Recap / Bob Chipman

This is a Recap page for self-proclaimed "Z-list internet celebrity" Bob Chipman, creator of The Escapist's Escape To The Movies and The Big Picture, and his own video game analysis web series The Game Overthinker.

This page mainly focuses on the story arcs and episodes of The Game Overthinker. For a list of Game Overthinker characters, see here.

Game Overthinker Episodes

1. "A Matter of Character": In his pilot episode, the Overthinker discussed the lack of originality in modern gaming after playing No More Heroes.
2. "Super Mario and the Sacred Feminine": The role of women in gaming; i.e. The Damsel in Distress archetype.
3. "A Kirby Confession": The Overthinker admits his prejudice against Kirby as a teenager, turned over a new leaf, and advises "douchebag" gamers to be more open-minded about certain games.
4. "The End of the World As Wii Know It": A look at the success of the Wii but how hardcore gamers fear a rise of casual gamers.
5. "Patriotic Games": The politics of gaming and which ones are possibly patriotic in the eyes of American conservatives.
6. "Pr0N": The objectification and sexualisation of women in video games.
7. "The Psychology of Nintendo Fans": An analysis of the mindsets of Nintendo fans.
8. "Mississippi Pwning": A look at the controversy around Resident Evil 5's Cross Cultural Kerfuffle.
9. "Daisy, Daisy": The Overthinker discusses the Ship Tease between Luigi and Princess Daisy in the Super Mario Bros. universe and other possible gaming couples.
10. "Not A Review of GTA VI": The Overthinker examines the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
11. "Can It Happen To Us?": The Overthinker fears a second video game crash, but something similar to what happened in The Great Comics Crash of 1996.
12. "Sir Mix-A-Lot Would Approve": The Overthinker looks at Fat Princess and the clash between gamers and feminists.
13. "And There Came A Review": A review of Barnyard Blast.
14. "Da Ya Miss Me?": The Overthinker goes over several key gaming events in 2008 after an absence from his blog.
15. "The Politics of Gaming": The Overthinker fantasises how certain video game characters may have voted in the 2008 American election.
16. "Holiday Show": A Christmas Episode where the Overthinker offers non-gamers on what to buy during Christmas.
17. "Homeless": A look at why LittleBigPlanet was a disappointment in the sales.
18. "Obligatory New Year's Wish List": The Overthinker lists some of his personal desires for games in 2009.
19. "A Third Way?": A look at Shigeru Miyamoto's ideas on how to bring casual and hardcore gamers together.
20. "An Open Letter To Nintendo": The Overthinker reveals his gripes about his favourite company.
21. "Sonic In Crisis, Part 1": Bob examines the history of Sonic the Hedgehog.
22. "Sonic In Crisis, Part 2": Bob suggests how to drag Sonic out of being a Franchise Zombie via radical means of change in gameplay and story.
23. "Race, Games and Resident Evil 5: Mississippi Pwning 2": Bob returns to discuss the controversy of Resident Evil 5. After the revealing of the sidekick's alternate costume in the style of a Hollywood native, Bob decides to ask some hard questions about racism and racial interpretation in gaming.
24. "Reality Sucks": An examination of overly realistic graphics in games.
25. "Violence Is Gold": The Overthinker's Very Special Episode where he discusses the Media Watchdog attitude towards video games and their violence. This earned him a spot on Screw Attack.
26. "Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?": A complaint about overly designed game controllers.
27. "Who Will Be Remembered?": A look at in the years to come, which video game characters will be remembered and forgotten.
28. "Complex Issues": A look at the gamer boycott of Shadow Complex due to its creator's homophobic views.
29. "Continuum": The presence of Continuity in games.
30. "A Tale of Two Games": A comparison between Modern Warfare and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
31. "What's the Difference?": The Overthinker ponders whether or not retro gaming is holding back from progress.
32. "I Heart Bayonetta": The Overthinker praises Bayonetta.
33. "Building A Better Gamer": Another Very Special Episode where the Overthinker discusses how video gamers can improve themselves in the eyes of the media, and gives an epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Xbox Live trolls.
34. "Waggle War": A look at motion controllers.
35. "A Response To Roger Ebert": The Overthinker challenges Roger Ebert's view that video games can never be a proper art form.
36. "Who's Your Daddy, Mega Man?": The Overthinker examines the influences that led to the creation of Mega Man.
37. "In Which I Defend the Kinect, Sort Of": The Overthinker defends the Kinect and motion control gaming.
38. "The Game Overthinker's Screw Attack Convention 2010 Panel": Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
39. "The Emperor Has No Clothes": A look at the Playstation's creation and the troubles surrounding it.
40. "Heavens To Metroid": The Overthinker discusses the reaction to Metroid: Other M and how the fanbase portrays Samus Aran. The backlash to the episode isn't pretty.
41. "The Revolution": The Overthinker bashes Gamestop and how it should treat used games better.
42. "Worst Person": A discussion on whether or not first person shooters have ruined video games.
43. "Double Trouble": The Overthinker looks at the Evil Twin archetype. This episode kicked off the satirical Story Arc where the Anti-Thinker appears and exiles Moviebob to Wario's Woods, temporarily taking over the show.
44. "Anti-Thinker's History of Video Games": The Anti-Thinker discusses his own take on the history of video games.
45. "Anti-Thinker: Mega Man": The Anti-Thinker hates on Mega Man and his own dislike for robots.
46. "Anti-Thinker: The Legend of Zelda": The Anti-Thinker expresses his views on The Legend of Zelda.
47. "Farm Team": The Overthinker discusses FarmVille.
48. "The Zen of Grind": Whether or not Level Grinding is necessary in gaming.
49. "Retro-A-Go-Go": The Overthinker looks on the recent revival trend of retro gaming and its consequences.
50. "War of the Thinkers": No topic, but features the Overthinker and the Anti-Thinker having a Final Battle, resulting in the Anti-Thinker's death. The episode parodies numerous video games and 80s/90s films and television shows.
51. "Putting the Cart Before the Cloud": The Overthinker mourns the loss of the game cartridge designer Gerald Lawson, leading to a discussion about how games will be saved in the future.
52. "Dark Days": The Overthinker rips apart the Blackwater video game.
53. "Things Learned in the Dark": The Overthinker discusses the positives of the Playstation Network blackout. The Overthinker is hired by Commissioner Bunnyface as a vigilante whilst new villain Pyrothinker bombs arcades.
54. "Let It Rain": The Overthinker supports Operation Rainfall. His sidekick and Fairy Companion Ivan the Intern debuts.
55. "What We Lost In the Fire": The Overthinker mourns the loss of arcades.
56. "Setting Sun": A discussion on Japan's gaming industry and its current conditions. Cryothinker is introduced.
57. "Supreme Responsibility": The Overthinker's reaction to the US Supreme Court's banning of California's attempt to ban violent games.
58. "Heavens To Metroid Revisited": A look back on the Overthinker's controversial views on Other M.
59. "Bat Slap": The Overthinker investigates the apparent sexism in Batman: Arkham City, and the overall level of maturity the gaming community has. The episode's opening parodies Conan the Barbarian as the Overthinker makes a sword of anti-metal to fight the ninja brothers.
60. "The Mailbag Show": The Overthinker answers questions from fans whilst fighting the ninja brothers. Topics include the Karma Meter, the possibility of a video game-based TV channel, the current status of stereotyping of gamers, Toad of the Mario series getting his own game, quick time events, his views on downloadable content, game difficulty, and which countries could become major game developers. The Overthinker kills the ninjas.
61. "Bells and Whistles": The Overthinker discusses how modern video games are too overloaded with features.
62. "Seeing Red": The Overthinker responds to the Red Cross’ concerns about war games and the Geneva Convention. The Retrothinker arc begins.
63. "The Rose Colored Reality": The Overthinker talks to Retrothinker about the golden age of gaming.
64. "Beyond SOPA": The Overthinker looks towards the future of the internet community following the defeat of SOPA.
65. "Open the Vaults": The Overthinker asks the gaming industry to release classic video games and treat them with respect. Retrothinker turns evil, becoming the undead Necrothinker.
66. "Why Do I Love Video Games?": Moviebob spend eleven minutes listing off his favourite memories of video games.
67. "I, Zombie": A look at the popularity of zombies in popular culture.
68. "Crass Effect": The Overthinker looks at the reaction to Mass Effect 3's endings, and whether or not the angry fanbase's alleged overreaction is overblown or not. This episode was particularly controversial among his audience.
69. "After Effect": Bob further expands his views on the Mass Efect 3 controversy, and the relationship between gamers and developers.
70. "Fall of Duty": The Overthinker expresses his anger that Oliver North is used in adverts for Call of Duty: Black Ops.
71. "Eulogii": The Overthinker looks back on the seventh generation of game consoles, namely the Wii's rise and fall.
72. "Necothinker the Last Stand": Another mailbag episode, the Overthinker answering fan questions whilst fighting Necrothinker. Topics discussed include why video games don't double as commentaries/discussions on life, the collapse of the rental market and its effect on the creativity of games, should Nintendo remove online discussion to avoid a repeat of the rise of Xbox Live trolls, the Overthinker revealing his favourite consoles, and Nintendo possibly putting games on phones and Apple devices.
73. "Going Hollywood": A look at why video game movies suck and how classic games could be adapted into films. The show's mysterious Big Bad resurrects the Anti-Thinker.
74. "Rusty Pipes": The Overthinker examines whether or not the Mario games have become boring. The Omega Thinker arc begins.
75. "Easy Does It": The Overthinker expresses his views on Easy Modes in gaming and how others complain about them.
76. "Ask Ivan": Ivan has a mailbag episode, which features an interesting discussion about the possibility of a female Link in future Zelda games.
77. "I'm Not A Gamer": The Overthinker is baffled by Nintendo's marketing campaign to make everyone equal, has a brief identity crisis, but then realises everyone can be a gamer, even if they do not use the title.
78. "Press Played": The Overthinker looks at the "Dorito-Gate" scandal. Mr. Fib debuts.
79. "In Praise of Clones": The Overthinker and Retrothinker examine whether or not modern gaming has become repetitive. Pyrothinker and Cryothinker return.
80. "Collect Calling": The Overthinker reveals a wish list of five classic game compilations he would like to see made.
81. "Let This Be the End": The Overthinker expresses his beliefs that the eighth generation of consoles could be the last.
82. "Never Grow Old": The Overthinker looks at the seminars held by Warren Spector and David Cage at the DICE expo.
83. "The Next Crash": Ivan and Dr. Beardo discuss the possibility of another crash of the gaming market.
84. "Starving Artists": The Overthinker discusses how designers need to burden more responsibility for the current state of game development.
85. "Reflection": The Overthinker and Commissioner Bunnyface discuss the 2013 E3 conference and the unveiling of the eight generation of consoles. The Necrothinker and Robothinker arcs are wrapped up, but Retrothinker is arrested and Bob is put under house arrest.
86. "Stop Talking To Me About Ludonarrative Dissonance": The Overthinker talks about Gameplay and Story Segregation and the immersion of games.
87. "The Game Overthinker's Completely Meaningless Top 10 Games of Generation 7": Bored from house arrest, the Overthinker gives a top ten list of the best games of gaming's seventh generation of consoles. The list consists of from tenth to first: BioShock / BioShock Infinite, No More Heroes, Data East Arcade Classic Collection, Modern Warfare / Spec Ops: The Line, Mega Man 9, Braid, Tomb Raider (2013), Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
88. "GTA V Is Not A Satire (Probably)": The Overthinker discusses whether not Grand Theft Auto V is a satire game. He also discusses the video game comedy genre.
89. "Ghost Busted": The Overthinker discusses the plot of Call of Duty: Ghosts, or rather the Unfortunate Implications that brings with it. However, Bob attributes them to the Hanlon's Razor principle, rather than any malicious agenda on Activision's part.
90. "Ask Ivan II": Ivan answers more fanmail while the Anti-Thinker explains the goings on of the series' story arcs and the true identity of the mysterious villain.
91. "Titanfoul": Bob expresses his views on Titanfall lacking a single player mode.
92. "Pink Rising": Following the shocking defeat of the The Undertaker at Wrestlemania, Bob and Retrothinker go into a month long Heroic BSoD. Commissioner Bunnyface (now with new footage) discusses the recent ESA gamer study, how male gamers have reacted to a rise in female gamers, and the changing ratio in gamer genders.
93. "Created Miiqual": While Bob and the Anti-Thinker go to Mount Karnov to learn more about the Lost Cross, Retrothinker discusses the recent Tomodachi Life controversy and whether Nintendo is behind on the times regarding same-sex marriage or the outrage is from a biased western cultural perspective. The Lost Cross is revealed to be from Link's original shield in the first The Legend of Zelda game.
94. "Another Redundant E3 2014 Wrapup": Bob and his friends have a delayed look at 2014's E3 convention.
95. "The Anti-Thinker Blabs": The Anti-Thinker gets an episode to himself where he plays devil's advocate against the Overthinker et al., accusing them of blaming "dudebros" for what's wrong with the game industry as an excuse to overlook their own major contributions to such problems and the victimization complex they have.
96. "The Gamer's Gate": Bob and the Ultrathinker meet at last and discuss the growth and current attitudes of gamers as a whole, rather than the controversy of the "Gamergate" scandal. Meanwhile, Retrothinker goes on an Indiana Jones-styled quest to find the ultimate weapon, revealed to not be the Master Sword but rather a Golden Axe. Also the Ultrathinker is revealed to be a Killer Space Monkey.
97. "Once Upon A Time: When Games Took Chances": The Ultrathinker's backstory is revealed and his prejudice against gaming. Retrothinker and the Anti-Thinker look back on when game developers took bold risks and chances to invigorate the medium, using Mario as an example.
98. "Endgame, Part 1": The forces of good and evil battle it out, as Bob and the Ultrathinker answer fanmail. At the episode's conclusion, Bob is sent to hell where Mr. Fib decides to torture him with more fanmail.
99. "Endgame, Part 2": Bob reads more fanmail, while the long running story arc starts to wrap up in rapid succession.
100. "Final Episode": After meeting the Captain, an ethereal being, Bob finally discusses Gamergate, its causes and consequences. He looks back on the cultural controversy surrounding games, concluding his generation's Pyrrhic Victory against Congress' attempt to censor gaming allowed Gamergate to happen. The series' story concludes with the Ultrathinker's destruction, and Bob surrendering his abnormal life to merely become a "thinker". Retrothinker and Anti-Thinker receive new names of Throwback and Bro'seph, announcing the series will split in two - Bob going back to basics with Overthinking, and the other character starring in a show focusing only on the storylines.
101. "Nintendo, WTF Is Wrong With You?": Bob returns to Screw Attack with a new version of the show, to discuss some hard truths about Nintendo's recent activities, including their inability to modernise, their relationships with the YouTube community, and the availability of the Amiibo toys.
102. "IgaMania": Bob discusses whether or not recent crowdfunded games are innovative or just Nostalgia Filter.
103. "Games Are (Not) Dead": Bob revisits Gamergate, but namely the "Gamers Are Dead" hashtag, and discusses bullying based on a person's hobby and how gamers should not react to insults as if they are being racially persecuted.
104. "Violence Is Still Golden": Bob discusses why people should stop fuelling the argument of whether or not violent video games influence others or not.
105. "In Defense of Video Games": In a follow up to the last episode, Bob explains why video games are awesome, particularly the good they do.
106. "Why Jackie Chan Should Be In Smash Bros.": Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
107. "Nine Forgotten Game Heroines": Bob chooses several game heroines that deserve a comeback - Athena, Moby, Marina Liteyears, the Tarantula, Ptolemy, The Witch, Vanessa Schneider, Clarice of City Community, and Francsesa.
108. "Is Piracy Ever Justified?": Bob does not justify piracy but comments it is necessary sometimes for certain individuals and was created due to the current state of the gaming industry.
109. "Can Nintendo's New Console Save the World?": Bob discusses whether or not Nintendo's next console could improve the gaming industry by reintroducing the cartridge or digital downloads.
110. "10 Games That Should Have "Maker" Games": In light of the success of Super Mario Maker', Bob lists several games that could have a similar game. These include The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dragon Quest, Super Mario Bros. 2, Castlevania, Lego games, Contra, Megaman, and an "expert mode" for the actual Mario Maker game.
111. "An Angry Birds Movie": Bob discusses the new Angry Birds movie and how other games and even movies could be made with basic plots or ideas.
112. "When Did Gamers Become Wimps?": Bob discusses about how gamers react badly to or use Metacritic-esque game scores in arguments.
113. "The Big Lie": Bob discusses the lie that the video game medium is limited to two brands of product — artistic indie games, and repetitive mainstream games — and how the industry are exploiting this fib for business purposes.
114. "Dumber Alive": Bob is baffled by Tecmo's concern about apparent backlash towards Dead or Alive: Volleyball Xtreme 3.
115. "The Smashing Seven": Bob lists his seven choices for the then next Video Game/Super Smash Bros installment on the Nintendo Switch. In the end, only one of his choices, Bomberman appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a summon.
116. "Amiibo: Most Wanted": Bob lists his personal choices for which gaming characters deserve Amiibo toys.
117. "Never Forget": Bob once again discusses which video games will be remembered in pop culture through Obscure Popularity and Mainstream Obscurity.
118. "Endless Plumber": Aired as an episode of In Bob We Trust. The Overthinker and the gang return to discuss Super Mario Run and the rising growth/impact of mobile gaming.
119. "Switch Flip": Aired as an episode of In Bob We Trust. Bob discusses his thoughts on the Nintendo Switch prior to its release.
120. "Is the Nintendo Switch Good Enough?": Aired as an episode of In Bob We Trust. Bob and co. express their views on the Nintendo Switch post-release, including its features, potential, and The Legendof Zelda Breath Of The Wild.
121. "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?": Aired as an episode of In Bob We Trust. Bob and Ivan talk about the surprise return of Bubsy, the character's legacy/reputation, and his importance to the industry.
122. "The Cuphead Controversy Is Dumb": Aired as an episode of In Bob We Trust. Bob and Ivan discuss another pointless "controversy" relating to whether or not game journalists need to be good at playing games.
123. "Top 50 Characters Who Must Be In Smash Bros For Switch": Bob and Ivan give their picks for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Other Episodes

1. "New Year Special": A short episode used as a promo for the next official episode "Ask Ivan II". Retrothinker and Ivan look at the Hyrule Warriors trailer, and express snarky comments on sports commentators' criticism of Tournament Play competitions.
2. "New Year Special: The Fate of Nintendo": Retrothinker and Ivan discuss the grim news of Nintendo's poor sales of the Wii U, and the possible future fates of Nintendo - go the way of Sega, die slowly and painfully, or go out honourably and return as a third party company if/when gaming is only on one form of console, but with the hope that Nintendo "fights like hell".
3. "Game Overthinker Conbravo 2014 Panel": Bob hosts a panel at Conbravo, where he announced the current form of his show would end, but the show would continue in a new shell.

Story Arcs of The Game Overthinker

The Quest of the Overthinker (Episodes 43-50): Before the introduction of story arcs, Bob played the role of a simple "z-list internet celebrity" using his show to share his views and analyses on various subjects related to the gaming industry and community. Occasionally Bob used video game effects for humour (such as in the opening of Episode #25). That all changes in Episode 43 "Double Trouble" where he talks about evil twins in fiction, only for Bob to disrupt his own video to reveal Wario's Woods (the last game released on the NES) actually exists as a location in Minnesota and sends his brother Chris (the show's cameraman) to explore it. Chris is ambushed by Bob's evil twin from the Anti-Verse, the Anti-Thinker, who teleports Bob to Wario's Woods while he takes over his show for three episodes.

Three months later, Bob regains enough strength to contact the outside world and learns the real world and video game worlds have crossed. He is accompanied by his show's biggest critic, Strawman, a literal talking haystack who whines about the changes to the show. Bob executes him out of irritation. He stumbles across a Mage Tower where he is trained by the bald guy from Rygar to master his suddenly gained superhuman powers, Bob receiving a Wii Remote Laser Blade from him. Meanwhile, the Anti-Thinker chillaxes at home when he is contacted by his master, a mysterious croaked villain called "The Beast" who tells him to go and kill the Overthinker.

Bob and the Anti-Thinker battle in Wario's Woods, but Bob's beam sword turns out to be a dud, and the bald guy is in fact Wario in disguise. The Anti-Thinker reveals his human form is only his Earth form and he goes One-Winged Angel on Bob, revealing he is actually a skull-faced Humanoid Abomination with sickles for hands. He chops off Bob's hand full of Kensington Gore and then kills him with a Torso with a View. However, Princess Rosalina uses divine intervention to resurrect Bob, and he uses a Fire Flower to kill the Anti-Thinker, who promises to return some day. Bob reunites with Chris, who has been with him the whole time filming the story arc, and they set off home.

Ninja Brothers Arc (Episodes 53-60): The Overthinker's world expands. He gets a Fairy Companion named Ivan who is his accountant's kid and acts as his intern, a rabbit named John Bunnyface becomes The Commissioner Gordon, and Bob films a campaign ad for Highly-Visible Ninja Jack Lieberson to earn a seat in the US Senate as the first ninja senator. Bob is hired by Bunnyface as a specialist to deal with video game monsters (later nicknamed "Vidspawn") that have fallen through a gap between worlds into. An arsonist calling himself Pyrothinker bombs local arcades, including the Sharkcade, a fictional arcade Bob used to visit as a child. Bob confronts Pyrothinker, actually a pyrokinetic ninja but is frozen by his twin brother, the ice-empowered Cryothinker. Bob wounds the ninjas, discovering they are made of straw and are the sons of the late Strawman. Bob discovers the ninjas can be defeated using a weapon made of anti-metal, which by pure luck the late Anti-Thinker's necklace is made out of. Bob forges the Omega Sword and battles the ninja brothers, killing them but they leave behind two magic elemental stones.

Retrothinker/Necrothinker Arc (Episodes 61-72): While visiting the remains of the Sharkcade, Bob and Ivan find an old videotape. They play it, learning it is the final episode of a 1980s cable show hosted by a jovial man named Retrothinker who looked forward to new games and technology with wide eyed idealism. At the end of the tape, Retrothinker turned himself into a Human Popsicle to be frozen until 2025, where he could awaken in the future and experience a new golden age of games and technology without having to wait for it. Unfortunately, Bob realises Retrothinker was frozen in the basement of the destroyed Sharkcade and has likely been wandering around in the world, unprepared for the disappointments of the modern age.

Bob and Ivan find Retrothinker contemplating suicide, but convince him it isn't worth it. After calming down, Retrothinker decides to follow his own path but has a Freak Out upon discovering Sonic 06. He is transported to the Beast's dimension where he makes a Deal with the Devil to gain power that can bring back forgotten game characters as zombies. Wielding a yellow magic gem that control earth, Retrothinker transforms into the Necrothinker, Lord of the Gaming Undead. Necrothinker vows to destroy those he condemns responsible for ruining gaming and targets Activision, Zynga, and over companies. Ivan discovers his true identity via telepathy, and Bob faces the tough decision whether or not to fight him.

Bob summons modern game characters to destroy Necrothinker's base, and the two battle until Bob defeats Necrothinker with the other two elemental gems, restoring Recrothinker to normal. The repentent Retrothinker moves in with Bob, while Bob covers up the Necrothinker's true identity and lies to Commissioner Bunnyface about it.

The Omega Thinker Arc (Episodes 73-85): The Anti-Thinker is resurrected by the Beast to kill the Bob, only to be executed by a pink-haired man from the future named Clogs Shoes/The Omega Thinker. Clogs explains in his timeline, Bob died and the world was destroyed by an evil android named Robothinker, a former military drone powered by a magic air gem and given the mind of an Xbox Live troll. Bob tries to fight Robothinker but gets his ass handed to him. The Devil himself, Mr. Fib, debuts as a Chaotic Neutral figure and revives Pyrothinker and Cryothinker to cause havoc. A lengthy battle between the numerous superpowered characters follows, with Retrothinker becoming Necrothinker, and Robothinker's creator Dr. Beardo lending a hand. At the end of the arc, Clogs defeats Robothinker and returns to the future, the ninjas fuse together into Plasmathinker but are frozen and jailed, and Retrothinker is separated from Necrothinker who is erased from existence. However, Retrothinker is arrested by Lieberson, and Bunnyface puts Bob and Ivan under house arrest for lying to him.

Second Quest: Legend of the Lost Cross (Episode 86-100): Bob and Ivan are kept under house arrest for a number of months, guarded by a German-voiced member of Cobalt Core called Door Guy. The new arc officially kicks off in Episode 87 when Retrothinker is busted out of prison by the Anti-Thinker who has pulled a Heel–Face Turn after the Beast destroyed the Antiverse. Senator Lieberson hijacks the TV signal and reveals he has formed his own anti-gaming ninja-based political party called the Oolong Tea Party with the separated ninja brothers as his bodyguards. Lieberson also dismisses Cobalt Core, replacing them with an army of bionic soldiers called "J.I.S.M." led by Sergeant Slicer. Retrothinker and the Anti-Thinker are teleported to the house, who kill Door Guy, and move in with Bob.

In the 90th episode, the Anti-Thinker finally explains what is going on - he is not actually Bob's evil twin but rather reviewed Gilmore Girls fanfiction. It is established that Wario's Woods is the centrepoint where the real world and gaming world meet, and the 90s Console War nearly ripped apart the multiverse. To avert universal destruction, four sages used a magic weapon (immediately assumed to be Zelda's Master Sword) to bind reality together. The Anti-Thinker and Retrothinker realise they both met the Beast, who is actually the Ultrathinker, a cosmic entity who has been The Chessmaster through the whole show, and Lieberson is actually his dragon. The Ultrathinker is looking for an item called the Lost Cross, prompting the Thinkers to look for it.

Bob and the Anti-Thinker fly to Mount Karnov to go spelunking for the Lost Cross, where they are joined by Dr. Beardo. They find a carving of Link's shield, revealing the Cross is in fact the cross from Link's shield in the original Zelda game. Bob attacks a member of J.I.S.M. and captures one of their heads, revealing they are powered by Vidspawns. Dr. Beardo also finds the Lost Cross was in his car the whole time, only for Bob to be abducted by the Ultrathinker for a heart-to-heart chat about gamers and their behaviour. Retrothinker takes up the mantle and goes to the Tower of Mystery in Wario's Woods, passing through Indiana Jones-styled traps until he meets the old man from Zelda who reveals the ultimate weapon used to seal the barrier between worlds is not the Master Sword, but rather a Golden Axe.

The Ultrathinker's backstory is revealed. He was a test animal for MIT in the 1960s and made smarter, able to improve electro-video technology with his intellect. He was handed over to NASA who blasted him off into space in a space probe, where he was exposed to cosmic radiation, causing him to Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence (like Simion in Dial M For Monkey). He projected his conscience back to Earth to see if the technology he developed had evolved like he had. Instead he found it had been used to create video games, something which Ultrathinker disliked, believing himself too superior for something as commonplace as fun. However, he was able to become The Chessmaster of the series, using Psychic Powers to influence the world in an attempt to destroy gaming - he caused the 1983 market crash, Sega's fall from grace, influenced censors and politicians to hate gamers, and attempted to alter the very minds of gamers with fraternity and Xbox Live.

As Retrothinker, the Anti-Thinker, and Ivan contemplate the state of gaming, Senator Lieberson addresses them, revealing himself to not be an actual ninja, but actually Dr. Beardo in disguise. Dr. Beardo reveals he has been on the Ultrathinker's side all at the time, manipulating Bob and his friends into advancing their plans - the battle with the Anti-Thinker was caused to open a rift between worlds, the Vidspawn defeated by Bob were used as power sources for J.I.S.M. troops, Retrothinker was spared so he could obtain the Golden Axe, etc. Beardo then reveals he wields the Master Sword, which is the Golden Axe's twin and they were forged together. He also reveals that Bunnyface is being held prisoner at his house. Pyrothinker and Cryothinker appear in Bob's house, only to be dispersed by the Golden Axe's power. Omegathinker returns from the future to aid his friends, and they take the fight to Dr. Beardo's house.

Retrothinker, Anti-Thinker, and Omegathinker do battle against Pyrothinker, Cryothinker, and the J.I.S.M. robots led by Sergeant Slicer. Slicer and the ninja brothers are defeated, and the trapped Vidspawn are freed. However, while Retrothinker faces off against Beardo, Omegthinker and Anti-Thinker are attacked by a rebuilt Robothinker, who reveals that the J.I.S.M. technology was adapted from his own. Meanwhile, the Ultrathinker decides to torment Bob by forcing him to answer fanmail. Bob refuses to give up, so Ultrathinker just kills him, which is sensed by Ivan. Bob ends up in hell where he is greeted by Mr. Fib, who decides to torment him by reading more fanmail, much to Bob's irritation. The Ultrathinker materialises on Earth to destroy mankind and gaming for good.

The Omegathinker is abruptly decapitated by Sergeant Slicer, who then dies at the Anti-Thinker's hand. Ivan infiltrates Robothinker's body and overrides him, taking control of the android's body and using him to kick some ass. He then magnetises the Master Sword into his hands, allowing Retrothinker to obliterate Dr. Beardo and the Oolong Tea Party with him. Meanwhile, Bob is rescued from hell by the ascended Omegathinker in heaven, who sends him through a door to a replica of his house. Here, he meets a semi-non-corporeal being who wears a letterman jacket and identifies himself as "The Captain".

While Anti-Thinker, Retrothinker, and Ivan team up to stop a rampaging Ultrathinker, Bob talks with the Captain about how he originally planned the Game Overthinker just to talk about gaming, and what he loved about it... only to see the media devolve into hatred and bitterness, and him only being to talk about how gaming kept sliding down this slipperly slope. The Captain then asks to talk to him about Gamergate (which Bob categorizes as just another knee-jerk, Straw Conservative backlash to things they didn't like in games), and then about the "war" that gamers fought against Jack Thompson, and other Moral Guardians back when they tried to label all games as Murder Simulators (which Bob said had to be fought tooth-and-nail because, unlike similar backlashes against Heavy Metal or Rap, the whole medium of video games was so alien to outsiders that virtually nobody outside of gamers could relate to it). Then, the Captain drops a bomb on Bob when he says that the "war" wasn't that different from Gamergate, in that it had to reject anything decrying or criticizing the medium of video games, out of a fear accepting any criticism would destroy the medium. While Bob still maintained that the "war" was justified in that its opponents actually had the motivation and capacity to outright ban or censor videogames, while Gamergate's "opponents" didn't, he acknowledges that the fact that his generation didn't "rebuild" after the "war" eventually led to Gamergate hijacking its methods to spread its own agenda. The Captain then gives Bob his powers, and tells him that it was time for him to help start rebuilding gaming, by focusing less on fighting, and more on "Thinking". Bob (now having basically Ascended To A Higher Plane Of Existence) gives the powers of the Captain to Retrothinker, who uses them to destroy the Ultrathinker.

After the Ultrathinker is destroyed, Retrothinker and Anti-Thinker ponder over what the series had led to so far, and start to think that maybe their names shouldn't just be derivatives of the word "-Thinker"; Retrothinker decides to be renamed Throwback, while Anti-Thinker becomes Bro'seph. Ivan then tells them that Bob has decided the show would split into (at least) two series - Bob would host a new and improved "The Game Overthinker", which would focus specifically on gaming and game news commentary, while the other characters would star in "The Adventures of Throwback and Bro'seph", which would focus on the "fun, wacky, video game stuff" the story-based episodes focused on.

As of March 29th, 2015, Dylan the rabbit, who played Bunnyface, had to be put down.

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