PixlBit

One thing I recently discovered, germane to the discussion of customized characters, is that there is a costume pack for the Mii Swordfighter in Smash Ultimate to dress him up as Goemon. I downloaded that. It's cool that Konami and Nintendo are recognizing Goemon, even in the form of DLC that costs less than a dollar.

Stage Select:

1. Final Fantasy II. Yes, it was something of a broken mess with great ideas that didn't quite pan out in execution, such as improving your stats through using them. But it had the best story of the 8-bit FF games (which I'll admit isn't saying much) and the best music. It's the only 8-bit Final Fantasy I've managed to finish to date.

2. On a related note, SaGa Frontier for PS1. The SaGa series was created by FF2's director, Akitoshi Kawazu, who refined the game mechanics he introduced in FF2 in the SaGa series (known in the US as the FF Legend games on Game Boy). SaGa Frontier didn't get much respect back in the day, but I was in love with the neon dystopian neo-Tokyo aesthetic of FFVII and SaGa Frontier gave me more of that aesthetic, especially in its core city. It also had one of the most amazing soundtracks of its generation. Even the characters were generally likeable.

3. The Kid Icarus series. When I was a kid I loved the original in spite of all the cheap deaths, in part due to my fascination with Greek mythology. Kid Icarus, of course, played fast and loose with Greek mythology, but it actually inspired me to read the real thing.  The sequel was one of the Game Boy's unsung gems, notable for being a huge improvement on the original in pretty much every way at a time when Game Boy games in general were either "lite" versions of NES and SNES games, or were just cheap cash-ins on movie licenses. I was always disappointed that it didn't get the same 16-bit treatment that its sister series, Metroid, did. 

4. The N64 Castlevania games. Konami was generally the only Japanese third party company making any kind of effort on the N64. Everybody fawns over Symphony of the Night, while these games are pretty much forgotten. But they were good games, though certainly not on the level of Mario 64 or the Zeldas. Legacy of Darkness especially so, since it came a lot closer to what Konami wanted to do with the games to begin with.  really, they were a good first effort at 3-D Castlevania.

Cage Match:

Going with Silent Hill 3 on this one. Konami nailed down the formula pretty good for the series' freshman PS2 entry, and Heather is a likeable protagonist.

I love stuff like that. I’m really hoping that Yakuza: Like a Dragon has some Dragon Quest outfits, since he name drops it in the trailer.

Next episode is our last Stage Select and Cage Match of 2019, folks! Let's get some comments!

Stage Select:  NieR:Automata?  I really don't know.  I do prefer entries in series that people consider to be "more of the same" like Metroid Prime 2 or Bioshock 2.  I can't really think of anything people outright hate...  except Julian's hatred of NieR:Automata since it is so well documented.

Cage Match:  I actually played the demo for Silent Hill 3...  so let's go with that one.

I'll second Nier: Automata. I said I was going to bring it up when I guested to be an "edge lord," but I genuinely really enjoy that game ... but I think that's more an example of a game everyone likes that Julian hates ...

I'm with you,  theres plenty of game I like way more than most but games that are mostly hated is hard to find. I typically play games that are critically acclaimed due to all my podcasts breaking them down so I know what I'm getting into. 

STAGE SELECT: Umm... I don't know that I hated Superman 64 AS MUCH as everyone else, but I certainly don't love it. This one's hard, cause I stay on top of things enough to more or less avoid games I'd hate, and nothing I love is necessarily shat on universally. 

Best I got is a lot of people don't like the direction Zelda's been going in since OoT, but those games still get wide praise and I can see why people don't like those games ... yet I wouldn't say those criticisms amount to hate. 

Most of my favorite games are well-reviewed games other people like too. I also enjoy the game Lemmings.

CAGE MATCH: This is hard for me cause I've always loved the concept of the Fatal Fram series, but I've actually played a demo of Silent Hill 3 (back when OPM included those) so I have to automatically go with SH3. I'm not upset with my decision, since what I played really did effectively freak me out, but I wonder if I'd like Fatal Frame more if I played it. 

In any case, Silent Hill 3 gets my vote by default. 

Great show guys. Didnt get a chance to comment last show because I forgot about the day early post time but it was also great. Please tell Rob that he did an excellent job and to come back soon. 

It baffles me how quick Justin flies through games. It takes me forever. Then to top it off he doesnt just fly through them, he plays them deeply. 3 runs of Fire Emblem is like 100 hours and he did it in 3 days! How is that possible? Hope your doing ok Justin btw. 

Alright let's go.

Stage Select: Favorite games others hate

3. The Bouncer: It was 3d Streets of Rage. How is it hated so much? Sure the characters are goofy looking and the SoR music isnt there but it's still solid. Right? Theres a guy that is basically Sephiroth, people love Sephiroth.

2. Beyond: Two Souls: I was intrigued with this game the moment I saw it. Heavy Rain was good but a crime drama isn't my favorite genre. Sci-Fi is definitely up my alley and I loved this game. The disjointed story telling keep me guessing and I really enjoyed the crazy ending. I still have to play Detroit: Become Human but I'm looking forward to it.

1. Halo 4: I still dont get why Halo gets such a lukewarm reception these days. Seems like it went down hill after the peak of 2 but every one has been really good in my opinion. Four tried some new things with a new dangerous enemy type and the story really intrigued me. If anything I can see why five wasnt so liked because of the focus off Master Chief. Still I think it was a solid experience and I'm definitely still interested in what will happen.

Cage Match: One game has 2 beautiful asian women and a camera. How could you go wrong? I'll tell you how, by not being able to sleep that night. No, not for THAT reason! It's because the game is terrifying.  Being in FPS mode, forced to stare horrifying ghosts in the face is torture. Silent Hill 3, on the other hand, has a Sailor Moon transformation sequence that can give you access to the, "Sexy Beam." I have to go Fatal Frame regardless because if you want horror then it does its job.

I put so much time into Halo 4.  They had weekly and daily challenges for both campaign and MP.  I worked through the campaign a couple times because the weekly challenges would cycle through the campaign levels.

Hello all, I'm back after a few fun weeks! Turns out "abetting" isn't what you might think it is!

STAGE SELECT: Have I talked about Zelda II yet? A side-scrolling highly melee combat-based platforming open adventure game of which mainly there were a couple good examples of (for the time, The Battle of Olympus and Castlevania II, and a couple decent Japanese-only ones) and certainly none of which set the world on fire and which Nintendo hasn't looked at since. I definitely have mentioned it before.

But I really wanted to talk about Alpha Protocol because (Mike, I think?) in the last episode mentioned not to build a Stealth character. Welp, guess what I did (and non-lethally, or as the game calls it, with zero Orphans Created)? And while it's not something I'd recommend it's actually pretty fun if you spec for it and get vaguely lucky with drops (like any RPG). The stealth actually isn't too bad considering it's even more of an RPG-shooter than Deus Ex is. Of course, really Alpha Protocol's strength is in its deep, branching narrative and story system but as long as you don't mind a weirdly gamey non-simulation shooting aspect (such as keeping track of hotkeyed skills or accepting aiming that's not instant for your character) it's a fun game. Or, I guess the point is, at least it was to me!

VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: I mean, the judge said I also couldn't take bets anymore but I mean video games aren't real themoneyisbutnevermindaboutthat so let's have some odds! Hmm... hmm... Fatal Frame 2, throw some money in and your wishes will surely come true. Do you want to throw money? Yes? You became happier by one step. For your reference, today you will have: Big trouble.

Personally? Well, I never played Silent Hill 3 (I'm familiar with its reception) but I did play Project Zero 2: Wii Edition. And, um, well, it's no Pokemon Snap. Give it to Silent Hill 3!

Stage Select:

Gonna have to rapid fire this one since my time is short tonight. The following games are fairly recognized as good games and I loved them, but I was surprised when I found out how many people disliked them for one reason or another:

Crash Bandicoot series (PS1)

Sonic the Hedgehog series (Sega Genesis)

Metroid II

Legend of Dragoon

Star Tropics

 I apologize for not having the time to expound on the reason for my selections, but I didn’t want to miss another stage select.

Keep up the good work nerds!