Épisodes

  • Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy, with set designer Gavin Verhey [S1E9]

    Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy, with set designer Gavin Verhey [S1E9]
    Jul 15 2025
    ISSUE LINK: The Duelist No. 21, January 1997

    ALLISON MCKENZIE'S TERRA PRINT: FFVI - Terra and Mog Print

    It's a bonus BONUS! Ever since the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set dropped, our Discord's hottest channel has been #ttrpgs-and-card-games. Aidan and Ty decided that if it's all they could talk about, and all our most engaged listeners could talk about, then heck why not interview Magic: The Gathering design lead Gavin Verhey, who was the design lead for the FF set as well?

    Then Aidan dropped a bomb on us: A contemporary review of Final Fantasy VII in Wizards of the Coast's classic Magic mag, The Duelist!

    We not only had an amazing interview with Gavin, we had a great discussion afterwards reacting to everything he said, and discussing all the fun we've been having playing Magic--and in a sense all our favorite Final Fantasy games--at the same time.

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 41 min
  • Nintendo Power 88 - Super Mario 64 [S1E8]

    Nintendo Power 88 - Super Mario 64 [S1E8]
    Jul 1 2025
    ISSUE LINK: Nintendo Power 88, September 1996

    Gamemaster Classified book KS page

    "Fun" & Games Podcast home

    The episode so many of you have been waiting for: Our first look at Nintendo Power!

    And boy, is it ever a big one--the debut of Super Mario 64, the game that would define the Nintendo 64, and the company itself, for the entire console generation (and, arguably, beyond). Packed with tons of incredible original art and exclusive assets, it's also got a very...interesting...review of the game itself.

    What's our review of their review? And, does reviewing what amounts to in-house advertorial content even matter?? Listen to find out!

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 16 min
  • ULTRA Review Crew Bonus UNLOCKED - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]

    ULTRA Review Crew Bonus UNLOCKED - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]
    Jun 24 2025
    Mollie Patterson's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mollipen.bsky.social
    Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
    The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium

    UNLOCKED AND FREE FOR ALL LISTENERS: A FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode!! We talk with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the rough-and-tumble world of GameFan, and graduating to layouts and editing at EGM.

    Of course, we also talk about the state of games media, the EGM Compendium project, and how some of the retro stuff we loved has stayed relevant today.

    We thank all of you, so much, for supporting the show. If you dig it, please tell people! We'd love nothing more than to get more cool people in the ULTRA Lounge of our Discord server--and have the support we need to keep doing this show we love.

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 31 min
  • Intelligent Gamer 2 - Jumping Flash! 2 [S1E7]

    Intelligent Gamer 2 - Jumping Flash! 2 [S1E7]
    Jun 17 2025
    ISSUE LINK: Intelligent Gamer No. 2, July 1996

    A true trailblazer of a magazine, which Ty mistook at the time for a craven NEXT Generation ripoff. Instead, Ziff-Davis bought what might have been the world's first fully digital online games magazine and soon put its precocious editor at the head of a real, monthly, big-boy print equivalent.

    Besides giving Aidan and Ty an excuse to riff on the benefits and drawbacks of physical magazines in the modern era, this issue's super deep previews and reviews give them plenty to chew on.

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 29 min
  • ULTRA Review Crew bonus TEASER - Demo Discs with Sean Seanson & EposVox [S1B3]

    ULTRA Review Crew bonus TEASER - Demo Discs with Sean Seanson & EposVox [S1B3]
    Jun 10 2025
    Please enjoy this sample of a FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode bursting with international flavor! With EposVox and Sean Seanson joining Aidan and Ty, we bridged three countries and seven time zones to go deep on our love of demo discs--the best (and sometimes only) way to taste the breadth of some old consoles' libraries and indie scenes.

    It's our first two-guest episode, and an absolute banger. Sean's most recent deep-dive video is all about the set of 7 PlayStation EU/PAL-region demo discs, while EposVox has been creating genius-tier content on retro tech and gaming hardware for years and years.

    As always, we thank all of you so much for supporting the show. If you dig it, please join FunFactor ULTRA at the Review Crew tier to unlock these episodes--and then tell people about us! We'd love nothing more than to get more cool people in the ULTRA Lounge of our Discord server, and have the support we need to keep doing this show we love.

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    11 min
  • GameFan Volume 4, Issue 5 - Lufia II [S1E6]

    GameFan Volume 4, Issue 5 - Lufia II [S1E6]
    Jun 3 2025
    TODAY'S ISSUE: GameFan Volume 4, Issue 5 - May 1996

    This one's special -- we recorded it right before the Mollie Patterson bonus episode (which you should join the FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew to hear!), wherein she gave the amazing backstory behind some of the unique production and culture wrinkles that were evident in the final product of this unique mag.

    We talk about our connections to the seedy underbelly of order-by-phone import stores--one of which GameFan actually started its life as a catalog for (!).

    For the review, we go back to our JRPG roots with an underrated-at-the-time classic of the late 16-bit era, Lufia II!

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 32 min
  • NEXT Generation 5 - Kirby's Dream Course [S1E5]

    NEXT Generation 5 - Kirby's Dream Course [S1E5]
    May 20 2025
    TODAY'S ISSUE: NEXT Generation Issue No. 5, May 1995

    Whew, this one's a doozy. Not just diving into one of Ty's favorite magazines for the very first time, but the very first issue he ever picked up: A massive roundup of all the news and rumors ever about Nintendo's Ultra 64 project. Ty and Aidan also dig into console launches successful and -un, then and now, plus go long on journalistic responsibility when reporting "rumors."

    Of course, they review NEXT Generation's review of Kirby's Super Nintendo debut: Kirby's Dream Course, a sparkling little gem of a golf/pool/puzzle/marble game. Yes, really. They also can't help but review the review of Fight For Life on the Atari Jaguar on the way.

    Oh, and uh...the outtakes are pretty good this time. And very long!

    Finally, please consider supporting us directly by becoming a member of FunFactor ULTRA at FunFactorPod.com!

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    1 h et 39 min
  • ULTRA Review Crew bonus TEASER - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]

    ULTRA Review Crew bonus TEASER - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]
    May 13 2025
    Mollie Patterson's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mollipen.bsky.social
    Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
    The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium

    FunFactor ULTRA subscribers are getting our full 91-minute interview with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame, talking about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the rough-and-tumble world of GameFan, and graduating to layouts and editing at EGM--not to mention the state of games media, the EGM Compendium project, and how some of the retro stuff we loved has stayed relevant today.


    But we wanted to make sure all our listeners got a nice, meaty taste of the full-course meal, as well. To hear the rest, just go to https://www.funfactorpod.com and join the Review Crew! You'll also get exclusive input on what we cover in Season Two of the main show.

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    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
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    23 min