The Old SwitchAroo: Gaming Retro with Mike and Jaymo |A Nintendo Switch Online retro gaming podcast

Jennifer Miller Hammel, host of Classical California’s Arcade, is t-spinning her way in to discuss the titanic tuneful tetrad of Tetris (Game Boy, 1989), Tetris (NES, 1989), Tetris DX (Game Boy Color, 1998), and Tetris 99 (Nintendo Switch, 2018) with Mike and Jaymo as part of The Old SwitchAroo’s epic quest to research and review every retro game in Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Classics catalog.In this episode, Jennifer shares her efforts to get video game music from game rooms to the concert hall, including how she’s brought video game music into both Classical California’s mornings and always streaming on Classical California’s Arcade featuring both video game music and the classical music that influenced it. Everyone shares some of their favorite video game soundtracks, from Street Fighter and Cruis’n USA to Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Jennifer gives her perspective on how video game music can follow the same trajectory that John Williams took film scores on to get the music integrated into modern classical music performances.Once they pick up the controllers, Jennifer helps contextualize the music attached to Tetris, from the now-iconic Tetris theme Korobeiniki and The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy to the original music created for Tetris DX. We’ll also take a very big leap down the rabbit hole that has been the quest to beat Tetris on the NES, including discussing the Classic Tetris World Championship and how players have met every new challenge that has been found in Tetris over the last few years. And Mike will share one of the most unpredictable Tetris reviews he thinks you’ve ever heard.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com, where you'll find links to our Discord, social media, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(0:59) Welcoming Jennifer Miller Hammel(16:45) Tetris (GB)(50:20) Tetris (NES)(1:11:53) Tetris DX (Game Boy Color)(1:19:28) Tetris 99 (Nintendo Switch)(1:28:53) NintenDO or NintenDON’T(1:36:25) OutroCatch Jennifer Miller Hammel in the mornings on Classical California or anytime by checking out the always-streaming Arcade: https://www.classicalcalifornia.org/arcadeTetris (NES) Manual: https://www.retrogames.cz/manualy/NES/Tetris_(Nintendo)_-_NES_-_Manual.pdfTetris DX Manual: https://www.thegameisafootarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tetris-DX-Game-Manual.pdfTetris Opera - Video Games Live (VGL) - Vocals by Jillian Aversa | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yZEs-hBHoObjective Ministries Tetris Review: https://objectiveministries.org/zounds/gaming.htmlTetris Official Website - Fun Facts: https://tetris.com/news/fun-factsFirst person to play a videogame in space | Guinness World Records: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/109300-first-person-to-play-a-videogame-in-spaceJeopardy! messed up by taking a silly gaming meme at face value by Michael McWhertor | Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/9/20906250/jeopardy-tetris-viral-photoshop-joke/World’s biggest game of Tetris played out on 2,000 drones by Anthony Cuthbertson | The Independent: https://www.the-independent.com/tech/worlds-biggest-game-of-tetris-drones-b2885283.htmlComplete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris | pigwiththefaceofaboy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8Nintendo A Cappella by Redefined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSBIAGCulDwThe History of Tetris World Records | Summoning Salt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJlg8g8_yw

Derick from the Underrated movie podcast and RiRiYells from Twitch cared who Link was before he put on the mask, so they’re both back to talk about The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64, 2000) as they join Mike and Jaymo to launch Season 4 of The Old SwitchAroo’s epic quest to research and review every retro game in Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Classics catalog!In this episode, we talk about Majora’s Mask’s origins in an intended redesign of Ocarina of Time called Ura Zelda, how game development crunch time was so intense that it became a feature of NPC dialogue, and correct some misconceptions about the origins of the name Majora. Plus we start the season with double the mini-games, with RiRi giving a read of the rest of the panel based on their favorite masks and Two Masks and a Lie dipping into everyone’s past costumes.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com, where you'll find links to our Discord, social media, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(1:25) Welcoming RiRi(1:55) Welcoming Derick(2:20) Majora’s Mask(40:03) Mini-Game Minute: TaRiRi Reading(49:08) Majora’s Mask (cont’d)(56:03) Mini-Game Minute: Two Masks and a Lie(1:04:58) Majora’s Mask (cont’d 2)(1:29:10) Ranking Retro(1:30:25) NintenDO or NintenDON’TYou can join RiRiYells on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/ririyellsYou can find more from Derick and the Underrated movie podcast at https://underratedmoviepodcast.com/, wherever you get your podcasts, and on social media.Majora’s Mask Manual: https://www.nintendo.com/eu/media/downloads/games_8/emanuals/nintendo_8/Manual_Nintendo64_TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask_EN.pdfIwata Asks| Volume 1 : The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/ds/zelda/0/0/Majora's Mask's most infamous line is actually all about crunch by Ed Nightingale | Eurogamer: https://www.eurogamer.net/majoras-masks-most-infamous-line-is-actually-all-about-crunch25 Things You DIDN'T Know About The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | MojoPlays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rSRSPw756wThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask by thesausage in 2:23:15 - Summer Games Done Quick 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCnQ81UD9O8The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask by ClaireLynnD in 26:50 - Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tic8kXvkiGM Zelda Dungeon: https://www.zeldadungeon.net/Man vs Mask by Derick McDuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DyvQuiB3H4The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was never supposed to exist by Gabe Durham | Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/30/21241902/the-legend-of-zelda-majoras-mask-was-never-supposed-to-exist/Aonuma talks Majora’s Mask – Majora and Termina name origins, lots more by Brian | Nintendo Everything: https://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-talks-majoras-mask-majora-and-termina-name-origins-lots-more/Majora’s Mask art director wanted to work on one last ‘strange’ Zelda by Andy Robinson | Video Games Chronicle: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/majoras-mask-art-director-wanted-to-work-on-one-last-strange-zelda/

In this final Lite Switch episode of The Old SwitchAroo before Season Four, Mike and Jaymo are closing out 2025 by introducing the AndStandings, a list that combines their individual rankings for all 98 games that have been covered so far, including ranking 95 Nintendo Switch Online games as part of their quest to rate and review the over 300 games on the Nintendo Switch Online catalog. What makes the top 10 may surprise you.Jaymo and Mike start off with a little bit of Christmas talk, including a bit about Christmas specials and Jaymo shows off The Old SwitchAroo-branded washcloths he was given for Christmas. Then, we introduce the AndStandings, first by having Mike and Jaymo share their bottom ten and top ten games from their individual rankings, then going over the entire combined rankings from 98 all the way to number 1 (check the timestamp if you want to jump to the top 10). Their full lists are both available on the website here: https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com/p/andstandings/ . Finally, Mike and Jaymo share some New Year’s Resolutions in advance of the start of Season 4 on January 14 with The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on ⁠https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find access to our ⁠Discord⁠, voicemail, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(1.28) Merry Christmas from The Old SwitchAroo(4:40) Introducing the AndStandings(7:45) Mike’s Bottom Ten Games(12:45) Jaymo’s Bottom Ten Games(15:05) Mike’s Top Ten Games(20:00) Jaymo’s Top Ten Games(23:38) AndStandings Staring from #98(40:13) AndStandings Top Ten(43:41) New Year’s Resolutions(51:35) OutroUltra64: Wii Universe: https://ultra64podcast.podbean.com/AndStandings: https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com/p/andstandings/

In this Lite Switch episode of The Old SwitchAroo, Mike and Jaymo are celebrating Gamesgiving with an extra special episode during the season break as they prepare for season four.We start off with some general talk about Thanksgiving dinners and Jaymo has a list of quick food questions intended to divide the dining table in his Turkey Day NintenDO or NintenDON’Ts. Then, we’ll craft the ideal meal using just the power ups in the retro games we’ve played in past episodes in the Ultimate Power Up Plate. Finally, Mike and Jaymo each craft their ideal line-up of Nintendo Classics games for a Thanksgiving celebration in the Ultimate Nintendo Classics Three-Course Meal. Finally, Mike and Jaymo each share what they’re most thankful for about the The Old SwitchAroo.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on ⁠https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find access to our ⁠Discord⁠, voicemail, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(4:00) Turkey Day NintenDO or NintenDON’T(9:51) Ultimate Power Up Plate(17:23) Ultimate Nintendo Classics Three-Course Meal(23:34) What we’re thankful for(25:40) Outro

In this Lite Switch episode of The Old SwitchAroo, we have some bonus content that couldn't fit in out Season 3 16th bit retrospective. See if you can beat Jaymo at our returning trivia game RTFM, or Read The F---ing Manual, where he's challenged to see how many characters and places he can name based off of how they're described in the original video game manuals that the retro games we played this year would've come with.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find access to our Discord, voicemail, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(0:57) RTFM Introduction(2:56) RTFM Round One(7:10) RTFM Round Two(15:24) RTFM Round Three(26:50) Outro

It’s time to celebrate the end of another season of The Old SwitchAroo with the 16th-bit Retro-spective Season 3 Finale as Mike and Jaymo reflect on their epic quest to research and review every retro game in the Nintendo Switch Online catalog!In this episode, we bring back “Guess Hosts” so Mike and Jaymo can go head-to-head in a trivia competition with questions brought to us by this season’s great guests, the Old Switcharoonies give a chance to mark the highs and lows of all the games played this season, and Mike and Jaymo talk a little bit about what’s to come in the next season of the podcast and also what they both hope to see coming down the line for Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Classics now that the Switch 2 is out.Thanks for listening, and a very special thanks to Kristal Fields of The Lazy Circles for our catchy new theme song! Subscribe to The Old SwitchAroo to get more retro goodness delivered straight to your feed! You can also join the fun on https://www.theoldswitcharoo.com⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find access to our Discord, voicemail, and so much more!Game on, everyone.(0:00) Intro(1:25) Introducing Guess Hosts with Kat(3:45) Q1. S03E01 - RiRiYells(5:56) Q2. S03E01 - Derick from Underrated(8:37) Q3. S03E02 - Kyle and Sarah(11:14) Q4. S03E04 - Kristal from the Lazy Circles(14:22) Q5. S03E04 - Nick(17:22) Q6. S03E05 - Warboss5(20:56) Q7. S03E07 - RiRiYells(24:26) Q8. S03E07 - KylTheSheikah(27:51) Q9. S03E08 - Timmy Williams from Whitest Kids U’ Know and Urn Fulla Popcorn(34:29) Q10. S03E10 - Nate from TrailerBoyz(39:41) Q11. S03E11 - Andrew from Nothing New: A Remake podcast(46:48) Q12. S03E12 - Chico from Wet Frontier(50:30) Q13. S03E13 - Don from the Cable Club League(53:12) Q14. S03E14 - Cyril from Defunct Games(59:55) Q15. S03E15 - Happney(1:02:09) Q16. S03E16 - RiRiYells(1:03:25) Guest Hosts Final Scores(1:08:54) Title Speed Run(1:10:40) The Old SwitchAroonies Award Show(1:34:43) The Old SwitchAroo Swish List(1:40:03) Final Thoughts on Season 3(1:43:23) OutroCheck out all the places to find our participating guests below:Kat on KatCanSew: https://www.youtube.com/@katcansewRiRiYells on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ririyellsDerick on the Underrated movie podcast: ⁠https://underratedmoviepodcast.com/⁠KylTheSheikah on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/kylthesheikahTimmy Williams on Urn Fulla Popcorn: https://urnfullapopcorn.com/Nate Brown on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nateblackestNate and Timmy on WKUK’s Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/officialwkukAndrew on Nothing New A Remake podcast: https://www.benviewnetwork.com/nothingnewChico at Wet Frontier: https://wetfrontier.com/Don on the Cable Club League podcast: https://www.thecableclub.com/⁠Cyril from Defunct Games: https://www.youtube.com/@DefunctGamesAlso check out Mike on Super Wall Jump: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0HnOzskE9WvzgBoYWIHECzStock image from freepik used in Guess Hosts design