PixlBit

Damn, I feel like I'm losing a favorite podcast. Not only is there a few months break but a staple of the show is leaving for good (outside of guest appearances). Loved the outro for Angelo, may he never live down Culdcept Saga. I wish there had been a way to work around the changes in Angelos life but you have to respect a man who is able to make the tough decisions. I'm going to miss you Angelo and hope you get into a position where you're free to come back regularly. It's never the same without any of you. Hoping you can come back for Nier: Automata talk when you're done. I was really anticipating the conversation with Julian.

I finally finished God of War. The game kicked my ass for the first few hours til I got some upgrades. Combat got much easier for me after about 20 hours. Though I still don't have the fluidity I'd really want. I can definitely see the potential to be amazing at it. I really enjoyed it but I don't get best game ever vibes. Definitely in the conversation for best PS4 game. Though I'd say Horizon was a better game in my opinion. If you can muster the strength, try pushing to the point where you take the magic chisel to a place at the lake of nine. I can't imagine you being too far from there. That's around where I got hooked.

Well guys it's been a blast. Hope to see you back sooner than later. I'll definitely be impatiently waiting. What will be the best way to keep up to date on what you guys are doing Julian? Is Twitter the only way? Or are you still doing stuff for pixlbit?

Sorry to say this but I'm glad I'm not in this alone. Makes me feel better that a fellow hardcore gamer is also getting their face smashed. I'm still pretty early in so maybe it'll help once I get a health upgrade and better armor. 

First off, Julian I'm glad to hear you're ok. I'm sad to hear about your scary incident. I can only imagine how anxious you must have felt. Fainting isn't normal like a nosebleed or something. Hope it turns out to be nothing. Sucks it had to happen during an event you were looking forward to.

Great episode guys. Yeah you guys always help the time pass. I never meant to imply you don't get the podcast out on time. I live in an area with Daylight Savings so never know what time it is. Some podcasts are more noise to drown out work but some are standouts and 3 are day changers (such as NWP). The other 2 being All Systems Goku and Cagcast.

I mentioned before how I miss Dan being on Giant Bombcast and after starting All Systems Goku I believe a lot of that is the interaction between Gerstman and Dan. Ben has been more annoying to me lately. He seems to try too hard to riff I think. Maybe that's just me being disappointed he isn't Dan. I really like Dan and Vinny interaction but that seems so infrequent. Dan on Bombcast was my favorite Podcast but since leaving it hasn't been the same.

Cagcast shares a lot of what I enjoy about NWP. 3 main hosts who are all friends and can get silly. The fun riffing on CheapyD from Wombat after beating a 13 year old girl in ping pong is hilarious. I burst out laughing at the Gamestop Circle of Life song Cheapy sang. They are more current gaming heavy than NWP but there's just good old fashioned BS'ing also.

I'm disappointed to hear that Pak Watch has dropped the numbers. I'll admit I enjoyed Chrono Crossing more but it wasn't something that you could continue unless you were just going to ask for honorable mentions for each year. To be fair it's probably been more about the fact I have only really played 1 of the games discussed than it being a bad segment. The ones on games I'm familiar with have been great.

The new God of War has been pretty damn tough. Maybe I should just go normal but it's a dumb pride thing since I play all games on the tier after normal. Unless there's only 3 options then I go normal. I didn't think I'd struggle so much but maybe it's more about me trying to be fancy when I should just be blocking. It's hard to get into that habit since I dropped shields 3 Souls games ago.

Also those PSP GoW games were very good at the time and the 2nd one had his brother in it. I remember those scenes after beating the original GoW. They also hinted at the events that came later with Kratos being Zeus' son.

Stage Select: Host Wrestling Themes

Julian

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a6BbvCC0VI0
Julian seems like a fan of rock and combining that with his love for Doom seemed like it would work.

Angelo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nEIz2ZjbQ7Q
Angelo appreciates great platformers so I decided to go with a good one from a game he seemed to enjoy.

Patrick

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j2d6T5G2rrY
Patrick has the type of mind that comes along once a decade. Let's just say sometimes he can be out there... Don't worry we still love you Patrick.

Pak-Watch
Can't comment on it. I played Final fight 3 so many years ago at a friends but that was it.
 

BONUS: Here's the Circle of Life Song if anyone is interested. Made me laugh. Be warned I was having a goofy day and having watched Lion King is a plus.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B4qOerSOgF4

First off I want to thank you guys for the promptly posted episode. I was having a horrible day at work and was counting on NWP to help. I have a dozen+ podcasts but there's only 3 that can help turn around a bad day (Note: not even Giantbomb fills that quota). So seeing an early post of NWP helped out tremendously. 

I've played Sea of Thieves and it's so so. I definitely can't recommend it for $60. Pay $10 for a month of Game Pass and see if it's for you. Even if it is I can't imagine many people playing more than a month. It gets tedious pretty quickly and a group of friends is practically a must. 

I'm also impatiently waiting for Bloodstained. I'm glad to hear you have liked what you played. I haven't read much about it and don't even open up my Kickstarter emails anymore. Hopefully E3 brings a solid date. 

Stage Select: Rost (Horizon: Zero Dawn)

Without going too deep into my search I think Rost is my spirit animal. He was honorable and faithful to his family. He doesn't mind being a loner and will take on a burden for the sake of others. When pushed he wasn't afraid to do what was needed to achieve justice for those who lost their loved ones. I really liked his character in Horizon.

Pak-Watch: God of War
God of War was great but I didn't care much for Kratos. Devil May Crys Dante was better. The QTEs were really cool (even though Resident Evil 4 did them first) and the over the top violence was just what I wanted as a teen. Looking back I don't think his character would hold up at all today. 

Yeah I hear you on Okami. I was tempted to put it in my list also since I also feel the DS counterpart shouldn't really count but I decided to go with 3 games that didn't actually have a sequel. Also tried to avoid if it has a prequel (which is why Chrono Cross isn't on here). PSO3 from my list is only there since the gameplay might as well have made it a spin off. 

Great show guys. I missed the deadline for the last one but like Julian I am pretty good about knowing what I want. I had like 8+ game subscriptions so I was always on top of what's coming out. There's definitely some surprises but it's hard to think of any except Majoras Mask that fit the Stage Select theme of coming back to something and liking it.

Why did you never get to Resident Evil 5 Julian? I thought it was really good. Not 4 good but a good game to play. Especially if you got someone to coop with. I didn't play coop my first time and still really enjoyed it.

I was impressed with your first time take down of Blood Starved Beast. He kicked my ass for about 2 hours. It's entirely possible I made it harder on myself. I hoard all those items that could make it easier or stick to my typical combat strategy which doesn't work for everything (though I make it work). Souls games are just like that though. Many claimed Rom gave them a damn hard time but I beat him 2nd try and didn't break a sweat.

Borderlands 2 is exactly as you guys described. It's solid but one of those experiences I completely blanked on and won't be going back to again. I played both solo so that's probably the main reason I don't have any real sentiment for the series. Recently I've met some friends at work who actually game so we've been playing a lot together. This has opened up many great times I may have passed on like Monster Hunter World. So the another one may be a totally different experience.

Julian, I'd love to hear some Marvel talk when Avengers is released. I like to hear MCU rank talk. Hoping you throw that into Consumption Junction later. I also wasn't aware you dabbled into Independent comics. Heard your question about Paper Girls in Comics Conspiracy and wondered what other Indy comics you are in to. I only buy Indy at the moment. My favorites being Birthright, Wayward, and Low. I've been stacking up Monstress (the art is incredible!) but haven't started the series yet.


Stage Select: Game Sequels

3. Downhill Domination (PS2): A damn fun bike racing game that was a cross of SSX and Road Rash. I would love a new iteration of this. It's funny that this and Kinetica, another racing game I highly considered for this Stage Select, were both made by Sony's Santa Monica Studio. They need to get back into the quirky racing game scene again. What else is there to do after the PS4 God of War releases?

2. Phantasy Star Online 3: C.A.R.D. Revolution (GC):
I know this is technically part of a series but PSO3 was a Card game which was COMPLETELY different from any Phantasy Star game. I'd love a sequel to it since it's so hard to find a game that scratches that itch for me. Culdcept Saga, maybe? Unfortunately, I heard some where that it's highly overrated...

1. Binary Domain (XB360): This game was great and I feel it could have been excellent if it had a little more push. Story was very interesting and the gameplay was solid to good. They tried some interesting concepts that could have been fleshed out much better in a sequel. A real hidden gem of last generation in my opinion.


Pak-Watch: Metal Gear Solid 2
I feel this game is one of those that I missed the boat on. I played it shortly after it released at a friends but it didn't grab me. Played again years later but didn't enjoy it. I hadn't played MGS1 either though. It wasn't until MGS4 that I grew an appreciation for the series.  

Thanks. I just fell in love with Okami when it released. That art was amazing. Having a room where it'd feel like I'm in that world would be a dream come true. 

I like to believe that one day I can recreate the scene from, "What Dreams May Come," where Robin Williams enters Heaven and it's like a painting. I'm sure VR could get there now if not very soon. 

Nice to have the old format and team back. Some really interesting Easter Eggs last episode. 

Chrono Crossing: Video Game Art 

Not sure if this is cheating but if I could I'd have a full room mural of Okami. Where you'd look in any direction and you'd feel like your in the actual Shinshu Field. Even the ceiling would be painted. Of course there'd have to be a life size Ammy somewhere. 

PAK Watch: Mega Man 4

(Feel free to skip reading on air to save time)

Unfortunately my main pre X series Megaman experience ends at 3. I'm sure I played it since I own the Mega Man Collection on GameCube but I have no recollection of it. 

Totally agree about the show without Patrick. It's not the same when any of the main hosts missing. This show is so great because you all play off each other so well. 

Great show guys. Sometimes these Consumption Junction episodes are needed since the interactive segments can take up a lot of the show. 

I am about 1/3 of the way through Nioh. It is very good but can be tough as hell. I'm a Souls veteran and Nioh is probably harder. I still want to go back to it but constant releases make it hard. It started with Horizon, then Zelda, and kept snowballing from there. One day...

Got to say that all the top Easter Egg lists online are very uninspired. Not saying they don't have some good picks but that they were VERY similar. The first 3 I looked at seemed to be 95% the same and even used the same pictures. I knew at least my top 2 but wanted some ideas for my 3rd. I don't recall seeing any of mine on any list which surprised me.

Chrono Crossing: Top 3 Easter Eggs 

3. Alan Wake: Night Springs Episodes 

These were essentially short Twilight Zone episodes hidden throughout each level. I won't spoil them since they are worth a watch. They add up to about 15-20 minutes all together if you want to kill time and are exactly what you'd expect from a Twilight Zone spoof. 

2. Project Gotham Racing 2: Geometry Wars 

It was a toss up between this and Animal Crossings free NES games but PGR2 gets the edge since it seemed to revitalize (create maybe?) the top-down Twin Stick Shooter. Unfortunately these games seemed to have died down but for a while they were everywhere. 

1. Chrono Cross: The Bend of Time

Chrono Cross? I know, surprising isn't it? This Easter Egg was only attainable in New Game+. You find a hidden island that takes you to the Bend of Time which is basically the same as The End of Time location in Chrono Trigger. Here you can battle Ozzie, Flea, and Slash from Trigger.

Bonus: Bringing Sprigg along for this battle can allow her to doppelgang them and make them playable for the rest of the game.

PAK Watch: Metroid 

Very vague memories of Metroid. I recall my dad renting it for me when I was a kid. I couldn't figure it out. It wouldn't be until years later when Prime had original Metroid as an unlockable that I'd finally go through it. It was very rough to go back to since Super Metroid was my first.