FunFactor

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/28f939d8-b160-47f0-92c6-e885159b5156

THE KINGDOM HEARTS GOOGLE DOC: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQgJT19xfHJtEnIiZ-c55ClvAXn95ODUQBDYFtWF8GtPzHvTUTQhbH3brFk290zaQ/pub

THE KINGDOM HEARTS PRACTICAL COMPLETE ORDER (by Jackson from Abnormal Mapping): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQpUmDR18WWFRpzyPjh8Ivv8gAE4IzVdxY1bgbm7YgM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.iqj61wtvro5d

Kingdom Hearts! Grand Theft Auto! This episode’s issue of PSM is stuffed with incredibly topical retro games, and Ai...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/Edge_Gaming/Edge%20Gaming%20Magazine%20113/mode/2up

PIXELS & POLYGONS QUARTERLY + ANNUAL COLLECTION: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darrenhupke/pixels-and-polygons-quarterly-2026-q4-and-annual-collection?ref=3opks3

LIE OF CAELUM: SPIRIT KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lieofcaelumspirit/lie-of-caelum-spirit

BEL’S FANFARE KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chibig/bels-fanfare/

RETRO GAME FORGE KICKSTARTER: https://popgeeks.com/retro-game-forge-a-potentially-all-in-one-homebrew-development-kit-launches-kickstarter/
Edge was doing it like no one else in 2002, and so we had to go longer than we ever have to ta...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/ebc34b2b-4088-4e7c-bc69-12e3a7a9f129

Stop Skeletons From Fighting’s “My 2 Year Journey to Solve the 30-Year Myth of Faceball 2000” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2AG-gAuS-U&t=6058s 

Aidan’s back in the saddle, and he’s got takes about what Ty talked about with last episode’s guest-host Jess Voidburger–but not Sonic the Hedgehog, handheld games!

Aidan talks about how well portable systems fit into his life as a tween and teen, and this issue o...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/a8041ebf-095f-4bb9-b2bd-57702a22aff0

SONIC ON THE COVER OF NINTENDO POWER??

Special guest host Jess VoidBurger joins Ty to revisit Nintendo’s legendary in-house publication during its awkward tween years: still clinging to some of the looks and features of its 16-bit glory days, but starting to evolve to compete with the super-professional, grownuppy output of the Ziff-Davis and Future/IGN publications.

With Sonic the Hedgehog on the cover and longtime “Publisher” (Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa) announcing his dep...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/ac4194d5-23d7-46fe-b6e2-0f364600532a

Super Smash Bros. Melee is Nintendo’s tightest, deepest, most technically rewarding fighting game of all time, with an active playerbase and tournament scene still uncovering its secrets.

But what did reviewers make of it in 2002, when “lets put all the characters and properties we own in one game” wasn’t an obligatory and trite cash grab, but a novelty?

Aidan and Ty checked it out in “GameNOW,” an unfamiliar title for what turns out to be a familiar e...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/69555def-0cd8-4b5a-b4d2-3d324c7863f4

Console exclusivity was the talk of this recent Summer Game Fest, and Aidan and Ty start off the episode with a discussion of their most badly missed-out-on exclusives from platforms they didn't have.

And then, the issue: With Future Publishing/Imagine Media getting the "official" XBox magazine tag, Ziff-Davis launched an "independent" one--and they poached Simon Cox from Future/Imagine to lead it!

The result was an ambitious, artistic, NEXT Generation/EDGE-looking publication t...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-105-january-2002

(sped-up audio was Ty's fault; it's been fixed!)

FINAL. FANTASY. X. After the final PS1 release was a mechanical, graphical, and literary callback to the deepest roots of the series, the first PS2 release set the tone for what this series would look–and, to an extent, play–like for the next quarter-century of HD video and streamed digital audio.

We also check out how Game Informer has continued to grow and change since we last looked–years away from it being a glorified store...

NICK’S PATREON: PandaMonium | creating a Sega Saturn documentary series. | Patreon 

GREG’S PATREON: Greg Sewart | creating Generation 16 | Let's Read Videos | Retro Game Streams | Patreon 

Please enjoy this snippet of our first Season Two ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode, where we're throwing it back to, um, the disastrous 1995 surprise launch of the Sega Saturn in North America??

That’s right–thanks to a production whoopsie by someone very silly (Ty), we very nearly lost this amazing bonus episode. But thanks to a crucial save from our guests, a little bit of elbow grease, and a couple o...

ISSUE LINK: https://www.retromags.com/magazines/usa/official-xbox-magazine/official-xbox-magazine-issue-2/

XBOX OFFICIAL MAGAZINE: MAGAZINES EVOLVED.

We had to stay in January 2002 for one more episode this season, because we just couldn’t overlook XBox Offical Magazine’s massive walkthrough for Halo: Combat Evolved. We also couldn’t overlook the fact that Imagine Media/Future U.S. Publishing launched this magazine at the same time they were sunsetting NextGen–and there was plenty of overlap between the two staffs.

Goodbye to think-y features for (real and aspiring) grown-ups, hello to world-exclusive previews, reviews, and digi...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-150-january-2002/mode/2up

January 2002 was all killer, no filler! EGM kicked off the new year by revisiting their Top 100 games of all time, and we take a look at the changes since their last attempt (which we covered last season)!

But EGM also ranked their worst 20 games of all time, thanks to freelancer Seanbaby, and we start the episode with a discussion of the worst games we ever bought.

We go back to the best-of-the-best with the review, though, as three EGM editors do a...

ISSUE LINK: NextGen issue 85 at the Internet Archive

SEASON TWO: RISE OF THE CORPOS has arrived! We've skipped forward in time to the dawn of a new era - where the dorky world leader in business software, Microsoft, has dropped a massive black-and-neon-green bomb on a gaming industry.

Likewise, the games media's shift to both an older target audience and parallel online coverage means a lot of beloved magazines are dead or dying--including "NextGen," as it's been called for a couple of years. Blake Fischer takes over as the magazine's second, and final, top editor for i...

Four people, five rounds, and all the best video games of 1995-1997! 

Coury and Try from My Life in Gaming join us to snake-draft our way through the Generation Gap--building four 'teams' of five games each released across all game systems and regions during our first-season time period.

The competition was friendly but fierce, with plenty of you-took-my-picks and even more surprise curveballs! We all walked away with at least one new must-play game for our backlogs.

And, as always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration38Feb1998

QUIZ LINK: https://forms.gle/9cFPG8EsJesFAEB59

BILLY BAKER’S 2007 BOSTON GLOBE PIECE ON HIS WIFE SECRETLY BEING THE WORLD’S BEST TETRIS PLAYER: https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/

Our Season 1 wrap-up extravaganza has never been more extravagant: Chris and Eric from Retrograde Amnesia join us to take NEXT Generation’s “Are you Hardcore?” quiz! Thanks to Josh from the Still Loading Podcast, we were able to see and take the whole quiz for the first live via Google Form–and hey, so can y...

We told you to ask us anything, and you did! Our Season 1 wrap-up continues with a special AMA/Q&A. From assembling our own ultimate mid-90s gaming mag Voltron-style to talking through how we handle offensive/problematic content, we answered all the questions you submitted via Discord and Bluesky!

As an extra-special treat, Ty also reveals the (published!) letter he sent in to Game Players back in the day. Cringe level: MAXIMUM.

As always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just...

The grand finale of Season One is here! Our coverage of the 1995-1997 “Generation Gap” ends with a blowout review of (nearly) every (English-language print) review of Final Fantasy VII that we could find.

Starting with a quick look back at the first year of FunFactor, and discussion of what’s coming next, we then re-looked at the magazine we debuted the podcast with nearly a year ago, PSM No. 1. 

We then went on to review, well, all of these reviews:

PSM 1: https://archive.org/details/PSM_Issue_001_September_1997/mode/2up
Ultra Game Players...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-53-september-1997/mode/2up

EGM DOCUMENTARY BY MY LIFE IN GAMING & GAME SACK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E010OPY1Tzw

Everybody’s favorite* N64 game ever is here: GoldenEye 007! But did Game Informer’s weird four-voice feature review system capture all the excitement at release?

*if you didn’t have a PC capable of playing first-person shooters online, that is. Did Game Informer’s review capture the skepticism Aidan and Ty had of it at the time?

Longtime EIC Andy McNamara’s letter from the editor...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_36

It’s time to review…the consoles??

NEXT Generation issue 36 marks the start of the magazine’s third year–and they’re not only calling winners and losers of the console generation the magazine was named after, this issue has leaks and rumors of the specs of the next-next generation! And then, wonder of wonders, they declare *the PC* the best console of the year!

That said, they also declare Lara Croft *the most famous woman in the world*, and we unpack a deep (and deeply cringey) i...

ISSUE LINK: https://www.retromags.com/files/file/6814-pc-gamer-issue-037-june-1997

One of the world’s biggest, hottest developers took an unprecedented dive into the rich fantasy world of one of their beloved gaming IPs, and pulled strings to get its beautiful, hand-painted art onto the cover of PC Gamer.

So why didn’t it ever come out?

PC Gamer’s huge feature preview of WarCraft Adventures: War of the Clans had great art, full professional voice acting, and young Aidan holding his breath for a game that would never be released. He and Ty talk a...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/GameFan9700/GameFan%20Vol.%205%20-%2012%20%28Dec%201997%29%20Quest%2064/page/n112/mode/1up

MOLLIE L. PATTERSON'S OLD LETTER TO DAVE HALVERSON (she's since said she's cooled down quite a bit, and they're on better terms): http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/gamefan/fatbabies.txt

Don't let the extremely long intro discussion on journalism, writing, and editorial mentorship--something both Aidan and Ty are clearly passionate about--dissuade you from checking out our look at the December 1997 issue of GameFan!

It's a huge one for the magazine, as it's the one where founding/longtime/iconic/controversial e...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/9e656342-878a-4098-9f49-0ca4dc313cb2

It's a huge episode for a huge issue: EGM No. 100! 

Aidan and Ty go through the magic of Christmastime gaming, before settling in to a nice long trip through this 100-game time capsule of how EGM's staff viewed the history of games at the time. Some such lists were made before, and many many many made since--but the choices they made say a lot about both themselves and the industry at the time. 

And once again, we recorded it...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/official-u.-s.-play-station-magazine-volume-1-issue-02-november-1997

For the first time, we were ON CAMERA as we dug in to The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine's hard pan of The Lost World, a beautiful and ambitious mess from Dreamworks that barely connects to the blockbuster Jurassic Park movie sequel it's an adaptation of. Check out the video on our YouTube channel! https://youtu.be/DRaYBvpndkk 

Are negative reviews like this one, as Ratatouille's Anton Ego said, "fun to write and to read?" As a Hugo Award-winning critic himself, Aidan has a lot to...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/gamepro-issue-108-september-1997/GamePro%20-%20Issue%20108%20%28September%201997%29/mode/2up


Grab your whip, your holy water, and your PlayStation 1, because we're reviewing GamePro's review of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night!

We also get on one of Aidan's biggest hobby horses--2D graphics vs. 3D graphics, and whether the latter inherently beat the former--and ride. We had a ton of fun talking through the different biases that we (and different magazines, editors, and writers!) had when discussing the power of novel technology versus, and in the pursuit of, creative ideals.

...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_31/mode/1up

Great jumpin' ray guns, or some similar 1950sesque exclamation!

Captain Blasto, everyone's favorite James Bond-meets-Inspector-Clouseau-meets-Flash-Gordon, except make it a parody, and also it's Looney Tunes, superhero got a big, splashy cover and a huge preview spread in this issue--and why wouldn't it? A bold, new, original-IP action platformer from Sony's top U.S. studio, led by legendary programmer Dylan Cuthbert. 

Except, well, it didn't turn out great--and the seeds of why it didn't were right there in the preview. How did they handle it? A...

ISSUE LINK: Computer Entertainer, Volume 5, Number 3 | Video Game History Foundation Library – Digital Archive

VHGF HOME: Home | Video Game History Foundation

BONUS UNLOCKED!! This week, for our six-month anniversary, we're making one of our favorite bonus episodes available for everyone--one featuring a pair of guests we've been dreaming about landing since before we launched the show: Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador of the Video Game History Foundation They're two of the highest authorities on the planet on retro games, games media, and the culture around it all.

The VGHF recently acquired the copyright to the 1980s...

DESIGN ROOM DOT SITE: https://www.designroom.site/

Matt Leone, formerly of Polygon, EGM, and elsewhere, has launched a new subscription-based site that gets right to the heart of everything Ty and Aidan love about games media: oral histories of classic, beloved and/or interesting old games.

Not only do we get deep into how and why Matt launched the site, we also look back on some of the vital work Matt did at some of the mainstream games media outlets we've covered--and it inspired and guided Aidan's own work in games-history storytelling.

Matt...

ISSUE LINK: https://www.retromags.com/magazines/usa/game-players-1993/game-players-issue-83/

Here come the RPGs...sort of. Aidan and Ty revisit Game Players yet again, as the drumbeat for more RPGs gets louder across 1996 and 1997. The splashy cover art of Beyond the Beyond's Finn helped rook a young Ty into buying one of the most disappointing and frustrating games he's ever played.

But the review is actually for the seminal Resident Evil, with the GP crew doing its level best to review a genre-shattering, brilliantly innovative game with a couple of truly nasty flaws. 

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ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-47-march-1997

ANDY MCNAMARA ON MY PERFECT CONSOLE: https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/andy-macnamara-former-editor-in-chief-game-informer

MATT MILLER ANNOUNCING GI'S RETURN: https://gameinformer.com/letter-from-the-editor/2025/03/25/game-informer-is-back

We've been grinding XP and saving up MP for this one: Our first issue of Game Informer--
though in 1997, the mag is years from its dominant Aughties peak, and decades from its shocking 2024 closure and its thrilling 2025 revival.

Ty comes clean about his lack of history with the magazine, Aidan discusses having written for it; they both talk about how...

ISSUE LINK: Video Game History Foundation Library | Collection: PC GAMER (US)

More info on "Free Speech and Magic Money," Jillan E. Foley, PhD's forthcoming book from Harvard University Press: Book – Jillian E. Foley

We enter the dangerously Adult world of PC gaming: Mail-order explicit games, game-deletion utilities to keep people from finding out you play explicit games, politicians fear-mongering about games being a "dirty, dangerous" gateway to Hell--and a very thorough and excellent review of Diablo!

You know, a game about going to actual Hell!

For one of our most-requested mags, PC Ga...

ISSUE LINK: Tips & Tricks - Volume IV Issue 1 

GAME LOSERS T&T ARTICLE: A Comprehensive Oral History Of Tips & Tricks – The #1 Video-Game Tips Magazine | Game Losers

We're the Tomb Raiders! Aidan and Ty teased Tomb Raider takes last episode, and here they finally are--and so is our look at a very popular game magazine that didn't (quite) have reviews at all, Tips & Tricks.

Our hosts explain the appeal this magazine had (or didn't) to them at the time, flip out about the masthead featuring a very diverse staff working under Lar...

ISSUE LINK: Computer Entertainer, Volume 5, Number 3 | Video Game History Foundation Library – Digital Archive

VHGF HOME: Home | Video Game History Foundation

A pair of guests we've been dreaming about landing since before we launched the show, Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador of the Video Game History Foundation are two of the highest authorities on the planet on retro games, games media, and the culture around it all.

The VGHF recently acquired the copyright to the 1980s game mag Computer Entertainer, and their contemporary review of Super Mario Bros. for the NES might be the only su...

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/Edge_Gaming/Edge%20Gaming%20Magazine%20016/mode/2up

KEITH STUART EULOGY FOR JASON BROOKES: https://www.eurogamer.net/always-on-edge-my-life-with-jason-brookes

We're going back to the future of interactive entertainment! EDGE magazine, the UK-made precursor to/sister publication of NEXT Generation, revolutionized games media way back in 1993. But the revolution wasn't televised, so to speak, in North America, and Aidan and Ty were barely aware of its impact until they were well into adulthood.

But as much as Aidan and Ty love this magazine's quality, ethos, and production values, their year-and-change...

ISSUE LINK: Ultra Game Players No. 92 - Christmas 1996

Mike Salmon's shot-calling review of NBA Live '97 stuck with Ty for almost 30 years—and it cuts to the heart of everything our podcast is about. 

For the first time ever, we revisit a magazine: Game Players, right after the "ULTRA" makeover that inspired the name of the very premium tiers you subscribe to! We take a hard look at the makeover, their 1996 year-end reviews, and Mike Salmon's refusal to give a major publisher's release a score it didn't deserve.

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Sources include the...

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 Fin...

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...

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...

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 I...

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 yea...

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...

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/m...

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.