Episode 929: James Jones – Critiquing Neanderthal Art – Radio Free Nintendo

I’m looking at that aurochs, and honestly? It’s kinda meh. Let’s talk cave art real quick. You know, the ones around Montignac-Lascaux. Those are from the Magdalenian folks—modern humans painting away between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago. But hey, don’t count the Neanderthals out. They doodled too, way back before they vanished around 40,000 years ago. We’ve got some evidence in Spain, where they did art before the Cro-Magnons showed up. Their style? Less about painting animals, more about handprints, dots, and funky ladder patterns. Older stuff means it’s spotty. Like, imagine half the pages missing from a book.

So yeah, their art wasn’t blowing anyone’s mind.

This is all off the top of my head, by the way. No Googling, except to nail down spellings like Magdalenian. Fact checkers, come at me if you want!

Now, picture me—not some caveman with a fancy beret. Made me think of Hot Tub Time Machine. Only, this version’s kinda funny.

Okay, shifting gears. Jon just got his hands on a Switch 2 from Best Buy. Big news, right? So he’s giving us the lowdown on Mario Kart World. We’ve all been playing, and, man, it’s like a red shell apocalypse. Jon’s there in his living room, bombarded by all the shells. But somehow, there’s something zen about it.

Oh, and there’s a new Splatoon single player game. Not that I fully grasp what’s going on with that, either. Odd show vibes.

Anyway, we ducked out for a mental breather and then dove back in. Guillaume, in his wisdom, wants you to try F-Zero GX on the NSO Expansion Pack. I’m not on board with this, especially with his ‘enthusiastic’ approach. Meanwhile, he’s been channeling his inner warrior with Valfaris—a Switch game all about massive guns and mayhem.

Greg’s diving into the latest Splatoon 3 patch for the Switch 2. He thinks the HDR pop and rock-steady framerate are standout. Seriously, Nintendo should hire me for their marketing. It’s practically done.

Back to me, I’m playing the Switch 2 version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Time thieves, right? Kids, auditors, managers—you name it. But a kid time thief? Novel. Anyway, I’m just messing with the tutorial. By next week’s recording, I’ll surely be knee-deep. Unless, you know, life happens.

Feel free to submit any Paleolithic doodles. Why not?