Messages

226

TalkBack / Re: Dragon Fantasy Book I Coming to 3DS eShop

« on: August 05, 2014, 08:46:26 PM »

These sound like great improvements. I enjoyed the Vita version somewhat, but there were a lot of things in need of refinement, especially the battle frequency and repetition. Allies should make it a lot more interesting and strategic, as well.

227

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 392: Xenodachi Life

« on: July 30, 2014, 10:10:42 AM »

You're just stretching them out with too many big handhelds.

228

TalkBack / Re: The Swapper Coming to Wii U This November

« on: July 27, 2014, 11:57:22 AM »

I've played some of this game on Steam, and it should be a great addition for Wii U. The game is dripping with atmospheric style, and the puzzles are very clever.

[Hear about the games we're playing this summer, then hear our thoughts on summer gaming in general. Plus: is it time for a 3DS upgrade?]

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Podcast Discussion / Episode 392: Xenodachi Life

« on: July 27, 2014, 04:45:14 AM »

Hear about the games we're playing this summer, then hear our thoughts on summer gaming in general. Plus: is it time for a 3DS upgrade?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/38138/episode-392-xenodachi-life

Jonny returns to hosting duties for this episode, and it starts with yet another weird package of New Business from your RFN crew. Your intrepid host begins with his Club Nintendo Gold Reward, the arrestingly mediocre Donkey Kong 3. After that vacuum of excitement, Jonny had to bounce in full reverse to the overly extreme Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (super-solid Wii U version). Guillaume brings words of caution over Mr. Driller 2's debut on Virtual Console, and he also checks in with the curiously durable Tomodachi Life and not-bad-for-zero-dollars Game & Wario. Lindy works his MMO-splainin' magicks on Final Fantasy XIV, which is the first of its kind to snare in skeptical Jonny. Rounding up all the business that is new, James revisits a childhood favorite(?), Bases Loaded. Turns out, this may be the least enjoyable NES baseball game.

Under the fold, we have a mini-feature discussion on summer gaming. How do the hotter, more relaxed months affect our video game tastes and habits? Turns out, gaming may be much less seasonal upon reaching adulthood. The brief feature topic allowed enough time for one email this week, and it's a familiar query. What's next for the 3DS platform? It's our first time addressing the issue since E3 and the Wii U's upgrade to greener pastures over the last couple of months. The team is definitely divided on this one!

Please keep up the great emails by sending in your own questions, comments, and ideas to the Radio Free Nintendo dudes. Also, be sure to check out Jonny's recent guest spot on the much-loved Player One Podcast. We'll try to get them on RFN soon, too!

230

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 391: Like Crabs in a Bucket

« on: July 22, 2014, 11:40:10 AM »

Not sure I've played the original, but it sounds very similar to Midway's Super Off-Road, which can be found on the Midway Arcade Treasures collections for various recent systems.

[After doing this for years you would think everyone would have built up a camaraderie, but in the end everyone's just trying to be the first to escape.]

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Podcast Discussion / Episode 391: Like Crabs in a Bucket

« on: July 20, 2014, 01:04:00 PM »

After doing this for years you would think everyone would have built up a camaraderie, but in the end everyone's just trying to be the first to escape.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/38113/episode-391-like-crabs-in-a-bucket

As Jonny raced home from the airport, the SS Radio Free Nintendo pulled out of harbor with Captain James at the helm. Joined by First Mate Gui and Cabin Boy Jon, they managed to safely traverse the dangerous seas of New Business. James continues his voyage into the legal system with the fan translation of Ace Attorney Investigations 2 and then pulls into the familiar waters of the Wind Waker HD. Guillaume then charts a course for Herc's Adventure, a follow-up from the creator of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and Game & Wario, his free Club Nintendo Platinum reward. Finally, Jon looks at the rather limited selection of the Club Nintendo Gold Rewards before talking us into the halls of Super Castlevania IV.

After the break the seas get a bit rougher for our brave crew. An examination of Nintendo's recent patent filings is followed by a spirited discussion of which Nintendo executive is the biggest "beefcake." The crew reenters the stable seas with questions about our love of Nintendo and Summer Games Done Quick. Finally, for our last email, the intrepid ship is boarded by Dr. Jonathan Metts - just in time for a discussion on how to make podcast conversation sound organic.

232

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 390: Internal Swords

« on: July 17, 2014, 12:22:51 AM »

James and I have both played The Last Story to completion and are big fans. It was my #1 game of that year!

[We want to tell you about a handful of Nintendo games!]

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Podcast Discussion / Episode 390: Internal Swords

« on: July 13, 2014, 08:41:09 AM »

We want to tell you about a handful of Nintendo games!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/38062/episode-390-internal-swords

First, the bad news: we recorded a short episode this week. It's just how things worked out. On the other hand, we have a really nice array of New Business games, and in an uncommon coincidence even for our show, this lineup is all Nintendo games. (Check the related content links on the right sidebar to follow up on each one.) You even get more in-depth Xenoblade flattery, and it's not even the same guy as last week! So, please enjoy our weekly impressions, and send an email about which games and topics you'd like to hear on upcoming shows!

234

TalkBack / Re: Sega Producer: No Plans for Wii U Virtual Console

« on: July 12, 2014, 11:15:28 PM »

Too bad, as there are quite a few good GBA titles from Sega that would be worth releasing on Wii U Virtual Console (and eventually to 3DS, I hope). Same goes for their DS lineup, whenever that finally launches outside Japan.

235

TalkBack / Re: Japanese Nintendo Direct Coming July 11

« on: July 10, 2014, 10:05:30 PM »

Third-party 3DS, eh? So probably won't be an American version for this one.

236

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 07:08:04 PM »

Oh, and I want to say to everyone who has written nice things about the show, my colleagues, or me -- thank you. It means a lot more than you realize. And to anyone who has criticized us -- thank you too. It can be very helpful, and I appreciate that you care enough to say something when you're not happy with the show.

237

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 07:00:58 PM »

Not your fault! We chose to read it on the show. It was a good question and a worthy topic. Lately, I've been drawn more to potentially controversial emails on the show because I like jumping into a conversation when I don't know where it will go.

238

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 05:12:51 PM »

I'll sign that petition!

239

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 03:34:47 PM »

Text message I sent to a friend recently:

"Past couple years I've realized that people see me as professorial no matter what I do, and I might as well use it. Hopefully don't come across as a know it all most of the time"

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 02:10:42 PM »

You've got that story all kinds of wrong. I watched DBZ for years in high school before NWR even existed.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 01:52:44 PM »

You'll hear a lot from Jon on 390, talking about a very popular Nintendo game!

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 10, 2014, 12:32:21 PM »

What truly frustrates me is that I've tried very hard to be a firewall against James's outright hatred of tournament-style Smash. I've tried to be open-minded, learn from the many listeners who have written about it, and explore different aspects of it on the show. I attended and gave extensive coverage of the Invitational at E3. In he past few months, RFN has given tournament-style Smash more coverage than any other large gaming podcast maybe ever has. I actually agree with most of what you wrote above and have tried to represent that on the show. Yet the more we discuss the topic, the more we get **** upon. It seems there is no way to win. You don't seem satisfied with anything I do to try giving this interesting subject more exposure on the show. Half the RFN crew requested, just last night, that we never talk about Smash Bros ever again. That's how fucking fed up they are with all this. But I'm not going to censor out the year's biggest release just because a few people get crazy upset whenever it comes up.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 09, 2014, 07:51:43 PM »

Pile it on, guys!

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 09, 2014, 05:34:21 PM »

Hey ResettisCousin, when you broadcast thousands of hours of your own thoughts, some small percentage is going to be misunderstood no matter what. The rest, I will own up to my own limitations and try to communicate better. I'm an amateur and can always improve.

As for subtext -- I avoid it as much as possible. I'm never intentionally speaking in code or trying to convey hidden messages. Most of my frustration at being misunderstood comes from people reading subtext where there is none. As Jon has often noted, I'm honest to a fault. I will tell you exactly what I think, even if it's not polite to do so. No reason for me to be subtle.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 08, 2014, 07:19:02 PM »

If you want to take things out of context like that, you could probably find much worse things that we've all said. My language was admittedly harsh, but I was speaking in the abstract -- not to listeners, but more broadly, to all gamers and people, including myself. Don't criticize that of which you know nothing. It's life advice that we can all work on.

246

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 07, 2014, 06:02:25 PM »

We are not bashing, only disagreeing on certain points. Well, James is bashing but he does that to everything.

This conversation, quite frankly, wasn't about competitive Smash. I appreciate your perspective on the matter, which is valid and additive to the discussion, but our focus on other aspects of the issue was an intentional choice rather than an oversight. If we'd actually gone into the details of tournament play, I'm sure the wired/wireless issue would have come up. However, for us on the show and the vast majority of Smash players, the need for wires is actually a detriment. That's why many people looked at the GC adapter and wondered if it would support WaveBirds, and if Nintendo might even reproduce the WaveBird on this occasion. (I'm not really convinced that the "we lost the mold" story is factual but admittedly haven't done much research into it.)

Yes, the wired format of the GameCube controller might give it advantages over the Pro, for certain players. However, that is not a unique feature to the GC controller. If Nintendo actually cared about providing the best possible controller for Smash Bros, they would fix things like the Z button and C-stick and D-pad. The fact that they are releasing an old controller, which already has some minor issues with the single game supporting it on this platform, indicates that they are mainly just trying to please a set of people who are accustomed to a certain thing despite its limitations. That's why I used the word pandering. It feels good to be pandered to, so you should enjoy it. Just don't get pissed when we call a spade a spade.

[Weird assortment of games in New Business leads to weird assortment of stories and questions in Listener Mail!]

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Podcast Discussion / Episode 389: Best Practices

« on: July 06, 2014, 10:28:34 AM »

Weird assortment of games in New Business leads to weird assortment of stories and questions in Listener Mail!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/38008/episode-389-best-practices

This episode is notable for an odd assortment of New Business games and an overall rowdy tone, due in part to Skype problems that made it hard for us to coordinate a friendly conversation. So... enjoy?!? James is first with his long-awaited thoughts on Super Mario 3D World, and he even mixes in a little Shovel Knight post-mortem. Guillaume tries Xenoblade for the third time, and it seems to be clicking this time. Jonny gushes about Resogun, the PS4 arcade shoot-em-up that just got new updates and DLC. Although he's considered our resident FPS expert, Jon has never really tried the Battlefield series, and what better place to start than the newest entry that is still dogged by bugs and balance issues? Wrapping up, we swing back to James for his bewildered description of Electroplankton: Rec Rec from DSiWare. Bonus: Hear his absolutely horrifying audio creation during the break!

Listener Mail is always a treat for us, because we love hearing from fans and engaging in whatever topics you want to hear. The gracious contributions this week include Transformers (and other enjoyable-but-"bad" games), the best GamePad titles for families, the unshakable curse of GameCube controllers, and the pleasures/hazards of listening to podcasts... in the shower? No matter where and how you listen to RFN, we'd love to hear from you! Join the email caucus today.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 139: Shovel Pun

« on: July 01, 2014, 09:03:16 AM »

Glad you liked it! The NWR search function might help a little, but the easiest way to find all the Space Q&A segments is at Crosstawk. I always cutout that part and release it separately about one week after it runs on Connectivity. On the website, it's listed under Crosstawk Presents (used for special/irregular shows).

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 388: Visitation Rights

« on: June 30, 2014, 10:26:00 AM »

I wasn't talking about the "make a Unite Hand!" QTEs but rather the ones where you need to jump right before a monster destroys your footing, or when you need to make a ladder to reach some place while missiles are raining down over the area and randomly land on you. There are many such moments, in which the game offers little or no explanation of why you're failing over and over, and that's just in the first handful of levels that I've seen. W101 is a classic example of a game that cares more about looking cool than playing well. It has a lot of good qualities, but it's hard for me to appreciate them when I'm so confused and frustrated most of the time I'm playing it.

[You wish us to talk even more about Shovel Knight and E3? MEKKA-LEKKA-HI, MEKKA-HINEY-HO]

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Podcast Discussion / Episode 388: Visitation Rights

« on: June 29, 2014, 07:58:50 AM »

You wish us to talk even more about Shovel Knight and E3? MEKKA-LEKKA-HI, MEKKA-HINEY-HO

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/37956/episode-388-visitation-rights

Desperately trying to regain normalcy after all the recent disruption, the RFN crew is back to talking games and answering emails. Shovel Knight makes its second appearance in as many weeks, but we go much deeper now that three of us are playing this lovely game. Buckle in for half an hour of shovel talk, focusing heavily on "retro" game design! Jonny finally gets to talk about The Wonderful 101, and his reaction to this overlooked Wii U exclusive is mixed. Jon's audio was lost for this segment, but you would have heard him talking about Mario Kart 8 a little more. And Guillaume offers another dose of Tomodachi Life, this time detailing its approach to StreetPass (listen for a Fraggle Rock reference).

We promised lots of Listener Mail, and it does provide the bulk for this episode. It begins with a powder keg of an email about E3, Miyamoto's "new IPs," and the role of enthusiast media at a show where the companies provide their own coverage. Next is a hilarious, cautionary tale from a listener who got antsy about spoilers at the worst possible moment. Next is an observation about the increased female representation in Nintendo's games, development teams, and corporate staff. The show wraps with a helpful reminder about the Digital Deluxe Program and questions about whether the bonus plan should be extended.

Please keep the emails coming -- write your own question or comment for the RFN team! Also, be sure to check out Jonny's appearance on Connectivity for another Space Q&A with Scott, plus the return of Box Office Poison with several new episodes full of the summer movie hits and ex-RFN voices!