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The “Golden Age” started here.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy IV. Originally released on July 19, 1991, it was a momentous event due in no small part to the fact that this was the first in the series to debut on the Super Famicom. It was released to critical acclaim, and once again several months later when it came to the US on the Super Nintendo as Final Fantasy II (since we missed the first two sequels on the NES). Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play it until a decade later, when it was re-released as part of Final Fantasy Chronicles. And although I was late experiencing my first 16-bit RPG, it was undoubtedly worth the wait.

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More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

It all began on this day 40 years ago, in 1981. Nintendo- a then-obscure arcade machine manufacturer- had a problem with their latest game, Radar Scope. The machines weren’t selling as well as hoped, so the company decided to refit the unsold units with a brand new game. Young staff artist Shigeru Miyamoto was tasked with creating an arcade game that would capture the attention of the American audience. The finished product starred a stressed-out gorilla with an infinite supply of barrels who wasn't afraid to use them. It's the stubborn monkey himself, Donkey Kong.

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We're back on our b.s.

Hey hey! It's weird typing this a month before this episode drops, but here we are. Nerds Without Pants continues its deep dive into the PlayStation 2. I'll be honest, I don't remember what ground we cover here, but I know we hit Final Fantasy, so that's cool. Does anyone enjoy these, really? I guess we'll find out.

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Platforming perfection

On October 23, 1988, Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and his crack team of Nintendo EAD ninjas released Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan. To coincide with its US launch 16 months later, Nintendo produced a commercial featuring kids clamoring for the game like it was the second coming of Christ. The hype was intense, and it worked exceedingly well. The game went on to exceed the first one in sales, fandom, and legendary status. Mario and the crew had undeniably hit their stride.

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Thank you, Brad, Vinny, and Alex.

Welcome to another episode of Nerds Without Pants! Wait, that sounds like a hackey YouTube intro. Hey, welcome back here with another video! Like, what else would it be? It’s a video platform, you don’t need to point out it’s a video. Also, take it down like, 8 notches. You’re talking about video games, not the second coming. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what I put here because no one reads the show notes. VIDEO GAMES!

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