Watch Out for Fireballs!

Thank you Jade!

What do you do when there's a Kojima about? What do you do when a game has some of the best stealth action in video games, one of the most satisfying loops in video games, but punctuates it with some of the worst boss fights and clumsy exposition and plotting? It's a complicated game that gives us complicated feelings! Listen in if you want to hear us wrestle with Kojima's legacy, both as critics and as one current and one former fan.

And if you want to support marginalized creators, check out Nine Noir Lives! A new point and click adventure game! https://www.nnlgame.com/

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Bugsnax is a cute indie that caught a lot of attention with its catchy theme song, but did you know there's a whole game behind that song? We play this cute combination of Pokemon Snap and Ape Escape, navigating Snaktooth Island and catching bugs who happen to be snacks. The goal? To help the townspeople and learn the truth of what's really happening on this island, with these snacks who happen to be bugs.

A big thanks to Cody for executive producing this episode!

This week's highlight is Rod Symba, a musical artist who is looking to start scoring indie games. Check them out over at Instagram!

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Each quarter we dip into our big bag of questions, find the ones that have gone unanswered, and round them up for this bonus show. This quarter we cover a variety of topics, including demo disks, whether or not we'd like to Total Recall all media, the importance of user experience, and much more.

Thanks for your support!

We answer your questions, read your responses to August's games, and spend some time talking about the sorts of places that show up in games, and what we'd like to see more of, before announcing our slate for the best month of the year, October.

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Wario is one of Nintendo's secret best weapons. As "the opposite of Mario" he is an aesthetic triumph, indulging in every vice and drawing us in with his shamelessness. And for a while, he was the star of his own series of puzzle platformers on Nintendo portable systems. Wario Land 4 is an odd duck in that sub-series, with a more action-oriented presentation that doesn't leave the puzzles behind. And best of all? It hardly repeats itself, giving the player a buffet of unique visual and gameplay concepts. It's hard to recommend against this one.

This week’s highlight project is HuggableHipster, a video creator and game studio head who does video game let’s plays and deep dives on YouTube. Here’s her site, and here’s the channel. Enjoy!

Wario is one of Nintendo's secret best weapons. As "the opposite of Mario" he is an aesthetic triumph, indulging in every vice and drawing us in with his shamelessness. And for a while, he was the star of his own series of puzzle platformers on Nintendo portable systems. Wario Land 4 is an odd duck in that sub-series, with a more action-oriented presentation that doesn't leave the puzzles behind. And best of all? It hardly repeats itself, giving the player a buffet of unique visual and gameplay concepts. It's hard to recommend against this one.

This is a premium episode, which means the full version is available for our Patrons over at our Patreon page.

This week's highlight project is HuggableHipster, a video creator and game studio head who does video game let's plays and deep dives on YouTube. Here's her site, and here's the channel. Enjoy!

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Basch, Balthier, Ashe, Fran, and two associates continue their quest for magic rocks! Will the princess use the rocks or smash the rocks? Find out as we continue our exploration of this world spanning adventure. Though the dungeons take a wet fart at the end, the dialogue and presentation continue to be first in class.

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The land of Ivalice is a land in constant turmoil, and with Final Fantasy XII we find ourselves caught in the midst of a larger struggle that is obliterating the borderlands between two massive empires. This is how the stage is set for the twelfth entry in the Final Fantasy series, the first mainline entry of the series to get really weird with it.

This episode concerns itself primarily with the game's many new mechanics, and a general discussion of how they hang together. We then talk about the intro to the game, covering everything up through the mines on Bhujerba.

Big thanks to Nat for executive producing this episode.

Additionally, we would like to thank the creator we highlight this episode, Victoria, and her podcast We Happen to Be Trans, a pop culture podcast that, incidentally, is hosted by three trans women. Victoria is also part of a streaming collective called Transvengers which hosts Q&As for people curious about various aspects of LGBTQ+ life.

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Saving. When can you do it? When should you be able to do it? How does it change the rhythm of games? Also, man, what a fucking ripoff memory cards were.

We also answer your questions, announce September's games, and A BRAND NEW SHOW ON THE NETWORK.

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Jesse Faden has walked a rough road, one that leads up to the door of a secret government agency headquartered in a building that not everyone can see. It's the Federal Bureau of Control, they may have her brother held captive, and they are definitely overrun by a malignant interdimensional force.

This feels like a culmination of a lot of what Remedy has been working toward, and they achieved it by working against their strengths. Instead of a cinematic, on-rails narrative, Control lives in the details of its world and the SCP-like phenomena that fill it. And the combat isn't half bad... but it does wear out its welcome pretty fast.

Big thanks to Noel for executive producing this episode!

Also, check out this week's highlighted creation, An Ode to the End a podcast series of short transmissions from a number of possible apocalypses.