:05) Story recap(43:11) Episode 1 - Knee Deep in the Dead(58:25) Episode 2 - The Shores of Hell(01:03:48) Episode 3 - Inferno(01:09:19) Episode 4 - Thy Flesh Consumed(01:17:33) Aftermath, analysis, and legacy(01:28:29) Write-in stories(01:32:41) Conclusion - The 3 Jens
Monday Apr 25, 2022
Monday Apr 25, 2022
We take our first trip to Sega’s side of the nineties to see how they do what Nintendon’t with their mascot franchise, as we review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the game, not the movie). Listen in as we take a journey to see if Jen can keep up with the fastest character in gaming and his bizarre influences.
Episode theme - Spunktastic by DjjD & Ectogemia