Its been nearly 2 months full of games, earthquakes, and moving since out last episode. But fear not, we are back with over three hours of podcast for your listening enjoyment.
Streaming: Blip.tv
00:01:03 The Quake / Tsunami / Blackouts / Radiation
What's the Happs?
00:38:50 Kyle
- 3DS
- Pilotwings
- Sword & Sorcery
- Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
- Star Ocean: The Last Hope
00:56:06 Richard
- Suda51 Games
- Fatal Frame IV
- Blood+ One Night Kiss
- Super Robot Wars Z2
- Mass Effect 2: The Arrival
01:32:36 Gwyn
- Macross Frontier: The Wings of Goodbye
- X-men Anime
- Wolverine: X-Men Orgins
- Mortal Kombat
- Red Dead Redemption
- Yakuza of the End
02:16:17 Death of the PlayStation Network
02:27:47 The Wii 2
Music in this edition:
Moshimo kimi ga negau no nara - May'n
Mortal Kombat - Techno Syndrome 12 mix
Shooting - May'n & Megumi Nakajima (featuring Gwyn in the crowd of chanting fans at the beginning!)
Posts
30 comments:
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. There you go Kyle, an M rated Wii game that came out a year after the Wii launched. Call of Duty: World at War also came out in late 08, I'm not sure if that counts though.
Also, I have a few questions for you guys if you decide to put up another mailbag. What's up with the Japanese government? I know it's really broad to ask but the Wikipedia page for Japan had about half a paragraph worth of information about it. I didn't even know they had a prime minister until I heard about him addressing the earthquake/tsunami.
My second question pertains to getting into Japan and living there. How? Do you just hop onto a plane, ship out all your personal belongings and go? How do you get a citizenship? Moving to another country as far off as Japan just blows my mind, it's like a whole other world.
Great episode! I love hearing you guys ramble. I think the debate over the Weanie might have triggered another earthquake.
I, too, am a humongous X-Men fan. Does this mean that you guys are just as excited about E3 showing X-Men Destiny stuff? I about hit the ceiling from excitement, mainly because we know sooo freaking little about the game. It looks very interesting, though, and it's been so long since they've done an X-men game (not character-specific) that I'm thrilled they're finally working on one again. Now we just have to figure out...y'know...what the game is lol. All we've got is about five screenshots (some of them really crappy) and one character revealed (Aimi Yoshida-15 year old japanese mutant shipped to America by her parents to escape a mutant internment camp).
here are some questions I thought up that I thought might provoke some discussion. Sorry for the double post.
1. Where do you see JRPG’s going in the future? I’m most interested in Final Fantasy, but this question can apply to any JRPG-or WRPG for that matter. Where do you want them to go? For example, I would like the next Final Fantasy (XV-probably far away in the future) to be more fantasy-based (although a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi is okay too), linear structure for story purposes, a deeply fleshed-out world with some towns (because I feel they lend the world flavor, although their absence made sense in XIII) and an illusion of openness (because I felt it was too obviously restrictive in XIII, probably due to design restrictions), but as far away from XII as possible, and a return to a more strict class-based system where certain characters can do certain things (Ex: Lulu & Vivi are black mages, Rikku & Zidane are thieves, etc….). That’s just a list of some things I miss from older Final Fantasies. Do you think Japanese developers, in light of financial issues (such as SE 90% drop) will target the japanese market or the foreign market, and will targeting both be feasible?
2. This question is directed particularly at Richard, but anybody can talk about it, of course. Like you, my favorite genre of games is, generally speaking, rpg’s. I am a huge fan of Bioware, and I’ve also played western and eastern rpg’s. Do you think that games such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age (particularly Dragon Age 2) can bridge the gap between the west and the east? In the past, you’ve spoken about the primary difference between JRPG’s and WRPG’s being the main character and the presence of choice versus playing what is essentially a film that uses you to direct the fight scenes. With voiced main characters and a strong narrative, Bioware games strike me as something of a mix between the two sub-genres. Mass Effect, for example, uses predominantly western-style visuals and character design and is a third-person shooter, but a major component of the game is the story, where even the main character speaks. You also see intense rivalries and romances, something that you have claimed is something that is usually only truly explored by eastern developers. You do, of course, have choices, but the lines are spoken after you choose only a paraphrase and you still travel down a path that is defined by the game developers. Could Bioware’s style of game design be so successful to so many people (granted, probably not much in the east) because it satisfies both sides of the rpg coin? To return to the original question: do you view Bioware games (or other rpg’s that might fit the description such as Lost Odyssey) as a mid-point between two types of games that are often viewed as diametrically opposed, or even as enemies?
3. You three have mentioned in the past how one of the biggest taboos in gaming is the usage (by the player) of a nuke. I could be wrong, but I assumed that this is because of the bombings that took place during World War II. In light of the recent disaster in Japan, do you think that related elements (nuclear radiation, earthquakes, and tsunamis) may become more taboo, or at the very least, viewed differently to the Japanese public and/or ratings board? Personally, I would think that earthquakes, having been such a common occurrence, would not change very much even though the recent one was of a colossal strength. But could the concept of a tsunami or something like it become taboo or more emotional in the media? I thought of this question when, for one reason or another, I was thinking about the scene in Final Fantasy X when Kilika is attacked by Sin. This is the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsRdl9qgFYY. Obviously, a creature is responsible for what is happening there and sadness is supposed to be the emotional result from that part of the game’s story, but, for me, it still has more emotional impact when I consider what happened in Japan (and I wasn’t even there, and I don’t know anybody who was). Furthermore, the scene that follows is Yuna performing the Sending (sending the dead’s spirits to the other side so they don’t become fiends) over floating bodies in the water. So when a disaster that decimated entire towns and killed hundreds (at the least) is so close to many people’s minds, and it happened in real life as opposed to in a movie or video game, does a disaster’s representation in the media gain an additional dimension and/or become controversial to portray?
4. These questions are directed at Kyle: 1.)Do you feel as if your preference for games with a strong aesthetic element is linked to your love of fashion, and 2.) what artistic/design features constitute a visual theme in a game (or movie or book, for that matter) that is good and/or unique? I would also make a comment that, although you’ve claimed to be visually based, I think a more appropriate term is “design-based”. From listening to many episodes of this podcast, I’ve gotten the impression that you care far more about the creative energy behind a design than how it is actually displayed on a screen, whereas Gwyn cares far more about visual fidelity and graphical quality (as seen in his rants about the Wii). Richard, being more focused on story, probably possesses a lot more flexibility in his visual preferences, I would think. Just some observations I’ve made; feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
5. When discussing the new Nintendo home console, all of you touched on the fact that a great deal of things rests upon what the new system offers that the old systems don’t. This was referred to as a gimmick several times. Even though all of you have varying degrees of interest in the console (Personally, I’m with Gwyn on this one), I’m curious as to what gimmicks you would like to see in this new game system. What gimmicks would you like to see, and which ones do you think would attract an audience and get customers on board (either the hardcore market or the casual market)? As ridiculous as it seems, I’ve heard rumors of games that would affect your senses somehow. As ridiculous as it seems, they do have some things that could allow such effects. http://www.geek.com/articles/games/smell-your-games-with-sensory-acumen-and-scent-geek-ceteras-new-gaming-gear-2011038/
You asked for it... ;p
Okay, I had eight more questions but for some reason my comments keep disappearing. I'll try again, but in a concise way.
1. Do you think anyone or anything will ever be able to satisfy the hardcore and casual markets at the same time?
2. Can you let us listen in on the debate over canon you mentioned?
3. What are your predictions, hopes, and fears concerning E3, and what are you most excited about? For me, it's X-Men Destiny and Uncharted 3.
4. Which games do you most want sequels for, but might not ever get. Ex. I want another Legend of Dragoon game, but probably won't get it.
5. If you could design your own game, what would you make (genre, characters, story themes, visuals...)?
6. What do you do at your jobs? I know you can't tell us everything, but what does your job entail. Like Kyle, for instance: I know you can't say where you work, but are you in marketing, quality assurance, the guy that cleans the break room....?
I'd like to know how big your backlogs are and what some of the games are. Personally, I've got about 50 games I haven't even opened yet. About 95% of them are RPGs, mostly PS2 and DS games, which makes it tough to catch up.
Good day, gentlemen. Very nice to hear the podcast again. How was Golden Week? I'll tack on a question since riley brought up E3: What is the interest level like in Japan? TGS causes some excitement abroad, but does it work both ways?
I agree with Kyle that FFIV for the PSP is a great redux. It's by no means my favorite FF, but it plays well, it's much faster than the DS version, and it has very pretty sprite work. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed looking at it.
@Richard
Sorry to hear about the Blood+ game, but thanks for running through it. I like the anime and even bits of the live-action film, so I was curious, but having seen some of your video footage, I can say that I'm glad it wasn't me playing it.
Just an observation: many girls would indeed be drawn to a Ferrari, but most of the girls I know like shiny motorcycles just as well--much cheaper and still fun.
Couldn't find any specifics regarding Japanese releases of Mortal Kombat, but there are plenty of videos for the home version of MKII on YouTube.
Nice Podcast guys, thanks for the info
On the Nuclear crisis.
Airline tickets to Japan have been Droping in prices over here.
On a Side note i picked up SRW Z2 (Collectors edition)
Its a blast i am amazed the PSP can run SRW Z
Graphics.
Pilot wings is a fun game too. (3DS)
If you dont mind i ask, are you guys planning to
Do a Podcast on SRW?
I really like to hear your views on the current
And previous SRW games.
Thanks,
As if a simple mask is going to save one from radiation poisoning. You might as well 'duck and cover.' One would think reporters would be some of the best educated people out there, but it never fails to surprise me the depth of their ignorance on basically everything, but especially issues concerning tech or the military. If one was even remotely serious about protecting oneself from radiation contamination without leaving, you would need something like a level 3 containment suit with an independent air supply, something with full body coverage.
When Chernobyl blew up, firefighters were sent to the reactor to put out the initial fires. The authorities didn't bother to tell these firefighters about the extreme danger of the radiation or any details of the explosion. These firefighters were near the exploded reactor putting out fires and being exposed to radiation at least 10,000 times more lethal than necessary to kill a person. They were wearing nothing more than their usual gear. By the end of the first day, these guys were already in hospital and pretty much good as dead. Unfortunately it wasn't even a quick death. One lady whose husband was one such firefighter took weeks to die and he was exposed to so much radiation that he himself was radioactive and hazardous. He had to be behind some lead curtain to prevent him from giving radiation poisoning to other patients and medical staff. His wife watched him die a very grizzly, painful death as his body disintegrated from the inside out. She said that the medical staff looked at her in horror, seeing her risk her life like that just being by her husband's side since she wasn't outside the lead curtain.
However, it does look like the Fukushima nuclear disaster was far worse than what the authorities were saying. Claims by the western press that the authorities were not being fully truthful appear to have some basis, although it doesn't seem clear if that was a deliberate lie or just false wishful thinking:
http://gizmodo.com/top/5801376
Watch the tap water, boys. It just might be Chernobyl in a glass.
@Gwyn
Is upconverting computer graphics the same as upconverting DVD? I am not an eagle-eye videophile, but I do peruse forums where videophiles discuss video quality of various movies/images and AV equipment. My impression is that among this crowd it is well known that the PS3 is only average when it comes to upconverting DVDs. It's not unusual that a $200 dedicated DVD player does a better job at DVD upconversion than a PS3 can do. If putting in an upscaling chip is as cheap and easy as you are arguing for in the Wii, why hasn't Sony done so for the PS3? Sony, of all companies, has access to those kinds of chips since they install them in their TVs and DVD/blu-ray players. However, it doesn't seem they did that for PS3. I have to believe it's not necessarily cheap or easy to do. God knows the PS3 is overkill in terms of power and can more than easily handle DVD upconversion with the proper scaler chip. I have a $500 blu-ray player and it has an outstanding upscaling chip. With well authored DVDs, it can make images look pretty good. Of course it's not HD, but sometimes it's easy to initially think that it is. How cheap of a scaling chip are you thinking?
Also weren't you and Richard arguing with Kyle that the hard-core gamer market and the causal gamer market are separate and different in the last podcast? If so, I have to agree with Richard and Kyle that adding a better scaler and corresponding output just wouldn't matter to the casual gamers that the Wii attracts. They likely don't have the tech savvy or HD demands of hard-core gamers. They wouldn't even know enough to understand what they are missing unless they saw the difference themselves on an Xbox 360 or PS3. They would most certainly be turned off by the extra cost of adding this ability to the Wii. While adding this feature might extend the longevity of the Wii, it's a moot point if people are turned off from buying it at all due to the added cost (assuming the added cost is significant).
Enjoyable podcast as always.
@Richard
I've just gone through the excitement of becoming a freelance journalist just like you. Unfortunately the first game I'm writing about for a local youth magazine is No More Heroes Paradise (which comes out this week). Save me!!!
@Kyle
Got a 3DS shortly after launch, loving it and thank you for highlighting that every system has crappy games intially (something most people don't realise).
As for suggestions for future podcasts, I would love if you guys could to do another "Japan Only" game podcast. But please this time make sure they are all Japan only. Because Tinkle and Vib-Ribbon were released in PAL, so they are technically not Japan only games. Also another E3 impressions podcast wouldn't hurt.
Now question time (YAY!!!). 1) @Kyle As a massive Gran Turismo fan who's owned every game over the past ten years would love to hear your thoughts on Gran Turismo 5.
2) Do most Japanese jobs actually make you work more than 8 hours per day? And if so how do people get by with minimal sleep?
3) What are your favourite Japanese food dishes and give details on there contents.
@Gwyn
Sounds like you were fighting a losing battle there towards the end of the podcast. ;P I'd have to agree with Richard in that it's up to the "gimmick" that Nintendo has in store for us that will determine the fate of their next console. I would also point out that Nintendo has always had roughly a five year lifespan for each of its consoles, and they are due to release a new one in 2012.
@Kyle
While I agree that the majority of consoles have sub par launch lineups, I must point out one gem that launched with the PS2— Dark Cloud. It was a beautifully done RPG by Level-5 which I felt was very innovative for its time. If you haven't checked it out already, put it on your backlog!
I'll try to keep my questions as brief as possible, since I know how very busy you all are over there:
1. Recently I've been debating whether to take a trip to another country this summer, and I'm deciding between Australia and Japan as places to go. Now I know that a trip to Japan may not be feasible right now due to the recent earthquake, but I wanted all of your input as to whether going to Japan around July would be a good idea or not. And Gwyn, if I could get some advice for some nice locales in Oz... I was thinking Melbourne would be a nice place to check out.
2. What are your top three favorite RPGs of all time (this includes both Western and JRPGs) and why? I think this one could spark some good debate. ^-^
3. Any thoughts on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metraton? I believe it has already released over in Japan, if I'm not mistaken. I know that there was a demo for the game up on the Japanese PSN before it went down.
And that's it for now. As always, excellent job with the podcast! I really do appreciate you guys taking the time to do this.
Can't wait til your E3 podcast, it was so good last year so I'm pretty excited. Keep on keepin on guys
Kyle, I just want you to know that I watched that video you linked on your twitter, and, thanks to you, I am now sea-sick. Thanks a lot.
Not to double post, but I'm watching the coverage of the NGP and holy crap! I wonder how much it's going to cost.
NGP is $250 in which I think they got the price point perfect. Makes 3DS look like a 8 bit console
True but are Japanese developers ready for the PSV?
And not just in terms of cost.
I'm a new listener and loving the podcasts so far! I was recommended by a friend but to my surprise, I realized that I have met Kyle at last year's YouTube Hanami party!
We talked loads about games and I was amazed just how much Kyle knew.
Well my main reason for writing here is to try and shout out to Kyle and possibly ask if you could follow me on Twitter (bakapad).
Can't find anywhere else except here to reach you...
Would love to help with one of your podcasts if possible.
Since E3 didn't give me any release dates I need a release date on this podcast. I'm dying over here.
On Kyle's twitter, he mentioned they have one recorded but wanted to put the E3 stuff up first. Not that I'm...you know...checking every day for a new podcast and sighing when there's nothing or anything...no.... Man, this podcast is like my crack.
Ahaha, yeas, we had a pre-E3 mailbag special in the bag (so to speak) but since E3 is the talk of the town at the moment I decided to try to do an E3 special and get it up first.
Should have something up soon so bear with us!
Man I just saw Mr. Plinkett Star Wars Ep 3 review after hearing you guys talk about him and that man is a genius. Wow I can't believe I actually thought Ep 3 was an ok movie, he made me see the light. Thank you Plinkett
We are recording a brand new episode right this very second. Everyone sit tight just a little longer!!!
still sitting tight
＠Silversaucer - many thanks. Appreciate your patience. Should be done editting the E3 cast in the next day or two. Unfortunately we experienced some major technical difficulties so im having to go through the cast second by second to make it a little more listenable ^^;
Thanks for the hard work Gwyn, just excited, you know :)
Skype on a 3G model PSV might be its best feature for a while/all time/ in the west (if only skype could receive SMS it can only send them its it critical failure atm as a 100% mobile replacement). I wonder if they will require a PSV+PS3 to get a WiiU type experience like Richard mentioned with a desire for video out on the PSV. Do you remember in 2005 when sony talked of the Cell processor being able to combine power with all the sony Walkman's and wristwatches you own operation yoshima style to be even more POWERFULL!. maybe the day will come with PSV.
Also do people in japan care about the Android Phone PlayStation Certified program (SOny experia play for example) You mentioned higher levels of PS1 nostalgia in the region than you had felt in north america or sydney. The 3DS seems to only care about 64 nostalgia for a while at least until #pray4pokemon Pokemon3DS comes out with blood and monster hunter cloned elements and Nintendo completes its black wii transition to out of touch international hardcore gaming. (do you see the black wii game boxes much in stores? they seem cool).
what color will WiiU boxs be? mabye Galaxy Blue (ie ugly aqua 3ds)? #Pray4Rei Blue Box color with internal material transparent texture like Pokemon Crystal cartridge.
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