N-E Café Podcast

[WackerJr]

On 17/01/2020 at 3:22 PM, Vileplume2000 said:

Great question from @WackerJr by the way. Movies based on games have a bad reputation and there are plenty of examples, but somehow I have a weak spot for them.

For example I really liked Mortal Kombat, but I think I was about 12 when I last saw it so my opinion may have changed a bit there. Never did see the Mario movie. I did enjoy the few episodes I saw of the anime with the real life intro. I also had a VCR with a cartoon series based on Super Mario Bros 3, where they visit the Giant Kingdom but I don't think it had the real life bit in front.

My favourite series is Resident Evil. The first movies are awesome, the later ones are really bad but I still enjoy watching them. If you want some quality RE material, the CGI movies are pretty good. 

Alone In The Dark is another really bad one. It's the same as Resident Evil in the sense that it has almost nothing to do with the game series, and the movie itself is awful. Great soundtrack though.

The first Tomb Raider movie was good, the other ones meh. Haven't watched the reboot yet but that is on my list. Given your love for Doom I was shocked you didn't mention that one! I never saw it either though.

Finally Ready Player One is a weird one. I loved the book, but it differentiates quite a lot from the movie. It's much more referencing 80s pop culture, video games and music while the movie is more in line with current day. Watching it I had quite high expectations, but I also thought it wasn't that great. But the book is well recommended.

Edit: Watching on wikipedia there is quite a list I haven't seen yet. I have some catching up to do! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_video_games

Another fine episode.  No idea on the transition tunes this week!

Great discussion on the movies and TV shows too. Thanks @londragon for picking that one.  There were some there I hadn’t considered too.  I agree @Vileplume2000 about Ready Player One. I really enjoyed the book (I can see the heavy reliance on so many classic videogames as putting some people off but I loved it!).  The film looked visually impressive but, yeah, the differences were noticeable and the film wasn’t that memorable for me.

[Dufniall]

Ah yeah the transition tune. It's a wild guess, but based on the mexican style music I would guess Guacamelee?

[Hero-of-Time]

On 1/17/2020 at 3:22 PM, Vileplume2000 said:

For example I really liked Mortal Kombat, but I think I was about 12 when I last saw it so my opinion may have changed a bit there.

I rewatched the film a couple of years ago and it still holds up. The soundtrack alone can carry that movie and it's no wonder they used the main theme for Mortal Kombat 11.

 

On 1/17/2020 at 3:22 PM, Vileplume2000 said:

My favourite series is Resident Evil. The first movies are awesome, the later ones are really bad but I still enjoy watching them. If you want some quality RE material, the CGI movies are pretty good. 

Yup. The first few films are pretty decent but, as you say, they completely go downhill in the later ones. I love the CGI films. They do a great job of recapturing the characters from the games and feel like an extension of those.

I think my 2 favourite video game movies are Final Fantasy: Advent Children ( hell of a soundtrack ) and the Street Fighter II animated movie. Both of these are movies I can easily sit down and watch time and time again. I often listen to the soundtrack of FF:AC. 

 

On 1/17/2020 at 3:22 PM, Vileplume2000 said:

Given your love for Doom I was shocked you didn't mention that one! I never saw it either though.

Doom is an awful movie. I only went and seen it due to The Rock being in it. The only decent thing about it is when it goes into first person mode. everything else about it is garbage. I remember a few years back The Rock mocking Cena for the movies he was doing but then said something along the lines of " Well I was in Doom, so I can't really talk."  

Edited January 21, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Londragon]

2 hours ago, Vileplume2000 said:

Ah yeah the transition tune. It's a wild guess, but based on the mexican style music I would guess Guacamelee?

Ohhh, no!

Nice try, but there is music from around the world throughout the Transition Tunes, hint, hint.

Edited January 21, 2020 by londragon

[Londragon]

@Vileplume2000 has been very busy converting the last 4 Podcast episodes into YouTube versions, and they're all up right now. Thanks!

 

[Londragon]

And without further ado, episode 11 is upon us.  Bursting out with Nintendo Goodness.

N-E Café [011] Is This Your Third Party?

Lee and Nick host the eleventh N-E Café Podcast.  Including the recent Nintendo News, games they’ve been playing (Batman: The Telltale Series & Super Mario Kart), and a listener question relating to missing third party franchises on Switch.  This is episode 11 of the N-E Café Podcast, an N-Europe Podcast. Enjoy!

 

[WackerJr]

On 21/01/2020 at 9:43 AM, londragon said:

Ohhh, no!

Nice try, but there is music from around the world throughout the Transition Tunes, hint, hint.

Oh I’ve got it! Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? Or 80 Days? Or Mario Kart: World Tour? Or Mario is Missing? 😁 No? Nope I’m out!

[Nicktendo]

12 minutes ago, WackerJr said:

 Mario is Missing? 😁

Underrated classic. Hate my parents for thinking this was a legit Mario game. Love my parents for introducing me to my educational passion via a video game GEOGRAPHY 

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, Nicktendo said:

Hate my parents for thinking this was a legit Mario game.

Yeah, I know, right? It's a Luigi game.

[Dufniall]

Just finished listening to this week's podcast. Another enjoyable one! About the Mass Effect trilogy: Bioware has been teasing on Twitter that something is happening. First with a fragment from ME1 and another with a quote from ME2. So chances are a Trilogy remaster is on the way, hopefully coming to the Switch as well.

[Jonnas]

Transition music is Donkey Kong Country 2!

[Hero-of-Time]

21 hours ago, Vileplume2000 said:

Just finished listening to this week's podcast. Another enjoyable one! About the Mass Effect trilogy: Bioware has been teasing on Twitter that something is happening. First with a fragment from ME1 and another with a quote from ME2. So chances are a Trilogy remaster is on the way, hopefully coming to the Switch as well.

It's an EA game so.....  

I decided to give the podcast a listen today. I finished my usual podcasts for the week ( although a new Sacred Symbols just released ) and had some busy work to do at work so figured I would listen to the latest episode while I tackled the task at hand. Here are a few things from the episode.

• Apparently Sabi wasn't the person who actually came up with the info. This has been misreported by a lot of Nintendo sites. Sabi just piggybacked off what a member of ResetEra had spoken about. This isn't the first time this has happened where Sabi is being credited for something he/she "leaked" and I imagine this is why they are gaining a reputation. They keep nicking other people's info.   
• Nick, you really should have continued on with Colour Splash. Yeah, it's not the same as the older games but it was a more than solid entry to the Paper Mario series and fixed a lot of issues that Striker Star brought to the table. I hated Sticker Star but thought Colour Splash was great. Also, you REALLY need to play TTYD on Gamecube.
• Do you guys not consider Monolith Soft a first party Nintendo development team? The Xenoblade Chronicles remake was on the list of games that Nintendo put out....unless those guys aren't actually making the game. 
• Nick you are right. Diddy Kong Racing >>>>>>>Mario Kart 64. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
• Nick it seems you have fantastic taste in Mario Kart drivers. Toad and Koopa were my mains from the very beginning and Toad continues to be my main to this day.
• Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers has indeed been released since the NES days, as have a bunch of other NES Disney games. They were part of the Disney Afternoon Collection released back in 2017.  HERE  For whatever reason this fantastic collection never got a Switch release which is absolutely baffling when you think that these games were originally on a Nintendo platform.
• Do you really want Goldeneye to return? The game plays terribly now. I loved Goldeneye as much as the next N64 fan but it's VERY rough by today's standards. Jet Force Gemini is another example of this. I played it as part of the Rare Replay collection on Xbox One and the controls are awful. If they remapped the controls and upped the framerate then I would be all for it, otherwise just leave it in the past.
• Dreamcast games on Switch are a big dream of mine as well but just because a game was loved back in the day doesn't mean to say it's easy money. Shenmue is a good example of this. The recent re-release of those games pretty much bombed, despite having a vocal fanbase and being rated highly during the Dreamcast days. Another example of this are the Dreamcast games that were given the HD treatment back on the 360/PS3. Games like Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Space Channel 5 and Crazy Taxi were released but sales of those were disappointing and it forced Sega to stop producing them. Rumours went around that Skies of Arcadia was soon to be given this treatment but the plug was pulled before this could happen.  
• The original Dead Space is one of the best games from last generation and one of the best survival horror games ever made, IMO. It's such a shame EA focused tested the hell out of the sequels and then proceeded to kill it off by shoving microtransactions in them and making them more like shooters. Sad times.
• Londragon you are in for a treat if you ever do get to play Arkham Asylum. It is a fantastic game and much better than City. The Asylum was perfectly sized and it never felt like chore to go back and forth between areas. Fantastic game.
• Funny you should mention KOTOR, Nick. Possible Remake

Good banter throughout and not a mention of Wave Race in sight. I suppose it did help that nando wasn't there. 

As a side note, you guys mentioned you have a Discord server, with discussions being held on there. Is this not splitting the user base a bit? I could understand when you guys were doing your own thing but with the show now being linked with N-E surely any conversations that are had on there could be had on the forums. Wouldn't it be better to bring everyone together rather than splitting everyone up? Things like posting what you are playing (as Londragon done in the Gaming Diary thread) certainly help stir up the conversations on here.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Nicktendo]

54 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It's an EA game so.....  

I decided to give the podcast a listen today. I finished my usual podcasts for the week ( although a new Sacred Symbols just released ) and had some busy work to do at work so figured I would listen to the latest episode while I tackled the task at hand. Here are a few things from the episode.

• Apparently Sabi wasn't the person who actually came up with the info. This has been misreported by a lot of Nintendo sites. Sabi just piggybacked off what a member of ResetEra had spoken about. This isn't the first time this has happened where Sabi is being credited for something he/she "leaked" and I imagine this is why they are gaining a reputation. They keep nicking other people's info.   
• Nick, you really should have continued on with Colour Splash. Yeah, it's not the same as the older games but it was a more than solid entry to the Paper Mario series and fixed a lot of issues that Striker Star brought to the table. I hated Sticker Star but thought Colour Splash was great. Also, you REALLY need to play TTYD on Gamecube.
• Do you guys not consider Monolith Soft a first party Nintendo development team? The Xenoblade Chronicles remake was on the list of games that Nintendo put out....unless those guys aren't actually making the game. 
• Nick you are right. Diddy Kong Racing >>>>>>>Mario Kart 64. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
• Nick it seems you have fantastic taste in Mario Kart drivers. Toad and Koopa were my mains from the very beginning and Toad continues to be my main to this day.
• Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers has indeed been released since the NES days, as have a bunch of other NES Disney games. They were part of the Disney Afternoon Collection released back in 2017.  HERE  For whatever reason this fantastic collection never got a Switch release which is absolutely baffling when you think that these games were originally on a Nintendo platform.
• Do you really want Goldeneye to return? The game plays terribly now. I loved Goldeneye as much as the next N64 fan but it's VERY rough by today's standards. Jet Force Gemini is another example of this. I played it as part of the Rare Replay collection on Xbox One and the controls are awful. If they remapped the controls and upped the framerate then I would be all for it, otherwise just leave it in the past.
• Dreamcast games on Switch are a big dream of mine as well but just because a game was loved back in the day doesn't mean to say it's easy money. Shenmue is a good example of this. The recent re-release of those games pretty much bombed, despite having a vocal fanbase and being rated highly during the Dreamcast days. Another example of this are the Dreamcast games that were given the HD treatment back on the 360/PS3. Games like Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Space Channel 5 and Crazy Taxi were released but sales of those were disappointing and it forced Sega to stop producing them. Rumours went around that Skies of Arcadia was soon to be given this treatment but the plug was pulled before this could happen.  
• The original Dead Space is one of the best games from last generation and one of the best survival horror games ever made, IMO. It's such a shame EA focused tested the hell out of the sequels and then proceeded to kill it off by shoving microtransactions in them and making them more like shooters. Sad times.
• Londragon you are in for a treat if you ever do get to play Arkham Asylum. It is a fantastic game and much better than City. The Asylum was perfectly sized and it never felt like chore to go back and forth between areas. Fantastic game.
• Funny you should mention KOTOR, Nick. Possible Remake

Good banter throughout and not a mention of Wave Race in sight. I suppose it did help that nando wasn't there. 

As a side note, you guys mentioned you have a Discord server, with discussions being held on there. Is this not splitting the user base a bit? I could understand when you guys were doing your own thing but with the show now being linked with N-E surely any conversations that are had on there could be had on the forums. Wouldn't it be better to bring everyone together rather than splitting everyone up? Things like posting what you are playing (as Londragon done in the Gaming Diary thread) certainly help stir up the conversations on here.

I was halfway through Colour Splash when the Switch came out so that’s why I dropped it, unfortunately. However, I have set the Wii U again recently so it’s not an impossibility that I’ll go back to it. Probably wouldn’t be interested in a Switch port. 

We had a discussion about first and second party studios on here not long ago 😂 I can accept that Monolith are First Party, but I still view them as Second Party with a bit of independence. By that I mean how Xenoblade 2 has a lot of very non-Nintendo themes and content. But yeah, no doubt they’re working on the HD remaster. I’m sure I read they had four teams now. Hoping development on X3 (or better XCX2) is well underway. 

Koopa Trooper has been my go-to guy for 28 years, not changing any time soon. Same was true of TipTup in DKR, whaddaguy. 
 

I should have prefaced my retro discussion that any 64 games should come with a frame-rate boost and an up-rez where necessary, a la Perfect Dark on XBLA. Would not be interested in playing Goldenye or JFG at the original frame-rate. I really would like to go through the latter again, I adored it back in the day, but I can image it holds up really, really badly. I still don’t see how porting anything from the past should be too taxing these days, including frame-rate fixes for early 3D games. 

I would happily pay for any DC game that gets a port, I missed out on that console so looking forward to when Sega Ages steps into that gen. I do think a straight port with a couple of bells and whistles as opposed to a full remake / remaster is a good economic opportunity. Even if a couple of games don’t sell particularly well, the upfront costs are surely not very substantial. 

I’d love a Dead Space re-release too, but would only buy it second hand so EA didn’t get any of my money. Same goes for KOTOR. Insta-buy! From eBay. 😉

As for the discord, we obviously use it to coordinate stuff and everyone who was there from before still posts. Another one was set up for the Smashing Cast. It’s just easier and faster to blast out a couple of comments from the phone or set up a game. I think all three of us have been making a more concerted effort to be involved here though. Trying to post longer and meatier content here, especially in the diary. Was something I wanted to do last year but quickly dropped for whatever reason. 
 

Thanks for giving us a listen though, we won’t always get it right, but we have a lot of fun doing it. 

[Hero-of-Time]

19 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

Koopa Trooper has been my go-to guy for 28 years, not changing any time soon. Same was true of TipTup in DKR, whaddaguy. 

Are you me?  

19 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

We had a discussion about first and second party studios on here not long ago 😂 I can accept that Monolith are First Party, but I still view them as Second Party with a bit of independence. By that I mean how Xenoblade 2 has a lot of very non-Nintendo themes and content. But yeah, no doubt they’re working on the HD remaster. I’m sure I read they had four teams now. Hoping development on X3 (or better XCX2) is well underway. 

I think Monolith Soft are one of the best teams that Nintendo has and one of the most important. They've worked on a bunch of Nintendo games and I think a lot of BOTW success comes from the expertise that they brought to the table in creating open worlds. When BOTW gets discussed it's very rare that they get mentioned. It's a shocking omission by people.  For me, Monolith Soft were one of Nintendo's best acquisitions. Granted, they don't make many but still.  

24 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

I should have prefaced my retro discussion that any 64 games should come with a frame-rate boost and an up-rez where necessary, a la Perfect Dark on XBLA. Would not be interested in playing Goldenye or JFG at the original frame-rate. I really would like to go through the latter again, I adored it back in the day, but I can image it holds up really, really badly. I still don’t see how porting anything from the past should be too taxing these days, including frame-rate fixes for early 3D games. 

Jet Force Gemini was one of my favourite games on the N64 but playing it now is such a rough experience. I think it's mainly down to being used to control the camera with another stick and not having that option really hurts the game. The aiming in the game is very twitchy and can become frustrating very quickly. They tried to alter the controls on Rare Replay but it didn't help that much. The game needed a lot more work to bring it up to date. Shame because I would love to play through the whole thing again, mainly to see if Mizar is as tough a SOB as I remember.

[Hero-of-Time]

35 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

I think all three of us have been making a more concerted effort to be involved here though. Trying to post longer and meatier content here, especially in the diary. Was something I wanted to do last year but quickly dropped for whatever reason. 

The effort is much appreciated. For example, there was a bit of news that Londragon brought up on the podcast that I don't think was mentioned anywhere on the forum. It would be good if such stories that do get missed get plonked on the forums when found. Obviously this isn't always possible what with everyday life getting in the way but it does help generate conversation on here, which should in turn make for a better discussion on the show. That is if the forums do get quoted.

EDIT:  Whoops. I supposed to just edit my previous post, not post again. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

Aonuma sharing a bit of Monolith Soft's development on BOTW

Quote

“On Skyward Sword, Monolith had mainly helped us on graphics design and other artistic elements. Even though we could have asked them for help on the technical side, we realized their way of making games was completely different from ours and we didn’t have much to learn from them on this installment, since we were almost doing two different jobs. On the other hand, for Breath of the Wild, we’ve been assisted by level designers used to large game areas, in order to make topographic arrangements.”

 

[Hero-of-Time]

11 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Aonuma sharing a bit of Monolith Soft's development on BOTW

 

Yup and that's pretty much all you hear about it. It would be interesting to see if any reviewers mentioned their involvement in the creation of the game.

@Nicktendo I forgot to mention, you're a brave man giving Colin Moriarty a shout out. There goes your chance of an Era fan base.  

[Nicktendo]

55 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

@Nicktendo I forgot to mention, you're a brave man giving Colin Moriarty a shout out. There goes your chance of an Era fan base.  

Just wait til they find out I throw him a couple of bucks a month 🤫

[Londragon]

13 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The effort is much appreciated. For example, there was a bit of news that Londragon brought up on the podcast that I don't think was mentioned anywhere on the forum. It would be good if such stories that do get missed get plonked on the forums when found. Obviously this isn't always possible what with everyday life getting in the way but it does help generate conversation on here, which should in turn make for a better discussion on the show. That is if the forums do get quoted.

It's been my intention to include more quotes and bits and pieces from the forums from the outset, and with this kick up the butt the intention is now turning into a reality.  You should be seeing more interaction, both ways, from the forums to the podcast, and vice versa.

Awesome feedback, thanks.

[Londragon]

Episode 12’s Topic of the Week will be dedicated to Switch UI revamps. A long overdue revision would be welcome, but what do you want included?

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, londragon said:

Episode 12’s Topic of the Week will be dedicated to Switch UI revamps. A long overdue revision would be welcome, but what do you want included?

Folders, eShop music and Themes.

Basically, the 3DS features really.

[Hero-of-Time]

2 hours ago, londragon said:

Episode 12’s Topic of the Week will be dedicated to Switch UI revamps. A long overdue revision would be welcome, but what do you want included?

Folders will be a popular choice for most people but it's not something I'm personally screaming for. I don't play loads of games at a time and once I've completed a game then I delete it and move on to the next. Still, there's no harm in having them for those who do keep multiple games on their system.

For me, the Switch UI lacks the usual Nintendo charm and personality that we have come to expect from their machines. It feels very corporate and cold. 

Glen mentioned the 3DS and that's a good example of how a UI should be. You can customise the layout, change the themes, which in turn changes the music. Themes really are a baffling omission from the system as they give it a personality unique to that user, rather than everyone having either a black or white background. Plus, from a business standpoint, they are surely leaving money on the table by not having them.

There really should be more avatar pictures available for users at this point. Nintendo have a host of characters and franchises that could be used for avatars but instead we get very few options and lots of franchises are left by the wayside.

Things like themes and more avatar pictures could be included as part of the Nintendo online service. Let's be honest, the service is really lacking and the fact that there's no real schedule for the games we get is laughable. Including the things I mentioned would give a little more value to the service.

As for system features, things like party chat, messaging and a proper activity log are my main wants. To be honest though I've given up hope of ever getting these things.

 

[WackerJr]

On 25/01/2020 at 10:16 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

Glen mentioned the 3DS and that's a good example of how a UI should be. You can customise the layout, change the themes, which in turn changes the music. Themes really are a baffling omission from the system as they give it a personality unique to that user, rather than everyone having either a black or white background. Plus, from a business standpoint, they are surely leaving money on the table by not having them.

 

I agree 100%. Themes would be a great addition & I enjoy my 3DS ones.
 

While realistically it wouldn’t work for every game, I’ve been rewarded with themes for completing some PS4 games.  With the lack of an achievement system (which I would love on the Switch) this would be an enjoyable reward for completing games.

[Hero-of-Time]

I started listening to an older episode of this today. The topic of SNES games came up and Nick kept pronouncing SNES as ess-en-eee-ess. 

[Nicktendo]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I started listening to an older episode of this today. The topic of SNES games came up and Nick kept pronouncing SNES as ess-en-eee-ess. 

I know, I disgust myself, but it's a reflex unfortunately. I've heard people say S-N-E-S so many times now that's it's simply become part of my vocabulary.

Spoiler

There's a whole lot more S-N-E-S coming up tomorrow...

Interestingly, I remember Colin and Dagan discussing the pronunciation of "Mario" on Knockback a while ago. Both being Italian, they had the 'proper' pronunciation in childhood (with an 'a' like cat), but when Colin moved out West it slowly changed into a "Moh-ree-oh" because that's how those filthy Cali cats said it. I also used to say it the correct way, but now use the second version. I guess it's just a case of language being influenced and transforming over time.

I did say Snes back in the day, with a 'z' instead of an 's'. The proper way, like. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Nicktendo