A (2:40)

Sam Claiborne is here.

C (2:41)

Hey everybody.

A (2:42)

And Justin Davis.

D (2:43)

Scoop.

A (2:44)

And we got a great show for you this week. We will continue our Game of the Century discussion with the most recent games and we have to discuss what we've been playing, which will include but is not limited to Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection and Ball Pit. But first, let's check in with the listeners.

D (3:00)

Hey listeners.

A (3:00)

Hey listeners, listeners. Remember, you can always reach us at the email address game scoopgn.com just just like Charlie Gadson in San Diego did. Uh, Charlie says, can there can there be only one Final Fantasy game on the Game of the Century list? During the Xbox One and PS4 submission submissions, no one mentioned Final Fantasy 14. I get it. It isn't a game the Scoop panel has much, if any, experience with. However, it cannot be overstated how insanely good and popular the game is. If you love any Final Fantasy game, you'll find something here. For you. As someone who also thinks Final Fantasy 6 is the best in the series, 14 gives it a run for its money, this is probably the hardest email to write because I am tempted to go on and on about how it's not only the world's best MMO but also boasts one of the most robust, thoughtful, profound and character rich stories in any video game. A story that isn't necessarily there for the spectacle of which there's plenty, but rather exists to discuss real and often uncomfortable feelings with swathes of long redemption arcs which always feel earned. That is all. And let's make sure to put Astrobot on next week's list. Thank you. So, yeah, Charlie Ganson. I have never played Final Fantasy 14 or any other MMO, but maybe Nick.

B (4:07)

Or Justin I can, I can corroborate. I do think that Final Fantasy 14 I've only played up through Shadowbringer so far, so I'm a little bit, you know, I put a pause on my subscription. Not because, you know, I don't like the game at all it's just one of those. I can only play so many Final Fantasy games back to back to back. And every single one of those games, like A Realm Reborn to Heaven's War to Stormblood, is its own standalone Final Fantasy game that works as a standalone Final Fantasy game with all of the baggage of everything that came before. But yeah, for the longest time I played pre 2.0 or the pre post game a Realm Reborn patch. Basically I had to play a lot of filler content to get to the good stuff in the base game of A Realm Reborn. And for the longest I was like, I don't think this is for me, this is kind of boring. But once you jump into the Magitech armor from Final Fantasy 6 and you know what the actual like who the bad guy is for the base game, that's when Final Fantasy 14 really shines. And I was locked in from there all the way through Stormblood. And yeah, I agree, it is certainly one of the best modern traditional Final Fantasy games. Despite being a mmo, you don't really have to engage that much with the MMO stuff if you don't want to. The game does a really good job of making it feel like a solo soloable experience. And yeah, fantastic music from Soken. You see why people like Mr. Yoshida. And yeah, fantastic game. And it takes the coolest part of Final Fantasy of the job system and makes it very fun and flexible, which I really appreciate.

C (5:48)

Is Sid in it or not?

B (5:49)

Yeah, Sid is in it. He is indeed in it. 10 out of 10 and spoilers. He pilots an airship.

D (5:57)

I know you'll be all surprised to hear that I've played a decent amount of FF14 and so, you know, whatever. I don't need to yuck anybody's yum. But I did talk about World of Warcraft on Game of the Century Watch. And that is my personal MMO of choice, at least insofar as we're talking about Game of the Century. But Yeah, I mean FF14 is a good time. I mean I play these games usually solo or very light grouping and I'm usually playing them to play through the zones and story content. Content. So pretty casually, right? Like I'll subscribe for three or six months, see everything new and then, you know, and then I'll come back in two or three years and I play through several MMOs that way actually. And I do give FF14 a huge amount of credit. Nick, you touched on this a second ago that the job system is just so brilliant because you don't really need to roll alts where you can just change your job and like, I feel like healing for a week and now I'm going to change my job and I feel like doing damage. Now I'm going to change my job and I feel like tanking for a while and like that freedom and flexibility to just sort of build your character how you want and, you know, sort of do everything all in one instead of like, you know, wow is my MMO of choice. But in that game, to accomplish, you know, sort of a similar, you know, pace of gameplay is like, you just have to be rolling alts all the time and be maintaining a million different characters. And that. That kind of MMO game design feels a little bit outdated. And so that's. That's my personal favorite thing about FF14. It also has just a really fantastic sense of exploration. The world is really cool, really interesting. That's always my favorite part of every mmo. And FFXIV does it extremely well.

B (7:33)

Yeah. And I think, like, for people who are Final Fantasy freaks like myself, it is like the perfect, like, oh, I recognize that thing. Smile, like there's an area spoilers in. I think it's Heavensward. I forget where you go to Matoya's Cave and the song plays and it's like, that rules. So just seeing all that stuff that's in there, it's just so nice and it's so classy. It doesn't feel cheap and it's just really cool. And also, they understand the class system in a way. It was like they know what you want to play in a Final Fantasy game. Do you want to run Squall's Gunblade?

A (8:08)

Great.

B (8:08)

There's a whole class designed around using a gun that is also a sword. That's awesome. So they know what the kids like.

A (8:15)

Well, I'm not an MMO guy, but I have to admit it looks very cool just from all the footage we're seeing here and what I'm hearing. Okay, so as we move into PS5 and Xbox series X, what I. The first thing I notice is it's kind of slim pickings. I think for the current generation.

B (8:33)

It's a little bit of a bummer.

E (8:35)

Yeah.

A (8:35)

Thinking about games that would. Could stand up to games from previous generations. And we've talked a lot about how there's been sort of overall disappointment in this generation. Right.

C (8:45)

But. But leaving out, leaving Switch for the last conversation is part of that. Right. That's for every, you know, a third of the games that have come out that have been wonderful have been on Switch and we address already.

D (8:56)

There's absolutely incredible games on the series X and PS5, but like, you know, as good as Half Life 2.

C (9:02)

Like.

A (9:03)

No. Yeah, it's crazy. But I do agree with Charlie Gatson in San Diego. The Astrobot would go on there. Am I, am I alone in that?

B (9:13)

No, no, I have it on my, my, my short list of pickings.

A (9:17)

No, it's absolutely, it's the, it's the closest anyone has ever come to Nintendo quality 3D platforming. And it makes me wish Nintendo would make its own Astrobot. Just meaning, you know, a full 3D platformer that's also a celebration of Nintendo's past and heritage. And full.

C (9:35)

Yeah, that's the kid. I like that idea. It's like Nintendo reference a bunch of Nintendo stuff. Smash Brothers.

A (9:40)

Exactly. Take all the, the Nintendo history that's in Smash Brothers, put it in a big, you know, 3D Mario platformer.

D (9:47)

Yeah, that'd be, that'd be, that'd be rad.

A (9:49)

Yeah. All right, Nick, what's. What else would you nominate?

B (9:53)

Honestly, this one is one that I'm very surprised by because I was so against it at launch. Not that I was, I just didn't think it was very good at launch. But in 2023 they fixed their act together and it's Cyberpunk 2077 with its Phantom Liberty 2.0 update. They completely overhauled that game. That was borderline. It is unrecognizable from how it was at launch. I played that game at launch and very, very disappointed. I had waited since that, you know, that Bullets trailer teaser that they aired back in 2013 CD Projekt Red. And I was hyped for a decade and then met with kind of just response when I first played the game. But coming back into the game with its 2.0 launch that overhauled its RPG systems, that made the game feel like an actual RPG. The game overhauled its lighting system. So it on PC is just a technical like showcased. To this day, I still think it's one of the best looking games that's out on the market now. And Phantom Liberty, the expansion itself tells the story that I think I, I. The hard sci fi espionage and like, you know, political intrigue that I wished was in the base game because the base game feels very surface level in terms of how it treats cyberpunk from a subject matter. It uses it more as an aesthetic as opposed to having something to say. Whereas Phantom Liberty is all pure cyberpunk, high tech, low life. And how different Organizational bodies will take advantage of anything that they can in order to get a leg up in this proxy war. And this game just. It completely turned me around and I am now cannot wait to see what Orion the next cyberpunk game is going to be. Because Phantom Liberty is just so good.

A (11:39)

Yeah, no, I, I agree. I think I actually overlooked. I should have included this one on my shortlist. I haven't played, even played Phantom Liberty. I need to get to that at some point. But I loved even just the base game. I love the. I actually love the story. And that's saying a lot coming from someone who usually just. Just doesn't care about story and video games. But the story is great, the performances are great. I love the world. And yeah, this, this is totally worthy of mentioning. Sam, Justin would I agree with you.

C (12:06)

This is at the top of my list. Yeah, I actually loved it at launch. So like, yes, I know it had problems and I had this like borrowed a tank of a PC from work, played it. Everybody I know was playing it and it was like a community experience. It was also in the middle of the pandemic and it was really represented this like really difficult time to get work done around video games. And I loved it. I just was like, it's a really good feeling to have this wonderful game to play. Love Johnny Silverhand. I love the city. And I played Phantom Luna. I like that. I had no problems with the base game though. I thought it was really good. But more than anything else, I think this is like the model of quality. I mean, before I even get to that, all the E3 appearances of this game were so fun. And to me this connects us to a past that doesn't exist anymore. Of hyping a game so much that it can come out and still be a masterpiece and still be under it. Under what you under expectations. Right. Like this is just a really interesting time period. I miss that. I miss E3. I miss seeing this in a big freezing ass room with a bunch of people. Demonstrate it for a half an hour real quick.

A (13:17)

You're right. Because like this, you know, this is out in 2020. So this would have been shown at the last E3 in 2019. Last time we would go have a Behind Closed Doors demo. Like we're in a theater and they're doing a very like guided game.

B (13:28)

It was like a 45 minute demo.

A (13:29)

Yeah, yeah.

C (13:30)

It's just people in costume everywhere leading you through it. They had the inside out jackets they were handing it. Just everything was cool about it. But then just to conclude, I like how janky this game was when it came out for a couple other reasons. Like there was money exploits and there was funny stuff you could do and you could just get away with a lot. And it wasn't fulfilling all of its promises, but it also felt like this open world game that I want developers to make. I want them to make games that have this quality level that they're trying to attain and it's really impressive and they thought out everything and then it's still a playground. That's what I want. I want the playground to be there. Like, some games just get so rigid with like, listen, you're never going to fall through the environment in this game, but you're also going to have to run all the way around this mountain on our path to get to the top of it. Like, that's just, it's just not my thing, so. Love this game.

B (14:19)

Yeah, it is.

D (14:20)

I mean, there's so clearly, like playground is such a good way to put it of like, you know, you can double jump and get on the geometry in weird ways and you can end up on the top of these skyscrapers that you're not meant to go up on, but they all have collision detection and sometimes there's a chest up there. It's the same thing we were talking about with I think Donkey Kong some weeks back. So like they put cheeky coins in places just to say, yeah, we knew it was possible for you to get up here and like cyberpunk has some of that going on with it too. Loved it. It would be on my short list as well. I think I would chime in and sort of something that, that you all didn't touch on quite as much yet. Nikki, Brad, Apples. But just the diversity of like, gameplay builds and the opportunity for player expression of like, you know, what kind of like cyberpunk archetype. Do you want to be like, do you want to be going around and hacking your environment? And it's a little bit the equivalent of like the Skyrim. Like, are you a stealth archer, A sword and board warrior? But like, you know, there's, there's real, there's real differences in how you can approach these situations. And you know, I played the game, my character class was just swords. I was just swords everywhere all day, every day.

C (15:27)

Must be actually a really interesting way to play that game.

B (15:29)

A Street Samurai.

D (15:31)

I mean, I guess, I don't know. I just, it was just, I just, I kept it simple. Nick. It was just swords.

C (15:36)

I definitely did the hacker path, which like you barely. You do combat. It's like you do so much stuff to avoid combat. It's fun.

B (15:42)

I mean, that's what I do love about the game. And not to go on for more on this game, which has been talked to death at this point, but I do really love that all of its RPG systems, whether you're cognizant of it, not force you to role play within the very distinct vision of cyberpunk that creator of the world Mike Pondsmith had for cyberpunk in general. And I just think that it doesn't hit you over the head with it. You just suddenly become a street samurai, you become a solo and you start to learn about like, oh, who is this guy? Johnny Silverhand? He has a past, obviously. But then you start to. The game really encourages you to do your own research in terms of learning more about its world and setting in a way that not a lot of games do, because a lot of games are like, we came up with this incredible world, we're going to shove down your throat and tell you everything you need to know about it. The game's just like, it's there if you want to read up about it, but otherwise, just enjoy the game. And also, it is wild that I'm looking at right now in the podcast. I'm looking at footage of the game on a tiny little monitor in a pip with all of us that you guys are seeing now. And every time I look at the game, I just cannot believe that this game looks the way it does still to this day in 2025, where we have seen very visually impressive games, but just the sheer density and the verticality of it, it is just stunning to look at.

A (17:06)

Almost like it shouldn't ever have come to PS4 and Xbox One.

B (17:10)

But dude, I just, I'm hoping, you know, you fooled me once, shame, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But this is what has me excited for Orion, because I think that they've learned a lot of lessons with this first game in terms of how you do your leveling, progression, how you do your quest stuff. The street cred stuff doesn't quite work, but I do see this being a alpha of something that's going to be even greater.

A (17:35)

Yeah, and this game runs pretty okay on Switch 2.

B (17:39)

It runs great on Switch 2.

A (17:41)

It's crazy.

B (17:41)

It's wild.

A (17:43)

If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees. No bs. Here's why you should say yes to making the switch and getting Premium Wireless for 15 bucks a month. Isn't that right Seth? I don't know about you, but my local cell phone provider always has signs.

C (18:03)

Out in front that says get 45.

A (18:06)

New phones for $1 when you sign.

B (18:08)

Up with eight new lines for free.

D (18:11)

And then you go in there and.

A (18:12)

They'Re like yeah, here's your dollar. And then there's also this delivery fee and then there's state taxes and then it comes out to being exactly how much you were paying before and then even more because they tacked on another one for like the phone. But that is not going to happen with Mint Mobile. 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 I'd be looking into Mint Mobile. So ready to say yes to saying no? Make the switch@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 30 gigabytes on unlimited plan taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. I like to eat healthy and I really like the idea of starting my day by getting a bunch of healthy nutrients into my body first thing. That's why I started recently drinking an AG1 health drink first thing in the morning. AG1 is a mo, multivitamin probiotics and a superfood all wrapped up in a tasty drink that becomes your morning ritual. It's clinically shown to support gut health and fill in common nutrient gaps. With five probiotic strains and more than 75 vitamins and minerals, it feels much more substantial than the multivitamin I used to take. It's super easy to mix up a glass of AG1 along with my morning coffee and I can confirm it tastes way better than the other green juices I've tried. The regular flavor is slightly sweet with notes of vanilla, and AG1 also comes in citrus, berry and tropical flavors. AG1 has fit well into my morning routine and if you're health conscious, I think it will do the same for you. Head to drink ag1.com Gamescoop to get a free welcome kit with an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3 plus K2 when you first subscribe. That's drink ag1.com GamescoOP all right. Cyberpunk is a great mention. Justin, you said you only had one game to nominate this week. Is that right?

D (20:05)

Yeah. Mine has got to be Baldur's Gate 3.

B (20:09)

Thank goodness.

A (20:09)

That's a big one.

D (20:11)

Absolutely incredible. It's a little bit of a hard game to talk about because it's like talking about what makes a book so incredible if someone else hasn't read the book. Right. It just. It's one of those experiences that you finish it and you're just, like, so deeply grateful that you experienced it. But you're also. It's like 85 or 100 hours long. So it's like you're also just kind of like, hollow. And then it's like you're closing the book on these characters that, like, you know, I'm gonna carry it with me like the rest of my life for sure. Right. And I did. I started replaying it and then got pulled onto some other stuff and, like, hearing the music again, it was like, it's absolutely going to be one of those, like, every five years I'm going to go back and go through this again. And the part that maybe is a little bit more accessible or you don't need to have experienced it to understand what makes it so great is just on a systems and gameplay level. Like, Damon, I know you haven't played it, but I know you like divinity.

A (21:09)

Oh, no, I have played it.

D (21:11)

Oh, you did play it, and I loved it. Okay. But just the reactivity of the world and, like, you know, it's. It's actually a little bit like cyberpunk in that way of, like, they just trust. Like, it's systems driven. Right. It's a little bit like Zelda of, like, you know, this can catch on fire. You know, this can be greased up. Like, this can happen this way. And the game just trusts you. It's not like, here's how you have to solve this combat encounter. And it's also not even like, well, here's the four or five ways we think you might want to solve this combat encounter is it just gives you the playground and then whatever tools you want, like, you know, charm the enemy, like, build. I watched this YouTuber called Proxy Gate tactician that just beats the game in crazier and crazier and crazier ways. And it usually revolves around him building a giant tower of crates and then just dropping stuff onto the enemies and, like, killing them in the game just allows it. It lets you play that way. And so, like, from a. From an RPG system standpoint, there's never been anything like it. And the fact that they pulled that off and pulled off, you know, if someone wanted to make an argument that this was the greatest story told in an.

C (22:18)

Ever.

D (22:19)

Ever told in a video game, like, it's definitely up there. And the fact that both are there and both work and are executed to such a high degree is incredible.

B (22:28)

I'm snapping if you might not be able to hear because of the noise gate, but I'm snapping.

A (22:32)

I mean, maybe the best, you know, Western RPG video game ever made. Maybe.

D (22:38)

Yeah. I mean, it's almost like. My one criticism is it's almost. It's almost too big of, like, by the time you get to the city of Baldur's Gate, just mentally, you're kind of like. You're getting into, like, borderline wrap it up mode and you have, like, half the game. Like, it's unbelievable how much there still is. You're just like, what? Like, there's this whole giant city and hundreds more side quests and all this. More stuff to do. Like, so. So from a pacing standpoint, that's really the only thing of, like, the. You know, they almost gave us too much.

B (23:09)

I'm sorry, you gave me. I'm sorry they gave you too much video game. Justin. No. Yeah, I think I was 40 hours when I hit Act 2. I was like, oh, my God. But, yeah, I mean, I couldn't have said it any better. The only thing I'll add to this is for the longest time, I being, you know, the Final Fantasy nerd that I am, I always wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons tabletop. I just never really had a group of friends who I could convince to do this. And for the first time, you know, whatever I could muster with a group of friends locally, it would always be, you know, your level one dungeon adventure, where it's like, oh, man, we're fighting rats and stuff like that. But the thing that I really love about this is the game opens at, like, what I would consider the end game for a Dungeons and Dragons tabletop, where you're aboard a Mind Flayer ship, you're traveling through different dimensions, and that's just the opening, like, 30 seconds of the game. And it's just. It immediately in medias res is transporting you to what you think is, like, one day, I want to play Dungeons and Dragons and get to experience the heights of the game. And this game just facilitates that, and it gives you a dungeon master who is Competent, knows what they're doing, and happen to be a damn good writer too.

A (24:20)

Well said. Sam, have we convinced you to check out Baldur's Gate 3?

C (24:26)

Yeah, I mean, I just need the 120 hours.

A (24:28)

Yeah.

C (24:29)

Looks great.

B (24:31)

You like breaking games?

C (24:33)

I know everything about. It's great. It looks wonderful. I can't wait to play it. Are we including Switch 2 games on this list?

A (24:41)

Yes. Yes. There are no rules, Sam, because obviously.

C (24:46)

The Mario Odyssey killer Donkey Kong bonanza would be. No, there's no. We're all saying that three months ago. I just want to point out. I don't know. I don't know how that game changed.

B (24:58)

I never said Super Mario Odyssey was. Yeah, no.

A (25:02)

I still adore Don Kong. But it's a good game and we have data today that shows it's selling very well.

C (25:08)

It is selling very well. We'll get to that. What did you call it? The Great Ape. What'd you say?

A (25:12)

I think. I don't know.

D (25:15)

David blacks out when he opens the show.

C (25:18)

Some of the games have already been mentioned. I'm going to throw in a kind of. It's not really a curveball, but what I think is. Might be the best licensed game ever, besides Arkham, which I also brought in here. But I think Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a masterpiece. And for some unusual reasons. One is the license. One is the incredible, incredible voice acting and facial animations and everything that brought Indiana Jones to that game. And not a single moment is like, uncanny or weird. It's so good. And then I just like the style of a game like Uncharted. I thought that's all we'd be getting for the rest of our lives once Tomb Raider did it, right. And then they just stopped. Uncharted stopped. And so this is the one, this generation. And I think, you know, it's funny to have a feedback loop of like Uncharted and Tomb Raider drew from Indiana Jones, but there was never a good Indiana Jones this type of game. There's been good adventure games way back, and then like now this is like more like an Uncharted game. It's more like. But it's more like the later Tomb Raider games because as the open worlds, all that stuff just made it really interesting. And I think about it all the time. Like, it's just like a game. I'm just like, oh, man, I just love that Egypt level, right? I just. It's so amazing and it's just crystal clear graphics and such good. Such good mixes of levels. Like there's These sequences that are completely linear, uncharted levels and there's completely open world levels, and they all feel great. Everything feels great. I think it's the height of the Series X and I'm not going to bring in Halo Infinite because I love that game and I think it's really great. But I think about what made the Series X, what it was. It's kind of those two games for me and Forza.

D (27:03)

Yeah, it's a great game. The relief that I felt, and I'm not going to spoil exactly what happened, but you open the game and you're playing a really iconic moment from the movies, right. And it's executed so well. That like that feeling of like, oh my God, they nailed it. Because you didn't know, like, before the game comes out, before any game comes out, you're like, oh, boy, I don't know, like, did they pull it off? And like, it's such a statement. That opening. I don't know how long it lasts. 30 minutes maybe. Like that as a statement piece was like. Was just fantastic. And then obviously the rest of the game delivered on that promise.

C (27:37)

And shout out to the Wolfenstein games too. I mean, those are really cool games. And maybe like a future Wolfenstein game will be one of the best games ever made. I mean, the beginning of the last game was incredible.

D (27:46)

Yeah.

A (27:47)

But, yeah, I loved this game, although I never. I think I stopped at like the push to like the last area.

D (27:55)

Yeah.

A (27:56)

Like to get back to that at some point. But let's also just like show it kind of opens the door. Like they got to do. They could take other, like, sort of dormant franchises because nobody cared about Dial of Destiny. Right. And make them turn them into a video game and get just sound alike voice actors to just recreate these characters. Right. Like, they get like, do it with the Matrix.

B (28:15)

The secret to Matrix, the secret to success is just create an immersive sim. They're not making any more deus exes or dishonored. So take a license that's dormant, make it an immersive sim, call it a day. I'm all for it.

C (28:29)

And then it's all. It's just, just purely out of 20 questions importance. Your character wears a hat.

B (28:36)

Yes.

C (28:36)

Just definitively, definitively. Y', all, y'.

D (28:39)

All.

C (28:39)

It's also. The Nazis are the antagonists in this. And sometimes Indiana Jones is just like killing people wantonly, like Nathan Drake is. It's good to get back to the Nazis.

A (28:48)

Yep. Well, it's because they. They tried getting away in Temple Of Doom. Right?

B (28:54)

Yeah.

A (28:54)

Ever since then it's like, no, they have. The bad guys have to be Nazis.

D (28:57)

And also that giant priest, though there is that guy. Yeah. Or whatever he is. That.

A (29:03)

Yeah. Okay. Well, the next game I nominate, I don't think will be a surprise to anyone. It would be Elden Ring.

B (29:11)

Nice. Also on my list.

A (29:14)

What is. I mean, what is there, what, what is there to say about Elden Ring that hasn't already been said? One of the best open worlds, if not the best open world to explore in video games. Breath of the Wild, Tears of the kingdom might have a claim to make there. But man, like thinking about like, like when I just. When I think back of my time playing through that game, going through plains, forests, swamps, mountains, scorched earth, and then diving into caves and mines, digging down into the earth and then going into dungeons and castles with all the verticality, like, it just feels. It's an epic memory in my mind, like the journey that I went on in that game.

B (29:49)

It is.

A (29:50)

And like you can play the game on its own terms, like with Dark Souls hard Dark Souls combat, and now like lore strewn about everywhere. But you can also just like we talk about breaking games, there's ways to break it in ways that the developers might not have intended. But then there's also just ways you can just go Rune Farm, just go Rune Farm for a while until you're op enough and you can just bulldoze your way past this boss. Or maybe there's a new item, a weapon or a piece of armor that you don't have yet that you think will give you a leg up. Getting that item will send you on a whole sort of mini adventure that takes you to multiple locations and then you end up coming back to where you wanted to get to in the first place. And I don't know, it's just no game has ever felt this epic and as open to me. Although, you know, you guys also make good points about Baldur's Gate 3.

B (30:38)

I mean, it's wild to talk about Elden Ring because of how ubiquitous it's become just in terms of the general gaming public and even the non gaming public know what Elden Ring is. Which is wild coming from the people who, you know, we're considered a B tier publisher publishing quote unquote budget games like Eternal Ring or Evergrace or whatever. And it's just like, how did they go from making that to this stuff, you know, stuff that nobody wanted to review back when Demon souls and Dark Souls came out to this Is like, this is the most high profile game of quite possibly the decade, you know, and it's just only Elden Ring could have gotten fromsoft to that point. You know what I mean? Like a game of this scope and size and also accessibility that could bring them from obscure publisher and developer to something that is just now synonymous kind of with like, I would liken it to, you know, the heaviest of hitters in terms of developers, like up there with CD Projekt Red and whatnot.

A (31:41)

Yeah, it's like, it's the kind of game that when it's all over and done with, there's a little bit of sadness because who knows if we'll ever have a game like this again.

B (31:50)

Elden Ring 2 when multiplayer version. I do like Night Rain quite a bit. Night Rain rocks.

A (31:56)

Night Rain is not for me. It's not quite. Doesn't scratch the Elden Ring. It's for me.

C (32:01)

But yeah, remember the Switch 2 version? That's gonna come out sometime. Yeah.

A (32:04)

They got delayed.

C (32:05)

Yeah.

A (32:05)

Right.

B (32:06)

Resident Evil 4.

A (32:13)

Okay. Elden ring, anything else to nominate?

B (32:15)

Nick, I'm sorry to do this. I have to do it though, because I feel it in my soul. And I originally nominated the Original Resident Evil 4 for the GameCube version of this. And you throw the remake in there.

A (32:30)

Too, because you're both in there.

B (32:31)

I think Resident Evil 4 Remake has to be on this list. Ever since that episode, I've been thinking about RE4 Remake. So literally last night I loaded up RE4 Remake, played through the opening chapter, where the village is chasing you and the bell rings and where's everyone going? Bingo. And just like I put the controller down, I was like, this game's incredible, man. Like, this game is so good. How do they take a masterpiece and then just like one up themselves and like, yeah, we also made another masterpiece in remaking this original masterpiece. Everything about this game just feels good to play. It looks insane. It's just so fun. The guns are all so unique. There's so many different ways of playing this game. The replayability, the value of the mercenaries added on the separate ways DLC and just. Oh, it's so good. It's so good, Damon.

A (33:23)

It would be wild.

C (33:23)

How lucky are people to be able to play 2, 3, 4, like right in a row. And they're all just exquisite games.

B (33:29)

Truly, every time I see footage of this game, I'm like, I should play some more Resident Evil 4 remake right now. It's just so good.

A (33:39)

Yep. I love this. It would be wild to have both the original and the remake on the list. And both. Breath of the wild enters of the kingdom.

B (33:45)

Hey man, when you get it right, you get it right.

A (33:48)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a really good one. Sam, how about you?

C (33:52)

Another game?

A (33:53)

Yeah.

C (33:54)

Okay. This one's a little bit of a twist and I think about it all the time and I really, really enjoy it. And it's for some really specific reasons. So I'm going to throw Tunic out there. It's not because it's like a cute little Zelda game that's great. It's because of the manual and because of the way it thought out. What does paper and guides and packaging and what did those all add to the original experience of playing a game? And that's what we've lost this generation. That's what's gone. You get everything digital or you get a little package with piece of paper or you buy a really expensive edition. I think there's something about. And they did a really good job with this. Even though it's all digital. The tactile nature of figuring out this game through clues that are meta, that are outside the game is so smart. And just like, you can't copy this. Somebody else shouldn't do this. Tunic should just exist, you know. And then the core game of Tunic is fantastic. I mean all this, like the isometric parts of it are just really pretty. The challenge is really good. It kind of learned a little bit from the Soulslikes and there's space to not be an epic game, to be a great game. And this game achieves epicness through this like kind of back path of retro. And I just thought it was like worth mentioning a game like this because there's other ones. There's Shovel Knights and there's like Seamworld Dig. And like there's games that reference old games and they're out there. And they're also almost, you know, meta texts of those games. But this is the one and I think it's beautiful.

B (35:25)

Yeah, it took what I liked about fez. I love games that force you to learn like their language that it's speaking. And it's very much FEZ in that regard. But what I appreciate about this over something like FEZ is the more, you know, action oriented Zelda gameplay that is that's packaged around this kind of fully fleshed out world. And yeah, it just felt like I was transported back to being a kid and learning all the intricacies of a game and hearing playground secrets or stuff that you just felt like a genius for figuring out. Or, you know, realizing that there's a mechanic in the game that was there the entire time that you didn't even know about.

C (36:04)

In some respects, it is. Like, what did you nominate last time? What's the RPG game that.

B (36:12)

Undertale.

C (36:13)

Pixel Graphics. Undertale. Yeah. It has the level of weirdness and complexity that Undertale had because there's this, like, unnamed person that noted up this manual. And, like, the ending actually changes depending on, you know, how you end up playing the game. What you learn from the kind of, like, hints that you're getting. It has a lot of undertale to it. And so I think that's neat, too. Anyway, I just want to make space for these littler games because they can be wonderful.

A (36:41)

Well, then along those same lines, speaking of making space for these smaller games, I would. I would nominate Bellotra.

D (36:49)

I was going to say that.

A (36:50)

Yep.

D (36:52)

I was going to have it be like an honorable mention. What a great game.

A (36:55)

I'll let you take the blurb. Yeah, I think. I think it's.

D (36:56)

It's.

A (36:57)

I think it's perfect. A perfectly made game with no story, no lore, just a game. And it's absolutely perfect.

D (37:04)

I mean, the clarity of vision of, like, you know, I don't. I don't know how this game was made, but the fact that it kind of works in the insane sort of, like, you know, multipliers combined with the points that you earn and all the crazy jokers and then the order that you put them. Like. Like, as I'm playing it, I'm like, how does a game like this get designed and balanced? It's just. Just unbelievable to me.

A (37:28)

I mean, it comes. I feel like it's the type of game that can only come from one person. Like, it has to have that clear a vision. Like, it's an auteur work. Right?

D (37:37)

Yeah. That's actually a pretty good way to think about it. It's like there's no way a company or a collective could ever sort of align on, like. Yes, this is what this product should be.

C (37:46)

So I have an international flight coming up. Maybe that's where I can delve in. What's the platform to play it on?

A (37:53)

It's on everything. I mean, you can play on your iPhone.

C (37:56)

It is a good idea to maybe do it on a phone. If it's on a plane, then text.

A (37:59)

Would be small on a phone.

B (38:01)

I had no problems playing it on a Switch or a Steam Deck.

A (38:04)

Yeah, I play it on Steam Deck all the time.

C (38:06)

Yeah, I was thinking about bringing the deck anyway, so maybe we'll do that. Cool.

D (38:09)

Do we like, I had a couple honorable mentions. One was Balatro. I don't know how old it is, Damon, but I don't know. So if it's in this time frame. But Slay the Spire is pretty similar.

B (38:19)

I was also going to suggest Slay the Spire, the perfect game.

D (38:23)

Yeah, pretty much. Right. Like, every single game now that's released on Steam is a roguelike deck builder, thanks to Slay the Spire, all of them. I mean, I don't make the rules. I mean, I don't. Like, again, I don't really want to do a full blurb, but just like the prototypical, you know, roguelike deck builder that just. It's one of those games that did it perfect first time out and has not actually been surpassed yet. Like, you know, I really like Monster Train, but, like, Slay the Spire is still the best at all of them. You know, there's dozens and dozens of them.

C (38:52)

Agreed.

D (38:53)

I feel that same way about Vampire Survivors, and I've played a lot of those kind of survivor likes, and a lot of them are very good, but the original is still the best to ever do it. So that's. That's my other kind of, like, you know, honorable mention.

A (39:09)

Although, Justin, I believe you're still yet to play Monster Train 2. Is that right?

D (39:13)

That's true. Yep.

C (39:15)

Yeah.

A (39:15)

I know that Slay the Spire is the.

C (39:17)

Is the.

A (39:18)

The community favorite, the gamer's favorite, but I personally think Monster Train 2 surpasses it. Oh, there's still Slayer Spire 2 coming.

B (39:27)

I know.

A (39:28)

I thought it was supposed to come out this year, but, yeah, delayed to.

D (39:31)

Next year, I went down. I felt like a dummy because I played. I mean, I don't know how many hours of Slay the Spire I played. Dozens and dozens. And then I watched. I saw a YouTube thumbnail that was like, Slay the spire. Lore explained. And it was like a door in my brain opened where it had never even crossed my mind that I'm like, oh, yeah, you are in Aspire and you are fighting guys. I'm like. And then you talk to this weird whale at the start of every run. And then it's like the YouTube video, like, you know, lays out, like, there's all these, like, lore hints and secrets and, like, who are you actually killing and why are you killing them? It's like, it just never. It never crossed my mind of, like, who are you and why are you in this spire? And like, and then it was. It's in preparation of the sequel, which is supposedly like, slightly more story forward. And so, you know, I'm excited to.

C (40:20)

Dig into that the Spire Strikes Back.

A (40:24)

Like, I play all these games on my Steam deck, and I have my. I have my game sorted by, like, recently played. And so I can see, I just bounce between Monster Train 2, Balatro, Slay the Spire, Ball Pit. It's just bouncing, this rogue. Just going through all these roguelike games. They're the best games. Roguelike? Rogue. Roguelikes are the best.

C (40:42)

Genre.

A (40:44)

11 out of 10. Genre, Sam.

C (40:46)

Wait, did we get Spelunky on our list way back?

A (40:49)

I think I failed to mention it. Although I would. Absolutely.

C (40:53)

One or two. I can't remember which one you settle on now.

A (40:55)

I prefer the first one, I think. Okay.

B (40:57)

I'd also throw Binding of Isaac on there, but that's just me.

A (41:01)

Yeah, I mean, it's not just you. It's a very, very popular. And, Sam, I know recency bias is a real thing. Would you nominate Ghost of Yote?

C (41:21)

I mean, I. I would be more inclined to nominate Assassin's Creed because we haven't really talked about the modern Assassin's Creed suites. Although I think that the, you know, the.

D (41:31)

The.

C (41:32)

There's. There's the others, right? There's Odyssey and Mirage and everything. So that's really tough. I think Shadows is the best, and I really like Assassin's Creed games, so, yeah, it's tough, I think. I don't know. My favorite Assassin's Cream might be four. Still.

A (41:46)

I just haven't played it in so.

C (41:47)

Long, you know, those pirates battles were so fun.

D (41:51)

Persistent rumors about, you know, a remake of four that, you know, I don't know. We'll see.

B (41:56)

Seems like they're changing a lot of stuff based on a lot of the rumors for that AC4 remake. But I'm a AC2 Brotherhood girly myself.

D (42:04)

Yeah, me too.

C (42:05)

I like Brotherhood. The American one?

D (42:07)

No, the AC2 Brotherhood's the one in Rome.

C (42:11)

The American one.

D (42:12)

Brotherhood's Rome. Right. Or is that the other AC?

A (42:15)

It's Rome, yeah. Because you.

B (42:17)

AC2 ends in Rome, if I'm not mistaken, where you kill the Pope.

A (42:23)

You're getting to a fist fight with the Pope.

B (42:25)

Correct.

C (42:27)

They haven't remade any of those really old ones. Right. Good remakes, because those ones are neat. Because it's like, really. It's almost like we should mention the Hitman trilogy. Hitman ended up being one single giant.

B (42:38)

The World of Assassination.

C (42:40)

Yep. Yeah, it's, like, kind of amazing. You know, that's, like, a pretty landmark game. But, yeah, I think Those Assassin's Creed games are cool like that because it's just like the Assassins all. All what it's about. And there's like the checklist like getting at perfect. Love that stuff.

D (42:52)

I really didn't.

B (42:53)

They.

D (42:54)

They announced some Assassin's Creed Infinity thing that was going to be some portal where you could play and launch all the Assassin's Creed games or something like that.

A (43:01)

Yes.

D (43:01)

I think they announced that like six years ago. And I don't think it ever like come out.

B (43:05)

That's the wrapper of Shadows.

A (43:07)

So when you open up Shadows, you can launch any of the other.

C (43:10)

That is like Hitman.

B (43:12)

Yes.

D (43:12)

Yeah, yeah.

B (43:13)

They're trying to make it an all in one. If you have like the most recent Assassin's Creed game installed, you should be able to play it from that little rapper that they have, if I'm not mistaken.

A (43:23)

So I think it did come out. They just didn't make a big fanfare and they didn't call it Infinity or anything.

B (43:28)

We'll see what it's like when Assassin's Creed Hex comes out.

A (43:30)

Yeah, that's. Which one. Which I like the idea of the Salem witch trial.

B (43:34)

Assassin's Creed seems fun.

A (43:36)

I like that a lot.

C (43:37)

Yep. I mean they. If they really do dip into fantasy, that's where you're gonna get a change. Enough in the series to be interesting. Big monster battles and stuff like that. I think their combat system. Oh and I know people hate hearing this. I think the concept system is better than a souls combat system. I just think it's like more. It's just. It's just more accessible and I think that's a good thing.

A (44:02)

Is this AC2? This is a trailer for AC2.

C (44:04)

It looks so good.

A (44:06)

This would be like 2007 good looking trailers. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

D (44:11)

Ubiso Drew the AC trailers are always such big E3 events every year. And like just the baller. Like they were always so timed well to like music. It was just like the cinematics team at Ubisoft just flexing.

B (44:25)

Oh yeah. This is the Brotherhood trailer I believe because he just called in his. His brotherhood to kill all those dudes.

C (44:31)

Well, and then. Is that the game that really had. Oh no. The Eagles were always in the towers. They took that out. In the Assassin's Creed Japan game, you couldn't use a. Yeah.

D (44:40)

The Eagle Vision mark up all the enemies.

A (44:45)

A Prologue is a first person psychological horror game with a heavy emphasis on stealth and puzzle solving. As the title suggests, it's the prologue for the larger, ambitious Ayer horror franchise setting up the deep narrative and mysteries set in 1986 aboard an abandoned ship lost deep within the Bermuda Triangle. You play as Emily, a teenage girl searching for her missing father. Emilie is trapped in a terrifying time loop on the ship and must survive 13 loops to reveal the truth of what happened to her father and the crew. The devs went with a child protagonist to amplify the tension. There is no combat. Survival hinges entirely on stealth and evasion. A relentless monster stalks Emilie, creating a deadly game of hide and seek. The creature is adaptive, so the smarter you get, the smarter it gets. You must find and use everyday items like walkie talkies and wind up alarm clocks to distract and outwit the monster. Uncover the broader mystery by searching rooms for journals and cassette tapes. Unveil the truth one loop at a time. A Prologue is available now on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store the.

E (45:43)

Holidays are approaching and everyone knows that this time of year, the sooner you can get things done, the better for both shoppers and businesses. The best time to score great deals during the holidays is during that Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend. And if you have your own business, whether you've been around the block a few times or this is your first year going through the holiday sale rush, the most important thing you can have is a platform that can handle everything that's about to be thrown at you. This is a crucial time for your business and your customers, and with Shopify, you can be sure that your tools and platform are ready for anything that comes your way. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names to entrepreneurs who will be participating in their first Black Friday Cyber Monday this year. With everything else going on, you probably don't have time to spend hours poring over every little detail in your online store. That's why Shopify's thousands of templates and tools help you streamline website creation and make sure that your site isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but functional and easy to use. Shopify's expedited checkout shop pay saves customer information and reduces hassle. And the best part is that it's been proven to boost conversions, meaning you'll see less abandoned carts and more profits. You can also stress less knowing that Shopify's award winning customer support team is on standby 247 to help with any issues that arise, allowing you to get back to your business as fast as possible this Black Friday join the thousands of new entrepreneurs hearing for the first time with Shopify. Sign up for your free trial today@shopify.com realm. That's shopify.com realm. Go to shopify.com realm and make this Black Friday one to remember.

A (47:31)

Okay. Lots of good games to consider. Let's move on to some news of the week. Nintendo raised its hardware forecast as Switch 2 sales hit 10.36 million.

C (47:40)

Crazy.

B (47:41)

Seems pretty good.

A (47:42)

Yep. Doing pretty well for comparison. What the. The.

C (47:46)

The.

A (47:47)

In the same time period, the original switch sold 4.7 million. So wow. More. More than double the sales that the Switch one did. And then the PlayStation 5 in its launch window did 7.8 million. So outsold the PS5 launch. Bestselling fastest selling console of all time.

C (48:02)

So I wish we knew the demographics economy. I know, I know, I know. First of all, it's expensive, our kids buying it. We haven't even had the holiday season yet. I just, it all of those things add up to. I'm just super curious.

A (48:16)

Yep. We haven't had New Mario yet.

D (48:20)

They haven't increased the price of the console. And so I think, I mean I remember talking about this months ago. Like if you're, if you're considering ever buying a Nintendo Switch 2, like buy it now because A, it's not going to get any cheaper for years and years and years if it ever gets any cheaper. And B, just from a dollar cost averaging standpoint, like you'll just get more days with your Switch to at this you could pay $500 today or pay $500 or maybe more in two years. So you might as well just buy it if you have the money to buy it.

C (48:48)

Yeah.

D (48:49)

So I think, I think some people, maybe not in those exact terms, but this element of like if I have the disposable income, if I'm in the consideration set to buy this thing, I might as well just pull the trigger on it.

B (49:01)

Yeah, I know that there was a lot, you know, pre Switch 2 launch. There's a lot of, you know, people who were saying, oh it's just a Wii, Wii U situation all over again and blah, blah, blah, you know, calling it a Switch two is a mistake or whatever. And you know, I granted, I didn't think it'd be as successful as this ended up being, but hats off to them, man, they nailed it.

A (49:22)

I mean it's, it's almost twice as expensive as a Switch one.

C (49:28)

Nintendo and y' all bought it. Now everything's going to be expensive forever.

D (49:31)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

B (49:32)

It's our fault.

A (49:34)

Nintendo had previously forecast 15 million sold by the end of March 2026. Now they've raised that to 19 million. I think they're going to sell an extra 4.

D (49:41)

That's a huge. I mean that's a. They're a publicly traded company. Right. And so to raise, to raise their sales target like that is a big, like they're really feeling themselves basically. Like they, they know that they're. They're on a heater right now.

A (49:56)

Mario Kart World has sold almost 10 million copies. So almost everyone who's little. Just about everyone who like you had.

C (50:05)

To kind of get over the system.

D (50:06)

Right.

A (50:07)

But only 8 million of those were from the bundle. So over a million people bought a Switch 2 and then paid $80 for.

C (50:14)

Because I think a bunch of people just went ahead and pre ordered it. Right. Because nobody.

A (50:17)

Yeah, maybe.

B (50:18)

I do also think for a while people did seem to struggle to get the version of the, the, the console with the Switch. The, the game packaged in, if I'm not mistaken.

C (50:29)

Yeah. You know, I mean, unfortunately, like they really didn't let critics at this. And so a lot of people pre ordered Mario Kart without knowing that it wasn't the best Mario Kart ever made. Just being like, there's a new Switch system. If I'm going to get the Switch, I'm going to get Mario Kart. Because they're always the greatest games ever. And unfortunately this wasn't that. Right.

A (50:47)

Yeah.

D (50:49)

I don't know what normies think of Mario Kart World. Yeah, I'd be kind of curious to get a little bit more mainstream perspective on. Like they probably just don't care. Right? Like, yeah, I'm cartoon plenty to load time. I mean, it's not bad.

A (51:00)

It is not a bad game by any means.

D (51:03)

It's so good.

A (51:04)

It still feels really, really good.

B (51:06)

It's the go to like, hey, do you guys want to play a video game together? All right, let's play some Mario Kart. Sure like it. Not everyone's going to be, you know, us.

C (51:16)

What the real stat was that was surprising is that they sold 10 million cameras and everybody's using them on Earth.

A (51:25)

They did not. I don't think they shared any stats.

B (51:29)

I want to know how many people paid for the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom upgrade packs.

A (51:33)

Yeah, I don't know.

C (51:34)

Well, the stats, those are incredible.

D (51:36)

Yeah.

B (51:37)

Oh yeah. I just curious because I know I did.

C (51:42)

I wish they'd re released that as like the big giant box collector's edition with both in one. I'm such a sucker For Zelda, stuff like that.

B (51:48)

That'd be sick.

A (51:49)

That would be good.

D (51:50)

Did I read that it's the Animal Crossing upgrade? Five bucks.

C (51:52)

Bucks.

D (51:53)

Is that right?

C (51:53)

Yeah.

B (51:54)

Yeah.

D (51:54)

So I, I feel like Nintendo, I like their strategy of just throwing a dartboard at how much to charge for this stuff. It's like anywhere from 5 to $20 and it's just completely arbitrary.

A (52:04)

Yeah. Yeah. Well, the second best selling Switch to game is donkey Kong bonanza. Three and a half million sold. So one, one out of every three Switch 2 owners bought donkey Kong Bonanza. Man ham.

B (52:17)

Ooh, banana indeed.

A (52:18)

I mean we just thought, you know, we. I, I love this game. Still one of my favorites of the year. But we always talked about how it's, you know, it's not going to do anywhere near as well as a Mario 3D Mario would have, but it's doing pretty well. And it's, yeah, it's. Well, it's just going to keep selling from here. So.

D (52:31)

Yep.

C (52:32)

This might be proving that like I, and remember Nintendo kept on making Donkey Kong games. We don't always get a bunch of sales stats but like, yeah, you know, there, there kept on being remakes of those Donkey Kong games. I think there's something to it. I think they sell well in America.

D (52:45)

Yeah.

A (52:47)

So 10.36 million Switch 2 sold. It has now it's outsold the Dreamcast.

C (52:52)

IP and any day now, that's so sad.

A (52:56)

Any day now it will outsell the Wii U. Yep. Probably next quarter lifetime sales for sure. It's only a few like tens of thousands of units away, I think from damn outselling the Wii U.

B (53:07)

Give me Nintendo Land Nintendo, please.

A (53:10)

Nintendo Land Switch 2 Edition.

B (53:12)

Yes. Good game.

A (53:18)

Sam. Have they done it again? Has Digital Eclipse done it again with the Mortal Kombat legacy collection?

C (53:23)

You know they have. I will qualify. One thing. I haven't played a single game.

A (53:29)

Oh that's, that's the other thing. I haven't either. I've spent the last two or three evenings just watching the documentary.

B (53:34)

Oh really?

A (53:35)

This is awesome. This is so great. But I did read today that there's, I think there's some like online like matchmaking issues that gamers are having. There's some fresh with that. But if you just watch the documentary.

C (53:44)

Back in the day, I mean we all have our Mortal Kombat stories. I was in a Peter Piper pizza above a little skating area where all these big kids were skating and smoking cigarettes and went up there and then there was this Ultraviolet video game. Like I'm too young for all this stuff, it was overwhelming in Phoenix, Arizona. So that was really, really. Yeah. I love Mortal Kombat and I love just looking back at just the aesthetics of it and just, you know, every single thing. The dragon, the cabinets, and then of course, the motion captured, like, digitization of stuff. Like, it still looks awesome to me. Yeah, it's so interesting and crazy and bright and flashy. I just love it so much. And the transition from Mortal Kombat 1 to 2 is also really interesting. Anyway, documentaries are amazing. And I wanted to call out that the last documentary we were talking about, like, told one of the best stories of the year, which was Jordan McNair and his dad. Right. And just like they establish these great characters. There's a bunch of great characters in this documentary, but the one I want to call out is. Might be a little bit surprising. It's that later. So there's. There's like five or something timelines in this. It's not just one timeline. So after they go through the Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 and then talk about, you know, a little bit of the controversy, if they don't really go into that that much, there's not a ton of Joe Lieberman talking about video game violence. I thought it'd be focused on that. No, it's about developing the game and how it came to be in this kind of Atari, sorry, Midway pinball factory, which was, of course, I think that's really interesting. Anyway, the story, and the hero of the story ends up being the woman that plays Sonya. And she's in it so much. And she was like working for like, I think the Playboy Club in Chicago and acting stuff. And they got her to come over and do motion capture for two. And then she became like this. They did like a touring Mortal Kombat martial arts show. And she didn't have any training, but she learned it for that. And then she has like all these great stories. Everybody there, like, loves her. She became like part of the development community. And she just like. She's just so funny and interesting and she's just there with all these. These people that made that game. And her stories are great. It's just worth watching for, like, stuff like that. And you would not expect. Can you imagine what a touring. Like, it's like Mortal Kombat on ice. They talk about it a lot.

B (56:01)

Dude, that sounds sick.

A (56:02)

Yeah, it does.

C (56:03)

Yeah. Yeah, that's Steve Ritchie, by the way, that guy with the Super Saiyan.

B (56:08)

I got a question about this. Like, roughly how much documentary would you say Is available in this.

C (56:14)

Hours, Hours and hours.

B (56:16)

Really? Okay.

C (56:17)

Yeah.

B (56:17)

I'm gonna check this out today. This looks great.

A (56:19)

It's so good. So this is Digital Eclipse. They kind of kicked things off with Atari 50 a few years ago. Karateka 1 sang the praises of. They did the making of Karateka, which is also good. And then last year was Tetris Forever. I want to say all this stuff is great. They're just. They're interactive museums built around a game or a series that you watch. And they've created. They've done all these interviews, and then you have. They have this archival footage. In Mortal Kombat's case, you're watching them film the people, you know, doing all the poses and the moves that they ended up digitizing into the game. Also, Midway, the company was a Chicago company. So for me, I love Chicago. I lived there for five years after college. So it's just cool to see, you know, that time, early 90s Chicago, people making a video game. They talk about how in Midway at that time, they were trying to make as gory and bloody games as they could. And then they go show the executives at the company, and the executives are like, yeah, that's good. Yeah, yeah, do that.

C (57:13)

There was never internal pushback. They never stood even by three or whatever. Nobody ever said, you guys are doing something wrong here. They figured out solutions. They figured out the weird super Nintendo solution, for one thing. And then Nintendo changed that and said, okay, we sold so far fewer units that we're gonna just let you do this. You just have to put this is recommended for 17 and above on your cover. Like, they just. They just did whatever they wanted. And they also addressed, like. And this is like. You know, they mentioned this as being controversial. That more than the violent stuff. They're like, we just worked every waking hour and lived at the pinball factory to make these games. And they're like, we still run a company. And, like, we know how bad that sounds, and we know, but this is all we wanted to do. This was our life's project. This was our passion project. We loved it. We all liked each other so much, and we were all such good pals that, like, it didn't even occur to us that this was the wrong thing to be doing. That type of stuff. You get a window into how, you know, when people just obsess over this creative endeavor and they had to solve so many problems. Like, they were like, you know, digitization did not exist. It just didn't exist. They just learned it on the job and invented it and even by like the second game, they're like, yeah, this guy brought in this thing called Photoshop and we were just like, oh, this, this is going to help a lot.

D (58:31)

You know, I love the. The digitized actors. Like they went from looking incredible and amazing in the 90s. This is horseshoe. And then they look terrible for 20 years and now they look incredible again. Now like this art style changed so well and you're like, okay, this is radio.

C (58:48)

Yeah. And then I guess they had to learn on the job too, like balancing a fighting game, like combat one. Like you don't think about it, but like they, they would issue ROM upgrades and that's how you got like secrets and stuff in. And you know, they would iterate. And by three they really thought about balance and then they put in a game. I felt the trilogy with like, you know, the Super Smash Brothers roster basically of characters and that was all balanced. Like that stuff is really interesting for people that were just like kind of an artist and a programmer and like, you know, we're ending up looking at Street Fighter. I have one other thing I want to mention is that everything in this game is discussed as secret. So the whole point of Mortal Kombat was. And they knew this from Street Fighter that they didn't. They called high kick, high punch, low kick, low punch. The moves, right? And everything else, throwing, you know, doing a get over here or throwing an ice fireball or whatever, those are all secret moves. And including the fatalities, they didn't publicize any of it. Everybody had to figure it out. And when people. That's what the fun was is that people go to the arcade, not. I remember that as a little kid, for fatalities, but it was for everything.

D (59:55)

It was like, again, this is one of those moments, we've talked about this on the show before that like, if you're a younger gamer now, you will absolutely never understand how insane it was to be in an arcade and see finish him come off. Come up and see someone pull off a fatality.

C (60:10)

Yeah, it's like how like it was like from it, like adrenaline, you know.

D (60:15)

And like it would be one of two things. One, it was either, you know, some pro that knew like, you know, knew the move or like you'd play the game 100 times and you'd mash random buttons and then you pull off a fatality once and you'd be like, oh, you would lose your mind when that happened. Yeah, it was the best.

C (60:33)

Yeah. And just like they would. That's why there's things like toasty And Ermac and everything. Like, they would play those up and, like, sometimes they would seed stuff that wasn't true. And it was just so smart. Like, everything was. It was viral. It was viral moments, you know, for.

D (60:49)

Me, like, for me, Mortal Kombat is secrets. Like, that's what it is for me in the 90s. It's just like. It just felt impossible. And like, you'd hear, like, the playground rumors of, like, you know, like. Like, I fought a guy and his name was Reptile. And it's like, shut up. No, you didn't. But it's like, it turns out, like, yeah, it's true.

C (61:06)

Did you do a friendship instead of.

B (61:08)

A fatality, you could win them over with love. I was like, that's a lie.

A (61:15)

No. So, Sam, I think the guy that created this digitization tech, I think, was the programmer of Qbert. Is that right?

C (61:22)

Which is like Warren Davis.

A (61:24)

You and I interviewed him a few years ago, and we just talked about Qbert. Talk about making that for Mortal Kombat.

C (61:31)

He says in the documentaries, like, people talk to him for, like, he knows people for five years, and then all of a sudden and they're like, you made Q Bert?

D (61:37)

Yeah.

A (61:39)

So the first game they use it in was. Was this football game that I'm not familiar with. But then the second one was Narc, which I. I didn't ever put together, but now is like, okay. Because they went from narc to Mortal Kombat. And I was like, okay, that makes sense now. But I never put that together before. It's great. Also, Ed Boon, it's like, what a unique guy. He's just made his whole career out of basically making one game series. There's injustice also, but basically he just made Mortal Kombat his entire career. There aren't too many.

D (62:07)

It was. It was down and out for a long time, and then. And then came back. It's like, bigger than ever. It's unbelievable.

A (62:12)

Crazy.

C (62:13)

Prepare yourself for exciting new Mortal Kombat movie figure. Versions of Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Raiden Sub Zero, Mortal Kombat action figures, and movie action figures, each sold separately.

A (62:28)

Checking back in with. With listeners, this is Bill Nahila. And he. Bill does not have a question. He just wrote us a very nice note here. So Bill says, I would first like to say that I love the show and the whole team at igm. I was a military brat in the Air Force and first experienced video games like Pong in the late 70s. We were stationed in Okinawa. I was very young, but it instantly grabbed me and I Have not and I have not let go. As a teenager we were stationed in Omaha, Nebraska. So different from Okinawa. This was in the early 80s in the boom of arcades. My parents would drop me off at the mall with 20 bucks and I could buy enough tokens and food to spend half the day there. Granted, half the time was watching others play games and learning and looking in awe. The roller skating rink was another avenue for games like Asteroids Defender, Missile Command and Atari Football with a trackball extra challenging when in roller skates. Fast forward. I'm obviously still playing video games, still have nostalgia for them and the history of them. Your show has been incredible for the past, present and future of video games and I want to thank you for providing that to me and others. I'm now a grandfather and love to hear you and Justin talk about playing games with your kids. I've been playing video games with my grandson for about two years now. Started on tablet and now playing on the PS5 with games like Astro's Playroom, Bluey and Hot Wheels Unleashed. I am a store manager for the best and largest grocery chain in the Southeast. I actually don't know what that would be. I will often. I will often onboard many of the associates that are hired and do Icebreakers with them. One of my favorites is to ask them what their most used iPhone, Apple app, what their most used phone app is, or what video game they're currently playing. I also tell them what I'm playing as well. This will not only open up their eyes, but also open up a connection that helps me lead them in their growth. As an associate, I am literally relating to associates that are 40ish years younger than me. I was transferred over a decade ago to a new store and had a long drive. This is when I found my love for podcasts. Two of my early favorites were Game Scoop and Stuff you should know, which Sam has referenced.

B (64:15)

Oh, I love Stuff you should know.

A (64:16)

I just want to say thank you so much.

C (64:17)

Yeah.

A (64:18)

To all the other hosts and the miles of entertainment you have provided over the years. Seriously, thank you. That's very nice.

D (64:24)

Very sweet. Thank you very much.

B (64:26)

That is very nice. Thank you.

A (64:27)

He says. P.S. i have a 20 questions game but we'll need to research it to make sure it hasn't been used before.

B (64:32)

Report back.

A (64:33)

Yeah, it's good. Very, very nice. And we, you know, there would be no show without people like listening to the show and watching the show like you, Bill. So we, we love making the show. Thank you for hanging out with us once a week to Talk about video games, but we also do extracurricular activities. And I watched the first three episodes of the Chair Company.

C (64:52)

Oh, nice.

A (64:53)

Yeah. And it's good.

C (64:55)

The Mystery. The mystery develops.

A (64:57)

Yep, it's good. Anyone have you watched it yet?

B (64:59)

Yes. Okay, I'm caught up.

A (65:02)

So I haven't watched the Friendship yet. So this is my first experience of him outside of I Think youk should leave.

C (65:08)

I think this is better than friendship.

A (65:10)

Okay. This is an I think you should leave podcast. Everyone's very familiar with that. The type of like crazy, unhinged character he plays there. It's, it's in sketch. So it, you know, you're only hanging out with one scene or a character for a few minutes and then you're on to the next thing. So it's, it's, it's wild to take that insane character and make him the lead of an ongoing series. A 30 minute show where, you know. But it works, I think. Yeah, I'm enjoying it and it's funny and I'm interested in the mystery. I actually got frustrated because I didn't realize they. It wasn't all out yet. So I, I finished the third episode and I couldn't watch anymore. I was like, what? So maybe I'll wait till it's all done and finish the whole thing. But I like it. It's fun, it's funny, and it's good. And I'm interested in the mystery. Oh, also on I Think youk should Leave. He has a knack for finding just strange looking older people, older actors. And the Chair company is also filled with that type of person.

C (66:01)

Do you think he's involved in that level of stuff with this show? Because it feels very him, right?

A (66:07)

Yeah, it does.

D (66:07)

That's a good question.

B (66:08)

I think when you have comedians like, like Tim Robinson, I, I think it's. He's very good at. People like him are very good at recognizing what the funniest possible outcome or who the funniest possible thing or person is to say something and he has no shit or he has no, like, pride in being. You should have this line because it'll be way funnier coming from your lips than mine. And those people I always respect because you are the comedian mastermind, but you know how to arm the people to elevate something to make it even funnier.

A (66:42)

Yeah. Is that Lou Diamond Phillips, by the way, the head of the company?

B (66:46)

Oh, I believe so.

A (66:47)

I thought it was. I don't know.

C (66:49)

Yeah, he's great. By the way, the head of the company is really a Cool character. I think it has like, severance level elements to it. It has like what, you know, what, what's the mystery is like that which is good. And then, yeah, the absolute like putting up with, you know, he's a crazy character a lot of the times. But there's other people. They're not all straight characters. Right? There's the. There's the guy that beats him up and stuff. You know, the world accepts this level of like manic craziness that, that I think you should leave as. As well. It's great.

A (67:24)

Whenever a breakout, you know, comedian sort of emerges on the scene, the temptation for everyone who wants to work with him must be to have him come on to be the comic relief. It's a lot more gutsy, I think, to like, make him the star. And then also, like, he is still like hilarious and weird and insane, but also he shows a little bit more range than he gets. It's an opportunity to show a little bit more range than he does on. I think you should leave. Right. So good. It seems to be working. Chair company's good. It's on hbo. And then also over the weekend, we took the kids to see K Pop Demon Hunters in the theater. And that was super fun and awesome. It was great.

D (67:56)

Awesome.

B (67:56)

Wow.

D (67:56)

Nice.

B (67:57)

A sing along.

A (67:58)

It's a sing along version. So they put the words up on the screen for all the. The songs and then everyone. You can just be as loud and do whatever in the theater.

C (68:04)

So how did they get kids to not trash it like the Mario the Minecraft movie?

A (68:08)

Well, these are younger kids than the Minecraft kids, I think. Although it was really funny recently. I heard we were playing Uno and Kingo said, crap. And you know, we're not like, man, we're like, oh, what? What? That's interesting. Where did you hear that word? And after. After some prying, he heard it in the Minecraft movie. Movie.

B (68:27)

So it's better that than him saying chicken jockey all the time.

D (68:32)

Well, there's the. There's the. My kids sing the lava chicken song. Which one of the lines is, it's hotter than hell in that song. And like, I gave my daughter some side eye.

A (68:41)

I'm like, oh, yeah. Unfortunately, my kids like the lava chicken song too. We just don't draw attention to it. They don't know what they're saying. But K Pop Demon Hunters, our theater was only about half full and no one was in the front rows. So by halfway through the movie, I think most of the kids in the theater were just right up there Right in front of the screen. Singing, dancing, and acting out the movies. It was really fun. It was great.

D (69:03)

That's cute.

C (69:04)

So I went to the movie theater last week. I saw Frankenstein.

A (69:08)

Oh yeah.

C (69:08)

And it's coming to home. But I'm really happy I saw it in the theater. Cause it's gorgeous and so fun and it was the best. Going to like a Halloween spooky movie before Halloween. It was like on Wednesday and a weird theater down by City hall in San Francisco. It was awesome. And that movie is like, it's good. It's a, it's a really good Frankenstein movie. But you know, it's. It's just, it was a total pleasure. Did I talk about it last week? Maybe I did. No, I thought I talked about the Peter Jackson, not Peter Jackson. I thought I talked about the interview on. On Fresh Air.

D (69:41)

You did talk about that. But then it was like you.

C (69:43)

I think you were going, okay. Yeah. Which is really worth checking out as well. Yeah. This movie is super like, like, like it's a good Halloween movie. It is like I was. Our review talks about how gory it is and like it really is like nothing compared to the boys. Which is like, funny how crazy things have gotten. You watch Gen V and you're like, that's the most gory thing that exists right now. This is nothing on that. But yeah, a lot of killing. Cool.

B (70:12)

I'm excited.

A (70:13)

Yeah, I want to.

C (70:13)

Good monster. Good monster.

A (70:16)

Going online without ExpressVPN is like putting a sign in your front lawn that says, hey, hey, I don't lock my front door. It's an open invitation to criminals to come steal all your stuff. Whenever you connect to an unencrypted network in CAFES, hotels, airports, etc. Your online data is not secure. Any hacker on the same network can gain access to and steal your personal data. This includes passwords, bank logins, credit card details, and more. It doesn't take much technical knowledge to hack Someone. A smart 12 year old can do it. Hackers can make up to $1,000 per person selling personal info on the dark web. Now, ExpressVPN is super secure. Express says it would take a hacker with a supercomputer over a billion years to get past ExpressVPN's encryption. And yet ExpressVPN is super easy to use. Just fire up the app and click one button to get protected. As a podcaster who spends hours online researching games and engaging with Scoop Nation, my personal security is non negotiable. That's why I recently started using Expressvpn it's about the peace of mind knowing that when I'm digging through archives of old gaming magazines or accessing a public convention wifi, my entire connection is secured with military grade encryption. Secure your online data today by visiting expressvpn.com gamescoop that's E x p r e s s v dash.com gamescoop to find out how you can get up to four extra months. Expressvpn.com gamescoop I'm looking forward to seeing Frankenstein. And that brings us to video game 20 questions and our suggestion this week comes from Matt, who has a little anecdote to share. Matt says, thanks so much for producing my favorite podcast. I've been listening for about five years, haven't missed an episode. I just wanted to add another suggestion for the 10 gaming commandments. The 10 commandments of gaming Thou shalt earn a cutscene. I do believe that a good I believe a good story can add so much to a game. Probably my most meaningful gaming moments have been due to effective narrative, but I hate it when a game starts with a long cut scene or dialogue involving characters I am not yet invested in. There should be a minimum of 30 minute time limit before any story pause. Here endeth the lesson.

C (72:23)

And that's nice when the title screen comes up then too. Yeah, yeah, because you're like, oh, that's when the game really starts.

D (72:28)

Every JRPG ever starts with a seven minute cutscene where you have no it's incredibly significant to the plot, but you have no idea what any of it means.

C (72:36)

I mean they're all emulating Lord of the Rings rings, right? Like that's where that came from.

D (72:40)

It's always a girl. There's always some woman holding an orb of some kind. You never know what that orb is about.

A (72:46)

Matt says, while I'm here, I have a suggestion for 20 questions. I grew up in the UK, so I have a slightly different gaming heritage to you guys. I had never had an nes, never owned an Xbox, although I've had a.

C (72:57)

Target every time I say that about people in Europe, people like no, you're.

A (73:01)

Putting.

C (73:04)

Like the sales figures are like 1% to you.

A (73:09)

He had a ZX80 and a ZX81, ZX Spectrum VIC20, Atari ST and then Game Boy, Mega drive, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast PSP, all the PlayStations and both Switches. So it says. Anyway, not sure if the above is much of a clue, but I thought Redacted might be a fun suggestion for 20 questions as the redacted Is still quite unique and a bit topical.

B (73:31)

I'm gonna go for the jugular. Is it Saber Wolf? I'm kidding.

A (73:36)

Let the questioning begin.

D (73:38)

50. 50. It's Saber Wolf.

B (73:42)

All right.

D (73:42)

Did this game come out in the 70s, 80s, or 90s?

A (73:44)

Yes.

D (73:48)

Sabre Wolf Dream is alive.

B (73:50)

Is this an isometric game?

A (73:52)

No.

D (73:53)

Okay.

B (73:53)

Not Sabre Wolf Drip.

C (73:56)

Is this game based on a license?

B (73:58)

No. I don't know many ZX Spectrum games. Yeah, that stuff. Alfred Chicken.

D (74:07)

Is that.

B (74:07)

That feels very British. Right?

D (74:09)

That came to NES * and obelisk or whatever it's called. I don't even know.

C (74:15)

Did this game appear on the nes?

A (74:17)

Yes.

D (74:19)

Cool. Was this game also released in arcades?

A (74:24)

Yes. That's five.

C (74:27)

Was it developed in Japan?

A (74:28)

Yes.

B (74:30)

Is this game a platformer?

A (74:31)

No.

B (74:37)

Yes. Game developed in Japan.

C (74:40)

Was the. Was it developed before 1983?

A (74:43)

No.

C (74:46)

Is two player a main component of this game?

A (74:49)

No.

D (74:52)

Interesting. Could be Punch Out.

B (74:56)

Yeah.

C (74:57)

Interesting.

D (75:00)

Yeah.

C (75:01)

Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Konami. So it's a kind of places we're playing with here. Namco.

D (75:08)

Namco. But okay.

B (75:13)

They kind of gave a clue, though, about a different taste.

D (75:18)

Yeah.

C (75:20)

Arcade is the. I mean, it could be a sports game or something that started in the arcade too.

D (75:27)

Is this a sports or fighting game?

A (75:29)

No, that's 10.

D (75:32)

It's not punch out. Punch out counts as fighting. Boxing's fighting. Correct.

B (75:37)

Huh. I mean, that's all the games, right? That's all the game types.

D (75:44)

Race. It could be. Do you think racing? Racing doesn't count as sports.

C (75:49)

Is this developer still around?

E (75:52)

Wow.

A (75:53)

I have to look that up. I probably get it. Feel really silly when I sounds.

C (75:57)

Sounds like it's not Nintendo.

D (75:59)

Yep. Probably not a Nintendo game, y'.

C (76:01)

All.

B (76:02)

Or Capcom or Namco. I guess.

D (76:07)

Yeah.

C (76:07)

I don't.

D (76:08)

I don't. I don't. We don't like to medic games.

C (76:12)

Well.

A (76:15)

This company is not currently in operation.

C (76:20)

I wonder if it's Hudson, like Adventure island or something like that.

B (76:24)

Oh, but then it had a different name in. In Europe, right? Or like Adventure island had a different name, I think.

D (76:33)

Yeah. The Monster Wonder Boy. Yeah. Monster Monster Boy or whatever it is. Or maybe that's a sub series. I can't quite remember now.

C (76:42)

This is good. That got a little bit confusing there.

B (76:45)

But it's not a platformer.

D (76:46)

Not a. Not a platformer.

C (76:48)

Do you use a joystick to control your character in the arcade version of this?

A (76:53)

No.

D (76:55)

Oh. What does that mean? Trackball.

C (77:03)

Sam, we need you. I mean, just steering wheels. Right?

D (77:06)

Steering wheel. Good call. That's much More likely than trackball. And plus it's not isometric, so it.

C (77:11)

Can'T be like outrun or something like that.

B (77:14)

I mean, afterburner. What do we. How many questions we got?

A (77:18)

You've asked 12.

D (77:21)

Do you drive a car in this game?

A (77:23)

No.

D (77:24)

Could still be afterburner. Did that come to the NES.

C (77:30)

Genesis, though?

D (77:31)

Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't drive a car. I should have asked if you.

C (77:36)

Seg is actually really unlikely to come to Neos. There's just bootlegs we should have.

B (77:39)

It's like, did Super Hang on get like an NES port or something? Or Hang on, like a motorcycle style peripheral, you know?

C (77:48)

Yeah.

D (77:49)

Is Excite Bike in the arcade?

C (77:51)

Yeah, but only as a play choice game, which has a good choice. Stick.

D (77:57)

Control. Not controlled by joystick. Not a racing game. Not a car racing.

B (78:03)

Not a car racing game. Do we like a vehicle? Maybe.

D (78:08)

Could be. Could be Duck Hunt shooties. Do you. Do you shoot a gun in this game?

A (78:16)

No.

C (78:18)

Do you pilot a vehicle?

A (78:21)

Technically, yes. And that's 15.

C (78:24)

Oh, man. If it wasn't developed in Japan, I'd say two.

D (78:26)

But yeah, it's a tube vehicle. No, it's not.

A (78:33)

It's a little abstract, but technically, yes.

C (78:37)

Abstract.

D (78:39)

Sam, we need you. I've been goofing off half this episode because I assumed once a later NES.

C (78:45)

One if we goof off.

D (78:46)

Yeah, I figured you could just go.

C (78:49)

I'd really like to know the developer. It really can't be so Sega, because Sega didn't really publish stuff. Nintendo because they're a direct competitor. Namco would have been older stuff for the most part.

A (79:01)

And. And remember that I said this Delver is not operating today.

C (79:04)

Yeah. So you got like Irim and like stuff like that. It's a complicated, you know.

D (79:09)

What about like Map Mappy?

C (79:12)

Yeah, that's before 1983. Great game, though. Or at 1983. Okay, so the vehicle abstract thing, I think we need to kind of think about that a little bit.

D (79:27)

How do you control this game? Trackball.

C (79:30)

It has joystick. Let's think about that. So trackball is good because there's like Crystal Castles and stuff like that, but I just can't think of a Japanese game that's controlled by trackball.

D (79:42)

What about Centipede? What about.

C (79:45)

This is just so old, though.

D (79:47)

Yeah, you're right. That is too old.

C (79:48)

What if it's something like super goofy like, you know, whack a mole or something like that? Man, I don't know. I don't know where to go. With this.

B (79:59)

Does this game feature a trackball? Do you control with the trackball?

A (80:02)

No.

C (80:03)

Oh, do you. Do you could just. It's just. Oh, it's just buttons.

B (80:08)

It's just buttons.

C (80:09)

Then maybe it is, baby Pac Man.

D (80:14)

Just buttons.

C (80:15)

Yeah. Because it's just the flipper buttons from a pinball machine. No. I guess there's the little joy.

D (80:20)

I don't know.

C (80:21)

I can't remember the joystick is there.

B (80:23)

Or it's like a rotary encoder type situation. Right. Like one of those little dials.

C (80:28)

Yeah, those exist for sure. I bet it's just buttons, though.

B (80:32)

That's kind of the vibe I was getting. Just buttons.

C (80:39)

That's a tough path for us to be going down, though.

B (80:41)

Not a platformer. Not a fighting game. You don't shoot a gun.

C (80:46)

Track and field, maybe.

D (80:48)

Not a sports game.

C (80:49)

Oh, yeah, we got that knocked out.

D (80:51)

Not a racing game. Yeah, we're in trouble.

B (80:54)

How many questions we got?

A (80:55)

You have three questions and a guess.

D (80:57)

How is Rampart controlled?

C (81:00)

Yeah, that was a design in the United States. Great. Great one though, though. Yeah, that's a track ball. One of the last trackball games I can think of. Marble Madness also. Yeah, Those are all just Midway, Atari type stuff, though. The Japanese part of this makes this complicated.

B (81:15)

I wonder if there's any characters in the game that are still relevant to this day.

C (81:22)

Business or is the series still going?

B (81:24)

Yeah, like there might be. The developer might be out of business, but maybe the character's still relevant. Let's see. Is the career. Does the game feature any characters that are still relevant to this day?

A (81:33)

No.

D (81:34)

Oh, 100%. No, obviously not. Sam almost certainly has this game in his house.

C (81:41)

Yeah. I mean, especially because it's in the NES library.

D (81:44)

Exactly.

C (81:45)

But it's just. It's hard without the developer. You just got such little info and can you imagine a game that was like, didn't have a joystick that got bored to nes? You know, that's. That's already really weird.

A (81:56)

Right?

D (81:57)

Right. Yep.

A (81:58)

Yeah. Isn't that weird?

C (82:00)

It is weird.

A (82:03)

What might they have done in such a situation?

C (82:07)

Oh, maybe it's a different light gun game.

E (82:09)

No.

C (82:09)

We talked about shooting guns, though.

D (82:11)

Yep.

C (82:13)

Oh, it's Arkanoid because it has a.

D (82:17)

Paddle in the arcade.

C (82:18)

Yeah. And at home. Did this game come with a special controller on the nes?

A (82:22)

Yes.

C (82:23)

Okay. Is this Arkanoid?

A (82:24)

Yes, it is Arkanoid.

B (82:25)

Well done. Yeah.

A (82:27)

I never would have Taito. Taito game.

C (82:29)

And it's ball pit related.

A (82:31)

That's exactly why. That's exactly What? Matt said it's topical because of ball pit. Damn.

B (82:37)

Arkanoid rocks.

D (82:38)

Yeah, it didn't have a. It didn't use the D pad.

C (82:41)

It came with a mouse controller.

A (82:43)

Well, it's a spinner. It's a spinner.

C (82:46)

Yeah.

D (82:46)

I don't think I. I don't think I ever knew that. I mean I played Arkanoid, but I used just these NES controllers.

B (82:50)

Yeah, same.

C (82:51)

Yeah, the spinner. The encoder is an encoder. Just like you were saying. It's pretty cute on the NES because it's like a. It's like a gray NES shaped controller with just the one knob right in the middle of it. It's kind of small.

A (83:03)

Cool. And Justin, you are actually a spaceship.

C (83:06)

That's the.

D (83:07)

Yeah, I did know. I actually did know that bit of lore.

C (83:11)

It's definitely in the. Remember the great Atari art for Breakout? Yeah. Where it's like a command operations center and a guy in a spaceship and like explosions all over. So funny. We almost didn't get there.

A (83:23)

Yeah. Yep. Arkanoid, great game. They made a sequel, the Return of Doe. Because Doe is the bad guy, the villain. Which is like one of those like Maori heads I believe.

B (83:32)

But really popular villains in Japanese video games.

A (83:35)

The Maori heads, the Konami like them too. Moai. That's what he's.

D (83:39)

Yeah.

A (83:40)

Nicely, Job. Thank you for the suggestion, Matt. Viewers, listeners, if you have your own.

C (83:44)

Suggestion, we need the anecdote.

A (83:46)

Well, I just told you.

C (83:47)

Oh, that's.

A (83:48)

It might be fun because it's topical. Because of ball pit.

C (83:51)

Okay. Okay. Thank you.

A (83:54)

Viewers, listeners, if you have your own suggestions for a video game, 20 questions, email them to me at the email address gamescoopgn.com and if you are looking for something new to play and also have a way to give back, you can head over to humble and grab eight amazing games for just 14.99 including Total War, Warhammer 3, another crab's treasure, no More Heroes 3, Etrian Odyssey HD, Pharaoh, a new Age Synergy, Spin Hero and Paleo Pines. Every purchase supports no Kid Hungry, a non profit that provides meals to students in need across the us. Across the us. Build your library, make an impact and help and help end childhood hunger. Head on over to humblebundle.com and start playing today. And that's all the scoops that we have for you this week. Thank you Nick. Thank you Sam. Thank you Justin. Thank you to Jober and everyone working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. My name is Damon. This is IGN gamesuit and we're out. This episode of Game Soup was produced by myself, Damon Hadfield and Gilbert Audienza. Technical direction is handled by Jobbert Atienza. Technical production is by Marian Franzen and Amir Aqib, Audio engineering is by Amir Aqib and post production editing is by yours truly, Damon Hatfield. Grass graphic design is by Nicole Kagempen. Gamescoop is an IGN production and part of the Geek Media Network.