The only podcast on the internet where these two dudes talk about media.
In Season 1, hosts Tristan Ettleman and Isaac Ili explore the Legend of Zelda series and rank each of the 20 games, butting heads as they go.
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S1: The Legend of Zelda Ranked
The boys are back nearly a year after Tears of the Kingdom's release to bring you a bonus episode reflecting on the latest installment in The Legend of Zelda series. Its massive scope has digested a bit and they have opinions (especially Isaac).
Also, guest Luke Stoutenburg shares how the new hit affected him in the midst of a deeper dive into the franchise in general. And an updated guest ranking list is "calculated" and shared!
The end of Butt Heads season 1 is here...for now! On the eve of the release of Tears of the Kingdom, the boys look back on their journey across the 19 (soon to be 20) mainline games in The Legend of Zelda series.
Tristan and Isaac walk through their respective lists, butting of heads actually results in some changes, the "Boscars Hemmys" are awarded to various outstanding aspects of the series, and friends of the show's first season share what Zelda means to them and their own ranked lists, all building to a crowd-sourced ultimate "guest list."
It's an extravaganza of Zelda love, with more sure to come with a Tears of the Kingdom bonus episode and season 2 news!
Breath of the Wild came out of the gate with fans calling it not only the best Zelda game, but also the best game of all time. That's quite the reputation to build in so little time and the boys discuss how that conflicts with their nostalgic feelings for older games in the series.
Plus, Corey Sotelo joins the show again for this penultimate episode, talking his in-depth experiences with the 2017 installment. He's gotten all the Korok seeds!
Tri Force Heroes will always and forever be defined by how hard its structure and multiplayer is to access years removed from its 2015 release, however basically solid its gameplay is. The boys discuss that "disappointment..."
...but as Eric R. Miller (three-time guest and apparent resident multiplayer Zelda expert) points out, disappointment might be too strong a word.
A Link Between Worlds' reputation as an underrated Zelda game is certainly earned, as the boys discuss one of the best 2D games in the series...and indeed, period!
Also, Madeleine Clermont returns and joins the three-time guest club to talk about how much she loves the game and how the 2013 installment was such a breath of fresh air.
Skyward Sword faced a lot of revisionist history shortly after its release in 2011 and to this day is still beloved and harshly criticized. Both of the boys see the problems with it, but they mostly discuss how it's a magical time that carried a lot of the core emotions of the Zelda series.
They are also joined by guest Debe Ili (Isaac's own wife!) to discuss how this installment was her first Zelda game and her belated introduction to a whole world of gaming.
The boys' conversation about Spirit Tracks has a lot in common with the one about Phantom Hourglass, but then this 2009 follow up is in fact quite similar to its predecessor. And that's not necessarily a good thing.
Guest Madeleine Clermont also returns to the show to be a bit of a moderating influence on some negativity!
Phantom Hourglass was novel in some ways, but both of the boys have issues with the 2007 Legend of Zelda game's "streamlining" of the series' formula and its inaccessible controls.
Additionally, guest Bella Stoutenburg (and Tristan's S.O.) comes on the show to go back into her childhood experiences with the game.
Twilight Princess has emerged as both a dark horse favorite and controversial installment in the Legend of Zelda series. The boys wrestle with both opinions as they range far and wide in their mega-discussion about the 2006 game.
Guest Trista Thurston also joins the show to highlight standout story elements and how Twilight Princess fit into an angsty teen's life.
Plus: coverage of spin-off Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland!
In this episode on The Minish Cap, the Butt Heads boys sound much more negative about the game then they may ultimately feel.
Dan Vandervort also guests once again to talk about how the 3DS Ambassador Program gave him access to a run of great Game Boy Advance games, one of which was of course this 2004 entry into the Legend of Zelda series.
Butt Heads is back! The boys return from a major hiatus to talk an overlooked installment in The Legend of Zelda series: Four Swords Adventures. The butting heads gets a little more intense for this 2004 gem!
Also, guest Eric R. Miller, the show's resident multiplayer Zelda expert, returns to dissect the game's place in Nintendo's history.
The boys get back to another big 3D entry in The Legend of Zelda series: The Wind Waker. The first GameCube Zelda game turns out to be one of both Tristan and Isaac's favorites, although there's another hair-splitting Butt Heads segment to come out of the phenomenal 2002 entry.
Seth S. Scott also returns to the show to give his take on what is also one of his favorite Zelda games!
Four Swords just might be it: the ultimate last game in both Tristan and Isaac's Zelda rankings. There are still many games to come, but as the boys discuss, it'll be hard to find something worse than this mostly forgettable entry in the series.
But it's not all bad. Guest Eric R. Miller hops on the show to discuss the neat ideas to come out of the 2002 Game Boy Advance game!
The boys talk about the flipside of the Game Boy Color Zelda coin, Oracle of Ages, and how its puzzle focus causes another dividing line in Tristan and Isaac's respective rankings.
Austin Clark also guests again to follow up his thoughts on both 2001 Zelda games and how he prefers Ages to Seasons!
Oracle of Seasons was Tristan's first Zelda game, so maybe nostalgia is at the core of his positive feelings for it. Still, he and Isaac talk about the feeling that the 2001 game isn't quite in step with the rest of the series, even though it has all of the components you can expect from The Legend of Zelda.
Guest Austin Clark returns to the show to echo this sentiment, and provide some other insight into the unique circumstances surrounding one half of the Game Boy Color Zelda partnership.
Majora's Mask is Tristan's favorite game of all time. Ocarina of Time is Isaac's. The guys finally do what the show is about (butt heads) on the best Zelda game so far, although both agree that the 2000 entry is so, so good.
Friend of the show Madeleine Clermont also joins the episode to give her insight into Majora's Mask, including how its strange vibes are so unique.
The boys start their episode on one of the most important and greatest Zeldas (and games in general) talking about the most insignificant and worst: the Philips CD-i installments. But then they get onto the 1998 classic Ocarina of Time, ranging far and wide in their conversation about Isaac's favorite game in the series.
And stick through this mega-sized episode to hear the talk with Corey Sotelo, a friend of the show who shares his nostalgia for Ocarina of Time and gives insight into a now-key aspect of Zelda fandom: speedruns.
Link's Awakening sparks some philosophical conversation between Tristan and Isaac, as the 1993 game's weirdness permeates all kinds of tangents. It's like this is the Twin Peaks of Zelda!
Some old memories are also brought up by friend of the show Dan Vandervort as he and Tristan reminisce about playing Link's Awakening in his garage, using download play for Phantom Hourglass, and why the 3DS was his portal back into Koholint Island.
The Zelda journey comes to a formative installment with a legacy that looms large (that's going to happen a few times). Tristan and Isaac gush about A Link to the Past, which is about as fresh today as it was in 1991.
Perfect Hat Games' Seth S. Scott also stops by to share his game designer, artist, and musician perspective on the greatness of the game, one of his personal favorites in the Zelda series.
The boys continue their journey of ranking the Legend of Zelda series with Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Tristan tries to defend it and Isaac...well, they both have problems with it.
IGN's Seth Macy guests on this episode to talk about how this 1987 NES game was his first Zelda, what he sees as admirable changes for the sequel, and his defense whenever Zelda II slander arises!
The first episode of the first season of Butt Heads kicks off Tristan Ettleman and Isaac Ili's ranking of all 19 mainline Zelda games! The boys talk 1986's The Legend of Zelda, the game that started it all, and how it's still incredible more than 35 years later.
This episode's guest, Austin Clark, also stops by to give his insight gleaned from the game's original NES instruction manual and share his thoughts on the philosophy behind the first Zelda and the series in general.