"Janky" can mean a lot of things in the context of games, but this week - hot on the heels of Dragon's Dogma 2 - it means weird, faintly shoddy-feeling fun, and Jarrett Green joins us this week to talk about five games that are arguably beloved because of their jank. We'll also talk (a lot) more about Dragon's Dogma 2, plus Alone in the Dark, Marvel Rivals, Gearbox's sale by Embracer, and the overlooked/cult games you think deserve a sequel.

Question of the Week: Tell us about a time you hacked or repaired a console, controller, or other piece of gaming hardware on your own.

Break song is Emil's Shop Theme (English) from Nier Automata. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The right music can make an already memorable moment unforgettable, and this week Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a look at five games that expertly surprised us with unexpected musical moments, elevating their stories in the process. Then we'll get into Rise of the Ronin, Alone in the Dark, the newly greenlit Sims movie, State of Unreal 2024 news, and the franchises you'd like to see WayForward reinvent next.

Question of the Week: Now that we have Dragon’s Dogma 2, what criminally overlooked/cult hit game needs a sequel glow-up?

Break song is Unshaken by D'Angelo. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Akira Toriyama passed away at 68 on March 1, leaving behind a rich legacy of iconic manga, anime, and (largely dragon-themed) videogames. To mark his passing, we're joined by TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing for a look at five game franchises to which he lent his talents, after which we'll get into Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, Contra: Operation Galuga, Nintendo's Mar10 Day announcements, and the dormant EA franchises you'd like to see them refocus on.

Question of the Week: In the vein of Contra: Operation Galuga and other WayForward adaptations of existing IP, what series should be WayForwarded next?

Break song is Eternity by Nobuo Uematsu, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Ian Gillan. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

This week is bookended by Ufouria The Saga 2 and WWE 2k24, both of which let you switch characters on the fly by tagging in partners - so with help from Emmett Watkins Jr., we'll count down five games that had some of the coolest character-swapping mechanics. Then we'll dig into Unicorn Overlord, Balatro, announcements from the Xbox Partner Preview, and your favorite second entries in game series.

Question of the Week: What dormant EA franchise shoulld the company refocus on?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is out, and being that it's the middle entry in a trilogy, we've invited Brendan "The Crawl" Hesse to talk not only about the game (he finished it), but for a a debate-format Top 5 about other trilogies with fantastic middle entries. We'll also get into Pacific Drive, the Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, news from the Pokémon Presents, and your favorite franchises that haven't put out a new entry in at least a decade.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite second game in a series?