Episode 922: Radio Free Nintendo – Monkey Mouthful Mode

Nintendo’s got something up their sleeve this week as they’re rolling out a “refresh” for the eShop. But hey, let’s not kid ourselves—trying to look all professional might be a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? (00:00:31). After that, James takes the mic to dive much deeper than anyone probably anticipated into Xenoblade Chronicles X (00:07:26), before finally handing things over to Greg and Jon, who continue to dissect the game in their own lengthy fashion (00:48:11). Meanwhile, Guillaume wraps up his journey through Final Fantasy V (01:10:21) and has set his sights on the quirky, crank-equipped handheld known as the Playdate (01:17:08).

Once we return from the break, it’s time to tackle the difficult yet necessary topic of tariffs (01:31:41). It’s a bit of a winding conversation. Though James insists he’s steering clear of turning this into a political talk, the nature of the topic lightly tugs him in that direction. It’s hard not to go there, even if it might not be the smartest move. Still, it isn’t the conversation that’s foolish—it’s the related events that are the real culprits. As we refuse to leave things on such a sour note, we dive into a Listener Mail question: what if you were stuck living life inside a Monkey Ball? (02:17:07). It’s an intriguing take on perpetual motion sickness that’s open to anyone brave enough to write in.

Next up on our agenda is a RetroActive on Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, set for next week. We’ve been a bit scattered lately, so our promotion for it could have been better, but we’re excited to hear your thoughts. Feel free to share them with us, either by email or joining in on the NWR Discord discussion.

Guillaume Veillette took the reins on editing this episode. The catchy “Men of Leisure” theme was a custom creation for Radio Free Nintendo by the talented Perry Burkum, and you can find more of his work on SoundCloud. Our logo was crafted by Connor Strickland—take a look at his portfolio on his website.

To close things out, we’ve got “Captain Falcon Theme” from F-Zero GX, spun at the request of Adolph Vega. Let’s just say, all rights are owned by Nintendo.