NXpress Nintendo Podcast 317: Tales from the Backlog 2023 Edition + Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider Review

A new year means new adventures in the backlog. This week on the NXpress Nintendo Podcast, Cameron Daxon, Marc Kaliroff, and Campbell Gill return from a brief podcasting hiatus to revisit their favorite New Year’s topic: exploring their backlogs. The gang had plenty of time to delve into their ever-present backlogs over the break, and now they’re ready to share their impressions and hot takes. This simple recap soon grows into a bigger discussion altogether: was the original Portal actually any good? Is Skyward Sword a better Zelda than Link’s Awakening? What does the ending of Limbo actually mean? All this and so much more in this surprisingly in-depth tour-de-force discussion!

As the main event draws to a close, the indie spotlight begins. While Cameron shares a few disappointed thoughts about Lone Ruin, a Hades-esque roguelike that failed to meet expectations, Campbell has much more enthusiasm for Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, a nonsensically named 2D action game giving us what we all really need: a robot ninja adventure. Inspired by Shinobi, Strider, and Mega Man X, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is an intensely demanding adventure that tempers its retro difficulty with some incredibly creative items, quality-of-life improvements, and some brilliantly creative level designs.

Don’t forget: If you want to suggest a discussion topic, share your thoughts on a recent episode, or simply chat with the NXpress crew, feel free to email us at videogameseditor@goombastomp.com!

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Playlist:
LFXIV – NXpress Intro
0:39 – Main Event: Tales From the Backlog: What We Played Recently
“File Select” – The Legends of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
1:00:30 – Indie Spotlight: Lone Ruin & Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider
“Title” – The Legends of Zelda: Link’s Awakening