The Downpour Podcast

The Downpour Podcast is best described as an extension of the Oprainfall website. It goes beyond the news we report, and any editorial pieces we may write, in an effort to express our individual, unscripted, and relatively uncensored opinions of the niche developers, publishers and games we follow. We’ve even been known to step outside of “the niche” and discuss the medium at large!

The first few episodes were extremely experimental, somewhat sporadic, and led to a long hiatus. But, as of late 2012, co-owner Jonathan Higgins decided to take up The Downpour Podcast as a dedicated host. The early episodes feature a ton of the staff who all wanted to get together and let their voices be heard. But, over time, The Downpour Podcast is headed by Jonathan, Randy (its Managing Editor), and Jared.

Below, you can find a link to each episode, the staff members who appear on them, and a brief description of each detailing games/themes discussed. We hope you enjoy! Follow the newly launched Downpour Podcast Twitter (https://twitter NULL.com/DownpourPodcast)!

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EPISODE 1 (5/23/12): To New Beginnings
Appearing: Steven, Richard, Ryan, Yasmine

In this episode, Steven discusses campaign updates and the latest games from May/June 2012! He even has a surprise announcement near the end of the show.

EPISODE 2 (6/23/12): E3 2012
Appearing: Steven, Ryan, Fernandes, Rawlings, Kyle

This episode is a discussion of E3 2012. What were things like on the show floor? And what was it like for our staff who covered E3 2012 from afar?

EPISODE 3 (11/4/12): On That Day, Five Months Ago
Appearing: Jonathan, Richard Jared, Jeff 

This episode details our Campaign Hub, as well as games and anime from October. Pokemon, Code of Princess, and more!

EPISODE 4 (12/6/12) Looks Good on Paper
Appearing: Jonathan, Jeff, Kyle, Chris

Determined not to keep you waiting another five months, The Downpour Podcast arrives on the scene once again! Within: discussion regarding Paper Mario: Sticker Star, The Ys franchise, the Wii U, Mario, Xenoblade Chronicles and more!

EPISODE 5 (12/13/12) The Cloud ATLUS
Appearing: Jonathan, Fernandes, Jared, Scott

This episode focuses pretty heavily on games from Atlus (including Radiant Historia and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor), various games and demos from the week of December 13th (like Rayman Legends, Crimson Shroud and Ni No Kuni), games America missed out on (Soma Bringer, Radical Dreamers), and much, much more!

EPISODE 6 (1/2/13) The World Isn’t Square Anymore
Appearing: Jonathan, Will, Oscar, Ben, Ceruleath

Enjoy a discussion on a publisher/developer that’s sure to cause plenty of polarization among staff members and our audience alike. For almost a full hour, the staff discusses everything about the company they’ve been dying to get off their chest since a few of our more popular news articles.

EPISODE 7 (1/16/13) To Spiral Out of Control (The Xenoblade Spoilercast) 
Appearing: Jonathan, Richard, Ryan, Jeff, Jared, Charlotte

The month of January has been absolutely insane for Operation Rainfall! Before all the crazy, the Operation Rainfall Staff decided to set aside January 18^th, 2013 as the official recording date for the Xenoblade Spoilercast. Recall what happened two days before then, if you would. What started as a podcast centered around Xenoblade became the proper send-off to the campaign as a whole.

EPISODE 8 (2/12/13) Jonathan Visits Candy Store Tirade
Appearing: Jonathan, Charlotte, Jared, Randy

For over two hours, Jonathan and company gush about Fire Emblem: Awakening, Ni No Kuni, and the games and anime they love…occasionally going on tangents about things like The Legend of Zelda, Monolith’s “X”, the next console generation, and more!

EPISODE 9 (3/20/13) Blame James Cameron for Kingdom Hearts
Appearing: Jonathan, Randy

This one’s for you, Kingdom Hearts fans. Jonathan and Randy sit down on the fly to talk at length (and try not to bicker or argue back and forth like children) about the long-running franchise from Disney and Square-Enix. Every single game is discussed, and SPOILERS are rampant.

EPISODE 10 (3/26/13) The CrayCray PAX East Recap
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared

This time, Jonathan and Jared sit down to discuss PAX East 2013 (and Easter candy—fans of the Cadbury Creme Egg will appreciate this podcast). This one’s under an hour, ladies and gentlemen…straight to the point, with plenty of talking about games (the good and the bad) and the usual tangential humor.

EPISODE 11 (4/4/13) Après Moi, Le Déluge
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

The month of April has arrived, and with it comes another episode of The Downpour Podcast! Jonathan, Jared and Randy sit down to discuss the week’s news, the many games coming in April, and so much more. Anime fans have stuff to look forward to in this episode as well. Listen for discussion regarding From Up on Poppy Hill, Shin Sekai Yori and more! The show is filled with tangents and things that make Jonathan laugh, so it must be good…right?

EPISODE 12 (4/10/13) It’s a Chocobo Rip-Off
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

Join Jonathan, Jared and Randy once again, as they discuss Bravely Default, Level-5 and the PS4, the Playstation Vita, Final Fantasy VI, and more! You can tell what games are important to one podcast member by how hard the others laugh at him. In the last thirty minutes of the show, anime is talked up. What Studio Ghibli movie did Jonathan pick for his first ever viewing? Be sure to listen! We appreciate your feedback. Follow @DownpourPodcast on Twitter! And email [email protected]

EPISODE 13 (4/19/13) Not a Feverish Delusion
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy, Steve

Join Jonathan, Jared and Randy once again, as they discuss the recent Nintendo Direct, Pandora’s Tower, and other amazing games! There’s even a follow up on last week’s Vita discussion. After that, more anime talk to round out the show. Definitely a complete package this week! We appreciate your feedback. Follow @DownpourPodcast on Twitter! And email [email protected]

EPISODE 14 (4/25/13) Why Not?
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy, Ackk Studios (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/AckkStudios)

This week opens with a discussion on all the Nintendo news that came out this week Beyond that, expect lots of discussion on the handful of games we’ve been playing and the latest anime news as well.

What makes this week’s episode truly special, however, is that Jonathan, Jared and Randy got a chance to sit down with Brian and Andrew Allanson from Ackk Studios to discuss Two Brothers. Expect plenty of insights regarding the game’s origins and design, as well as what inspires its developers and how they worked as a team to create something truly unique.

EPISODE 15 (4/29/13) Retro Gaming History—Jonathan’s [EXPLETIVE] Passion
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

This week is a special episode of the podcast. While we certainly do touch on some happenings on the site, we devote much time to Jonathan, Randy, and Jared sharing their gaming stories. From childhood to youth to now, everyone has a story of how they got into gaming. And no one’s is ever the same, even when some strings of the intertwined web cross.

Have we been about niche RPGs and Japanese games our entire life? Or is there much more to each of us? It’s a lengthy show-and-tell, but we know that once you hear our stories, you’ll want to share your own—which we happily encourage! Tell us your gaming story in the comments below, share them on Twitter@downpourpodcast (http://www NULL.twitter NULL.com/downpourpodcast), or email us at [email protected] (downpourpodcast null@null oprainfall NULL.com). We know you have your own story, and we would all love to hear them.

EPISODE 16 (5/8/13) Cut Him in Half, We’ll Count the Rings
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy, Jeff 

Jonathan and the regular crew give you the recent anime and gaming news. Jeff returns as a guest to talk about “Jeff’s Musings” and we all talk about our gaming backlog.

EPISODE 17 (5/13/13) The Sights and Sounds on the Cutting Room Floor
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

This week, there’s plenty of talk about games we’d like to see localized, the fanfare of the Nintendo Wii, Tales of Symphonia, and digital downloads. Games we’ve been playing include more Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete, Pandora’s Tower, Super Mario World and Solomon’s Key. There’s a discussion segment as well, but you’ll have to tune in to find out what it’s all about!

In anime this week: Attack on Titan (is anyone surprised?), turning Jonathan into a Crunchyroll subscriber, the differences between televised shows and the manga they’re based off of, and more! Stay tuned to the very end where we answer questions from our Twiiter & more! There’s plenty to listen to this week; this one should set the standard for future shows.

EPISODE 18 (5/22/13) The Downpour Oreo
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

Most of the oprainfall Staff are taking an extended weekend thanks to the holiday (trust us, with E3 coming—we’ll need the rest), but we won’t let that stop another episode of The Downpour Podcast!

This week’s show opens with talk about the most recent Nintendo Direct. What do Jonathan, Jared and Randy think about the Nintendo/Sega partnership & everything coming down the (warp) pipe this summer? After a diversion into the land of Sega, the gentlemen talk at length about Microsoft’s new Xbox One, and the feelings they all have going into the next console generation, now that all three juggernauts have been revealed. Some of what we have to say may surprise you.

Be sure to let us know how you feel about Xbox One, the coming Nintendo Direct(s), and anything else you’d like to see from the big three moving forward.

EPISODE 19 (6/03/13) Infinite Possibility
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

This week: Jonathan, Jared and Randy learned what would happen if they switched up who hosted the show and recorded a full week in advance. You may notice a few…interesting results as you’re listening. As far as news goes: Lots of Capcom love, some talk about figurines and toys (because comic book talk wasn’t off-the-rails enough), and the tiniest of hints and what may be coming from oprainfall during E3 2013. As for what we’ve been playing: get ready for a discussion about multiplayer gaming.

What makes this episode truly special, however, is that it includes an interview with some of the folks at Precursor Games (http://www NULL.precursorgames NULL.com)—the ones behind Shadow of the Eternals.

EPISODE 20 (6/10/13) E3 Hype-cast!
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Randy

This week, Jonathan, Jared, and Randy hit you with news as it comes during the lead-up to the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. We give you the lowdown on everything up to this point.

In addition to talking about what we want, expect, or don’t expect from publishers and the big three (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft), we also talk about what we’ve been playing. You might think that’s the usual and the norm, but thisweek, the whole crew actually played something together! We enjoyed a rousing game of…well, you’ll have to listen to find out.

EPISODE E3 2013 Day 1 (6/10/13) Day 1 Recap
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Richard, Scott

E3 is here in all its glory, and Jonathan, Jared, Richard, and Scott are all in Los Angeles to experience the year’s biggest show in gaming. And with that special privilege, they are able to bring you their own unique experiences from the conferences and the show floor.

Day 1 has wrapped up, and there were some big conferences: Microsoft, EA, and Sony. Boy, what a day! What is it like being at the mecca of gaming? What were the big shockers, the upsets, the…well, everything? Find out in our Day 1 wrap-up!

EPISODE E3 2013 Day 2 (6/11/13) Day 2 Recap
Appearing: Jonathan, Jared, Richard, Scott

Day 2 of E3 2013 has come and gone. Here again are Jonathan, Jared, Richard, and Scott to talk about the Wii U Showcase, Nintendo Direct, and hands-on impressions of games from the show floor.