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Maximum Fun

Video games: They’re serious business! Except when they’re not serious at all. Each week on Triple Click, video game experts Kirk Hamilton, Maddy Myers, and Jason Schreier journey into the fascinating world of games. They’ll explore hot topics in video game news and culture, answer burning listener questions, debate the pros and cons of the biggest new games, and replay old classics together.

Triple Click

Did the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard ruin Xbox? How do you build a new studio while simultaneously making a video game? And what's up with the lack of gender representation in esports? Jason, Maddy, and Kirk open up the mailbag and take some of YOUR questions on all sorts of things.

One More Thing:

Kirk: The Lowdown (Hulu)

Maddy: Beauty and the Bester (Netflix)

Jason: The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox (Hulu)

LINKS:

“No Girls Allowed” by Tracey Lien for Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed/

Katy Perrry sings “Last Friday Night” in Simlish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxyW6AJ-yIk

Twenty Thousand Hertz on Simlish: https://www.20k.org/episodes/sulsul

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Did The Activision Purchase Ruin Xbox? (Mailbag)

Kirk, Jason, and Maddy convene to talk about the big news of the week — Electronic Arts going private as part of a $55 billion leveraged buyout — and what it could mean for the people involved. Then they talk about Ghost of Yotei, the latest PlayStation 5 exclusive and an open-world samurai game about exploring feudal Japan and killing ronin with a sword. It's fun! 

One More Thing:

Kirk: Baby Steps

Maddy: Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Jason: One Battle After Another (2025)

LINKS:

“How Private Equity Destroys the Companies You Depend On” - The Culture Study Podcast w/ Megan Greenwell: https://culturestudypod.substack.com/p/how-private-equity-destroys-the-companies

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EA Goes Private And We Play Ghost of Yōtei

Kirk, Maddy, and Jason are all playing the new remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever made. The gang talks about how the 1998 classic holds up today, the complexity of its systems, and all of the new features that Square Enix added for this version, like voice acting. Plus: Hades 2!

One More Thing:

Kirk: Hades 2

Maddy: Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong (Christopher Ferguson and Patrick M. Markey)

Jason: Rise of the Golden Idol

LINKS:

Jason and Kirk published their entire text conversation about Final Fantasy Tactics’ Dorter Slums: https://kotaku.com/man-final-fantasy-tactics-sure-had-a-steep-learning-cu-5974665

Kirk talks to game developers about why they love Final Fantasy Tactics: https://kotaku.com/why-everybody-loves-final-fantasy-tactics-5973196

2013 Jason on Video Game Violence: https://kotaku.com/from-halo-to-hot-sauce-what-25-years-of-violent-video-5976733

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Final Fantasy Tactics: It's Still Good

Jason, Kirk, and Maddy convene to discuss all the news in the latest Nintendo Direct, from the Super Mario Galaxy movie to a new Fire Emblem and the mysterious Danganronpa 2x2. Then: more Silksong! They talk about difficulty, opacity, and how cool Hornet is... I mean seriously. She's just so cool.

One More Thing (Timestamp 46:34):

Kirk: Fourth Wing & Romantasy

Maddy: When the Clock Broke (John Ganz)

Jason: Nathan For You

LINKS:

Christian Donlan’s Eurogamer Silksong review: https://www.eurogamer.net/hollow-knight-silksong-review

Jason’s spoiler-free tips for getting to Silksong Act 3: https://discord.com/channels/735597186657812641/1408099310213529701/1416775529041760397

“Choral Chambers” by Christopher Larkin from Hollow Knight: Silksong

Kirk’s remix of Shakra’s song: https://bsky.app/profile/kirkhamilton.com/post/3lysrc5ee422a

"Why Magic, Dragons and Explicit Sex Are in Bookstores Everywhere” - Alexandra Alter for the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/style/harry-potter-fan-fiction-romantasy-manacled.html

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Nintendo News and More Silksong

Maddy, Jason, and Kirk finally crack into the long-awaited Silksong, the sequel to Hollow Knight that was seven years in the making. They talk about how Silksong compares to its predecessor, the classic origin of its musical motif, and of course, why Hornet is such a badass.

One More Thing:

Kirk: The Cloud Roads (Martha Wells)

Maddy: Elden Ring Nightreign’s four-player mod by Yui

Jason: The NFL

LINKS:

“Enter Pharloom,” “Moss Grotto,” “Title Theme” by Christopher Larkin from Hollow Knight: Silksong

Twenty Thousand Hertz on Dies Irae: https://www.20k.org/episodes/diesirae

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Triple Play: Hollow Knight: Silksong

On this, the day of Silksong's release, it's time to go back to where it all began: Hollow Knight! The Triple Click gang talks about Team Cherry's 2017 action-adventure game, what makes it so special, and how it became a cultural phenomenon. Plus: they revisit Kotaku Splitscreen's 2018 interview with the developers of Hollow Knight.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Split Fiction

Maddy: Deep Cover (2025)

Jason: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

LINKS:

“Hornet” and “City of Tears” by Chris Larkin from the Hollow Knight OST

Kirk’s review of Hollow Knight: https://kotaku.com/hollow-knight-the-kotaku-review-1827367425

A video of someone beating the Absolute Radiance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rg8UBKtt1o

Excerpts from Kirk’s August 2018 Splitscreen interview with Team Cherry

Jason’s 2025 interview with Team Cherry

Folding Ideas on Silkposting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSkbylysplI

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How Hollow Knight Became Such A Phenomenon

Jason, Kirk, and Maddy react to the news that Silksong will be out very soon, then talk about some of the games they've been playing, including Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Mafia: The Old Country, and more.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Alien: Earth

Maddy: King of the Hill (2025)

Jason: Crosscode

LINKS:

Brett Douville’s podcast, Dev Game Club: https://www.devgameclub.com/

Jason’s interview with Team Cherry

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Silksong, Metal Gear Solid, Mafia, And More

LINKS:

Plante's video game podcasts The Besties and Post Games

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(BONUS) We Solve Your Toughest Conundrums

Kirk, Jason, and Maddy open up the mailbag to answer some of your questions! What's the ideal skill level for a video game reviewer? What's the funniest made-up video game word? And where's the line when it comes to the use of generative AI in game development? 

One More Thing:

Kirk: The Words of Radiance (Brandon Sanderson)

Maddy: Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation (Sophie Lewis)

Jason: Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

LINKS:

Kirk’s new Strong Songs episode about his dad: https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/s07-bonus-a-song-for-my-father

Brian Merchant’s Blood In The Machine blog post: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/how-ai-is-killing-jobs-in-the-tech-f39

Kirk’s guest spot on A Grain of Sanderson talking about The Emperor’s Soul: https://agrainofsanderson.buzzsprout.com/2312274/episodes/17601676-the-emperor-s-soul-legion-episode-17-w-kirk-hamilton

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Where Is The Line For AI in Game Development?

Maddy, Jason, and Kirk whip out their ocarinas for a trip to the past in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the 1998 masterpiece that set a new bar for 3D video games. They talk about how it holds up in 2025, how it set a blueprint for Breath of the Wild, and how Link got adult clothes after seven years in cryostasis.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Process: A Novel (Matthew Seiji Burns)

Maddy: KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Jason: Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

LINKS:

Featuring soundtrack excerpts from Ocarina of Time composed by Koji Kondo

Triple Click’s Link to the Past Episode: https://maximumfun.org/episodes/triple-click/triple-click-classics-zelda-a-link-to-the-past/

Kirk’s Strong Songs episodes about The Legend of Zelda: https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/the-music-of-the-legend-of-zelda

And a Zelda bonus: https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/s05-bonus-a-little-extra-zelda
And Tears of the Kingdom: https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/s05e08-the-music-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Is Still Magic

Before we play video games, it's important to get consent from relevant parties, such as Visa and Mastercard. This week, the Triple Click gang talks about payment processor censorship, Xbox layoffs, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's wild emails, and much more. Plus: the newfound relevance of South Park.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Maddy: Peak

Jason: South Park

LINKS:

Tyler Foggott in the New Yorker on South Park’s premiere: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/south-park-skewers-a-satire-proof-president

Bloomberg on Satya Nadella: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-05-15/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-on-his-ai-efforts-and-openai-partnership?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0NzQ0MDExNywiZXhwIjoxNzQ4MDQ0OTE3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTV0JNQ1FUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCNjVFOTM5Mjc2NzA0M0QzODY0NDRDMDdBRDc0OTE2NiJ9.y7u-8QK7MCMqjKVlR5fO6u5JG1Iel4Hrm7YF3XE4u64

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Before You Play That Game, Ask Mastercard For Permission

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