Web Video / Continue?

“Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of 'Continue?'. My name is Paul."

"I'm Nick."

"Josh."

"...I hate when you do that."

— Vigilante 8 (N64)

”This game is giving me crohn's disease.”

— Paul, Pictionary (NES)

Continue? is a weekly web show associated with Normal Boots and The Quarter Bin. Based in Philadelphia, it began on December 14th, 2009 hosted by Paul Ritchey, Nick Murphy, and Dom Moschitti (who, upon moving to California, was replaced by Josh Henderson on May 18th, 2011). Every Wednesday, the guys play a retro video game, usually from PlayStation era or older, for anywhere from ten to twenty minutes and riff MST3K-style over the gameplay. At the end of the show, they discuss their individual impressions and experiences with the game(s) and whether or not they would 'Continue' playing after the camera turns off or 'Game Over' and stop where they did during the show.

As of 2014, Continue now has new episodes uploaded first to Normal Boots, with the YouTube upload of the same episodes happening a week later (this is mostly to help prevent videos from becoming unwatchable should YouTube slap any videos with a copyright claim).

The show runs largely on donated games sent in by fans, so much so that any titles sent in now may take a year or more to appear on the show, according to Nick Murphy.

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Tropes:

• As Himself: Whenever the cast of Continue..? is doing a skit they're still themselves except mostly apathetic and loserish.
• Big "NO!": Paul has a loooong one in Forsaken 64, here.
• Big "WHAT?!": "Your name is not Dunric.".
• Big Word Shout: A lot.
• Bizarro Universe: Invoked during the Super Mario Bros 3 video.
• Brief Accent Imitation: There's an Italian version of this in the Nickelodeon GUTS (SNES) episode.
  Paul: "'Ey, babydoll! Let me see your pussyche!"
  • Paul does it again when he receives a letter from his "mother" having cooked him spaghetti for Valentine's day. It's-a peppered-a with lots-a italian-a a-a's.
• Buffy Speak: Often pointed out with overlaid text.
  Paul: "IT'S A JESTER HAND, SPACE JESTER"
• Butt-Monkey: This is Josh more often than not, but everyone has had their moments.
  • "Paul'd it!"
• Catchphrase:
  Nick: "Whoa! I didn't ask for that!"
  Nick: "Are you butt fuckin' kiddin' me?"
  Paul: "I know that's right."
• Clip Show: The second half of Barkley's Shut Up and Jam (GEN) seeing how this was Dom's final apperance as a regular.
• Christmas Episode: Also known as "Watch scrambled porn all day because you have nothing to do all day day"
• Commuting on a Bus: Dom comes back every now and then, along with editing episodes frequently.
• Covers Always Lie: One day, Nick was at a flea market and found what he thought was Gauntlet that was written on a beat-up, blank NES cart with a black Sharpie for two dollars. When it came time to play the game on the show, it turned out to be a Captain Planet game. Hilarity ensued
• Epileptic Flashing Lights: The first five seconds of the intro (and thus, the first five seconds most people will see) is the infamous seizure-inducing death sequence from Zelda II.
• La Italian A: Paul's mother writes her letters this way. Because she's from Italy
• Even the Guys Want Him: The hero LACE of Dragon Spirit has this effect on Paul.
  Paul: "Man, I'd bang that guy, and I'm not even gay! That's awesome! [Beat] Well, now I am."
• Gift of the Magi Plot: Invoked by Paul in a Christmas episode, subverted when Nick and Josh are just being uncaring dicks about it. They end up calling Dom and walk into a random Santa who then fixes everything while they go back to watching scrambled porn.
• Imagine Spot: Happens sometimes, such as in the Aladdin episode.
• Mundane Made Awesome: YOU'RE READING THIS PAGE
• No Indoor Voice: You can usually tell something exciting is happening when everyone starts yelling.
  "FANTASY/SCI-FI MOOOOOOONTH!"
• Pretty Boy: Paul; also Dom when he didn't sport any facial hair.
• Podcast: Continue Cast, which they describe as "A book club for games"
• Power Trio: First Dom, Paul and Nick, later replaced by Paul, Nick and Josh.
• Put on a Bus: Dom when he moved to LA.
• Running Gag: Backflips during The Crow: City of Angels, the female mage's love of fellatio in Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun, whispering, "Nightshade..." in a mysterious fashion, and many others.
  • Playing "Ghost Love Score" whenever something badass happens.
  • Josh subverting the standard intro by simply saying "Josh" in a deadpan manner, much to Paul's chagrin.
  • During the Fantasy Month and Sci Fi Month specials, they will always (or at least as often as they remember to) scream the month's name in excitement whenever the name is mentioned, and conclude the instance with Paul saying "That's Fantasy/Sci Fi Month".
  • Josh's dad was in Aerosmith.
  • A clever joke is followed up by the caption SMART JOKE filling up the screen, and accompanied by the "Come on down!" music from The Price Is Right.
  • Conversely, a groan worthy joke (often a pun without subtlety) is followed up by a giant LAME JOKE caption, accompanied by the theme from What's Happening!!.
• Scrappy Mechanic: invoked Paul and Josh give Silhouette Mirage a "game over" because of this - namely, the need to constantly turn around in order to shift the player character's orientation.
• Screw Yourself: When the three imagine their fondest wishes to come true Josh imagines himself saying to him he has to be on a YouTube show called Continue. And then make out.
• Shout-Out: Nick Murphy has a LOT of shirts and hoodies by The Pixies.
• Sixth Ranger:
  • Dom, whenever he shows up for a special occasion.
  • Luke in the podcasts.
• Small Reference Pools:
  Nick as that guy: "Hey, it's me... That guy."
  Paul: "David Foster Wallace!?"
  Nick: "..yeah. Him."
  • None of them realized that Last Battle was a Fist of the North Star game.
• Space "X": Done to death in the Metal Warriors episode.
• Special Guest:
  • A drunken marathon with Jon Jafari.
  • Dom came back a few times as well.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Subverted when they brought in Josh. Paul took over Dom's spot in centre couch and as "The leader" of the group, Josh seems more subdued and deadpan.
• Take Up My Sword: Nick imagines that Frank Black wants him to play in his stead because "He knows all the songs better than everybody. Including him. Frank Black."
  • Paul has the same thing with David Foster Wallace.
• Trash the Set: After completing the Nintendo Hard Hoverbike level with Nick in the Battletoads episode, Paul lifts the controller up in victory, causing the console to fall off an elevated platform off-screen and shutting it off.
• Three Gamers On A Couch
• The Unseen: Nick's wife.
• Valentine's Day Episodes

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