We need to deal with the goblin problem.
Well hi there! Friend of the Show John Gholson returns to Nerds Without Pants for a meaty discussion about side quests that hearkens back to the old days of NWP. It’s weird to think about this podcast having “old days”, but when you’ve been doing it for a decade it’s bound to happen. We also talk about SO MANY GAMES (And Baldur’s Gate 3, natch).
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...
It’s the final regular-format episode of Nerds Without Pants for 2020, and we go out with a bang. A massive bang! A four-hour bang! Um…wait. Anyway, this is a very special listener AMA show, and we talk about a ton of games before pitting two beloved 16-bit RPGs against each other in a steel cage match. Enjoy!
Family Matters
August of this year will mark the 20th anniversary since Dragon Quest was introduced in the US. With 10 core sequels and many spin-offs since then, you’d think an RPG fan such as myself would be well-versed in the series by now. But in reality, my Dragon Quest knowledge over the years has only been cursory at best. I got started about eight years ago when I completed Dragon Warrior (the series’ name in the US until 2005), and I’m currently nearly halfway through the massive adventure that is Dragon Quest XI. My depth of familiarity with the series pretty much ends there. Or at least it did until I recently finished Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride- a Nintendo DS remake of the beloved Super Famicom original.
This RPG is a real grind. No dragon your feet here.
If there’s one thing I absolutely adore about Dragon Warrior (aka Dragon Quest), it’s how much its subtle charms have influenced each sequel to come after it. There’s just something special about playing the latest game in the series (currently Dragon Quest XI) and still hearing the familiar sound cues of attacking an enemy, taking a hit, or the brief but satisfying victory chime and level-up fanfare. Additionally, the character designs by Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball creator and illustrator) give a visual continuity throughout each game. Without question, the Dragon Quest series has laid down some deep roots that all started here. But although it's a beloved first entry for nostalgic fans of the series, newcomers might not warm up to certain gameplay elements that would not be refined until much later.
A game about busy work.
Car Quest is one of those weird experiences that isn’t particularly fun or engaging, but can tap into your OCD tendencies and keep you playing even when you’d rather not. Its design is rather mundane - you drive around a world collecting an artifact at a time, which opens up a new area of the map where you’ll collect a new artifact, which will in turn open a new area of that map where you’ll collect… well, you get the point. This cycle is only broken on occasion where you’ll gain access to a portal that requires a certain number of batteries to get into. In the portal you’ll do more of what you do in the main world, just on a smaller scale, until you earn an artifact to use back in the main world, where the cycle continues.
Uh-oh, Julian found the reverb button.
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! We’re a nerd down, but that doesn’t stop Julian and Angelo from getting together to talk some Consumption Junction stuff. So join us for a meandering and random edition that’s…quite a lot of fun, actually!
Patrick versus Julian in the debate of the year!
After an unintended break, The Nerds Without Pants return! We were gone almost a month, and we’ve been dying to talk about your excellent Stage Select and Chrono Crossing picks, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
Call me queen!
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! This week, we are joined by Danny, a former Gamefellas coworker of Julian’s, and a very knowledgeable classic game collector. We have a packed show for you this time, so let’s get to it!
The dark, gritty reboot of Halloween Havoc!
Holy pumpkins, Batman! It’s the 100th episode of Nerds Without Pants! How the hell did that happen? How are we still doing this? How are people still listening to us? That is one of those unanswered questions, like how candy corn is still a thing. Join us for…well, a pretty standard edition of Nerds Without Pants, if we’re being honest!
The band is back together!
Hey folks, it’s Julian. Man, it really sucks that Angelo has been out and we didn’t have Patrick on our last episode. We’re about to hit episode 100, but where is—OH DAMN, SON! ALL THE NERDS WITHOUT PANTS ARE HERE! That’s right! We’re finally all back together for a short and sweet Consumption Junction edition of NWP.
