In our holiday special, wayward son Graeme returns home to learn the true meaning of Christmas—i.e. Armored Core and Street Fighter, The Game Awards, Ash hanging up his Pokéballs, and plenty more. WARNING: SANTA SPOILERS: KEEP AWAY FROM 10 AND UNDER

01:07 – Nicknames
12:50 – Armored Core chat
33:18 – Street Fighter 6 Beta
45:30 – Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core Reunion
52:33 – News: The Game Awards, Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, and more!

Travel back to a time before (a day before!) the Game Awards and revel in the nostalgia and naïveté of those bygone days when people cared about Mario movie trailer ​#2, Elden Ring art books, and Yuji Naka conspiracy theories.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:07 – Nicknames
14:27 – The second Mario Movie trailer
20:35 – Elden Ring
39:52 – Vampire Survivors
44:42 – News: Street Fighter 6 leaks, Summer Games Fest returns, Yuzo Koshiro announces a Mega Drive game, and more!

Kyoto’s reigning turducken champion and 17-Bit head honcho Jake Kazdal joins us straight from the dinner table in Kyoto to talk about Somerville, Vampire Survivors, Pokemon S&V, the upcoming Game Awards, and plenty more!

 

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:08 – Nicknames
01:39 – Word Cup Spoiler Talk (Germany v. Japan)
02:41 – World Cup Spoiler Talk Ends
13:10 – Somerville
22:48 – Vampire Survivors
30:02 – Pokemon Scarlet
40:22 – God of War: Ragnarok
50:40 – News: The Game Awards nominations, Miyamoto’s Birthady, and more!

Gather round the campfire for mildly-warm-yet-palatable-even-if-they-briefly-fell-on-the-ground takes on Modern Warfare II, Twitter, Callisto Protocol & Japanese game "cens0rship," Nintendo numbers and more.

Time – Topic Discussed:
01:39 – Nicknames
18:38 – Twitter Tawk
32:42 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
43:24 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
46:44 – Tetris Effect Connected
53:59 – News: Nintendo’s Financials, Callisto Protocol cancelled in Japan, PSVR2 and more!

A verrrrrryyy scaaaaaaary and seasonally-appropriate spooktacular (tm) chat covering all the recent Resident Evil and Silent Hill news, Bloodborne and its unofficial demake, and -- yadda some last thing what did we talk about --. (Boo!)

Time – Topic Discussed:
01:23 – Nicknames
12:37 – Bloodborne & Bloodborne PSX
28:15 – God of War (2018)
35:35 – News: Silent Hill Transmission, Capcom’s Resident Evil showcase, and a little bit more!

The gang checks in on the Street Fighter 6 Beta, Meta Quest Pro news, and Phil Spencer’s shelf, says goodbye to The Last Soldier, Babylon’s Fall, and Stadia, and offer in-depth analysis on a certain plumber’s plumper — and it’s not the one you think! ……oh wait, no, yeah, it is.

00:51 – Nicknames
09:58 – The Super Mario Trailer
30:00 – Street Fight 6
46:01 – News: Nintendo Pictures, Oculus Quest Pro,  PSVR2, and more!

Nicholas de Leon of Consumer Reports saddles up in his Cooler Master Ergo L to talk about Gaming Chair conspiracies, the TGS news we missed, Mark's hate-hate relationship with Quake II, and plenty more.

01:06 – Nicknames
05:36 – Gaming chair advice with Nicholas from Consumer Reports
32:07 – Quake 2 RTX
40:49 – Dragon Quest X Offline
47:38 – 428 Shibuya Scramble
55:14 – Xenoblade Chronicles 3
57:53 – Splatoon 3
1:06:32 – News: TGS Roundup, NVIDIA’s GPUs, Twitch’s new revenue split, and more!

Big news outta TGS this week (yes, you read that correctly!), so the gang assembles in person (!)—along with Capcom’s @alfonso_thesix and IGN’s @The_Katbot—to discuss Street Fighter 6, the Nintendo Direct and State of Play lineups, various Like a Dragons, and more!

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:27 –Nicknames
13:09 – Ryu Ga Gotoku Stuff
25:09 – Sony State of Play
33:07 – Tekken 8 Info
38:13 – Street Fighter 6 info
44:08 – Nintendo Direct recap
1:33:14 – Forespoken impressions

Accursed guest Liam Edwards joins us in the hunt, as we purge the streets of beasts and birdies. May the Great Ones grant us eyes, and maybe a few Ace Cards so we can make this episode a hole-in-one.

 

Time – Topic Discussed:

00:42 – Nicknames
08:16 – Cursed to Golf
44:25 – Bloodborne
1:09:04 – Xenoblade Chronicles 3
1:24:25 – News: PS5 Price Increases, New PS5 Model, Dark Souls 3 Multiplayer is back, and more!

We may be whittled down to just a cast of three this week, but that won't stop us from brainstorming alcohol marketing strategies, talking about garbage, and helping Tina decide her next FromSoft game. Actually, maybe YOU can help with that last one?

Time – Topic Discussed:

00:00 – Nicknames
16:16 – Two Point Campus
25:36 – Tina’s Next FromSoftware Journey
41:25 – Shin-Chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation
51:47 – News: EVO 2022 Results, No Switch Pro this Year, Pokémon Unite news and more!

Summer has finally hit Tokyo, and we're all looking for ways to cool down--or at the very least keep our cooldowns spinning in Xenoblade Chronicles 3! Also Tina learns to make her favorite cocktail and Gabe moves up in the world, plus Pokémon and Tactics Ogre news!

Time – Topic Discussed:

00:40 – Happy 8-4 Day!
03:18 – Nicknames
18:44 – Xenoblade Chronicles 3
46:14 – Stray (and an Elden Ring name drop)
56:01 – Pokémon Go
59:09 – News: Pokémon Presents, EVO returns, Steam Deck bound for Asia, and more!

When the host is away, the rest of the cast will...explore the pain threshold of chocobo racing in Final Fantasy X, examine the extras in the Elden Ring collector's edition, express some spoiler-free thoughts on Stray, and exhibit a variety of hot takes on all the news that's fit to hastily throw in a google doc five mins before the show. Excelsior!

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:32 – Nicknames
08:15 – Final Fantasy X
16:26 – Stray
33:57 – Alan Wake
42:12 – Tina’s Elden Ring Haul
50:19 – News: God of War Ragnarok’s Discless Steelbook, Platinum Games, and more!

Roy did what? …Well we can’t put that in the description. Just say something like “We talk about Mario’s voice, SGDQ, Switch pro rumors yadda yadda” the usual BS.

00:51 – Nicknames
08:35 – Elden Ring (Massive Spoilers. Pretty Sure We’re Done After this!)
27:25 – SGDQ Highlights
51:01 – My Three Things, aka: News: Chris Pratt’s Mario Voice, Super Deluxe Games, and more!

Join the fearsome 8-4-some as they charge headlong into Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, ruminate on the crowning of our final (?) Elden Lord, and waterslide through the Summer Gaming madness.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:39 – Nicknames & Mac n’ Cheese Talk
18:36 – Fire Emblem: Three Hopes impressions
27:09 – ***Start Age of Calamity Spoilers***
29:22 – ***End Age of Calamy Spoilers***
35:48 – Elden Ring, ***FULL OF END GAME SPOILERS***
1:00:13 – News: Summer Games Fest, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and more!

We're a bit behind (or rather, ahead of?) all the Summer Gaming nonsense -- hey, we live in Japan, we just got rid of Zima, fer crissakes! -- but still got plenty of hot chatz re: Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil Rem4ke, Final Fantasy XVI, Mega Drive Mini 2, and Sonic Frontiers.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:51 – Nicknames
08:00 – Wild Arms (and PS+ Premium Impressions)
20:12 – News: Sony’s State of Play, Giantbomb, SEGA and more!
01:33:40 – Demon’s Souls
01:37:28 – Elden Ring
01:41:56 – Rogue Legacy 2

Elden who? Bury that fossil alongside the NHK guy--this week, we're diving deep on Project Zomboid, the hot new...wait, it's from 2013? Well, whatever. Roy's into it and that's all that matters. Plus a lil Kirby, a lil news, and maybe just a -few- words about the From game that shall no longer be named...

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:08 – Nicknames
19:41 – Project Zomboid
35:46 – Kirby and the Forgotten Land
42:16 – Elden Ring (and some Demon's Souls!)
50:39 – News: Revamped PS+ Retro Titles, Silent Hill rumors and more!

Our final (?) discussion of Elden Ring dives so deep your rainbow stone would shatter before it hits bottom, including spoiler-filled endgame zigs and half-assed lore zags. Also: some news.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:20 – Nicknames
19:23 – Elden Ring
34:29 – ***ROUND 1 ELDEN RING SPOILER TALK STARTS***
1:01:03 – ***ROUND 1 ELDEN RING SPOILER TALK ENDS***
1:13:20 – ***ROUND 2 ELDEN RING SPOILER TALK STARTS***
1:23:01 – ***ROUND 2 ELDEN RING SPOILER TALK ENDS***
1:27:24 – News: Chip Shortages Continue, Yuji Naka Airs Some Dirty Laundry, Summer Games Fest, and more!
2:00:34 – ***MINOR ELDEN RING SPOILERS START***
2:04:11 – ***MINOR ELDEN RING SPOILERS END***

What better way to celebrate Showa Day than with a smattering of Radical Dreamers, a dollop of Chrono Cross, and most importantly, in-depth analysis of every t-shirt in Uniqlo’s new Final Fantasy collaboration line?   01:05 – Nicknames

09:34 – Elden Ring

33:02 – Chrono Cross & Radical Dreamers

49:07 – News: Super Mario movie delayed, Variable Refresh Rate coming to PS5 and more!

The Uniqlo/Final Fantasy collaboration:

https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ja/special-feature/ff35th

A whole lotta Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness, signs of Elden Ring burnout (yet somehow we still love talking about it for an hour?), and some kind of Kingdom Hearts something or other I dunno I stopped listening at this part. Plus steak updates and more!

Time – Topic Discussed:

1:30 – Nicknames
6:40 – Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness
27:48 – Elden Ring (and some Pokémon Legends: Arceus)
1:02:44 – Our Chrono Cross Remastered plans
1:06:34 – News: E3 2022 Cancelled, Kingdom Hearts 4, and more!

April Fools! We do actually mostly talk about Elden Ring again. Hey, where else on the internet is anyone discussing this obscure indie?! We DO have new opinions, at least, with Mark back and 17-Bit honcho Jake Kazdal joining in. Also, Breath of the Wild 2 delay and Sony's revamped PS+.

01:09 – Nicknames
03:48 – Elden Ring
52:34 – Kirby and the Forgotten Land
1:02:36 – Tunic
1:14:45 – Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin impressions
01:24:48 – News: Sony’s Project Spartacus, Breath of the Wild 2 delay.

Who has time to record a podcast when we're still neck-deep in Elden Ring? Not us, Tarnished! But all right, we'll put the twinblades down for an hour, I GUESS. Listen to us talk about our latest ER progress, the new reveals in last week's State of Play, and (not) much more!

 

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:33 – Nicknames
13:36 – Elden Ring
52:20 – News: Sony's State of Play, Elden Ring Patch Notes, Super Nintendo World, and more!

The Dark Souls of Dark Souls successors is upon us in Elden Ring, so unfurl your fingers and join us by the bonfi—I mean, site of grace—for an extended, (mostly) spoiler-free first discussion about our travels and travails throughout the Lands Between.

Time – Topic Discussed:

00:50 – Nicknames
03:08 – Elden Ring
1:37:04 – News: Street Fighter 6, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, and more!

   We go deep on the latest Nintendo Direct, check in with Tina's Pokémon Legends-ary journey, Roy's first foray into Civilization, and welcome Graeme back to yell about Vampire Survivors and why Gabe is wrong about Dark Souls 2.  

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:11 – Nicknames
09:05 – Pokémon Legends: Arceus
23:01 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (Minor Spoilers!)
28:02 – Apex Legends
31:18 – Civilization VI
42:06 – Vampire Survivors
51:28 – Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3
1:10:49 – News: The February Nintendo Direct and the 3DS/WiiU eShop announcement

Hold onto your apricorns, because this week we’re talking about everyone’s favorite monsters: Banjo and Kazooie! No, just kidding. There’s a new Pokémon game, or so we hear, plus news, an FF14 check-in, Gabe’s mad dash through the Souls series, and more!

(Btw folks who regularly listen via Spotify -- we don't feel good about being offered on the service atm so we've decided to stop posting there for now. Apologies for the inconvenience but, well yeah. Please listen elsewhere for the time being.)

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:32 – Nicknames
12:58 – Pokémon Legends: Arceus
51:00 – Pokémon Gold and Silver
57:08 – Dark Souls
01:14:20 – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
01:21:39 – Banjo-Kazooie
01:34:45 – News: Nintendo Switch Sales, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 Rumors, and more!

Mostly news, and okay, yes, we do talk about Microsoft buying Activision, but only in the sense of who we plan to main in the inevitable upcoming Super Smash Dude Bros. IP crossover franchise. Otherwise: PSVR 2, AGDQ, and the Nintendo hotel.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:38 – Nicknames
18:02 – OCTOPATH TRAVELER
32:01 – News: Playstation VR2, E3’s Online Only Announcement, Microsoft & Activision, and more!
1:19:06 – ***RESIDENT EVIL: VILLAGE SPOILERS***
1:23:01 – ***END RESIDENT EVIL: VILLAGE SPOILERS***

Fan favorite Shane Bettenhausen stops by to chat classic games / shoot-them-ups, Steam Deck, and TV Asahi's top 100 game list, with a hat tip to 2021 faves and what we're excited about in 2022.

Time – Topic Discussed:

01:09 - Nicknames
19:51 - G.Darius HD, Cotton 100% + Panorama Cotton, and Nemesis '90 Kai
25:54 - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (and general Castlevania talk)
41:04 - Steam Deck impressions
47:34 - Final Fantasy V
56:21 - John's old-school Sega adventures
1:13:05 - Zelda Game & Watch
1:16:41 - ***SPOILERS*** Unpacking
1:24:44 - Untitled Goose Game
1:32:00 - TV Asahi's Top 100 Games
1:48:49- 2021 GOTY thoughts
1:54:11- 2022's most wanted