Game Scoop! 780: Super Plucky's Tale

Summary

Game Scoop! 780: Super Plucky's Tale - Detailed Summary

Release Date: September 20, 2024 | Host: Damon Hadfield | Guests: Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, Nick Lemoan

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1. Game Spotlight: Super Plucky's Tale

Super Plucky's Tale, recently launched on PlayStation Plus, takes center stage in this episode. Host Damon Hadfield introduces the game, sharing his enthusiasm along with guests Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, and Nick Lemoan.

• Gameplay and Storyline:

  • Justin Davis describes his progress, stating, "I'm in Chapter four, although I think I'm pretty deep into it. It's the swamp area... The story takes a little bit of a darker turn" (01:38).
  • Nick Lemoan adds, "This is basically like a puzzle light platformer where it's in a book and then they make use of all the sort of like rules that that would introduce" (04:03).

• Art and Music:

  • Damon praises the game's music, noting, "The very first thing that I liked was the music... It was great" (02:20).
  • Nick complements the art direction, especially within the storybook sections: "The storybook stuff is just outstanding looking" (04:28).

• Gameplay Mechanics:

  • The transition between 2D storybook pages and the 3D world is discussed, with Justin expressing a hope for more complexity: "I'll give it a longer shot... Maybe it gets a little more complicated a little trickier" (06:44).
  • Nick highlights the boss fights, stating, "Each boss fight... feels like its own... it's really cool" (07:28).

• Overall Impressions:

  • Justin gives a tentative rating: "I didn't give it a 7 out of 10. I think it's a little bit lower... it has an 84 on Open Critic right now" (02:09).
  • Sam shares excitement about exploring the game: "I can't wait to play it" (01:50).

2. Industry Insights: Square Enix’s Financial Performance and Krafton’s Acquisition

The panel delves into significant industry news, particularly Square Enix's recent financial disclosures and Krafton's strategic acquisitions.

• Square Enix's Performance:

  • Justin raises concerns: "Square Enix has admitted that Both Final Fantasy 16 and 7 Rebirth did not meet their expectations in terms of profits" (01:04).
  • Nick discusses possible reasons, including poor portfolio management: "We did not manage our title portfolio across the company as well as we could have" (24:05).
  • Sam criticizes the pacing of game releases: "They should have taken 10 years for each of these games like they did for Final Fantasy 7 Remake" (25:16).

• Krafton’s Acquisition of Tango GameWorks:

  • Justin explains Krafton’s strategy: "We're trying to increase our portfolio lineup... we're not making hi Fi Rush 2" (37:23).
  • Nick views the acquisition positively, highlighting Krafton's expansion: "They are turning themselves into a powerhouse of a publisher" (39:59).
  • Sam echoes the sentiment, noting the increased visibility Krafton gains: "We're saying Krafton all the time. Can't stop saying it" (39:59).

3. Current Gaming Experiences and Discussions

The conversation shifts to current gaming experiences, player preferences, and the evolving landscape of popular titles.

• World of Warcraft (WoW):

  • Damon shares his renewed interest: "The only game you're going to hear me talk about... is World of Warcraft because I resubscribed" (15:07).
  • Nick relates with Final Fantasy 14: "I do that with Final Fantasy 14, so I don't think that's unusual" (17:38).

• Astrobot and Other PlayStation Titles:

  • Sam expresses admiration: "Astrobot has an amazing big little world... it's my favorite one so far" (06:07).
  • Nick discusses various PlayStation IPs: "They included them so I'm just looking them up" (10:05).

• Final Fantasy Series Analysis:

  • Damon critiques the franchise's management: "Final Fantasy has got to be one of the most mismanaged major franchises" (25:35).
  • Nick emphasizes the need for consistent identity: "They have to make some tough choices... define what Final Fantasy means" (33:02).
  • Sam suggests an open-world approach: "If it was a Witcher clone with Final Fantasy stuff in it, it would be a lot better" (33:12).

4. Video Game 20 Questions Segment

The episode features an interactive segment where listeners submit games for the hosts to guess through a series of questions.

• Listener Submissions:

  • Baker from Greenville, SC, suggests games like Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Gothic, and Lemmings (56:48).
  • Marcus from London, UK, recommends titles such as Papers Please, Faster Than Light (FTL), and Stardew Valley (59:40).

• Guessing Process:

  • The hosts engage in guessing games, narrowing down possibilities based on questions about release eras, exclusivity, indie status, and gameplay mechanics (60:33–63:14).
  • They successfully identify Balatro as one of the submitted games, celebrating listener participation (63:14).

5. Additional Discussions

Towards the episode's conclusion, the panel touches on upcoming releases and broader gaming trends.

• Upcoming PlayStation Releases:

  • Justin mentions Horizon Zero Dawn Remaster and anticipates its impact (44:21).
  • Sam speculates on future remasters and agrees with the sentiment: "It's good still to me" (44:47).

• Dead Rising Remaster:

  • Nick shares his positive take: "Durdor is incredible... it's using the RE engine now. Incredible looking game" (42:12).
  • Sam acknowledges improvements: "FTL really drew me in" (63:35).

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Notable Quotes:

• Damon Hadfield [02:20]: "The very first thing that I liked was the music... It was great."
• Nick Lemoan [04:28]: "The storybook stuff is just outstanding looking."
• Justin Davis [01:04]: "Final Fantasy 16 and 7 Rebirth did not meet their expectations in terms of profits."
• Sam Claiborne [25:16]: "They should have taken 10 years for each of these games like they did for Final Fantasy 7 Remake."
• Nick Lemoan [39:59]: "They are turning themselves into a powerhouse of a publisher."

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Conclusion

"Game Scoop! 780: Super Plucky's Tale" offers an in-depth exploration of current gaming titles, industry challenges, and listener engagement through the interactive 20 Questions segment. The panel provides thoughtful critiques, personal experiences, and insightful perspectives on both beloved franchises and emerging trends, making the episode a comprehensive listen for gaming enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Damon Hadfield]

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[Sam Claiborne]

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[Justin Davis]

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[Nick Lemoan]

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[Damon Hadfield]

Shop Black Friday deals first with Walmart plus see [e-mail] okay, I have to.

[Sam Claiborne]

Tell you, I was just looking on ebay where I go for all kinds of things I love.

[Justin Davis]

And there it was, that hologram trading card. One of the rarest. The last one I needed for my set. Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams. One of a kind.

[Damon Hadfield]

Ebay had it and and now everyone's.

[Justin Davis]

Asking, ooh, where'd you get your windshield wipers?

[Nick Lemoan]

Ebay has all the parts that fit my car.

[Justin Davis]

No more annoying, just beautiful.

[Sam Claiborne]

Whatever you love, find it on eBay.

[Damon Hadfield]

EBay.

[Sam Claiborne]

Things people love.

[Justin Davis]

What'S up, everybody? Welcome to IGN Game Scoop. I'm your host, Damon Hadfield. Joining me this week are Sam Claiborne.

[Sam Claiborne]

What is up?

[Justin Davis]

We're about to find out. Justin Davis Scoop and Nick Lemoan joins us this week.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'm back, baby.

[Justin Davis]

We've got a great show for you this week. Even though it's not all great news, there is to discuss. Square Enix has admitted that Both Final Fantasy 16 and 7 Rebirth did not meet their expectations in terms of profits. And this is an odd story. Even though Krafton swooped in and saved about 50 staff from Tango, Gameworks and the hi Fi Rush intellectual property, the CEO is out there saying, we don't think hi fi rush 2 is going to make us any money. So I'm sure that's a huge confidence and morale boost for the team.

[Sam Claiborne]

Whatever they're working on, maybe they're looking to break even.

[Justin Davis]

But first, let's talk about what we're playing. I've been playing the Plucky Squire, which is out now and launched into PlayStation Plus. Is anyone else playing the Plucky Squire?

[Nick Lemoan]

I've played about.

[Sam Claiborne]

I can't wait to play it.

[Nick Lemoan]

I've played about two hours of it.

[Justin Davis]

What chapter are you in, Nick?

[Nick Lemoan]

Like chapter four. I'm past the point where it starts to introduce the more the third dimension breaking stuff. So I'm well acquainted with leaving the storybook at this point.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I'm in Chapter four, although I think I'm pretty deep into it. It's the swamp area. So it opens up in a very typical Zelda grasslands forest area. And then this. The story takes a little bit of a darker turn. You're in this like poison swamp. And that's where I am now. Anyway, I Like the game a lot. I didn't give it a 7 out of 10. I think it's a little bit lower. It has an 84 on Open Critic right now, so we're like a point behind the average. But, you know, whatever. Our reviewers really, really like the game until like the last act. So we'll have to see if. We'll have to see if it. How I feel, you know, it. If. Whether or not it sticks the landing. But I really, really like pretty much everything about it right off the bat. Actually, the first thing that I liked was the music. The very, very first thing when you take control of the game. The music was so good, I didn't even want to move my character into the next screen to see what was going on. I just wanted to listen to the music. It was great. And the music overall is, you know, it's a fantasy game, so there's a lot of like Shire style music. But then the music that caught my ear was just, you know, very, very electronic, techno, ish. And I thought it was great. So really, really enjoying the music in that one. The art style is really, really nice in the book. But Nick, what do you. Well, okay, so first of all, I think everyone knows the premise of this game, but the whole idea, this is basically like a puzzle light platformer where it's in a book and then they make use of all the sort of like rules that that would introduce if you were to be living inside a book. So the text can sometimes be rearranged to open up, you know, pathways and solve puzzles. And then you can also leave the book into the 3D world. And that obviously changes different perspectives and all of that. But Nick, I think the art inside the book is really, really nice and phenomenal. But maybe that was their area of expertise because when you go into the 3D world, I think it's kind of ugly. Like, so maybe they're not as well versed in 3D graphics. What do you think?

[Nick Lemoan]

I mean, I think that it's certainly high fidelity when you go into the 3D environment. And I think it does a good job of retaining the art direction that's established in book. But yeah, 100 the storybook stuff is the thing that kind of leaves my mouth like agape with how gorgeous it is. Like whoever did the art direction for specifically for the. In storybook stuff is just well done like this. In the same year as. Thank goodness you're here. It feels like we're in this heyday of like Adult Swim, like animation that looks like it could have been in a more Saturday morning cartoon. Like it is truly something else. But I don't know. It is really fun to see the art direction of all of the characters in the quote unquote real world because it is just a silly juxtaposition of having a wizard in sunglasses who's bopping his head to whatever latest music in the real world. Very fun. But agree the storybook stuff is just outstanding looking. However, I think overall I'm a little bit more lukewarm on the game Overall. I really like that it's channeling top down Zelda, but where I feel like it relies way more on spectacle than actual like meaty, good, solid gameplay stuff that really leaves me hooked and wanting more. It kind of feels like a. And again I. I think this game is doing some really special stuff. I think if you've never played a top down Zelda game, I think this is a great place to start. I just wish there was a little bit more. It's a little too easy and it feels very by the book of what you need to do next. It feels like there's not really much room for experimenting or exploration. So it's very straight lines.

[Justin Davis]

I hope that was pun intended by the book. Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

People say like the real life sections that pop the 3D sections look at least Pikmin like which I always like. I always like big worlds and little. By the way, Astrobot has an amazing big little world where you switch between sizes and it's my favorite one so far.

[Nick Lemoan]

Oh, it's outstanding.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Yeah. People say you know, top down Zelda like but yeah, it's not. That's not what the gameplay is like. It's not. This is not a very open ended game. At least where you are in chapter four and the first two chapters are very handholdy. You go from page to page and like that's. You're not like exploring a big open world. It's just you're going from. It's very linear as you're going through the story, going page to page, solving the puzzle or the obstacle on that page and moving on to the next one. You can later on you get to exit the book and then you're. You can like flip back to previous pages and maybe there's something there that you can grab and bring forward to the current puzzle or obstacle that you're on. But yeah, I'll.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'll give it definitely a longer shot and like continue to play the game and I'm hoping maybe it gets a little more complicated a Little trickier. But that said, the big standout for me is the boss fights. I won't delve into here just because I think the spectacle of this game truly is magical. When you get to each boss fight, they're all visualize in really unique ways that feels like its own. Like, what if we just devoted a lot of resources to these one standalone boss fight and you never encounter that type of thing again? Like, it's really cool. We see it a little bit here in the B roll of just some stuff like, oh, this is completely different from anything else I've seen in the game. And I really appreciate that sort of attention to detail of them exploring other genres of game in their main game.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, it looks amazing. Like, everything about this looks so creative and lovely. I just. What's not to like?

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, yeah. I didn't know it had all the, you know, we're watching the footage here, all the little like mini games and other gameplay elements of it. I didn't know it was a part of this game. That's cool. I'm glad that it's not just like, look, you can pop out of the book and like, that's the same idea just repeated across the whole running.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I'm liking a lot. It's really charming. It's, you know, like I said, it's great to look at and while Nick is correct, it's not super challenging. It's just clever. And I'm constantly amused by everything that's happening on screen. So that's the pluggy Squire. What else is anyone playing that they're able to talk about? Or is there anything.

[Sam Claiborne]

Ellips are sealed this week on my big game. But I can't wait to play more Astro though. I do really like the level differences in what I was talking about. That big little level is so good. And yeah, I'm just like, everybody that watches that game like over my shoulder is always like, what is this? You know, it has a sheen of next gen to it, even though it's familiar gameplay and you find it in everything. It's in the little particles, it's in the. It's in. You know, I talked about this last week, but it's also in just like textures and shadows and just kind of like quick quickness moving between things. I'm just so impressed. And I do actually like. It's simple, but I like the hub world. It's a little bit like Banjo Kazooie with like this hub world that unlocks and has neat stuff. It's mainly solvable by Just feeding a bunch of bots into it. But at that point, once you have over 100, they start looking a little bit like Pikmin. And it's really funny seeing them kind of shuffle around and get to places and stuff like that.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I like in the Hub world, all of the sort of call them herobots, all the bots that are actually like references and characters from PlayStation games. I think every single one does something, has a special animation when you give.

[Sam Claiborne]

Them a slap through the Gacha game.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah, yeah, well, give them their little accessories. Yeah. And then that like unlocks their full animation and it's so cute. Each one of them is so cute. I love them.

[Sam Claiborne]

I definitely don't know any of the PlayStation references. Like I missed PS1. I didn't play a lot of stuff on PS2 and so like sometimes I just. They're completely over my head. And then there's like the Metal Gear and Castlevania and stuff and everything that I get. And I know like I've never played a Crash Bandicoot game. Like I know who it is, I know who Spyro is, but like I've never played one. So. Yeah, there's some deep cuts beyond that though, which I think are really cool. They included them so I'm just looking them up.

[Nick Lemoan]

You know, it's pretty wild seeing like Sony acknowledge like, oh yeah, we did make Legend of Dragoon a long time ago. And I was like, what? And this is how you're going to remember it? Like, that's crazy.

[Sam Claiborne]

I've never Dark Cloud, but. But the Ape Escape level makes me want to play Ape Escape. That game seems so fun and I wish they made Ape Escapes now.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, dude.

[Nick Lemoan]

Astro actually inspired me to load into the original Ape Escape. So I've been slowly playing through that.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is it fun?

[Nick Lemoan]

Oh, it's great. It's outstanding. And I think it's obviously a product.

[Sam Claiborne]

What happened to Ape Escape? Who developed it?

[Damon Hadfield]

Do you know?

[Justin Davis]

They made a bunch of them.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, yeah, Sony did.

[Nick Lemoan]

I gotta look that up. Yeah, Sony published. But yeah, beautiful game. Holds up well. Obviously some it made in a time and place, but it's still a very good time.

[Sam Claiborne]

Did it make it to the PS3 era? Like was it a Vita PS3 era game or did it stopped before that?

[Nick Lemoan]

I believe it stopped on PS2, but I think there's like three or four ape escape games if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure somebody will correct me.

[Damon Hadfield]

I think it, I think it stopped on the PS2 with Ape Escape 3, I believe.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, an Ape Escape HD collection would be cool.

[Justin Davis]

Justin is correct. Ape Escape 3 came to PS2 in 2005.

[Damon Hadfield]

I don't never. I never played that one. I don't know that I played any of them but the original and it was great.

[Nick Lemoan]

So maybe I should go back and.

[Damon Hadfield]

Check out the other one someday.

[Sam Claiborne]

I think it's good music too, right?

[Nick Lemoan]

Very good music and just cool art style. Like, the games are just cool. Looking forward to. I'm looking forward to playing through the series. Well, I mean, that's the thing. Like, okay, I love Astrobot. I love Astrobot so much. I think it's a wonderful game. But there's just that feeling of me that it's like, remember when Sony used to be more experimental with their games back on the PS1? Like, I unlocked the Jumping Flash Astro Bot. It's like, wow. Remember when they used to do cool stuff? And now it's like, now it's all prestige. Third person over the shoulders. They're in Astrobot. The big, like, I think the big spectacle moments is every single world. When you finish it, there is a PlayStation world that you get to jump into. And it's just like some of the games that you. Ape Escape World was fantastic. I was like, hell yes, this rules. I love it. And then when you start to jump into more modern PlayStation worlds, I was like, oh, I don't really care about any of this. Like, again, they're all basic. Like, it's a third person over the shoulder cinematic shooter to some extent. And you get to experience all of those in Astrobot. I'm like, I mean, that's cool, I guess, but I wish I could do something more. I wish there was a VIB ribbon level. I wish there was a Jumping Flash level. Like, stuff like that.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is there a FIB Ribbon robot?

[Nick Lemoan]

I didn't. I didn't see one. I don't recall seeing one. But I think that there was in the Astros Playroom because I noticed that there was no Final Fantasy characters in this one. And that's because I think they used them all up in Astros Playroom.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, Square Enix could have really afforded that license money this year.

[Nick Lemoan]

I mean, there's no Clive Ross feel. And that's a Final Fantasy. That's a. That's a PlayStation console exclusive. What are we doing? Final Fantasy 16?

[Justin Davis]

Well, yeah, it's on PC now. Yeah.

[Nick Lemoan]

Console exclusive.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that in a sec. We're at. Kingo and I are at the second to final boss, or at least the fight. The Fifth and final like solar system levels area. Except we don't have enough bots to fight them yet or to unlock that level yet. When we unlocked the. We unlocked two bots for Stray, the cat from Stray and then the Shiba Inu from Humanity. And he like, he knows both those games, so that was cool.

[Nick Lemoan]

That's very cute.

[Sam Claiborne]

I like how those bots and like Okami is just. They're just dogs and cats, like they don't try. I know.

[Justin Davis]

And Spyro. Spyro's in there. It's just a dragon.

[Damon Hadfield]

I wonder if that was like Activision. Like you can put Spyro in your game, but you can't. You can't botify him.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yes. He is not a robot. He is a living, breathing being.

[Damon Hadfield]

Just like hello Kitty is not a cat, but is a little girl.

[Sam Claiborne]

Man. We haven't seen Spyro either.

[Nick Lemoan]

I did not know that was a.

[Sam Claiborne]

News story, Nick, a few months ago. Is that they're like just. Just so you all know, hello Kitty's not a cat. Yeah, stop asking us about if hello Kitty uses a cat box.

[Damon Hadfield]

Was the subject another one. That's crazy. Is Stuart Little. Is a little mouse shaped boy. Is a human boy.

[Nick Lemoan]

Hold up.

[Damon Hadfield]

That's.

[Nick Lemoan]

That's true, dude. I'm just.

[Justin Davis]

Hold up. I played Stuart Little in a national touring children's theater production and this is the first I've ever heard of this.

[Nick Lemoan]

Life imitates art.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Damon Hadfield]

Is Stuart Little a mouse? Oh wait, Google says yes. Maybe made that up. No, I swear to God, I read a thing about that. Whatever.

[Sam Claiborne]

We can move on some good B roll.

[Damon Hadfield]

Okay, Google is giving me mixed things.

[Sam Claiborne]

When I was a kid, there was a mouse named Ralph and he ride a motorcycle. So I don't know much about Stuart Little.

[Justin Davis]

I watched a whole video about how your Google search is just completely useless.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah, it's not the same.

[Sam Claiborne]

Did you Google that video?

[Justin Davis]

No, it was searched me by YouTube.

[Nick Lemoan]

Only by Google.

[Sam Claiborne]

Useless Google. Here's a video.

[Damon Hadfield]

Well, the only game you're going to hear me talk about for the foreseeable future is World of Warcraft because I resubscribed.

[Justin Davis]

Oh my gosh.

[Damon Hadfield]

Back in.

[Justin Davis]

Oh my gosh.

[Sam Claiborne]

Got me.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, well, I'm not. I'm like two expansions behind and you know, even though like each mmo, generally speaking, they get better as they go, they have new features and new quality of life functions and new graphic stuff. But like, I can't bring myself to skip ahead to the new stuff. So I'm not even in War within yet.

[Justin Davis]

I'M how long is it going to take you?

[Damon Hadfield]

I mean they, you know, Blizzard does a pretty good thing where they like modulate the leveling experience of like, they don't just add more and more levels like other MMOs or like you have to be 100, level 140 to experience the new content. Like they accelerate the leveling process as new expansions. So I can blast to it, but I'm more of a. More of a journey, not a destination. I do. I have no problem, you know, doing dungeons with other players. And I used to raid Immortal Warcraft way back. Yeah, yeah, well, and some friends on my friends list, if any of them are still around. But like generally speaking, most of Dead. Oh no, the characters are like, I play the game solo mostly. Like I'm. I like to do the quests and I like to go through the zones and I like to experience the story. I subscribe for a few months and then I bounce. Like I treated a little bit more like a single player RPG and like that gameplay style is so respected in the War within where you can go through the five man dungeons, the five player dungeons with like AI companions. Now, like you have a little companion that will heal you, that will tank you, that will do more damage. And like they never had that before. There's all kinds of new features and functions in WoW that like it took Blizzard 20 years, but they finally kind of respect and understand the psychology of the player that like, you know, wants or prefers to play the game solo. Which sounds maybe a little bit of an oxymoron of playing an MMO solo. But like a lot of people really like to play that way or it doesn't have to be binary. Maybe just sometimes they want to play that game.

[Nick Lemoan]

I do that with Final Fantasy 14, so I don't think that's unusual.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is this sandwich in the game?

[Damon Hadfield]

I don't know what that sandwich was. And so anyway, like, I'm really, really looking forward to getting to the War Within's solo content. I think the storyline in WOW is just complete garbage at this point, to be honest. But like they're slowly and steadily getting it back on the right track. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the latest lore implications.

[Nick Lemoan]

Are you ready to get to the World Eater Saga or whatever it's called?

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, they announced the trio of expansions all at once and they're doing like World of Warcraft expansions are usually two or two and a half years apart and then there's usually like a content drought, like the final patch for the previous expansion comes out, everyone's always mad. Like, it takes them too long for the next expansion to come out. And they're trying this new cadence of the expansions are admittedly smaller. Like, they're not these big, huge, crazy, epic things, but, like, little bit smaller expansions that are going to come out more often and be a little bit more focused. And I think that's a good approach.

[Sam Claiborne]

Does this have the same problem as Pinball, where they started doing scores and they just added a bunch of zeros and then now all the numbers are really big because these people are killing little mushrooms and they each have 10 million hit points.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yes, yes. MMOs do have that problem. And what's funny about that is they've actually already done a big stat squish once. So, like it was getting that way where, like, you know, a wolf would have, you know, 500 XP and then 50,000 XP and then by a certain expansion, wolves. Wolves would have like 500 million XP.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, that's what it looks like right now. Every single hit is doing 444,000 damage.

[Damon Hadfield]

And so they've. Wow's been around 20 years and they've done at least one, but I think two, like big stat squishes where like basically they like took all the damage numbers and just divided them by a thousand. Yeah. And they're like, look like, I know that you were doing 100,000 damage last week. You're doing 100 damage now. It's the same. Don't worry about it. And that's, that's. And they did the same with hp. Like, boss HP was getting into the billions.

[Sam Claiborne]

That, that happened when that originally happened in like the 70s, early 70s for pinball. If you look at an old game that has score reels, which is pre digital, right. Have these reels that turn. It's like, you know, It'll have like 666001, but you know, like stuff like that. But it never has a one for the last one because the last one and sometimes two are painted on zeros. So, you know, it only has to have mechanics to run a couple digits. And then it just paints on zeros to look like the rest are bigger.

[Damon Hadfield]

What's the point? Why are they even there?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, it's like, you know, at one point people realize that earnings on the machine that went up to 10,000 instead of rolling over at a thousand, you know, was more appealing to people.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, we.

[Sam Claiborne]

And now there's like a fight, you know, like sometimes like Jersey Jackal put out a game you're like, I just got 600 points. Cool. You know, they do that sometimes. They go back to it.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

Nick, did you ever play World of Warcraft?

[Nick Lemoan]

I played when the Burning Cruise. Wait, Burning Crusade? Is that what it's called?

[Damon Hadfield]

That was the first expansion.

[Nick Lemoan]

I played the Burning Crusade because it was like played to level 20 for free. And so I tried it up. I had AOL and I played at four frames a second on the family computer. And I thought, wow, PC gaming sucks. Now cut to me, you know, 25 years later, I'm playing Dead Rising Remaster. I'm playing dur dur on my PC and just like, wow. I can't imagine gaming on anything else.

[Damon Hadfield]

This zone that we're looking at B Roll Love right now is really cool. It's underground. It's underground, but it has this huge, like truly gigantic crystal that like basically is as bright as the sun. And so it's this whole kind of like outdoor cave zone, but it looks indoors. And so like the art direction of this game is like this game's 20 years old. And like, you know, Blizzard, to their credit, they never sit still. New gameplay systems, you know, they keep their art direction on point. Like it's still. I've been trying to like suss out, like, is it just nostalgia? Is it just. I played this game and I was a high schooler and so it feels good to go back to it every once in a while. And then I've come to the conclusion that like now wow. Is just really good.

[Justin Davis]

Like it's legit from the makers of. The makers of Lost Vikings.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

No other games ever again. Did anybody try the Marvel vs. Capcom collection?

[Justin Davis]

I have it downloaded and ready to go. But my PS5 has mostly just been an Astrobot machine lately.

[Sam Claiborne]

I know when it rains it pours, right? But like, I can't wait to try it. It's a lot of fun.

[Nick Lemoan]

I can't wait to watch people play it while I look in awe from the sidelines.

[Justin Davis]

I can't wait to watch King of Play and I just set him to invincible or whatever so he can't take any damage and he can just try out all the characters.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's great. That's a good idea.

[Nick Lemoan]

What a gorgeous looking game though. Like that the sprite work in this is just nuts. Like, I wish we got an anime that's in the sty of Marvel versus Capcom. Like, oh my gosh, that'd be so sick.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, yeah, I was. I love that it was the brawlers in it too.

[Justin Davis]

It's really cool.

[Sam Claiborne]

I was thinking that Astrobot could have been what Mega man could have become. It has these giant robot bosses, has these great platforming levels.

[Justin Davis]

That's a really good point.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. And when you get upgrades like the log arms or whatever, it's kind of like a boss power, you know, you're right. And I just. I just had this moment where I was like, I wish this was Mega Man. I don't. I don't really. It's fine being Astrobaba. I wish Mega man was something other than what it's been.

[Justin Davis]

Wow, that's a really good point. Because Mega man, you know, the NES games are so colorful. Yes, exactly like. Yeah, that is what, like a proper 3D Mega man could have and should have looks like. You're right.

[Sam Claiborne]

Maybe we needed this level of technology. Maybe we needed the PS5 to make platformers super cool, just because we needed a little bit more flashiness to 3D worlds to make them not seem like drab versions of Banjo Kazooie with like, you know, better textures. Right. Maybe we're. We're starting a golden era. I doubt it. But if anybody wants to make a Mega man like that, you know, I think we'd all play it.

[Nick Lemoan]

Hey, man, Croc is coming back. So maybe that's a joke.

[Justin Davis]

If somehow every third rate 90s mascot platformer is back. Somehow. Well, we mentioned Final Fantasy 16. Let's talk about Final Fantasy 16 and 7 Rebirth. Square Enix has admitted that the profits for these games did not meet their expectations. Financial results briefing that was actually held in May, but was only released this week. Takashi Kiryu, president and representative Director of Square Enix, said, in the HD Games sub segment, we released multiple new titles, including major titles such as Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. But profits unfortunately did not meet our expectations. In addition to this, we did not manage our title portfolio across the company as well as we could have, which I believe resulted in opportunity losses due to cannibalization between our own titles. So, Nick. I mean, Justin too, actually, all three of you. I was just gonna say, I think you're. All three of you are probably our Final Fantasy experts on the panel. Were they released too close together? Was it a mistake to make them PS5 exclusive? Or is Final Fantasy just not as popular as it used to be?

[Damon Hadfield]

All of the above.

[Justin Davis]

Okay.

[Sam Claiborne]

I have an alternate one. I think that they should have taken 10 years for each of these games like they did for Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It's just. It's the 10 years that's all they needed to do. Instead they spent a scant five or six on each of them. And that just wasn't enough time. We should be getting these games in 2035.

[Damon Hadfield]

Final Fantasy has got to be one of the most mismanaged major franchises that's still publishing to this day. So Final Fantasy 11 was an MMO. So how many people are like, no, thank you. It should not have been called that. 14 should not be 14. They shouldn't be. Every discussion of Final Fantasy Forever till the end of time has an asterisk next to those two entries.

[Justin Davis]

It's like, and then they made three 13s.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah.

[Damon Hadfield]

And like, and each like something that Nintendo gets really right that like Square Enix's franchise managers don't seem to have quite figured out is that like, what's the essence of like a Zelda game? Right? Like, is it the dungeons? Like, is it you go into an item and you get a dungeon, then you use that item to defeat the dungeon boss. Like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom showed us a different way. But like, if you're a huge fan of Final Fantasy 10, what is there in 12? It's a completely different game. Like, they don't carry anything over game to game. So any amount of like goodwill you've built up of like, you know, Final Fantasy games are, you know, turn based RPGs, like, oh, no, not anymore.

[Sam Claiborne]

You have to be a really big fan of characters named Sid and then you're set.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, like they have absolutely nothing in common with each other from game to game, which is crazy. Like, it's crazy to think about, especially.

[Sam Claiborne]

When you think about how they throw out beloved stuff. Like, it'd be one thing if they kept going with a really beloved game and developed it. Developed it like they are doing with seven right now. That would be interesting, but. And then try experiments every once in a while. But instead the iterations are just what the series has become. It's interesting. I mean, that's kind of how it started, but not really. Like, I mean, it would always have mainline games in a row that were similar.

[Damon Hadfield]

They throw it out and then start over.

[Nick Lemoan]

It's a bit ironic too that, you know, leading up to the release of Final Fantasy 16, everyone's asking, oh well, it's an action game now, so what makes this Final Fantasy? And I remember interviewing Naoki Oshida, the producer of the game and director on Final Fantasy 14, and he says, look, all the stuff that you care about in Final Fantasy is there. We got your Moogles you got your crystals, you got all that. But like, you know, looking at, looking, looking at it from the top down view, it's like not even at, you know. Final Fantasy X doesn't have any of those things. So it's just like. It's so interesting that everyone has a different takeaway.

[Sam Claiborne]

And my answer, 10 doesn't have any Moogles in it.

[Nick Lemoan]

Correct.

[Justin Davis]

Or crystals.

[Sam Claiborne]

Or chocobo.

[Nick Lemoan]

There's chocobos.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, there's chocobos.

[Sam Claiborne]

There's no Moogle though. What about Sid? Is Sid in it?

[Nick Lemoan]

There is a Sid. The only Moogle In Final Fantasy 10 is the Moogle doll that Lulu holds and that's like her conduit for battle.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is Bahamut in it?

[Nick Lemoan]

Bahamut is in it. That is true. Maybe he's the through line. But like it just seems like. I don't know. To me it's always been the essence of Final Fantasy is a mix of high fantasy with technology to some extent. It's very broad, but that's kind of what it's always been to me. And Look, Final Fantasy 16 doesn't really have a lot of hype like technology. So I don't know. I don't know.

[Damon Hadfield]

I don't think any of them had that until six.

[Nick Lemoan]

No, the first two is about space. The first two delve into a lot of technological stuff that's actually overloaded a.

[Sam Claiborne]

Sky place with Tiamat and yeah, like Space Realm.

[Nick Lemoan]

I was reminded of that when I. I was reminded of that when I played through Stranger of Paradise. What Final Fantasy game should be. Baby.

[Sam Claiborne]

Good work. I can't believe you played through that. Is it does it. It revisits all of them.

[Nick Lemoan]

It revisits every single Final Fantasy where there's like one select. Like part of every Final Fantasy is a playable Dark Souls world and it rules. But the big thing is square. Just release all the games from this point on on every platform moving forward day and date. And two, this is the thing that I always like. Every now and then, maybe once a week I wake up and think, am I old for liking Final Fantasy? I think Final Fantasy truly is something for millennials. And that's it. That's as far back as it goes because I don't really know how I pitched younger audiences that care about Final Fantasy because it feels like something that is purely made for people who are roughly my age and older.

[Damon Hadfield]

They used to have. So the Final Fantasy games and their. Their like reputation and whether this is true or not, you know, up for debate. But the Reputation was like they were the best stories in video games. Right. Like the greatest stories.

[Sam Claiborne]

And they were big, they were a good value. You could play them for a long time and that was, that was a big deal.

[Damon Hadfield]

They are still really big. But I don't know that I would call. I played 16. I like 16, really liked 15. But is that the best story in video games? Is Final Fantasy 16 the best of the best? There's not better interactive storytelling happening in video games. That was totally the case in 7, 8 and 9 and Final Fantasy 6. Those games blew everybody's minds and expanded the scope of what was possible from interactive entertainment and storytelling. And I don't know, like they, they, they're. They don't have as much of a reason for being anymore.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah. And I think they don't do themselves any favors by having the next one be called Final Fantasy 17. Right. Like they made a whole ad campaign around Final Fantasy 16 saying, Do I need to play the other games? And it's like a bunch of professional athletes saying, no, you don't need to play any of the other games. You could just play this one. But I do think you touched on something. Whereas Final Fantasy used to be regarded as the best story in video games, I would also add on the best presentation because every Final Fantasy would be a technical showcase of like, this is what your PlayStation can do and it's going to blow your mind. But I think that's true the more we get into, you know, Unreal Engine 5 and just higher fidelity games period. Like Astrobot looks just as good as any Final Fantasy. Right? So like, I think that there's less emphasis on that and I think they need to double down more on the presentation because I do think with 16, they attempted to pursue the cinematic third person over the shoulder drama that you see in something like a first party PlayStation title a la God of War or like the Last of Us. And I think you got that for the first half of 16. I just don't know that it can sustain for the entirety of the 40 to 50 hour runtime that is Final Fantasy 16. So maybe there is a more distilled experience that maybe they just need to reboot it. Final Fantasy third person. What. What does that look like? And maybe it needs to be a more condensed.

[Sam Claiborne]

What if it's just Astrobot, just like my Mega man pitch.

[Nick Lemoan]

Maybe there just needs to be a Final Fantasy level, an Astrobot, and call it a day. Like, and that's the day where, you know, that's where I recognize that my heart will truly break. Because I'm just like, oh, man. I think. I think I'm the old person now in regards to Final Fantasy.

[Sam Claiborne]

You ever want to feel good about being the old person? Turn on Final Fantasy 6. Watch those mech walk through the snow and listen to that music and watch the best intro to any entertainment medium ever made and just weep a little bit.

[Nick Lemoan]

But that is, to me, that's cinema, you know, like, that is. That's what Final Fantasy is, though. It is evoking those strong emotions.

[Sam Claiborne]

Watch that little town, pixel by pixel, scroll up over the horizon.

[Nick Lemoan]

I see Yoshitaka Amano's art on screen and I'm good to go.

[Damon Hadfield]

They have to make some tough choices and they have to define what Final Fantasy means and what it stands for and what makes a Final Fantasy game Final Fantasy.

[Sam Claiborne]

I'm going to go on a limb here, and I think that it was also a pioneering open world game and that would solve a lot of Final Fantasy's problems. If it was a Witcher clone with Final Fantasy stuff in it, it would be a lot better than these. The last game did a pretty good job, but then you're like, am I really doing this zone for the 11th time with a town and the same quests around it? Like, that doesn't work. Like, it needs to be more open world because Final Fantasy that would make it feel big again.

[Damon Hadfield]

And I want to be clear that I'm not advocating that the games have to be the same or that each game, like, they can be completely radically different from one another, but they have to have a spine of like, here's what we stand for. And then each game is going to have kind of like a different take on it. Like we have. So, like, there's a Dragon Age game coming out, what, next month soon. And like, you know, like, so, you know, you're gonna recruit a cast, you know, a really diverse and interesting cast of characters, and you're gonna be able to date some and debate with other ones and they're gonna get along with each other and bicker and you're gonna have interesting relationships with this cast of characters. Like, the combat system's complete, completely different. The tones and art styles can be completely different, but there's this spine of like, you know, a foundation of what the games are that, like, Final Fantasy doesn't carry that goodwill from game to game.

[Nick Lemoan]

I envision some strange hybrid of what we saw with 16 and 7 rebirth for whatever comes next of Final Fantasy. I like the idea of the, like, character driven story of 16 in a world that's more fully fleshed out and explorable a la Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Because that's what 16 really lacked, right? Is the world is giant, but there's not really much to do in it. Whereas Rebirth is gigantic with just.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, and I think 15 did a pretty good job with open open world. Like, you know, I just thought they were moving that direction and then they've never committed.

[Nick Lemoan]

But it's just so wild to me that. And I know I'm belaboring the point at this point, but like 7 Rebirth to me is the pinnacle of what action RPGs can be. Like that combat system is incredible. And Honestly, your favorite PS5 game, I think it's pro.

[Damon Hadfield]

It's up there.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'd have to think about that a little bit. But I think it's in the. In the running for my game of the year so far.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's either that since our biggest Final Fantasy fan is satisfied with the latest Final Fantasy game, like that's good news for Final Fantasy.

[Nick Lemoan]

But is it just because it's revisiting familiar territory though?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, he's satisfied.

[Sam Claiborne]

Wanted to compare it to seven, right?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, he's satisfied with the latest remake of a 1990 what, seven game.

[Nick Lemoan]

But like take a look at something like a dragon. Infinite wealth though, right? Like we have two polar opposites of what RPGs are. We have this modern take on turn based RPGs and then we have this revolutionary new take on what action RPGs can be. And I think there's room for both of those to exist. And I wonder if with. With stuff like Metaphor, refantazio coming out where it is kind of again zagging in the modern turn based RPG stuff. Like I wonder if there's still uncharted territory for Final Fantasy. I'm hoping and you know, maybe, maybe 17, you know, seven is the lucky number.

[Sam Claiborne]

I think we should play 20 questions and then I'll go watch the beginning of Final Fantasy 6 and go about our lives.

[Damon Hadfield]

It is very good.

[Justin Davis]

That is a good idea, Sam. But first.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh no, let's see.

[Justin Davis]

Let's move on. Of course everyone remembers earlier this year Microsoft closed down Tango Game Works in addition to Arcane Austin. And then Krafton, publisher of PUBG, swooped in, took up 50 employees of Tango and the hi Fi Rush franchise. It left Evil within and Ghostwire Tokyo with Microsoft. So now the CEO has been talking. He did an interview with game developer where he says we don't think hi fi rush 2 is going to make us money. He's explaining why they purchased. The developer said, we're trying to increase our portfolio lineup, and Tango gameworks comes into play there. We can't acquire Tango gameworks based on their financials or their numbers.

[Sam Claiborne]

Right.

[Justin Davis]

We don't think hi Fi Rush 2 is going to make us money, to be frank. But as part of our attempt, we have to keep trying in the spirit of challenge taking. Tango gameworks are creative. They want to try something new, and we want to do more of that. Making video games is really a hit or miss industry, and that is risk taking. But having more project lineups is actually a way to mitigate risk because one of them might work out.

[Sam Claiborne]

So I do this all the time as a business owner. I purchase a pinball machine that I'm like, that's just too good of a deal to pass up, even though I know it's not that fun. But it'll earn its pay, and then eventually it'll be a free pinball machine. But that's all it's ever going to be. Talking about a bally playboy or something like that. You're not going to pass that up for 400 bucks. It's a cool looking game, but no, it's not gonna not. I think, hey, pay the rent.

[Damon Hadfield]

I think I hadn't heard that entire quote. I think that's quote is his roundabout way of saying, like, we're not making hi Fi Rush 2. They're gonna make something new. That's what. That's how. That's what I think.

[Sam Claiborne]

Publish it and then move on to a big series of acquisitions. And this is part of a portfolio that looks good to investors.

[Nick Lemoan]

It's really interesting to juxtapose this conversation with what we just had about Final Fantasy because, like, you know, square, the sales did not meet expectations. So it sounds like you had an issue with setting expectations right, whereas this is setting the expectations up front. And everyone's like, it's a little insulting, I guess, but I think ultimately I think it means nothing but good. I think it's good press overall because, I mean, you saved a studio that is beloved people. People love Tango gameworks. And I think that this is a big, big win on Krafton's part. I think it's, as Sam said, too good of a deal to pass up. And I think it's a way of expanding your portfolio, garnering goodwill and momentum from the gaming community as a whole for your rise as a gigantic publisher. Because crafting is gigantic from a publisher standpoint. Not only do they have PUBG, but they also publish Subnautica, which is basically YouTube drugs for anyone under 20. And like, I think that they are turning themselves into a powerhouse of a publisher. And I think there's just expanding, one, all the IPs that they have under their belt. And two, looking at a very creative studio and giving them the Runway to potentially continue to be creative and realize that even if they don't turn a profit, it's still an accolade thing for them. It's like, it's like Apple Publishing or Netflix releasing movies in theaters, right?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, look, they would have never been mentioned on Game Scoop had they not bought this game, this company. And that was the goal, right? Like, you're not going to get mentioned on Game Scoop for making pubg or Subnautica. But if I rush now, we're saying krafton all the time. Can't stop saying it.

[Damon Hadfield]

It is the only video game podcast.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I mean, podcasts are important and we're the only ones. So it's like you gotta, you got our attention.

[Damon Hadfield]

I mean, there's definitely like these game developers like some recognition and understanding that the talent of a game developer is more than the number of copies that their game sold. Right. Like, good team, you know, put out a game, you know, I don't know if it was on time and on budget, but like they released an incredible product that turned out to not be commercially viable. So like the publisher's responsibility in working with their new owned development studio is like, put that talent to use making a product that will be commercially viable or you have some sort of belief or understanding that it will be right. Like we, like, video games are a commercial art form, like it or not, for better or worse. And so, you know, your stuff's got to sell. But like I, you know, like they made an incredible piece of art even if it didn't make back its budget. And so they deserve another shot to try again.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah, it just, I look at people like studios like Tango gameworks, and I think these are people making honest to goodness video games in the classical sense of, like, this is a video game. This ain't some cinematic third person over the shoulder drama. This is just pure distilled, down to its essence video games. And I think the industry is sorely lacking in those because I booted up Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered last night and it's like, dude, they just don't really make video capital V video games like this anymore.

[Justin Davis]

Well, I think Astrobot is a capital V video game.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yes, 100%. And I'm not saying they don't exist, but it feels like a dying breed to some extent.

[Justin Davis]

Sure. I forgot to ask you, what were your first impressions of Durder?

[Nick Lemoan]

Oh, Durdor is incredible. I love the original and this is just. It's the same thing but modernized for modern audiences. Modern control screen makes that game a little too easy. But man, it is just so fun to mow down zombies.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, what did they change in the controls to make it easy?

[Nick Lemoan]

There's two controller options. When you first boot into Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster when you start a new game, you could do modern controls, which basically changes a lot of the commands to the shoulder buttons, which is nice and convenient for combat. And also the big move is being able to move while you're aiming, which you couldn't do with the original. So you can play the game with the original difficulty where you plant and shoot.

[Sam Claiborne]

They made the Wii, the Wii Remote version of Metroid prime and you could actually move around and shoot it, but they didn't really tweak the rest of it, so made just a little bit easier.

[Nick Lemoan]

They didn't balance it. And it makes the fight with the convicts in the courtyard, if you know, you know, way easier. But I mean I just. Again, it is a capital V video game that is just a loving. A beautiful love letter to Capcom, of course, but also just a roguelite ahead of its time. It was a game that I think was way too early and didn't achieve the success that I think it would have achieved if it released nowadays as like, this is a brand new ip.

[Sam Claiborne]

What's Rogi? I played this year. I don't remember what's roguey about it.

[Nick Lemoan]

If you die and you don't load into a previous save, you have to start over from day one. But you keep your. Keep your level.

[Sam Claiborne]

It doesn't generate anything, but you have to restart a whole lot. That's right. I remember that being really stressful the first time I learned that.

[Nick Lemoan]

But yeah, no, it's just a. It's a good video game. And that overhaul. It's using the RE engine now. Incredible, incredible looking game.

[Justin Davis]

All right. We've been talking a lot about Astrobot, how great it is. But now that it's out, we're sort of back to the position where we just. We don't have a lot announced coming from PlayStation. Of course. They've got a very bizarre LEGO Horizon Adventures coming out in December. We don't know when Wolverine is coming. We don't know when the next thing from Santa Monica or Naughty Dog or Ghost of Tsushima 2 or Sucker Punch. We have no idea what they're working on or when any of this stuff is coming. But we do know that apparently there's going to be a Horizon Zero dawn remaster coming sometime soon.

[Nick Lemoan]

Because I thought that's what the Lego one was.

[Sam Claiborne]

No, D Master.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Yeah. There's an ESRB rating for Horizon Zero dawn remaster. And this is the 2017 game, which, you know, it was a. It was a very good game, but ended up being overshadowed by Breath of the Wild. It's very similar to the way Forbidden west ended up being overshadowed by Elden Ring. Maybe they're.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's good still to me. I don't know why you need to remaster it, but whatever this is, this.

[Justin Davis]

Is the whole thing. It's like Sony keeps doing this. Like they. They remade Last of Us Part 1 and they remastered Last of Us Part 2. They're just like they're remastering games that are not that old and still look.

[Nick Lemoan]

Pretty darn good export as PlayStation 5.

[Justin Davis]

Exactly.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'm kidding. I know it takes a lot of work, but I don't know, it's just. I'm at a. Look, I'm gonna be completely honest. I don't like any of the Horizon games. I've played them all to completion. They just don't do anything for me. I'm happy for you. If this is your first time jumping into the game, I think it's a great opportunity to jump in the original Horizon Zero down. I do think the story in Zero dawn is a lot more interesting than Forbidden West. I think it's pretty interesting. Not quite hard sci fi, but very close. But I'm happy for you if you're a fan of this thing. It's kind of all I got.

[Damon Hadfield]

How funny would it be if they got Zelda the third time and it came out like the same day as like a Twilight Princess remaster or something and then everybody talked about that instead.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, my God.

[Nick Lemoan]

Bloodborne remake.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah. Yeah. I think that the Horizon games, I. It's really hard for me. Like, I really like them on paper, but they almost feel like less than the sum of their parts instead of more than the sum of their parts. Like, as I'm watching this combat footage, I'm like, it's not cookie cutter. It's got a really unique combat system that controls, well, you know, unique enemy types. Like, it's not samey. You know, the storyline and setting are, you know, interesting and distinct and sort of. There's lots of interesting kind of lore Implications and things to dig into. And all of that should add up to, okay, big triple a game. 10 out of 10. It's amazing, right? But like, I don't. I kind of have to slog through them and like, I might need to like, search my feelings to like, understand why, because, like, there's nothing on paper not to like.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

What I liked the most was figuring out how the weakness system worked, getting my weapons. You have one of each, you know, damage towards weakness and stuff, and you have them all upgrading and stuff like that. And then you go hunt dinosaurs and try to figure out how to get all the parts that you can to fall off of them and take them. I like the looter and the Pokemon aspect, like finding weaknesses and stuff like that. But the second time around, I was bored of that. That's what my hook was for the first game. So unfortunately, the second time around, my hook was like, I want to see what the west coast looks like. That's, that's fine. That was my hook for the second game. But it's too bad that, like the idea of fighting big robot dinosaurs and finding their weaknesses couldn't. Couldn't maintain two 75 hour games. But that's just how it was for me.

[Nick Lemoan]

Yeah, I feel like I play them out of obligation to be able to talk about video games as a whole, because I do recognize that they're important video games. I think that they're, they are a new franchise that is very clearly important to PlayStation. So I feel like it is my duty to play it, but that's kind of what it feels like. I feel just like, all right, I'll play it just so I can talk about it at some point in a podcast. Right.

[Justin Davis]

I really liked Forbidden West. You know, it's a giant open world map that's just chock full of things to do and find and collect, Ubisoft style. And that's what I like. That's why I'm liking Star Wars Outlaws right now. But I never, you know, I played around with Zero Dawn a little bit, and then after Breath of the Wild came out, I never went back to it. Zero dawn was the last open world game to be released before the Climb Everything era of.

[Sam Claiborne]

I know, right?

[Justin Davis]

Like Ubisoft got on board and the Assassin's Creed games or Climb everything now. So I don't know. That's why I'm like, I'm this. I don't want to go back to. I can't step over this foot tall rock.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, now that we can talk about it and, you know, plug your ears for about 60 seconds. The fact that you could fly by the end of this game was really cool.

[Justin Davis]

Zero felt Forbidden West.

[Sam Claiborne]

Forbidden West, Yeah, like, that felt cool. The game didn't become like a neat game or anything, but it was like, this feels like advanced technology that allowed me to do this. And I can't wait for, you know, an Elder Scrolls game to be like, yeah, once you. Once you get your dragon mail, you can just fly anywhere. Like, that'd be amazing. And then. Because what I like about games that allow you to do that is Halo. I liked in Halo how you could get a banshee and get it through most of every level. Like you are a ghost. You could be a total idiot and get those things through a door and then kick butt with them. That is so fun. I love games that allow you to break them with these crazy things that should defy traversal because the game is meant to be this little, you know, bipedal action game. Love that stuff.

[Nick Lemoan]

Could not agree more. And. And I know I feel like I've been a little bit negative on Horizon, but I will say one thing that is kind of interesting about a potential or not a potential, a remaster of Horizon, Forbidden dawn is I. I do think that what we saw at in the DLC for Forbidden west, the Burning Shores DLC that was PlayStation 5 only, and it used some incredible like cloud volume metrics, fire effects and water effects that I guess are not possible on PlayStation 4. So if that's the technology that they're kind of bringing over to remaster the original Forbidden west. And I think that's going to be a great showcase alongside Forbidden West. Yeah, Zero Dawn. Sorry, but.

[Sam Claiborne]

But from what you're talking about, they should just go ahead and remake Forbidden west also because that stuff in.

[Nick Lemoan]

But like that, that's kind of exciting because it'll be like a thing of, hey, check this out. Look at what my PlayStation 5 can do. And I do think that the PlayStation 5 does kind of need more of that of like, hey, look what this thing can do. It's kind of cool.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, that's a good point about. I don't know, I'm trying to say stuff nice about this game, but like, if you just stop this game and show it to somebody, like, it looks incredible always. It's just once you're running around, you're kind of like invisible wall and I need to get to this next area and there's. You just kind of run past everything and it's just like there's not a lot of reason to take it all in. I really like this last I think they're showing oh, they're not showing the last last area, but I like the last area on the coast too that had like a, you know, a space house or something like that. Like that was cool seeing like the actual modern and you know, technology back and stuff like that. There's some cool moments in that game.

[Nick Lemoan]

And I do think that those cool cinematic power surges or whatever they're called in the game are really cool. In Forbidden west, what we're seeing here in the footage, like that stuff looks really cool and there's a lot to like in these games, but just never really landed with me.

[Justin Davis]

Well, in any case, we are it looks like we'll be getting a Horizon Zero dawn remaster, but not a bloodborne remaster.

[Sam Claiborne]

At the beginning of this conversation you also mentioned Wolverine and I was going to throw out there Ghost tsushima. If those two are next year's PlayStation games, that's a cool year already.

[Damon Hadfield]

Well, I'm excited for those after remake Ghosts of Sushi Man 1 First.

[Justin Davis]

It'S funny because it's true. Did you know Cleopatra married not one but two of her brothers and police in Victorian London had to wear their uniforms all the time, even when off duty? If you're an Assassin's Creed fan like me, then you'll want to know everything about the real history that inspires the games. And I have a podcast recommendation for you. Echoes of History Echoes of History, a podcast brought to you by History Hit and Ubisoft, takes you back to the past to discover the real history behind the Assassin's Creed video games. Every three episodes they examine an era explored in the games. Historian and Assassin's Creed mega fan Matt Lewis talks to world leading experts to step into the shoes of the real historical people you meet in the games, to take an eagle eye view of iconic locations you can climb, and to reveal the causes and events of the epic historical moments you get to relive in Assassin's Creed Find out the true history behind the Assassin's Creed games by following the Echoes of History podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Dragon Ball Legends, the ultimate Dragon Ball experience on your mobile device. Dragon Ball Legends features action packed anime action RPG gameplay with Goku, Vegeta, Trunks and all your favorite Dragon Ball characters. Summon your favorite characters from popular Dragon Ball anime series such as Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT to Dragon Ball Super Fight in real time against friendly or rival Dragon Ball players from across the globe in live PvP battles. Enter ratings matches with your favorite Dragon Ball characters and earn rating points and rewards. Unite with friends to defeat powerful foes in Co op. Dragon Ball Legends features the best anime fighting scenes on your mobile device. And now Legends Festival is on so you can get up to 300 free Summon tickets. Are you ready? Download Dragon Ball Legends today. Available for free on both iOS and Android devices. I love a great deal as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to crawl through a bed of hot coals just to save a few bucks. It has to be easy. No hoops, no bs. So when Mint Mobile said it was easy to get wireless for just $15 a month with the purchase of a three month plan, I had to find out if it's too good to be true. Turns out it really is that easy to get wireless for 15 bucks a month. The longest part of the process will be the time you spend on hold waiting to break up with your old provider. Isn't that right Seth?

[Nick Lemoan]

I am not going to lie. I was very pleased and very excited to find out Mint Mobile works even for me in the middle of nowhere Maine. I was honestly expecting to be shut out from all the fun of Mint Mobile, but it worked.

[Justin Davis]

Awesome.

[Nick Lemoan]

I loaded in my code and to test it out I just drove out. I'm not even lying, it sounds like I'm making this up. I just drove out into the woods of Maine to see how far I could go without losing coverage. And I am happy to say I did not have any coverage interruptions whatsoever that I would not have experienced with any of the other providers. That alone is enough to sell me. Because look, Maine is a big state. There's a lot of woods. Stephen King is here. So it's haunted. There's ghosts everywhere and everyone knows that ghosts hate 5G. But I am happy to say I have literally no complaints. It's inexpensive, there's no contract, I don't have to have all these weird hidden fees. And you know, best of all, it works in spite of ghosts.

[Justin Davis]

Thanks Seth. Say goodbye to your overpriced wireless plans, jaw dropping monthly bills and unexpected overages. All Mint Mobile plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Find out how easy it is to switch to Mint Mobile to get this new customer offer and your new three month premium wireless plan including the unlimited plan for just 15 bucks a month. Go to mintmobile.com gamescoop that's mintmobile.com Gamescoop Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com Gamescoop $45 upfront payment required equivalent to $15 a month. New customers on first three month plan only. Speed slower above 40 gigs on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. Dell Technologies Black Friday event is live and if you've been waiting for an AI ready PC, this is their biggest sale of the year. Tech enthusiasts love this sale because it's all the newest hits plus all the greatest hits all on sale at once. Savings on Dell technologies. Most popular PCs that accelerate AI with Intel Core Ultra processors are here like the XPS 16. So if you're ready to step up all the things you like to do, streaming, surfing, multitasking, whatever, Dell Technologies AI Ready PCs are the perfect upgrade. And for the best of Intel Core Ultra processors, look for Intel EVO Edition laptops engineered to do it all. Just visit Dell.com deals whether you're treating yourself or thinking of others, these Black Friday prices were worth the wait. But it's only here for a limited time. Shop [e-mail] deals that brings us to video game 20 questions. And before we get into it, I wanted to share an example of games that I wouldn't pick. We had an email from I love these.

[Sam Claiborne]

I just was thinking about these when we get the ones who are like that'll get them. And it's like yeah, it's like obscure Commodore 64 game.

[Justin Davis]

So this is Baker who says a 41 year old male from just outside Greenville, South Carolina. And so he said a few submissions for 20 questions, all of which are games I'd love to see remade. And so his his list is Heroes of might and Magic 3, Journeyman, Project Turbo.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's all Justin games I think.

[Justin Davis]

Never, never heard of that one. Gothic, the original Gothic, which I know is a thing but I don't know anything about it.

[Sam Claiborne]

Gotham Racing.

[Justin Davis]

It was apparently a game called Baldies. I don't know. There's a game called Baldies and Baker wants it remade.

[Damon Hadfield]

I think Baldi's livings, I think that.

[Justin Davis]

Sam because his next game is Lemmings, which hell yeah, sure we've had that one before.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's a hard one to get. That's a hard 20 questions.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hadfield]

Oh no Baldies. I play this game. It's a real time strategy game.

[Justin Davis]

It's a Jen. And for what?

[Damon Hadfield]

So is Linux mid-90s like a Warcraft 1 era, like RTS?

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh wow, look at that. Yeah, it's a working RTS from. Is it on Genesis?

[Nick Lemoan]

It said Jaguar CD on Jaguar CD.

[Damon Hadfield]

I definitely. Deep cut definitely did not play it on the Jaguar CD. I think I had it on the PS1.

[Sam Claiborne]

I would call this Lemmings Adjacent.

[Damon Hadfield]

Okay, thank you.

[Justin Davis]

Well, never heard of this game. And this. The point is not to. I mean it'd be so easy. Just pick, you know, a shovelware game for the Nintendo Switch that no one's ever heard of and they'll never guess it.

[Sam Claiborne]

But that's what babies for Nintendo ds.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

What's. Where is the fun that.

[Damon Hadfield]

Here's what people need to understand is that Damon doesn't win when we don't guess the game. He wins when we do guess the game.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, he's not the house.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I'm trying. I'm.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, we should. We should play that way though. We should see at the end of the year who won the house or the players.

[Justin Davis]

Okay, next email comes from Marcus who says, greetings from London, uk. I've been listening to gamescube every week for six or seven years now. Love the show. Damon is the consummate host. Thank you. And there's always a great dynamic among everyone. Nicely job. I've been under a lot of pressure recently at work, at home, in a crumbly old house with two small kids, some family trouble. So I've been relying on some of my comfort food games that I can easily dip in and out of to cheer me up instead of using my very limited gaming time trying to keep up with big new releases that may hit or miss. For me, these are games like Redacted, redacted, redacted, redacted, redacted and redacted. I would be honored if you'd use one of the above for video game 20 questions. These also happen to be some of my favorite games of all time. As you can see, I'm a sucker for redacted.

[Nick Lemoan]

It gotta be Sega if it's London, you know. No, not a lot of Nintendo in the early days.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, maybe every time we say that.

[Sam Claiborne]

Everybody in Europe is like, no, there was Nintendo everywhere.

[Nick Lemoan]

A Dendi on the. On my. Whatever. Yeah, it was the Dendi. Right? That's what they called it.

[Damon Hadfield]

It's a. It's a ZX Spectrum game for sure.

[Nick Lemoan]

Sabre Wolf or something.

[Sam Claiborne]

Let the question, this is not the same person that had the obscure ones, which I love. Thank you for sending that list. Nope, it's a different person.

[Justin Davis]

Entirely different person.

[Damon Hadfield]

I hope, I hope his family doesn't Listen to the show. Or he's like, I hate my kids and my wife just play these games.

[Sam Claiborne]

You didn't say that.

[Nick Lemoan]

You didn't say that.

[Damon Hadfield]

I'm just goofing around.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, I don't think it's lemming, so we can eliminate that.

[Damon Hadfield]

I hope everything is okay, and thank you for listening to the show. Okay, did this game come out in the 70s, 80s, or 90s?

[Justin Davis]

No, not save Everyone.

[Sam Claiborne]

I could have implied that it was recent. Right, because he was saying, I've been playing games like this. We needed to ask that question.

[Damon Hadfield]

Anyway, I'm just saying I assumed. I assumed it was like a comfort food. Like it was a game from his youth.

[Nick Lemoan]

Oh, yeah, that's what I thought.

[Sam Claiborne]

Like old soup. All right. Is this good Dick?

[Nick Lemoan]

Is this game developed in Japan?

[Justin Davis]

No. No, it's not.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is it a console exclusive?

[Justin Davis]

No, it's not.

[Nick Lemoan]

Multiplat 2000s on.

[Damon Hadfield]

Can you play it on. Can you play it on the Switch? Yes, A.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is it an indie game?

[Justin Davis]

Yes. That's five.

[Damon Hadfield]

Ooh.

[Nick Lemoan]

Indie game. Playable on the Switch.

[Sam Claiborne]

Comfort food indie game. Maybe it's a roguelite.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah. Yeah, that's a pretty good. Did it originally come out in the last, I. I don't know, seven years?

[Justin Davis]

Yes.

[Nick Lemoan]

Okay, maybe it is a rogue light, multiplat indie comfort food released in the last seven years. 20, 24.

[Sam Claiborne]

What is that?

[Damon Hadfield]

Does this game have rogue like elements?

[Justin Davis]

Yes.

[Damon Hadfield]

It might be dead.

[Sam Claiborne]

How many can we get this in?

[Nick Lemoan]

Is it Dead Cells, Belacho, or Slay the Spire?

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, yeah. Monster Train, which, by the way, Damon, I played Monster Train the entire time on my flight home.

[Justin Davis]

Cool.

[Damon Hadfield]

You were right. That game's great.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'll give it another shot. So, in that scene, name a few more games.

[Sam Claiborne]

Let's ask the hack, and then see if we can get this in, like, six questions.

[Justin Davis]

Well, you're already at seven.

[Damon Hadfield]

So Nuclear. Nuclear Throne is a game.

[Sam Claiborne]

Rogue Legacy. Spelunky.

[Nick Lemoan]

Legacy.

[Damon Hadfield]

Spelunky.

[Nick Lemoan]

Is this a deck builder?

[Justin Davis]

Yes.

[Nick Lemoan]

Oh, Going for the jugular. So it's got to be like, Monster Trainer. Slay this Fire.

[Damon Hadfield]

Yeah, it's probably Slay this Fire. Or maybe Balatro.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, we've had those games, but it could be Balatra.

[Damon Hadfield]

I don't know how to narrow it down in a. In a way, I mean, we can just narrow it down.

[Sam Claiborne]

Do some of those games use a certain type of deck building or cards? I don't know anything about cards.

[Damon Hadfield]

Does this game have a poker theme?

[Justin Davis]

Yes.

[Damon Hadfield]

Is it Balatro?

[Justin Davis]

Yep. In 10.

[Nick Lemoan]

Let's go.

[Justin Davis]

Balatro. Yes. He says he is a sucker for roguelikes and the other games on his list. I just had to pull up the email here. It was Blotch. Papers please. Ftl, Faster Than Light, Stardew Valley, Downwell and Vampire Survivors.

[Nick Lemoan]

Paper, please. Papers, please. Being a comfort food game as well.

[Justin Davis]

I thought so too. I thought so too.

[Nick Lemoan]

But hey, big respect. Great game, man.

[Sam Claiborne]

FTL really drew me in. Back when iPads existed.

[Nick Lemoan]

Dude, FTL rocks.

[Damon Hadfield]

I know the show's over. I meant to bring it up before. Did you see that UFO 50 is out? Do you know about this?

[Justin Davis]

Yes, and I. Yes and I have it, but I haven't fired up yet. But I hear really good things.

[Damon Hadfield]

It's like the most Damon Hatfield game I can ever possibly imagine.

[Justin Davis]

Okay, I'll do it right after this. I'll do it right after.

[Damon Hadfield]

From the creator of Spelunky where he made, he made 50 NES style like 8 bit games. And they're not little mini games but they're like actual video games that have beginning, middles and ends. And then the thing like I'm already like, okay, I'm on board, I'm into it. And then the thing that really sent me over the edge is that all these games take place in like a fictional. There's like a storyline of like they came from like a developer and you can like follow their arc as they like made sequels to their own games. And then I think that there's like emerging. Well, I'll leave it at that because there's some spoilers about like maybe some stuff happening under the hood too.

[Sam Claiborne]

So yeah, it's like retro game challenge. Did a really good job doing that same thing. Looks great.

[Damon Hadfield]

New Derek Yu game. Those don't come along very often.

[Nick Lemoan]

That's exciting. I can't wait to jump in.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I have it. I'll fire it up right after this. Well, nicely job and thank you to Marcus in UK for the suggestions.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, thanks.

[Justin Davis]

Viewers, listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions, email them to me at the email address gamescoopgn.com that's going to be all the scoops that we have for you this week. Next week we're going to be able to talk about a cool new video game. So please be excited for that. Thank you Justin. Thank you Sam. Thank you Nick. Thank you to Jobert. Everyone working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. My name is Damon. This is IGN Gamescope wrapped.

[Damon Hadfield]

Sa.

[Sam Claiborne]

Nothing is as it seems in liminal London. Hidden amongst everyday people are werewolves.

[Damon Hadfield]

You'll be the werewolf then.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

Megs. Wizards.

[Sam Claiborne]

Montgomery Archibald Barker at your bloody service. And. And those cursed by the fey monarchs of the city.

[Damon Hadfield]

Declan Buchanan, PI he has quite a large pair of antlers growing out of his forehead.

[Sam Claiborne]

Join the unlikely misfits of liminal London as they work to take down the.

[Justin Davis]

Powers that claim to rule the city. I think the queen doesn't like you very much.

[Nick Lemoan]

With incredible guest players like Johnny Chiadini.

[Damon Hadfield]

You say there's sludge?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Sludge. Yeah.

[Nick Lemoan]

I'm the sludge boy.

[Sam Claiborne]

F. Ing love.

[Damon Hadfield]

Sludge boy.

[Nick Lemoan]

No, again, I'm not that sludge boy.

[Sam Claiborne]

Grant Howitt.

[Damon Hadfield]

Isaac Newton didn't study in f Putney, did he?

[Sam Claiborne]

Who's Isaac?

[Damon Hadfield]

Oh, my God.

[Sam Claiborne]

And Sharmini Bundell.

[Damon Hadfield]

There's a magic community.

[Justin Davis]

There is.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yay.

[Damon Hadfield]

I'm in a magic community.

[Sam Claiborne]

Go to realmspod.com or search realms of peril and glory wherever you listen to podcasts to find this mysteriously magical actual play series.

[Damon Hadfield]

Hi, I'm Jennifer, a founder of the.

[Sam Claiborne]

Go Kid Go network at Go Kid Go.

[Damon Hadfield]

Putting kids first is at the heart of every show that we produce. That's why we're so excited to introduce a brand new show to our network called the Search for the Silver Lining, a fantasy adventure series about a spirited young girl named Isla who time travels to the mythical land of Camelot. Look for the Search for the Silver.

[Justin Davis]

Lining on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.