Retrograde Amnesia is a deep-dive video game podcast dedicated to exploring classic Japanese Role-playing Games (JRPGs), chapter by chapter, beat by beat. The show blends structured narrative analysis, humor, and immersive production to guide listeners through the worlds, characters, and themes of the genre’s most beloved and strange stories.
Praised for its thoughtful pacing, encyclopedic research, and a blend of sincerity and irreverence, Retrograde Amnesia offers a cozy look back for players who want to engage more deeply with their favorite games within the medium. Play along with the hosts or reminisce your enduring thoughts as we trek through the stories we grew up with.
Each season covers a single game in exhaustive detail, using a a meticulous scene-by-scene format to reexamine every moment. Whether it’s dissecting the political intricacies of Final Fantasy Tactics, or unraveling the existential dread of Xenogears, the show approaches every game with a balance of critical insight and deep appreciation for the medium.
Listeners have described the show as:
“One of the best out there”
“If you love retrospective type podcast this is one of the best out there. They pick great games and take their time going through them. Just the perfect type of podcast for me. It’s like getting to live through these games from my childhood again without having to play all the way through them. Great job guys, I hope there are many more episodes to come.”
— SIumlord, May 27, 2024“What a gem”
“Discovered these guys when I was searching up stuff on Xenosaga, and saw a back catalog of amazing games. Started with [Final Fantasy VIII] and am about to do the next season. Chris and Eric are hilarious, insightful, and worth your time to listen to. Also Fakenet will you marry me.”
— laser canon death sentance, January 23, 2024“Witty, smart, and highly detailed”
“Chris and Eric rock. They play off each other super well, it’s like hanging out with a couple guys with a bottle of whiskey and even though you never have a chance to get a word in, you don’t really want to. Thoughtful and interesting with hilarious in jokes they are more than happy to bring you in on.”
— alinktreetothepast, October 19, 2023
Since 2019, Retrograde Amnesia has been a destination for thoughtful JRPG fans seeking to reckon with the games they grew up loving — while learning to love the ones they missed.
Retrograde Amnesia is hosted by Eric and Chris — two old pals who have been thinking about JRPGs for multiple decades.
We’ve killed our father. In our slightly-related quest to united rebel factions, we’re tripping over fresh graves, investing in a murderer and executioner, dismissing a bloodsucking vampire lord as a rumor, hearing the word NECLORD, finally…
Our father is a loser but we’re still not winners. Before the rematch, we’re wondering how many spears are on fire, entering a town that’s a dungeon, finding trust in eyes, stopping the thieving dipshit network from harassing a tall lady, paying…
A special interview with Arnie Roth, conductor of Distant Worlds. Interview performed by ssdninja. Distant Worlds is a concert series centered around the Final Fantasy franchise. Produced by AWR music and debuting in 2007, Distant Worlds brings the…
You must not die here, don’t waste the life Gremio gave you. As we determine the logistics of the Soul Eater, we’re receiving intel from Kasumi Ninja, mulling over the ethics of fighting our fathers, falling fast to armored cavalry, letting Pahn…
I’m prepared to die and I won’t miss this world. While we try to beat the rapids, we’re escalating neighborly beef, kickstarting the industrial revolution, hauling an engine across town, confessing our lack of purpose to raise our death flag,…
All I’m interested in are boats. Before we brave the rapids, we’re squaring off against some jabronis at Garan, murdering 3000 soliders with the Lepant family, refusing a recon mission, inhaling poisonous pollen, foreshadowing Gremio’s doom,…
We found our way here, to this mystery. As we pivot from military recruitment to cult assembly, we’re playing Mark’s voicemail, wondering if we’ve slaughtered Kuromimi’s family members, separating choice from destiny, adding a bunch of elfes…
God? There is no god in these modern times. As we seek to shatter the Burning Mirror, we’re discovering Kage is working both side’s case, stealing a root to prove our worthiness, getting beat up because we’re poor, solving an incredulous phone…
Ho ho, you smell like humans. After we roll this wet elf out of our bed, we’re recruiting more children into the army, throwing dice for another degenerate, sacrificing morals for money, slaughtering Christmas trees, recruiting a teleporting…
Want to take a bath? You’ll feel refreshed. While we refuse to discuss our trauma, we’re escaping Lepant’s fun house, stealing a named sword, refusing to get poisoned again, donning a skin cloak, threatening a man’s wife, taking a man’s…