A (2:30)

You have an open invitation, Sam. You know that. Anytime. It's always a delight to have you here in the studio.

B (2:37)

Cool.

C (2:37)

Give me a Delta account with first class and some what are the lounges. I've never even been in one of those.

A (2:44)

We've got a great show for you this week. We'll talk about Nintendo, we'll talk about Assassin's Creed, and we have an update on Factorial Gate from last week. But first, Hollow Knight. Silksong is definitely the game of the moment, man. What did it get up to on launch day? Almost 550,000 concurrents on Steam alone. And this is a game that's available on Game Pass and every other platform.

B (3:05)

It's on every platform. Exactly.

C (3:07)

And a lot of people had codes for those other platforms because they crowdfunded it.

A (3:11)

Yeah, there's the whole Pixar game. So.

D (3:14)

Yeah.

A (3:15)

Tom Marks is reviewing it for us. I believe he has a review in progress up now, which is a glowing review in progress already. I know he's really enjoying it. And Sam, you've played a whole heck of a lot of.

C (3:26)

I'm not as far as Tom, but he. He's really pioneering the coverage for our game Help team and everybody. He keeps on staying ahead of everybody and telling us like, I just discovered this amazing thing. It's been a pleasure following in his footsteps. But also in his footsteps, everything's easier because he's already figured out all the hard stuff.

A (3:43)

Yeah. Well, you were kind of a late fan to the original Hollow Knight. Like you played it several years after.

C (3:48)

It doesn't feel like it anymore. Right. Because it's like I played it five years late, which is like six years ago.

A (3:54)

Yeah, exactly. So tell us how you're finding Silksong.

C (3:59)

So I think Hollow Knight's really. First of all, I'm not going to say any opinions about Silkscar. It's too sensitive.

B (4:06)

Oh my God.

A (4:07)

I think people can read between the lines there.

C (4:10)

But let me give you some historical context for snacks.

B (4:14)

I actually like it worse than Mario Odyssey.

C (4:17)

Yeah, Mario Odyssey. That's the only comparison that's possible to be made to any game. So I'll, of course, get there. But I think Hollow Knight did an interesting thing in which it introduced a lot of people to the concept of a Metroid game. Right. Just a total Metroid. Like, it's kind of Castlevania. Like, I don't know which one it's more like. But then it also added in this kind of, like, kind of focus on dashy combat. Like, kind of upgrady, dashy attacky combat, where you have to learn boss patterns kind of no matter what. Like, the big difference, and this is where Silksong really starts drawing a distinction between it and a Metroid in a Castlevania game is that in those games, what you can do is you can say, this boss sucks. I hate it. I'm not going to learn its patterns anymore. It's taking too long. I'm going to go find a bunch of missile tanks, or I'm going to go grind and gain a level, or I'm going to get some weird card drop from a portrait and then come back and it's going to summon a monster. Castlevania did all that stuff. Silksong really holds back on that. It's like, no, you're just going to fight the boss. Well, what if I wanted to get one more mask, which is your hearts? Now, you can't do that until five bosses in. It's like, okay, well, what if I wanted to sharpen my needle and, like, come back so it takes fewer hits? Can't do that until four bosses and six bosses in, like, you can't. You can't play it like a Metroidvania. It's. It's a linear Ninja Gaiden, like, challenge game.

B (5:49)

Okay.

C (5:49)

For. For at least as far as I am. And of course, there's backtracking. Of course there's Metroid elements, but they're not in the beginning, and they're not for fighting those bosses. And, you know, up into the place I'm in, like, Greymoor, I think, is. It's called, like, it's just a matter of, like, getting to stuff that I've even played an entire region without a map, which is another, like, boy, like, as. I think that that's a big popular thing for us to talk about at gamescoop. Like, Metroid games are about the map. You want to, like, whine every edge of the wall, right? And go and, like, swat at them and test them and break through. Get your 100% rating up. Yes, there is a map in this game. Yes. You have to buy it. You have to get a Buy a compass and then you can do it. For each region you have to find a map. But it's very likely, and this happened in Hollow 2, that you're not going to find that map and you're going to beat that region without finding the map. So you're not going to play that part of the Metroid game anyway. So I think this game is not a Metroidvania. I think it's pretty far from it. And it's more like a souls game now. It's more like boss challenges. Even though those are kind of like open world Metroid games. And again, this isn't a criticism. It's just showing why people like Hollow Knight and why it's different from a Metroid game. If I said, hey, you know, Damon has actually reviewed a lot of our Castlevania like games. You did the blood, what's it called?

A (7:05)

Bloodstained.

C (7:06)

Bloodstained. It's just coming a long way from that. It's like about challenge and it's about not really. Like the exploration comes later in the game when you have a bunch of stuff and you're like, what are the remaining secrets to get? What did I miss? What are the alternate paths I could have taken? What are the sequence breaks that are allowed? Because there's a lot of that stuff. So I know all that sounds like Metroid.

B (7:27)

So but like I was just going to say that you can't get.

C (7:30)

It's like retroactively, it's like those games that you play and then all of a sudden it's at the end of it, it becomes a different game. There's a lot of games with a post game that's different, right? It's like Pokemon games will be linear, then they open up. In the end there's this huge map to explore. Like, this is the post game. It's like, why wasn't this the whole game? There's just stuff like that that happens and like this is what it's like now. I. This game is so much bigger. We did a map comparison. You, you can look it up on IGN won't spoil it. So you can go and say, well, the percentage of this game is going to be a Metroidvanience. You're going to grade 11 and stuff. But I see the feedback that people are giving. The feedback are like, I'm stuck in this boss. I'm stuck on the next box. I'm stuck on the next bus. I can't figure out this level. Oh man, these jumping puzzles suck. And there are solutions to all those when you look up guides, when you use maps, when you brute force things, like, you can figure stuff out, but, like, it ain't. It ain't like hand holding. Right. And, like, the level of difficulty I'm hearing, like, compared to Hollow Knight is kind of like the later part of Hollow Knight. The end game of Hollow Knight is kind of where this starts. Like, you're going to get to, like, platform jumping puzzles that, like, your main character is not equipped to do because, you know the Scrooge McDuck jumps that you do where you swat downwards. Logo stick. Yeah, yeah. This character does not do that by default. This character from the start of the game has a diagonal dash down. So imagine that. Imagine lining up precision jumps on spikes and enemies and stuff throughout a room. You always have to be kind of like, backing up and then going back at it and backing up. It's really hard. You can get an item that's completely optional that you sequence break to get to make the first set of those puzzles much easier. So, like, think how complicated that is. And, like, that's interesting. Right? That's all interesting. But it's like, it doesn't make for, like, oh, I can't wait to play this pleasant, relaxing game after work.

A (9:23)

Yeah.

C (9:24)

You know, like, it ain't that game.

A (9:25)

Yeah.

C (9:27)

I am not criticizing this. I'm explaining why I'm playing this game. All right. Like, I understand. I'll take on Donkey Kong as Sonic people all day. I think Sonic was always good. Let me just point that out. And Funky Kong rules. But this game, like, this is what it is, you know, Like, I think that people don't. Don't know what this game is and why it's different from Metroid and Castlevania.

D (9:49)

It does seem to be heavier on combat.

C (9:50)

Right?

D (9:51)

Yeah, that's so the original Hollow Knight and not grinding.

C (9:54)

You cannot grind in this game.

D (9:55)

Yeah, there was. The original Hollow Knight was pretty exploration heavy and pretty, you know, platform heavy. Right. Whereas Silksong seems to be. Man, I don't know what the ratio is, but if one was 46 and I don't either, seems to be 60, 40, like, and they were.

B (10:11)

There were traditional adventure elements in the original, where you, like, you come into a room, you see a creature, and you don't know what to do. Right. Like, not everything always attacks you. And, like, you go on a quest to get the map and all of that. Does it feel like Sam, like, the developer made this deliberately harder? Is this sort of difficulty level the result of making a game for such a long Time and a developer just not. Not having sort of the play test. And they literally haven't shown it to people. Right.

C (10:36)

I mean, the evidence of that is not my opinion. It's that there's patches, Right. That are patching things right now as people test it and say, and this, again, I didn't say this. People say this game is too hard and the developer reacted to it. I didn't say that. I didn't ask for it to be different. I'm just pointing out that factually, a bunch of people said this game is too hard. The developer's like, you're right.

B (11:01)

Sam said it should be harder, like Daiki Kong Bonanza.

D (11:03)

And difficulty means a lot of hard.

C (11:04)

I put out a story about how to make it harder on IGN yesterday.

B (11:08)

Okay, good, good.

C (11:09)

You can input a code that is not the Konami code. So anybody that tells you it's the Konami code doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. Anybody who calls it the Contra code doesn't know what the hell they're talking about because it's in lots of games. But the Konami code, quote unquote, in this game, just makes it harder. It makes it a.

B (11:24)

What happened to Sam? He used to be so happy.

C (11:27)

Yeah, I am happy. I'm just telling you about this game I'm playing.

D (11:31)

I think difficulty can mean, you know, it's like the boss patterns are intricate and complicated and kind of hard to learn. Or maybe the telegraph window is small, but, like, you know, maybe keep all of that, but the boss doesn't need, like, maybe the boss takes 15 hits instead of 20 hits. Or maybe a big piece of feedback that I've seen is like the double damage, like the two masks when you touch something. Yeah. Whereas, like, maybe that could be one mask instead of, like. And it doesn't have to compromise anything about how fun or interesting or difficult it is to fight that boss. But, like, you know, letting the player take four hits instead of two hits, like, little things like that can make a big difference.

B (12:06)

I like the idea. I like the idea that this is almost like you just finished Hollow Knight and now you're starting this game. So you better already be good at the things. Right? Like, I think that's the direction the. The developer takes. Whereas, like, a game like Metroid Dread, it eases you in. And, like, when you get to the final boss, I'm like, well, I don't think I'll ever beat it.

C (12:24)

And then those watches are so hard in Metroid Dreams. I really like that.

B (12:28)

But at the end, honestly, it was like Neo seeing through the Matrix. I could take this guy on and just get through. And I played again and was able to just blaze through. It's kind of cool how it taught you.

D (12:40)

Silksong just has more combat flexibility. Hollow Knight is a very simplistic game from a combat standpoint. The amount of moves that you have and attacks that you have and the way that you sort of fight these bosses is more basic than Silksong.

C (12:57)

There is like a funny thing where you can learn a boss's pattern, but then just the boss fight goes on for a really long time because they don't have life bars and you just don't know. So like, you know, if I had a frustration with boss fights, it's just that, like, I'm like, yeah, I know what to do here. And then it's just like. And then it's like, but each fight takes seven minutes or something. Well, the backtrack to that and then doing the seven minute fight, it's just like. It's kind of like a lot when you're like, I know what I'm doing here. Like, I just like. And then there's another. There's like, it could have been three waves instead of four waves because the fourth wave is like not that much different than the third wave.

D (13:29)

It's just.

C (13:29)

There's like little tunes tunings like that or something. But Metroid does that same thing and like, we all just accept it. Again though, with Metroid you can just go get, get 255 missiles and then you have some kind of advantage against Mecha Ridley. Right. Like in this game, like, yes, the later bosses are going to give you that option. But the first mini bosses and I said many, they don't really give you that.

B (13:51)

Maybe it's a meta game where you're supposed to go get your older brother to have them beat it for you.

D (13:56)

I mean, I've definitely, I've definitely seen feedback on boss health of like, okay, I know the pattern and I know how to do it. And now you have to demonstrate your mastery by doing it 29 more times without missing. And it's like, maybe it could have been 20.

C (14:08)

It's a marathon. You know, it's just kind of feels strange sometimes.

D (14:11)

And I just see like, like, well, I guess I do want to say like that can increase tension, right? Like, you know, it's like you have to keep being good and there's also tension and not knowing how much health the boss has.

A (14:23)

That'll drive me crazy.

D (14:24)

Yeah, I do understand all that.

B (14:25)

Yeah.

C (14:26)

Yeah. Well, I don't know if it's for me, Damon, and I don't really mind that. Like, again, like, I, I don't really care about the boss difficulty and the combat stuff. Like, I'm getting through it, it's fine. But the, the. And I enjoy, like, the idea that it's a challenging game that I like. Whereas, like, Elden Ring is known as a challenging game that I, I don't like. You know, Like, I just don't like that game very much. So it's like this is a game that I like. So I think it's interesting though that what bums me out is the map stuff and how it's hard to kind of figure out, like when you're in a region, should you be there, should you not be there? There's no waypoints. Well, there's a single waypoint that's like, I don't know, the end of the act, which is like a quarter or a third of the game or something like that. You know, like, it's not, it's not a relevant waypoint. So it's like what, you get a map and then you start kind of filling out that area, then you might not have it for two more areas you touch. Right. And like that for me just, I just. As a fan of Metroid games, I like testing the boundaries and feeling like I know everything and where to go and start marking where I can't go and come back to. Like, lots of this game has a map and then lots doesn't when you first get there or for a long time. And I just think that's, that's just a weird, weird decision they made that just doesn't, doesn't work for me as well as, like, I'm not going to favorably, favorably compare this to Super Metroid, which I think does that really well, where it's like you're drawing the map right, like, like you're capable of. Every time you go in the area, it's, it's edging the sides of the map and like filling it all in and like, that's. I just prefer that, you know, I don't, I don't need some like, bug to drop me a map and then meet just to go explore it. That's not as interesting.

A (16:02)

Well, according to the early reviews that are in already, it's already tied for the best reviewed game of the year. It's got a better rating than Split Fiction, Donkey Kong Bonanza, Clair Obscure. It's tied with the, you Know this game, Pair Shujinko. This is the. It's an indie game. It's the one. We mentioned it on a recent episode. It's the dungeon crawler that teaches you Japanese.

B (16:23)

Oh, that's right. You mentioned this one.

A (16:24)

Yes, that and Silksong Both have a 94 on open critic.

B (16:28)

Okay.

A (16:29)

Like do you think like when you look at this does.

B (16:31)

Well, when the IGN 6 out of 10 comes in, it goes a little.

C (16:34)

Down, but yeah, of course he's just joking.

B (16:36)

No, Tom likes it. Reviewed the original as well and I remember, I think we didn't have a review for the game that was already out and Tom joined IGN just to review Hollow Knight.

D (16:47)

We can't get rid of him. He won't leave.

B (16:48)

That's his dedication.

C (16:50)

Yeah.

A (16:51)

Like when the best reviewed games of the year are Silksong, Clair Obscure Split Fiction, a dungeon crawler that teaches you Japanese. Do you think executives at EA and Activision and Ubisoft and Warner Brothers look at this and learn anything?

D (17:02)

No, I don't know.

B (17:03)

What about an ensemble shooter?

D (17:04)

Those games are $70, by the way.

C (17:05)

Yeah.

D (17:06)

Not about the price, but also just their position in the market as like, you know, big AAA titles.

A (17:11)

Yeah.

B (17:12)

I mean look, some, some of those companies went through their phases where they tried to spiffy indie companies and put out some $20 games. Right?

A (17:19)

Like, well, Split Fiction is an EA game.

B (17:21)

Yeah. Oh there, there you go. Yeah. And that's a non, it's a non serious game. It's a new IP and all of that familiar concept.

C (17:28)

I don't know, I mean Ubisoft had the takeaway that they should make a really tough, great boss based Metroidvania and they made one and nobody played it, I actually think, which is a shame.

B (17:38)

Ubi, I mean UBI catches a lot of flack. But like they, I'm talking about consistently tried different genres and different games. I mean they brought us, you know, a Mario, a turn based Mario game and like they made two of those. They've done, they've done some pretty cool stuff and Prince of Persia was awesome. That was one of the best Metroidvanias of the last 10 years.

D (17:55)

I mean, and we would also, I mean look like, you know, Silksong is going to make many, many millions of dollars and Split fiction's a commercial. Expedition 33 has been an overwhelming commercial success. But like, you know those awards and accolades and your Metacritic score doesn't pay your developers. Right. So it's like I don't, I don't actually think that there's any much in the way of lessons to be learned. Like, they, you know, like, they're gonna. They're gonna, you know, the EA makes all of its money selling football cards in FIFA, so.

A (18:23)

Yeah.

B (18:24)

What about Ultimate Team? Yeah.

C (18:25)

And.

B (18:25)

And obviously there's always Fortnite. Right. Is the game that. That is always lives forever and consistently makes a billion bucks plus.

C (18:32)

And yeah, I do think it's interesting that this. There's a generation experiencing a Metroid like, which I. I know I'm strenuously trying to avoid the term Metroidvania, which I think is so, so inadequate, but it. And there's so many good games for y' all out there. Like, they're not, you know, necessarily better or worse than Hollow Knight. They're just different. And you should check them out. And that Prince Bridge game is fantastic. And if you like hard bosses, that game has hard bosses. Yeah.

A (19:01)

What's the full name? The Crown.

B (19:03)

What's Crown.

A (19:05)

The Lost Crown.

D (19:06)

Two Crowns is the Kingdom game.

A (19:07)

Yeah.

D (19:08)

The Lost Crown. Is that right?

A (19:11)

That sounds right.

B (19:12)

Such a generic title that you have a hard time remembering. It also had these Prince of Persia also had these very super meat boy sort of platforming parkour sequences, which is very classic. Prince of Persia. Right. Like triggering a spike track and trap and all that. Yeah. I thought that game was great. I'm gonna. I'm definitely gonna play Silksong as well. It's just I. I need my tv.

C (19:33)

And then I'll do it. Yeah. Especially in this run up to like Game of the Year, you know, discussions and everything.

A (19:37)

It's on Switch too.

B (19:38)

I don't have a tv. I don't.

C (19:39)

I don't know.

B (19:40)

Not. Not like it's.

C (19:40)

Well, I'm playing it on Steam Deck. No, it's. It's not ideal. Yeah, I mean, like, you know, the D pad is not great on the Steam deck. It's probably better in Switch 2, but I wish I was playing it on a pro controller. Controller of choice.

B (19:53)

Yeah. I have Game Pass, so I want to play it on Xbox.

A (19:56)

Sure.

C (19:56)

Yep. You can easily play it on Game Pass.

A (19:58)

That's where.

C (19:58)

Amazing.

A (20:00)

Yeah, that's where I started it. But I only played a few minutes because I got Ghost of Yote and that's what I'm playing right now. I cannot say anything more at this time. We'll have to talk about that. We'll have to talk about that. Closer to launch, being bred in front of the poor. Please be excited. You know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill While you're planning beach trips, barbecues and three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. That's why you might want to make the switch to Mint Mobile. With Mint, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. And for a limited time, Mint mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends are sweating over data, overages and surprise charges, you'll be chilling, literally and financially. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan and bring your phone number along with all your existing contacts. If I were in the market for a new wireless plan, I'd be looking into Mint Mobile this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com gamescoop that's mintmobile.com Gamescoop upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month limited time new customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. By now you've probably heard of bilt, where you can earn points on your monthly rent payment. But did you know they make it possible for you to get more outside of your home too? By paying rent through Bilt, you earn flexible points that can be redeemed toward hundreds of hotels and airlines, a future rent payment, your next Lyft ride, and more. But it doesn't stop there. BILT is about making your entire neighborhood more rewarding. You can dine out at your favorite local restaurants and earn additional points and get VIP treatment at certain fitness studios and enjoy exclusive experiences just for BILT members every month. BILT is turning a monthly expense into an opportunity to earn rewards and discover the best that your neighborhood has to offer. Your rent is finally working for you. Earn points on rent and around your neighborhood, wherever you call home by going to joinbilt.com gamescoop that's J-O-I-N B I-L-T.com gamescoop make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you. Joinbuilt.com Gamescoop to sign up for Bilt today. I have been playing everybody's golf hotshots though, which I'm you know, we're big fans of that series and arcade golf games in general here on the show.

B (22:20)

Not my Hotshots.

A (22:21)

The last one. The last Everybody's golf was 2017. So it's been eight years. It's been a minute.

B (22:27)

Eight years.

A (22:27)

Yeah, I know, it's crazy. So my first impressions are I'm a little disappointed. The gameplay is solid. I can report that it's the solid Hotshots Golf gameplay. And they've deemphasized the sort of online play that Everybody's Golf was all about. So it just feels like classic me, just playing arcade Hot Shots Golf by myself.

D (22:46)

Okay.

A (22:46)

But the whole package just feels cheap. It just feels like a budget title. It is a budget title. It's a 40. It's 40 bucks. I just think it's kind of ugly and it lacks personality. There's like animals that will walk across the courses, like a squirrel or a rabbit. They're so low poly. They look like they could be from the original Hot Shots Golf.

B (23:05)

This is such a bummer. Like, the same thing happened to Harvest, but Moon right where Marvelous obviously went and continued the spirit of Harvest Moon under a different name in the West. And so then Natsume brings in a new developer. The same thing happens here, right? Like, the original games were great because it was the Mario Golf developer. It was Camelot. Right. Really creative team. And I never thought I would be into a golf game. And they brought me in with this series. I'm like, this is just super fun. It's a. It's a bummer.

C (23:38)

This.

B (23:38)

This is what happens when you switch developers and like, you know, I'm curious if we'll ever get a Metal Gear game again.

D (23:45)

Metal Gear here.

B (23:46)

So you're saying you're getting old, man.

D (23:48)

Is it one of those things where like. Is it like pizza? Where even if it's like not that good, it's still pretty good.

A (23:53)

It's, you know, like I said, the gameplay is solid and they have some fun. Like Wacky Golf modes. Like there's one where basically there are hidden Wacky Golf, There are hidden landmines, and if your ball just lands on one, there's.

B (24:04)

It'll.

A (24:05)

There's an explosion and then it sends your ball falling somewhere. There's a mode where you can play and you get these tickets that will alter the game. So like it'll turn the entire course into concrete. So your ball will just like keep bouncing and bouncing around. It's like, that stuff's fun.

B (24:19)

That's good.

A (24:19)

Yeah, that's. And I think it's interesting. My 6 year old is really into it. Yeah, he likes playing it.

B (24:24)

Justin, was this game entirely made by humans?

D (24:27)

This game does have so on Steam, you're required to have a little disclosure if your game has use of generative AI in it. And yeah, there was generative AI used on, I think, some of the grass and tree textures in this game. So they caught some negative flak for that in their Steam description.

A (24:43)

Hold up, Taya. Who are we missing? There's a black box on the screen.

B (24:47)

Thinks this is the overlay. AI got sent in. When Justin talked about AI, they dropped it. Oh, there we are. We're all back.

A (24:54)

Okay, we're back.

C (24:54)

So it. Did the grass have extra fingers? Is that how people forget?

A (24:57)

Yeah, grass has extra fingers. Yeah, it was funny.

C (25:01)

You shouldn't have any fingers. So that's how you know. So what you're saying is the grass has extra fingers, huh?

A (25:06)

So Kingo plays a lot of games. He has no problem with 3D games and controlling the camera and stuff. But it took him a while to wrap his head around the three button. Press.

D (25:14)

Press the button. Press it again. Yeah, he did it again.

A (25:16)

Nope.

B (25:17)

Oh, yeah.

A (25:17)

He started going. And then it.

C (25:20)

Justin, that. That's like just. It's just funny that that's become just like how you play golf.

D (25:24)

I said it on the show, and I say it with love. As someone that loves Mario Golf and loves Hot Shots, golf is like. I think it's time for golf games to evolve. The tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

B (25:33)

No, it's so funny. It's like they. Somebody at one point decided the mechanic for a lot of sports games. Right? Like, if you remember back in the days, the track and field Konami games where you're hitting buttons as fast as possible. That's your little feet going, right? And like in this one, they decided a swing is you starting and then waiting for the character to. To swing and then hitting it again.

D (25:54)

Play. And I like that gameplay, but it's like it doesn't. It's. It's a little rhythm, a little timing. Mini game that you'll play a thousand times. But.

B (26:02)

But it is not closer to golf than pulling the stick back.

D (26:05)

No.

B (26:05)

And letting go at the right point. Right. So it's pretty funny.

D (26:08)

There's definitely like. It's funny going back to, like PS2 era games before certain control schemes have been standardized of like now if I'm playing an FPS, like, click in the stick and I'm going to sprint. Like, stuff just get standardized. Like the grenade is always on R2, maybe L2. It's like, back then, it's like, what? Grenades on square? Like what? Like, none of this makes any sense.

B (26:27)

I know in Donkey Kong, they moved the jump button and everybody was upset, you know.

D (26:31)

Yep, yep.

B (26:32)

Yeah.

C (26:32)

I had to change that off the bat. I mean, I always compare it to when we all played an Assassin's Creed game and then Red Dead 2 came out and we all punched our horses in the face. Ride. The horse button was swing. Swing your fist.

D (26:42)

Yeah.

C (26:42)

For me, go into a town, punch everybody's horse, and they'd be like, it.

D (26:45)

Was for me, that was from that town. Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid 5 had the punch button switch, and I kept punching my horse and I think Metal Gear. Yeah, Always with the horses.

A (26:55)

It's wild. That Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom and Donkey Kong Bonanza all have different buttons for jump.

C (27:03)

Yep, I know. They want the whole clock.

D (27:06)

Yeah.

B (27:06)

It's all logical. They've got a reason for it.

A (27:09)

Oh, yeah.

B (27:09)

I got used to the default setup for Bonanza because I'm like, okay, I get it now. Because in the beginning, all I wanted to do was jump and punch something in the air. And that's easier when you have those buttons on top of each other. And then later on, I'm like, oh, I get it. You need to be able to quickly dig, navigate with these buttons. And it's a term. Look it up. It's called Dignavigate.

C (27:28)

Dignav.

A (27:33)

Well, speaking of Nintendo and Donkey Kong Bonanza, I like the story this week. The headline is, Nintendo has no real need for new franchises. Veteran says and can just pick whatever existing series fits new gameplay. So speaking of Bloomberg programmer Ken Watanabe. Probably not that. Ken Watanabe said Nintendo doesn't really fuss over which of its big franchises a fun new gameplay mechanic might end up in. And with so many existing series to choose from, there's little need to come up with more. So, quote, new franchises haven't come out simply because there's no real need to make them. Watanabe said when Nintendo wants to do something new, it's basically about the gameplay mechanics first, about creating a new way to play.

D (28:07)

That's so funny. That means there's obviously some curse Nintendo prototype will never see of all the Mario characters arms stretching way out at some point, they said, no, no, no, no.

B (28:18)

I was actually thinking about that. Like, you know, I think you guys talked about Boxboy and Box Box. Boxboy, like the Formula One simulators.

A (28:25)

Box Box.

B (28:27)

And I always felt like that was one franchise where Instead of doing black and white graphics with squares, they could have used Kirby or Mario or someone and it would now be a successful franchise that people would remember and talk about. By the way, nobody remembers Pushmo. You're wrong.

D (28:44)

Everybody likes pushmo.

B (28:45)

Pushmo isn't good.

A (28:47)

I've never played P. Go down the.

B (28:48)

Street and talk to five kids. Five kids will say, I don't know what the hell pushmo is, or stretch mo or. Or like Squishmo.

D (28:54)

Not going to go.

C (28:55)

Might be able to extend that to every child on Earth.

D (28:58)

Hey, kid, you ever heard of Pushmo? Come here. You know what a stretch mo is? You know what a stretch mo is? You can't say that.

A (29:05)

On second thought, okay, he's got this.

C (29:08)

Nintendo philosophy in action because they've made four, three versions of Lemmings now. One with Kirby, one with Little Mario, and then Pikmin.

A (29:18)

What's the one with Kirby?

C (29:20)

They made a Kirby one that was like 100 Kirbys on screen for 3Ds.

D (29:24)

Is that Robobot? Robobot.

A (29:27)

I want to play Lemmings. Kirby Kir Bings.

D (29:29)

I do think. I mean, that's fine. So if they just pull a franchise off the shelf and like match the gameplay to it, that's fine. But then please give us F0.

A (29:37)

I know.

B (29:38)

Give it.

D (29:38)

Give it back to us. Give me Advance Wars.

B (29:41)

No, I think everybody would be mad. Remember when they turned Metroid in like a first into, like a shooter? A first person multiplayer shooter.

D (29:47)

It's a baby.

A (29:49)

You're thinking Federation Force.

B (29:50)

It was. Yeah, that was. They turned it into Ninja Guy.

D (29:53)

I do. They gave a. Nintendo gave. I can't remember if it was an Iwata asks or GDC talk a long time ago where they were responding to like, some criticism of, like, all you do is make Mario and Zelda over and over again. And then they pushed back on that and said, you know, because they. Because they have these beloved franchises that are evergreen, that actually gives them more freedom, not less, to innovate from like a gameplay standpoint. So, like, and I do. I do actually give them some credit for that. Like, you think about all the way back to like Super Mario 64. Like, that gameplay, like, that's a puzzle exploration game, right? Like, it's completely different than like any other platform with a hub and puzzle rooms, right?

B (30:29)

And like Diddy Kong Racing, by the way, is that game for racing games. That's how why Rare was inspired by that.

D (30:35)

There's dozens and dozens of examples of.

B (30:38)

You guys talk about, like, when you went through the. The most popular game franchises like you talked about Kirby and Kirby is so many games. Like Canvas Curse is unlike any other Kirby game. And like Nintendo did that with Yoshi at one point. And sometimes it's the gameplay design follows the console that it's on. Right. And so for the longest time, Zelda games became point and click games. Right. Like on. On your touchscreen devices. It's like go here, link, and then hit this. Right. It. It was a. The same formula, completely different controls. I'm. I'm glad we're back to button controls, but I kind of dig that they. They just sort of change their franchises. Yeah.

A (31:17)

So if we apply this philosophy to recent Nintendo games, the Mario Odyssey team has an idea for a 3D platformer where the entire levels are destructible and there's this dig. Mechanic. And then they say that doesn't really make a lot of sense for Mario, but it makes a lot of sense for Donkey Kong.

B (31:31)

Yep.

C (31:31)

Yeah. But they flipped that Wario coin and we got the wrong side.

D (31:35)

It could have been a Wario.

B (31:37)

Wario. Yes.

A (31:37)

Yeah, you're right.

B (31:38)

I agree. It was also hard to. Hard to die in it. Except for the last bosses.

C (31:43)

And like both games have lots of butt jokes in them anyway. So Wario would have been even better. Like there's a lot of butts in Donkey Kong.

B (31:49)

Could have been gone.

D (31:51)

Speaking of hard to die, I died more to the final boss than the rest of the game combined easily in Donkey Kong.

B (31:58)

Yep.

A (31:59)

I also wonder why when Donkey Kong's in any of his Bonanza modes, you can see his butt, but not when he's not. Even if he's not wearing any clothes as Donkey Kong, his butt is covered with fur, but his butt is exposed and all of his bananas.

B (32:12)

It's weird that you notice that. I never noticed that.

A (32:14)

Why did I notice that?

C (32:16)

It is funny. I think there's like some kind of. Do Japanese monkeys have exposed butts?

B (32:24)

Yes, that's right.

C (32:25)

Is that the thing?

B (32:27)

And they go in the hot springs and they get really red buds.

C (32:30)

Oh, that's right. That's when they. They have that in a lot of like pop cultural things. You see the red bud monkeys and like if you.

B (32:35)

Nintendo always liked monkey, but if you. If you go to remember like in Twilight Princess, the. The monkey always hits his own butt when he's taunting you. There's definitely like a animal butt thing.

C (32:47)

With Nintendo, but that's a culture that grew up adjacent to this one type of goofy monkey. You just see it in so much stuff. And like, I don't think we have a lot of context for that in America. Like the monkeys and apes that we refer to are just kind of different.

D (32:59)

I also think maybe so Donkey Kong is always wearing pants, but in its bonanza form, maybe he's not. Maybe that's what's going on here.

A (33:06)

Well, because I like the whole. He can be. He can be naked without pants. So I don't know why the. The bonanza burns all the fur off his butt.

D (33:16)

Great.

B (33:16)

I'm still so creeped by the freaking like built in bananas in their hair and stuff.

D (33:21)

Yeah. And why are they all DJs?

B (33:23)

Yeah.

D (33:23)

Strange game.

A (33:24)

It's a really. And like, the zebras are all like surf bros.

B (33:29)

They just always say it's so good.

A (33:32)

Another detail. Well, I don't think we ever discussed about this game. I think it's funny is Pauline does not know his name is Donkey Kong.

C (33:39)

Oh, dk.

A (33:40)

She calls him DK because that's on his tie. She has no idea his name is.

D (33:43)

Donkey Kong because he can't.

C (33:45)

Maybe his name isn't Donkey Kong. I mean, now that we're. Now that we have some distance from it, we don't have any more explanation for how cranky Kong is also donkey Kong from 1981's Donkey Kong. But Pauline is younger in this.

B (34:02)

Yeah, I think Nintendo are very careful with their timelines and their. Their story crafting.

D (34:06)

Yeah, I do think so.

B (34:07)

As a big Zelda fan, I can tell you that.

D (34:09)

So first of all, do bother getting into Donkey Kong lore because that way madness lies. Don't do it. But I will say that they did a clever thing. So this seems to be a prequel to Mario Odyssey. And then Pauline seems to grow up and be mayor. But there's a. They had to do. It's not a retcon. They were clever because Pauline has a line in Mario Odyssey where she talks about how she was kidnapped by a monkey when she was a kid. And when Mario Odyssey came out, that seemed to be a reference to the original Donkey Kong.

A (34:37)

Yeah.

D (34:38)

But now they made the villain of Bonanza a monkey. So that line still kind of works with her and DK being allies instead of him kidnapping her.

C (34:50)

But there is the scene in Super Mario Odyssey in which she is adult Pauline and singing and she's at the top of the tower. And that's referencing Donkey Kong.

D (35:00)

Right?

C (35:01)

Right. Yeah, but that's weird. Is that like. And again, we can talk about this now. You know, skip ahead 30 seconds. But you do go to New Donk City in this. And so you do have that established part of, like, the connection to Odysseys.

A (35:15)

Yeah. Yep.

D (35:16)

It's completely insane. It's like the. The lore is so funny broken.

B (35:20)

I. I don't think they care. It's like, there's only an Earth now. Right. Like, I think there are creators who just sort of start over and go.

D (35:28)

Like, yeah, don't worry about it.

B (35:29)

But, like, the new Fence Alive, the.

D (35:31)

New Donk City in. In DK in Bonanza has like, you know, advertisements for, like, you know, Lanky Kongs, whatever, like, auto shop. I'm like, none of this makes sense. Like, how does this. How does this all fit together?

B (35:43)

They're all legends. They don't.

D (35:45)

Yeah.

B (35:45)

Like, this one is the one your.

C (35:46)

Grandma told you was so good.

A (35:49)

Yeah, I was a little. I didn't really know how I felt about Alien Earth because I thought it was, like, interesting sci fi, but just didn't. It's not much of an alien show, it seemed. However, episode five is really good.

B (36:02)

Episode five is Alien. Like, the way he remembers, like, in space.

C (36:06)

What I like about it is that they've. It's an alien movie after they've established characters for five episodes.

A (36:13)

Yeah.

C (36:13)

So you have a lot more, like, understanding of why people are acting the way they're acting. And it's really interesting. And it kind of explains the backstory of a character who is, like, really inexplicably evil.

A (36:26)

Yeah.

C (36:26)

Yeah. You know, it's just. It's just. It's so cool.

B (36:29)

Also love. I mean, look, this is supposed to be a prequel, right? Like about like a year from now where we are in the story. You know, Ripley and the gang are setting off to. On their mining vessel. Right. Like, it's before that, that. That event in the time.

C (36:44)

Because they want to get one of those wimp aliens that always loses.

B (36:47)

But I mean, the thing we don't know about the show is, like, they're obviously there is the Xenomorph on Earth now, but, like, are they going to flash she thingy Everybody, like in Men in Black, where nobody actually knows this except for the people running the corporations. Or is it going to be like, is everybody going to know the alien? Like, does everybody know this little octopus exists?

A (37:06)

I hadn't heard the term alien. That's pretty good.

B (37:08)

Oh, it's so cool. No, and then I do like the story about the artificial humans because that was something obviously with. With the original alien, with Bishop, with Prometheus. You've got artificial humans in all of them. This One introduces a cyborg who is a human with, you know, fancy arm.

C (37:23)

And then it has like 70 years ago.

B (37:26)

Yeah, yeah, yep, yep.

C (37:27)

Like they were like earlier models of. I mean, they're not models because they started a speed.

B (37:31)

They're not. The milk.

C (37:32)

The milk filled with milk.

D (37:33)

That's what I was.

B (37:35)

Not the milk filled models yet.

C (37:36)

But those exist concurrently. It's just, it's just a really interesting, like, set of sci fi things.

B (37:42)

And I just like the name the boy genius too.

A (37:44)

Well, yeah, yeah.

C (37:45)

Boy cavalier.

A (37:47)

Yeah. I really like Timothy Olyphant in this and I think it's.

C (37:51)

He's so annoyed by all the children.

A (37:53)

It's just, it's a brilliant casting because he's known for playing like folksy sheriffs, you know, down to Earth people. But now he's playing like a literal robot who.

C (38:00)

Just what motivation do any of the androids in any of the Alien movies ever have to just do stuff for their stupid human bosses? I don't understand that. I hope they explain that.

B (38:09)

They can't help it. They got that.

C (38:11)

They got that little, that little bolt.

B (38:13)

Built in, like C3PO. They can't help it. But I do. Like, so I think some people have issues with this story because it isn't clear cut alien, like people trapped in.

A (38:23)

A spaceship really about a xenomorph.

B (38:24)

And it's what they did, though. They created this really cool monster story. It's more like a video game where like in the beginning they show you five monsters. And then like there's like this plant keeps hanging in the background. You know, the plant is going to do something really nasty.

C (38:39)

But they're not showing the Simpsons episode with the little guy that hasn't fought yet. I want to see what the little guy.

D (38:44)

Chekhov's plant.

B (38:46)

Yeah. And then the next episode is called the Fly. You're like, oh, I forgot about the fly. There's also the Fly. Yeah, that's great.

C (38:51)

Yeah. Well, yeah. And like, don't you want to see what that mission was? Like where these people went to five planets and got the most dangerous animals?

A (38:58)

This is also my thing. In the original Alien, I. I always thought no human had ever encountered an alien species. Until then we thought that it wasn't.

B (39:07)

And I think Internet analysis was pretending like they didn't know anything. Yeah, yeah. But it wasn't actually said.

A (39:15)

I'm just saying, like the, the discovery of alien life would change everything. Yeah, it would change everything. But the people on the show who have all these aliens, they don't really Seem too fussed about it. They're all just like, oh, we have these. We just found a bunch of aliens.

C (39:28)

Like, whoa, that's an alien.

D (39:29)

We just, we just found a bunch of aliens.

A (39:32)

Everything, everything is now different for the human species. But, but remember, like Apple may have.

B (39:37)

Found a UFO many, many years ago and there was an iPhone and we will just never know. Right. Like the, the point here is the, the, the government is now privately owned. It's five different corporations and they all know stuff that they're not going to tell everybody. They're not going to tell even the androids this stuff. Right. And so the people on the mining vessel may not have known that aliens exist until they find the space jockey skeleton elephant man in the, in, in, in that seat, you know?

A (40:03)

Yeah, I just, you know, whatever, it's fine.

B (40:06)

I like, I love it.

C (40:07)

There are some plot holes.

A (40:08)

I like the island.

C (40:09)

It's still fun.

A (40:10)

I like the island a lot. But Jo, our producer pointed out, so, like, it's a very human, like eyeball. So it's on a planet where a lot of creatures have human like eyeballs. Like, no, it's something split.

B (40:20)

It can split and rearrange damage, but.

C (40:23)

It'S just an ocular thing that can adapt to any type of mammalian eye. Like it's. Yeah, okay.

B (40:28)

Yeah. It comes from a planet of cyclopses. That's why now they actually have to hunt in pairs on.

C (40:33)

I think we need for this Christmas instead of, instead of those like logs burning videos. We just need sheep staring videos of that sheep.

B (40:40)

That was so cool when it got up on its hind leg.

C (40:42)

10 hours of sheep stairs.

A (40:43)

Yeah, that was a good moment.

D (40:45)

Ten hours, sheep.

B (40:45)

And then it goes like apologetically like, oh, four legs.

C (40:50)

Yeah, that's so good. When it stands up for a little bit, it's like, oh.

A (40:58)

All right.

C (40:58)

Good stuff.

A (40:59)

Let's check in with the listeners.

C (41:00)

Hey, listeners.

D (41:01)

Hey, listeners.

A (41:01)

Listeners. Remember you can always reach us at the email address game scoop.com just like.

C (41:09)

Oh, no.

B (41:09)

Slick David.

C (41:10)

Build up the wind up Big Tony style.

A (41:16)

Big Tony style writes in to say, I'm excited to jump into Gears Reloaded. The original was the very first game I played on a flat screen HDTV at my friend's house during college. At the time, my mind was blown at the leap in graphical fidelity and what HD gaming could be. It's probably the last time I was surprised at how good a game can look and feel. It's a feeling I usually got with the release of every new console generation dating back to my first console, the Sega Master System. While games seemingly do just about everything I could ever want, when was the last time the Goose camp counselors were truly surprised at something a game could do or show you?

D (41:47)

Great question.

B (41:50)

That's a really good one. Like, my mind immediately goes to, like, the pivotal moments in my, sort of my gaming career as a player as well as a journalist. Was. Was always like, you know, Mario 64, where you finally got to explore in 3D. I was like, oh, my God, what if games are actually like that but look realistic? And here we are. I will say there were a couple of moments. Like, one was VR. The first time trying out a VR demo, I think it was like, Valkyrie. And then there was that game from Team soho. Remember that one where you. You're sitting in a chair and this dude walks around you and, like, for the first time you feel this actual presence of a digital character in front of you and he's smoking and your mind almost fills in the gaps, right? Like, where you go, like, do I smell smoke? No, I don't smell smoke. Those were really cool moments. More recently, I will say the Last of Us 2, because that game animates things where other games cut to black. You know, a lot of games, like, you sit down at a campfire, then they go to black, and then, you know, like, it's the next morning or something. This game will animate everything. I think the thing they picked apart was always a kiss sequence where the two character models connect and looks realistic. Nothing's flickering and stuff. But, like, I just had this game just sort of blew my mind with the quality of the animation and the lengths they went to to make all the things work. Yeah.

A (43:10)

I remember, like, the upgrading your weapons always looked really good.

B (43:13)

Yeah. It's just everything. It seems like most game developers will just not have the time to do this. Right. Like, they really got to spend time with this game. But it's obviously tremendously talented animators and it's just like nothing clips, you know, it's so good.

D (43:30)

Yeah. That's what. What's the saying of, like, you know, what gamers are impressed by is like, you know, the vista and the mountain and the forest and what game developers are impressed by, they're like, I can't believe that they just took that weapon and, like, put it on their back and, like, attached it to themselves, that it's not clipping through their head.

A (43:45)

Famously.

C (43:46)

The. The electrical lines in Last of Us too were like that.

D (43:49)

Yeah.

A (43:49)

Or even just like, developers were like.

C (43:51)

How did they do this? They carry around electrical line. It stretches and bends around everything. And then you plug it in. Like, they.

A (43:56)

People could believe that the snow being knocked off the top of that bus. Like, this game still looks really, really good.

B (44:01)

And then I'd say Tears of the Kingdom is. I think, for everyone, there might be a different moment where you go, that's possible. Like, I glued, like, lots of trees together and made this really long pole to cross a gap. And I'm like. For a moment, it took me out of the game because I'm like, programming. That seems impossible. Like, wouldn't you at one point, as a programmer, say only four of those, please? And I have, like, 20 or something. Right. Like, the things you can. That seem impossible in. In that game.

D (44:31)

That's what I saw. I mean, I saw people making giant, like, orbital launch vessels that are, like, lasering down like Lionels. And like, meanwhile, I'm over here, like, gluing a sword to my sword, and that's the best thing I can manage.

B (44:43)

Kojima is always good at that sort of stuff too, where you try something and you go like, no way did they think of it? And they're like, oh, my God, they thought of it.

D (44:50)

Yeah. They're melting ice cubes in Metal Gear 2.

B (44:52)

Melting ice was mind blowing.

C (44:57)

Yeah. So what you're saying is a few old ones and one new one. And one of my new ones is actually Vista Mountain related, like Justin's saying. Because I think the weather systems in Assassin's Creed from this year were unbelievable. And there were times where, you know, I was there while the clouds rolled in on mountains below me, like on top of a mountain, and the sun is setting and everything's, you know, ray tracing and looking incredible. And it's. There's just never been a game that looks like that. And, you know, I'm hoping there's more because I've never seen anything like that.

B (45:34)

Yeah, it's so cool when it's a game system that is so flexible that it can create, like, a moment of art or beauty versus somebody, like, staged something, and everything is in the right place because the developer placed it there. Like the games that truly impress other ones, where you think you're having a unique moment and then you glimpse something. Right. Like, you see something that you didn't think was possible.

D (45:57)

Yeah.

C (45:58)

So then my older ones, I have two GameCube. I think that was the graphical realism generation. That was a big leap then. And one was the. And I know, Perry, you'll remember this well, but one was seeing your face reflected In Metroid Prime.

B (46:13)

Oh, totally awesome.

D (46:14)

That was cool.

C (46:15)

And I've said this so many times, I know this is boring to hear it again, but Metroid prime was the last time that Nintendo made like a cutting edge graphical game that everybody's like, does this look better than Half Life 2, which came out the same year? You know, like it was a good discussion, like, what's the best looking game on the planet? And Nintendo made it, so that was cool. And then right after that, I remember Resident Evil 4 being this kind of moment where it just felt so next gen and everything. But I just remember this dumb moment where I was looking at like, I was like, I had some friends over and we look at the candle in it and it was just like this candle flame looked like unbelievably well thought out and realistic and casting light. And we're like, what is happening here? Like, who. Who spent this time?

B (46:56)

I'm glad you brought up Resident Evil because despite the older games being being sort of like feeling very mechanical and limited, there were moments in that series with remake where an enemy could walk through a door. And at a time we had only played games where enemies existed in one room. And when you exit, you're safe. And in this game, this game broke that wall.

C (47:16)

And they don't just walk through the door, like swings open and they.

B (47:20)

And then resident. Resident Evil 4, they actually come after you. And thank you for the footage, Robert.

A (47:26)

Tayo.

B (47:26)

Oh, Tayo, sorry. Where they actually follow you up through a window out on the roof. And I'm like, you're not allowed to do that. That's illegal.

C (47:36)

Yeah.

B (47:37)

Yep, yep.

A (47:38)

Justin, how about you?

D (47:39)

Yeah, I mean, I don't know that this is the last time, but in terms of like interacting with a game, like the thing that I'm experiencing in the video game felt really new and different and unique was factor was Game pass on the 3ds.

B (47:53)

Okay.

D (47:54)

Not game Pass. Streetpass.

A (47:55)

Street Pass.

D (47:56)

Streetpass. Like, you know, I would get street passes on the bus on my way into ign and then you would get them and they would give you puzzle pieces or give you things in the different Street Pass games. And like that just felt very cool and social and unique and kind of special. And I don't know, like, Game Pass was just super neat. I bought all the Game Pass games and they kept coming out with more and like the way that they were designed of like each Streetpass game would give you like a different bonus or different thing for like street passing people around the world. And like that was really addictive.

B (48:28)

And the human element of that, it was so fascinating because you. You'd walk around and you get like.

D (48:33)

And then you'd see their means.

B (48:34)

Louis from Brazil, you're like, what, there was a Brazilian here?

D (48:37)

Well, and like, there was this. I mean, it's a little bit, kind of creepy slightly, except I'm an adult. So, like, it was fine. But like, you know, you see their miis and like, they'd be like, oh, hello. Like, you know, nice to visit you. And then I'm thinking back to the people that I saw on this, like, on the street. I'm like, who did I pass that? Like, we street passed each other. That was really cool. No one's going to remember this but me. Per, There is a game on the original ds, I don't know if you're going to remember it too, called Treasure World, I think. And it was so far ahead of its time where you could. I don't know how it was doing that because that game didn't have GPS in it, but you could take your ds, your original ds, out into the real world. And I think what it was doing was picking up WI FI signals. And based off the number of WI FI signals that it picked up, it would try to do, like, it would know where you went and where you visited. So it was doing like a pseudo street pass and pseudo 3Ds, you know, system way, way ahead of its time. And you would go out into the real world and it would pick up WI FI signals out in the real world, and then you would earn little treasures and items. And so that also, that game always captured my imagination. It wasn't very good, but. But it was such an interesting idea.

B (49:56)

Yeah, very cool. I don't remember that at all.

D (49:58)

Yeah, nobody does but me.

C (50:00)

Scribblenauts blew people's minds on the ds.

D (50:03)

Remember that?

A (50:03)

It really did. Yeah. We couldn't believe it could. It's. It just knew every word. How does it know every word?

C (50:07)

There's so many. I just remembered things like Manticore and Cyclops, and some people just come up with fantasy things and it would just pop one in.

B (50:14)

Yep.

A (50:14)

That was really cool. Uh, I was hired IGN in 2006 in April. And so one of the first things I did was go to E3, and I always think about two games that I saw Closed Door Behind Closed door demos for at E3 2006. It was BioShock and Mass Effect. I just remember sitting in there and, like, seeing the water running down the walls and BioShock looking absolutely realistic.

B (50:35)

So cool.

A (50:35)

Not affecting the gameplay, but just really, you know, sort of setting the mood. And then a mass effect having these close ups of these alien faces and their eyes moving realistically and just, you know, like you can see like pores and sweat on their skin. I was just like, part of it was like, I'm new to ign, I can't believe it. I have my dream job. I'm sitting behind closed doors demos at E3, seeing these amazing looking games. How is this my life?

B (50:56)

Yeah, I know, but those games also, they were clearly not aping Hollywood movies. Right. They're. They impress you by showing you something very, very different. Like, I mean, the world of Bioshock it is.

C (51:06)

Well, there was a lot of lens flare in Mass Effect. To be fair.

D (51:09)

We also, I mean Mass Effect back then that early, like this giant 80 hour RPG and all of it's voiced and the voice acting's all like pretty good. Even that was like a pretty big deal. Like, voice acting was usually reserved for like smaller games where like there's gonna be 10 cutscenes in the game and that's all the voice acting.

B (51:24)

And invent Mass Effect invented a sound effect that was then used in every Hollywood trailer for years. Namely, which is like, I thought that was Inception.

D (51:34)

That was the Reapers.

B (51:35)

No, I think it was. It was first Mass Effect, it was the Reapers, and then it happened in Inception. Every trailer since.

A (51:41)

Yeah, yeah.

C (51:42)

There's. In Bioshock, there's also kind of a promise of you can approach the situation these different ways in that demo.

D (51:52)

Yeah.

C (51:52)

Where it's like, well, the, the little sister is just kind of there and. And then the Big daddy's like, like protecting her. And you know, you can either avoid it or you can. And then they're just like. And then you go right in, the guy's like hand gets chopped off or something. And it's like the game didn't really feel that way in the end. But that demo was incredible.

D (52:08)

The sandboxy opportunity for player expression of like set traps for the Big Daddy or going guns blazing and stuff like that was a big deal back then.

C (52:16)

And before that, make Bioshock games still or Mass Effect games.

B (52:19)

Well, they'll be a TV show.

D (52:20)

Nobody makes video games anymore.

B (52:22)

Which one's going to be show Bioshock? Oh, no, no, I think it'll be good things. A good team.

A (52:29)

Okay, okay, okay. Starting to run short on time. This is Jesse, who we heard from last episode, who gave us a list of the most famous games.

D (52:41)

Canadian made.

A (52:42)

Canada.

B (52:42)

Oh, I See?

A (52:43)

And he included Factorio on that list, which. That's not a Canadian game. I think it's Polish.

D (52:49)

Check.

A (52:50)

Check. Okay, well, Jesse writes back said, I just listened to the latest show. I'm sorry to say that I foolishly put my faith in ChatGPT. That's where I got the info that Factorio was a Canadian developed game. The chat even links the statement to Wikipedia which clearly states the game was developed and published by Check Studio. Woo based software.

C (53:09)

Thanks for the hallucination of the source. That's great.

A (53:12)

Thanks for consistently creating the only video game podcast I consistently. Listen, guys, I'm starting to think we can't just take everything AI says.

B (53:19)

Oh, weird.

A (53:19)

Face value.

D (53:20)

What?

B (53:22)

It's so strange.

A (53:25)

Okay. Man, I have so many extracurricular activities I wanted to get through because I've done so much in the past week, but we are running short on time. I saw Matrix at COSM la.

B (53:35)

I was very jealous to see your.

A (53:36)

Picture, which is like our sphere. It's this giant curved screen and it's not just a giant matrix. It actually has the usual aspect ratio. But they've created all this new content that sort of like extends beyond the screen and it's every single moment of the movie. And it's not cheesy. It's all super well done. It was amazing. It's so cool. If you're in la, I highly recommend that. I also saw Oasis.

B (53:59)

That's different.

A (54:00)

At the Rose bowl on their Live 25 tour and they were amazing.

D (54:04)

There were some other IGN people there also. Zach Ryan was there, I think.

A (54:07)

Oh, yeah. Well, I mean.

C (54:08)

Yeah, yeah. I had some friends there.

A (54:09)

Did you even. Paul McCarty was there.

C (54:11)

Yeah. Paul McCartney was there and Leonardo DiCaprio and stuff.

A (54:14)

Because I knew Leonardo DiCaprio was there. Salma Hayek was there.

C (54:17)

There's also a.

B (54:18)

Recognize you.

A (54:19)

Yeah, yeah, I did.

C (54:21)

Well, this is.

B (54:22)

Yeah.

C (54:23)

D, man.

A (54:24)

Yeah. And I watched K Pop Demon Hunters. Oh, and now that's.

B (54:28)

And you love it.

A (54:29)

Those. That soundtrack is all that my family listens to now.

B (54:31)

Okay.

A (54:32)

We're just a K Pop demon.

D (54:33)

I'm convinced that anybody that's kind of looking down their nose at that hasn't actually watched it. Like, forget. Forget sort of it being a tween sensation.

A (54:40)

Yeah.

D (54:40)

Like, it's just a good movie.

A (54:42)

It is a good movie. I don't think for me, it's not on the level of like the spider verse movies, but it's totally.

D (54:47)

It's got that vibe of like, it punches above its weight with like really interesting characters and just I like it a lot.

A (54:53)

Yeah, I liked it. Our kids are obsessed with it. Also my son, you know, my two big things in life are basically video games and music. Yeah, my son loves video games but has never expressed much interest in music, but he sure loves the soundtrack to this and he sings along with it. So like anything that gets my son interested in music. Okay in my book.

B (55:09)

That's awesome.

A (55:10)

If your cat could talk, they'd tell you they want a litter upgrade. If you're not buying single ply toilet paper for yourself, why are you giving your cat outdated kitty litter? Make their bathroom experience better for both of you. With Pretty Litter, it's soft on their paws, stays fresher longer, and it's easy to maintain. Not just a Pretty Litter Pretty Litter is nice on the eyes, but it's so much more than that. Pretty Litter helps monitor your cat's health, detecting abnormalities in your cat's urine by testing acidity and alkalinity levels and showing the visible presence of blood. Pretty Litter ships free right to my door. It's non toxic and household friendly. Plus it's low dust, controls odors, and lasts for up to one month. That odor control is no joke by the way. The previous brand of cat litter I used was also low odor, but Pretty Litter makes odor virtually non existent. Pretty Litter's non clumping formula traps odor and moisture. It's ultra absorbent. Both me and my cat same like Pretty Litter a lot. At a glance I can see that Same is looking healthy. Oh, Same is Grey with a white belly and her name is Japanese for shark. Pretty Litter helps keep your house smelling fresh and clean. Try it for yourself right now. Save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy at prettylitter.com Gamescoop that's prettylitter.com GamescooP to save 20% on your first order AND get a free cat toy. Prettylitter.com Gamescoop Pretty Litter cannot detect every feline health issue or prevent or diagnose diseases. A diagnosis can only come from a licensed veterinarian. Terms and conditions apply. See site for details.

E (56:31)

This podcast you're listening to. It was once just a dream. A dream that became reality not by accident, but because someone decided not to let the what ifs keep them from creating something they believed in. Starting your own business is a dream lots of us share, but too many let it remain just a dream. Don't hold yourself back from creating what you believe in and turn those what ifs into why nots. With shopify by your side. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. What if I can't design a website? Shopify's got you with beautiful ready to go templates to match your brand's style. What if I need a hand? Get help with everyday tasks like enhancing product images, writing product descriptions, or generating discount codes with Shopify's AI tools created for commerce. What if people haven't heard about my brand? Shopify helps you find your customers with easy to run email and social media campaigns. And what if I get stuck? Shopify's always around to share advice with their award winning 24. 7 customer support. So turn those dreams into and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com realms. Go to shopify.com realm shopify.com realm.

A (58:09)

Okay, and that brings us to video game 20 questions. Our suggestion this week comes from Michael in San Bruno, California. Michael says, I've been listening to the podcast since 2006, but not since episode one. So safe to say I'm a bit of a game scoop boomer. Same Michael, if I ever could revive my old ipod video from the time, there's Probably a Scoop MP3 file sitting on there somewhere. I was always thinking about sending in Elder Scrolls for oblivion as a 20 question submission, but the remake this year killed that ever being a potentially tricky one. So he sent in another one and he has another anecdote. But his anecdote would be a big hint. So I'm gonna save the anecdote in case you guys are in trouble.

B (58:46)

Okay. All right.

A (58:47)

So with that, let the questioning begin.

C (58:51)

Oh, I remember loading Game Scoop before I worked at IGN on my iPod video.

A (58:56)

Oh, nice.

B (58:57)

Was this game made in Australia? Just kidding. No, no. Was this game made. Was this game made in Europe, America or Australia?

A (59:05)

No.

B (59:05)

Okay.

D (59:06)

Okay. Was this game made in the 70s, 80s or 90s?

B (59:09)

No, it's a Japanese game made in the 2000s probably.

D (59:14)

Maybe Chinese or probably Japanese, Korean or Korean?

B (59:16)

Yeah. No, because he's old school.

D (59:18)

Yeah.

B (59:19)

China didn't exist back then.

D (59:21)

Well, Chad. Yeah?

C (59:25)

Did this game come out at the start of its existence on a laser based disc medium?

A (59:33)

Yes.

B (59:38)

Wait, what? At the beginning of the start of the.

C (59:41)

Because the things get ported all the time, so you have to do all these qualifications now.

B (59:45)

Okay.

A (59:46)

Basically, was it originally released on a disc? Yes, yes.

C (59:49)

Yeah. Because if you say, you know anything else, it's like, well, they came to switch on a car.

B (59:52)

But it wasn't in the 90s, so it can't be. It can't be PlayStation 1 and Saturn.

D (59:56)

Not a PS1 or Saturn game.

B (59:58)

Okay.

C (60:00)

It could be a PlayStation 1 game.

D (60:01)

It's not kid. Didn't come out in the 90s. I guess it could be like PS1.

B (60:04)

Can. Can I do a genre question just because of the country that it's made in. Is it. Is it a role playing game?

D (60:13)

Of.

A (60:13)

Of a sort.

B (60:14)

Of a sort.

D (60:16)

Oh, interesting. Is it played in the first person?

A (60:18)

No, that's five.

B (60:19)

It's Japan. It can't be.

D (60:20)

Well, but there was Kingsfield.

B (60:22)

Oh, there's one game.

C (60:24)

Thank you.

B (60:25)

Thank you, Justin. Is it a first person?

C (60:30)

But we did eliminate Kingsfield.

D (60:32)

Well, and I was thinking RPG of a short, a sort. I was thinking about souls like and then that made me think of Kingsfield.

B (60:37)

Fair enough. Fair enough. Okay. Not.

A (60:42)

You also know it's not a modern Resident Evil, right?

C (60:46)

Is. Is this game have multiplayer as a focus? No, it's not an MMO rpg.

B (60:55)

Did we ask is this. Was this a platform exclusive when it launched?

D (61:00)

Yes, that's a good question. Was it exclusive to. Oh, I don't know what console to ask. The PS4?

C (61:09)

No, that was a Sony exclusive.

B (61:12)

No, like not a PlayStation exclusive.

D (61:15)

Okay, I'm glad you did that, Sam. Before we did the PS3 and PS4.

C (61:18)

Scope, start going through all the PS's.

B (61:20)

Well, it can't be an Xbox game because none of them were made in Japan except for like Blue Dragon or something.

C (61:25)

So probably a Nintendo exclusive.

D (61:27)

Yeah, that leaves us with What? Maybe a GameCube or Wii. Or Wii exclusive.

A (61:32)

You said was it a Nintendo exclusive at launch? This was a Nintendo exclusive. That's 10.

C (61:37)

This makes such an easy thing, so maybe make it easier.

D (61:40)

Was it developed or published by Nintendo?

C (61:42)

No, Xena.

B (61:44)

Because then it would never cease to be a Nintendo exclusive except for like one Lego game.

D (61:50)

Yeah, you're right. Yeah. Okay, my bad.

C (61:53)

Fire Emblems developed by Nintendo.

D (61:55)

Yes.

B (61:56)

That didn't go to non Nintendo.

D (61:57)

So we should get the console. Is it exclusive? Was it exclusive to the GameCube?

B (62:02)

No.

D (62:05)

So Japanese made Wii or Wii U exclusive. Not made by Nintendo. That's an RPG of a sort. Maybe it is Xenoblade Chronicles.

C (62:14)

Why can't it be Switch or Switch two?

D (62:16)

Well, because. Because it came out on a disk optical.

B (62:20)

But it's. But it's still a Nintendo exclusive.

C (62:23)

It's still a Nintendo Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii U.

B (62:26)

They bought Monolithic with.

D (62:27)

Yeah, yeah, okay.

B (62:29)

Yeah, you can't bring that one to any other.

D (62:30)

That's also not an RPG of a sort. That's just an rpg.

B (62:33)

You said Nintendo published, right?

D (62:35)

No, not Nintendo. So we. Or Wii U exclusive. Made in Japan, but not Nintendo made.

B (62:45)

Well then you're getting into like the sort of. Think of Capcom's Okamis and Monster Hunters and stuff like that, right?

D (62:51)

Yep. Could be. It could be a manhunt.

B (62:53)

Yeah. And Monster Hunter is sort of an rpg.

D (62:59)

Yeah.

B (63:00)

Okami is really an action adventure, though.

C (63:02)

That was on PS2 first.

D (63:04)

Well, it's on. It was on. Was it on PS2 first and then we.

C (63:07)

Yes, okay.

D (63:08)

Okay. Yeah, yeah, you're right. And there was the box art. It's come up twice.

B (63:12)

That's right, the box.

D (63:12)

Twice in a row now.

B (63:15)

It wasn't me who put that on there. Okay, man, you're breaking our brains again. So let's think there's.

C (63:23)

It was a rough time for Nintendo owners to be playing RPG like games.

D (63:29)

What was the one?

C (63:29)

What was what if it's like Little King's Story or something like that?

D (63:32)

It could be Little King Story. It. What was the last.

B (63:36)

That is so obscure though.

D (63:38)

The last story was that the Final Fantasy creator? What? Mistwalker made like a big aaa?

C (63:46)

I think the Square Enix question. Good thing. Oh, there's also the Crystal Chronicles type stuff.

B (63:51)

Final Fantasy. Crystal Chronicles.

D (63:53)

Crystal Chronicles was GameCube originally, but then.

C (63:55)

There was a sequel or an Dragon Quest. So is this. Is this a Square Enix game?

A (64:01)

No.

B (64:01)

Ah, what the heck. Okay, that cuts out a lot. How many questions have we done?

A (64:07)

You've done. You asked 13 questions.

D (64:08)

Oh, we're doing all right.

C (64:09)

That's a work.

B (64:10)

We got another 13 then.

C (64:13)

So what else do we got? We got like Natsume and I don't.

B (64:17)

Know, I would say you've got your Atlas. To me it sounds like Capcom Atlas Namco, like in that camp, like something.

C (64:24)

Is this a Capcom.

D (64:27)

Is it a Capcom Atlas or Namco game?

A (64:29)

No.

D (64:30)

Oh my God, no.

B (64:31)

Okay.

C (64:32)

This is awesome. That's good. That's. That's better than getting the yes, because then you have to ask question.

B (64:37)

So there's Sega. You know, Sega became third party in that era.

C (64:40)

Monolith.

B (64:44)

Monolith is owned by Nintendo, but it would be published by them. Wii.

D (64:48)

I'm assuming it's a Wii game because no games came out on the Wii U.

C (64:53)

Maybe it's Sega. What would it be? For Sega.

B (64:55)

Sega.

C (64:56)

It'd be cool if it was GameCube.

B (64:57)

Because Super Monkey Ball and that came to other platforms later.

D (65:01)

Yeah, it could be a Fantasy Star.

B (65:02)

But it's not an rpg. Fantasy Star Online. Was it on the Dreamcast first?

C (65:07)

I don't think that existed on Wii.

D (65:09)

And you. And you also asked about multiplayer and the answer was no. So that eliminated MMORPGs.

C (65:16)

Is this game set in a fantasy universe? Like, you know, high fantasy?

D (65:25)

Does it have elves or dwarves or that kind of stuff?

A (65:29)

No.

C (65:29)

Tolkien characters?

A (65:30)

No. And that's 15. So I'm gonna read you an anecdote. This is your hint. This is Michael from Sam Bruno says I enjoyed hearing from Pear on a recent episode. Would love to have hear more of him on the podcast. It made me reminisce on when I used to listen to Week in review with Pear, Matt cas Messina and Mark Bozan back in the day. So because of that, my suggestion is Zach and Awaken.

D (65:53)

Yeah. I mean, except it's not a Capcom game.

B (65:56)

Oh yeah. It wasn't a Capcom game. It wasn't an rpg. No. But that's all Matt always talked about.

D (66:00)

Yeah.

B (66:00)

Games we can review. There were some games like Geist that wasn't from Japan who made Little King Story.

D (66:10)

I think that that's a pretty good guess.

B (66:13)

There was like.

C (66:14)

I thought that was square.

D (66:15)

I don't think so.

B (66:15)

There's some weird games. Umbrella Chronicles. Remember that one?

C (66:19)

But what did Atlas make at the time? Or Sega?

D (66:21)

Well, we eliminated Atlas. Yeah, you said Atlas. I forget the three.

B (66:29)

Namco, Atlas and.

D (66:31)

And Sega.

B (66:33)

No, Capcom.

D (66:34)

Capcom, yeah.

B (66:36)

Like, so three big Japanese studios and we eliminated.

C (66:40)

What if it's a harvest moon?

D (66:41)

Yeah. Natsume or. Or Konami was obviously still kicking around.

B (66:45)

Nobody is passionate for that era of. Not harvest moons.

C (66:48)

Like, did Konami do anything?

B (66:51)

Konami? Well, there were a couple of games. I think you guys did ele bits on 20 questions at one point.

D (66:57)

Yeah, we did.

A (66:58)

I think we.

B (66:58)

Right. And that's also not an rpg. Man, the Wii era, I totally blocked everything out. Thank you. Thank you for doing this game.

C (67:07)

Oh, what if it's a retro game?

B (67:09)

Like this is just one. They never. They canceled everything else that would be.

C (67:14)

No, no. I mean like retro style rpg. But those are mainly. I was thinking about downloadable ones that.

B (67:20)

All happened later, like Octopath, Traveler. All that sort of stuff came.

C (67:24)

No, they did. After years.

B (67:25)

Huh?

C (67:26)

After years of San.

D (67:27)

We. Yeah, but that's not Square Enix.

B (67:31)

Okay. We need to get to the develop to the publisher, at least on this.

C (67:35)

Does this game have any. Should we ask about sequels or if it's part of a series?

D (67:38)

Yeah.

C (67:40)

Which one? Series One maybe is better.

D (67:42)

Yes. Is this game part.

C (67:43)

Is this game.

A (67:44)

Sorry, no, it's not part of a series.

D (67:48)

I like Little King Story. I can't remember who made it. You remember that game?

B (67:52)

No, no, I remember that name. I don't remember who published it.

D (67:57)

And I'm gonna know, like, I own the game. They did make kind of like a pseudo sequel, didn't they? But, you know, it was a different. Different thing. Yeah.

C (68:04)

I think There was a 3DS version of it.

D (68:06)

Yeah. And then there was. Remember, there was like, you know, my time as a dark lord and my time as a king. Like, I don't remember who made those. See, the little town builders.

C (68:19)

Was that more of a sim type game?

D (68:22)

Those were. Little King Story was almost sort of like a Pikmin, like where, like, you rolled around as a king and then you had some little minions that you could sort of. There was an era of games where people like, there.

C (68:31)

But isn't that.

B (68:32)

Calling that an RPG would be a stretch.

D (68:34)

But that's why you said RPG of a sort.

C (68:36)

But isn't it. Isn't Fantasy eliminating that?

D (68:39)

Yeah.

B (68:39)

Oh, man.

D (68:40)

That's probably a fantasy game.

B (68:42)

All right, let's get to the publisher. Let's do another triplet of Japanese.

D (68:47)

What's left?

B (68:47)

Konami.

D (68:48)

Konami.

C (68:49)

Did we do Sega?

D (68:50)

Konami, Sega And Natsume. And Natsume. Is it a Konami? Sega or Natsume?

B (68:56)

Actually, yeah.

A (68:57)

Is it Konami, Sega or Natsume? No. What?

B (69:01)

There's no other company's damage.

D (69:02)

There's less.

A (69:03)

Well, let's just remember that just because the game is made in Japan doesn't mean the publisher is from Japan. And also there are publishers that are no longer with us.

B (69:11)

Oh, man.

D (69:12)

Who went out of business.

B (69:13)

That's so sad.

D (69:14)

That is sad.

B (69:16)

Yeah.

C (69:17)

Hudson. Hudson's gone.

B (69:19)

Oh, well, that's true. The Bombermans.

D (69:23)

It's probably a Hudson game.

C (69:25)

Rpg.

B (69:26)

The Bomberman rpg. Bomberman Heroes. Bomberman Hero. No.

A (69:31)

What was it called? Two questions and a guess.

B (69:33)

Oh, man.

C (69:34)

I thought we were doing great.

B (69:35)

Guys. You gotta ask, like, obscure old crap like Goemon, then I'll get it.

D (69:39)

Yeah.

B (69:39)

Not.

D (69:40)

You were on.

C (69:40)

That sounds like obscure old.

B (69:43)

I was probably. I was not paying attention when I was on.

D (69:46)

Is it a Goemon game?

B (69:48)

No, there's nothing. There was one on ds.

D (69:51)

Is it helpful to know if the game has Waggle featured prominently?

B (69:55)

Yeah, that's all of them. Oh, this is so tough.

C (69:59)

Some of our other ones are like realistic graphics.

D (70:02)

Or.

C (70:05)

Did it get reviewed?

B (70:06)

Well, that's not gonna get unstuck.

D (70:10)

I bet you reviewed this game.

C (70:11)

Oh, what about. Do you play as a human? We didn't do that one. Yeah, we've got the hat. Hat standby.

D (70:17)

What about if we've mentioned anything in the game or the series or anything adjacent to it? Although I'm sure we haven't. Do you play Ask Which.

B (70:28)

Whether we mentioned it.

D (70:29)

Have we mentioned this game?

A (70:31)

No. You've gotten nowhere close.

C (70:33)

Oh, wow.

B (70:35)

What is this?

D (70:37)

I think we got stuck. We didn't veer hard enough right when we found out it wasn't fantasy. Because, like, I'm only just picturing fantasy games.

B (70:44)

I'm not, but. But I'm like, I don't know what other studios are there that are not no longer there? Tecmo is still there.

C (70:51)

Oh, what about Clover? Is that what it's called?

B (70:56)

And we didn't mention Okami, though.

C (70:57)

That's Capcom, though.

D (70:59)

Yeah.

B (70:59)

And they did View. Yeah, they had Beautiful Joe and stuff. That's not an rpg.

D (71:03)

What about, like. What about, like, Mad. Mad World?

B (71:07)

Oh, my God. That's. That's Platinum. They were Platinum games.

C (71:10)

What Damon was saying is that it could be like Ubisoft published it. So none of this really matters because we're not. We're thinking about devs.

B (71:17)

Well, who published Mad World? It was not. It was.

D (71:20)

I think Nintendo might have really.

B (71:22)

It was too gross, though. Yeah, it was very violent.

D (71:25)

But, like, I'm thinking about other Platinum game stuff from that.

B (71:28)

Oh, yeah. What's with the little hero guys? What's the wonderful one?

D (71:32)

Almighty 101. One Wonderful 101.

B (71:34)

101. Wonderful 101. Is that an RPG, though?

C (71:38)

Was that a Wii U game?

D (71:40)

That's a. That is. It's funny that that's a different little game with lots of little guys running around. Yeah, I like games with lots of little guys running.

A (71:46)

Yeah, that's a great genre.

D (71:47)

Yep.

B (71:48)

Yeah. Let's just ask. Was it made by Platinum Games?

A (71:52)

No. All right, so you're out.

D (71:55)

I also like games where you're a little guy running around. That's my favorite kind of.

B (71:58)

Yeah, that's a good genre.

A (71:59)

All right, should I reveal?

D (72:00)

Yeah.

A (72:00)

This game. This was released for the Wii in 2009. It was ported to the PlayStation Vita in 2013. Those are the only two platforms it was a release for. It's an action RPG made by Vanillaware, Vanillaware and published by Ignition.

D (72:17)

It's not Odin.

B (72:17)

Sphere Ignition Entertainment.

A (72:19)

It's not Odin Sphere.

D (72:20)

It's the other one.

B (72:21)

The one with the giant knockers.

D (72:23)

No, that one was Dragon.

A (72:24)

Not that one.

D (72:25)

Dragon's Crown.

B (72:26)

But that's vanilla wear. Right.

A (72:29)

This one's Muramasa. The Demon Blade.

B (72:31)

Oh my God. Okay. Yeah. I wouldn't have guessed this, but it's.

A (72:36)

From that time that you would have been on. Week in Review and Mark Bozan reviewed this for us.

B (72:39)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

A (72:40)

I think he gave it a nine.

B (72:41)

Yeah. And, and, and I, I was looking forward to this game because of the art style and stuff. And then I don't think I ever played it. That's why it. It's not in my brain.

A (72:52)

Yeah.

B (72:53)

Did you guys ever play this?

A (72:54)

I don't think you could have gotten the same.

B (72:55)

Damon is like. I've. Yeah.

C (72:58)

I was about to ask about the Odin Sphere developer, but then I thought that was Atlas for some reason. Our publisher.

B (73:03)

Wow. I wouldn't have. I really wouldn't have guessed this like in a hundred tries.

D (73:07)

Look at how gorgeous this is.

B (73:08)

Yeah, it's really cool.

A (73:09)

They should port this like bring this to Switch. It's trapped on the Wii and the Vita too.

D (73:14)

Yeah.

B (73:15)

All of these old games are coming back eventually. Everything finally.

C (73:19)

What was it called? Project Cross Zone. Yeah, it was like a multi character RPG.

D (73:24)

Oh, that was like a map on the 3DS. Right.

A (73:27)

That was a Capcom like turn based. Turn based tragedy game. Right.

D (73:29)

I want to. I've wanted to do a feature. I've talked about it on Scoop before. Like the best games that are trapped on old consoles that never got ported.

A (73:36)

That is good. I think in particular you could do one that's just Wiiware games.

D (73:40)

Yep.

A (73:41)

Like good. We were games that have never been taken anywhere else.

D (73:43)

World of Goo launched as a WiiWare game.

A (73:45)

Yeah, it's true.

D (73:46)

Before it came to anything else, there's.

B (73:47)

Some pretty high profile games that are stuck on old consoles. I mentioned Diddy Kong Racing. How crazy is that? That that has not been seen since. So nuts.

A (73:56)

Also, I believe SEGA published Mad World.

B (74:01)

Sega picked it up. That's right.

C (74:03)

What a weird time.

B (74:04)

Yeah.

A (74:05)

Muramasa the Demon Blade. Nicely attempt. Thank you for the suggestion, Michael in San Bruno, California. Viewers, listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions, email them to me at the email address. Gamescoop. Before I let you go, put on your suit and tie and charge up your Mega Buster. Because Phoenix Wright and Mega man have joined forces for Humble's latest games bundle. Act out the exciting courtroom drama at the heart of Ace Attorney Compilations, the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy. Try out all the best Mega man games with Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Volume 1. A Wealth of great games are at your fingertips for the price of your choice and all purchases support Breakthrough T1D. It's a $254 value. This bundle is available now through September 23rd over at Humble and that's going to do it for this edition of no that's How I End Next Gen Console Watch. That's all the scoops we have for you this week is how this one ends. Thank you Sam. Thank you Pear, and thank you Justin. Thank you to Tayo working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. My name is Damon, this is IGN gamescoop and we're out. This episode of gamescoop was produced by myself, Damon Hatfield and Tayo Oyekin. Technical direction was handled by Tayo Oyekin. Technical production is by Marianne Franzen and Amir Raqib. Audio engineering is by Amir Raqib and post production editing is by me, Damon Hatfield. Graphic design is by Nicole Kag. Game Scoop is an IGN Production and part of the Geek Media Network. Muramasa Muramasa the Demon Blade yeah, I.

B (76:08)

Think we asked good questions though though. Yeah, I thought it was a good process. Like who would have ever guessed that.

C (76:15)

Has no legacy because it never had sequels. The company's gone and nobody ever publisher.

A (76:20)

But Vanilla Wear is still very much.

B (76:21)

Around but nobody would ask was it published by Ignition?

D (76:25)

No company you know is that not a fantasy game?

A (76:31)

It's like ain't like Japanese mythology, not Tolkien.

D (76:35)

It doesn't have elves and no, it has Tengu.

B (76:38)

Yeah, yeah.

C (76:39)

Ignition U.S. publisher.

A (76:41)

What's up?

C (76:42)

Was Ignition a U.S. publisher?

A (76:44)

Or maybe even European? I don't. I'd have to look it up. Next Gen Console Watch is the IGN show discussing the latest gaming hardware. Whether it's the PS5 Pro, Nintendo Switch 2 or something new from Xbox, it's all a fair game on Next Gen Console Watch, hosted by me, Damon Hatfield, a 20 year IGN veteran. I'm joined by my co host Ryan McCaffrey, host of Unlocked IGN's Xbox podcast, and Max Scoville, host of IGN's PlayStation podcast Beyond. I'll try to keep those console war discussions civil, but no promises. Listen to Next Gen Console Watch on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Friday. Next Gen Console Watch is produced by IGN and is part of the Geek Media Podcast Network.

C (77:29)

For thousands of years, or at least since the 90s, PlayStation has been pushing the boundaries of the video game medium and for almost that long, beyond has been there, offering color commentary from the sidelines. Each week, join a panel of passionate PlayStation experts and enthusiasts, including Brian Altano, Jada Griffin, and your host, me Max Scoville. We unpack the latest gaming news, gush about what we're playing, chat with developers and voice actors, and explore the ever growing world of PlayStation and beyond. Catch a new episode every Wednesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Beyond is produced by IGN and part of the Geek Media Podcast Network.