Since you’ll be discussing like a dragon next week, I was wondering if we could get a small movie segment from Plante at the end recommending some Japanese films that might have similar vibes to the series.
Since 1st quarter is a little financially tight, I'd like to recommend some free money for the android users (sorry Apple folks). The Google Opinion Rewards app lets you take various surveys about search results, ads, locations you've visited, etc. in exchange for money to spend in the app store. Data privacy is always a contentious topic, especially with Google, so use it at your own discretion, but I've been using it since 2018 and have amassed over $60 of free money to use in the Play Store. It's great for getting full games, removing ads, or buying some guilt-free microtransactions!
Ok I humbly request a substack post with a besties specific glossary bc I did not fully understand what a metroidvania was either and I took a history of videotapes class in college. Thank u Justin for your advocacy for us widdle guys 🙏
I have been told that in at least one of the Like a Yakuza Dragon games, you can put a grenade launcher in the mouth of a marlin and use it as a weapon. I wish to play this game. where the hell do I start?
I'm currently playing my way through the Yakuza games! I did a lot of reading about it beforehand. The best place to start is Yakuza 0, which is actually the sixth game that came out, but it's a prequel, so it's the best first one. The series came out through the early 2000s and the first few games were really dated on their old engine. At some point, I think with 6, they switched to an updated engine called the Dragon Engine, which looks way better, and they remade the first two games in that engine. So those are the next two to play: Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2. Then they remastered 3 and 4 (not full remakes) for PS4 and Xbox One, and from there it's just in release order.
Alternatively, I've heard you can start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which was a departure both from the series main character, Kiryu, and from its brawler genre. It's a turn-based RPG, and I've heard it's a good entry point too. I haven't played it yet because I'm going to get there eventually ha ha. I'm loving them, though!
Probably more helpful! But yeah 0 is just such an amazing game. Glad that I had like 4 podcasts start talking about it at the same time a year or two ago. Finally pushed me to start (and I did start with 0)
When I was in drama camp a million years ago the counselors showed us several scenes (specifically the dance sequence) from this to help us understand comedy
Justin’s argument for using search action game instead of Metroidvania has me questioning the use of Roguelike as a label for that genre. If Metroidvania is dated and not accessible, surely that genre being named after a decades old game that very few modern gamers have experienced is way more so. Thoughts on an alternative name for it?
I was very unsure about what a roguelike was for a long time and I think I would support this change except roguelike is 2 syllables so that’s pretty hard to compete with.
I have a bit of a weird question: Has there ever come a game that is insanely hot, well loved, and getting critical buzz, but for the life of you it just does not pique your interest? My friends have been going bananas over an early access pokemon-esque survival action "but with guns", IYKYK.
But everything I see about it says, it's also going for this sort of late 00's edge-humor and worse. that I can't really stomach anymore. BUT EVERYONE LOVES IT.
Am I wrong? Do I give it a shot? I'm trying not to be a curmudgeon or overly sensitive but wow I am surprised by how much I dislike this game just on media coverage alone.
My wife just clapped back with, "Oh no, someone is trying to convince you to play a game that you have no interest in? That must be so difficult." So I'm gonna go jump in my grave now. Forget I said anything.
FWIW, I’m a huge pokemon fan and my s/o also tried to sell me on this game. But I can’t stand the total lack of artistic integrity with these ripoff monster designs!! So, I think it’s okay to have little hangups that totally turn you off of a game. And if you end up trying it and liking it, that’s also completely fair!
I've never played a metroidvania / search action game before but I've heard great things about them, would PoP be a good starting point? If not, how would you recommend entering the genre?
Since nobody's answered yet, I think Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night both hold up well. If you enjoy a challenge, you could always start with Hollow Knight....
I was very lucky and the besties answered it on their episode about Infinite Wealth, they recommended Ori and the Blind Forest and I just finished it last week. I'm going to try out Hollow Knight and see how far I get before the bugs heebie the jeebies out of me
Oh god Threads is… an experience. My sixth grade history teacher had us watch it in class for some reason! Probably the thing I remember most from that class, mainly because of the resulting nightmares. 🥲
Keep watching your weird and/or depressing old movies! While they are very much my jam I have been almost exclusively watching familiar favorites and big blockbusters with low (emotional) stakes. Probably since around late 2016.
. . . so I love hearing about someone else watching them!
I love calling games like Prince of Persia search action games! I never knew what Metroidvania even meant, this is so much more intuitive, and makes so much more sense. I hope it takes over!
I'm really enjoying Prince of Persia! I was surprised you guys didn't mention the many, many accessibility features of the game, which are what convinced me to buy it. Everything from diverse low-vision settings to being able to tweak difficulty for specific things like parrying... It's great that they're providing an experience that's both welcoming for people of diverse skills, yet doesn't compromise on challenge. I liked their video on this: https://youtu.be/v0pyVhDnG6o
Also... to everyone else, I recommend using the Persian voice acting instead of English! It made my experience a lot better lol
One thing I'm curious about with Cobalt Core is the boss design. One of my pet peeves I've had in these types of games is when you get to a boss, and the special twist completely invalidates a build strategy encouraged by the game. For example, a late-game boss that punishes you for more than one card a turn when you've spent a whole run building a combo oriented deck, without a good opportunity to pivot your deck.
How does Cobalt Core handle this? Also, is this a problem that you all have run into?
Also, check out the demo for Balatro, a poker-based deckbuilding rogue like, which I'm definitely going to be buying on release.
I’ll start by saying I’ve recommended cobalt core here a couple times, and I think it is a very good roguelite. It particularly excels in narrative and humor, and the minute to minute gameplay of combat is a blast.
But as a deckbuilder it has some shortcomings, and I want to push back on the recommendation they read off in this episode claiming that it has more available strategies than StS. The depth and skill ceiling of StS is crazy, there are people still pushing the envelope for win rates at the highest difficulty multiple thousands of hours in.
To more directly answer your question: unfortunately the bosses you face at the end of each act are the same each time, and the available builds are close enough together that there is never much of a rock paper scissors aspect to the outcome of going into any of those fights.
Cobalt Core still has some really fun puzzles to solve - each individual turn can feel like one - but the “building” aspect is less along the lines of “what deck should I build this run” and more like “what cards does it make sense to prioritize with these crew members?”. But the card pools are relatively small, and there is not a particularly wide range in how your deck is going to function.
Besties, possible B segment: If you had a genie wish or three to bring about the impossible in gaming, what would you ask for? Here are mine as an example:
1. A New Game Plus mode in Tears of the Kingdom. Start all over again with increased monster difficulty but all of your armour and items. Also you can use the Zonai devices in your inventory in Shrines this time.
2. A resurgence of couch co-op gaming across all genres and platforms. (Hades, Subnautica, Doom)
3. A Smash Bros. like mash up of all Nintendo properties except it's level and platforming based i.e. navigating Bob-Omb Battlefield as Samus, the Forest Temple as Donkey Kong, etc.
Russ felt the need to point out the original PoP had about 4 pixels of blonde hair (implying the problematic nature of a person from Persia having blonde hair, one would assume) while likely having no comment whatsoever on the inclusion of black and brown people in all manner of media -video games and otherwise- in which they clearly do not historically belong. In fact I would hazard a guess that he applauds the inclusion of black people in games like God of War, where it makes zero sense historically and can actually be argued to be a culturally insensitive insult to the Scandinavian people.
It's only OK when it goes one direction though right? You have no problem with Hamilton but a musical based on the Civil rights movement cast with all white actors would be an abomination. (And yes the race of the founding fathers is as integral to their story as the race of the black Civil rights leaders is to theirs). Just admit you're a hypocrite and move on
The only way I’m engaging your bad faith argument is to let you know that everyone you’ve ever cared about would believe the world would be a much better place if you weren’t in it
Since you’ll be discussing like a dragon next week, I was wondering if we could get a small movie segment from Plante at the end recommending some Japanese films that might have similar vibes to the series.
You got it
Tokyo Drifter.
Sir, please don't encourage Cris. We're hoping Justin introduces him to Tommy Boy or any other seminal Chris Farley films before next weeks episode
Since 1st quarter is a little financially tight, I'd like to recommend some free money for the android users (sorry Apple folks). The Google Opinion Rewards app lets you take various surveys about search results, ads, locations you've visited, etc. in exchange for money to spend in the app store. Data privacy is always a contentious topic, especially with Google, so use it at your own discretion, but I've been using it since 2018 and have amassed over $60 of free money to use in the Play Store. It's great for getting full games, removing ads, or buying some guilt-free microtransactions!
Love the show guys!
Ok I humbly request a substack post with a besties specific glossary bc I did not fully understand what a metroidvania was either and I took a history of videotapes class in college. Thank u Justin for your advocacy for us widdle guys 🙏
I meant videogames! Video games class. We watched the prince of Persia bts too 💗
I asked for this before, too. I would love that.
I have been told that in at least one of the Like a Yakuza Dragon games, you can put a grenade launcher in the mouth of a marlin and use it as a weapon. I wish to play this game. where the hell do I start?
I'm currently playing my way through the Yakuza games! I did a lot of reading about it beforehand. The best place to start is Yakuza 0, which is actually the sixth game that came out, but it's a prequel, so it's the best first one. The series came out through the early 2000s and the first few games were really dated on their old engine. At some point, I think with 6, they switched to an updated engine called the Dragon Engine, which looks way better, and they remade the first two games in that engine. So those are the next two to play: Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2. Then they remastered 3 and 4 (not full remakes) for PS4 and Xbox One, and from there it's just in release order.
Alternatively, I've heard you can start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which was a departure both from the series main character, Kiryu, and from its brawler genre. It's a turn-based RPG, and I've heard it's a good entry point too. I haven't played it yet because I'm going to get there eventually ha ha. I'm loving them, though!
You’ll get different answers from everyone, but I think 0 and Like a Dragon (the most recent before this) are both excellent starting points.
I just said the same thing but with like 200 more words lol. 😅
Probably more helpful! But yeah 0 is just such an amazing game. Glad that I had like 4 podcasts start talking about it at the same time a year or two ago. Finally pushed me to start (and I did start with 0)
Ahhh so there are other games that allow the use of a marlin as a weapon . . . very nice.
all I want to do is watch Romy and Michele now....thanks.
When I was in drama camp a million years ago the counselors showed us several scenes (specifically the dance sequence) from this to help us understand comedy
Justin’s argument for using search action game instead of Metroidvania has me questioning the use of Roguelike as a label for that genre. If Metroidvania is dated and not accessible, surely that genre being named after a decades old game that very few modern gamers have experienced is way more so. Thoughts on an alternative name for it?
I was very unsure about what a roguelike was for a long time and I think I would support this change except roguelike is 2 syllables so that’s pretty hard to compete with.
I have a bit of a weird question: Has there ever come a game that is insanely hot, well loved, and getting critical buzz, but for the life of you it just does not pique your interest? My friends have been going bananas over an early access pokemon-esque survival action "but with guns", IYKYK.
But everything I see about it says, it's also going for this sort of late 00's edge-humor and worse. that I can't really stomach anymore. BUT EVERYONE LOVES IT.
Am I wrong? Do I give it a shot? I'm trying not to be a curmudgeon or overly sensitive but wow I am surprised by how much I dislike this game just on media coverage alone.
My wife just clapped back with, "Oh no, someone is trying to convince you to play a game that you have no interest in? That must be so difficult." So I'm gonna go jump in my grave now. Forget I said anything.
FWIW, I’m a huge pokemon fan and my s/o also tried to sell me on this game. But I can’t stand the total lack of artistic integrity with these ripoff monster designs!! So, I think it’s okay to have little hangups that totally turn you off of a game. And if you end up trying it and liking it, that’s also completely fair!
I've never played a metroidvania / search action game before but I've heard great things about them, would PoP be a good starting point? If not, how would you recommend entering the genre?
Since nobody's answered yet, I think Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night both hold up well. If you enjoy a challenge, you could always start with Hollow Knight....
I was very lucky and the besties answered it on their episode about Infinite Wealth, they recommended Ori and the Blind Forest and I just finished it last week. I'm going to try out Hollow Knight and see how far I get before the bugs heebie the jeebies out of me
I want someone to answer this for you but I am not that person.
Oh god Threads is… an experience. My sixth grade history teacher had us watch it in class for some reason! Probably the thing I remember most from that class, mainly because of the resulting nightmares. 🥲
When discussing Like a Dragon, are you guys going to talk about the fact that New game+ is behind a paywall? Normally New game+ is free
Also to Plante:
Keep watching your weird and/or depressing old movies! While they are very much my jam I have been almost exclusively watching familiar favorites and big blockbusters with low (emotional) stakes. Probably since around late 2016.
. . . so I love hearing about someone else watching them!
I love calling games like Prince of Persia search action games! I never knew what Metroidvania even meant, this is so much more intuitive, and makes so much more sense. I hope it takes over!
I'm really enjoying Prince of Persia! I was surprised you guys didn't mention the many, many accessibility features of the game, which are what convinced me to buy it. Everything from diverse low-vision settings to being able to tweak difficulty for specific things like parrying... It's great that they're providing an experience that's both welcoming for people of diverse skills, yet doesn't compromise on challenge. I liked their video on this: https://youtu.be/v0pyVhDnG6o
Also... to everyone else, I recommend using the Persian voice acting instead of English! It made my experience a lot better lol
One thing I'm curious about with Cobalt Core is the boss design. One of my pet peeves I've had in these types of games is when you get to a boss, and the special twist completely invalidates a build strategy encouraged by the game. For example, a late-game boss that punishes you for more than one card a turn when you've spent a whole run building a combo oriented deck, without a good opportunity to pivot your deck.
How does Cobalt Core handle this? Also, is this a problem that you all have run into?
Also, check out the demo for Balatro, a poker-based deckbuilding rogue like, which I'm definitely going to be buying on release.
I’ll start by saying I’ve recommended cobalt core here a couple times, and I think it is a very good roguelite. It particularly excels in narrative and humor, and the minute to minute gameplay of combat is a blast.
But as a deckbuilder it has some shortcomings, and I want to push back on the recommendation they read off in this episode claiming that it has more available strategies than StS. The depth and skill ceiling of StS is crazy, there are people still pushing the envelope for win rates at the highest difficulty multiple thousands of hours in.
To more directly answer your question: unfortunately the bosses you face at the end of each act are the same each time, and the available builds are close enough together that there is never much of a rock paper scissors aspect to the outcome of going into any of those fights.
Cobalt Core still has some really fun puzzles to solve - each individual turn can feel like one - but the “building” aspect is less along the lines of “what deck should I build this run” and more like “what cards does it make sense to prioritize with these crew members?”. But the card pools are relatively small, and there is not a particularly wide range in how your deck is going to function.
Besties, possible B segment: If you had a genie wish or three to bring about the impossible in gaming, what would you ask for? Here are mine as an example:
1. A New Game Plus mode in Tears of the Kingdom. Start all over again with increased monster difficulty but all of your armour and items. Also you can use the Zonai devices in your inventory in Shrines this time.
2. A resurgence of couch co-op gaming across all genres and platforms. (Hades, Subnautica, Doom)
3. A Smash Bros. like mash up of all Nintendo properties except it's level and platforming based i.e. navigating Bob-Omb Battlefield as Samus, the Forest Temple as Donkey Kong, etc.
The idea of Couch Co-op Hades is blowing my mind.
Have you tried Ember Knights? Not saying it's as *good* as Hades but you can see what they're going for.
Russ felt the need to point out the original PoP had about 4 pixels of blonde hair (implying the problematic nature of a person from Persia having blonde hair, one would assume) while likely having no comment whatsoever on the inclusion of black and brown people in all manner of media -video games and otherwise- in which they clearly do not historically belong. In fact I would hazard a guess that he applauds the inclusion of black people in games like God of War, where it makes zero sense historically and can actually be argued to be a culturally insensitive insult to the Scandinavian people.
Grow up
Yiff in hell furry
there were black people in medieval europe get over it
It's only OK when it goes one direction though right? You have no problem with Hamilton but a musical based on the Civil rights movement cast with all white actors would be an abomination. (And yes the race of the founding fathers is as integral to their story as the race of the black Civil rights leaders is to theirs). Just admit you're a hypocrite and move on
no, you are wrong. historically, there were black and brown people in medieval europe. you're just racist and an idiot
When did I say they didn't? I'm asking why it's OK to replace whites with non whites but not the other way around
Why the hell are you here, you absolute mistake
Waiting to hear the part where I'm wrong.
The only way I’m engaging your bad faith argument is to let you know that everyone you’ve ever cared about would believe the world would be a much better place if you weren’t in it
You seem pretty invested in your delusion