Messages

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 629: Public Estrangement

« on: July 04, 2019, 07:00:59 PM »

Good stuff guys. Now I need to hear you discuss your favourite chatterpieces from the Xenoblade series, excluding the obvious Mor Ardain soldiers . My XC2 faves are from Rex: "'S'a new day everyone!" "And arrived." "I'm all... outta juice".

Xenoblade X had an ultramemorable/ultrabad one from the same voice actress who brought us Fiora that I will neither forget ("don't forget") nor forgive: "Have a biscuit!" Because that is an entirely appropriate comment to make when firing a nuke in an oversized mech.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive 44: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

« on: May 15, 2019, 12:56:07 PM »

What do people think about the economy as built into Spirit Tracks?

I have straight-up ignored it, and so far I am perfectly content with that. I might have taken more of an interest had the game's economy/sidequests been available early on. But I assume I'm around two thirds through the game and the shop for train parts only just opened. That's very late and the rewards seem frivolous (and costly!), so unless I'm forced to I won't. Incidentally, getting hold of Beedle seems to be a real hassle.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 622: Fanciful Yet Relatively Simple

« on: May 15, 2019, 11:11:23 AM »

This retro tune from Runner 2 has been my ring tone ever since the game launched
https://youtu.be/aCnkmv8Bp8g
Its only 30 seconds long, so it is perfect for a ring tone, plus it just sounds cool.

That is cool - thumbs up. Better than Buck Bumble that's for certain

[carefully]

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive 44: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

« on: May 13, 2019, 12:44:48 AM »

Im now up to the fire temple. I kind of think the game goes for longer than it should. Im ready for it to be over, but I looked at a guide and there is still a lot left to go

Agreed. I'm still enjoying the game overall (just finished the marine temple) but it's a bit of a drag outside the dungeons especially.

One part that really annoyed me was meeting the bridgemaker in the snow world. "If you need any bridges fixed, let me know!". Alarm bells are going off in my head and sure enough, five minutes later and one lengthy train ride away there's a bridge in need of fixing. Trek back over and let the guy know that he is required. Then you have to escort him back, carefully to keep him sweet since he's some kind of train connisseur! Ugh. The escort part isn't so bad actually, at least it's something different. Those two boring back and forth journeys in the middle completely kill the pace though, it's painfully inelegant and makes the game feel padded. No one in Hyrule ever heard of a phone?

On the matter of the train (and its overuse) there are things I like about it, most notably the sound design. The main overworld theme is great, as is the little intro every time you set off on a journey. Also I like how the music ramps up and down dynamically depending on what speed you're travelling at. Best of all the way the train sound effects sync up with the music timing when you're at top speed is genuinely compelling. These things don't fully redeem the train for me but they certainly help, just the same way the amazing music in Wind Waker made sailing tolerable.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive 44: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

« on: April 25, 2019, 04:20:28 PM »

Believe it or not this is my first time ever gaming on a DS. Maybe it's the novelty, maybe it's time and distance from similar Zelda games, maybe it's the dramatic changes to the formula Breath of the Wild brought about, but I've been enjoying the earlygoing of Spirit Tracks. I'm sure had I played Spirit Tracks close to release, I would've been a lot less patient and the drawn out intro would've frustrated me no end. As it is I've enjoyed taking the train to the castle and all the drama there, Chancellor Cole's devilish manner, the introduction of the possession mechanic, even the escort/stealth mission with Zelda...! I'm now moving up the central tower. Promising stuff. I look forward to putting more time into this.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 617: The Platonic Ideal

« on: April 14, 2019, 04:05:42 PM »

I know it'll lose but I voted for Landstalker. I'd be curious to try it. Its spiritual successor, Alundra, would make for a really compelling Retroactive discussion, but alas it's never come to a Nintendo system.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 598: Sword of Jonocles

« on: November 22, 2018, 05:02:19 PM »

I love thinking about voice acting in videogames so thanks to all involved for such an interesting question/answer. I'm 100% with Gui on Grim Fandango, the voice acting in that game is top to bottom excellent - there's not a bad or even meh voice, including all the (many) bit parts. Manny is so good, IIRC, his voice actor was in Ugly Betty. As was mentioned on the show, it helps when a game has excellent writing - an all too rare occurrance unfortunately.

I think Charles Martinet is a highly underrated voice actor. Obviously his Mario is great, but few people know how versatile he has been outside of Mario. He's easily my top pick for "great voice actor in an otherwise poor cast" for his role in an obscure Konami PS2 game, Shadow of Memories (known as Shadow of Destiny in the US). He is totally unrecognisable as a creepy, androgynous character! https://youtu.be/gKD0c5WmG2c

Also you guys mentioned Arc Rise Fantasia, what a doozy. The most incredible thing about the cast is that they brought an infamous voice actor, Samuel Rose, out of retirement to play Niko. Prior to Arc Rise Fantasia he had only "acted" as the main character of the 1998 Sega Saturn survival horror game, Deep Fear. My favourite line: "What do you mean, stuffy?" https://youtu.be/4dCaEyh1wpw?t=319 Props to him I guess for starring in two of the worst voiced games of all time?!

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TalkBack / Re: The Emerging Essential Relevance of Value in Game Review

« on: April 15, 2017, 11:50:37 AM »

What they pay is irrelevant, you know the launch MSRP, the price that the company is selling the product for. That price is a statement of value by the company releasing the product, and it can be judged as fair or unfair. It being on sale or something else down the line really isn't terribly relevant, much like patches that come down the line for a game (see the current issues for ME: Andromeda) but aren't available when the majority of people would purchase it. Why would suggested price relating to value be different than any other factor?

Your point might be more convincing if one of your key examples in the article wasn't 1-2 Switch, a launch game for a new system, and a casual game at that. Switch is brand new, and supply constrained. This is hardly the time when the majority of people may purchase it.

By all means, criticise the MSRP, but keep in mind that this price is only relevant to early Switch adopters, and even then only unsavvy ones who won't go out of their way for a deal. A review that goes in on price and makes that the centre of its critique is going to lose its value (geddit?) far more quickly than a review that doesn't.

Ultimately what it comes down to for me is that I'm not interested in your review of the company releasing the product, I'm interested in the product itself. It's comparable to reviewers of Pikmin 3 who decided to review the Wii U as a console and Nintendo as a company rather than the game itself. It's true, price, the developer, the publisher, those things may all be worth addressing. But, broadly speaking, the game should be reviewed as a standalone product, because it's the only constant. (Admittedly DLC and patches do mess this up, but that's another discussion.)

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TalkBack / Re: The Emerging Essential Relevance of Value in Game Review

« on: April 14, 2017, 10:22:11 PM »

Disagree. As a reviewer, you can't know how much people are paying for a game. Sure, there is such a thing as RRP, but that doesn't guarantee anything over time - look how fast most games' value depreciates these days. And let's not forget that some games even become more expensive over time on the second hand market *coughFireEmblemseriescough*. Price simply isn't something anyone can reliably know or predict, therefore, write reviews based on things that CAN be reasonably assumed. E.g. the person reading is interested in playing this game. By all means, if a reviewer wants to, let them give a reasoning for why X price is good/bad value. But, in my opinion, those words would be better spent elsewhere.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: NWR Chat Episode 1, Season 1: A New Hope

« on: November 20, 2016, 06:53:38 AM »

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.

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TalkBack / Re: Excitebike 64 Making First Virtual Console Appearance Tomorrow In North America

« on: November 20, 2016, 06:46:46 AM »

Excitebike 64 is an awesome title, one of the all-time greats IMO. The handling is superb and the tracks are ace. (Not nostalgia talking by the way - I only played this for the first time a few years ago.)

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 480: Measuring Kirby's Schwarzschild Radius

« on: June 19, 2016, 10:18:24 PM »

I also really enjoyed Gui's CRT story, probably because it sounds like something I would do! I also got my CRT through Freecycle, several years ago - from the description I was expecting an enormous 4:3 set but it turned out to be an early 2000s flat/widescreen, which suited me just fine. Hauling that beast down two floors, getting it in the car and then up another four floors was memorable alright. You just never know what you're going to get with these things! As for cables, I recently upgraded all my consoles recently from composite to RGB SCART, it makes a pretty big difference but you won't miss something you've never had, so Gui, if you're happy with what you have, great. RF though... ouch It's way too easy to become obsessive over picture quality - you think you're fine and then suddenly you're considering getting one of those ridiculous PVM/BVM monitors.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #36: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

« on: May 31, 2016, 07:14:50 PM »

Well shut my mouth. I followed your advice, Clex, and made it through the first section of the level on my first go, with half Richter's health remaining. From there, playing conservatively, I eventually made it all the way to the boss. There I got game over, twice. But you know, something clicked and I now get what you're saying about the levels being designed with Richter's capabilities in mind. For an action game, you have to play surprisingly thoughtfully with him. I went back to an earlier stage with Richter and had the same sense there too. I don't know that I have the patience now to replay every single level using him but it's cool to know.

Also, a quick question: on the menu, it says continue and has a number by it. Is that how many game overs you've had? I assumed at first that the game had limited continues but you would earn more in the levels by collecting money, a bit like in Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts. It only just occurred to me that it might be a record of how many game overs you've had? If so that's a pretty cool touch for such an old game. I'm at 42, and proud.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #36: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

« on: May 29, 2016, 10:11:04 PM »

There is ALWAYS a solution to an enemy as richter. it might not always be super intuitive or it might be best handled with a sub-weapon and heart management, but richter always has a trick in his stiff arsenal to handle the situation. the crumbling clock tower bridge is that while richter can't influence his mid-air momentum, he can turn around while in the air and retreat and whip at the giant bats, and a well timed axe or two is an excelent solution to the ones that spawn in front of Richter.

My first ever Classic Controller Pro arrived in the mail yesterday and I decided to take your advice and give Richter another go - now I wish I'd read your advice in more detail because I sadly didn't get very far following my own strategy. I figured because the Clock Tower involves incoming enemies from behind, it'd be useful to do Richter's "moonwalk" - when you hold down attack to move while facing backwards. Well, I'll say it again, I didn't get far. After 10 or so goes I made it to the next section of the level only to die there, or maybe on the final section, but either way I was always without a subweapon for that final part which is just brutal.


I might go back and try one more go using your exact strategy but it was not a lot of fun, very frustrating, and I don't want it to dampen my experience of what is a pretty excellent game overall. I'm not afraid of a serious challenge by the way - I love Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts for example, and the stiff jumping doesn't bother me there. I don't mind it in Rondo of Blood either, it's just the whip! I hate how long the animation is, you have to be so precise.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #36: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

« on: May 20, 2016, 08:15:42 PM »

... did I kill the thread by making a dumb Dark Souls 3 post? : (

Not at all. I'm on 98% completion now (just missing one maiden!), but haven't found the time to give my concluding thoughts on the game. All in all, I've enjoyed Rondo of Blood a lot, plenty more than I expected. At its core it's nothing I haven't seen before, but the appeal is in those small touches that make it feel like a premium product.


The secrets, for instance, are surprisingly satisfying to find. I liked the environmental puzzle where you cut the supports from weights so they drop and open a path below, and another where you step onto a wooden raft and let it carry you downstream. Both of these were subtle enough that the first time I did each level I didn't notice anything; but when I looked, they were obvious. Very well designed.


Another secret I liked involves a set of scales. You attack a rock so it drops and weighs down one scale. Standing on the other one takes you up to an alternate boss fight. You don't get anything for it, it's just there, but it's cool nonetheless. Between the multiple routes, the maidens and so on, there are definitely hints of Metroid in there, so it's less surprising to me now the changes Konami made to the series with Symphony of the Night.

For all that's good about the game, I never could get into playing as Richter with the whip. It's just too stiff and unwieldy for my tastes. The start of the Clock Tower level, when you're crossing the collapsing bridge with the bats following you... ugh! Maria's belly slide, on the other hand, awesome. I did have to play as Richter to defeat Dracula and get the "real" ending though, and it took me about thirty tries compared with two or three with Maria. The Belmont family aren't the worst controlling videogame family out there but I have no plans to try the original Castlevania or Castlevania III any time soon solely for that reason. I'll take Maria or Alucard any day.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #36: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

« on: May 10, 2016, 08:54:14 PM »

@adadad:  Maria, for her boatloads of moves, takes double the damage Richter does, and a lot of her item crashes take a TON of hearts (I think Seiryu's item crash takes something like... 50 hearts or something ludicrous!)

To get the truly good ending, there's actually other maidens that need rescuing~! two of them are located on stage 3' and stage 4' and while it just gives you a cutscene here, the PSP version gives you permanent upgrades that are needed to find some of the game's goodies like soundtrack CDs and art and such they hid about the remake. Saving anette in stage 7 also changes the boss you fight on that stage in the PSP version.

Also, regarding the Platforming: yes, it's a little unforgiving, but at least it's not some of the rediculousness that NES Castlevania gets to, which feels similar to this, and yet enemies are much harder to handle in those. I also think that special mention needs to go out to what I'll be referring to by it's japanese title to avoid confusion here. That's right, Dracula XX, a game that claims to be a port of Rondo of Blood for the SNES, but is actually a completley different (and shitty) game. a game where a lot of the platofrming revolves around doing that thing I hade in video games where you have to have part of one of richter's heels touching the platform and nothing else in order to barely make jumps. considering Dracula XX controls very similarly to Rondo of Blood but with a much slower walk speed, you can see where that'd be a very sticky situation now that you've exerienced how richter's platforming works here.

Great post with lots of useful info. Much appreciated, and the video you made is awesome too. I'll definitely try Maria's special attack, and Richter's backflip - I can see the latter making a big difference in certain encounters. Also knowing that Maria can take fewer hits than Richter makes me feel less wimpy for using her more.

The Clock Tower was a nice reference, even if it was probably my least favourite area in Symphony of the Night I've been surprised so far by how many enemies I recognise from Symphony of the Night. It's a small thing but with only one Castlevania title under my belt it feels odd to run into some of the exact same enemies with the same animations and sound effects.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #36: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

« on: May 09, 2016, 08:01:33 AM »

This is the first retroactive I've participated in for several years and it's nice to be able to get involved again. I'm not much of a Castlevania fan to be honest - the only traditional action one I played before Rondo of Blood was Super Castlevania IV, which I disliked on the Wii VC. I was hoping one of the Metroidvania games would win the poll because I enjoyed Symphony of the Night and figured the action games weren't my cup of tea. And yet, lo and behold a little over halfway into the game I'm liking Rondo of Blood.

I'm not especially good at the game, so unlocking Maria early on was a godsend. I like how tongue-in-cheek finding Maria is. Her cute appearance and Richter's condescending attitude towards her are red herrings - she's a far more versatile and agile badass than Richter and has no obvious downsides. I'm not entirely sure but I think her birds are slightly less powerful than Richter's whip? But that's easily made up for by the fact that she can shoot two at the same time and their flight arc is better.

I can see myself playing through the game first time predominantly as Maria and then perhaps switching to Richter for a re-play. The only time when the game makes me feel like using Maria is a bit of a copout is on her game over screen, with the cutesy font and flowers. Still I think it was good of Konami to include her because Richter is so stiff! Attacking with Richter's whip reminds me a bit of the swordplay in Zelda II, something about having to think carefully about whether you're ducking or standing.

Speaking of similarities to other games, there are times when the platforming in Rondo of Blood reminds me of the Ghouls 'n' Goblins series. I love that series but I don't especially like how demanding the platforming can be in Rondo of Blood. It wouldn't be so bad at all if not for how short the invincibility period is after you get hit. You're almost instantly vulnerable again so one hit can very easily become two if you're not careful.

What else...? I like the alternate paths. So far I've done the top path on the stage select screen, and the first two stages of the bottom path. After those two alternate stages the game reverted to the top path, so presumably I need to find another secret exit to continue along the harder path. Anyway it's a cool way to increase the replayability, and I'm impressed by how organic the secret paths feel, so that you might not even necessarily be aware of which path you're on. There was one moment for example where I was going from right to left across some platforms, I got knocked off and fell down to a completely different area I'd never seen. I had the choice of going left or right so I went right, assuming there'd be a way to get back up to the area I'd just fallen from. But no, after going right the ominous boss music started and before I knew it I was fighting a boss. It's unpredictable, in a good way.

Lastly, the graphics and music are great. The animation in particular is incredibly detailed.

So overall enjoying the game quite a bit. Will aim to post some concluding thoughts once I've beaten it.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 357: Legal Satire

« on: November 14, 2013, 08:59:34 AM »

I felt I gave the game a good try. I did learn to just run past those flying creatures after a while, but then the dogs showed up and they aren't so easy to avoid.

The school is basically where I stopped playing, because I felt the puzzles were really unintuive. At that point, I asked myself why I was playing the game and whether it was worth going on, but the answer I arrived at was "No". Maybe I'll get back to it one day, but it's doubtful.

You are correct, however, in saying James is wrong about Resident Evil.

Funnily enough when I played through Silent Hill 1 I did a similar thing to you - played to the end of the school and then put it down for a good while. I was sufficiently intrigued and returned only to be really impressed for the rest of the game. I guess the puzzles are a matter of taste because I felt they were decent. Strange and weird but intuitive, and the puzzles actually make sense within the game world given how messed up and dreamlike Silent Hill is (this becomes increasingly evident as you progress). The settings too are realistic, totally unlike the Resident Evil games - Raccoon City apparently has an insane maverick architect building its police stations and mansions.

Gui, I'm surprised you would dislike Silent Hill and like the early REs, they're closely connected in my mind. Resident Evil is like Hammer Horror, B-movies, over the top and a bit of a laugh, while Silent Hill is like a David Lynch film.

James, I think fixed camera angles are a matter of taste, and as long as they're not overly obtrusive I don't find them too annoying. Incidentally the Silent Hill games including the first one handle the camera better than RE, it gives you over the shoulder control in many environments but not for small rooms which have fixed angles, which works pretty well I think.

It's true that the fixed angles have almost entirely gone away in favour of over the shoulder camera, and I don't wish them back but at the same time it doesn't ruin the early REs for me. The game compensates somewhat by autoaiming - it's not exactly taxing when you just have to shoot in the right general direction. I think the bosses are probably the biggest hassle in that sense since they can often move fast.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 357: Legal Satire

« on: November 11, 2013, 02:59:53 PM »

Good episode but a few quibbles have inspired me to comment.


- Sad to hear James saying how much he dislikes the tank Resident Evil games! I've never tried the N64 version of RE2 but the Playstation version I thought was really good. Remake on the Gamecube was too scary for me, but RE2 on the PS1 was really enjoyable, the voice acting was incredibly funny-dumb but there was enough tension to make for an entertaining game.


- Even worse to hear was Gui dismissing Silent Hill 1. That game is side by side with Silent Hill 2 as the best in the entire series in my opinion, and a genuine classic. Why on earth would you stand around shooting the winged enemies in the street when it's completely unnecessary? And silly too - they're difficult to kill, it's takes ages to kill them and there's another one waiting for you in the next street. They probably respawn too. All you have to do is run away. They're a bit annoying but the street sections are such a tiny part of the game.


The school is the introductory level and then after that the game really starts hitting its stride in the hospital. From there on out I found the experience completely engrossing and creepy as hell. Not in the RE jump-shock way but scary in a psychological sense. Silent Hill 2 is just as compelling although it has a slower start than the first game, and has more jump scares than the first game.


Shattered Memories has a brilliant story but I think it's sorely lacking in the gameplay and the fear department. The split between the normal world and the ice world means that neither world is particularly interesting. The normal world is utterly devoid of threat, and the ice world alternates between frustrating (when enemies pile on you) to boring (when you're running round in circles, hopelessly lost). Wherever you are, the gameplay is totally predictable with no surprises. I appreciate there's a lot of care and detail in the normal world but I wish they had given the player more to do in it.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 291: Good Night, Sweet Prince

« on: May 21, 2012, 08:58:10 PM »

It was very difficult for me to listen to this show, but I was happy to hear that other fans expressed what needs to be said: Greg has contributed a hell of a lot to this great show over the past 4 years. I've been listening since about episode 50, and the show never really took off for me until a few episodes in with James, Jonny, Jon and Greg. Since then I've been avid, looking forward to the show every week. I've never missed an episode in that time, so I don't feel ashamed to say how much RFN feels like a part of my life at this point. Greg, your hard work is much appreciated.

One of my favourite moments of the show was when you guys read out my joke email about Kate Middleton's wedding, Greg's response was perfect.

Good luck Greg and we all hope to hear from you soon.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 271: And I'll Form the Head!

« on: December 22, 2011, 07:22:08 PM »

I'm really glad Greg is going to try Kid Icarus. I have quite similar tastes to Greg when it comes to old-school difficulty and I love that game - I played it for the first time just a few years ago when it came out on the VC, and it became one of my favourite games. I was excited after that to try the original Metroid, but when I finally did play it I was sorely disappointed by how awkward it is to play, especially given the way dying pretty well forces you to reset the game and enter an enormous password just so that you can have some health. Kid Icarus on the other hand is really fantastic. I love the music in the first world especially. Also it feels great when you beat the game and start a new game, so that you can take on the first few levels (the most difficult in the game) with a full arsenal.

I can see how it's not for everyone and it's not perfect, but it has such a lot of charm that I'm powerless to resist.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 267: The Friendly Ghost

« on: November 19, 2011, 09:44:44 PM »

2. As KDR correctly identified above, as of now, there are not really any tangible benefits for consumers in download-only gaming.  But, there are benefits for companies in terms of screwing us!   So, I for one am very content to see Nintendo continue "lagging woefully behind" in this regard.  Plus, as Greg said, right now Nintendo's business model does not need any revamping from their end.  If consumers still feel first party games are worth the $50 price tag after years on the market? Guess what? That is Nintendo's reward for delivering on QUALITY.

Other companies who are trumpeting disposable, annual, releases and DLC up the whazoo are going to have to keep treading that water and seeing how far they can nickel and dime consumers to recoup their bloated budgets.  As Lindy acknowledged, those map packs ain't never gonna be free again, people!  And how long do you think it will take before we start seeing "Platinum Editions" released AFTER some "Gold Edition"?  : :

The fact that the conversation eventually lead down the path of "well, hypothetically they could do away with NDS functionality on the 3DS," yea, I guess that would help them get on board with downloading full NDS games.... it would also be a rip-off! And not Nintendo's style.

"But NinSage," some might already be typing feverishly, "the new Wii remodel took away GCN support!"  Yea, it did, but that's not because it is going to try and sell you downloadable GCN titles.  In other words, the business model is saving on hardware costs, not trying to squeeze you for digital transactions.  Also worth remembering, this comes on the heels of being a full console generation removed.  I am content with the industry-wide standard of having one previous generation of backwards-compatibility.

Thus, lag on, Nintendo!!  .... oh... and keep making hardware your competition needs to imitate 

I don't see why on earth you cling to this asinine assumption that offering digital downloads necessarily entails exclusively bad consequences for the consumer. With console games, DLC has paved the way for what are effectively expansion packs (GTA4's DLC episodes for example). In the past an expansion like this would've had to be retail-only, and the limited shelf space and high cost of retail have limited the creation of expansion packs to a select number of extremely popular PC games, like The Sims, and even then at an extortionate price to the customer. Rip-offs and bad practices exist in the gaming industry regardless of whether it's digital based or not. I'm not saying we as consumers shouldn't be critical or undiscerning, I just disagree with your characterisation of online transactions as a uniformly bad thing.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 264: All Good Things...

« on: October 30, 2011, 02:52:58 PM »

I was surprised however that you didn't give NoE a bit of stick when Paper Mario was brought up - it never came out in the UK if you remember! ("screw 'em they never play Mario RPG anyways", was probably the thinking there)

Sorry, I don't believe this is true - I'm a UK gamer (and UK only, unlike Greg), and I played the hell out of the first Paper Mario. Maybe you're getting confused and there was simply a large delay?

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive Game Nominations

« on: September 30, 2011, 10:10:35 PM »

The problem with RE0 in my experience was that it wasn't scary at all. The design and mechanics are almost identical to the other games in the series, it just lacks any tension whatsoever. The remake of the first game, on the other hand, is TOO scary, so bad that I couldn't get through it. Playing RE2 on the PS1 currently is a good compromise.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive Game Nominations

« on: September 22, 2011, 07:20:16 PM »

How about a second-tier platformer theme? Non-mario, dk or sonic. (rayman game, spyro/crash, billy hatcher, billy hatcher,...)

I like this idea. Rayman 2 is a fantastic game, and all I can ever remember hearing about it on the podcast is pure vitriol from James at the lazy ports. They may be lazy, but it's a damn good game and with all the ports it's relatively easy to get hold of, despite not being on the VC.