Number 22 - Peggle, Super Mario Sunshine, Hyrule Warriors

Mario! It's Super Mario! 

Find out just how much money our trio are preparing to tip into Nintendo's coffers in celebration of Mr Mario Mario's 35th anniversary! A totally unnecessary Game and Watch! eShop treats! Remasters! Reissues! Karts with cameras!

Jonathan gets to the end of Raji on the Switch, and begins his journey with Spiritfarer. Minty romps through some of Doom 64's bonus episode, before returning to the nightmare of his Ultraviolence run of Doom 2. Chris gets buried under the workload of a new job!

This week, joining the boys' podium of all timers: 

P E G G L E  D E L U X E
S U P E R  M A R I O  F L I P P I N G  S U N S H I N E
H Y R U L E  W A R R I O R S  D E F I N I T I V E  E D I T I O N 

How did Peggle almost destroy Chris' old plasma TV? 

Did Jonathan engineer Nintendo's announcement of Super Mario Sunshine's imminent arrival on the Switch given that it was his 22nd favourite game of all time? 

Why is Minty comparing the trials of the fated three in Hyrule Warriors to bubbles in a thick milkshake?

Number 23 - Hotline Miami, DuckTales, Heroes of Might & Magic 3

Are you a gaming virgin? Let the chaps direct you to the very best starter games for those approaching the hobby, tabula rasa. 

This week: Minty chips through his backlog, Jonathan fills in gaps in his knowledge of 16-bit movie tie-ins, and Chris explores a parody game. 

23rd favourite games of all times, you say?

Chris dehydrates himself talking about the hyper stylised, ultra violent Hotline Miami, a "ten out of ten game with an eleven out of ten soundtrack". 

Minty pogos as Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales on the NES, making special mention of its Moon theme - a chiptune classic tied indelibly to a video charting the inaugural flight of a balloon laden Bichon Frise. 

Jonathan hopes to do justice to two podcast faithfuls with his run down of Heroes of Might & Magic 3, a game designed for, in his words, "those who are smarter than me". 

Have these three games ever come up in the same conversation before? No, no they haven't.

Number 24 - Metroid Prime, Journey, Super Crate Box

This week on the podcast, our net games played is well into the minus figures as Chris finally clears out his closet of all his repeats! Thankfully Jonathan is on hand to indulge in a plethora of games featured in the recent Nintendo Indie World Direct and samples such off piste delights as A Short Hike, Overland, Evergate and Raji: An Ancient Epic. And Minty, inspired by last week’s episode, has wrapped his fingers around New Star Soccer once more!

And then onto our 24th favourite video games of all flipping time! My word! What games they are!

Find out what makes Metroid Prime the exception to console first-person games!

Find out what makes Journey such a primal and existential experience!

Find out why learning the ins and outs of Super Crate Box is akin to learning a new language!

Dive in and enjoy a ruddy good talk about some ruddy good things! Mangetout!

Number 25 - Super Monkey Ball, New Star Soccer, Octopath Traveler

The last quartile. Can you believe it? 

Jonathan digs into Owlboy's tantalising lore, and leaps into wireless VR with the Oculus Quest. Minty vanquishes Doom 64, after eating away at hell's offerings chip by chip for months. Chris dabbles with player-made PC mods and digs up Telltale's long delisted Jurassic Park game. 

How did a teenage Jonathan become the 10th best Super Monkey Ball player in the world?

What makes Chris qualify New Star Soccer as a 'perfect mobile game'?

How does Minty bring Jonathan to actual tears talking about his personal connection to Octopath Traveler?

3 video games that you should go and buy. Buy and play. Play and love.

Number 26 - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Mario Kart DS, Inside

As the weeks go by,
And our thoughts grow stronger,
Much as we may try,
Our show grows longer. 

A quiz, with cheers,
The games we've played,
A selection of memories,
That will not fade.

Bugs, a PC, a pirate's knell,
An awakening, body horror, and a blue shell.

Number 27 - Tales of Vesperia, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, OutRun 2

Bloomin' 'eck it's been hot, hasn't it?!

Find out what the boys think about the recent Nintendo 'Gigaleak' courtesy of a listener question. 

Then hear of the chaps' gaming efforts for the week.

Paper Mario, Alice, Forager: DONE!
Carrion: STARTED!
Slay the Spire: REVISITED!
Tales of Vesperia: SEGUED SEAMLESSLY INTO A LIST ENTRY!

Vesperia is Minty's 27th favourite game of all time!
Eternal Darkness is Jonathan's 27th favourite game of all time!
OutRun 2 is Chris' 27th favourite game of all time!

The Linear Motion Battle System! SUCCULENT Lore! A protagonist named Yuri Lowell!

Intertwined stories! Unpronounceable Lovecraftian abominations! Stellar voicework by William Hootkins!

Outrageous drifts! Single player content up the wazoo! An arranged OST by Richard Jacques!

What more could your fine ears lust after than these hardcore pearls?!

Number 28 - Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Rayman

This week Jonathan Dunn sails towards the end of his time with Paper Mario: The 'Orange Army' King lumping high praise on Mario's latest papery adventure. Minty Booth swings back towards loving rather than loathing the same title, allowing it to leap frog the inconsistent Colour Splash in his hypothetically revised list. Christopher Dow nears the end of Alice: Madness Returns, and revisits Deadly Premonition for some Lynchian spooks.

Want to know our 28th favourite games of all time? 

Minty gardens his way to sweet victory in Viva Piñata, Rare's gorgeous 360-era animal management simulation. 

Chris feels embarrassed discussing his relatively miniscule time with the smorgasbord of content and riches that is The Binding of Isaac when viewed against Jonathan and Minty's playtime and mastery.

Jonathan finds a magic coin and wishes the sumptuous Rayman into his childhood possession.

Top banana.

Number 29 - Super Mario Odyssey, Saints Row IV, NiGHTS into Dreams…

This week:

Chris attempts to chip through his backlog, SMASHING through Thumper with the highest possible ranks, MEANDERING through the middle third of Alice: Madness Returns, RESETTING and RESTARTING Forager, one of the trio's favourites of yesteryear.

Minty YO-YOs between loving and loathing the new Paper Mario and the Origami King, praising some of the changes to the series wider design whilst resigning himself to finally accept that Mario's 'Story' may have finally been retired.

Jonathan eschews many of Minty's criticisms of Paper Mario, bowled over as he is by the game’s song and dance numbers, as well as Mario's car 'which is a big shoe'.

And then:

Entering the 20s now; oh boy, oh boy!

Hear how and why Jonathan managed to 100% the FIFTY HOUR platform epic Super Mario Odyssey, within a 72 hour stretch!

Gasp in amazement as Minty links a daily walk past a pair of bus stop advertising hoardings to the gleeful, self-referential escapism of Saints Row IV!

Let Chris wiffle and waffle about the near-unclassifiable NiGHTS Into Dreams…, (Jonathan's 30th favourite game!) and glow at the thought of Sega Saturn synchronicity and serendipity!

Number 30 - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, NiGHTS into Dreams…, Crackdown

Knowing me, the writer of this O3C episode blurb, knowing you, our humble listeners. Aha!

We've played a lot of games this week. Oh boy have we played a lot of games! Super Mario Maker 2! American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns! The NES de-make of Pacman Championship Edition! The Last of Us! God of War! Superliminal! Probably others!

Some very, very good games, and yet… AND YET… none of these games place on our collective lists!

Games that ARE reserved for list placement this week:

The dreamy, surreal, technical powerhouse that is The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the original Gameboy.

The dreamy, surreal, technical powerhouse that is the fever dream NiGHTS Into Dreams… on the much maligned Sega Saturn. 

And the GTA derivative Crackdown on the Xbox 360?

Three genuine 10/10 rippers. Take our triumvirate of words for it. 

Number 31 - Thumper, Octopath Traveler, Pokémon Emerald

THIS WEEK:
Minty has popped back to Skyrim's Tamriel as a man with magic mitts. 

Chris has popped Super Mario Maker into his 3DS, and found what is perhaps the only 'hidden gem' in the core Mario franchise. 

Jonathan has popped between Animal Crossing and the Last of Us, seesawing between glorious climes and azure waters, and bleak, post-apocalyptic ruins.  

ALSO THIS WEEK:
Chris goes biblical with his description of Thumper, a dreadful, visceral 'rhythm violence' game best experienced in VR. 

Jonathan recounts his time with Octopath Traveller, a sprawling RPG that follows an octet of lads and lasses in a tilt-shifted, pop-up book world.

Minty takes you to the cinema (remember the cinema?) to collect a special Pokémon in Emerald, one of the GBA's strongest entries in the Poké-pantheon.

What a love-er-ley bunch of video games!

Number 32 - Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mario Kart 8

Kick off this week's festivities with a 'double pointer' quiz question!

Then journey with Jonathan to the Isle of Armor, before commiserating with him as he throws in the towel with first person shooters on console; share in Chris' excitement as he watches his brother dominate a 20+ year old handheld football game; and sit patiently with Minty as he 'potters around, enjoying his life' as he anticipates the release of the new Paper Mario. 

Then three VERY list-worthy games. 

Jonathan goes deep on Super Mario Maker, offering a huge thank you to Nintendo for passing the design torch to its players. And why not challenge his Super World from Super Mario Maker 2 like Chris did in our recent YouTube video - Maker ID: 1L9-KKR-22H

Minty shrinks down with the aid of the Minish Cap in the GBA's Capcom-helmed entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise.

Chris adds Mario Kart 8 to the list of Our Three Cents approved titles, sharing disparate memories of his tenure with the Greatest Kart Racer of all time. 

(I think it's fair to say that we are big fans of Nintendo!)

Number 33 - Golden Sun, The Simpsons Arcade Game, Rise of the Tomb Raider

Two thirds of the list down. Two ENTIRE thirds, now in the past. But with a final third starting THIS strongly, we hope your tears are short-lived. 

Minty makes friends with a Kung Fu bear, Jonathan wraps up Xenoblade Chronicles with a gaggle of Nopon tag-alongs, and Chris… moves house? 

Is Summer in Mara any cop? How many levels of Doom 64 did Minty get through this week? Is there any chance whatsoever that Chris will get through the first Last of Us?

Then let a teenage Minty sell you on the outrageously strong Golden Sun; a single-digit Chris talk up a weekend trip to soft play to leap in ball pits and play The Simpsons Arcade Game; and a full blown adult man, one Jonathan A Dunn, wax lyrical about Rise of the Tomb Raider. 

Cosy couches! Pat Sharp! Akimbo pistols! They're all here.

Number 34 - The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Hyrule Warriors, F-Zero X

It’s Monday. You all know what that means? Time to wrap your willing ears around a new episode of this absolute wallop of a podcast!

How have these three gents enjoyed video games this week?

Chris has a boo boo back :( and as such has resorted to less taxing games in easy-to-play forms, such as a classic card game on the Switch that has captured his imagination, and continued forays into his handheld retro machine, the Evercade!

How is Jonathan’s ongoing quest with Xenoblade Chronicles coming along - does he have time to spend a wee smidgen of his Summer in Mara in the new Kickstarter indie game release?

And, in light of a fallow gaming week for Mr Minty and in a delightful turn of events, we find out how Mrs Minty is getting on in the collective Mintys’ Clog Island in Animal Crossing!

And then the rankings! 34 deep means it’s wall-to-wall excellence now!

Minty takes us on a charming locomotive trip down memory train track with his recollection of one of the more quaint Legend of Zelda adventures, in the DS’ wonderful Spirit Tracks.

Jonathan takes us on an epic, console-spanning, dimension-hopping trip down adventure lane with the uncompromising Zelda/Dynasty Warriors mash-up, Hyrule Warriors.

And Chris takes us on a warp-speed trip down memory-racing-tube with his childhood reminiscences of Nintendo’s flagship sci-fi racer, F-Zero X.

Number 35 - Timesplitters 2, Doom 2, Mario Kart DS

Minty is in a hole - a GOLF hole! - in Team 17's Golf with Friends. Jonathan details his Reyn time in Xenoblade Chronicles, as well as a late night foray into the recently Chris-approved VVVVVV. Chris commits to collecting physical games for yet another console with the brand new portable retro-tech, Evercade!

FROTH AT THE MOUTH as Chris says that Timesplitters 2 is a better console first person shooter than Goldeneye!

DON THE SUIT OF THE DOOMSLAYER to fight through the gates of hell with Minty in Doom 2!

REMEMBER THE GLORY DAYS of Nintendo's early online multiplayer efforts as Jonathan talks up Mario Kart DS!

BOOOOOOSH!

Number 36 - Super Smash Bros. Melee, Resident Evil 4, VVVVVV

…oh, hello! Didn't see you there. I was just listening to the latest episode of Our Three Cents here.

You won't believe it, but in this podcast, these three little boys tell stories about their favourite games of all time, and in this very episode they're talking up the games they proclaim to be their 36th favourite games ever made. 

In addition, they talk about some of the current games they've been playing. Fancy that, eh? This fella called Chris has been playing some weird title called Ace of Seafood that he reckons is worth a go despite 'defying classification', as well as a title called Adam's Venture which sounds pretty dreadful. Then a wee lad named Jonathan said he's been enjoying a recent remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles as well as an indie title called Hyper Light Drifter on the Nintendo Switch. The final member of the cast, Minty, says he's returned to playing the ludicrously named Tales of Vesperia, alongside a handful of other strangely titled Japanese role playing games. 

Then they all get quite excited about some game about Animals? But to be honest I just glazed over for a bit then. 

Aren't they all busy boys? 

Then the lists! Oh heavens, the lists!

Master Minty tells a story about learning of the Nintendo franchises at the edges of the multiverse in Super Smash Bros Melee.

Master Jonathan talks about the horror game Resident Evil 4, waxing lyrical about its atmosphere, and optional chainsaw controller.

Master Chris praises the simplicity of a game called VVVVVV by a lone developer named Terry that was apparently inspired by the old ZX Spectrum.

What a strange show?! Right, back to it.

Ta-ra!

Number 37 - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Doom, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

After almost two years in the video game trenches, our heroes, Jonathan, Chris and Minty, have reached number 37 on their lists. 

Jonathan strikes fear into Chris' heart as he nears the end of construction on his Super Mario Maker 2 Super World, and then invites us all to Golf with Friends. Chris tarts up his Animal Crossing island, and beams with admiration at two indie games: Gone Home and Desert Child. Minty treads water with a smidgen of Dead Cells, a pinch of Labyrinth of Refrain, and lashings of hot Disgaea 5.

Bust kickflips and boneless pop shove its with the excellent Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Batter hellspawn with a twelve gauge in the genre-defining Doom. Wrestle with the sombre sense of isolation (but also the Wiimote controls) of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Better than Panzer Dragoon Saga? Why don't YOU tell US.

Number 38 - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Panzer Dragoon Saga

The games start coming, and they don't stop coming, eh?

Tetris Attack, a game in no way connected to Tetris entertains Mr Dow. Mr Booth continues to flit merrily through Labyrinth of Refrain, but also returns to Dead Cells. Mr Dunn brings a veritable cavalcade of games to the table as he continues to make progress in Lonely Mountains, New Horizons, as well as his magnum epic Super World opus in Super Mario Maker 2.

Then, our number 38s. 

Monsieur 'Egyptian Boat' gets tangled in his attempts to talk up the visual novel 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, without, y'know, just explaining the novel itself. Good endings! Bad endings! Layered endings!

Monsieur 'Enclosed Seating at a 60s Diner' gets all fired up talking about the high point in flat Mario's role-playing offshoot Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Chapters! Consoles with handles! Battle towers!

Monsieur Completed Task relives Chris' agony at placing Panzer Dragoon Saga too low on the list after a modern replay, by placing it too low on his list after, you guessed it, a modern replay. Artistry! Scale! Parallels to Japanese anime! 

Bleedin' 'eck. How on EARTH are there still 37 games better than these?

Number 39 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, New Super Mario Bros, Panzer Dragoon Saga

It's a week of - q u e s t i o n s -

ROUND ONE
Will Minty continue his meteoric quiz comeback?
How is Minty doing with the big bees of Labyrinth of Refrain, a dungeon crawler he hasn't picked up since the beginning of the podcast? 
How many games has Jonathan beaten during a fallow period of self-employment due to lockdown? 
Can you count the number of racing games the boys lavish praise upon in the first fifteen minutes of the episode? 
Why is Streets of Rage 4 so, so good?
Which VR game made Chris feel like he was truly 'in space'?

ROUND TWO
What is Minty's excuse for playing Skyrim for eleventy billion hours and not 100-percenting the main game?
Is Skyrim worth playing in virtual reality?
Just how 'new' was New Super Mario Bros? 
Why does Jonathan 'not accept' Super Mario Advance as a legitimate 2D Mario title?
Does Minty ever get bored when Chris and Jonathan get all toasty about the Sega Saturn?
And why is Chris simultaneously incredibly excited and dreadfully upset to talk about Panzer Dragoon Saga?

Phew!!
Answers on a postcard, team!

Number 40 - Stardew Valley, Super Mario 3D World, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Today is the start of the week, and therefore the start of another Our Three Cents ODYSSEY!

Can you believe we are now sixty games deep? There's been some crossover, sure, but still, we have now collectively delivered ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY monologues about our favourite games. 

'fore we raise this hallowed number to 183, listen out for: a mysterious creak on Minty's audio channel (a genuine prize for ANYONE who gets close to identifying its source - details on our Facebook page!); a deep discussion on secondary school discos; thoughts of Bravely Default 2's refreshing approach to game demos; Jonathan's multiplayer PC smorgasbord; thoughts on the recent Streets of Rage 4; Chris' apology to indie developers who find themselves at the behest of unscrupulous console porting houses; and… of course... some updates on the gang's progress in Animal Crossing. 

Jonathan tells of the bucolic delights of Stardew Valley.
Chris hazily remembers the Ghibli charm of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.
Minty is illuminated by the warm glow and feline embrace of Super Mario 3D World.

Every one of these games are worth your time and attention, and hopefully you'll agree that our 40 minute chat about these wonderful titles is an equally solid way to kill a commute, or a morning lie-in if you're currently furloughed. 

Stay safe. We love you all almost as much as we love video games!

Number 41 - Ridge Racer 3D, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Final Fantasy VI

Being served up today: a sweetly hoppy brew of video game chit chat and nonsense. 

For the main event, three gently sparkling jars of amber nectar as Jonathan, Chris and Minty tell tales of their 41st favourite games of all times. But of course, not before a round of aperitifs in the form of Animal Crossing waffle, as well as some thoughts on Ori and the Will of the Wisps, some classic multiplayer PC games,  the recent console port of Doom 64, Super Mario Maker 2's recent update, and lockdown-induced gaming malaise. 

(shall we, uh, stop with this, uh, alcoholic beverage metaphor?)

Today's MAIN EVENT games!

Chris tells some long winded stories of teenage disappointment to tee up his eventual glowing praise of Ridge Racer 3D's greatest hits approach to the Ridge Racer formula. 

Jonathan places Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time atop two towering pedestals marked 'defining 3D action game' and 'best third party title on the Nintendo GameCube'.

Then finally, Minty talks up the grandiosity of Squaresoft's 16-bit crowning glory, celebrating the true artistry of the games sprite work, setting, story and soundtrack. 

Drink up, lads!