Charles Martinet, iconic voice of Mario, is stepping down from the role - and whie it's difficult to imagine the character without him, he's far from the first actor to embody the plucky Brooklyn plumber. This week, Dave Rudden and Anthony Abatte join Chris and Mikel for a look at five other actors' takes on Mario, after which we'll get into Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Immortals of Aveum, a smattering of news from Gamescom and Opening Night Live, and the games you'd like to see get a Quake II-style glow-up.

QOTW: Who do you think should be the next voice of Mario?

When Mikel's away, Chris and Matt (and TL) will play - and we're not just talking about how much fun Chris had playing with the soundboard this week. In this episode, we stretch the limits of our format - and possibly your patience - to its utmost, as we forego individual game entries and talk about game design tropes that just won't die. Then it's back to business as usual as we break down the new Madden game, the surprise rerelease of Quake II, all the news from the THQ Nordic Digital Showcase, and more. Did we mention there's a soundboard? 

Question of the Week: What classic game deserves a Quake II-style glow-up rerelease?

This week, the incomparable Greg Moore joins us to talk about his experiences shadowing pro players at this year's EVO fighting-game tournament - and to keep the theme going, we'll talk about five characters from non-fighting games who somehow ended up as mainstays in fighting series. Then we'll go deeper into Baldur's Gate 3, EVO announcements, Nintendo patenting systems in Tears of the Kingdom, and your favorite mainstream actors who crossed into games.

QOTW: What famous character should be in a fighting game who hasn’t already been? 

This week, we said goodbye to a legend - Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman - and as has become habit when celebrities we like pass away, we're paying tribute with a look at five of his videogame roles. Then we'll get into Remnant II, Venba, Switch successor rumors, Glorbo, and the first game stories you remember getting invested in.