You're listening to 101.5, The Game, KNWP!
Hey there! This is the craziest Nerds Without Pants EVER! We only got a handful of songs for Stage Select, so instead of talking about 7 or 8 songs and calling it a day we decided to create an entire two hour block of radio programming that approaches UHF levels of insanity. Yep, this is happening. Check it out!
The 25th anniversary of a victory fanfare for the PlayStation.
“And now, the most anticipated epic adventure of the year will never come to a theater near you. Final Fantasy VII.” And so began my interest in RPGs. That commercial blew my 12-year-old mind back in 1997. Besides the impressive animations shown (which we would later learn were only cut-scenes), I was intrigued at seeing that we somehow jumped from Final Fantasy III on the Super NES to now VII on the PlayStation. “What manner of sorcery is this?”, I wondered.
A Robot Boy and his Dog
For years, there has been a heated debate among fans of the Mega Man series regarding which one is the best of the original hexalogy. After the facts have been laid out and philosophical life lessons thoroughly dissected, the debate usually boils down to Mega Man 2 vs. Mega Man 3. Which is the greater of the two? Well, no matter which side you’re on, we can all agree on the thing- the cover art for Mega Man 3 finally got it right! No more awkward stances or that pistol-for-an-arm-cannon nonsense. Of course, he didn’t look as good as on the Famicom cover, but that’s another argument.
Heroes of Might and Magicite
As a late bloomer to RPGs, I was mostly ignorant of the Final Fantasy series until 1997, when that commercial for Final Fantasy VII caught my attention in all its epic CG glory. But it would be another two years before I finally saw a demo of the game in action, which sparked my love for RPGs. The point is that I missed out on Final Fantasy VI (originally titled Final Fantasy III in the US) when it was released in 1994. Fortunately, the Super NES Classic Edition's release several years back allowed the opportunity to play Square’s magnum opus of the 16-bit series. And boy, was it worth the wait.
A thunder redux on the Super Nintendo.
Technosoft’s Thunder Force series is rich with 2D shoot-'em-up goodness. After starting with the fifth game in the series on the PlayStation and then working my way back to Thunder Force II on the Genesis some years later, I have become obsessed with everything related to the Thunder Force series since then. One fateful day at a local game store, I stumbled upon Thunder Spirits on the Super NES. "Nah, no way it's related to the Thunder Force series. Probably just a coincidence of naming", I thought to myself. But after doing some additional research, I soon returned to that store and purchased the game. For, you see, this was no coinkydink.
This Stage Select was a mistake.
Oh, hi! Xavier joins us for another rip-roarin’ episode of Nerds Without Pants. This week, our listeners throw the Stage Select concept in the trash and opt instead for personal attacks on Julian and Justin. Also, is Digimon Survive the game of the year??? And, listen to Justin somehow not understand the concept of JRPGs.
Hold on to your Butz.
There are several similarities between Final Fantasy V and its younger sibling, Final Fantasy III. Chiefly of which, both games stayed exclusively in Japan well after the series moved on to the PlayStation in the mid-90s. For a time, Square Enix (formally SquareSoft) was uncertain if western audiences would grasp the deeper gameplay mechanics that drove character growth. But after the global success of Final Fantasy VII, they decided it was time to start bridging the gap in sequels in the US lineup. As a result, Final Fantasy V was the first to be released as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology compilation on the PlayStation in 1999.
Wherein three middle-aged guys act like teenagers.
Welcome to another excellent edition of Nerds Without Pants! This week we are joined by Bill Tucker of the podcast A Gamer Looks at 40. We’ll learn all about him as we discuss podcasting, gaming, and bringing back dead franchises!
I feel a draft!
Ten years. Ten. YEARS. It’s hard to believe that Nerds Without Pants has been around for an entire decade, but here we are. NWP co-founder Rob Ottone joins us for a trip down memory lane that makes ever so many pit stops along the way.
Yeah, I'm checked out.
Hey folks, welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! Julian is on vacation, so these show notes are gonna be super basic. Xavier Kreiger joins us again to talk about our favorite summons in video games, and lots of other things. Also, Justin got a soundboard. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
