PixlBit

If any listeners were interested in the XIV in 14 show I mention, here it is:

https://youtu.be/JF9tgDM7xL0

Great episode guys. Looking forward to some new console for sure. Almost done with Final Fantasy so I can hear that spoiler episode. 

Update: finished the spoiler episode since I'm done with FF7. Definitely felt way too padded. I was wishing there was an auto fight toggle towards the last handful of bosses. Not because they were hard but I just wanted to see where the story was heading and be done. 

I know its dumb but I also had a hard time suspending disbelief when you have Barret running around with a gun the size of a human on his arm. Especially when the 24/7 news has video of all the main characters. NO ONE noticed that the giant black man with a cannon on his arm is the same giant black man with a cannon on his arm from the news? Or the edgy kid with a sword as tall as him? Or hell the hot girl with giant balloons? 

Overall it was a good game but I really felt the way they stretched it out unnecessarily. I couldn't recall much of the original story outside of big plot points so you're spoiler cast really helped fill in gaps. 

Ok on to Stage Select 

Stage Select:

3. Good acradey racing games. NFS Hot Pursuit 2 and Burnout 3 are amongst my favorite games ever. Just dumb fun. Burnout got grayed out later then turned into a garbage open world game. NFS is just a joke these days. Hell bring back NFS Underground and add the insanity of the cop cars from Hot Pursuit 2 and we have a winner!

2. Nintendo trying to compete graphically. I know Nintendo makes many amazing games that look amazing in their own right but damn do I wish they would push the power of a Series X (now and not in 10 years when Series XY is out). I would love to see what a modern Zelda, Metroid, or whatever could do with a console that easily competes with the next gen. They havent done that since Gamecube if I remember correctly.

1. Cheat codes! Where the hell are all the cheat codes? Why do they no longer exist? Let us break our games with fun bullshit. Goldeneye had lots of dumb fun things but also gated them behind speedrunning bullshit. Just give us a damn menu with a checklist of cheats we want. I want to have a machine gun in Dark Souls, Mario duel wielding hammers, Link flying with Epona, Samus with a hyper beam from the get go. Just give us fun dumb cheats and diable achievements if it's that big a deal.

Cage Match: I initially heard this and was immediately declaring Homecoming the winner by a mile but then I decided I'm going with Downpour. Why? Because I was literally 20 minutes from the end of Homecoming (which I was enjoying) when the game wouldn't let me progress past a dumbass door.

I redid the same 30 minute segment 3 times only for the game to freeze 2 doors from the final boss every time. I finally called it quits and to this day dont know how that game ends. Homecoming is the traitorous Shawn Michaels to my Marty Jannetty...

I know I brought up the disconnect of Barrett running around with a gun arm in the remake at some point in our many discussions on the show, but I've been thinking about it a lot. It made me realize that, in most games like FF VII, the only people walking around with weapons are the main party members. And that was fine when they were little polygonal action figures walking around, but in modern graphics it looks silly.

That's another of many reasons why I love the world of FF XIV so much. You'll find tons of NPCs walking around visibly armed, because that's just how it is. Adventuring is a trade, just like fishing or blacksmithing. It's another reminder of how badly I want the XIV team to take over on the next game.

Yes I fully agree. You dont really notice it much until its very realistic. On top of that, theres also the whole terrorist side of it. No way in hell they wouldnt get called out. Barrett and Tifa have to be very well known around Sector 7 because of the bar. They wouldn't have a home to return to unless they wanted to deal with a SOLDIER SWAT team. 

Most other games have you running with weapons but you arent neccesarily a bad guy. 

Stage select:

A lot of developers and franchises. Lunar, Ultima (and Origin Systems itself), Maxis and Will Wright. I miss Square and Enix being separate competitors and always think of what might have been had Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within not been made. 

Cage Match:

STAGE SELECT: 

1) Levels/chapters/missions. These things are still around but I hate the focus many AAA games have on "Well, done with that mission, let's immediately talk about what you're going to do next." Like, let me have the victory and savor it for a SECOND. I get that you're busy and need to illustrate that about your character Spider-Man, but let ME have a break. Jesus. At least games like DmC still have missions that serve as actual starting/stopping points. I love being able to play games in small chunks is what I'm saying. 

And I know there are points in games (like Spider-Man) where they say "Hey, screw around and do side missions for a while," but that brings me to my next point:

2) Not having a fucking checklist for all the side content that makes me brain feel obligated to complete things. I never once worried about getting all the heart containers in Zelda, I just wanted to BEAT THE GAME. That used to only mean getting through the story, but now I'll do that and have like 15% of the trophies and feel as if I didn't REALLY do anything. 

Again, let me have a win! 

3) Arcade sports titles. I don't give a shit about real life player stats, I just want to make my character CATCH ON FIRE. That's all I want from my sports games. Fire and cartoonish brutality. How does no one else making purchasing decisions seem to understand football is more fun that way?! 

CAGE MATCH:

I like the rain theme of the name Downpour, so that I guess. Rain is cool. 

SHOW RESPONSE:

I don't have much to add but thank you for making my part-time social media gig much more bearable to complete. Also, I kinda like the PS5 design, both controller and console, but I do see everyone's point about the router/modem thing. I choose to see a spaceship. 

Also, I definitely saw a bikini when I first saw that controller, thanks to the placement of the blue light making it look like straps. Definitely prefer the custom designs, but I like the concept for that reason. 

Stage Select:

3. Every company having a mascot- It was fun having someone representing what a video game company was about. Mario, Sonic, Crash, and Mega Man all had their own style and were good indicators of how their company made games. Then Microsoft made Master Chief, a mascot with no face, and everyone stopped caring. Who's EA's mascot? A loot box?

2. Every big publisher trying every genre- It was neat seeing every company have their own take on a genre. Square and Enix didn't just make RPGs, Capcom gave us Breath of Fire, Nintendo made Earthbound, Sega had Phantasy Star, and Konami had Suikoden. When Resident Evil came out we got to see Silent Hill and Parasite Eve 2. Now it feels like they don't care about giving their own spin on a genre or idea but just chasing a trend to make money off of it. 

1. Sega consoles- When Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo design a piece of hardware, they base it on what they think will make money. When Sega made one, they based it on what they thought was cool. It's obvious why Sega doesn't make consoles with that mentality, but I miss ahead of their time ideas like the Sega Channel, Sega CD, and VMU.

Cage Match:

I haven't played either but Downpour is the newer game and is made by Konami so Homecoming gets my vote. Because once HD consoles hit, the newer the Konami game, the more likely it is to be awful.