Messages

276

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 560: THE ETHOS OF BUTT-ROCK

« on: February 25, 2018, 11:40:31 PM »

Red Lobster and cheese biscuits. Jon knows what's up.

I think the long dark night of the Wii U ultimately helped the podcast. The seasons of no games made the crew forge their wit and humor in a fire that even Weapon Shop de Omasse couldn't handle. Now that the Switch motherload of games has arrived, the guys are just feasting. Good games, bad games, doesn't matter, they've got something to say you want to listen to. The banter, the banter! You guys are great.

These WiiWare Retroactives have been interesting, to say the least. Funny and insightful conversation seems to have resulted in spite of the games chosen, not due to them. Were there really not that many good, interesting WiiWare games or have they simply aged more badly  than most?

When these WiiWare Retroactives have finished, may I humbly suggest a palette cleanser? Jet Force Gemini. May have to make that one a two-parter due to its awesomeness.

Hmm. The Jon Lindemann Value Scale™. Is that done on range of 1-10? Does The Conduit still rate 8.5 on the JLVS?

Only on this podcast can we get a thorough breakdown of butt rock.

And kudos to Gui for his siren creativity! Can you imagine if there had been alarms during the days when you had to clean the fridge on Wii or waiting for the European release date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl? lol

277

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 559: Summer of Love

« on: February 22, 2018, 09:36:23 PM »

Great impressions on Dragon Quest Builders, Rocket League and Celeste. Gui's remarks on Gradius ReBirth were beautiful. I haven't played the game, so I can neither confirm or deny his impressions, but it was entertaining.

I sent an email regarding Jon's absence from 558. Since it's timeliness has passed, I figured I would post it in this topic for the amusement, bemusement or confusement of the forum. I had thought of workshopping it for performance at the Silver Beetle on Mersey Street, but between the uvula singers and the boisterious mime, it probably wouldn't get any notice. Thus I present:

I am Lindemann

Shalom Greg, Gui and James,

For whatever reason, it seems to be a time-honored tradition at RFN to comment on the cast member who is absent that week. The more outlandish and demonstrably false, the better. So I thought I'd compose a missive vis-a-vis Jon's absence this week.

In Planet GameCube's E3 2001 video, KI champ Ty Shugart was taping the PGC crew at their hotel room when a Tommy Hilfiger-wearing Jon Lindemann walks in. I said out loud: "Oh my God." He had a rather dark expression on his face. Perhaps the backlog was already weighing on him by the tender age of 47. But then we see him holding up a beer, saying to Ty "What's up man" in a friendly way, so the JonnyL we know and love was there all along.

During Saturday's live Q&A with Neal Ronaghan and new NWR director John Rairdin, Neal's Skype froze. When he came back online, we briefly saw a message icon saying "A Change at the Top" with Lindemann flashing OG signs.

Which naturally leads me to these questions: When the zombie apocalypse comes, will Jon be barricaded in his house, listening to rap records to drown out the jeers of a zombified James Jones, similiar to when Vincent Price played jazz records in "Last Man on Earth"?

Is Jon Lindemann a legend, or is the legend, Lindemann? Deep questions for deep waters my friends. May the Lindy in all of us lead us to the answers.

Live long and Lindy,

MASB

----------

*crickets*

I thank you.

278

TalkBack / Re: Ace of Seafood (Switch) Review

« on: February 22, 2018, 09:13:56 PM »

Hmmm. So to sum up, would you say you went into this game hoping for lobster thermidor but ended up with imitation crab bisque?

Half the fun of reading James's reviews is figuring out why he chose to review the game. Plus, he has a way of turning a phrase that you've got to appreciate.

279

TalkBack / Re: Splatoon 2 To Receive Starter Edition In March

« on: February 12, 2018, 12:43:01 PM »

Interesting approach Nintendo is taking. Seems like it would be a good extra inducment to buy for those still sitting on the fence. I wonder how successful the BOTW edition was. Extra stuff for the same price can't hurt. Shows you how insanely cheap paper is, which makes me wonder why they can't include decent manuals anymore. :p

280

TalkBack / Re: tinyBuild Announces Six More Switch Games

« on: February 10, 2018, 01:54:20 PM »

I love the titles on these games. Most of them feel like joke titles they'd come up with on RFN.

281

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 556: Give the Gift of Protein This Holiday Season!

« on: February 03, 2018, 08:27:46 AM »

I also notice that James keeps mistakingly saying "Now Playing." You know why, James? Because your subconscious doesn't like you. It misses the subtle writing and nuanced takes that was J&J's Now Playing. Maybe if you did it once every month or so, that would be enough to calm your subconscious's primordial Jungian desires!

Thanks for the clarification, Gui!

282

TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart Tour Announced For Smartphones

« on: February 02, 2018, 03:58:01 AM »

Nintendo isn’t having difficulties. The company’s mobile offerings are smaller games with smaller budgets developed by smaller teams. Switch is just more of a priority. More importantly, Nintendo is right where it said it wanted to be. It released Miitomo and Super Mario Run in 2016 then released Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in 2017. Nintendo has previously stated that it wants to release two to three mobile games a year.

I suppose we’ll see how 2018 shakes out as far as that strategy is concerned. Only Mario Kart Tour is officially announced, and it may not release this year. Who knows how far along Zelda is though it seems more appropriate to unveil at E3.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/43838/nintendo-planning-more-than-three-smartphone-titles-in-calendar-2017

In separate Japanese newspaper interviews, CEO Tatsumi Kimishima confirmed the plan to release at least four mobile titles in calendar 2017 and onward. An interview with the Kyoto Shimbun paper originally reported "2-3 per year", but a separate interview with the Sankei newspaper quoted Kimishima as saying there would be "more than three" internally developed Nintendo mobile titles per year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/41381/nintendo-mobile-game-miitomo-launching-march-2016-alongside-new-account-service

Nintendo's first mobile game, called Miitomo, will launch this fiscal year, as opposed to the calendar year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/43395/nintendo-only-launching-four-mobile-games-in-this-fiscal-year

Nintendo is scaling back their mobile plans slightly for the fiscal year.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto discussed Nintendo's mobile strategy. A follow-up email from Miyamoto confirmed that a combination of development time and "market conditions" would mean only four mobile titles would release by March 2017. The four titles would be Miitomo, Super Mario Run and the unnamed Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem projects.

Clearly their plans are in flux. Doesn't help that they keep changing from fiscal year to calendar year and back again. No matter how you slice it, they'v never released more than two.

FY 2016: 1 Miitomo
FY 2017: 2 Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes
FY 2018: 1 Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Calendar Year 2016: 2 Miitomo, Super Mario Run
CY 2017: 2 Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
CY 2018: TBD

Titles that have been announced with vague or no release date: Zelda and Mario Kart Tour.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/44618/new-zelda-pokemon-trading-card-titles-possibly-coming-to-mobile

I had forgotten that Zelda was never officially announced by Nintendo. It was thought to be the unnamed title by Miyamoto that was delayed/fell by the wayside. I wonder if the reaction to BOTW contributed to that. As in, "We really can't mess this up now!"

But more important than anything else in this post:

December 24, 2016

Posted by Lemonade:

I wonder if they would do a Mario Kart for phones

Proof that Hideki Konno lurks the NWR forums looking for ideas!

283

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 556: Give the Gift of Protein This Holiday Season!

« on: February 01, 2018, 07:13:31 AM »

What's the story behind the episode title? Gui mentions The Breakfast Club in the first segment also named "Give the Gift of Protein This Holiday Season!" But I haven't seen the movie in so long, I don't know if the title is a reference to it.

2:06:54. Jons mentions buying S.C.A.T. and no one hears it. Perfect.

284

TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart Tour Announced For Smartphones

« on: February 01, 2018, 06:54:12 AM »

Where's the Zelda game they said they were working on a year ago? I wonder, is Nintendo really taking their time with this stuff or are they having some difficulties? Sometimes, it feels like they're having more trouble developing phone games than they are the AAA behemonths like Super Mario Odyssey.

285

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo News Report: On To The GameCube

« on: February 01, 2018, 06:51:22 AM »

The video up on YouTube is only 17 minutes long and it's clear it skips around and alot of the conversation is skipped over. Will a corrected video be uploaded or is it doomed?

286

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo News Report: The Gang Makes A GOTY List

« on: January 26, 2018, 07:41:00 AM »

Conglaturations, guys! An episode for the ages! I thought the conversation was going to end in the middle of it with someone ripping their shirt off and dropping the mic. Surely, someone was going to be worked into a shoot, brother!

Seriously, I enjoyed it. Lots of good conversation. Zach's defense of Zelda, Justin talking about Odyssey and its handling of Mario history (Neal: But Zelda has costumes in the DLC!), learning about Donald's disenchantment with 3D Zeldas, really good. I felt sorry for Alex, though, since the conversation wasn't as positive as he hoped. While it got contenious at times, I felt it was almost always spirited, rather than just being negative nancys. I think Alex's suggestion for next year to mention only positives until someone brings up a negative aspect of a game is a good one. Positive conversation and also lead to a feeding frenzy once the dam of a negative aspect is burst. The best of both worlds!

When will the fabled Top 25 WiiU games be revealed, Neal?

And yes, Justin needs to do an hour on Breath of the Wild and the future of Zelda. Make sure to surround himself with the various Zelda merchandise he has collected. For bonus points, illustrate his points about BOTW through thoughtful positioning of said merchandise/characters. I would be very interested in hearing his thoughts.

287

TalkBack / Re: Miitomo To Close In May

« on: January 24, 2018, 11:36:54 PM »

At least we know what RFN's next RetroActive will be after the Farewell WiiWare - Not Rigged Edition!

Strange that Nintendo is shutting it down so soon. You'd think with all the in-app purchases it would be profitable enough to keep going, even if not a big moneymaker. Surprised they didn't give more advance notice as to the shutdown of the in-app store. I assume the game will be completely unplayable when Nintendo shuts it down? It'd be something if someone could download the required data/assets and keep it going in some way. As a curio if nothing else.

288

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 555: Cardboard Box Hunter

« on: January 22, 2018, 10:11:15 PM »

I'd like to think that I ever-so-indirectly contributed to Jon's idea of James being a Labo Cam Girl. If this was around during the leadup to RFN 400, there would have been no need of a GoFundMe.

I'd go even farther with the Big Foot Pizza idea. I theorize that as part of his leaving Pizza Hut, Reggie had a deal where one Pizza Hut in Redmond would continue to make Big Foot Pizzas indefintely. He's been eating those pizzas three times a day for almost 20 years, knowing that the day would come when the leftover cardboard would find a fantastic use. He's even had his family eat the pizzas as often as they could take it.

That's why Reggie was breaking character during the Nintendo Direct when Bill Trinen was advertising Yokai Watch. He was supposed to be mad at Bill for scarfing down the donuts, but Reggie was really thinking "Why couldn't they have written in pizza instead of donuts? We need the cardboard, man!"

Reggie truly plays the long game. That was the reason he was passed over, when Iwata made himself CEO of Nintendo of America. For years, Iwata would solictiously offer Reggie sushi, calamari, a whole host of Japanese dishes. And every time, Reggie would hold up his Big Foot Pizza and say "Thanks, but I'm good!" The sacrifices this man has made for Nintendo and for our entertainment will be long remembered!

289

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 555: Cardboard Box Hunter

« on: January 21, 2018, 11:59:38 PM »

The audio cuts out from 1:10:31 to 1:46:15 on my m4a copy. I've downloaded it twice and the same problem.

290

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Labo Announced

« on: January 17, 2018, 08:17:45 PM »

http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-labo-kits-apparently-not-mandatory-cardboards-pattern-will-be-offered-for-free-cartridge-still-needed/

That makes more sense. So the games can/will be sold separately. I wonder if they'll charge $60 for them. :p Hopefully not.

291

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Labo Announced

« on: January 17, 2018, 06:32:11 PM »

Hmmm. Looks neat and has possibilities. I assume the bulk of the cost is due to the cartridge. But I have doubts about how durable the cardboard is. If that is messed up, do you have to buy another whole kit? Hopefully, there will be cheaper replacements.

292

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 554: My Son, Waluigi

« on: January 17, 2018, 09:29:42 AM »

Truly, the evil that men do long outlives them.

293

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 554: My Son, Waluigi

« on: January 15, 2018, 06:11:59 AM »

Bravo! Bravo! Bravissimo!

Your discussion of the father's letter is the reason we listen to RFN. If this were a tennis doubles match, it would never end as all four of you were serving aces! If exposing your child to Sonic at the wrong age can have unintended consequences, I wonder what would result in exposure to Hatsune Miku.

As a child, I wanted to be like Link or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. I hope my future children aspire to be Falco Lombardi or maybe a metapod. Silent, but strong!

And c'mon. Let's be honest. We all know James wants to dress up as Tingle for Halloween. That'll be his excuse anyway.

294

TalkBack / Re: Kirby's Latest Lands on Switch in March

« on: January 12, 2018, 07:17:24 AM »

Good points, Luigi Dude. Though Kirby didn't have a title at E3 anymore than Yoshi did. Both were just announced with the name of the character and 2018. Kirby got the Star Allies subtitle in September.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/45400/kirby-booked-for-battle-royale-on-3ds-star-allies-forming-on-switch

295

TalkBack / Re: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze To Heat Up Switch In May

« on: January 11, 2018, 10:09:01 PM »

I wish they had released a collection of DKCR and DKC: TF as well. Nintendo is being smart with the WiiU ports/upgrades. Those combined with smaller second-party releases like Mario Tennis Aces keep the games flowing while Nintendo's main teams prepare for Fall 2018. Maybe Nintendo truly can avoid a software drought.

296

TalkBack / Re: Kirby's Latest Lands on Switch in March

« on: January 11, 2018, 10:05:16 PM »

Looks great. I guess this means that the Yoshi Switch game won't be released until late summer/early fall at the earliest. Makes me wonder why they showed it so early, at last year's E3. I know the Yoshi game was partly an attempt to get adept at using UnReal Engine 4. Does this mean they're having difficulty? Or is the game largely finished and just waiting for its slot in the release calendar?

297

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo News Report: A Mini Direct Reaction

« on: January 11, 2018, 10:01:32 PM »

I feel like these WiiU ports are just to troll Justin. It's going to be every game except Smash 4 for the Switch. Next up, Dr. Luigi!

298

TalkBack / Re: SNK Heroines Pits Woman Against Woman in Tag-Team Fighter

« on: January 11, 2018, 09:58:39 PM »

The difference in how the game was showcased in the American/European Direct Mini and their Japanese counterpart is wonderful to behold.

299

TalkBack / Re: New Mode, Costumes Coming to Super Mario Odyssey

« on: January 11, 2018, 09:51:57 PM »

If the mode is fun and addictive to play, perhaps this could extend the life of the game in a GTA V Online sort of way (smaller scale, of course). Smart way to give DLC to the game, since so many said that it wouldn't make much sense to simply add more moons to a game that already has so many.

300

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Serves Mario Tennis Aces on Switch

« on: January 11, 2018, 09:47:11 PM »

I would like to humbly demand that Stan review this game for the site.

It's what all right thinking NWR readers wish! If Stan does review it, make sure to have an audio version of it as well!