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.
Once more into the poopy pit. Inside that mess we’re aspiring to the rank of Dragonmaster, misunderstanding Jessica’s social cues, hijacking the seas, letting Jessica cook in Silver Star Harmony, blowing up food, sleeping on the floor, getting my…
Enough with the googoo eyes, you geek. All you need is googoo ears to hear us forcing Mia to take control of the Magic Guild, sequence breaking a heel turn, addressing a problem but refusing to solve it, sniffing Mia’s bed sheets, beating the shit…
Show all the true soul of this imposter. Show your ears the tales of us demonstrating bravery, wearing underthings on the dome, prohibiting weapons at church, restoring memory with song, kidnapping singers for occult rituals, going Full Mom,…
Screaming will achieve nothing. That’s why we’re speaking at normal volume about lamenting the loss of democracy, getting weirdly nationalist about fish and chips, committing to a Ghaleon bit, doubling down on menopause jokes, finding ourselves…
In the past, British People were responsible for the future. What a time to have never been alive. 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:35 Hackers 00:06:03 Techno 00:11:41 Wipeout Demo 00:26:36 Wipeout 00:35:50 The Prodigy 00:44:17 Wipeout XL 01:02:07 Wiped Out…
Real men can pitch tents in the blink of an eye. Real listeners will know when we’re threatening to zap men to the Frontier, steering a boat, deploying pipe organs in a fetid swamp, avoiding poisonous wa-wa, guessing dragon colors, regretting…
Surprise! We’re back to season four with a very special 66th episode. We’re joined by Aidan Moher to discuss his upcoming book on Suikoden and Suikoden II and listen to some of Aidan’s thoughts on Suikoden I&II HD Remaster. In finer detail,…
That freakin’ kid has no appreciation for capitalism. You freakin’ kids have appreciation for defining the rules of a cave, becoming the Chad of socialism, landing on Star Search, casting spells on the lake, tossing fireballs at fishermen,…
Cool, man. We cool men and a robot are socking a cheater in the gut, suffering a honker punch, getting duped by a lying treasure chest, allowing the fascists to pass through, teeming with the criminal element, moving drunk Kyle around the map,…
Luck had nothing to do with it. You made the choice to listen as we’re applying Goku logic, admiring fashionable mage robes, ticking a clock, cosigning a case to a charge, going back to the pool, hearing rumors of a fake dragon master, leaving some…