In 1989, the vision of Shigesato Itoi brought about the creation of Mother, a subversion and a pastiche of the incredibly popular Dragon Quest series, and birthed the Mother trilogy containing the cult classic Earthbound. Rich, Leah and Jon discuss the creator of the series and the impact Mother had on the gaming landscape of Japan, and the near 20 years that passed before the game made it’s way to the western markets.

Perhaps the archetypal 'cult classic', SEGA Smilebit's Jet Set Radio (aka Jet Grind Radio) made a splash when it landed on Dreamcast in the year 2000. Quarter of a century on, Leon, Dan, Michiel and Tony - along with contributions from the Cane and Rinse listeners - get inline to rattle on about the game's striking visual aesthetic, iconic music and, also, yes, the gameplay. This podcast also touches upon the GBA version, the official 'sequel' and some of JSR's spiritual successors.

Somehow Cane and Rinse returned. We dawn our blasters and lightsabers once more as we venture once more to the precipice of the Dark Side (Electronic Arts) to discuss the acclaimed sequel STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor. Ryan, Chris and Jon follow Cal's ongoing adventures and anticipate how the forthcoming trilogy-capper might end his story.

Somewhere between the Australian bushfires of 2019 and the Covid breakout, Umurangi Generation was born. Tauranga, New Zealand is the setting for Veselekov’s retro-futuristic photography simulator; James, Jesse, and Thomas are our budding photographers, chronicling the end of the world.

If you ever felt like playing along with the Cane and Rinse podcast but couldn't find the time, this is a good show to start. Leon, Leah and Tony pick their way through the characters and choices of Aevee Bee and Max Schwartz's short but impactful visual novel. We examine the arcs of Venus, Jupiter and Neptune from their uncertain summer camp openings to cabin in the woods exorcism or self-acceptance denouement.

Syberia and Syberia II were originally planned as a single release (and podcast), instead we got two games (and two podcasts) - that decision plays into how these games are viewed today. Will Hans reach the fabled island of Syberia? Join Chris Worthington, James, Michiel and Tony to find out.

From simple beginnings as one of around 100 pitches to Sony seniors, turning into a flagship Sony series selling upwards and above 90 million copies. These games have their origins in early-90s cartoon kart genre, and now boast to be the self proclaimed, "greatest racing game of all time". In this issue, host Rich and his co-drivers Karl, Tom and Tony start at the beginning of Sony's Gran Turismo series with the two original PlayStation (PS1) outings Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo 2, to discuss their legacy as both racing games and love letters to motorsport.

We realised there haven't been enough Cane and Rinse podcasts dedicated to Resident Evil 4, so here we are. Leon, Brian, Leah and Sean once again invade the mysterious Spanish (?) village of the so-called Ganados, to once again rescue 'Baby Eagle' THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER. Along with a broad spread of opinions from the Patreon and forum, the panelists endeavour to convey their experiences with this 2023 remake both in its own right, and as an update to the widely-celebrated 2005 original.

Behold the Bitterman, in id Software's archetypal 'boomer shooter' sequel, Quake II. Strogg-blasting vets Leon, Chris O'Regan, Darren and Karl - along with contributions from the Cane and Rinse community - recount their bloody campaigns through the 1997 PC original, the somewhat miraculous console ports to N64 and PS1, as well as the much more recent Nightdive remaster package, including DLC episodes and an all-new chapter from Machinegames.

Perhaps not the most pressing candidate for the remake treatment, nevertheless, EA Motive found itself remaking 2008's sci-fi horror shooter Dead Space for 'current gen' in 2023. Leon and Jon - along with contributors for the Cane and Rinse community - consider the changes and differences from the original to the all-singing, all-dancing update. Was the whole project worthwhile? Listen in and find out what we think.

Star Wars + DOOM = awesome success. A simple enough equation for mid-90s LucasArts, but is there more to Dark Forces than that? Leon, Chris Worthington, Darren and Tony blast and puzzle their way through this first-person shooter adventure, with missives from Cane and Rinse's community alliance along the way. From the MS-DOS original to the recent Nightdive remaster, we have all planet-destroying bases covered.

The twin-stick shooter never fully caught on in the arcade's golden age, and yet, some years after the beloved Robotron 2084, Eugene Jarvis and his team returned to that particular mechanical interface wellspring for another go round, with 1990's spiritual successor Smash TV. Leon, Jesse, Michiel and community contributors scream bloody murder at Smash TV's ultraviolent, loud, frenetic, brutal and relentless dystopian 1999 gameshow.

In this issue of Cane and Rinse, Chris, Jon, Leah and Sean discuss 2024's Minishoot' Adventures. A notable PC/Mac exclusive (at the time of recording), made by SoulGame Studio. This top-down action adventure borrows heavily from The Legend of Zelda and mixes it with bullet-dodging, dexterity-based gameplay normally found in bullet hell shoot 'em ups.

The oft-cited standard bearer of VR gaming.  Half-Life: Alyx offered gamers near total immersion in the Half-Life universe when many were experiencing the first Covid-19 lockdown.  The game carried the weight of being the first Half-Life game in 13 years and the reason to purchase a Valve Index headset. Did it bear up under that weight?

Our Tony's nomination for the 14th year of podcasts is 2007's first-person survival horror, 
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl. Leon, Jon and James join him in immersing themselves in this notoriously demanding and spiky - if ultimately rewarding - FPS. We also hear tales from The Zone via our trusty community contributors.

Lead developer Andrew Shouldice stuffed every single corner of Tunic's world with secrets and mysteries, and created a wonderfully faithful, detailed and devious retro-style game manual to help and/or baffle players. Tom, Brian and Chris delve deep into the indie adventure, assessing its controversial combat and widely beloved soundtrack.

Presented explicitly as the world's first "stupid game" or "baka game", Segare Ijiri is a pretty well known cultural touchstone in Japan, but virtually unknown outside of it, even among fans of Japanese gaming obscura. Michiel, Brian, Leah and Sean attempt to cross language and cultural barriers to delve into this strange piece of software... and surprisingly discover meaning in what was purposefully created as something meaningless.

A vintage game about an anachronistic job delivering a dying medium. Atari's arcade hit Paperboy is 40! Leon, Brian, Chris Worthington, Dan and community contributors grip tasselled BMX handlebars and brave the gamut of suburban challenges faced daily by our intrepid news disseminator. As is the custom for these type of shows, we also hear of its many conversions, ports, spin-offs and sequels for home systems and handhelds.

This week, Cane and Rinse is on strike! It is your choice whether you will salt or scab. Follow Ryan, Chris, James and Jon into the perplexing but provocative pillar of the modern videogame avant-garde, David Kanaga's enigmatic Oikospiel Book I. They discuss abstraction, labour rights, plunderludics, and whether or not it is ethical to make dogs write operas. It's an unusual podcast for an unusual game.

Back for a fourteenth year of deep-dive videogame review podcasts, and the first subject for 2025 is SEGA's Panzer Dragoon. Leon, Chris O'Regan, Chris Worthington and Michiel - along with contributions from the Cane and Rinse community - look back at the Saturn CD that spawned a four-game series of dragonborn blasters (and one RPG). Here we focus on the 30-year-old original, as well as its various ports and 2020 remake.