Episode 68: The Half-Lost Episode

Radio Free Nintendo

by Karl Castaneda - September 9, 2007, 11:44 pm EDT
Total comments: 27

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We are VERY proficient at being late, it seems.

Yes, Episode 68 DOES exist, and yes, it's ready to go! After last week's editing troubles, this week we got thrown a real curveball. The entire first segment was lost (for reasons explained at the beginning of the show), and to make matters worse, I couldn't even join in for Segments 2 and 3 because of my internet connection. In my place, the fabulous Jonny Metts has taken up the role of host, along with first-time RFNer Mike Thomsen.

Even though this is only 2/3rds of a real show, it's still plenty packed. Retro Studios is taking a break from Metroid, Camelot is back in the Nintendo circuit, and the Wii has officially sold a million in the UK!

To finish things off, Jonny and Mike talk about what Nintendo games tick them off. For some reason, neither of them like Fire Emblem. I guess they're also not fans of watching the sun rise with a loved one, or seeing a baby laugh, as their hearts must be made of cold, hard stone. That's right, I said COLD, HARD STONE.

When you (almost assuredly) blow your top with rage, remember to send us some of that listener mail. Can't wait for it! And I can't wait until next week when I'm back in the host's seat!

Credits:

This podcast was edited by Karl Castaneda.

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can also purchase their album directly from the iTunes Music Store

Talkback

ShyGuySeptember 09, 2007

Karl delivers with minutes to spare!

jayz79September 09, 2007

hmmm the links point to episode 67 apparently hehehe... you might want to fix those

Karl Castaneda #2September 09, 2007

Ack, sorry about that. Fixed now.

jayz79September 09, 2007

cool... with the links fixed i guess its the end for this podcast's bad luck hehehe

Jonnyboy117Jonathan Metts, Associate EditorSeptember 10, 2007

Karl worked really hard to get this podcast up at all... we had so many awful technical problems.

vuduSeptember 10, 2007

I really enjoy Mr. Thomsen. He rambled on a bit in some places, but I assume they would have been edited if there wasn't a big gaping hole in the beginning of the podcast. Provided he can fix his mic problems you should invite him back sometime.

Karl Castaneda #2September 10, 2007

Agreed, Vudu. I think Mike T did an awesome job, and I can definitely see him coming back in the future.

Thursday's show will feature the old gang, though. Obi's back in town, which means I've got a stable connection, so we'll be able to keep a leash on Jonny's rants without too much trouble.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusSeptember 10, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
I really enjoy Mr. Thomsen. He rambled on a bit in some places, but I assume they would have been edited if there wasn't a big gaping hole in the beginning of the podcast. Provided he can fix his mic problems you should invite him back sometime.

Agreed 100%. It was nice to hear a new voice and a new set of opinions. Though I must fully disagree with all the Fire Emblem/Animal Crossing/Puzzle League/Golden Sun hate. To each his own I suppose. I can level with some of the points made, namely Fire Emblem for the Wii being a little lackluster and not taking any chances.

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorSeptember 10, 2007

So lemme get this straight... You lost a third of the podcast, and this things is 71 MINUTES LONG?!?!?!?

Karl Castaneda #2September 10, 2007

Pretty much. Had the first segment been salvaged, it would've easily reached 100 minutes.

Realize that we're trying to cut back the running time again. We know that the 45-55 minute mark is what most people like.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusSeptember 10, 2007

Quote
Realize that we're trying to cut back the running time again. We know that the 45-55 minute mark is what most people like.

Hell no, bring on that 100 minute segment! I usually listen at my desk at work, and the more time killed by the podcast the better. I know I'm not most people, but I figured I'd throw my opinion out there, maybe there are others.

vuduSeptember 10, 2007

I just got around to listening to the second half of the podcast and I wanted to say that Jonny completely misses the point of Fire Emblem.

Quote
The gimmick that everybody points to is that if a character dies in battle he doesn't come back. Well, I don't really care about it that much because from an Advance Wars perspective you have tons of characters die in every battle and they don't come back but it doesn't matter because you have other units that do the same thing.

The characters in Advance Wars are nameless units who battle and nothing else. They don't increase in levels or abilities and there's nothing from stopping you from creating more except funds. If you lose a Neo Tank in Advance Wars it's a shame, but you can build another one to replace it.

Fire Emblem is completely different because there is no exact replacement for any unit. Even when comparing units across the same class (such as Swordmasters) there are differences in base stats, stat growths, weapon skill levels, etc. If you lose a unit, you lose all the experience that you've put into that unit. This isn't such a big deal early in the game, but once your characters have increased several levels, you are in a real pickle if a unit dies and you choose not to restart the level.

That said, there are some changes I'd like to see to Fire Emblem. My biggest complaint (by far) is that it's pretty much impossible to tell which units have good stat growths and which have bad ones without a guide. The other thing I'd really like to see is changing story lines depending on which units are recruited and which are still alive. The vast majority of Fire Emblem characters are completely anonymous beyond the support conversations that occur between chapters. (And even then, you have to play through the game like 30 times in order to see all of them.)

MashiroSeptember 10, 2007

Quote
Golden Sun hate.

I don't know if I should listen to this podcast tomorrow at work . . .

oh hell I know I will.

vuduSeptember 10, 2007

Question: At the end of the podcast Jonny gave out a new password for Mike's Crazy Mailbag; does this mean that the mailbag was addressed in Mike's absence in the lost first segment? If so, was it my question?

Karl Castaneda #2September 10, 2007

Yeah, it was answered in the lost first segment, but no, it wasn't your question. We'll actually be answering it again, in addition to the new question for Thursday's show.

vuduSeptember 10, 2007

Wow, I sent in my question 21 minutes after the episode was posted and someone beat me to it? It must have been one of those damn RFN fanboys who subscribe via iTunes.

Jonnyboy117Jonathan Metts, Associate EditorSeptember 10, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
I just got around to listening to the second half of the podcast and I wanted to say that Jonny completely misses the point of Fire Emblem.
Quote
The gimmick that everybody points to is that if a character dies in battle he doesn't come back. Well, I don't really care about it that much because from an Advance Wars perspective you have tons of characters die in every battle and they don't come back but it doesn't matter because you have other units that do the same thing.
The characters in Advance Wars are nameless units who battle and nothing else. They don't increase in levels or abilities and there's nothing from stopping you from creating more except funds. If you lose a Neo Tank in Advance Wars it's a shame, but you can build another one to replace it.

Fire Emblem is completely different because there is no exact replacement for any unit. Even when comparing units across the same class (such as Swordmasters) there are differences in base stats, stat growths, weapon skill levels, etc. If you lose a unit, you lose all the experience that you've put into that unit. This isn't such a big deal early in the game, but once your characters have increased several levels, you are in a real pickle if a unit dies and you choose not to restart the level.

Good point. But it's still hard for me to care if the lost characters weren't involved in the story (which you mention later in the post). Fire Emblem could be a much more interesting series if ALL the characters were involved in the story, and the battles were set up so that someone is probably going to die no matter what, so you have to play God and decide who will live and who will be left on the battlefield. Then that choice would have repercussions throughout the rest of the storyline. Then you're getting into BioWare or Lionhead territory, except Nintendo already has an established series and tight gameplay to support it.

Also, my other point stands, that this feature is essentially an annoyance because you are just going to restart the battle if someone dies. It's a problem in FF Tactics, too.

EntroperSeptember 10, 2007

Your description of the battle system in Golden Sun is exactly how I feel about GF summoning in FF8. Takes forever to watch, you can do it anytime, and the battle is over. Makes the battles completely uninteresting and inconsequential, and combined with their length, makes the game completely boring.

The problem with Fire Emblem characters dying is that you then don't get to see their involvement in the story. No one wants to play through the game 10 different times to get every character's reaction to the plot events, so you end up with people just resetting the game whenever someone dies. It really makes the game annoying to play through and limits the scope of the battles. In a game like Advance Wars, you can have larger confrontations with more going on because it isn't the end of the world when you lose a unit. Instead of spending hours analyzing every possible move that could be made, you can just formulate a general strategy and execute it. Losing a unit is OK if your strategy ends with you coming out on top.

Vudu, what you described is, IMO, not a feature of the game.

Quote
once your characters have increased several levels, you are in a real pickle if a unit dies and you choose not to restart the level.

Nobody wants to lose a character that they've spent time building up, it's completely frustrating. Even worse, if you are having particular trouble making it through a long battle, and you finally end up winning but without one of your stronger characters, then you save your game and end up screwed because you're missing a character, you basically end up stuck and have to restart the entire game if you want to get unstuck. That's not a good thing, it's a problem with the game design. You're supposed to be reward players, not penalize them.

vuduSeptember 11, 2007

It's not my fault you don't play the game the right way.

Karl Castaneda #2September 11, 2007

Just a note: All of you who are subscribed to the show via iTunes or an RSS reader are going to get this week's show early. It's going up on Wednesday to make up for Episode 68's tardiness, a full day before it appears on the site.

ShyGuySeptember 11, 2007

Man you are tempting me to get an iTunes clone working on my Linux.

Karl Castaneda #2September 11, 2007

It doesn't have to be iTunes. There are a bunch of podcast subscription services, like Odeo, for example, that are done through a website.

EntroperSeptember 11, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
It's not my fault you don't play the game the right way.

Oh elitist master, teach me the One True Way to play Fire Emblem! I am unworthy!

Seriously, it's no wonder this franchise doesn't have a bigger audience. Your reply highlights exactly what I'm talking about.

Shift KeySeptember 11, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: ViewtifulGamer
We know that the 45-55 minute mark is what most people like.

That's still a very long period of time. I've tried several times to get into the podcasts but I end up listening to the same old debate points that I see everywhere else and I give up. Right now they are too long and too broad. Perhaps you guys have an agenda of points to discuss each week but from what I've seen it does have a tendency to drag out and lose focus.

What I'd like to see from this is several short podcasts with clear structure and execution (technical problems are fine occasionally). I know you guys are aiming to be a serious source of Nintendo information (perhaps RFN falls outside of that umbrella) but I think you are missing out on a great opportunity to gain readers through the use of podcasts.

The mailbag would be a great excuse for a podcast, and it would encourage reader involvement on a regular basis. Hell, I'd put my hand up to help out with that if I can answer any questions or impart my wisdom (yes, I have wisdom, my posts lie).

Shift KeySeptember 11, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: ViewtifulGamer
Just a note: All of you who are subscribed to the show via iTunes or an RSS reader are going to get this week's show early. It's going up on Wednesday to make up for Episode 68's tardiness, a full day before it appears on the site.

Pro tip: Non-podcasting people can check out this link on Wednesday: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/podcast/nwrpodcast69.mp3

Unless Karl decides to muck with the filenames of course.

Karl Castaneda #2September 12, 2007

Additional, supplemental podcasts is an idea we've brought up internally. Perhaps it'll happen, perhaps not.

Oh, and Shift Key, we don't muck with the filenames. I'm not going to tell you you're right, but I'd be a moron to tell you you're wrong, eh? The link speaks for itself, doesn't it.

MashiroSeptember 12, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Mashiro
Quote
Golden Sun hate.

I don't know if I should listen to this podcast tomorrow at work . . .

oh hell I know I will.

I stand corrected. Very good pod cast and you know what?

As someone who enjoyed Golden Sun I completely agree with you about all the negatives of the game you said.

Oh and Mike Thomsen was good for his first time! Though him NOT trying Mario Party because he knows there is nothing he will enjoy in it will get the label of "ignorant" from a certain someone.

Edit: BTW I GREATLY enjoy long podcasts. It makes the works day go that much faster =)

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