One Controller Port Podcast

In this episode, we tackle a long-standing frustration of mine: the current state of Final Fantasy XIV. As someone who loved FFXIV 1.0, I've long been off the Final Fantasy XIV train. Today, I have some negative feelings about the game's current state, so I wanted to talk to someone who still likes it.

Alex Fraioli, who previously appeared on our podcast about Love Letter RPGs, returns to discuss his love for Final Fantasy XIV in the modern day.

Visit Alex's website for his links.

This week I talk about my time at LVL UP EXPO 2025, look at the games announced in the Qureate Direct, and what to call what I do.

Links

Koitsugi Steam Page

Pulsar Crash Steam Page

Lost in Space Steam Page

Scar Lead Salvation Steam Page

Game On! Website

Qureate Direct

Who is Ben

We spend a lot of time consuming information about Japanese games from fellow English speakers located outside Japan. Amber Vještica, Editor-in-Chief at Automaton Media West, covers games from inside a Japanese games news outlet, giving her team unique access and insight into local Japanese video game culture.

We discuss her role at the company, how they choose what types of stories to cover, and Automaton West's goals for bringing Japanese gaming news to English-speaking audiences.

Automaton Media West's Website

Automaton Media West's Twitter / X

This week I talk about my return to fighting games, DMM Game's AI Translations Process, how age impacts your Tomodachi Life, Konami Medal Games, and Gunvolt 3.

Podcast Links

Ex Capcom Producer Interview

Keita Takahashi Interview

DMM AI Translation Talk

Adults No Longer have Friends for Tomodachi Collection

Industry Experts Talk Tariffs on Switch 2

Despite what some people might assume, Japanese adventure games and visual novels are a big blind spot for me. And while I've enjoyed the games, most titles in the genre rarely grab my interest.

In this episode, I talk to Bowl of Lentils, who has created videos about the genre's history and why these games matter. We go in-depth into the genre's core appeal, history, and future outlook. We also talk a bit about the Trails series.

Bowl of Lentils Links

Twitter
YouTube Channel
Sakura Wars TranslationDVD Visual Novel Company Video I Mentioned

This week, I talk about my final thoughts on Sanctum 2 and Ed-0: Zombie Uprising, give a little postmortem on my Nintendo video, and talk the new VR Chat webcam support and Copilot for Xbox.

Opening Music from Sanctum 2
Scar-Lead Salvation Website
VRChat Webcam Support
Xbox Copilot Program
Sangokushi Taisen Website
Million Arthur GP Usage Announced

As weird as my gaming tastes are today, I think I'm still ultimately a Nintendo fan at heart. Reflecting on my recent Nintendo video made me want to talk to a younger fan to better understand what they love about Nintendo today.

Josie of the Josie Woah YouTube channel took the time to talk to me about how she got into Nintendo, her view on classic Nintendo games, and what she loves about the Nintendo Switch.

Josie Woah's Linktree

This week I go through some recent picks ups, talk about some small mobile games, and give my thoughts on Storybook Workshop and Super Bunny Man.

Opening Music From Storybook Workshop

RPG Maker WITH Cross Platform Support

Weather Forecaster - Predict Tomorrow's Weather

I have a long history of using machine translation to help me read Japanese news stories, talk to fan bases online, and sometimes even play games. However, when you don't know the original language, it's hard to understand what impact these tools may have on how we interact with the Japanese language.

I talked with Cargodin, a fan translator on games like Napple Tale and Blue Legend of Water, about how she views the English audience's relationship with the Japanese language as changing over the years.

Cargodin's Links

Cargodin's Blog

Twitter

BlueSky

Translations

Napple Tale

b.l.u.e. Legend of Water

Linda Cube

Planet Laika

This week, we return to video and talk about Wizardry Variants Daphne's success and my thoughts on Super Mario Wonder, Shining Blade, and 007 Quantum of Solace.

Podcast Links

Opening Music from 007 Quantum of Solace

SensorTower Wizardry Variants Daphne Financial Reports

Sensor Tower Mobile Revenue Rankings December 19th to January 1st

Sensor Tower Mobile Revenue Rankings January 2nd to January 8th

Wii U Online Replacement Services Warning by Nintendo

Please stay in my Memories Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Meme