PixlBit

I think Super Metroid is overrated and I'm not trolling. 

It's really good, don't get me wrong, but the GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME talk from pretty much everyone gets old to me when it doesn't play much differently from other 2D Metroids and I don't really have much of an emotional connection the caves I'm traveling through. 

Also, it was spoiled for me, but I don't personally understand the baby Metroid sacrifice making people cry. 

To me it's like the Citizen Kane of video games in that it's important, an amazing technical achievement and nails what it's going for ... but what's it's going for isn't going to appeal to everyone on the same level, and the "objectively good/bad" thing so many people pull with stuff like this is so annoying it honestly hurts my image of the game more than the game itself in some ways. 

It's great, but that doesn't mean "it has to be everyone's favorite or fuck you." 

I think you're talking about two different things between overrated and dislike. When I picked Super Metroid for Chrono Crossing I said I can understand if you feel like it's not your type of game, but you should be able to see why it gets the acclaim it does. I have never seriously said that it's the best game ever made. It's my favorite game and I don't see it getting knocked off that perch any time soon, but I'm not going to fault anyone who doesn't agree. Now, if I don't see it at a respectable spot on someone's best of all time list I may arch my eyebrow at that...

It's like what I said with Pokemon. I don't like Pokemon. Like, at all. I think it's a bad RPG that focuses on boring grindy battling and little to no narrative. But I can understand why it's as loved as it is. I don't think it's overrated by any means, but I don't like it. Same thing with Breath of the Wild. I can understand why it got perfect scores, even if I don't agree with anyone that did that. Obviously, anything in critique is by definition subjective, but I think video games are different because you can easily see what a well made game and a badly made game are. 

And I would never say if you don't love Super Metroid fuck you. I'm genuinely surprised, but hey, I listed Half Life 2 as my most overrated game. I get it.

As someone who enjoys 2D Metroids, I still think it's overrated/overhyped, but I'm sorry if I came off more biting than I meant to be. My comment wasn't meant to attack or get a rise out of anyone.

And yes, on a technical level, there's nothing wrong with Super Metroid, but I think like Citizen Kane, there are people who never actually played it going around saying it's the best game ever, and to me, that's just not true. It's not "I don't like this type of game," but more "I really don't get whatever emotion or sense of depth everyone else does here, even though I really like it."

I get what you're saying though. If someone were to study video games as we study film now, I would definitely tell someone to get a copy of SM without hesitation. I just think calling something the best ever just about automatically makes it overrated in my eyes. 

But great stage select concept. I'm still sad my comment didn't post, but the podcast guest slagging genres did generally what I would've said, only I would have said it about choose your own adventure games (Life is Strange in particular, one of my personal favorite games that I can easily see the flwas of) and 2D indie games ( which I LOVE, but don't think need to be praised as best game of the year every time they come out after 2012), and ... I forgot the other one. But as I said, great podcast. 

STAGE SELECT:

3. The Gibdos (correction: Re-Deads) from Ocarina of Time. I think their appearance in a kid-friendly game gave them an unexpected quality that helped them be more scary than they really had a right to be. 

2. The setpieces from Until Dawn. Meh to the monsters and "killers," but the areas themselves did a good enough job of keeping me in "creeped out" mode enough for the jump scares to work ... the first time. Now, it's just kind of silly, but still fun. 

1. The "Your Memory Card is being erased" screen from Eternal Darkness. Fuck that guy. 

CHRONO CROSS:

Mega Man. I think 2 is definitely a better game, and if this was about nostalgia then I'd pick Double Dragon. But I really like the original Mega Man ... except for that one stage with the moving platforms that also dump you. Not fond of that at all, really.

This episode was a blast to listen to...  Those Digital and Dice guys add a fantastic dynamic.  

I only have one thought at the moment for Stage Select.  SA-X from Metroid Fusion still terrifies me...  Actually, any of those unkillable characters that stalk the protaganist of a game.

Chrono Crossing -     I am going to go with Castlevania.  I don't have anything to say at the moment.

Stage Select:

This is a hard one for me. Video games aren't really scary for me beyond the jump-scare effect, and even that is only because I startle easily, as anybody that knows me personally can attest. But I'll take a whack at this anyway.

1. The Arch-Viles from Doom 2. There was nothing I hated more than to hear them roaming around. They have this attack where if you are in their line of sight, they will blow away most of your life, and it's worse when they are in higher levels when you are trying to deal with other enemies. I always found them worthy of expending 40 cells in my BFG-9000 to put them down quickly, but the problem is that they can do a lot of damage before you can even see them to shoot at them.

2. Balio and Sunder, the twin horse gangsters from Breath of Fire III. BoFIII is a brightly colored, cheery, cheesy game, and there is nothing really "scary" about it per se. Balio and Sunder are more of a kid-based fear, since Ryu and Nina are kids when they are being pursued by B & S. You meet them after they've burned down your house in retaliation for stealing their protection money. They have no qualms about beating up and kidnapping kids, and they are relentless pursuers. If you're a kid, this is a great example of video game "stranger danger". Your party can't get away from them. They are apparently so brutal that even when you're in seemingly friendly towns, the townspeople will almost instantly sell you out to them  out of fear of retaliation. Every. Single. Time. I guess this could be an adult fear if you were to run afoul of gangs or organized crime syndicates in real life.

3. The ReDeads in Wind Waker. The scream they make when they jump you. It's a stock horror-film sound of a girl screaming, but the acoustic effects Nintendo used make it even more piercing.

Chrono Crossing (1987):

The Legend of Zelda. I credit this game for making me a lifelong gamer. I played games for most of my life, but up until them, they were either simple single-screen arcade games, or at most, side-scrollers like Super Mario Bros. Here was a game that had its own world to explore, with forests, lakes, deserts, mountains, and a graveyard to explore, not to mention 8 huge dungeons. It was a game that was an epic ongoing adventure instead of a 5-minute time killer. It had a huge variety of enemies to battle. Secrets were constantly dangled in front of you, and you were really encouraged to explore. And it all played out to the tune of what is still today my single favorite piece of game music, the Zelda Overworld Theme, which has only been improved with technology. The icing on the cake was the fact that once you beat Ganon the first time, the fun didn't stop. You got a second quest with the difficulty cranked up to 11, with all new dungeons and enemies.

I was in 4th grade the year it came out, and in my spare time in class, I drew a lot of scenes from the game. My teacher noticed me doing this one day. I tried to hide it. At that time, video games had the reputation among adults for being brain-rotting garbage, and I got plenty of that attitude at home from my parents. She insisted in looking at it, however. Much to my surprise, she began a conversation with me about Zelda. She asked how far along I was (I think I was in the midst of the Second Quest). She then told me that her husband was playing the game and was really wrapped up in it, but had gotten snagged on a dungeon that I had already finished. She asked me how to get past the point he was stuck at. I wrote it down for her and even drew a map. The next class, she told me that her husband thanked me for my help and would appreciate any further help I could give. So for the remainder of the 1987-1988 school year, I corresponded with him through my teacher. That was one of my fondest memories from childhood.

Stage Select: I have a confession to make. I can't handle horror games at all. I think it's an anxiety thing. I stopped playing Batman Arkham Knight because of the random jump scares it had in it. So excuse me if I make some weird choices here.

3. The Faceless from XCOM 2. These guys were big clay... things that were disguised as people you were sent to rescue. You didn't know who they were until you were right next to them. It was not comforting at all. No sir, I didn't like it. I lost men... Good men.

2. Malboros from Final Fantasy. I have never held shoulder buttons to run away from a battle so hard. I don't like their faces. I don't like status effects. I am just not about that life. Why do they not have eyes!? Why does a plant monster have such poor dental hygene!? It's not okay!

1. Nurse Edna from Maniac Mansion. WHY IS SHE BLUE!? WHY IS SHE SMILING!? WHY DOES SHE WANT RADICAL SURFER DUDES TO ROT IN HER BASEMENT JAIL!? I am not about this life.

Chrono Crossing: Maniac Mansion. My mom used to love this game. She used to spend entire nights trying to figure out different ways to beat the game, and as a kid I would spend those nights watching her play, and running to hide when one of the creepy blue people would come to throw one of her characters in jail. She used to have to call me back into the room when they were gone because I was so scared of them. That being said, we bonded a lot through that, and when she sees me playing games now she always jokingly asks if I'm playing Maniac Mansion. In 2014 my mother developed Korsakoff Syndrome, which is basically alcohol related brain damage. Her memory is very short term, and certain memories she has are either fabricated, or gone completely. She's a lot better now than when this first happened, but as a test, I bought a copy of Day of the Tentacle and rushed to the part where you can play Maniac Mansion in it. I gave it to her to play, and she still remembers most of the game. We both sat around trying to piece together how to beat everything, just like we did when I was a kid. If this doesn't speak to the power of video games, I don't know what does.

My episode comment: For context, I am 31. I followed Zelda Ocarina of Time in every magazine I could get my hands on about it at age 12. I was super hyped for it. While I do agree, it did a lot of good stuff for it's time, I just couldn't get into it. I've tried to go back a few times because of how highly regarded it is, and I just don't see it. I think I just find Hyrule a boring place. It's probably a me thing more than anything else. (I love the 2D overhead view ones though. So it's weird) I also had just spent 100 plus hours exploring every aspect of Final Fantasy 7 at a friend's house not long before playing it, and I was reallly into ANY story in video games at that point. (I'm not saying FFVII's story is amazing at all. I was just really coming off a HOLY SHIT VIDEO GAMES TELL STORIES! revellation at the time.) So maybe I was just asking too much out of a Zelda game. I'm gonna have to go subscribe to Digital and Dice after this show, those guys were super fun to listen to. Culdcept Saga will live on in my heart always. Also I apologize if my chrono crossing is too long, I just really wanted to tell that story, because it was one of my favorite moments as a gamer. Also I'm glad someone appreciated my Roman Reigns reference. I thought it was pretty good.

So, this is not meant as a "meathead" comment by any means; I seriously couldn't handle REVII's demo because my heart rate went through the roof during REPLAYS of it when I already knew what was coming, but ... where were there jump scares in Arkham Knight? I'm not doubting it at all, I just don't remember them. I could see the scene where Joker is torturing Robin being scary, but I dunno if it's a jump scare.  

Did you ever grapple up to a building and the Joker pops out and screams at you? It totally got me.

Forgot about those. That did make me "gah!" 

I was thinking earlier in the game.

That was the EXACT moment I set the controller down and turned off my PS4. I remember it happening and thinking "Oh I guess this is a thing that happens in this game... I think I'm done here." I am not a brave soul and I have no shame about it.

Just want to start my post saying that I was not trolling or trying to get a rise out of you guys when picking Super Metroid as my most overrated. Like you said on the podcast, I have been listening to NWP for a long time and I did see that reaction coming from you because I know it’s your favorite game. I generally do not find that game or series nearly as good as everyone else does and this was my list, so I put it on there. I also did not mean to imply it was a bad game, just “boring” because it doesn’t appeal to me. Also just want to note that you picked Final Fantasy VII, my second favorite game and I can respect that lol.

Stage Select

- Licker (Resident Evil 2)

- Little Sister (Bioshock)

• - Alien Cell (final boss of Contra Hardcorps) https://goo.gl/images/ACMSHj

Chrono Crossing (1987)

- Mike Tyson’s Punch Out

I was genuinely happy when I saw Super Metroid was your number 1 pick, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do in the show. It made for (in my opinion) one of the best bits on Nerds Without Pants to date. Hopefully, that bit played, and came off as funny to listeners as it did to me. 

Great episode guys. Listened later than normal because I had vacation but I had to throw my input. 

Stage Select: 

3. Nemesis (Resident Evil 3): This guy was gruesome. On top of that he was also relentless. You are used to zombies slowly walking toward you then this guy comes busting through a wall and is running full sprint at you. Screw this guy. 

2. 99.9% of Bloodborne: Hate Spiders? Centipedes? Aliens? Giant Brains with eyeballs? Insane old timey village mobs? Bloodborne has them all. About the only thing not scary are the weapons you have to use to kill everything that is and even then 1 of those weapons is a severed werewolf claw...

1. Basilisk (Dark Souls): These big frogs look so silly with their giant goofy eyeballs. After running into giant rats, skeletons, killer knights and so much more you see these things and laugh. But you aren't laughing once they inflict you with curse. Curse automatically kills you. Which is fine, it's Dark Souls, you die all the time. But when you respawn and see your healthbar is permanently halved you begin to look at them as insidious monsters. Next time you will stand in fear as those cartoonish eyes blink in the distance...

Chrono Crossing: Contra

Contra fills me with more memories than most NES games since it was a game my cousin and I played constantly. Anyone from these days still has the Konami code memorized. That code was better than gold since it meant my cousin wouldn't be stealing my lives until the 2nd or possibly 3rd level.