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Last Stand Media & Studio71

A weekly, retro-and-nostalgia-themed podcast co-hosted by brothers Colin and Dagan Moriarty. Video games, television shows, movies, books, toys, comics, and more... this podcast covers it all. New episodes post each Monday. To get every episode a week early and ad-free, as well as gain the ability to submit questions and comments to be read on the show, please consider supporting the show on Patreon: patreon.com/laststandmedia
We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 
For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com   
Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/us/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy

KnockBack: The Retro and Nostalgia Podcast

In 1992, Final Fantasy V came to Super Famicom in Japan, but in the west, the seminal JRPG would remain a mystery for years. In 1999 (via PS1!) English-speaking audiences would gain access to the game for the first time (unless you played fan translations via emulator, of course), and since then -- whether on GBA, PC, phones, or more recently modern consoles -- FFV has always held an interesting place in the pantheon of great Final Fantasy titles. Is it as monumental as IV, VI, or VII? Not at all. But it's still extremely special in its own right, an adventure predicated on a robust jobs system that would later help inspire the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics, jobs utilized by a small core group of protagonists that stand the test of time (and pull at your heartstrings, too). For KnockBack's triumphant return, we thought we'd get back into the Pixel Remasters where we left off, and needless to say, we've got a lot to go over. So get in your airship, or on your chocobo, or whatever mode of transportation speaks to you most, and join us for another old-school chat.
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#286 | Final Fantasy V

It may only be about five years old, but The Last of Us: Part II is quite easily one of the greatest games of all-time. Thus, it not only deserves its own episode of KnockBack, but a seven-ish hour one, the longest show in Last Stand history to date. Divisive even before it came out -- but absolutely dripping with style, message, and storytelling -- TLoU2 is a tale about endless violence and cyclical revenge, the kind that you simply can't back away from. The deeper Ellie and Abby fall into their timeless feud, the less they gain and the more they lose. But they just can't help themselves. They refuse to. It's at the heart of what makes this game so incredibly great, and perhaps what makes it so very controversial, too. There's little else to say, other than that the Brothers Moriarty wanted to give love to one of gaming's most phenomenal adventures. Click play for the result...

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#287 | The Last of Us: Part II

CLS: KnockBack is an all-new podcast series co-hosted by brothers Colin and Dagan Moriarty. Each week, the show delves into a nostalgic, memory-driven topic from the World of Nerdom, whether that's a video game, a movie, a TV show, a toy, or something else entirely. New episodes go live each Wednesday, but you can get each show six days early -- plus lots of other perks -- but financially support Colin's Last Stand at patreon.com/colinslaststand.
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Welcome to Colin's Last Stand: KnockBack

Welcome to the inaugural episode of KnockBack, the all-new podcast series co-hosted by brothers Colin and Dagan Moriarty! KnockBack is a series dedicated to the nerdy things we love from our past, from movies, TV, and video games, to books, toys, and comics, and much more. We dedicated our first episode to a topic we know and love: The Empire Strikes Back. We hope you enjoy our chat. 
 
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#1 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Today's episode of KnockBack is dedicated to Nintendo, the great video game company that has brought all of us so much joy over the decades. Question is, which of their products is best? To figure that out, we take the time to discuss every console and handheld released by Nintendo, from NES through Wii U, and then put them in our preferred orders. We hope you enjoy! 
 
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#2: Ranking the Nintendo Consoles

On this week's episode of CLS: KnockBack, Dagan and I discuss the ever-growing retro game collecting scene. Dagan is an avid and dedicated collector of old games (particularly NES, SNES, Famicom, and Super Famicom), and has tons of insight and lots of interesting stories about what it's like being a collector these days. This is a really fun and lively episode, and I hope you enjoy it. 
 
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#3: The Art of Retro Video Game Collecting

There are few properties in nerdom Dagan and I love more than The Twilight Zone, the classic late '50s-early '60s television show that spawned generations of televised sci-fi, including the beloved Black Mirror. Today's episode starts with the Twilight Zone, but it doesn't end there. Instead, we walk you through our favorite episodes of the show before pivoting to other fiction -- from Ray Bradbury to JRR Tolkien (and much more) -- explaining how, why, and where we drew inspiration from some of modern history's greatest storytellers. 
 
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#4: How Twilight Zone Inspired Our Love of Sci-Fi

From 1982 through 1994, G.I. Joe took the toy world by storm, introducing an extensive line of action figures, a never-ending comic book run, multiple TV series (and a full-length movie), and much more into the lives of kids the world over. It just so happens that Dagan and I share a deep affinity for all things G.I. Joe, and wanted to dedicate an episode of KnockBack not only to the Joe toys, comics, and cartoons (and our many memories surrounding it all), but to other '80s toys that dominated our lives. 
 
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#5: We Love G.I. Joe (and Other '80s Toy Talk)

In the late '80s, Dagan and his friend would venture to a monthly comic book convention at a Long Island Holiday Inn, where a lone merchant would sell mysterious video tapes from Japan for $30 apiece. These tapes were full of cartoons that he'd never seen or heard of before, and it was at this point -- earlier than all but the best-connected and absolute nerdiest westerners -- that Dagan was introduced to anime. The rest, as they say, is history. This podcast is all about Dagan's origin story with anime. Tales of scouring, discovering, and collecting are told, old anime is discussed and dissected, and a line is drawn between that Holiday Inn nearly three decades ago, when anime was as niche as it got, to today, where it has never been bigger. 
 
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#6: When Anime Was Underground

On today's episode of KnockBack, Dagan and I veer back into the realm of video games, and reach back toward one of our absolute favorite consoles: The NES. With a ton of games in its library, it makes sense that some titles would go underappreciated, unnoticed, or underrated. This podcast is dedicated to the latter, specifically: Underrated NES games -- well-known or otherwise -- that don't get the love they deserve. 
 
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#7: The Most Underrated NES Games

Only a couple of months from when this episode of KnockBack launches, an Avatar-themed AAA game will launch from Ubisoft-owned studio Massive. And -- as you may already know -- I (Colin) am a fan of Massive, as I love their Division series. So when I heard they were making a Far Cry-like title that happens to be Avatar-themed, I knew I had to play it. But there was a glaring problem: I didn't know the source material. KnockBack seemed like a good place to concoct a remedy so that I could emerge from the murky waters un-posered. As such, Dagan and I sat down to watch James Cameron's smash-hit 2009 film, which neither of us had seen, and really have no familiarity with whatsoever. And while we liked what it was attempting to do, whether or not it's successful is another story entirely. Allegorically-hinged on humanity's destruction of Earth -- and drowning in freaky blue humanoids galore -- Avatar is widely-considered both the pinnacle of cultural relevance and something seemingly inconsequential. Obviously, it's neither.
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#271 | Avatar

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