Popzara Podcast

Article: Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key

If you’re playing Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key, you’ve most likely played one (or both, you go getter!) of the two previous games. That is, unless you’re like I’ve been with Nintendo's Fire Emblem and see these characters everwhere, read the wiki pages for them, and adopt them as your own.

Article: Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly

When I first played Coffee Talk back in 2020 it was during the…um, extended “staycation” we don’t like to talk about. There was something about it that immediately stuck with me.

Article: Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Evil Dead Rise is the fifth installment of the Evil Dead film franchise and tells the story of a family fighting for their lives against monstrous demons after they discover one of the three volumes of Naturom Demonto, aka The Book of the Dead. Originally intended to be released on HBO Max (now just…Max), Evil Dead Rise tested so well at screenings Warner Bros decided to release it theatrically - and I’m so glad they did.

Article: Dead Island 2

Remember bacon? Bacon was an Internet obsession for a little while. There were bacon recipes, bacon merchandise, bacon condiments.

Article: Hunt the Night

I'd like to propose that we extend the modern game journalism cliche of "the Dark Souls of ___" to stuff in real life. Waiting at the DMV? That's the Dark Souls of Bureaucracy.

Article: Cannon Dancer - Osman

Say what you will about the modern games industry, but it's hard to deny that there's more to play than ever these days. What's more, it's easier than ever to find and enjoy the classic games of yesteryear, though the legitimacy of your means of doing so might vary a tiny bit.

Article: The Extincts: Flight of the Mammoth

I had a good feeling about Scott Magoon’s The Extincts when I first saw the covers to the first book and this sequel, The Extincts: Flight of the Mammoth, and I’m happy to say this one delivers just like the previous entry with plenty of action, adventure, humor and educational moments that’s fun for any reader. Are anthropomorphic animal heroes, The Extincts, are back and still recovering from their previous adventure that turned everything they thought they knew upside down.

Article: The Extincts: Quest for the Unicorn Horn

Once I saw the front cover of Scott Magoon’s The Extincts: Quest for the Unicorn Horn and noticed the simple yet striking artwork, I knew I had to give it a look. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for anthropomorphic animals, and this graphic novel delivers the goods for young and older readers with adventure and some nice educational moments along the way.

Article: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Keanu Reeves is back once again in the 4th installment of the action-thriller franchise John Wick: Chapter 4. The sequel to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum has Wick (Keanu Reeves) still on the run and still seeking revenge against members of the High Table.

Article: Suzume (2023)

When Your Name was released back in 2016, it was a total game changer for anime films. It was honestly the first time I heard people who didn’t have any particular connection to anime get so excited about an anime film, and for good reason.

Article: GIGABYTE B650I AORUS ULTRA AM5 Mini-ITX Motherboard

Mini-ITX motherboards are decidedly niche in the consumer PC world. There are numerous reasons for their select appeal and some equally compromised disadvantages, but people who opt for small form factor machines have very specific reasons why they’d choose something like the GIGABYTE B650I AORUS ULTRA AM5 motherboard.

Movie Time! The Super Mario Bros. Movies (1993 – 2023), Hollywood Gaming, and Future Nostalgia

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast!, where our own movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

Is a double-dose of Nintendo nostalgia as the guys revisit the original – and infamous – live-action Super Mario Bros. (1993) starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper. A notorious box-office disaster, audiences weren’t ready for its bizarre mix of Max Mad, Blade Runner, and fetish dancing in a film that was “Mario” in name only.

The same can’t be said of the new animated blockbuster The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) from Illumination Studios starring Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black, which has broken box-office records and could signal Hollywood’s next obsession. It’s truly a love letter to Brooklyn’s favorite brothers (and Nintendo).

Article: Steel Defier

There was a time once when game discussion revolved around, well, games. We're talking about gameplay, controls, that sort of thing; it's a little more rare these days, since the focus tends to be on whatever cultural monomania has gripped the Internet that week.

Article: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GAMING OC 12G Graphics Card

The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has arrived, and I’ve finally spent some time getting acquainted with the GPU that was originally supposed to be the "RTX 4080 12GB". This little tidbit of its’ “unlaunching” meant a couple things for this rereleased GPUs: this card comes with a $100 MSRP discount to better align in the model hierarchy, and for unknown reasons—NVIDIA themselves skipped out on making a Founders Edition variant.

Article: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Ever since I saw the trailers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I could see how Illumination worked closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo to bring the famed game series to the big screen, as there was fun and adventure from the games popping up in every frame.