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[Assistant] Uh, I mean, same, my, I, I wanna be, and that's where I was asking about like how you keep track of stuff is cause I love project management shit. So uhm, maybe I'll do that for 2024, but I,


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[Assistant] My, the biggest game on my pile, on my pile of shame that I am gonna be playing over the break, just for you, is Out to Wilds.


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[Assistant] I played it for maybe half an hour before and I didn't do anything really. And that was years ago.


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[Assistant] Uhm, boys, you got any big plans other than relaxing for the holidays?


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[Assistant] GameSpot, uh, I kinda wrapped up my final admin bits for the year today. Giant Bomb, we've got a few recordings and stuff that we're doing tomorrow. I'm playing Lethal Company for the first time.


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[Assistant] Cool, nice. So by the time this goes up that VOD should be live. I'm very excited to try that out with...


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[Assistant] With the boys, and then honestly, I'm just excited to- I'm excited to cook! Weirdly.


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[Assistant] I don't know, sit back and just relax and unwind and make some stuff and feel a little bit better about what I've been eating, I guess. But yeah.


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[Assistant] But thank you all, uh, for listening, watching. If you've ever rated the podcast or left us a nice comment, we really appreciate it. And we can't wait to do more stuff in 2024. We hope you'll join us. You can find me on Twitter, Lucy James Games. Ralph.


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[Assistant] Uh, we, uh, we're all back from traveling, back in our homes, missing each other dearly, but we will always have this. We'll always have our bi-weekly, fortnightly Google Meet. Uh, I'm Lucy James, joined by, uh, Jake Baldino.


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[Assistant] It's been a while. I'm still coming up for air after Summer Game Fest, to be honest. Uh, what about you guys?


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[Assistant] Because, you know, I don't have the dexterity of a five year old child who can...


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[Assistant] Just build walls up around me while I'm blinking. But I dip in every so often, but like every time I see that, it's just so overwhelming. When you go on.


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[Assistant] If I can't figure out immediately how to start a specific kind of match because I'm getting lost in fucking battle pass menus, that's where I am with Fortnite.


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[Assistant] Well, the big news, obviously. So we'll get, there's a lot of topics to touch on today. We've done our Fortnite catch up, uh, FTC.


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[Assistant] We've had a Nintendo Direct, Final Fantasy 16 came out, Overwatch... be Overwatching.


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[Assistant] Some issues there, uh, so we've got a packed show.


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[Assistant] Uh, I know we're not going to go into FGC stuff too deeply, cause uhm, with the exception of Tam, none of us have a law degree.


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[Assistant] I forgot about that. Uh, but yeah, so the FTC, uh, court case with Microsoft, uh, regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is ongoing. Uh, we're recording this on the Wednesday for context. We're not going to delve into it too deeply because like I said, we're not legal experts.


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[Assistant] But there have been some juicy tidbits coming out of it. It has been wild to see. On that first day, uhm, was it the first day where Tam was in there?


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[Assistant] That's wild. There's been a bunch of other stuff in there, like, Elder Scrolls 6, at least five years away. I don't think that's a surprise to anyone.


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[Assistant] I think the fun, the more fun thing, especially obviously being friends and colleagues with Jeff Grubb.


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[Assistant] Is, uh, the list of potential acquisitions that Xbox was looking into. So you had Sega, Square, NX.


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[Assistant] Of course Bungie. And so as soon as when that came out, Greg was like, where is the tweet from Pete Parsons, like head of Bungie saying that I was categorically false or something.


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[Assistant] Of course they're going to look at stuff like that. Like, somebody's probably got their own little dirty list of acquisitions they would have made.


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[Assistant] Turns out I was actually very good at it, so...


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[Assistant] I love that they're called Jim and Phil. Because they sound like characters from fucking EastEnders. It's always Jim and Phil. Just hanging out.


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[Assistant] Anticipating the gritty social network.


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[Assistant] I have sent a specific set of emails.


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[Assistant] But the thing is as well, it's like this is just the injunction.


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[Assistant] This, this thing is nowhere near over, and so we've got months more of this new cycle, months more of this kind of annoying back and forth.


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[Assistant] So I'm team, let them fight, but you know, just get over with.


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[Assistant] Alright, enough about FTC stuff, although I'm sure we'll talk about it in future episodes. Now a quick word from our sponsor.


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[Assistant] We had a Nintendo Direct last week at the ungodly hour of 7am, which...


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[Assistant] Shout out to all the West Coast based news folks who had to get up for that one. Uhm, what were your overall impressions? What was the thing that kind of left out the most? Jake, I'll go to you.


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[Assistant] Uh, yeah, I was surprised to see that one. I mean, for me, I was very surprised to see Arkham Trilogy. Yeah. Especially at night.


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[Assistant] We went to Super Nintendo World, I don't know if you mentioned it, where at the end of Summer Game First we all got together. I was gonna say, that's such a cool shirt.


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[Assistant] Beth from the Vampire Survivors team, uh, was a Disney cast member.


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[Assistant] And she was telling me that apparently the way it goes is that if you are a character, uh, you do it for a set amount of time. And then what happens is, uh, your promotion is you become the character's handler.


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[Assistant] Oh, so many. Can you imagine how many theatre kids and especially Disney adults want to be those characters? Apparently it's like.


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[Assistant] My favorite one is the toad that just looks like, like, depressed Ben Affleck, kinda going like, ugh. He's so done.


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[Assistant] This happens every 30 minutes, but no, it was really, it was really cool. The theming was awesome.


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[Assistant] I think the one gripe that I had is on the ride itself.


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[Assistant] It felt very overcomplicated. It did.


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[Assistant] To get, I mean the theming stuff was so cool, like walking around and seeing all the stuff that they built, all the videos, they had this bookcase of fake books and every single title was incredible, I took pictures of all of them.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it was like all stuff like that. It was so cool. But then when you got the actual ride, you have to put on a hat and then you have to clip on a specific visor. And then it's this kind of AR thing beamed onto the visor. And for me, it didn't work because I think it's because I have a astigmatism.


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[Assistant] I had to like keep one eye shut the whole time.


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[Assistant] Any other thoughts on the Nintendo Direct before we get to...


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[Assistant] Congratulations Peach. Seems like she's doing it for the-


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[Assistant] New amiibo. Pikmin is still coming out. I keep forgetting Pikmin's coming out.


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[Assistant] Yeah, super cool. Alright, let's move on. Yeah.


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[Assistant] To one of the big releases of the last couple weeks, Brace Yourself's voice, we're talking Final Fantasy XVI. So, why do you want to stop?


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[Assistant] At the time, I remember watching it and going, I've never seen anything like this in graphically, like I was blown away. And I want to keep that memory.


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[Assistant] That's the thing, cause I haven't finished it yet and I'm still very much in love with it.


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[Assistant] First of all, I'm not necessarily hung up on like older Final Fantasies because I came into the franchise pretty late, like 12. And even then I didn't play 13. I dabbled in 14, probably 15.


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[Assistant] But there needs to be some kind of phrase for it, so I'm opening up to you, our lovely users, uhm, to see what it's like. Final fuckery.


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[Assistant] I don't care about the RPG system because I think for me the highs are so good, the combat is so fun that I don't wanna be.


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[Assistant] Faffin' around in menus. And I say that as a big RPG player, for me the balance with Final Fantasy XVI is that I'm just enjoying hitting things with my sword and


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[Assistant] Flying around and having all those powers and kind of doing that.


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[Assistant] Totally agree on the side quest stuff, my, you know, heart visibly drops every time I see a green icon on the screen that doesn't have a plus sign in it, but I'm still doing all of them. I haven't finished it yet, so comments on the story for me are gonna be...


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[Assistant] I really like what they're doing with it. I find it very interesting. I love, like,


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[Assistant] Benedicto, Sid, oh my god, uh, Clive, like I love genuinely the cast and the characters.


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[Assistant] And so for me as well, even the fact that it's not truly open world, the way that they're sort of doing the Dragon Age Inquisition map thing of hub worlds and stuff doesn't bother me so much because I am so overwhelmed lately with games that have to be


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[Assistant] Big and it has to have everything that you could possibly want to do. This game is going to offer you. And so for me, Final Fantasy 16 is a game that is somehow managing to balance these.


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[Assistant] Overwhelming, incredible moments, these huge, impressive boss fights, but then also, is big enough?


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[Assistant] What a bizarre default layout for those controls.


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[Assistant] Get that on AdamandEve.com.


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[Assistant] I would love to get one, but yea, battery life I cannot justify, and also, I've said this on this podcast many times, that the dualsense in general just makes my hand cramp up.


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[Assistant] Yeah, and so that's why I wish, I don't know what it is, but like the Xbox elite controller for me is the, it's just right. The Goldilocks.


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[Assistant] Messed me up, uhm, I've been really struggling to place Jill's actor, and, and, and that's the case because there were a lot of, like, very infamous, famous, uhm, British actors in this. She's in, uh, she's the main female lead, Jenny, from Alan Partridge, uh, this time with Alan Partridge.


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[Assistant] Well, yeah, I mean that and a related question is, do you get a franchise novice or a franchise expert in?


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[Assistant] I think Tam's point about context is incredibly important.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but I think as well, bringing expectations about a franchise. At the end of the day, it's a piece of media that we are...


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[Assistant] It's marketed towards us. You bring expectations into everything regardless. Like based on what you have been exposed to. Whether it's the...


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[Assistant] Or you have a storied history with the franchise, like the expectation is not something that can be clinically removed. I don't think.


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[Assistant] Reverence for the older Final Fantasy, so for me, I'm just kind of, again, vibes based, enjoying what I played of, what I have played of 16 so far, which is well over half of the game, but I also really, really enjoyed 7, and I think there are certainly parts of both games I could cherry pick to


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[Assistant] Augment my pre-order, so to speak, and make the perfect game for me.


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[Assistant] Or when my pre-order is something that lives in my head, I still can't believe that was an actual thing that they tried to do. But you know, like there were certain bits of it that I would love to see coalesce and come together and.


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[Assistant] Just, just, I think, I think, I think side quests are the thing, are the real bad shit in both. Like, eliminate them, get rid of them.


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[Assistant] No, I'm sorry, I was dealing with my terrible child who was hissing at me. I have a question for you.


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[Assistant] Uh, as Tam and I used to have to break down Game of Thrones every week.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I don't find it egregious, but I think that is because I read a lot of fantasy. And so...


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[Assistant] Everyone is obviously gonna pull the Game of Thrones comparison, Song of Ice and Fire comparison, but I...


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[Assistant] For me, it's just something, I, I, the thing that leaps out at me is when I'm playing is like, oh, this is British as hell.


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[Assistant] And that's where I'm enjoying it. And like, the thing about Game of Thrones as well is that it tarnished its own reputation so...


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[Assistant] Incredibly, uh, not in a good way. I'm using the word incredible, but, uh, yeah, that I purposely, I pretend that I do not see it.


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[Assistant] Geordie's, which is the accent that Gav, Gav has, uhm, you'll know that there are, and this is not, I'm, I'm doing this to be spoiler free as possible.


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[Assistant] If you know anything about Geordies, there was a very infamous clip from Biker Grove where


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[Assistant] Cause it doesn't feel like, you know how sometimes, you know how Borderlands, okay, I don't want to call it Borderlands comparison, but you know how some games are like, oh, we have this mature rating, we can swear, we can get violent, and they just, just run it into the ground.


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[Assistant] I actually think the 16 handles it deftly. I think it's actually a-


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[Assistant] All right. Let's move on then to a listener question or a user question. If you have anything for us, uh, email it to contact at friends for second.com. I remembered. Nice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh no no, but Lost could be a really cool survival crafting, uh, experience, uh, as a game, I think.


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[Assistant] No, but at the same, like imagine you are on the island, you are figuring out


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[Assistant] The politics of the place, that maybe the others come, maybe the folks at the tail end of the plane come, you have to figure out what's going on with the Dahmer initiative, you find the hatch, you're figuring all that stuff out.


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[Assistant] My answer for this one is Battlestar Galactica baby.


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[Assistant] Uh, Battlestar I like to go online, which I did play. Uhm, it wasn't one of the best, but you could do easily.


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[Assistant] A Mass Effect style action adventure game with that, like, not knowing if some of your party members are actually Cylons who get activated later on, like there was, I mean.


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[Assistant] Uh, yeaah, the elf in that, uh, the one whose name begins with a Z. He... Or at least he did in my game, yeaah.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but like, you know, you could do, uh, dog fighting, so you're fighting in the, uhm,


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[Assistant] Obviously there are way more games that have come out over the past couple of weeks. Let's chat about what we have been playing very quickly.


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[Assistant] I'll briefly say, cause I can't go into it in too much detail, but I've been playing Viewfinder, which is that really cute link.


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[Assistant] Who's it from? Sad Owl Studios, published by Thunderfall. And it's been around, I've seen it at like various stages over the years, definitely from trailers and stuff. It's such a cool concept.


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[Assistant] You take a picture, uh, you, you hold on a picture in your hand and you put it up and whatever is on the picture, just...


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[Assistant] Changes the world, so you can add doors and bridges, it is...


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[Assistant] Just such a cool concept. I only just started it, so I can't say too much about it, but I'm having such a lovely time. Very whimsical. Which is, and Ralph, you and I were talking about it and I was like, it's a Lucius game. It is a Lucius.


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[Assistant] Soon, yeaah. There was a demo on Steam Next Fest, I think too.


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[Assistant] No, the demos will all be taken down, but it's super cool. And like, yea, it's super intuitive.


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[Assistant] Very, very colourful and just very, it, it kind of.


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[Assistant] Obviously there's the fantastical element to it because you are literally walking into pictures that you are holding up, but...


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[Assistant] There's something about the world where it feels very familiar and yet very...


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[Assistant] Uh, it just means that, you know, I'm still just aching to see more of it. I think it's a really cool concept, very well executed.


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[Assistant] But, what else have you boys been playing? Let's just start.


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[Assistant] Uh, what else? So Street Fighter 6 also came out, we haven't really talked about it since it kinda came out around the summer game.


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[Assistant] Craziness. Uh, I have not touched it. I'm not a fighting game person.


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[Assistant] But still 200, jeez, almost 300, that's excessive. Wall to wall banging.


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[Assistant] I went pretty hard on it in the review period and then I didn't, I just didn't have it in me to start it again. So I have it, but I'm just going to take a little bit of a break. And I think, you know, once I'm through still going away, chipping away at Zelda, Final Fantasy,


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[Assistant] Uhm, once I'm kind of done with those, I will return.


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[Assistant] Nice. Uh, anyone else been playing anything that they want to talk about? Anything for the class?


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[Assistant] It is really cute and enjoyed to be fair. It's really good. It is cute. Alright, I'm gonna move us on then.


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[Assistant] Alright, I'm gonna move us along to this week in the way back. Uh, every episode we take a look back at some of the games that released in the kind of these two weeks, many moons ago. It's just nice to reminisce sometimes. Uh, Tam, I'm gonna go to you. What's your this week in the way back?


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[Assistant] Uh, mine, just because, you know, it's a game that I really, really enjoyed. And I just, I, it's just because I can't believe it's been that long, but eight years ago, Batman Arkham Knight.


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[Assistant] But also there's like, there is a twist to it too, about, you know, the knight's true identity, so I was like, well, got that!


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[Assistant] But I just, I miss the Rock City Arkham games so much, and you know, we talked about it a little bit earlier. Uh, what an incredible trilogy.


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[Assistant] I still can't believe how good it looked and looks to this day. It still looks great.


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[Assistant] Leave us a nice comment, rate, review, make us feel good. We appreciate you. Uh, any listening questions, send them to, uh, contact at friendspersecond.com. Uh, we'll go around the room. Tam, where can people find you?


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[Assistant] Yeah, cause I never talk to you, ever. This is a rare rare rare treat for us. Jake, what about you?


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[Assistant] I'm over at GameSpot, Giant Bomb, you can find me on Twitter, at least JamesGames. Thank you again for watching. Jake, take us away.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's like 14 hours until then, but they're there, they're there.


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[Assistant] It's like, it's like five minutes. I'm just worried not everyone knows it's only a five minute video.


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[Assistant] Yeah, and it wasn't as much sticking to the man as wanting to keep doing our jobs that we like doing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh well, uh, I seem to remember having fun at some point.


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[Assistant] Yeah, Nick really turned things around in the last few years. I actually, uh, you know, built a community and built a sense of community between all the creators. I actually really started really enjoying working, uh, at the Escapist, uh, the last few years.


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[Assistant] Uh, I got, uh, stream regularly with other people and, uh, build relationships, build chemistry between them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it really blew my mind that they'd ever consider firing Nick. Yeah, it was like the driving force behind all of that. So.


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[Assistant] It was, uh, a nervy at first, but, uh, yeah, we've certainly got a lot more optimism for the future now that we've seen the community turn out the way


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[Assistant] Yeah, then we start making BBC news and then we start making- I did you!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, really? What did they say? What did they say? It was just like, you know, dry reportage of the event, but it was like a number one story on their tech page.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's amazing. So I think it's not just people wanting.


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[Assistant] Zero punctuation and the other escapist shows to continue. I think we've sort of touched a nerve for a lot of people in the sort of anti-corporate narrative. Totally.


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[Assistant] I've said on several podcasts now in the last week, um, when you first go viral, that's like a good start. That's the spark that gets all the eyes on you. But if you want to, uh, sustain that for 16 years, the most important thing is consistency.


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[Assistant] If you just put out something every week, it's the same length. It's people, it's the same thing people come to expect, but new knob gags, obviously. Uh, then if you just do that for long enough, you create a nice, comfortable place to come home to at the end of the day.


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[Assistant] And I think that's what, when people suddenly heard the news that that was going away, it was like you're on a plane and the engine noise suddenly goes away. You've trained yourself not to notice it, but now it's gone away, suddenly you sit up and start worrying.


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[Assistant] Oh yeaah. I wouldn't do it and I wouldn't be going independent to do it if I didn't really like doing it. Gives me an excuse to play all the new games. I like writing about them. I like thinking about what works and what doesn't. It's the thing that interests me the most. I mean,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've, uh, done videos on, uh, game design as well with my dev diary series and I design games in my spare time. It's one of the things I find most interesting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that's true of pretty much all gaming media, that half of them have a toe in development as well.


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[Assistant] Just uh, plotting out like adventure games and writing down what would happen if you clicked on the things without having any programming ability. That was the best I could do at the time.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but uh, I've never really been censored much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, as I said, what we really wanted to do, uh, going forward was just, uh, get things back to normal. And, uh, that's pretty much what Fully Ramblimatic is going to be. It's, uh, it's an animated short form game review using my art style with my fast talking voice.


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[Assistant] Thank god. It should be a very comfortable place for people who find themselves looking for a comfortable place that isn't around anymore.


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[Assistant] Well, I've taken the opportunity to like spruce up the process a little bit. I now, I don't use Windows Movie Maker anymore. A few extra animations and bells and whistles. Nothing too like intensive, but uh, yeah, it's, it's got a like nice fresh coat of paint on it. That's cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We might launch a video and then half of them leave, you know.


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[Assistant] He's a really sharp guy, you can tell just by talking to him. Like I've done streams with him, it's always a joy. He like remembers stuff he mentioned offhand like, like three months ago in a conversation. He's just a really sharp guy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we're just like, uh, banking together enough for the first year and uh,


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[Assistant] Lucy and I, we hung out. Lucy and I raised money for charity for four or five days, so we're, we're exhausted, but uh, other than that, I feel pretty good. I don't know about you, but Monday. Successful?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it was awesome. We, uh, we also got to debut, uh, gameplay reveal for Penny's Big Breakaway, the new Evening Star game by the guys who made Sonic Mania. That was really cool. Cool! Interesting. World premiere! Take that, Jeff!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And yeah, it was, it was just a lot of, uh, if you ever want to see, uh, Lucy laugh at my pain, there's lots of footage of me getting bodied online somewhere. So a lot, lots of waxings and hot sauce.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was just going to say, Ralph, there was a report a couple days ago that folks are, are, uhm, canceling their pre-orders of the newest, uh, DLC, or DLC expansion pack for Destiny 2. What are your thoughts on that? Cause I imagine that that can't be good for the overall people that are still there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, AG1 is a supplement that lots of folks trust to provide and support their bodies daily and we're stoked to have him again as a partner here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On FPS. So if you want to take ownership of your health today, it starts with AG1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Try AG1 and get a free one year supply of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs with your first purchase. So go to drinkag1.com slash friends. That's drinkag1.com slash friends. Check it out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I played Control and I loved Control. Control was wonderful. I just started playing the original Alan Wake a couple of months ago to anticipate for Alan Wake 2. There were just too many games. We never got around to finishing it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's on my very small list of games that I will play.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just for myself this holiday season, I'm taking a holiday break for a couple days. It's Alan Wake and a couple of indie games that I'm like really focused on. I'm not touching Baldur's Gate 3. I'm not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If I touch it, I won't- I'll play nothing else and I'm not ready for that lifestyle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hurry now down to buyraycon.com slash friends to get 20 to 50% off site wide. Again, that's buyraycon.com slash friends to score up to 50% off some Raycon products. Once again, buyraycon.com slash friends.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure, so IndieLand started, uh, about six years ago, uhm, my buddy Vernon had a show called Scared of Care, which was like a yearly, uhm, charity show he would do for Kim Kassem, and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, it was basically just bringing a bunch of content creators together to play scary games. And, um, eventually he stopped making that show after several years and, uh, my producer Michael was like, hey, like that, I used to make that show. That show was really fun. We should do our own version of that every year and kind of make it a cool celebration of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We just, every year we try to raise as much money as possible and then we go work with, you know, Alzheimer's Association of America, University of San Francisco, uhm, Association for FTD, which is what my mom had, FTD. So we've like worked with big and small organizations across the board and he was like, it'd be really cool if we did a show.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We kinda looked at the gaming space and said, Hey, like what can I do that like can make an impact on, on multiple fronts? And so that's when he said, Hey, well, what if we made it a strictly indie game show where we just feature indie games by small teams, you know, from publishers who are just trying to get eyeballs in front of their games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every block, if you will, would be a different type of indie game land. So it was like, you know, we had like the Roguelike galley, which is just like all Roguelikes for like a couple hours. And then it was like, uh, you know, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Michael came up with a bunch of dumb puns, but the puns were all like, to give you an idea that in this block, if you will, we're only playing indie horror games. We're only playing Roguelikes and Metroidvanias. We're only playing beat'em ups or whatever it is. And so, uh, after our first year, it just, we raised like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to say like 60 grand and we said that's a lot of money and let's keep going. And so we've been doing it every year since and we've raised, I think, I think as of this year,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We've raised over 750 grand over the last six years. So, um, it's just been so fun to see it kind of come together because now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we, we, we had a room called the room that was just anything insane that happened in that room. It was, it was a lot. Uh, but I mean, and, and Tam and Lucy helped co-host the show. So Lucy probably has a way different experience than I had because I was just in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nonstop, no sleep mode, trying to stream as many games as possible and interview as many devs as possible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got slapped 12 times. That was fun. By whom? Uh, Anna Brisbane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know her from Bayonetta 3 more recently, uh, she, uh, she voices one of the main characters in WayForward's new slap game. Uh, it's a, it's like a flash game that got ported to consoles. I gotta remember it or else I'm gonna get, I think it's called...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know, I do not want to, it's called Rose and Camelia Collection, and it's a bunch of, uh, uh, flash games that were made a long time ago that got, are getting converted into console games and the whole bit is all like, it's like a Korean soap opera or Japanese soap opera based around slapping people. And so, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the, in that moment, I was like, anyone who donates a hundred bucks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 30 minutes, like $1,200 came in and she just comboed the crap out of me. I got, there's a lot of gifts online and me being slapped and let me tell ya.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it does not hold back. She really, really hit me. There was no, there was no sugar coating. She just slapped the crap out of me. Uh, but it's for a good cause. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy, Lucy, Elspeth, Tam, and I played Robodunk. Holy God. Man, it's, imagine NBA Jam, but you're in mechs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cool. And every single mech has different skills and abilities and it's like basically mario striker's charge but with big mechs and NBA jam and like if you charge your meter you like go into space and do like a super slam dunk from outer space and you it's oh god we


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, we even did them in order so you could like see, you know, hour by hour, block by block what we featured. Uhm, and it was just so cool cause, uh, I guess we hit some kind of algorithmic thing on Steam and so for like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was a weird thing. I guess we were supposed to tell Steam to do it during the show. Um, as opposed to like, we just uploaded it and then suddenly it was like the internet and just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh yeaah, yeaah, it's a very easy completion. It's a very easy, breezy completion. Uhm, the thing that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ralph and I didn't talk about because it wasn't active at the time because no one had the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was the online component and how fun that ends up becoming. It kind of becomes this strands souls like kind of mechanic where as you're playing online, you see everyone playing the level that you're playing with you and you can help each other.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, there's, to kinda go along with that, there are some stages that are like, almost like puzzles, where it's like, you have to find all the five coins in this one particular little puzzle room area.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those stages are always the most fun to see the ghosts in because you just see a bunch of people freak out and not know what to do. And you're all panicking, trying to find the puzzles. And then when one of you finds the puzzle, it's about trying to convince everyone else. Hey, I found the puzzle over here. Look, and then no one's paying attention. They're just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can go access at the end of every world, uh, but they're kind of like skill checks of like how well have you learned and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exceeded at this thing and the last two special worlds are like all the badges levels and then all of the, all of the wonders in one big level. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just a visual festiv- festivity of spectacle. Like you just have to keep going through it and it's really, really, really cool. And if, if you're not a big Mario person, that's okay. It doesn't have to be that hard. If you're a huge Mario person, it's going to be a breeze for you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And playing with friends is fun. It's not, not gross and invasive. Like if you play online, the online lobbies work great. It's like surprisingly good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I also got to take a little behind the sneak peek at Super Mario RPG. Do you have any Super Mario RPG fans in the chat? Anyone here? No?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Blackberry. It's written and directed by the same guy who's in Nirvana the band. It's his.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The point is, is that it's a great title. It's one that many fans never thought would ever be remade. This is, this is one of those things where Square Enix teaming up, classic Square Enix, Squaresoft teaming up with Nintendo to make this smorgasbord of a crazy cool JRPG or RPG.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's, uhm, clever, it's funny, it's got weird characters. It's the only game in the, in the Mario universe that has characters like Amalo or Gino, which became fan favorites. Uhm, one of the reasons why you hear Gino for Smash so often when the Smash Bros. community was begging for Gino to join Smash is cause of this game. Uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In fact, Bowser joins your team. You team up with Bowser and Peach and these characters, uh, Mallow and Geno. And basically there is a, when the game starts, it acts as if you're like, Oh, I have to save.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Princess Peach got kidnapped by Mario, or by Bowser. I gotta go save him, or save her, until you run, you jump, and then, hooray, you beat Bowser in the opening tutorial of how to play the game. But then a big ass sword comes crashing down into Bowser's keep and destroys something called the Star Road. And it splits. It's cloud.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it splits into seven stars and the whole bit is that people can no longer wish for a star for their dreams to come true because the star road is broken. And so Mario and team have to basically go around the mushroom kingdom to repair star road so that people can dream and wish again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, uh, it's very funny, very clever battle. The combat system is phenomenal. Um, great music, great, great, great music.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, uh, for years, everyone's been begging for a sequel for some kind of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you can kind of see why this is a big deal for a lot of Mario enthusiasts out there because this RPG.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Does not get love. It's a very rare thing and I think a lot of people are speculating.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If this game, this remake hits, they already have the engine, they've already got all the teams and the creative, will there officially be a Super Mario RPG 2? And that's...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that's where everyone is like, please God, let it be good. Please God, please, please, please, please, please. Because if they do this, it'll be, it's like creating a sequel to a game that would never have gotten one in a million.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They have really cool options, like changing from the classical and the modern music, cause they, they reached the soundtrack in a modern tone and you can kind of combine them. Uhm, they made the game significantly easier for people who aren't the biggest fans of RPGs. So, uhm, now timed hits in Mario RPGs, like, when it comes to which one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They made it easier because there's an exclamation point now that appears. So if you hit it when it shows up, you know when to hit the timed hit. You gotta hit those timed tits. You gotta hit them at the right time. Hold on. The usual thing is getting a timed hit is timed tits, baby. That's a good thing. It's a good thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's very, it's very good. It feels very, it just feels like, hey, what if you went to go see the Super Mario RPG Orchestra perform? That's the vibe that it evokes. It's very, very good. And you can change it at any given moment. They also have a new chain system where whenever you do a timed hit, it builds a combo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And as you do more timed hits, the combo goes up, it's sort of your stats. So the more of a chain you build, the more powerful your party becomes in the moment.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not quite. It's, it's more like the overall chain combo hit overall. There's no like, it's like, as long as you keep hitting those timed hits and don't miss one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The more opportunities you have to, to kind of build your stats temporarily. And then one of the biggest new things they added to this game was there is a super move now, like a team super move.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So as you perform more and more of these timed hits, you have in the corner, a meter that slowly builds percentage. And when it gets to 100%, you do a crazy cool team move.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, uh, you only, they only showed the one in the demo of Mario, Gino and Mallow cause it was a particular part in the game, but they did say that having Peach and Bowser in your party in those different combinations will change those moves, which is pretty cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a very, I mean, it's not like, it's pretty faithful to what the original was, uhm, and apparently added a very robust...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which was not a thing before. So before you'd be like, you have your three characters and that's the fight. Now in the middle of the battle, you can change out your characters on the fly, which is really, really cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're, they made the game easier within the exclamation point situation, but they also made it easier as in there is now a difficulty toggle that makes the game literally easier. There's easy mode and normal mode. Gotcha. And that's it. There's no hard mode.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which I guess they kind of consider it the classic setting, if you will, from the original game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yeah, I look, if you are a Mario RPG fan, you're probably going to love this bad boy. I've been waiting for it my whole life. I cried when I found out that it was being remade. I didn't think it was going to happen. And here it is. And I cannot recommend it enough. Y'all.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't think you guys should necessarily play the original because this new one's going to be pretty close to what the original was, but I definitely recommend that once you've played


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It did, it did release eventually on Virtual Console in Europe and Australia. And once again on Wii U. But before, when it originally came out on Super Nintendo, you could not get it in those regions.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy, when you- Look, Lucy, I want you to remember this. When you level up a character, I need you to pull out your phone and take a video and tell me it doesn't make you smile.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, you guys will love it. I promise you'll love this game. If you don't love it, you can slap me in person next time you see it. Slap fight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's important to know though that Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, and I think XI and XIV are all in the same universe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the way back the week of November the fourth, uh, let's start with you, Lucy. I know this one. You didn't get, I know exactly what you're going to say.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I went to Medic Critic to look at all the, uhm, the scores and the reviews for the game and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, alrighty. My game, to no surprise to anyone, to keep in theme with Mario, is Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. That came out about 12 years ago? 13 years ago? Yeah, no. 2011. That was when it came out. Uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think this is one of the most underrated, uh, platformers in Mario's history. Uh, it sold about 12 million units, so a lot of people did play it, but-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, it's a 3D platformer that's technically done in a 2D style, right? It's got- it's- it's- it wa- it's paved the way for Super Mario 3D World. This being kind of the precursor or sequel for 3D Land. One of the first games to properly utilize the 3D on the 3DS and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's very cute. It's very fun. Uh, if they made this, made the camera a little bit wider, you could probably put it on a console today and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, yeaah, I really like it. Uh, very very fun game. Very hard to complete if you're not paying attention. Because if you die more than five times, you cannot technically complete it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, uh, if you die more than five times in Super Mario 3D Land, uh, you get stars and like sheens for your completion. And if you die more than five times, you can't get the sheen at the end of your profile. So if you die, you have to turn off your 3DS and not save.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So don't do that, cause I did that when I first played the game for the show and had to replay the entire game when it was too late. So don't do what I did. Uh, that's it, that's it, that's it, this week of the way back, back to you, Jake. Woof.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Speaking of Papyrus, welcome to Friends Per Second, the podcast in which we are now on episode 17. It's the middle of March 2023.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, thank you guys for listening, watching on all the podcast platforms or here on the ScaleUp YouTube channel, but I'm Jake Baldino. I'm hosting this week. I'm kind of guiding things, uh, but I'm joined as always by Lucy James. How are you? You just got off a plane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You have been really busy. Can we talk about what is dropping with you? So, for people who are listening at around this time, you should know that the eShop is closing for, Gerard, can you break it down?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh man. Alright, well, uh, we, I will definitely check that out, uh, so it should be up, uh, at the time of roughly this podcast, so. Yeah. Good, good luck. Can't wait to see what you're gonna do next. Thank you. You crazy, you crazy person.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How the game's releases have been so far this year, uh, some first impressions on stuff like Resident Evil the remake, uh, but first and foremost, uh, we actually have a nice little chat with Joe Blackburn. Uh, he is the game director for Destiny 2. Uh, now that is significant because Lightfall just released, and a lot of people


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Joe is 100% real Destiny nerd, uh, so it's a pretty interesting perspective about like his thought processes, leadership and Destiny in general. So I think there's actually a lot of good meat here, even if you don't play Destiny, uh, just if you're interested in the business, the games as a service type stuff. Uh, so we're gonna, we're gonna kick into that now. What do you say guys?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's gotta be really tricky as a super fan who's also in leadership, right? Like, do you find yourself ever butting, I assume there's other people on the team that are just as hardcore as you. People are gonna have different feelings either way. Like, are you super data driven or are you guys like running by feel sometimes?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What do you think Destiny's Legacy is in the medium of video games? And how do you think it has had a positive effect?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, uh, there you go. Thank you guys for listening to that. Uh, Lucy, I understand you couldn't make it. You got the Lego Rivendell set, so. Yea, and I was just busy. It's a big deal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so, this comes from user, uh, Shahil, if I got your name right, sorry if I mispronounced it, I mispronounced it, but, uh, they ask, last week,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You mentioned that gamer bods are the new dad bods. That makes me wonder what each of you do, sorry, what each of you do to stay active. Are there any gamer specific workouts or exercises that you do or know of that are not your typical mainstream workout or exercise? Uhm, I don't want to start.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've been around so many people in my life that just drink soda all day at work and I want to be that person so bad. But I just drink seltzer and water and that has helped me significantly. I don't have any gamer type workouts other than that I like getting


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fun game time, you're streaming, that's awesome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The only other thing I- the only other thing I do is, uh, my dog keeps me pretty active. My dog has this issue. I don't know if it's a medical issue or what, but he can only poop if I chase him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's so annoying. Like, he scratches at the back door like, I gotta go! Like, you can tell. But then when you let him out, he doesn't do anything. He has to like, run it out of him, kinda.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So this week, uh, or roughly this week, because we're in every other week podcast, we're going to run through some of the releases. Uh, we have Lightfall.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Resident Evil 4 remake. First and foremost, I think we should talk about Lightfall. Now, Ralph.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, you're the guy. So you're talking to three people who don't really play. You're overall positive, but there was this whole thing where people didn't like it at first.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is the Strand, so as someone who just experienced like some of the campaign, uh, is the Strand subclass as much of a game changer as it feels? Cause the campaign just kind of drip feeds it to you, but it seems like it's a blast.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Next up, the embargo is dropping, uh, or it has dropped, reviews have dropped for Resident Evil 4, uh, if you're listening or watching, uh, I have been playing through it, uh, at the time of recording this podcast, so full disclosure, not finished with the game. I am, uh, for Resident Evil 4 fans, this isn't like a spoiler, but like I'm, I'm pretty much at the end of the castle


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Main gist of the Ramon, Ramon Salazar stuff. Uh, so take that for what you will. Very early first impressions, I'm still forming my actual opinions on it. Uh, but it's cool. It's very cool. I, it's so hard for me because I love Resident Evil and four is the weird one. Four is the one where things shifted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, back in the day. Uh, and some Resident Evil fans are not into that shift. Uh, and now with the new one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That shift feels even more apparent coming off of uh, 2 and 3 remake and even 7 and 8. Uh, 4 is just this weird ass thing and I think that still has a place just because it's so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Strange. And I'm happy that they, I can confirm that they've kept a lot of the weirdness. Uh, there's some stuff that I, I don't totally jive with. I guess I'll get those off, right, right off the bat here. Uh, Leon's performance here, like his voice actor, it didn't work for me. Uh, in the original.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, really? Yeah, so the actual village fight with the chainsaw, that's all good. But the reveal at the start and like, oh, what's going on and just the way it was directed in the original game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm glad that they didn't try and copy it, cause I don't think they nailed it, but like, I don't think what they did...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Improves upon it too much. Uhm, again, I'm still like working through these thoughts.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, otherwise, like a lot, a lot of shit is really cool. I think Ashley's a little more interesting. Uh, the way they do Ada and like all that stuff is a little more interesting. Uh, even the intro, like the intro cutscene in the old game when he's like, oh, umbrella, like they add a couple of lines that,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of make things a little better, a little bit more cohesive and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I, I appreciate stuff like that as like a Resident Evil fan. Uh, I, I can't spoil some things, but you know, they're, I'm talking, I don't want to, it's hard, it's hard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Normal is, uh, pretty easy. I've been breezing through it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess you would call them bosses or sub bosses, like some of those encounters are so much better here, just like the way they're presented, the arenas that they're in, the little tweaks and stuff, uh, and then also just like the


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Trekking through the woods, like just the addition of more like chanting and, you know, more sound effects and just a little bit more going on. It's cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, uh, he's a different voice actor and it took me a minute to get used to him, but uh, you hear him a lot, cause I mean, you're running back constantly. The game gives you even more trinkets and treasures to find than in the old one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pop a guy in the face, run up, roundhouse kick him, take out your sniper rifle, shoot four guys, like you kill a lot of men and monsters in this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As satisfying as it used to be, it's like almost there. The weapon sound effects are changed, but where I think it really like shows that it's still really good is that like I love the rifle in this game for some reason. There's something about it, the bolt action rifle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Good at, uh, probably cause it's really easy, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm glad that that has translated over. I was able to immediately pick up the game and in rapid succession take out like four headshot guys, like, and that's not me bragging, like that's, it feels that good. Um, so there's a, there's a lot of cool stuff like that. Uh, I'm just, again, I'm still playing through it. I'm curious to see if they, uh, stick the landing, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like the change conversation, I'm still working through that, right? Because Dead Space, uh, added little things here and there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There were, there were very smart, just little additions like that, where,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I still don't know, it's not really like, I don't know if I like it or not, I'm just, it's more like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's mostly all there. Uhm, I, I, it's interesting. I think the difference between 2, the remake of 2 and the remake of 4, the remake of 2 was like, holy shit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is crazy because it's like now it's how I imagined it in my head.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because it was such an old game. Whereas 4, I still think, is incredibly playable. It's like a well-oiled machine. You could smoke that game front to back. It's, it's just like really well put together and fun and like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, you still can just do that, and you're kind of doing the same thing again, but with a fresher coat of paint.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's why I brought up where I'm like, I'm so all over the place, like again, it's first impressions, I'm a mess right now with how I'm talking about this, but I ultimately like it. I've had a lot of fun playing it. I didn't get the like, oh my god of 2 Remade.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I'm, I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying the little surprises and change ups. Uhm, and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Leon has a really cool jacket. And then when he loses his jacket, he has a really cool shirt. And then later on you get a bulletproof vest and he looks even cooler. Like I just love all that stuff. The weapons are cool. Like I said, the enemy encounters, like the bosses and sub bosses.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are often heightened. So I think I'm leaning towards like, yeah, I really like this. It's just like, I'm, I'm coming to grips with how I'm going to talk about and how I'm going to outline things in a video. You guys are seeing this happen in real time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's, there's a lot that I don't want to spoil, and then yeah, to be honest, Capcom is pretty like, hey guys, we are, we want to be very specific, we don't want things to be spoiled, so make sure you do this, do that, and do that. So, you gotta talk around some things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I said at the start, it's still weird. It's still a big shift. But.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The little tonal changes, the little things here and there maybe help mold it together a little bit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For some, and you know, with you only playing it back in the day. Yeah. Yeah, it's probably a pretty cool experience to play through. It is just good old fashioned video game, which faults and all. I'm here for that. I love just a straightforward adventure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Next up, uh, in talking games as I just stumbled through Resident Evil. Thank you guys. You did great. Thank you. Again, it's a review in progress, so I'm still hashing it out. I want to hear from Gerard though. Uh, you've been playing a lot. Uh, Kirby's return to Dreamland Deluxe. What is the deal with this? Cause I am a Kirby, uh, novice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy, you've been playing something called dredge? This is a boat game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My, my first exposure to Billy Zane was through The Phantom.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I did when I, when you guys were interviewing, uh, you know, God of War creators, I was sick in bed watching Titanic. Literally, and it's so great. That's so funny.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is from Graham who asks, uh, Ralph mentioned in his Dead Space review that, and I quote, if you are not a survival horror fan, I still recommend checking this out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What would be some other games that you recommend that do a good job of introducing people to a certain genre? I can go first, uh, the nether realm fighting games for fighting games, uh, injustice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Single player experiences, you love adventures, you cry when comic book characters show up and talk to other comic book characters, uh, Injustice has a really good campaign that is really fun to play through and really entertaining.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I think I like a fighting game and then they do it again with the modern Mortal Kombat campaigns and I, I really like them for that. That's my pick.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, definitely, uh, great question. Thank you, Graham, for sending that one. You almost stumped Lucy there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, now I think before we wrap up, we gotta cover this week in the way back. Gerard?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love this game. This, this was a game that I, so I was always like a hype monger, you know, just like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Getting obsessed over a game and thinking about it endlessly until it released, pouring over screenshots, saving the mag- the magazines, cutting out the pictures and everything, like I was crazy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and Oblivion was really the first game I remember having access to decent internet and being able to be excited about a game. And Bethesda, close to release, was doing a thing where they were releasing little quick


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Stinger trailers like every day. Like they literally, they literally release a 30 second clip of just a pan of the skyline. And then the next day they'd release another 20 second tease of just first person view running through the woods. And it was so exciting because the game just looked like out of this world.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like beautiful and vast and incredible and I was like already on the high of, uh, Morrowind and this just seemed like the next big thing. It was like you had, I had gotten a 360 and really wanted something that made it feel like it was like, holy shit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The next generation is here. And like that was it for me. Uh, cause that launch lineup wasn't that great. Uh, Oblivion for me was really the first big one I went hard on. And uh, it had a cool collector's edition. You got a coin with Emperor Uriel Septim on it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And like, I just thought that was cool. Uhm, and it's, it's a really good game. I actually still think it holds up. It's a little weird and wacky now, but the music, the look of some of the towns, the tone, the feel of it is so painterly and beautiful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That I just, that's actually


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, most recently they just put out like a new trailer and a new look and they, it was like a launch window announcement trailer and I think it's like, it's like 2025.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They literally announced, da da da da da, like it looks amazing, the trailer was incredible, and then it ended with 2025. And they were like, it's hard to make a game where a small team, we're not gonna like give you something earlier, and then you get mad at us.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's the game that got me into the series. Shout out to them. Shout out to all these old games. I mean, they're not that old, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're old, we gotta go to bed. Uh, so this has been another episode of the Friends Per Second Podcast, folks. Thank you for being here. Uh, clicking, clicking thumbs up or rating us on your favorite podcast platform helps. We're here every other week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, we're gonna be talking more Resident Evil next week, uh, and a bunch of other games that we've been playing behind the scenes that we can't talk about in this one, so be sure to come back around.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm Jake Baldino, you can find me on Gameranx during the day, my own channel at night. Lucy, where can people find you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Go watch this video. Very much so. Thank you, Jake. Folks, thank you very much for watching, listening. See you next time. Tie your shoes and go to bed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy, I love what you've done with your hair. I love what you've done with your hair. It's amazing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy, next time you're in the states, or next time you're in LA, we'll have to, uh, get Zan because Zan was a former puppeteer at Disney, downtown Disney jr. And so he did it for many, many years and he'll teach you all about how to use the puppet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But in the last month, I've gotten game codes for games that I feel like no one is really all that hype on. Um, and so, uh, I've just been enjoying those games and trying to get content ready for those. Um, I had illusion Island, uh, last week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I did have a video prepared for wrestle quest, uh, but that got delayed. So now the game got delayed because the game got delayed. Yeah. My video is done, but, but, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't want to break a completionist embargo, which is my own embargo of I ruined a lot of the game for folks and I don't want them to, to not watch the video because the game isn't out yet. And then I got another code for a big RPG that everyone's very excited about, but I, I can't say that I have the code.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'll talk to you guys about between the break or the podcast. Uh, I've been, I'm starting that. I started that yesterday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's a, that's a big ins. So I kind of decided myself, I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and I've got a, I've got a kickstarter backer and stuff like that, so, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it's an, it's a big, a big ass RPG that is coming out right in the middle of the star field and all of the cyber punk. Like there's too many, there's too many games, you guys. That's the true problem. There's too many games. And I looked at boulder's gate three and I said, Hey, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm so happy that everyone loves it. I am going to just put this away in the, I will get to it when I get to it vibe and focus on everything else I got going on because there's just too many games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I'm trying really hard to like, accept that some games don't need to be content and I can just play them when I want to play them. And if not, that's okay. I'll get to it someday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I was going to ask a quick question because I'm, I'm very foreign.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The game and the brand, the franchise that is the person I think of all the time. How many bulldozers gay games have there been in the last few decades? One, two,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This boulder skate 3 being like the third out of technically the canonical 1 and 2 despite side games and such or whatever it may be.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you think everyone's so excited about it, not only because it's like one of the first true good vibe feeling D and D games authorized and licensed by the guys who make D and D or is it like, Hey, this is a return to form from a game from all of our childhoods. And a lot of people have never played it before. And this is their first time experiencing it. Like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of like how everyone's first Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy now has been Final Fantasy 16 or whatever it may be. Like what's your guys vibe on, on that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh my God. I got the perfect, I got the perfect DM. His name is Brett Altamus. He has a whole D and D I O like campaign. He does on Twitch all the time. Tons of shows. He'd be down. He'd be down to do like a FPS one shot. Be fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're all on TikTok all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh man, it's such a hard question to answer because even looking at this list, there are games that have come out that I love that aren't here and I'm a weird guy. I don't, I don't, I try to stay away from like the,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We all know that these games are going to be the games that everyone talks about for the next 18 months plus, right? But for me, I'm like, what's some of the stuff that people aren't, that's going to go under the radar that I'm obsessed with. But I mean, we're talking about what we've gotten so far.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The game that I put probably the most amount of personal time in that I continually enjoy and keep circling back to is street fighter six. It's, it's got such a, it just feels like fighting games this year have become


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Important to so many people who aren't really into fighting games and you know, we just had Evo last week, which was phenomenal. I wish I had gotten to go, but, uh, if I had gone to Evo, then I'm on the road for the next seven weeks. So like I had to decide to take a personal weekend to myself and that's what I did. Um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the, the amount of of playtime and just playing with friends and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just being in the lab, learning and growing and getting my ass whooped, but learning and, and even like Rashid just came out and they just announced, uh, the, the TMNT costume pack. Uh, it just feels like that's the game that I'm going to keep re-circling in the next.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Couple of months. Uhm, I just finished resume before we made completely in terms of completion. Took me 130 hours. So now I got to make my video on it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, I mean, obviously, uh, I love Final Fantasy 16 a lot. Death Space I think was the one I probably remember the clearest in terms of like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The game that I keep thinking about more often than not, just cause it's, I just love dead space so much. And I just started Diablo four a couple of days ago, uh, which is ironic because now everyone is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Off the Diablo train and is now on the boulder's gate train. Uh, so, uh, that's interesting to look at that all of this. But, uh, the sad thing is that the list that we have here that we're talking about the games that I've listed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are so many more games coming out in the next couple of weeks to months. You got wrestle quest. You got sea of stars. You got, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Flip in starfield, uh, Super Mario wonder, Super Mario RPG remake, uh, uh, Spider-Man two, like there's too many games. Stop it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm overwhelmed, but I'm having a good time. Jake, what are your thoughts in some of the games so far? What's your, your standout that you're obsessed with?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be more precise, I want to make sure I'm zooming in. Yeah, it is lemon lime. I got it right. Lemon lime flavor is the one that I use. Uh, mostly because it just straight up tastes like lemonade. That's always nice, uh, nice, refreshing taste.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Real hydrating, now sugar free. Grab your Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier sugar free in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 20% off when you go to liquidiv.com and use codes friends at checkout. That's 20% off.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Anything you order using the promo code friends at liquidiv.com. And hey, just to reiterate, uh, using this code really supports our podcast.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And keeps us being able to produce regular episodes. So make sure that if you are in fact interested in using Liquid IV and pick it up today, to use code FRIENDS at checkout for 20% off your order.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, let's get those technical for a second. Star Fox has come back a few times. Okay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just because I am the one person in the world that loved star Fox zero doesn't mean it didn't exist. It was a fun as hell game. And if they, if Nintendo decides to rerelease it on switch with modern controls,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] People would play it and love it. There's some, sorry, I gotta get my Starbucks box for a second. There's so many people out there who didn't who my Starbucks 64 box. There's so many people out there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who just in their reviews, and I'll call you out reviewers out there, you know who you are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Some of the more beloved Nintendo IP stuff. Uh, I think it's absolutely time for a new F zero. It has been.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A 2D version of Zero who have made a 3D version of F Zero that are better than any of the other F Zero games out there. If Nintendo is so paranoid about bringing back F Zero for a more modern day market, just give the IP to someone else just like they did with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, Metroid Dread. It's let, if you, if they're so concerned about messing it up,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that, that would be great. I would bring back F-Zero personally speaking.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, and Pikmin four has been done for years, according to me and moto. Like they, they, yeah. He announced it several years ago, even when the, like in the middle of the switch launch, he was like Pikmin four's done. Like they, it's been, it had been done.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, like he, he, he got a record saying that Pickman forward had been done for a while.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The fact that there is no new type of Earthbound or the meme of Mother 3 never coming to the states because of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Translation issues, whatever you want to, uh, throw it out to, um, is, is kind of weird. I feel like, uh, there's enough people out there who are always campaigning those things. I'm one of them. I'm always like, Hey, earth bounce. Great. F zero is great. Um, let's get more of those IPs. I think it's, it's definitely weird that Nintendo


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It doesn't take those chances more often than not because if you think about it, there's only been


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A total of maybe five F zero games, which sounds like a lot, but it's definitely like there was the super Nintendo one. And then there was the game boy color one or a game boy advanced one. And then there was the game cube one. And then one was an arcade and like, maybe there's a couple more I already forgot about, but like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To nowadays when your player base on your switch is what? 120 plus million people?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And no one's ever played an F zero before. It's to me, it just feels like the right time to do stuff like that. Get weird. Let's get a new star Fox. Let's get a new, a new F zero, a new earth bound. Let people experience stuff they haven't gotten to. Sorry. Go ahead.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not really shooting for the same thing. Blastcore was on, is in rarity play. So it feels like Rare, if they wanted to, could bring it back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bring back Rob the robot, bring back a duck hunt dog, bring back a game and watch. Let's get some, let's just the bottom of the barrel stuff. I'm ready for it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I completely played through and completed wrestle quest.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I don't think I can talk about it. I mean, I can, I guess the reviews are out and the embargo is out. So I can talk about wrestle quest. I just can't really. And, and, uh, editor's notes do if you need footage, I've got you. Um, but, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This game is how long exactly? It took me 70 hours to completely beat...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I got to credits at hour 60. So I spent 10 hours doing cleanup and, and then I had to do a secondary play through to get one achievement, which was half the game. So in the end, it took me roughly 95 to a hundred hours to, to complete the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think so, because this is an RPG that's focused on a story the whole time. Like, once you learn the mechanics fairly early on, and there's not a lot of new mechanics introduced to you over time,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you almost get your entire, an entire toolkit. That's not a pun cause it's about, you know, action figures, but you get your, your, your whole RPG toolkit within the first two hours of the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The, the kind of the elevator pitch on wrestler quest, for those of you guys that don't know, um, this is like a world within a world. You are in a toy box and in this toy box,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, original world, there are action figures and very much parroting what we've all grown up with. So things like, like there's a character named Barbe, who is like a, uh, it's like a, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, a teacher who teaches kids how to, you know, live their life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's, uh, the main character, there's two main characters, uh, there's muchacho man, Randy Santos, um, who, uh, his whole arc and story is that he wants to be the living legacy of the actual wrestler


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, macho man, Randy Savage. So this game has actual licensing rights of classic, of classic wrestlers. So you're going to meet Jake the snake Roberts, diamond Dallas page, uh, Luna for Sean, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Rock's father, Rocky Johnson's in the game. Um, and all, every wrestler has a deity statue that you go and visit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and these deity statues are like meant to be almost like a museum living piece for the wrestlers. The wrestlers are in the game and they either fulfill one or three roles. They give you a rare item from their career.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you get like, you know, like Cocoa Beware, for instance, had a parrot. So you get his parrot as an item and you have like a one fourth chance of completely negating an attack.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can either have them as a summon. So you can summon, uh, Andre the giant to come in and flip the ring and do damage to everyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, I wish. I wish. Uhm, that's the- I don't get that reference. That's from the Princess Bride. Oh, of course. Cause she's in the Princess Bride as the giant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, inconceivable. Um, so, and then the other role they play is, is they're managers. And so managers are a mechanic where, um, you can call them in and ask for advice, but the advice really is a mechanic manipulation. So for instance, diamond Dallas page, shout outs to GDP yoga. Um, his whole mechanic


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that he's all about doing yoga cause that's his whole thing is that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As a retired wrestler, as a Hall of Famer, he has his own service called GDP Yoga where he


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not only like works with people who subscribe to the service, but he works with older wrestlers to get them in body shape, ready form.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's cool. You're welcome. You're welcome. Diamond Dallas Page. But in the game, in the context of the game, he is a healer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you can call him in, you can call him in and, and do a couple different, you know, commands like do this, do that. Uh, did you guys ever see the Super Mario Brothers cartoon? The super short, uh, that was hosted by Lou Albano, the wrestler, and he's in the game and you can have him as a manager.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's no Chris Pratt or Mario references in case you're wondering. There's no, no, uh, cause Nintendo's a scary beast. Um, but, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so this is a, this is a game while it is like based in a toy box setting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so you have these two characters who are trying to become an honor, the legacy of wrestling in this toy box world.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the game is about how their paths, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you conquer territories and you become champions in certain areas and you meet characters that join you along the way. And because it's a toy box, you don't just get wrestlers who join you, you get


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like you get a car named Veneta who is a literal transformer who turns into a car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And her whole mechanic is she'll find like, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A weird toy or a broken thing that's like, that's not applicable. And she'll be like, I can transform into that. And suddenly that's her move. She comes in the scene and transforms into this cool thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One of the coolest things of your big wrestling fan is that there are tag team moves and triple tag team moves.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, it very much is turn-based. Uhm, it, it very much simulates, I would say the close thing I would, I would say it simulates to is, uhm, Mario RPG in that a lot, every battle, every single battle has a quick time or timed mechanic that you have to be aware of. So you're not just kind of sitting there and like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mash this button, uhm, it might be, uh, do the correct button sequence. And as time goes on with, with the moves, they get so over the top like wrestling is and, and really explosive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But one of the, one of the more controversial things I've read online about the game, and I kind of agree with it, the pacing is a little all over the place because, uh, you'll be in the middle of a, of a dungeon with Muchachoman and his party that he's kind of recruited. And then halfway through the dungeon, you'll go back to the Logan family or the Brink family and like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now you're back with them and doing this whole thing. And so, um, the kind of the pacing back and forth stuff is a little off. Um, but if you're a wrestling fan, if you're not a wrestling fan,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The biggest thing is if you're an RPG fan, you're going to love this game. Um, it's just, you have to, you have to sit there and,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, or, or leading to becoming a mechanic, the kind of funny guys, the whole cruise in there. Uh, I'm in the game as a talkable NPC, angry Joe's in there. A lot of the wrestling world.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Youtubers are in there too and a lot of the podcasts. Um, and that's kind of a cool thing is that you, you see these real life wrestlers and you see their podcasts are kind of woven within the storyline of the game. So, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mechanically speaking, it's very, very, very fun. And hey, if you're like, I just want to play the game for the story, there are awesome accessibility options that just let you plow through the whole thing. You can do god mode, you can do auto pinning and auto, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, auto, like maximum hit and you get to enjoy the story and it doesn't ruin anything for you outside of that. Um, but one last thing before I stop the wrestling, uh, tirade is that, uh, not every fight ends in a pin, but, um, when you fight a fellow wrestler,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a pin mechanic where it's like a mini game where there's an arrow that goes in a square and you have to hit them on time. One, two, three to pin them. So you can kind of feel that some fights are just like a scrap. Others are like an actual wrestling match and boss fight mechanics are about telling the story. So if you'll get it, you're going to a huge boss fight and it's not about killing the boss.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's about let the boss pin you miss miss fall and pin you one or two times, uh, perform a certain move and fail the quick time event. There's like many key moments that you have to perform in the show in the


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. Because it's about, it's about the wrestling promotions, not about winning and losing. And so it's about putting on a good performance throughout the story, which makes every boss fight super unique and way different from the ones before. And there's tons of mini games too that reference other mini games. So there's any other games like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jump, Jump King, remember that game that everyone was obsessed with? There's a game about that. There's like a car racing game. It's all, it's got all kinds of stuff. It's a big love letter to wrestling. It's a big love letter to RPGs. Highly recommend it. Uh, and it's coming out, I think August 22nd is the new date.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It just, it just, it literally was supposed to come out this week, uh, but it got delayed. So I guess they, they found a game breaking bug, so they're, they're pushing it back a couple more weeks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, uh, but, uh, yeah, WrestleQuest. It's sick. It's tight. It's also not that expensive. So it's like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you feel like the solution is to, like, is making a better, bigger battery an optimal solution?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright folks, it's game. We're getting old guys. We're getting, we're getting, that's how it is. Not me. Ralph is a mortal. Everyone. Every time you say that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's how, that's how the segment works, the one thing I contribute to the show. Uh, guys, I'll go first because this one, I feel like I manifested this for years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Great. Okay. Uh, so, uh, this day or week in the way back of gaming, uh, for the week of August 9th is when we're recording this. I'm going to go first, Scott Pilgrim versus the world, the game. Now look, this


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And lo and behold, during the pandemic, it reappeared for all of you to play. So now you can play Scott Pilgrim versus the world, the game on major on most every major platform to beat them up about the comic. That's also about the game. It's one of those weird loop thing or the movie. Uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And in the movie, they referenced the game with little icon. So there they are connected to a degree, but it's mostly inspired obviously by Brian Lee O'Malley's works. Uh, it's a fun, it's, it's a beat them up that is very much focused on classic beat them ups. People play the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's hard, but people don't understand that eating...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] People understand that in beat em ups, traditionally speaking, you don't, um, buy things and get items.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You just kind of plow through and fight stuff, but this is very much inspired by the river city franchise, which means when you buy items, you gain stats. So a lot of people always complain, Oh, this game is too hard because I didn't increase my stats because I didn't know how.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But if you buy items, they give you stats. Read the descriptions, folks, when you buy games, items, and games. But that came out, uh, August...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] August 9th, I think, is what I just said. No, August 10th, technically, uh, 13 years ago. Uhm, on PlayStation 3, and I believe it came out on Xbox 360 as well. It was on Xbox.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Man, that's the kind of game that you hear like the opening trail. And I'm like, I know what stage, what level, what moment did that track plays? Because I'm on a Gucci slaps. I've seen them perform so many times in person. They're so good. That's my game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 13 years ago, Scott hook versus the world of the game. Let's, you know what? Let's throw it to Lucy. She's already talking about this. Lucy, what's your game?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's funny, I haven't heard anyone talk about sleeping dogs in so long because I have a really


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Weird press item and I don't know if you guys got one. I got one. It wasn't given to me. It was given from a friend of mine who was staying in my office and then I got it and it's been in my office for years and I don't know what to do with it. It is a.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Distilled like drink case that when you open it inside it says sleeping dogs and there's a bottle and inside the bottle is a scorpion, a tarantula and a snake all curled up in this bottle and it just says sleeping dogs in the center of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just, I haven't Googled it online. I haven't seen anyone really like talk about this thing. I like don't know what it's worth, but whenever anyone talks about sleeping dogs, I'm like, I've never played it. I've heard a lot about it and I've got this weird fucking bottle of bugs and sleeping bugs. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jake, uh, it's one of my favorite games, but one of my least favorite games to complete.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because of the seven day survivor achievement. So for those of you guys that don't know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There is a unlimited survivability mode where you are just, there's no, no plot, no, no timer ticking down, except your health is constantly draining and you have to run around the mall and eat items to keep your health full. But there's only so many items available that you can do that in because the food's not plentiful in that mode.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, if you're playing on a modern console, uh, like a PlayStation, uh, four or five, uh, which I recently did, uh, the game is very buggy. And so you might just be in the middle of a run and poof exploded. And that run takes legit. Like I think my video, I said, it takes like nine to 11 hours, something like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's rough, it's a rough one, but it has one of the coolest completion rewards in that if you kill over 53,000 zombies in a run and then end the game, worst ending, best ending, whatever, you get the Mega Man X Buster.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you just get unlimited shots in it. You can like one hit, kill any enemy in the game. And then it has 300 pellets and then it breaks and you go back to the room and you get another one. It's so cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or it's in the launch window and I loved it because it was not only was my first Xbox game that I owned on my Xbox.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But you, because the Xbox has great abilities to rip CDs, I'd make my own soundtrack from the bands that I love, like Foo Fighters, System of a Down, Radiohead, and I would just make my own playlist and run around this mall and just listen to my own music. It was so fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My favorite Sean Murray moment, major ceiling. My favorite Sean Murray moment is when, uh, he was on the game awards in 2020 and he won for best ongoing game and he didn't expect to win. He was drinking that beer. He was like, uh, thank you, I guess.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This was, this was that week in the way back this week in gaming back to you, Lucy, I almost said puppet Lucy, but you're not the puppet anymore.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You got to do one of those Muppet like synchronization singing things where you're like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, Twitch, the completionist Twitter or X, whatever the hell you call it. Completionist Instagram, the completionist, uh, YouTube, that one video gamer cause the completions was taken. Um, threads on the completionist. I'm on blue sky.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, hangin' out over there, I tweet existential dread tweets over there and people vibe out to it, so that's fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, but yeah, I, uh, my video on blasphemous just went out today. So if you got time and you want to watch blasphemous, I loved that Metroidvania. It's a fun one. Uh, that video should be up, uh, now. So if you made it into this podcast, check it out. And I, I appreciate it. Thank you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the British person wasn't- I wasn't there when you were on. You had no one to back you up, but you-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucy Jones! I got Lucy Jones! But yea, another Sunderland AFC when I was about 8. And I had to go onto the pitch, and I, and I-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I definitely remember one of them was Niall Quinn. There was a picture of me, ah, you'll get my dad to dig it out, it was quite funny. There's a picture of Niall Quinn who's clearly just stepped out of a shower and he's got a towel around him and he's just gingerly


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think one of those like late 90s club bangers. Oh sure, yeah of course. I think they sang, I think it was my, it must be like the first match of the season or something. And my granddad was there too.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Finicky, but I remember just seeing, I haven't remembered dunks like that card reveal. But I think the thing with Suicide Squad is...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think the unfortunate proximity to Gotham Knights.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There were always rumors that they were both kind of making the same game, and unfortunately,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yep, definitely looks that way, and I think the Gotham Knights has soured people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a way that they don't, they don't want more of that, they want more of what made Rock City great, which was the melee combat. And you know what I fucking love about Arkham City and Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight is all the times you shoot guns. Oh no wait, that doesn't happen because it's all melee and gadget focused and now it's-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Shooting purple weak points for massive damage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gotham Knights and all the stuff that people didn't like about that game, but we are in a weird place right now where post-pandemic, well,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know what I mean? Post lockdown and everything and people playing few games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We are seeing live service games drop like flies and there were a number.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know in the month even just a month before they showed this off and it's it's hard.