Topic: NWR Chat Episode 1, Season 1: A New Hope

[Jonnyboy117]

James does it right and leaves the country before the heir to his throne screws everything up.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43656/nwr-chat-episode-1-season-1-a-new-hope

James has left for Japan, leaving a potentially deadly power vacuum at the top of the RFN food chain in his absence, along with an opportunity for an off-brand podcast. Jon emerges from the wilderness to claim the hosting throne, the prodigal son returning after having last hosted on the immensely successful RFN Episode 105. The beginning of his reign is marked by his reading of a prepared statement, meant to foster unity in these troubled times. Speaking of troubled times, Dr. Jonny Metts takes a seat in the vacant guest chair to salve our wounds, with Greg and Gui along for the bumpy ride as always. This week's New Business covers the end of Wii U production, Gui comparing platformers with Sonic CD and Freedom Planet, Greg dealing with a buggy F-Zero X on Virtual Console, and Jonny diving deeper into Dragon Quest VII with a little Rhythm Thief thrown in for good measure.

After the break it's Listener Mail. Our resident pre-order expert Jonny Metts advises us on whether or not we should pre-order Switch, and we also analyze potential Switch launch SKUs, prices, and games. We then discuss the small marketing window leading up to Switch launch, and whether or not there will be a successor to the Nintendo 3DS. You can get inside our small marketing window by sending your inquiries to our inbox.

Don't forget that we're still looking for RFN Episode RetroActives for use during the voyage of self-discovery that will be Episode 500. Find one of your favorite RFN episodes (we recommend anything without "103" in the title) and send us your thoughts, RetroActive style. And by "RetroActive style" we mean "dumpster fire". Get writing!

[ClexYoshi]

It's the podcast as you truly imagined it, people!

[ClexYoshi]

Gui should have really gotten the proper Sonic CD 2011 remake, as it adds a ton of awesome new features, such as 16:9, Sonic 2 style spindash, Playable Tails, selectable Soundtracks, and a Save feature!

Sonic CD is actually a fascinating case where during it's original development, it was being developed in japan at the same time as Sonic 2, which was famously developed in the US. Both games were pretty much developed in isolation of one another. Sonic programmer Yuji Naka headed Sonic 2's production in the US, while Sonic's Character Designer, Naoto Oshima lead the Sonic CD team.

I love Sonic CD, for it's excellent (Japanese) soundtrack, the bigger emphasis on exploring the multi-tiered level design and finding ways to time travel so you could destroy all the robot generators, and just overall having a very loud and 90's atheistic to it. another thing to note is that Metallic Madness Zone 3 is the only one with a bottomless pit in it in Sonic CD, which again, feeds into the fact that the levels are built for exploring them rather than running through. as for setpieces, I would argue that Gui clearly didn't get to stages like Whacky Workbench or Stardust Speedway, which are pretty much level set piece overload to the point they turn some folks off. Workbench in particular with it being one of the most vertically inclined Sonic levels out there where the gimmick is that the lower path is the one that's impossible to stay on.

The benefit of going to the future is that good futures tend to be enemy free and really easy to rack up rings and extra lives for a special stage attempt. Bad futures tend to be the hard mode of stages, so in a way, time travel is a bit of a difficulty select and extra objective. it may not be a perfectly well implemented mechanic, but I appreciate the effort for the early 90's.


Sorry I dropped Twitter so hard. it's annoying to keep up with, and I've been embroiled in the pokemon spoilers. It sounds like you may have a ISO of the japanese or european versions, because Sonic Boom is from the US soundtrack for Sonic CD, and... is probably the one track I like from the US version over the JP/EU Sonic CD OST.


I'd argue Sonic CD is better than Sonic 2 for me. it's hard to argue it up against the behemoth that is S3+K, but like... this is a fun game that I enjoy quite a bit.


Kinda funny that the one week you call me out for getting triggered over your video game opinions I don't, and then you find something that does trigger me, huh?

I also need to stop writing these up as I listen to the show. if you need FP tips, feel free to hit me up here via PM or tweet at me so my phone actually gets a notification.

[daverhodus]

Street Fighter II for SNES was a two player game. It was kind of important.

[Jonnyboy117]

Yeah, that's a great one! Super Mario Kart was crazy at the time, but I think the later ones did multiplayer better. There are some cool 2P run-and-guns on SNES, like Contra III... Joe & Mac...

[Crimm]

The unhappening is at hand.

[quoll]

Enjoyable listen as always.
In regards to an updated gamepad, isn't that what the Switch is?

[ClexYoshi]

also, for Johnny's sake...

SNES games I can think of off the top of my head that have prominent 2 player modes! (in no particular order)

Secret of Mana
Goof Troop (Shinji Mikami's first game!)
Kirby Superstar
Kirby's Dreamland 3
Tetris & Dr. Mario
Tetris Attack
Pocky & Rocky
Sunset Riders
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV; Turtles in Time
Contra 3
all Street Fighter II Variants
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 3
Killer Instinct
Super Mario Kart
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Super Bomberman
Super Bomberman 2
Super Bomberman 3 (PAL/JP only)
Zombies ate my Neighbors
Smash TV
NBA Jam

[Lemonade]

Im glad Gui liked Freedom Planet. I also thought it was the best Sonic game I have played. Im looking forward to Freedom Planet 2 more than Sonic Mania.

The preorder talk was also interesting. I have already preordered the Switch.
I dont know how it has been in America and Europe, but the NES mini sold out like crazy here in Australia. EB Games website has gone down twice because of so many people trying to preorder it. They had to reschedule the second shipment preorder to today. I will try to get one, but I doubt I will be able to.

[lolmonade]

Im glad Gui liked Freedom Planet. I also thought it was the best Sonic game I have played. Im looking forward to Freedom Planet 2 more than Sonic Mania.

The preorder talk was also interesting. I have already preordered the Switch.
I dont know how it has been in America and Europe, but the NES mini sold out like crazy here in Australia. EB Games website has gone down twice because of so many people trying to preorder it. They had to reschedule the second shipment preorder to today. I will try to get one, but I doubt I will be able to.

NES Classic situation in the U.S. is BAD.  You had to be lining up at store openings to get one in my area.

[ejamer]

Interesting to hear people say that SNES wasn't a big multiplayer console for them.  It certainly was for me and my friends - but maybe that's situation dependent.


We played a lot of fighting games (Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat being the most memorable) but also a lot of brawlers in the same style as Final Fight. Bomberman and wrestling games were also huge draws when we'd get together, with Mario Kart and various sports games also getting a good amount of play.


Very few of those games really hold up as experiences I'd want to go back to - although Bomberman is still classic - but they were definitely well-loved at the time.


Here's hoping for an SNES Classic console coming out eventually. 

...
I dont know how it has been in America and Europe, but the NES mini sold out like crazy here in Australia. EB Games website has gone down twice because of so many people trying to preorder it. They had to reschedule the second shipment preorder to today. I will try to get one, but I doubt I will be able to.

NES Classic situation in the U.S. is BAD.  You had to be lining up at store openings to get one in my area.

Same in Canada, for what it's worth. But if you want to spend between $300 and $400 on the lovely second-hand market then there appear to be plenty available.  Seems like waiting for more stock is the only reasonable option.

[Lemonade]

Ok, so it is the same then.

[ClexYoshi]

for those quibbling about the NES classic in this thread, I'd like to direct you to a much better but slightly more expensive alternative.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=78

while this is not an officially licensed product, the RetroUSB AVS is an HDMI outputting cartridge with a FPGA core that rather than emulate, perfectly recreates the NES and Famicom hardware. unlike systems like say... The Retron 5 where it reads what cart you have inserted and loads up a ROM, this is the real deal and playing off your cartridges, and upscales them in a way that presents the games in a far crisper manner then on the Wii U Virtual Console and gives you something that more looks like the sort of cleanup that the Mega Man Legacy Collection on PS4 gives. It has a built in Game Genie and Four-Score, along with full compatability with the famicom and Famicom Disk System if you have a seperate disk system rather than the Twin Famicom!

considering every game in the NES Mini is a game I own in cartridge form, I will gladly pony up the extra dosh for a RetroUSB AVS.

[ejamer]

for those quibbling about the NES classic in this thread, I'd like to direct you to a much better but slightly more expensive alternative.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=78

...

"Slightly more expensive" is likely to be an understatement for most people.  The console does look great, but it's three times more expensive out of the gate and requires you to own physical copies of the games.  Some of those games won't be expensive, but buying 30 (ie: equivalent to the NES Classic) games will add up pretty quickly... making the total investment much higher for anyone who isn't starting with an existing collection of NES carts.

That said, if you have the money or an existing collection of games then this is a pretty fantastic looking piece of equipment. For me, the biggest selling point is that game selection is only limited by your budget and ability to find original cartridges - fantastic!


Almost like they are shooting for different audiences...   

[ClexYoshi]

you got me there, Ejamer. I figured most of the folks who come to this forum probably have an existing collection.

[ejamer]

you got me there, Ejamer. I figured most of the folks who come to this forum probably have an existing collection.

People here might - we don't exactly represent the "average gamer" when it comes to Nintendo fandom, right?
For anyone with a collection of real NES games, that does look like the best approach - and in that case the cost seems totally reasonable.

[pokepal148]

Does Red Velvet count for RFN retroactive?

[MASB]

Jon's performance as host was excellent. Dare I say that he seemed to have a better handle on the podcast than James usually does? Not much in the way of craziness at all ( though I throughly approve of craziness as well). Hail the sunshine, Jon. Get Pokemon Sun.

With James being out a second week, does this mean NWR Chat Episode 2: The Empire Strikes Back? If so, who's playing the Empire? Evan Burchfield?

[famicomplicated]

#LetJonHost


Oh they did? Never mind, carry on.

[Enner]

And Nintendo podcasting has returned to greatness!

[adadad]

Jon's performance as host was excellent. Dare I say that he seemed to have a better handle on the podcast than James usually does? Not much in the way of craziness at all ( though I throughly approve of craziness as well).

Agreed! I think Jon did a (surprisingly) great job, and would love to see Jon host more often - one show every five years, say.