The Hill Is Always Greener

Well, This Sure is a Towel

Hoo boy, folks. Our journey through Sonic Prime has finally come to an end, as heroes and villains from across the Shatterverse come together for one final showdown against an emotionally compromised child and his robot army. Is it the grand finale we were all hoping for? Or would this ending have been better left banished to the darkest corners of the void? Tune in to find out!
(0:00:00) Intro(0:05:10) Year of Shadow, baby!(0:11:19) Main Topic: Sonic Prime "Season" 3(0:14:00) Grim Tidings(0:30:20) Dome Sweet Dome(0:35:30) No Escape-The Devil is in the Tails(1:05:40) From the Top(1:28:57) Final thoughts(1:50:40) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Police Story reference

Bumpkin Kong

Get ready... GO! It's time for a new episode of The Wood Village is Always Greener, as we hop in our cars, hovercrafts, and planes, traveling back to the late '90s so we can reminisce on a beloved classic kart racer, Diddy Kong Racing. We take a DEEP dive looking back at everything this game has to offer, from its colorful cast, to its many scenic circuits, to all the attempted follow-ups that never quite left the starting line. 
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Diddy Kong Racing(0:07:25) Development history (0:11:09) The characters(0:40:18) Gameplay(0:47:27) Battle mode (0:49:16) Adventure mode(0:59:07) Dino Domain(1:01:48) Snowflake Mountain (1:05:20) Sherbet Island(1:09:29) Dragon Forest(1:15:39) Wizpig's First Strike(1:21:14) Future Fun Land(1:24:31) Wizpig Strikes Back and other features(1:29:10) Diddy Kong Racing DS(1:44:48) The almost-sequels(1:56:23) Other media and merch(2:04:20) N64 vs. DS listening party(2:20:59) Final thoughts(2:22:41) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Diddy Kong Racing's Krunch -- Designing For Frustration
Donkey Kong Racing trailer
Diddy Kong Pilot prototypes
Diddy Kong Racing Adventure
The Fast and the Furriest
Mickey's Speedway USA beta maps
Rare Racers pins at Fangamer
DKR64.com

TL Note: Keikaku Means Roaming Romans

After much teasing, the gang is finally beginning their journey through the UK Sonic novels written by Martin Adams, who is totally a real person that exists, we swear. First up is Sonic in Robotnik's Laboratory, as Sonic and Tails race to rescue their friends from Robotnik's FAROUT machine, a device that is anything but. It's a tale filled romance, betrayal, fast food, rats, toasters, obscure localizations, bad-taste jokes about public figures, incomprehensible cockney rhyming, and a bunch of other stuff someone saw in a video once...what more could anyone ask for?
(0:00:00) Intro/our recent Sonic-y stuff(0:06:01) Main Topic: Sonic the Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory(0:20:21) Story recap(2:09:56) Final thoughts(2:16:16) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Sonic the Comic the Podcast
STCTP interview with "Martin Adams"
Sonic the Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory

Knuckles is a Short King (ft. Green Bones Dommy)

People don't always say what they mean, and things are not always what they seem. For example, we could say "the Sonic Underground episode 'Friend or Foe', Knuckles' first appearance in a western Sonic cartoon, is terrible and nobody should watch it." But what we actually mean is "we and special guest Green Bones Dommy watched this terrible episode, and had a blast laughing at its ridiculous animation, its often nonsensical plotting, and the Sonic franchise's all-time wolf-face power couple." So grab a plate of Krupnik and join us for our first ever look back at Sonic Underground...for better and for worse.
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic Underground - "Friend or Foe?"(0:12:15) The history (and OUR history) of Sonic Underground(0:30:50) The cast and thoughts on some other episodes(0:48:43) Theme song(0:53:13) "Friend or Foe?" episode discussion(1:37:56) Final thoughts(1:42:57) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Sonic Underground - Friend or Foe
Ben Hurst interviews - Saturday Morning Sonic
Sonic Underground: The Greatest Hits
Sonic Underground commercial
"The Best of Anime II" commercial

Hydrokitty (Part 2)

We've locked on and locked in for the second half of our Sonic 3 & Knuckles retrospective! And this week, it's all about the "& Knuckles" part, as Sonic continues to clash with Robotic and his new red-dreaded rival across mushrooms, deserts, lava, and even space, in the conclusion to this epic Mega Drive duology.
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic & Knuckles(0:03:07) Mushroom Hill Zone(0:17:08) Flying Battery Zone(0:26:12) Sandopolis Zone(0:37:15) Lava Reef Zone/Hidden Palace Zone(0:56:00) Sky Sanctuary Zone(1:10:26) Death Egg Zone(1:27:49) The Doomsday Zone/Ending(1:38:40) Other bits and bobs(1:48:09) Final thoughts(1:57:09) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree

Hydrokitty (Part 1)

Happy anniversary to us! To celebrate 50 episodes of The Hill Is Always Greener, we're taking a look back at a game currently celebrating its own milestone anniversary, Sonic the Hedgehog 3! The capstone to the original trilogy provides for endless discussion, including how a whole separate game was made because of McDonald's, the *multiple* renditions of many music tracks, and the ongoing debate as to just what color Knuckles actually is. In fact, this episode ended up being so huge that, much like Sonic 3 itself, we had to split it in two! Tune in next week for our second half, all about Sonic & Knuckles!
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (& Knuckles)(0:08:45) The box art(0:11:38) The split/"lock-on technology"(0:21:58) Competition mode(0:24:55) Knock knock, it's Knuckles(0:28:20) Other changes and new features(0:36:32) The story(0:40:19) Our various versions(0:46:47) Angel Island (and Blue Spheres)(1:04:25) Hydro City(1:11:36) Marble Garden(1:17:32) Carnival Night(1:23:30) Ice Cap(1:30:03) Launch Base
Amie Waters on Linktree
The Sonic 3 and Laputa Connection
Retronauts Episode 524: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Part 1
Retronauts Episode 542: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Part 2

Barrot Cake (ft. Gospel)

I've heard of killing a franchise, but this is ridiculous! Sonic has been found dead, and everyone is under suspicion! To figure out just whodunit, it's going to take our crack team of podcast detectives, joined by special guest and visual novel creator Gospel, to find all the clues, interrogate all the suspects, and discover the truth behind what makes this free game from the Sega social media team such a delightful labor of love. And make sure you keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a full playthrough of the game by the cast of Sonic F!
(0:00:00) Intro(0:05:23) Main topic: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog(0:18:45) Tutorial(0:30:57) Think!(0:42:09) Saloon car(0:51:00) Library car(0:55:40) Casino car(1:05:50) Lounge car(1:09:27) Conductor car(1:19:26) The finale(1:28:19) Final thoughts(1:45:00) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
The Making Of The Sonic Murder Game That Took The Internet By Storm - Kotaku
How Sega Murdered Sonic The Hedgehog - Game Informer
SHINRAI - Broken Beyond Despair

Stupid Liberal Lizard!

We've once again reached that strange point where we have to talk about a new game released post-podcast, and this time, Sega is playing the classics once again with Sonic Superstars. Multiple playable characters, giant levels, Emerald powers... It's a whole lot, but the real question is: is it good? Well, that's what we're hopefully going to find out in today's exciting episode.
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic Superstars(0:03:10) Development history(0:26:09) The game itself(0:41:43) Level layouts(0:53:32) Special stages and Emerald powers(1:09:42) Easter eggs!(1:13:00) Bosses(1:22:15) The second story mode(1:36:11) Trip's characterization(1:41:50) The true final boss(1:56:03) Multiplayer(2:03:27) The music(2:16:25) Final thoughts(2:27:57) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
"Stupid liberal lizard"
How to beat THAT boss
Windii's translations

Nibbles The Rooster (ft. CyberneticPinkeye)

We're heading back to South Island and Westside Island to take in the local sounds! Special guest CyberneticPinkeye joins us to look back at the soundtracks for the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games, along with the original demos for each track by composer Masato Nakamura. Listen in as we try to get more insight on two collections of music that really made our dreams come true.
(0:00:00) Intro(0:04:28) Main topic: Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks(0:07:32) Shared jingles and incidentals(0:27:30) Sonic 1 incidentals(0:35:05) Green Hill Zone(0:40:36) Marble Zone(0:45:52) Spring Yard Zone(0:49:38) Labyrinth Zone(0:52:57) Star Light Zone(0:56:14) Scrap Brain Zone(1:00:44) Final Zone and ending(1:06:28) Sonic 2 incidentals(1:15:39) Multiplayer stages(1:24:54) Emerald Hill Zone(1:28:27) Chemical Plant Zone(1:32:46) Aquatic Ruin Zone(1:36:40) Casino Night Zone(1:42:37) Hill Top Zone(1:46:20) Mystic Cave Zone(1:49:19) Oil Ocean Zone(1:52:40) Metropolis Zone(1:57:16) Sky Chase Zone(2:01:18) Wing Fortress Zone(2:04:14) Death Egg Zone(2:08:13) Final boss(2:11:05) Ending (Sweet Sweet Sweet/Sweet Dreams)(2:22:42) Unused song ("Hidden Palace")(2:25:06) Final Thoughts(2:29:23) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Nightmare City
MegaDriver - Chemical Plant (MetalHog)
Video Game History Foundation - Sonic 2 Lost Stages Revealed

How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas (original radio play)

This is the unabridged How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas radio play, written and produced by GameBuddy in 2008. It is fully unaltered from its original presentation, save for the removal of one piece of copyrighted music. If you want to hear our commentary, please listen to episode 46 of The Hill Is Always Greener. Thank you so much, and happy holidays.
(00:00) How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas(18:18) Credits(20:43) Blooper reel