PixlBit

Of course the JRPG games have the prettiest music. 

I don't know that I like Star Fox QUITE as much as you think I do ... It's nostalgic for sure, but the song is something that stands out partly cause it clashes with the rest of the game. And I never said it was perfect, just a really good rails shooter with some questionable (re: underwater missions) choices in places. Angelo is right that N64 was my first system, though I have an equal amount of memories of SNES and some nostalgia for certain NES games like DOUBLE Dribble. 

I'm genuinely curious why Julian feels that way about his dad. I know he's talked a little about it before, but ... Well, in any case, I hope Patrick is ok and may his friend rest in peace. 

I like that Silent Hill singer and the Sinatra-style songs on this podcast. Maybe that's why the quiz I took said I was 45. 

I feel as though Angelo's experience with that game he liked everything about but playing should give some insight to how I feel about JRPGs. I still need to play Firewatch... Actually, speaking of slice of life games, I wish I had thought about some of the licensed stuff from Life is Strange. I didn't cry, but probably welled up at parts. I dunno, video games just don't tend to have that effect on me; not because of manly man posturing. :p

I'm mad you didn't play the ending of the MGS2 theme, cause THAT's where the emotion comes in for me. I didn't know there was a reference to MGS1 THEME? I thought that theme was totally different. I'll have to YouTube it.

Clank sounds interesting. Not much stealth gameplay in board games.

If you met my dad you'd probably love him. He's super charismatic, intelligent, and funny. But that's not the person I know. The person I know has an explosive temper that is terrifying, and I sadly inherited that. Since I was 16 I have done my best to curb my temper, and the result is that I am basically very low key. Nothing excites me. I am not very expressive in person. Also, he hates fat people. As a fat kid and a fat adult, I can trace all of my insecurities and self loathing to him. I was a good kid that followed the rules, did well in school, and never stepped out of bounds, but he treated me like I was the worst piece of shit he could have been saddled with. 

Now, I know I can't blame him for all my problems. I have to own up to them. But he didn't help. And if I'm really honest, I'm way more like him than I would like to be, even though I've only seen him once since I was 18. 

Eh, Clank really isn't a Stealth game exactly. If you're looking for that, check out games like Specter Ops. They're much more stealthy.

Haven't listened yet but will. Here are my picks for the next pod. Give a credit for the artist up there. I know who, but I'd like to see a name. 

Top 3 Anime Style games:

God Hand

Culdcept series (I read the manga for that)

Etrian Odyssey. Don't know if the original games count as anime style but the "Untold" remakes have more cutscenes and story elements that put them in that category, I think. I'd certainly read a manga of it if one came out. 

Top 1990 game: 

Final Fantasy. I just got a hard copy of the game from a friend. I can't wait to fire it up again. I actually don't remember it very well. Could be it didn't really grab me at first, but I didn't actually play games that much that year. 

That art is mine. I still have the piece, but when I photographed it I didn't get the whole shot in frame, so my signature and some of the art was cut off. I drew this when I was 17.

Oh ok. For some reason I saw some style of someone who blogs here. Darn, I forget the user name offhand. 

I know who you're talking about. He also did some X-rated stuff. 

He was friends with Matt and I think Tami on Facebook, I think, but I haven't seen him in a while. 

I wish I could draw though; cool picture, Julian.

dear lord, its been a long long time.  I can't believe that I missed out on this past Stage Select.  I only had one song that came to mind.  Dearly Beloved from Kingdom Hearts, and it gets to me every time, but more because I associate it with my wife more than the game at this point.

Stage Select: 

3. Nier Automata. I know, I just used this one, but it's still stuck in my head. I loved this game. This game could have been just an anime and I would still be singing it's praises on how great and different the story was. But it's a game, and the way the story is told is perfect for the medium. It's just awesome. Set it on easy and enjoy the ride if you have to. I swear it's worth it.

2. Street Fighter Alpha 3. I just picked my favorite Street Fighter here. I think it's anime enough. It had animes based on it, and one had Chun Li fight Vega in the shower. This was a life changing moment for me. Let's leave it at that.

1. Fire Emblem: Fates. After spending a good 80+ hours on this game playing matchmaker for my army, and hanging out at my sweet pad with my goth/necromancer girlfriend, I can't put it anywhere else but the top spot. I think there was a story about killing an evil king and being kidnapped when you were a child in there somewhere? But I was way too focused on making time traveling babies. Thanks Fire Emblem: Fates!

Chrono Crossing:

I'm gonna pick a bit of a weird one here, but I had a game called Mendel Palace on NES as a kid, and I loved it. I don't think I've ever played a game quite like it since. The premise was each stage was a square and you had to flip the tiles of the room over to knock the enemies into the walls to kill them. Some of them split into smaller versions of themselves, some of them were,,, synchronized swimmers? ...It was weird. But my mom and I had a blast playing it co-op, so that's my pick.

My episode comment: This was such a good episode. I seriously choked up a few times. I've added so much stuff to my playlist now that I didn't know about. I also laughed so hard at the Chun Li sound test comment that I was asked if I was alright by someone at work. I've definitely done that before in more formative years of my life. Thought I would share this.

Glad it wasn't just me! Angelo left me hanging, and I felt weird.

We did that for Smash Bros. on N64, but as Peach had grannie panties, it was really more for a luagh than anything pervy ... you pervs. 

Chun-Li was hot though. 

Peach having granny panties somehow totally explains Nintendo as a whole to me. 

I actually never did that. Don't know why the idea didn't occur to me, lol

Stage Select:

Guilty Gear XX for PS2 was a game I only ever rented (as it was my older brother's and he was soon off to college around that time), but really smacked my Gamecube fanboyism in the face by representing how objectively superior the PS2 library was in terms of diversity. 

I hadn't played a 2D console fighter in years up until finding this gem, a game with a convoluted anime plot for each character (I love story in fighting games, cheese and all), complete with voice acted picture stories between fights, gorgeous, fast gameplay, cool and sexy character designs, and an appropos metal soundtrack to round out its distinct style.

Since the only reason I'm excited for Fighterz is because it's made by the same people who developed the series that made me fall in love with 2D fighters again (still not a DBZ fan, though I remember finding some episodes of the original Dragonball funny in college, so we'll see), this is the first game that popped in my head for this Stage Select.

Wind Waker may not have been the first one to pop in my head, since it makes me think Disney more than anime, but thinking about it a bit more, it also makes me think Miyazaki. I think you can see why I somewhat equate the two, even if Disney and Studio Ghibili have their own unique style and conventions. 

I was one of the people who was super skeptical upon seeing the first screenshots of the game in EGM. I thought, "Are you SERIOUS, NINTENDO?! WHY are you not making a realistic looking Ocarina sequel?!" Unlike Guilty Gear though, this game would eventually be one to justify my Gamecube fanboyism to a degree.

Playing a Miyazaki film, as it turns out, is in some ways more magical and impressive than realism, and it actually got me loving the cel-shaded look to the point where I'd seek out games like Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe, Auto Modelista, Okami, and so on. Wind Waker not only surprised me as a game, but introduced me to a whole new gaming art style.

Still mad at myself for believing that EGM April Foll's prank about getting a "realistic" version of the game via pre-order, but OoT plus Master Quest is still a good bonus.

Finally, Yakuza Zero is a game I only rented from Gamefly and played four chapters of a week or so ago before canceling my subscription in anticipation of lesson planning the school year, but I submit this game is anime as fuuuuuuudge in presentation; especially when it comes to humor.

I laughed every time my character would get SERIOUSLY into their karaoke, dancing, or OutRun arcade skills before those respective minigames, and politically-charged sidequests like trying to keep a politician from getting his tax-raising ass beat and cultural humor stuff poking fun at U.S. trends (greasers, anyone?) reminded me of a certain Cowboy Bebop episode that really focused on the "cowboy" thing through Japanese lenses. 

The main story is a lot more straightforward than most anime can be, but the presentation of the game's humor is definitely in the realm of anime camp. And I greatly appreciate it.

As for Chrono Crossing 1990, I'm only going to do this once, but as someone who only played a couple stages of SMB3 YEARS later via streaming emulation with no save feature, I'm going to choose F-Zero, despite knowing it was only released alongside the Super Famicon this year, because the game is just WAY more memorable to me personally than any others from this year. 

It, along with Star Fox, was one of the games hotels used to let us rent, presumably to show off the Mode 7 graphics, and I always loved its fast pace, futuristic setting, and memorable soundtrack. It actually kind of creeped me out as a kid reading the instruction manual mention how many people died as a result of the sport, because I thought maybe that's what future racing would look like.

While there isn't much to the original game beyond its fairly simple design and concept, and later entries would improve on the gameplay and soundtrack, it's still a classic game that I just can't ignore in favor of anything else this year, despite the feeling Julian is going to tell me it doesn't hold up that well. 

Otherwise, we can just say my pick is playing F-Zero in the womb in order to become the champion sperm, since that's a game I could have actually been playing IN 1990. 

Stage Select:

3. Dragon Quest VIII: Played this for over 130 hours on PS2. Loved the massive world and the simplistic, but fun battle system. I only wish there was more party members.

2. Fate/Grand Order. Addicting battle mechanics and loads of fantastic characters. We are way behind Japan with this one in terms of content, but even only after two months I can see this becoming one of my favorite games ever.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions: It may not be typical anime style, but with the PSP version of this game, it had water-colored animated cut-scenes that were animated, I imagine, in Japan. Anyone who knows me, knows this is one of my favorite games thanks to the amazing story and excellent battle system.

Stage Select

3. Dragonball Z Legendary Super Warriors (Gameboy Color)- As a kid who was obsessed with DBZ, I loved this game. It took you from the Saiyan Saga to the Buu Saga with card based fights. It had plenty of flaws, but I have a lot of nostalgia for this.

2. Persona 5- Give this the edge over 4 because I like the combat, and story so much more even if I prefer 4's characters and pacing. Even though it's pretty new, this has my favorite RPG dungeons hands down and I love how everything centers around pulling off heists.

1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series- At the time these were the exact games I needed. I'm a criminal justice major and started the series in college and loved the smart ways they critiqued and satired the justice system while still having great mysteries and had a unique way to get me excited. Each AA has something new to say even if though there's not much gameplay and it mostly stays the same, the small tweaks help it feel fresh enough. AA also has my favorite cast of characters in any game.

Chrono Crossing

My pick for 1990 is (hear me out Julian) Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for the Genesis. I know better games came out this year. But that doesn't change that there was a game where Michael Jackson fought kidnappers where his kicks created sparkles, get dogs to dance to Beat It in 16 bit glory, and he could touch a shooting star to transform into Mecha Jackson. I refuse to believe a perfect game can exist without Mecha Jackson

Great podcast guys. First off I want to tell Patrick I'll be praying for him. I don't yet know the pain of losing someone very close to me but I can only imagine how hard that would be. I know I'll be looking down that road sooner than later. We all missed you over on NWP. Hope to see you back next week. 

I will also, proudly (?), admit to Chun Li ushering me towards manhood. The Start button was a great wingman.

After hearing all the Stage Select selections I guess I should have broadened my horizons a bit. I could easily have chosen 3 after listeing to all the great submissions. Great call on Frogs Song Julian. Definitely a top 5 videogame favorite of mine. I dont plan on missing any more so on to Stage Select.

Stage Select: Top 3 Anime Games 

3. Gundam Battle Assault 2: It was basically Gundam meets Street Fighter. I was introduced to so many awesome Gundams I had never seen. The gameplay was quick and fun since these mechs could move just as fast and fluid as any human. 

2. Valkyria Chronicles: This amazing PS3 gem took me by surprise. The $20 cost at a time where PS3 games weren't cheap made me take the chance and I'm glad I did. The Third Person Shooter/Tactical RPG game play immediately clicked with me. The graphics were amazing for the time and I'm sure can still be fine today.

1. Gundam Breaker 3: I imported this one for PS4. The gameplay is somewhat similar to the Dynasty Warrior Gundam series but more refined and less button mashy. The draw of this one was building your own Gundam from parts of defeated enemies. This was a dream come true for me. Definitely worth the import for Gundam fans since the Singapore version has complete English menus and subtitles. 

Chrono Crossing: Mega Man 3

This was the first Mega Man I played so it's stayed in my heart despite villains like Hardman... Even though i didnt beat it I still rememeber it fondly. I should go back to finish it one of these days. 

Stage Select

3. Star Ocean 4 The Last Hope - The story is full of annoying, angsty, melodramatic teenagers in space. But I kind of love it.

2. Metal Gear Solid series - Metal Gear is anime as fuck, and it's awesome.

1. Dark Souls - The artists and designers at From Software were immensely influenced by the Berserk manga and anime, and the Souls aesthetic and violent depressing atmosphere owe a lot to it. The amount of Berserk homages in the character designs, environment art, monsters, and even some story beats is staggering. If you're a fan of the Souls atmosphere you have to get your hands on Berserk, it's super fucking metal. There are areas and monsters in Souls games that look like they're right out of the panels, and players can straight up cosplay as their favorite Berserk characters in Dark Souls.

Chrono Crossing 1990

Super Mario Bros. 3 - This game is so good. Super Mario World is probably my favorite Mario, but SMB3 is a close second. Really awesome and timeless platformer.