N-E Café Podcast

[nekunando]

3 hours ago, Ealdst said:

I have a question for a future episode, is there any franchise or single game/unreleased concept that would you like to see get a new instalment on switch, and what would you like to see in that new entry - so any shortcomings in past games you'd want to see improved or just new ideas to freshen up an old formula etc.

For me this would have to be Mario Strikers, had so much fun with Charged on the Wii and would love a new entry with an expanded roster, a few new arenas and some slightly better balanced special abilities (Waluigi was definitely always my pick for his ability to wall himself off for special shots).

Wave Race is too obvious.. I'll have to think of something else

 

[Ealdst]

So finally listened to the newest episode yesterday, enjoyed the quiz a lot and think this was a smart way to fill an episode when there isn't so much news to talk about.

@londragon have some thoughts regarding your experience with Pokemon - while I would agree the main story part is not the most challenging thing out there, based on your specific complaints you may want to try going into the options and changing the battle style from "switch" to "set". This will stop the game giving you the option to switch your pokemon for "free" when you take out each of your opponents pokemon. I doubt this would be enough to completely change your mind, but it would at least give you a little more to think about during the battles.

[Londragon]

... your specific complaints you may want to try going into the options and changing the battle style from "switch" to "set". This will stop the game giving you the option to switch your pokemon for "free" when you take out each of your opponents Pokémon.

Shame the game didn’t teach me this, or allow fo4 it to be chosen during the opening tutorial. A lot of ‘good things’ are just hidden in menus that I’ll never see, or know what they do. After finishing the post game content, I have no desire to return to the Galar region.

Also, it’s been a long week. Can’t wait to get back to recording a podcast this Sunday. Should have a bumper crop of news.

[nekunando]

11 minutes ago, londragon said:

Should have a bumper crop of news.

Is any of it good news..?

[Hero-of-Time]

33 minutes ago, nekunando said:

Is any of it good news..?

If it's in regards to the Indie World show then no, not really.  

[Londragon]

Over in the N-Europe Video Game Club thread, we've been whittling down the last few entrants to the game we'll all vote on for April's community sharing event.

@S.C.G came up with the finalised title of Modern Metroidvania's and the selection is based on price, accessibility and desirability.  The 3 games to vote from are;

Modern Metroidvania

1. Axiom Verge
2. Ori & the Blind Forest
3. SteamWorld Dig

Voting is to end on April the 4th, we'll announce the winner here and on the N-E Cafe podcast (episode 21) recorded on Sunday, April 5th.

Gaming to commence for the full month of April, and I'll collect everyone's viewpoints on the winning game, and we'll record the PodPals podcast on Sunday, May 3rd (episode 25).

You can stick your vote on which game you want to play either here, at our social media channels, or over here (Video Game Club Thread)

Edited March 23, 2020 by londragon

[Londragon]

It feels like we've had a week off due to re-scheduling the recording time, but we're back on track.  Every Tuesday we'll be dropping a new podcast and today is no exception.

N-E Café [019] Scoring a Review is with us.

The 19th N-E Café Podcast sees Lee Davies, Gregory Moffett and Nick Lone break down the pros and cons of review scores and hark back to the good old days of magazine reviews.  They also discuss the recent Nintendo News; games they’ve been playing, featuring Super Mario 64, Nick’s sales picks and the Hotline Miami Collection; and HOT’s Listener Question.

This is episode 19 of the N-E Café Podcast, an N-Europe Podcast. Enjoy!

 

[Nicktendo]

Sorry for the audio issues on my end this week, new sound setup and still getting used to it. 

[Jonnas]

Just got to the 35 min mark. I'd give the Nindie Direct a 6/10. It was neat, and that's really all I expected. Nothing huge for my tastes, but that tends to happen.

Might be premature to guess the transition tune, but...

Spoiler

Doom 64?

 

[Nicktendo]

4 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

Just got to the 35 min mark. I'd give the Nindie Direct a 6/10. It was neat, and that's really all I expected. Nothing huge for my tastes, but that tends to happen.

Might be premature to guess the transition tune, but...

  Transition tune guess (Reveal hidden contents)

Doom 64?

 

It's not that one. 

[Hero-of-Time]

• I agree with the the thoughts on the Indie World show. I found it incredibly boring and nothing really stood out to me. I was hoping for some exciting new indie exclusives that were built for the Switch but that didn't happen. 
• I think E3 in it's current form needs to die. They need to go back to what it used to be and that is a business trade show. Let the journalists get in there and do their job instead of trying to just pack the place with public. I think the rise of digital messaging makes the whole thing redundant, TBH. Don't get me wrong, I love live conferences more than Direct style shows but form a business perspective it makes far more sense to go the Direct route. Saves on cost, you can push the message whenever you want and you have complete control over everything.
• I still haven't really played Disaster Day of Crisis. I've had it for years but never played it for more than an hour.
• I can see why Nick says that the shine will no doubt wear off once the game has been out for a while. However, there's nothing really on the horizon for the Switch (the rumoured Direct should hopefully sort that out) so people will be playing for a while. I've put a stupid amount of time into the game already and it's easily got me hooked more than any other AC game. I love a good grind in a game and this has certainly scratched that itch. Grinding for bells in order to pay off my loan in a single day has kept me very busy, as has the search for all the fish and bugs that are available during this season. Plus, I think it's the perfect game given the situation we are all finding ourselves in. Putting more than an hour a day is more than enough? Once i've got all my work done for the day (been working from home for the past week) that's all i've been playing. 
• Greg had me worried for a second with his Mario vs Banjo Kazooie take. Thankfully he chose wisely what he thought was the better game.
• Nick saying FFVIII is better than FFVII = 
• LOL at the fireworks going off.
• Like you guys, i've been playing games long enough to know what I will like and reviews pretty much have little to no effect as to whether i'll pick up a game or not. I'd much rather read impressions from people on here, who I have known for years, than read or watch something from a site or youtuber looking for clicks, most of which have probably less gaming experience than most of us on here. To be fair, it's not just games either. I treat movies the same, with reviews having no bearing whether i'll go see one or not. I loved the recent Rambo film and the thing got absolutely slated. At the end of the day reviews are just a one persons opinion and shouldn't be taken as gospel. 
• A big reason why I asked this question was due to the kind of hype that surrounds a games score in certain gaming circles and how many arguments they can cause. Era is a fine example of people going nuts over a game getting scored too low or thinking it's the second coming when a game get a 90+ on Metacritic. I find the whole thing quite baffling and I think it just feeds into whole console wars/fanboy drivel that we see across the internet.
• Coincidentally, the Sacred Symbols guys put out a video about game reviews and corruption not long after I asked you guys this question. I assume Nick has already watched it but it's a good watch for those who haven't seen it.

• N64 was the dogs dangly bits. Easily one of the best gaming magazines that was ever produced, along with the Official Sega Saturn magazine. I loved the N64 game rack that was given as a free gift. I totally remember than ISS cover as well, Greg! 
• Yeah, the Official Nintendo Magazine was just essentially a mouth piece for Nintendo themselves. I still bought and read it but you could tell that a lot of the exclusive game scores were inflated. You still see that kind of thing going on today, with GameXplain and NintendoLife being very much up Nintendo's backside. I've not trusted either of those places for a long time.
• Totally agree with Greg about the mystery being lost with the loss of game magazines. The slower news cycle is another good point and I honestly quite liked it. The E3 issues were always something special. Again, I agree with Nick in that I think there is often an over saturation of news at times and people have lost the ability to just be patient. You just have to look how nuts people have been going for a new Nintendo Direct or how crazy folks are about the lack of PS5 news.
• Giving a shout out to Frame Trap. Good man, Greg. 

Once again, great episode. 

[Jonnas]

Quite the lengthy (and meaty) podcast this week:

Spoiler

Shadow Man

 

• Does Resi 4 for Switch not have the pointer controls the Wii had? By all means, it sounds like the laziest of ports, but if it's the same control scheme the Cube and PS2 had... I agree, I hate it ;
• Don't thank Capcom for the Megaman Legacy Collections. Thank Digital Eclipse, the studio that actually gathers these games and polishes these collections to a brim;
• Lee's Hotline Miami take was the closest anyone's ever gotten to selling me the game. Then he said "recommended for fans of twin stick shooters", and I remembered I don't appreciate the genre at all Still, now I'll probably do a double take next time I see that title on a sale;
• Thank you for taking my question! Definitely enjoyed the discussion that followed (it involved publications I never heard of, but that's what was interesting);
• Regarding reviews, I think the following video, which examines the style, writing, and content of gaming reviews over the years, should be an interesting addendum to the entire discussion. It's a fascinating watch:

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Jonnas

[Londragon]

13 hours ago, Jonnas said:

• Lee's Hotline Miami take was the closest anyone's ever gotten to selling me the game. Then he said "recommended for fans of twin stick shooters", and I remembered I don't appreciate the genre at all Still, now I'll probably do a double take next time I see that title on a sale;
• Thank you for taking my question! Definitely enjoyed the discussion that followed (it involved publications I never heard of, but that's what was interesting);

Go on Jonnas it's a good game.

When there are good questions, we'll answer them.  Thanks for the question. Keep them coming, please.

23 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

• I think E3 in it's current form needs to die. They need to go back to what it used to be and that is a business trade show. Let the journalists get in there and do their job instead of trying to just pack the place with public. I think the rise of digital messaging makes the whole thing redundant, TBH. Don't get me wrong, I love live conferences more than Direct style shows but form a business perspective it makes far more sense to go the Direct route. Saves on cost, you can push the message whenever you want and you have complete control over everything.
• Greg had me worried for a second with his Mario vs Banjo Kazooie take. Thankfully he chose wisely what he thought was the better game.
• LOL at the fireworks going off.
• Giving a shout out to Frame Trap. Good man, Greg. 

Once again, great episode. 

I feel E3 will try to come back the same, but will fail in doing so, and have to revert back to what it was, albeit a little smaller from the major publishers who'll continue their Digital Events

Thought Greg chose the wrong game as the masterpiece, what do I know? 🤷‍♂️

Fireworks - Any time of the day, this is Taiwan.

Will check out Frame Trap this week.

Thanks again for the fantastic feedback, both.

 

And, to all.  Any listener questions you'd like to see us tackle on future episodes?

[S.C.G]

I'm just now getting around to listening to the podcast on its new schedule, great stuff so far as I'm just over an hour into it and I think I might know what the transition tune is...

Spoiler

I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it's Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes despite not really being sure, I just have a feeling, especially from the last track.

Looking forward to the scoring a review conversation.

[Londragon]

We've had a couple of correct guesses for the Transition Tunes.  Been keeping quiet on revealing the answer as the podcast we'll record later today will reveal who was the quickest on the trigger.  A bit of Direct talk, and Ealsdt's listener question to tackle this week.

Any more listener questions for future episodes, keep them coming, and thanks.

[Londragon]

 

N-E Café [020] The Smallest Direct Ever is now available at all good podcast providers.  Check out the opening post for more details about where you can get your ears around the N-Europe Podcast.

The 20th N-E Café Podcast has Lee Davies, Gregory Moffett and Nick Lone discuss those games that need to return to Nintendo’s catalogues.  They also discuss the recent Nintendo News, focusing on the mini Direct; games they’ve been playing, featuring Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikuniku and Star Wars Episode 1 Racer; and Ealdst’s Listener Question.

 

 

[Nicktendo]

Don't be shy, give it a try!

I'm thinking of doing a LIVE quarantine quiz this week or next on Skype or Zoom if anyone is interested, we'd get together on and pit our wits against each other in a Nintendo themed quiz which we can film for the N-E YouTube channel. Anyone interested in taking part? Should only be an hour max, but you'll get the official title of Smartest N-E forum member if you win. Can potentially do any day of the week 7-10pm U.K. time. There'll be mix of questions, general knowledge, guess the song, cropped screenshots etc. 

Ideally we'd have a minimum of four players, more would be welcome. 
 

[Hero-of-Time]

Thoughts on this weeks episode.

• The Direct wasn't that much of a surprise for me. There was a reason I was so on the ball when posting the Direct. I stopped playing Animal Crossing at 12:55pm and waited for it to drop...
• Xenoblade Chronicles has been preordered and the game does look quite good. However, I always thought The Last Story was the better game and I would have preferred that game to be remastered.  I got the collectors edition for the Wii version of the game and the collectors edition for XC2, so I had to pick up the collectors edition for this to keep the collection going.  
• The 2K line up of games done absolutely nothing for me. I've played pretty much most of them elsewhere a long time ago now. The fact that the full games aren't on the cart and that the prices for these will no doubt MUCH higher to their other console counterparts means there's ZERO chance of me getting any of these. Plus, they will no doubt run worse as well.
• Agree with Nick in that Bioshock is more slow paced, story driven and more about the atmosphere than the shooting mechanics.
• Lee, Borderlands is a fantastic game if you have people to play with. The co-op shooter is such a laugh with friends and elevates the class based looting gameplay to a new level. Well worth playing if you have a group that you can hook up with.
• Animal Crossing update looks great. I'll be all over the egg hunting game and eager to collect the egg decorations.
• Good Job! was probably the highlight of the whole Direct for me. The game looks hilarious and it's one that i've added to my wishlist. 
• The Ring Fit Adventure update was a fantastic surprise and one that I hope they build upon. It comes at such a good time as well, with lots of people unable to leave their house. Shame that only a select few people are able to play the thing, due to the supply constraints the game has had since it's release. The game is being sold at crazy prices in some parts of the world.
• Nick, I found that the online leaderboards were a great incentive to get me playing the game. There was a time where RedShell was miles a head of me and I set a goal of catching him. Granted, once I did catch him I stopped playing (  ) but having a goal in mind and comparing with friends was the push I needed. I imagine a few people on my list are miles ahead of me now. I should check my list again to get another incentive boost.
• The Arms character I think it will be is Min Min. Not too fussed really about it though. I've still not bought any of the DLC and i'm not a huge fan of Arms either. Hilarious that Nintendo are showing support for Arms after they essentially killed the thing when they released Splatoon 2 so close to it.
• The Bravely Default II demo- i've already posted my thoughts in the thread. Although, in regards to NPCs, I generally hate them in RPGs because 9 times out of 10 none of them have anything of worth to say.
• Club Games looks fun but whether I pick it up will depend of what games are available for online play. Local multiplayer isn't an option for me so the online mode will have to be quite substantial for me to consider purchasing it. I bought the DS game back in the day and I lost interest in it pretty quickly.
• The Panzer Dragoon remake is a weird one for me. I was initially excited by it but it's clear it has been rushed out. I hate when developers/publishers push out a game and then on the day of release they tweet out saying that they know the game has issues and a patch is on the way to sort it out. If you knew about these issues then don't release the game until it's ready! The game costs quite a bit when you consider it's only 1-2 hours long.
• Trials of Mana is VERY rough on the Switch. I played the demo for a short while on both the PS4 and the Switch and yeah it's not looking good for the Switch version. 
• I knew Lee would love Burnout Paradise. I immediately thought of him when it was shown. The game is absolutely fantastic.
• I had a good laugh at Dcubed being so excited about Mr Driller. Lee asks is anyone is excited and gets the quick response of "No".  
• Overall I found the Direct to be pretty meh. It once again highlighted the same issue i've talked about on here before in that the Switch isn't really catering for those who have the ability to play games on other consoles. So many of the games that were announced during the Direct were ports/remasters that i've played before, some of them many years ago now, and even Nintendo's own big game between now and June is a remaster. This trend looks to continue, what with the rumour of the Mario remasters heading their way to Switch. I'm just hoping there is more on the horizon because at the moment all we have is a onslaught of old games which really shouldn't be happening in a consoles 3rd year. At this point we should be seeing exclusives, from both first and third parties, that really start to highlight what the Switch can do.
• Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee is a great game and I think it was far more fun to play than Sword/Shield. It's something that I hope that Game Freak continue to do. Like Nick, I'd love for this kind of care and attention being poured on Gold/Silver.

[Jonnas]

52 minutes, but all I have to say is...

Nick doesn't know how to play chess!? That's the granddaddy of all SRPGs!

[Londragon]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Thoughts on this weeks episode.

1. The Direct wasn't that much of a surprise for me. There was a reason I was so on the ball when posting the Direct. I stopped playing Animal Crossing at 12:55pm and waited for it to drop...
2. Lee, Borderlands is a fantastic game if you have people to play with. The co-op shooter is such a laugh with friends and elevates the class based looting gameplay to a new level. Well worth playing if you have a group that you can hook up with.
3. Good Job! was probably the highlight of the whole Direct for me. The game looks hilarious and it's one that i've added to my wishlist. 
4. The Bravely Default II demo- i've already posted my thoughts in the thread. Although, in regards to NPCs, I generally hate them in RPGs because 9 times out of 10 none of them have anything of worth to say.
5. I knew Lee would love Burnout Paradise. I immediately thought of him when it was shown. The game is absolutely fantastic.
6. It once again highlighted the same issue i've talked about on here before in that the Switch isn't really catering for those who have the ability to play games on other consoles. 

1. Ohh, uncles at Nintendo?
2. I am really excited for all the lineup of the 2K games now.  The more I look into each of the games, Borderlands included, I feel the necessity to purchase all of them.  Probably not at once, but over the next year probably.
3. Can't say enough good things about Good Job!, and I haven't played it.  Basing all my enthusiasm from videos online.
4. The more I think about Bravely Default, the worse it gets.  That demo didn't gel with me at all.
5. Even more excited now than I was when recording.  A tentative 2020 release date needs to be clarified quickly.
6. I'm one of those gamers with only a Switch and nothing else to play on, and that's not going to change.  So, I suppose this Direct really was for me.  Sad to hear others so downbeat, but who knows what's coming in the second half of the year?  Hopefully, more than just those rumoured Mario remasters.

No Transition Tunes guesses yet.

Edited March 31, 2020 by londragon

[Dufniall]

On 15-3-2020 at 8:26 AM, Ealdst said:

Otherwise I go into the episode with the answer already and so can't play along, especially as I usually listen via YouTube so am a bit later to the episode in general.

Thanks to the joys of working from home I already had time to put Ep20 on YouTube. So enjoy @Ealdst, you can hear the answer to your question early this week.

 

[Londragon]

Thanks for all your hard work [mention=2286]Vileplume2000[/mention]

[Hero-of-Time]

7 hours ago, londragon said:

1. Ohh, uncles at Nintendo?

Nah. It came from my father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate. Respect to anyone who knows what movie that is from without using Google. I also meant to write 1.55pm not 12.55pm. Whoops. Basically I was sat waiting 5 minutes before it dropped. 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Jonnas]

Anyway, after listening to the rest:

Spoiler

Ring Fit Adventure

• I think people are being overly harsh on Bravely Default II's graphical issues. Not that it doesn't deserve it, it's just that the game's unfinished and the devs know that better than anybody. They'll likely get fixed even without the survey, which means the final game won't have them. In a way, starting with that feels like stressing the small stuff. Pointing out art style, UI, design choices, pacing, etc. is more productive, imo, since that's the sort of thing listeners are likely to prioritize as well.
• After playing Mr.Driller DS earlier this year, I'm done with the franchise, and I definitely don't share DCubed's enthusiasm
• I've been playing Pikuniku as well (pretty close to finished), and I think my opinion falls between yours and Ashley's. I'll say more in the Gaming Diary thread when I'm done, but for now, I'm just surprised you said the writing's adult-focused and... I don't see it. It's simple, short, easy to understand, a lot of humour comes from silly characters taking sillier things at face value... The main villain employs capitalism, but nefarious CEOs are so common in kids media, too. Maybe we're just thinking of different age groups.
• Hotel Dusk is a DS game, and it has a direct sequel (also for the DS) called Last Window, featuring the same main character, Kyle Hyde. They were developed by the now-defunct Cing, who confirmed Kyle Hyde exists in a shared universe with the Another Code series. On a side-note, the Kyle Hyde series saw a spiritual successor called Cold Case, which I played last year.

That's about it. My opinion on the Mini Direct was already said in the thread itself. I'll give it a 7/10.

[Nicktendo]

This week I'm gonna be talking in depth about Animal Crossing. I'm going to roll the credits tonight, K.K. is coming! 
If anyone has any thoughts / comments about their time with the game over the past two weeks, especially those who've "finished" it, it'd be good to see how my feeling stack up in comparison. I'm very positive about the game overall, but there are a few things that could've been done better, which I guess is the general feeling on the forum.