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Radio Free Nintendo | A Nintendo Podcast for Grownups

C

Crimm

Member
I played NSMB2 on a train somewhere between Paris and Frankfurt, with another person and I sharing the screen, giggling uncontrollably as we took turns trying to distract the other by saying "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GOOOOOOOOOOLD," much to the consternation of the Franco-German riders. I never had any fun approaching that with NSMBWuu, even with a full complement of NWR staffers and booze.

In terms of pure quality, no Wuu is better. In terms of just stupid fun I prefer 2.
 
D

Dingens

Member
having only played the demo of AA6 so far I could definitely see the improvements they made over 6. It seemed like a natural evolution of the concept. That being said, I sadly have to agree with Syrenne that the true successor to AA3 is daigyakuten saiban, no question about it. It's not just an evolution, but somewhat revolutionary at certain parts. It uses the engine like no other AA game has so far.
I hope they find a way to bring it over. (I still don't get the hold up, I thought Sherlock Holmes was public domain by now?)
 
M

Makonero

Member
Sherlock Holmes is public domain, that's not the reason it isn't coming over. Supposedly, its the same reason we never got AAI2, which is that they don't have enough resources so they pick the game they think will sell the best in the west.
 
Z

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
My understanding was the fact that it's hard enough to market the AA games here in the US, how do you market one set in feudal Japan when the last games Capcom made that did that (i.e. Okami & its sequel) didn't sell well?

Hell, out of all the AA games, I figured that would be the one that'd be considered digital-only.
 
D

Dingens

Member
Zonic said:
My understanding was the fact that it's hard enough to market the AA games here in the US, how do you market one set in feudal Japan when the last games Capcom made that did that (i.e. Okami & its sequel) didn't sell well?

Hell, out of all the AA games, I figured that would be the one that'd be considered digital-only.
Click to expand...

maybe someday Capcom's marketing department will realize that people buy and play AA games because they are really good and fun games and not because they added some hamburgers and stuff.
Besides I highly doubt that Americanization makes niche games less niche. I mean, no AA game (besides AA5) took place in the US in the pal-version but rather in an unspecified (japanese-ish) country, and yet they sold a comparable amount in Europe. Somehow I doubt American gamers are xenophobic enough that they'd ignore the best game in a beloved franchise, only because it takes place in a foreign country.
 
C

Crimm

Member
I can't speak to all the foibles of releasing that game, but Conan Doyle Estate is highly litigious. As a weird quirk of copyright laws versus public domain, some books in the series are still not public domain. The estate has argued that the characters are protected until the last book enters public domain, however courts have ruled that elements of the Holmes character that originate from public domain novels are, themselves public domain. However the Homes and co. features that originate in the still protected subset of the novels are not public domain.

The examples cited by the court are Holmes evolving feeling on dogs and Dr. Watson's ever-changing marital status. Those features, originating in the late novels, are still covered. Given this, many media properties that use the character still pay the estate to avoid court.
 
V

viciouskillersquirrel

Member
Crimm said:
I can't speak to all the foibles of releasing that game, but Conan Doyle Estate is highly litigious. As a weird quirk of copyright laws versus public domain, some books in the series are still not public domain. The estate has argued that the characters are protected until the last book enters public domain, however courts have ruled that elements of the Holmes character that originate from public domain novels are, themselves public domain. However the Homes and co. features that originate in the still protected subset of the novels are not public domain.

The examples cited by the court are Holmes evolving feeling on dogs and Dr. Watson's ever-changing marital status. Those features, originating in the late novels, are still covered. Given this, many media properties that use the character still pay the estate to avoid court.
Click to expand...
It's this sort of thing that makes me despair of ever seeing a public domain Mickey Mouse or Superman. They're modern characters that could become as iconic as Robin Hood, King Arthur, Hercules or Romeo and Juliet. Perpetual / zombie copyright like this will strangle the kind of creativity you get from later artists and writers adopting the characters and putting their own spin on them.

Our great grandkids might see a public domain Mario, Pikachu or Link. Or, they may not.
 
O

Ondore

Member
I've always told you not to use drugs. But from now on, you'll be taking drugs.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/...i-need-the-good-rocks-and-i-dont-mean-geodude
Episode 488 "I Need The Good Rocks said:
Gui's quarantine continues into its second week; in lieu of flowers, please send a donation to The Society for the Advancement of Charm in Games. After editing last week's mega-cast, James got lazy and declared this show would be a three-man affair. Jon kicks off New Business with Pokémon Y on 3DS. As this spiritual Ekans (it's "Snake" backwards) winds itself further around Jon's heart, we try to save him from an extended cocaine metaphor by hooking him on another self-destructive addiction, Monster Hunter - specifically the future of the series. Greg has thoughts on Blastball local multiplayer, and he finds the game's stupid moments to be the game's best. He also has thoughts on TurboGrafx shooter R-Type, now available on Wii U Virtual Console. Much like recent Retro Active title Rondo of Blood, this game is superior to its SNES pseud-port Super R-Type. James continues to make terrible decisions with impressions of The Battle Cats POP! on 3DS eShop. A Sword and Soldiers-style game starring Japanese sketches of cat monsters, Battle Cats is a weird mobile-to-3DS conversion hampered by decisions as weird as its premise.

After the break, it's time for Listener Mail. We start off with a plug for an upcoming charity event; The Nickcast: The Race Against Time is a 24-hour Chrono Trigger livestream, raising money for Alzheimer's research. It's coming up next Saturday (August 13). Other topics include: physical releases of digital-only games, the number of rumored NX devices a family man will have to buy, and descriptions of our gaming battle stations. You can arm us for war by sending us an email.
Click to expand...

Time: 1'49"42
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Outro: Super R-Type "A Submerging Titan"
Truthfact: I once had Pokémon X memorized because I beat it with teams of all 18 types.
 
O

OMG Aero

Member
I'd wager that The Great Ace Attorney not being localised is more a case of Capcom not thinking it would sell enough to make it worthwhile and/or the localisers being busy with something else rather than a rights issue.
 
D

Dingens

Member
I'm not really surprised that this retail release initiative was started by NoE. After all, I don't think there are any big digital only 1st party games out yet in Europe (Project Zero 5 was retail, and so is Rhythm Heaven btw)... unless I'm blanking on something?
I think in the context of Europe this makes sense. Retail isn't the uninviting wasteland thanks to Amazon and others like many Americans would describe the situation over there in the US. Rather it's still something lively where you go to socialise and stuff. I'm sure the higher density (and "walkability") of European cities and Europe in general also helps in that regard.

The opportunity for impulse purchase is so much bigger in retail. Only recently I went through my local saturn and snatched pc versions south park, Valkyria Chronicles, KOTOR1+2, Darksiders 1+2 for 9€ each. Sure I could've bought those games digitally ages ago, probably at an even cheaper price, but somehow I never did...
The same goes for eShop games. I've bought like 3 (SMT4, AA5 and RF4, 3rd party retail games that never saw a physical release).
If I saw a bunch of eshop only games lying there on the shelves at a somewhat decent price, chances are high that I might buy them.
And I'm sure there are many many others like me
 
O

Ondore

Member
The regular crew is out, but the Doctor is IN.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43182/rfn-special-calling-dr-metts
RFN Special "Calling Dr. Metts" said:
With the dog days of summer drawing to a close, it was time for the RFN team to take some time off this week, but Greg decided to use this occasion as an excuse to get back in touch with an old friend: Dr. Jonathan Metts. It's now been a year since Jonny stepped down from his duties as RFN host, and so the conversation begins with a look at how his much-anticipated NWR book project has been progressing, and also how his gaming habits have changed over the past twelve RFN-free months.

Next, Greg solicits Jonny's thoughts and opinions on a multitude of gaming topics, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Star Fox Zero, Dragon Quest VII, ReCore, and of course No Man's Sky, the spacefaring PS4 exclusive that Jonny's had his upturned eyes on for some considerable time now. Also in the "Entirely Predictable" column: Metroid looms large in the conversation, with the impending launch of Federation Force, the passing of the 30th anniversary of the franchise's debut, and the emergence of AM2R—a fan-created, Zero Mission-style remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus that's made quite an impression in a short period of time. Finally, Greg can't let Dr. Metts go without picking his brains on all those NX rumours that have been dominating the Nintendo news scene of late, and their implications for the future of the company he's spent half his life covering online.

Normal service resumes next week; if you have a question that isn't for Dr. Metts, please send it to us in an email.
Click to expand...

Time: 1'41"22
Outro: Chrono Trigger - Singing Mountain
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
NX siren: TBA
 
D

Dingens

Member
did anyone keep count on how much these guys moved during the shows runtime?

would be kinda interesting. I guess it looks something like this:
Johnny >>>>> John >> James > Guy/Greg

also I think johnny is once again delightfully negative about the present state of Nintendo. Maybe even unfairly so. I'm not sure how anybody can call 2016 a bad year for Nintendo gamers. Sure, if you only own a WiiU this might be true, but the 3ds had probably one of it's better years so far (and the year isn't even over yet!). Also It's not just rpgs but a plethora of different genres. And considering the 3ds has already entered it's 6th year on the market this is quite remarkable in itself.


I recently started playing Persona Q so I went over a few past episodes to hear what you guys had to say about it...
And I'm somewhat shocked that you completely failed to mention the muscle march themed dungeon! (maybe with a hint of cho aniki?)

WVW69jgy4Rkk6WAQw5

WVW69jgnqm0OsyJZDX

WVW69jgnpiQGPs1Ymd


it's glorious!
 
C

Crimm

Member
In terms of just quantity of moves? Jonny and Jon both moved a bit, but I think Jonny takes the cake - although I think they were more of the one apartment to another variety. Jon has multiple cross-country moves. I've only moved twice during the show (the "apartment with no windows" and then to the "hey kids, never buy a" house), and they were both local. Gui and Greg aren't inclined to speak about that kind of stuff, so I don't know.

THAT STAGE! THAT GAME! I hadn't got that far when I talked about it. I don't think I ever went back to give concluding thoughts.

Concluding Thoughts: Do you like Etrian? It's one of those. Wish they had more character? Great! I enjoyed it well enough, but the Etrian formula kind of grinds against my desire for meticulousness. I know the high cost of failure is part of the series, but I'd enjoy the ability to save anywhere and take some of the heat out of the encounters. Otherwise I'm exceedingly sheepish and don't take any risk at all. It turns the game into a slow slog.

It's funny, I order a week off and we end up producing something in the ballpark of five hours of content anyway, between this episode and the 3 hour pain stream I did on Thursday.
 
O

Ondore

Member
Welcome to Radio Free Nintendo, where everything is made up and Now Playing doesn't matter.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43228/episode-489-mario-party-9-alism
Episode 489 "Mario Party 9-alism" said:
Guillaume returns after doing three weeks in prison for his role in an elaborate scheme to install more charm in the world, and apparently this new, prison-hardened Gui scared away Jon Lindemann. One day we'll be whole again, but this isn't it. After a belabored attempt to start the show, James gives up and ejects us into New Business. Guillaume bullied children at Mario Party 9, until an avenger for justice knocked him from his pedestal. He then slinks off to the hilariously-priced 3DS sequel to an Xbox Live Indie Game, Gotta Protectors. The 8-Bit tower defense/kill-em-all hybrid is a lot of fun, and has fantastic music that you can upgrade for a measly fee of $8 US. James is a Tadpole Treble dissenter, so instead he dives into the meta reality-that is a real, fake, MMO set in the far future of 2010 with .hack//Infection for the PS2. Greg wraps up New Business with thoughts on Monster Hunter Generations before "Gettin' Jiggy" with Banjo-Tooie.

After a direly needed break, things continue to fall apart during Listener Mail. A simple question on the future of Rhythm Heaven receives no meaningful answer; a question about video game violence results in James badmouthing all media from the interwar period; and a question about AM2R results in obscenities being thrown at Shigasa-faux Itois. James is pretty much responsible for all of this, and he isn't sorry. You can let James ruin your question by emailing it to us.

If you missed it last week, Greg caught up with former RFN host Dr. Jonathan Metts to see what a year of RFN sobriety has done for him. May we all one day live such a healthy existence. James took the opposite approach, streaming a collection of eShop games, selected by Kusoge Master Daan Koopman and troll friend/fiend of the show Syrenne McNulty. You can watch him slowly lose patience with his guides as they gleefully direct him to ever-worse gameplay experiences.
Click to expand...

Time: 2'11"26
Outro: Etrian Odyssey - The Withered Forest
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Who's the dissenter: I gave Tadpole Treble a 8.5 (but to be fair, Thunder Creek is amazing.)
 
D

Dingens

Member
aren't a few of the japanese songs in rhythm heaven originally licensed?

one that always stuck out to me was "watashi no kimi" from remix 8:

original (?) version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioD-Go5_bqE
rhythm heaven version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTA4KSoNGEU

and as a bonus: taiko no tatsujin version :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2yp--nATKM

there should be a few other similar examples as well... I think?


also I have a request/recommendation for the next (?) ending music:
having beaten Persona Q a few days ago, the last dungeon's BGM really stuck with me.. not only because it was really nice but also because it is somewhat unusual for an "overworld theme". so that's why it would be my pick
https://youtu.be/pqCxONuUK3s

btw if you haven't beaten it yet James (kinda sounded like you didn't), and if you plan on getting back into it some day. there are certain things you can do to speed up the gameplay immensely. As soon as you have access to a persona called incubus and the character Naoto you can pretty much instant kill everything in your way (except for bosses obviously)
(the "real" story also only really starts after the "muscle march dungeon")
 
F

Fewr

Member
I hope you did an extra awesome episode this week because I will be listening to it during the mexico city marathon next sunday morning. Don't fail me guys!!
 
C

Crimm

Member
Dingens said:
aren't a few of the japanese songs in rhythm heaven originally licensed?

one that always stuck out to me was "watashi no kimi" from remix 8
Click to expand...

You are correct, that was my miss. At the same time, it would be ideal if those are mostly reserved for the remixes (some of the lyrical songs outside of remixes might be also). I think they actually work well in that context. I guess technically I'm a lady now is a licensed song, regardless of his relation to the singer and the fact his label put it out. I feel like the licensed music always fits super tightly, something that might not happen if a "Brand Manager" becomes a producer. It was an issue with EBA versus Ouendan.

Also, I'm a lady now has the kind of lyrics you'd expect to hear sung by a little girl if they were written by someone who doesn't speak English.

Fewr said:
I hope you did an extra awesome episode this week because I will be listening to it during the mexico city marathon next sunday morning. Don't fail me guys!!
Click to expand...

Well, it's a good thing you said it now - it's already out there and pressure is totally off! Maybe we'll inspire you to run your best time just to get us out of your ears! Absolutely wish you the best of luck.

I wanted to do some "citations needed" for very broad "movies sucked until like 40 years later" statement, so I went back and re-watched a lot of pre-studio system movies. You don't really start to see "features" until around the First World War, roughly 30 years in. What I forgot, and this is largely opinion, is the introduction of sound actually set storytelling back. We talk about it sometimes when discussing limitations of console hardware driving "creative" ideas, but with sound it really was a whole new set of things for a writer/director/producer/actors/etc to learn and master. Many of the storytelling techniques developed for silent film were largely rendered obsolete. You can parallel a similar trajectory when gaming with 3D. Suddenly you have camera controls, level layouts, 3D modeling, etc. There are entirely new professions that didn't even exist in the industry that now have to have talent pools built up. As a consequence, a lot of early 3D stuff has aged poorly. 20+ years in, we're still figuring out the design language of gaming; we still see developers try new things - sometimes they fail but even then they establish the parameters of good design. As long as that remains where they need to keep their focus, as long as they have to make sure the design is on point - it's going to consume resources for telling the "big story."
 
S

Somnid

Member
Interesting discussion on violence. I think where Guillaume wanted to go was to point out that all the money is in violent M-rated games. All of the big sellers and marketing dollars are M-rated, which is a stark contrast to film where R-rated is considered a death sentence (the post-Deadpool era will be interesting). It's kinda funny too since the Wii was absolutely proof the the largest market isn't those male 30 somethings but the industry has found it immensely difficult to stop pandering to male power fantasies, in fact it got progressively worse. The only reason I think James can be okay and expect self-correction is because people are pointing it out, it wasn't going to happen without Gamergate backlash, Orlando backlash, or other criticism being laid against it, that's literally the catalyst for that type of change (even if individual efforts can be misguided). I think Greg made some great points with the gender skew and mobile being open to everyone and as such eating everyone's lunch.

Also, it doesn't make sense to me to compare development speeds of the medium. Video games has a 100 years of film to stand on, plus general cultural time compression. As we move forwards in time idea proliferate much faster, there's much, much more experimentation because the tools are cheap. It's ready exactly when criticism is leveraged against it. VR might be capable of some transcendent experiences that we can't really imagine right now due to technology or understanding, that is the sort of thing where you can say it's not ready.
 
G

GuillaumeNWR

Neo Member
Yes, Somnid, that would be accurate. I had some trouble finding my footing after James came out so strong but that's pretty much what I was getting at. The industry seems to have forgotten how to make gunless games, to the point where they add machine guns to something like Watch_Dogs, where the hacking alone should have provided plenty of gameplay possibilities, and opportunities to cause violence and mayhem.

And even beyond the fact that violent video games dominate the conversation and sales amongst "gamers": you usually get more violence and kills per minute in games than in violent (or even ultra-violent) movies. And over a longer period, too, since 2 hour long $60 games are considered unacceptable.
 
D

Dingens

Member
GuillaumeNWR said:
Yes, Somnid, that would be accurate. I had some trouble finding my footing after James came out so strong but that's pretty much what I was getting at. The industry seems to have forgotten how to make gunless games, to the point where they add machine guns to something like Watch_Dogs, where the hacking alone should have provided plenty of gameplay possibilities, and opportunities to cause violence and mayhem.

And even beyond the fact that violent video games dominate the conversation and sales amongst "gamers": you usually get more violence and kills per minute in games than in violent (or even ultra-violent) movies. And over a longer period, too, since 2 hour long $60 games are considered unacceptable.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean...
I think E3 2012 ( was it 2012? I am talking about the E3 where splinter cell black list was first shown) was the first I REALLY realised how fucked up the mainstream industry became. Lot's of games with violent elements that made no sense/didn't add anything to the game and also the birthplace of the most deadly E3 drinking game... the knife in the neck drinking game. I dare you watch ANY trailer from that E3 and I guarantee you that you'll find someone sticking a knife into another persons neck. it's absurd.

is this really necessary? Probably one of the reasons why I prefer japanese games so I don't have to deal with army/space marine bullshit. (and jp. games that deal with stuff like that are at least stylized beyond belief)
 
C

Colonel Mustard

Banned
Kinda weird hearing Johnny's praise for NMS, saying that it will be remembered long after XBX is forgotten. Seeing the general consensus, that doesn't really seem like it's going to be the case unless he meant NMS will be remembered for being the poster child of over promising and under delivering?
 
Z

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
The talk about stuff like Hardline reminded me of times where companies (mainly Japanese ones) actually would postpone or flat-out cancel a game due to events. Disaster Report 4 was cancelled because of the 2011 earthquake & such, and Propeller Arena on Dreamcast was never released because of 9/11. Also I recall that Six Days in Fallujah game that had a ton of controversy causing Konami to drop it as publisher.

Either way, it was a very interesting conversation to have.
 
J

Jonnyboy117

Member
I had only played NMS for one day when I said those things, but I kept playing heavily for the next week and am just now slowing down, mostly waiting for updates to rebalance some late-game objectives and resources. I still think it's an amazing experience and found it as engrossing as anything I've played this year. I'm aware that NMS is aiming at my happy place in a way that other people may not appreciate as much, and that's fine too. I really have no response to the haters, but I do think many of us who greatly appreciate game are being overshadowed by a loud minority of people who don't like it or don't like the people who made it or don't like what it represents or don't like themselves for imagining a better game than it currently is.
 
M

Malus

Member
Colonel Mustard said:
Kinda weird hearing Johnny's praise for NMS, saying that it will be remembered long after XBX is forgotten. Seeing the general consensus, that doesn't really seem like it's going to be the case unless he meant NMS will be remembered for being the poster child of over promising and under delivering?
Click to expand...

Well, it'll be remembered more if only because of the massive exposure it's gotten, as well as being on far more popular platforms.
 
C

Crimm

Member
I had a super well-sourced post documenting the games shown at the major shows for the last three years - basically concluding it's less shoot-bangs than you remember: it just happens that those are the games that are most visually loud, and therefore most "remembered." Then I closed the browser window like an idiot. Some companies liked those games more than others, and that's totally cool. We see that same trend in television production, cinema, book publishing, etc.

It's a slightly reductionist statement, but your nephew doesn't care about E3 to see the latest in Minecraft or mobile games. So E3 remains targeted at the most enthusiast segment of the industry. Hell, Nintendo wouldn't even SHOW us Fossil Fighters last year, but they let a group of school kids see it WHILE WE WERE THERE. That game wasn't FOR us or our audience. It doesn't negate its existence.

All this comes up again this week, because we had an email about localization and the perception of games as an art form. Why this thing in a movie is a PG-13 but an MA in a game? Why is the ESRB process so reductionist (send us the worst content completely divorced from content)? Why do international releases have to localize with concerns to the most restrictive region's rating boards?

GOD CAN WE HAVE ONE WEEK WHERE THINGS CAN BE HAPPY...I pick the emails
 
O

Ondore

Member
WARNING: A huge HOT TAKE is approaching fast.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43283/episode-490-puzzling-in-progress
Episode 490 "Puzzling In Progress" said:
After a month in the wilderness, RFN is reunited. And to celebrate, the team has all the newest titles for New Business. First up, Guillaume has a report on Metroid Prime: Federation Force, the most controversial non-issue in recent gaming. After burning himself on the hot takes, he takes a look at Donkey Kong Land. As you can imagine, the GameBoy was an imperfect home for the detailed sprites for which the Donkey Kong Country series was known. Jon explains World of Warcraft to us, in anticipation of its upcoming expansion, Legion. This is not a show of restraint in not making a joke here; literally all of the possible jokes have already been made. James takes a look at the demo for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. Cognizant of the fact this demo has been discussed by TYP, and the game by Syrenne, he quickly falls back into talking about .hack//Infection - and the polymorphic products it portended. Greg concludes New Business by violating all the rules of animal conservation in Pokémon Snap, now available on the European Wii U Virtual Console.

After the break we dive into another load of Listener Mail. Topics covered this week include the devaluation of puzzle games, hidden gems in the 3/DS libraries, childhood-defining consoles, and the perils of localization. Controversial statements don't stop on RFN, and you can put us in position to speak uncomfortable truths via the power of email.

Next week we'll be announcing the games for our next RetroActive poll. We've settled "Open World" games for our topic, so if you have any suggested games beyond the obvious (Bully, Chinatown Wars, etc) let us know.
Click to expand...

Time: 2'23"32
Outro: Persona Q - Shadows of Time
Downloads: MP3 | AAC (may be issues with AAC version, please advise)
Undervalued puzzle games: Tell that to Tumblestone
 
D

Dingens

Member
yay! I finally got featured on the show :> pronunciation was pretty much correct I guess

I actually have a lot to say (a lot more than I wrote here) about the localisation stuff as this was pretty much a substantial part of my bachelors thesis a few years back.

Depending on the region, the stuff that gets "censored" can vary greatly. As it was mentioned by you guys as a side note, for whatever reason the Anglo-countries seem to remove foreign culture stuff, but they also do it way more than others. I'm sure I've already mentioned it a few times, but AA is actually a great example, as the German version (I think that's also true for the Italian, French and Spanish versions ) doesn't specify the country it takes place in, it's just "this country" (with slight hints of Japan I'd argue). That's also not exclusive to games, but media (especially Anime in general), where for example the US versions would completely change names of characters (and even the story...) whereas the European versions usually kept the japanese names and stayed as faithful to the original as possible (a good example would be sailor moon), there are exceptions of course like the Inazuma eleven games, I guess they wanted to preserve the lame puns.
You can even notice it when comparing Nintendo directs. In the US version, there is always some voice talking over all the japanese developers, in the European Version there are subtitles if somebody speaks to the audience (it's also not a cost/5 language issue as all the other parts of the presentation are dubbed). And than the heavily japanese parts are usually cut from the US verions... like the Mario kart 8 direct in Europe featured a bunch of Mario Kart Haikus, the US version replaced it with "my fondest MK memories"....

I actually interviewed a few sales people from different publishers about why that is and it seems that there is this strange perception that American don't want to deal with foreignness... looking at all the complaints about localisation "censorship", I think that's not true, but whatever... whereas Europeans constantly have to deal with each other on a daily base + they have been importing media and cultural commodities for decades (I for example, can remember quite a few undubbed Anime on mainstream television in the mid 90s), therefore Europeans are more tolerant of foreign "things" leaking in. At least that's the explanation I got. I've also read quite a few experience reports from Americans who went to Europe as their first trip outside the country and where somewhat caught off guard by the fact that nobody around them spoke english anymore. (even if it's an obvious thing to expect, experiencing it is something completely different). So from that point of view I could see this being somewhat true. But still... I believe it's completely unnecessary and obstructive in a globalization world. I think it's also somewhat insulting...

btw... when it comes to censoring breasts and such, I highly doubt that Germany would be the culprit... after all you're talking about a country where this could be found in any retail store on display:

probably something you'd tag nsfw, but save for stores (in Europe at least)
Senran_Kagura_Europe_Box_Art.jpg

51aN%2BhX3GaL.jpg
Click to expand...


edit: I hope you take a look at the japanese direct before recording because... apparently konami makes games.... and nintendo also makes konami games.
 
C

Crimm

Member
I know right? I have a pretty well thought on reply to your post I'm working on. RFN jumped a schedule change today so I'll get it out soon, but I wanted to let you know I enjoyed your reply. I might reach out at some point to talk a little bit about it if you're able.

We tried in the name :(
 
O

Ondore

Member
They train executives to drop bombs on people. But their commanders won't allow them to write 'NX' on their airplanes because it is obscene.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43361/episode-491-apocalypse-direct
Episode 491 "Apocalypse Direct" said:
Conquest, Famine, Pestilence, Death. Lindemann, Veillette, Jones, Leahy. These and more parallels are drawn in this week's episode, in which the RFN riders are harbingers of doom tasked with the delivery of their thoughts on today's 3DS-focused Nintendo Direct. We keep it short and sweet, discussing Super Mario Maker for 3DS, Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World, Pikmin, and everything else announced. We also take an intriguing look at what was shown in the Japanese version of the event, which fans of horse racing and baseball will surely find to be a...revelation.

In between death knells we find the time to announce the games for our next RetroActive, which are:

Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii)
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (NGC)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (NDS)
Scarface: The World is Yours (NGC)
Lego City Undercover (Wii U)

Vote now! Polling closes Sept 15, at 9 PM Eastern. We won't try to sway you in any direction, but remember this RFN motto: First you get the money, then you get the eBay account, then you get the ZX Spectrum.

As always, if you have questions or comments, you can send them to our mailbag.
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Time: 1'19"54
Outro: Pikmin 3 - Plasm Wrath
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Poochy amiibo: :3
 
S

silks

Member
LiveFromKyoto said:
You guys are bringing me down with the #FE talk. I was hoping it would be up my alley but your complaints are basically everything that makes Persona games drag for me.

Also, Culture Brain was a legendary publisher for anyone who was reading game mags back in the day. Their actual games were always obscure, but they bought tons of print ad space, and the advertisements featured reams of absurd mangled English. I wish I could find the one for their SNES fighting game.
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At some point I'm going to get my stash of near-mint GamePro and EGM mags from back at my parents' place and scan them all. They're Culture Brain all day ere day.
 
L

LiveFromKyoto

Member
This week was too short :(

I mean, I don't even own a 3DS, I shouldn't even care, but I do.

I'm glad more people will get to experience Wooly World. That was low key one of the best games of the year, maybe the generation.
 
C

Crimm

Member
A little background on what happened this week; neither Gui nor I could edit, so we had considered just using the Book podcast on Sunday, but then Nintendo went and announced the Direct. We've seen from metrics that getting a Direct podcast out on the day of is a good thing to do, so I committed to editing it the same night we recorded. That itself is a huge ask, but it did mean we had to be very aware of keeping the show to a single segment. It was still a work night, after all.

We're back this week.
 
M

Makonero

Member
Same here. Keep up the good work! I am looking forward to the new retroactive (and hoping it is Lego City Unvercover; I 100%ed it a few months back and I'd love to hear what you all think!)
 
L

LiveFromKyoto

Member
I wasn't aware of the compressed schedule, I just did my usual Monday morning NWR check. Glad the band's all back together after summer break, and I look forward to next week. Hope some Skyward Sword talk comes up, I'd checked out on the Wii by the time it came out, and the internet has me convinced it's either an awful unplayable slog or quite good.
 
C

Crimm

Member
I meant to explain the situation during the show, but forgot.

I remember when we recorded our Skyward Sword reactions in the moment it came out. Basically it was divisive. Personally, i think the dungeons were fine and the controls worked surprisingly well, but the lack of a proper overworld was a major bummer and finding the tears was miserable.
 
O

Ondore

Member
Phrasing.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/43412/episode-492-i-can-do-a-lot-of-things-with-one-hand
Episode 492 "I Can Do a Lot Of Things With One Hand" said:
Jon needed to spend some quality time alone; Greg, Gui, and James decided to soldier on without him. James starts the show off with a look at faux-Castlevania Vampire: Master of Darkness for the Sega Game Gear. After playing one of the best titles on the 3DS eShop, he moves on to another, with first thoughts on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. What can Capcom's writers do with puns when unbound from the English language? This is the world's first real Thought Crime. Greg has a report from his current deployment in Metroid Prime: Federation Force, and then spends more time with his New 3DS analog nub in Monster Hunter Generations. Guillaume wraps up New Business with Nova-111, a turn-based, real-time, action-strategy-sci fi game from a team that normally makes "VR Experiences". He then reflects on losing his 3DS, and the digital footprints of his gaming history.

After the break we try, and fail, to produce a Lords of Thunder Round. In spite of our failures, we do cover a lot of ground. Topics in Listener Mail this week are: pricing Super Mario Run, death of Quality of Life, features for next gen, NX delays, beer, piracy, getting old, and getting jaded. You can cause us muscle strain by sending us an email.

Voting in our Open World RetroActive poll closes Sept 15, at 9 PM Eastern, so go and vote now! Ballot stuffing has completely overwhelmed the poll; just know we can see it.
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Time: 2'04"23
Outro: Layton vs Wright - Main Theme
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Ballot stuffing: Clearly the Player One fans are so desperate for someone to talk about Bully... (KIDDING)
 
M

Makonero

Member
Crimm said:
I meant to explain the situation during the show, but forgot.

I remember when we recorded our Skyward Sword reactions in the moment it came out. Basically it was divisive. Personally, i think the dungeons were fine and the controls worked surprisingly well, but the lack of a proper overworld was a major bummer and finding the tears was miserable.
Click to expand...

I found that the Silent Realm was much, much more fun than gathering tears in Twilight Princess. I loved how challenging it was. It made you master the topography and really explore every nook and cranny of each new location. It was infuriating, but only in just the right way, like when you almost get to the end of a DKC level or Mario Galaxy level and then die. I never felt it was unfair. It was just another puzzle to solve.

I will agree that the overworld was lacking, but for all it's flaws, I thought Skyward Sword was a good game. I love all the 3D Zeldas. There hasn't been a bad one yet, in my opinion!
 
B

Boogiepop

Member
So, I've popped in a few times to mention this, but as I've said in the past, I'm listening through the entirety of Radio Free Nintendo from the very beginning (had a need for a large amount of podcast stuff), and I just hit episode 341. So yeah, it's been an interesting ride, going through a ton of older news, hearing some interesting perspectives, occasionally laughing at how some stuff turned out in retrospect (hearing some hype for a Colonel Marines in particular earned a chuckle), getting to hear about some games I missed (likely going to pick up Last Story soon thanks to the podcast), and admittedly getting grumpy at stuff I disagree with.

But yeah, this episode is the one the hit my grumpy button hard, as it had plenty of full on slamming of Kid Icarus Uprising, of course mainly focused on the controls. And man, that has to be one of my hot button topics, as I can't stand the idea that games need to have the standardized control scheme or they suck. To be fair I don't think that 100% applies to the podcast guys as there wasn't a similar slam on Skyward Sword, another game that gets a lot of hate for unconventional controls. But yeah, of course it went to "the controls suck, they're awful and poorly conceived, and the game should've had dual analog". I'll admit that maybe dual analog should've been there just to satisfy the whiners, but the thing is... it honestly wouldn't work anywhere near as well. The game, at least once you play with the difficulty slider (which I freaking love) and try it out on the higher levels, is based around the fact that you need that higher speed and precision you get with the control scheme. Simply put, you're quicker and more accurate with Kid Icarus's scheme then you would be on dual analog once you get used to it (which for me took all of two stages, but whatever). People can have different tastes, sure, and I'll admit it's not a control scheme that immediately clicks, and perhaps for some people it won't click. And that's fine, but man was it frustrating to hear the same kind of full on crapping on the controls that ruined the discourse surrounding the game so much that you still see people unwilling to give it a try, with nobody speaking up for the game whatsoever (there had been more favorable talk on the show back when the game came out, IIRC, to be fair). The talkback did at least have some discussion from the other side, though. Hopefully the discussion on Wonderful 101 isn't the same way when I hit the point that that comes out, as that's another game I really love that gets similar hate...

(Forgive my admitted rant on a 3 year old episode, it's just one of those topics that drives me nuts as I love the hell out of that game.)

But yeah, chugging along through episodes, so I'm sure I'll have a lot more to actually properly discuss when I finally catch up.
 
C

Crimm

Member
Although I doubt you expect me to remember what I said 150 episodes ago, I'm sure it wasn't flattering. This is always a thing when someone says they don't like an element of a divisive game.

I've had a lot of people explain to me the elegance of the game's control scheme, and I understand their arguments. Despite all this, after playing the game to completion and replaying some of the stages multiple times, I just never found the controls to work for me. I'm not going to apologize for that.

I doubt there's any utility in me rehashing my arguments, as you're likely more familiar with them than I am, but I don't think it's fair to just assume everyone who doesn't like a particular element of a particular game didn't make the effort.

This is the point where someone locates Podcast James flying off the handle for not "getting" it.

I know I certainly made the effort. It wasn't that I didn't get the controls, I just wasn't comfortable playing them. The unarguably curious inclusion of a kickstand didn't really assist me. I seem to recall unleashing the brunt of my bile on the game's rambling commentary tracks. The non-sequiturs irritated me, where as others are enamored with it. It isn't that I don't "get the joke," it's that I found them irritating.

Accepting all of that, different strokes and what-not, I totally understand when you're unable to jump to the defense of a game you really like as it's being savaged. I've absolutely been there, although examples are escaping me at present. There's a weird mix of powerless frustration and a sort of tinge of fear that the legacy of a game you love is being irreparably harmed by their words.

I don't think you need to worry about KI too much. It's divisive, but it was a successful product that has loud fans. No one podcast - or for that matter collection of podcasts - is going to influence Nintendo on making a sequel. Its strong sales speak far louder than me blowing up the 4kids-style localization. The one thing this feedback might have done, successfully - based on later 3DS games (and the New 3DS itself), is lead them to prioritize offering multiple control schemes. And that's not a bad thing for anybody.
 
B

Boogiepop

Member
Crimm said:
Although I doubt you expect me to remember what I said 150 episodes ago, I'm sure it wasn't flattering. This is always a thing when someone says they don't like an element of a divisive game.

I've had a lot of people explain to me the elegance of the game's control scheme, and I understand their arguments. Despite all this, after playing the game to completion and replaying some of the stages multiple times, I just never found the controls to work for me. I'm not going to apologize for that.

I doubt there's any utility in me rehashing my arguments, as you're likely more familiar with them than I am, but I don't think it's fair to just assume everyone who doesn't like a particular element of a particular game didn't make the effort.

This is the point where someone locates Podcast James flying off the handle for not "getting" it.

I know I certainly made the effort. It wasn't that I didn't get the controls, I just wasn't comfortable playing them. The unarguably curious inclusion of a kickstand didn't really assist me. I seem to recall unleashing the brunt of my bile on the game's rambling commentary tracks. The non-sequiturs irritated me, where as others are enamored with it. It isn't that I don't "get the joke," it's that I found them irritating.

Accepting all of that, different strokes and what-not, I totally understand when you're unable to jump to the defense of a game you really like as it's being savaged. I've absolutely been there, although examples are escaping me at present. There's a weird mix of powerless frustration and a sort of tinge of fear that the legacy of a game you love is being irreparably harmed by their words.

I don't think you need to worry about KI too much. It's divisive, but it was a successful product that has loud fans. No one podcast - or for that matter collection of podcasts - is going to influence Nintendo on making a sequel. Its strong sales speak far louder than me blowing up the 4kids-style localization. The one thing this feedback might have done, successfully - based on later 3DS games (and the New 3DS itself), is lead them to prioritize offering multiple control schemes. And that's not a bad thing for anybody.
Click to expand...

Definitely fair enough, and sorry again for a rant aimed awkwardly well at the past, there.

If anything, it was just a case of getting irked due to the somewhat unusual circumstance of what almost felt like a gang up (silly as that sounds) on the game with no dissenting voice, due to it being 3 against none. But there's no helping that, as it would certainly be silly to think the podcast should have to have "balanced" opinions on everything. It's just one of those things where things lined up to irk me a tad, and I just needed that little bit of venting.

But yeah, net point is still that I absolutely have been enjoying my journey through the podcast (otherwise it would be pretty silly to have listened through nearly 350 episodes), and I look forward to when I finally actually get caught up, so my comments can be more topical!
 
J

Jonnyboy117

Member
I tend to dislike games that are literally painful to play, and Kid Icarus Uprising was such a game for me. I lost it with my 3DS not long after it came out (as you'll hear a few episodes later) and was quite happy to never play it again.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
Kid Icarus Uprising is definitely one of those games I'd like to see re-released in HD for a console... primarily for the better controls.

I think many more people look back at that game fondly if it's on Wii U with full Wiimote + Nunchuk compatibility.
 
O

Ondore

Member
tumblr_mjvi6ft9Rv1qbh26io1_1280.png
Click to expand...
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/...thy-entry-to-your-nintendo-pinball-collection
Episode 493 "A Worthy Entry To Your Nintendo Pinball Collection" said:
The NFL season is in full-swing, so Greg had to take a sabbatical in order to observe the proceedings. The outcome was predictable. In his stead we are joined by Dr. Jonathan Metts, giving this episode a very 2014 sort of feel.

The good doctor starts New Business with impressions of Picross 3D Round 2, the block-eliminating, life-consuming puzzler. Jonny is in deep, and he's going to need to chisel his way out. He then shares thoughts on RIVE, the final game from Toki Tori developer Two Tribes. He's having a lot of fun with the PS4 version, and with a Wii U version on the way it's worth keeping an eye on. He concludes his New Business with a look at Nesbox, an NES emulator officially available on the Windows 10 store and Xbox One. Meanwhile, Jon assesses the validity of Metroid experiences with his thoughts on Metroid Prime Pinball for Nintendo DS. Is this the best Metroid game in decades? Yes. As we established in last week's Listener Mail, Guillaume is getting old so he now hates games; as a consequence he also hates Mega Man Legends on the PlayStation. Okay, "hate" is a strong word, but he has thoughts on the downside of towns in 3D games. James concludes New Business with a statement on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice, before turning his full attention to his recent upgrade to a New 3DS (regular).

After the break, it's Listener Mail. This week's topics include: release date delays, homebrew and piracy on 3DS, and storytelling in gaming. You can have us brew you a story via our inbox.

We have a winner in our RetroActive Open World poll: LEGO City: Undercover! We'll open up the comment thread soon. We don't have a date for this one, but it will be at least a few weeks. We'll be taking next week off, so we should have a date to announce when we return, but don't wait for us to get started.
Click to expand...

Time: 1'57"39
Outro: Wave Race Blue Storm - Southern Island (Sunny)
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Start downloading Lego City now: You might finish by the next episode
 
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