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NWR Interactive => Podcast Discussion => Topic started by: Webmalfunction on May 19, 2012, 02:50:21 PM

Title: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Webmalfunction on May 19, 2012, 02:50:21 PM

Kid Icarus tournament recap, Kirby love, and the history of Koji Kondo on this week's episode!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/connectivity/30201

I'm not afraid to say it: this week's episode is real, real good.

Starting things off, Neal and Patrick sit down with the winners of our Kid Icarus tournament, Team IcarusGAF, to talk about the tournament and its controversy. Yes, if you don't know about some of the underhanded events that went on, this will definitely surprise you.

After that, Alex joins NWR/RFN newcomer Guillaume and the two debate the highs and lows of the Kirby series as a whole. Does the pink puff ball deserve to stand alongside the likes of Mario, Link, and Samus? Let us know what you think!

Next, Nicholas brings us the first installment of his new segment, N-Focus. This week, he highlights the career of Koji Kondo, Nintendo composer extraordinaire. As an aside, this segment is seriously good.

After the show proper, you'll find a bonus segment about Mass Effect 3 featuring Nate, Scott and friend of the show Sage Knox. The choice to listen or not is yours to make, but regardless the ending will be the same, so, you know, you should just listen. 

Got something you want to ask us? Click here to do so. We like listener mail! Don't forget to check out our new, twice-a-week news show, Connectibites! We'll see you next week!

Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Nbz on May 19, 2012, 04:33:18 PM
This might sound really weird, but as soon as I saw the title of this episode, I immediately thought of this PS1 game that my sister had years ago. It was Mary-Kate and Ashley's: Winner's Circle. It was a horse riding game featuring Mary-Kate and Ashley. Yeah....


Just thought I'd share that nugget with you :D Now to listen to the Podcast!
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Nub on May 19, 2012, 06:17:03 PM
Hey everybody,

This is Nub from Team IcarusGAF.  We joined the tournament so we could represent a Kid Icarus: Uprising thread on NeoGAF.  If you have a NeoGAF account, and want to join in our discussion, just follow the link below:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466070

Also, Team IcarusGAF is up for any scrims/challenges, so if you want to play just let me know, and we can play sometime.  

But anyways, thanks NWR for hosting the tournament.  It was a lot of fun.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: supergtt on May 19, 2012, 08:28:20 PM
you guys didn't beat the ending with max forces, if you do, and pick one of the non-synth ending, it shows shep on the bottom of a that shaft and she starts breathing.

the reason the ending is bad is not because it's a downer, it's because none of your choices matter across 3 games it all boils down to which button you want to push. that and you don't get any epilouge. how are the geth and quarians getting on? how has your choice affected the krogan? all you got was to pick what color science joker is outrunning (and why the **** is he already in a relay running away? the normandy was in the battle, not waiting to hit a relay and run away from your science color button choice).
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: KDR_11k on May 20, 2012, 07:17:37 AM
In the first segment I can only hear the teamGAF guys, the rest seems garbled.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: oksoda on May 20, 2012, 09:57:41 AM
Quote from: supergtt on May 19, 2012, 08:28:20 PM
you guys didn't beat the ending with max forces, if you do, and pick one of the non-synth ending, it shows shep on the bottom of a that shaft and she starts breathing.

Yeah, I've seen that ending. I think, when all is said and done, Shep will either have lived or died in the DLC and future installments. It won't account for both endings. In a way, I think that extra snippet with Shep moving is a hint that he will have survived no matter what ending you get. We'll see! I understand that the lack of meaningful choice in the end and the holes in the closing cinematic might be frustrating, but it doesn't tarnish what was otherwise an incredible series.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: oksoda on May 20, 2012, 10:00:11 AM
Quote from: KDR_11k on May 20, 2012, 07:17:37 AM
In the first segment I can only hear the teamGAF guys, the rest seems garbled.

As you can tell by the quality of it, that segment is recorded differently than normal. We essentially recorded the actual Skype call, and what it did was record Neal (and maybe Patrick?) to the left channel and the IcarusGAF guys to the right channel. If you are having trouble hearing one or the other, it would mean one of the speakers in your headphones is going out.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Lithium on May 21, 2012, 07:18:49 AM
I really enjoyed the  N-Focus segment, it was like a mini episode of discover music project but with videogames. As for Kirby, it sounds like the issue is the level design more than anything, kirby has some potientally cool abilities but the level design doesnt take advantage of that, instead it seems like they're designed for a regular platformer.


edit: also, the whole mass effect 3 ending debacle was pure nerdrage. Seriously overblown. Anyways I played as Female Shepard the whole trilogy since Jennifer Hale is a much better voice actor than whoever they got to voice Male Sheppard. Mass Effect 3 is probably my favorite one out of the three
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: noname2200 on May 22, 2012, 04:56:58 PM
Question for Nicholas: do you have another podcast out on the web? Your voice and pace sound super familiar, and remind me of a history podcast.

Quote from: oksoda on May 20, 2012, 09:57:41 AM

 In a way, I think that extra snippet with Shep moving is a hint that he will have survived no matter what ending you get.

That would be...extremely impressive if you chose the green ending.

Anyhow, I loved ME3 but despised the ending in its entirety. It deflated my interest in replaying the game or trying the DLC. Which is a pity, since outside the first ten and last ten minutes the game is really, really good.

I gotta disagree with you guys on two particular points though. I really enjoyed being able to say your goodbyes to the surviving teammates, and I would have been disappointed if they'd omitted that. It even makes sense to me that you'd have the chance to do so: both sides are marshaling their forces, and all those grunts around you are keeping the harassing enemies at bay. Also, Vega's mostly boring and adds little to the actual missions, but his conversations with other characters are pretty fun all around.

As a final aside, it's actually possible to kill both Kaiden and Ashley, although one of them has to wait until this game. But in Ashley's case, I thought it was worth the wait.  ;D
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Traveller on May 22, 2012, 05:29:07 PM
Hey Noname2200

No I don't, I've only ever been on a couple of connectivity episodes.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: noname2200 on May 22, 2012, 11:20:22 PM
Ah, my mistake. Still, good segment!
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: roykoopa64 on May 23, 2012, 12:10:07 AM

It was great to hear from the winning Uprising team from neogaf. I love Uprising, and I haven't played too much online yet, but it's clear there's an incredible amount of depth and strategy to be had.


@Nub, the way you guys use teamwork is pretty awesome. I can imagine that plays a huge role in many of your team's victories when it's clear what role everyone is supposed to use.


I really enjoyed hearing Alex and Guillaume talk about one of my favorite Nintendo franchises, Kirby! (I couldn't believe Guillaume had never played Epic Yarn!). I was happy to hear Alex say he will definitely give the Wii game Return to Dream Land another play through. Hard mode is fun for sure, as are the optional Challenge Rooms inside the ship. The Challenge Rooms really test your skills at using various power-ups, which are surprisingly varied and difficult to master due to subtle nuances.


I loved the N-Focus segment, Nicholas. Your speech presents the information in a clear and concise manner, and who wouldn't want to know more about one of the best game music composers of our time? The music interjected through the segment made this a wonderful treat indeed.
Title: Re: Episode 35: Winner's Circle
Post by: Traveller on May 23, 2012, 12:49:45 AM
Glad people liked the segment, I've put together another and it will likely be in the ep after this weeks ep.

So hopefully I can get one done every couple of weeks or so.