PixlBit

Awesome podcast guys. Stage Selects return was a triumph. I know Angelo can't be on the podcast but any chance he will still chime in on Stage Select in the future? You all usually had interesting picks that were different. Just a thought.

Congrats on the new job Julian. You may have mentioned it on Twitter but it didn't sink in until the podcast. It sucks that you finally get engulfed in a game once you no longer have all the extra free time. At least there's plenty of podcast time. I think I'd go crazy in a job where I couldn't listen to podcasts.

This weeks Stage Select is really good. Almost too good. I could think about this for a very long time and come up with something amazing and it still wouldn't be perfect. So I'm just using a bit of thought and the top of my head for a solid backpack.

Stage Select: Inventory Items (in no particular order)

Megalixir (Final Fantasy): Need this in case I get really sick. It has to be the one that heals status effects also.

Union Plume (Valkyrie Profile): Cast on yourself and you get a, "Get out of death free" card.

Celestial Brush (Okami): The power of gods in your hand. Want fire, wind, day, night, bombs, and much more? This has got you covered.

Omni Tool (Mass Effect 3): The power of the tech gods on your arm. Want to hack, repair, scan, heal, cut and much more? This has got you covered.

Ocarina of Time (The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask): Rewind and fast forward time. Travel quickly, summon rain, and look cool, maybe lame, while doing it.  

Intro response:

Nice Peter impression; I think we should gamify everything, especially education; Every. fucking. thing.; You want me to start downloading the podcasts so I can upload them to Spotify and "give you the keys?"

Y'all do have pretty damn good audio for Skype. Does everyone use prosumer-level mics, or what? 

I still need to go back and listen to each Chrono Crossing. I loved that segment, but I get why it had to begin and end where it did. 

Julian & Patrick's Stage Select Response:

I don't really run into pay-to-play because I avoid free-to-play almost altogether. I will concur with not feeling like jumping back into really involved games like Witcher 3, however. 

Was mindless tasks or pointless open world exploration Julian's #3? Either way, this is why I prefer 10-15 hour games that are full of action and I can replay because those hours are actually fun. 

I have kind of the reverse problem of Patrick's #2, where I often feel the final boss is too easy because of how I've been able to build my character. By the time I finish a Zelda, I've got enough hearts to suck out most of the tension (and even then, fairies), and I usually have such an arsenal by the time I fight Ridley in a 2D Metroid that it's just a war of attrition I can win pretty quickly. I say 2D Metroid specifically, cause that thing at the end of Prime is never easy. 

I never did watch HIMYM beyond a couple random episodes. I just remember the one where Barney plays "Shot through the Heart" by Bon Jovi in a limo a bunch of times. Speaking of number of times, I again have more or less the opposite gripe where I really do want a counter for things. I don't mind hearing it out loud, even if it's just being hinted at, as long as they just say it once or twice and aren't constantly spouting it ... constant spouting of anything by NPCs or game characters being a HUGE peeve of mine I may not have mentioned. Honestly, that should be #1 for me, but I bet it isn't. Anyway, I like the counters, especially if they're just in the menu. 

I do get annoyed by having to guess the timing of combos in any fighting game. Sometimes it's too hard to cancel, even in a dedicated fighter. 

Ok, so is #1 Patrick not being sure what jumps he can make? I don't really have much of an opinion on that, I just feel like I looked over at Facebook for a second and got lost. Because what the hell was Julian's #2? I get annoyed when Nathan Drake self-corrects so hard when he's jumping that he looks like an airborne ragdoll though. Kinda ruins the immersion when I'm literally unable to fail. Also, holy shit, scaling walls is a nightmare in some games, so I totally get where Julian is coming from. 

Ok, so what was Julian's #2? And I 100% agree with the idiot-proofing sidekick chatter. I mind that a hell of a lot more than tutorial levels ... which I actually think are kinda nice. Not that I usually need them, I just think they're nice. Sometimes I feel like staying in Kokiri Village for a while. It's peaceful. 

I miss instruction manuals so much, and I wish the digital ones weren't so half-assed and came with some cool artwork like the GOOD OL' DAYS TM. 

Stage Select Audience Reply:

TO HELL WITH STEALTH MISSIONS IN EVERYTHING. You have to be in the exact right spot to not get caught in portions of Gravity Rush 2 that have no business existing. I would easily take repetitive fetch quests over that shit. 

And I'm of course with SA on repetitive voice clips, but I kinda miss bad voice acting. Not really, but it can be nostalgic and a bit funny. 

I've always been kind of impressed by how scripts are changed to match lips in anime, so I'm a bit surprised that's not the practice in the original Japanese. 

I honestly loved the jumps scares in Arkham Knight; I know I've talked with the poster of that about it. 

I need to go back to Until Dawn and get all the trophies. I hate vague dialogue choices as well though. So many times a Life is Strange character has been much more bitchy than what I meant to say. In a way, it's realistic, because I think that happens pretty often when I type at people I'm not speaking with in person. 

I don't hate motion controls as a rule, but I do get tired of games where the PS4 controller wants to move things for you. Gravity Rush 2 is again the primary offender I'm thinking of. I swear I actually like that game, but it does some shit ... (and yes, I know you can change the motion in options, but it never seems to fully take).

That's about an hour and six minutes in. I'll come back and listen to this E3 2019 Switch talk. 

Yep. Again, I am a coward, and I know the jump scare thing is only me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them in games, it's just a weird personal thing I have. I went into that game thinking the scary stuff would be more trippy/creepy type of horror which doesn't bother me much, and... Well I was wrong. I did watch a let's play of the whole game after I decided I couldn't play it. I just kind of shut down when they happen. I'm the kind of person who if put in a situation like that, would curl into a ball and let the villain kill them... Again, I am a coward. I happily embrace it.

No judgment. If I'm asked to crawl into a small space I shut down in a similar way. Also, REVII's jump scares were too much for me, and I knew that was a horror game (demo), so I'm not immune. 

You have no idea how relieved I am to hear someone say my Peter voice was good. I've been doing it for 18 years, but wasn't sure if it only sounds good in my head.

I'm glad my Witcher 3 menu thing was well received because I wasn't sure how legitimate my complaint was, not really being the target audience for the game. That was just the best example of what I meant from atop my head. And I still want to jump back into that game so I can experience these supposedly excellent side quest stories. Thus continues my playing RPGs for every reason but gameplay ...

I laughed harder and harder the more Patrick continued to respond to my Bitcoin joke with serious portfolio diversity advice. Good times. 

I loved cutscenes when they were first starting to be utilized heavily, cause as a fan of movies first and foremost I felt it was an appropriate reward. Now though, I get pissed when I can't pause a cutscene. Like, I always need to pee right when a long one starts up.

I'm not sure how I feel about the "we took your shit" stealth mission; depends on the context and mechanics. But I know I want to be able to punch people who are in my way I know my character could take. I want a game to bring attention to this trope to comedic effect. I'm sure one already has, but I don't know which. 

Honestly, I find the annoying health noise kind of helpful ... still annoying, but I genuinely check on my health rarely enough to kinda need it at times. 

I concur with Patrick's not paying attention/skipping on accident/flat out forgetting what I was told to do. Usually, the pause menu or something tells you your task, but sometimes it's too vague ... 

Oh, I HATE that modern fighters don't have you unlock fighters. It's such an easy incentive to give me to play single player. I'm honestly ok with a stripped down initial roster if you would just let me unlock characters by playing the game. Honestly, that was the whole point of fighting games when I played them on older consoles. That and those Smash Bros. trophies. 

I just get annoyed when the boss cutscene has to load each time. 

I'll be back for the Consumption Junction and to provide my entry on the next Stage Select. 

Stage Select:

5. Cigarettes. Because if Solid Snake taught me anything, it's that you should always take these with you. You never know when you will need to see laser traps. Sure, Naomi Hunter may call you and give some science jargon about lung cancer, but what does she know?... Oh yea, she knows science... Well... Good for her.

4. A lighter. Because you will need to light the cigarettes to see the laser traps. Also a lighter is useful for starting fires and basic puzzle solving mechanics. Sometimes you're in a dungeon and you need to light a torch on fire to open a secret door, or light an animal liver on fire as a sacrifice to an ancient god. I hear ancient gods like fire and sacrifices, so probably don't leave home without it.

3. Gysahl Greens. Now listen, if you're going on a long quest, there will be a lot of walking. So maybe catch a chocobo so you can take a break. Just throw the Gysahl Greens at that chocobo's cute face and beat up it's bodyguards. It will then submit to your will, and you can ride it. People may tell you there are other types of greens, and they're right, but Gysahl Greens are the best... Probably because they're the only ones I can remember by name.

2. A picture of your beloved. Look guys, at some point in your journey, you will reach a crossroads, and ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" And that's when this picture will inevitably fall out of your pocket and remind you that your journey is important. Then, and only then will you find the strength to keep going. May your waifu or husbando's image light your darkest hour.... Or provide you... comfort in your alone times.

1. Lotion. To help moisturize your hands on your long journey and definitely not to help comfort you in your alone times with the picture of Chun Li you have in your inventory... Definitely not that. I mean, there's a lot of desserts, and mountains and all sorts of weather that is bad for your skin. I think we can all agree with that... No?... Well... Shut up.

Episode comment: Good episode as always! I have to stick up for Octopath a bit, as I thought the sprite work was actually super well done on it. Yes they don't change looks depending on weapons, but each character has a seperate stance for each different weapon (Which is a lot of work I Imagine) and their sprites all change based on what secondary job you give them. They're all unique too, which I honestly thought was really cool personally. So if you were to make Primrose's secondary job a warrior, she dresses like Olberic (A lot more showy version of Olberic) and so on and so forth. It was actually super fun to see how each character was going to look when you changed their job class. I can't say it's super cool to everyone, and I'm sure other games have done this, but I personally liked the little touches to the sprites they added. It's a lot of animations and a lot of sprite work to do that and I while will agree it is a bit of a bummer the weapon models themselves aren't different, I hardly noticed personally.

Also I know my thoughts on VR are pretty extreme. I do not know why I feel such anger towards it. It's just not my thing. Maybe they'll figure out the technology and I'll come around on it, but right now it is just super meh to me as a platform for gaming. Oh, and thank you for mentioning telltale games in the dialogue thing. I completely forgot about those and they are some of the worst offenders of that.

OH! And beautiful description of The Witcher 3. Couldn't agree more with how that game is designed. I guess some people aren't big fans of Geralt, and I can totally get that as he's kind of a dirty old man. I personally found myself liking Ciri so much that I didn't even think about it and I found myself wanting a Witcher 4 that stars her. Also playing Geralt as a dirty old man leads to one of my favorite scenes in all of gaming. I will not spoil it in case it happens to you. It leads to a kind of bad ending, but it was very worth it. I actually stood and cheered. Keep up the good work as always!

So, I definitely think that Octopath Traveler is a GORGEOUS game, but I can't follow you on the matter of the number of sprites for each character, simply because Final Fantasy V exists. Because there are 24 different jobs, and each character has individual looks for each job, so you're talking about nearly a hundred different character sprites in addition to all the weapns and shields that change during the game. 

Consumption Junction Reaction:

I found the YouTube video of Obama discussing receiving Witcher II and how it speaks to Polish innovation even though he can't play it or something. Wild. As someone with a super Polish last name, I should really give that series another shot. Same with my Bloodborne copy I guess. 

Stage Select for next podcast:

Stage Select:

1. The Double Clawshots: Doubles as a weapon and as a means of getting around.

2. Knights of the Round Materia. 129,987 damage in one attack is a must for long enemy battles.

3. Either the Edelweiss or the Hafen as the transportation. Can't go wrong with a good tank. Squad 7, move out!

4. The Space Jump for getting through areas with no platforms and hand holds

5. Orthopedic underwear.... for... uh... support... on those long quests....Weeeeellp, 'bout time for me to be hittin' the ol' dusty trail... there's the fire door...