Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

The Pokémon franchise got a long-awaited shakeup with 2022's Legends: Arceus, changing the game structure, catching and battling mechanics and setting. But now that Legends has become its own subseries with 2025's Legends: Z-A, all eyes were on its own innovations and changes, such as the new real-time battle system and one-city setting. Check out the discussion for our thoughts on all of it!

Guest info: Kenneth Shepard (he/him)

• Check out Ken's work at Kotaku https://kotaku.com/author/kennethshepard
• Check out Normandy FM podcast https://soundcloud.com/normandyfm
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/shepardcdr.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:22 Introductions
• 4:15 Our Histories with Pokémon
• 7:10 Opening Thoughts about Pokémon Legends Z-A
• 16:56 Story Setup & Connections to X&Y
• 21:29 Our Starter Pokémon, Wild Zones & Lumiose City
• 43:04 New Battle System, Mega Battles and Battle Zones
• 1:02:47 Ken's Work at Kotaku and Normandy FM
• 1:05:52 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:08:26 Spoiler Section- Our Final Teams & Connections to Certain Pokémon
• 1:13:52 Dungeons and Story Chat
• 1:29:57 Endgame and Ending

Music used in the episode has a large ensemble of composers and no individualized credits at this time. All credits to Game Freak and The Pokémon Company. Tracks used: Lumiose City (Day), Battle Zone, Trainer Battle, Lumiose City (Night), Hotel Z, Battle! Vs Trainer (Z-A Royale)

Check out Dave on Pages of Play for "The Meeting of the Makers"- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mom-the-meeting-of-makers/id1755937349?i=1000749250884
Chekc out Dave on Underplayed for Hollow Knight: Silksong- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/underplayed/id1606954029

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Goodnight Universe had a lot to live up to as the spiritual successor to Before Your Eyes, utilizing the same innovative webcam-based gameplay mechanics to tell a story...about a psychic baby? Well, the premise sounded weird but these creators had earned my trust, and it turns out that this might be the perfect way to play as a baby in a video game. Goodnight Universe turned out to be interesting, if not great, and won me over in a few key ways. Check out the discussion for more!

Guest info: Jill Grodt (she/her)

• Read Jill's work at The Indie Informer https://the-indie-in-former.com/
• Find The Indie Council podcast here https://www.youtube.com/@theindieinformer

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:30 Introductions
• 8:01 Our Histories with Goodnight Universe
• 11:51 Opening Thoughts About Goodnight Universe
• 17:49 Story Setup, Characters and "The Cave"
• 31:28 Camera Tracking Tech & Gameplay
• 41:06 What Didn't Work?
• 52:28 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 55:36 The Indie Informer
• 59:27 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:01:00 Spoiler Section- Big Reveals
• 1:27:35 Spoiler Section- The Family

Music used in the episode is credited to Oliver Lewin. Tracks used: Homecoming, A New Channel, Normal Boy, Being Orson, Your Room

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

In the eyes of many football fans, 2004 was the greatest year for football games. It also happened to be the last year before EA secured the exclusive rights to the NFL license, leaving many fans wishing we could go back to the way things were back then, and we were left with two games that many consider to be some of the best sports games ever made- Madden 2005 (EA Tiburon) and ESPN NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts). 20+ years later, which game stands on top? That's what we aim to decide in this episode!

Guest info: Chris Coplien (he/him) and Adam Gumbert (he/him)

• Check out Chris on all things Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover
• Check out Adam on The Tier List: A Video Game Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@AdamGumby
• Check out Adam on Respawn, Aim, Fire https://www.youtube.com/@respawnaimfire

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:16 Introductions
• 4:22 Personal Histories
• 12:51 Our Real-Life Football Fandom
• 24:15 Head-to-Head: Gameplay
• 48:40 Head-to-Head: Gameday Presentation
• 1:05:24 Head-to-Head: Game Modes
• 1:22:50 The Final Decision
• 1:33:28 Respawn Aim Fire, The Tier List: A Video Game Podcast, Retro Hangover
• 1:38:37 Patron Thank-Yous

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