Advertise on podcast: Hit Save! Podcast

Earlier this summer we sat down with CrunchBite, the third-generation developer and current project lead behind XLink Kai, the remarkable tunneling service that has been connecting console gamers across the internet for over two decades. XLink Kai is what's known as a tunneling program - essentially a VPN that tricks game consoles across the globe into thinking they're on the same local network. This simple concept has enabled millions of players to experience LAN-enabled games with their online friends, from the original Xbox's Halo matches to modern Switch titles, all completely free of charge. Our interview with CrunchBite reveals the story behind one of gaming's most enduring community-driven projects. What started as two friends in the UK wanting to play Halo before Xbox Live existed has evolved into a preservation effort supporting 15 different console generations and over 1,300 games.

Earlier this year we sat down with Erik Andersen, developer of the innovative Japanese learning puzzle game So to Speak. So to Speak drops players into a 2D simulation of Japan where they must decipher the meaning of Japanese words through context clues and visual connections. Players drag Japanese text onto corresponding objects or English descriptions, learning naturally through discovery rather than memorization. Unlike conventional language apps that rely on flashcards, the game presents practical vocabulary that travelers would actually encounter: entrance and exit signs, bathroom markers, and everyday conversation snippets. Our interview with Erik reveals the story behind this innovative educational game. What started as a personal mission became a six-year solo development journey that transformed an academic researcher into an indie game developer.

This podcast features a discussion with four experts working on preserving Japanese mobile phone games (keitai games) from the pre-smartphone era. The participants include Ellen Cooper (board member at Hit Save and founder of Keitai Wiki), Stephanie Gawroriski (creator of Squirrel JME), Max/Rockman Cosmo (game preservationist), and Yuvi (reverse engineer). The conversation covers their collaborative efforts to preserve these historically significant games that would otherwise be lost, as many relied on networks that have since been shut down. They discuss notable preservation achievements, including over 800 preserved i-mode games such as Kingdom Hearts Coded, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mayor, and Xenosaga: Pied Piper. Technical challenges are explored in depth, including hardware hacking to extract data from phone chips, reverse engineering network protocols to recreate server functionality, and developing emulation software to make these games playable again. The team also discusses their work on a launcher to make these games more accessible to players interested in experiencing this unique part of gaming history. The podcast highlights how these Japanese mobile games were technologically advanced for their time and served as important precursors to modern mobile gaming distribution and monetization models, making their preservation culturally and historically significant.

Japanese Feature Phone Preservation update with RockmanCosmo, MemoryHunter, and Kraze

Goodboy Galaxy is an upcoming indie game developed for the classic Game Boy Advance by Rik Nicol and Jeremy Clarke. It follows a space-faring dog named Maxwell as he travels to an alien galaxy seeking help for his dying planet. The game itself is best described as an exploration-focused platformer with some Metroidvania elements, where you'll explore planets and meet all kinds of obstacles, puzzles, bosses, and interesting characters. Our interview with Rik Nicol provides an interesting look into how Goodboy Galaxy came to be. It started life as a 3 day jam game, called Goodboy Advance for the Ludum Dare 43 game jam, with Rik and Jeremy experimenting to see if they could make a simple playable GBA game quickly. Buoyed by this initial success, they continued to expand the game bit by bit. The extra free time during COVID allowed them to polish a demo that helped fund the project via a successful Kickstarter campaign.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Artemio Urbina, a software developer and engineer based in Mexico who has created some fascinating tools for the retro gaming community. His most famous projects include the 240p Test Suite, MD Fourier, and the CPS2 desuicide project. Full blog post: https://hitsave.org/artemio-urbina-pioneering-tools-to-keep-retro-gaming-alive Support Artemio and follow his work through the following links: https://www.patreon.com/aurbina https://artemiourbina.itch.io/240p-test-suite https://stoneagegamer.com/240p-test-suite-for-neo-geo-mvs-junkerhq.html https://ko-fi.com/artemio https://github.com/ArtemioUrbina/240pTestSuite/ https://twitter.com/artemio

We sat down with Alex Rushdy, CEO and Creative Director at 13AM Games, to talk about their new game Dawn of the Monsters. 13AM Games have previously made Pirate Pop Plus, Runbow, and Double Cross.

Prior to the advent of the iPhone and the rise of worldwide mobile phone gaming in the early 2010s, there was a fervent mobile gaming scene in Japan - feature phone gaming. Feature phones, also known as Japanese "dumbphones," had dedicated mobile internet services to connect users to an assortment of utilities, including storefronts from the likes of Capcom to Square Enix for purchasing and downloading video games. On top of porting existing games, they created completely original games specifically for these devices. Unfortunately, in recent years, this era of gaming history has become susceptible to becoming lost to time.

Super Marxist Twins is a fun and fast parody platformer with an old  Soviet theme, where you play as the communist brothers Mikhail and  Ludmil trying to take down the evil (literal capitalist pig) Tsar  Boarov.  We talked with developers Eric Kesterson, Saun Conlin, Jim Bochanski,  and Nick Zaleski about the genesis of their idea, level design,  characters and themes, and much more.  More info here: https://hitsave.org/super-marxist-twins-a-roundtable-with-the-devs

Jaiden Alemni of Studio Alemni is creating a wonderful role-playing game with an interesting story and game play mechanics. Check it out: https://www.studioalemni.com/astravia

Matthew has created a beautiful and creative puzzle game, where you control everything on screen at the same time.

I had a blast playing Q-Cubed, and we're so happy to be talking to Carolyn about her game. Apologies for the somewhat crappy audio from my  microphone. More information: https://hitsave.org/blog/q-cubed-with-carolyn-lu-cludosian-games/

We sat down with Jack Breen, the sole developer behind the upcoming Metroidvania game GigaSword. It's a game filled with charm, fun puzzles, great artwork and excellent music. The demo is available on both Itch and Steam, and we highly recommend you try it out. Jack is also currently running a Kickstarter which ends on March 3, so if you're interested in supporting his work on the game and get your name into the credits, head over there now :)

Earlier this year we sat down with three members of the Wintermoor Tactics Club development team: Ben Walker, Kyla Fury, and Ryan Anderson.

We sat down with Vicky Wei and Jon Lawitts of Redstart Interactive just after they released their first game Get-A-Grip Chip on the Nintendo Switch. We cover their development progress which was very quick (less than a year!), how they met up with local play testers, and their influences for the game. We also talk about their experiences working with a translation team to get their game translated from English to Japanese, how the release process works to get a game onto the Switch, and much more.