Arrggh! A Video Game Podcast from The Waffling Taylors

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.We invited Nomad, from the Retro Wildlands podcast, to discuss the Resident Evil series and its many replay values. Nomad shares personal stories of his own experiences with the franchise, as well as proposing a unique solution to make the game even more thrilling. Join Nomad, Jay, and Squidge as they explore the thrilling world of Resident Evil and discover its hidden secrets.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningWe talk about Resident Evil a lot in this episode, from the first game to the most recent one. As such, and because these are horror games, this episode is not meant for the ears of the innocent.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesAs Squidge says in our new intro:From active timer battling to zombie slaying, Waffling Taylors covers video games and beyond. We are kicking off the new year and the new season of Waffling Taylors retro and beyond with a bang. Because why not?Today we are joined by Nomad from the Retro Wildlands podcast. We've teased him in from the Wildlands to talk about Resident Evil. So when you're ready, strap yourselves in for our episode on the Resident Evil franchise named Resident Evil Requiem for a Jill Sandwich.- SquidgeI mean, that says it all really. And, believe it or not, Squidge came up with that off the cuff. He's pretty good at words and that, is our Squidge.But just what is the Retro Wildlands Podcast? Well, in Nomad's own words:My podcast is about the games that I have discovered or rediscovered while roaming the gaming wildlands. That sounds good, that's my catchphrase.But really what it is, is I'm a 38 year old guy who loves video games, and I've grown up playing games most of my young adolescent life and well into adulthood. My episodes are around games specifically, and what I try to do is I have my episodes around a couple of different parts. They're one part review, they're one part game overview, they're one part my experiences and personal memories, and they're one part nostalgia. Mix all that together and that's my show. Basically my goal is if you've played a game before that I'm talking about, I hope you end my episode with a bunch of nostalgia and all them tingly feelings that you get. And if you've never played the game before, hopefully it's a nice introduction into what the game is and maybe something you may want to play. And if not, maybe you just listen to me talk for an hour, and I killed a little bit of your time.- NomadBecause the guys were talking nostalgia and Resident Evil, Squidge brought up his Resident Evil 2 specific controller - we first mentioned this controller back in episode 7: Sega Wrist - It's called the BIOHAZARD dedicated controller, and you can find out more about this controller over on the Resident Evil fandom wikia page for it.Resident Evil (1996) & Resident Evil 2 (1998)Squidge wanted to start the discussion with Nomad by talking about the first episode of his podcast - one which just so happened to cover the first Resident Evil game. In fact, he wanted to know why Nomad started with Resident Evil:So Resident Evil is where it all started for me as a gamer.Now, that's not to say that's the very first game I ever played. I've been playing games since, more or less. The Cradle, the Nintendo at my grandmother's house, the Super Nintendo that my parents got a couple of years after that. So I've had games. But it was Resident Evil that solidified my passion for video games.- NomadNomad then shares a story from the first episode of his podcast about how he first experienced Resident Evil. We're going to leave the story out of the show notes, as there's already two different sources for it (Nomad's show, and this episode).The effect that the Resident Evil series has had on popular culture cannot be understated, but also worth noting is the tension that the original brought to the table - if you're willing to set the goofy voice acting to one side that is:And the tension in that game was so thick and we had no idea what to expect.I mean, Resident Evil is everywhere now. And most people, I would think, that are semi familiar with the series kind of know what it's all about. But the very first time we played it, we didn't know why zombies were in this mansion. We didn't know why these dogs were running around. What is really going on here? And that mystery really drove us and we bonded over it.And that whole experience, once we were done with it and put it away for something else, that's what I knew. I want more of these experiences in my life. And Resident Evil was by far the biggest catalyst for me.- NomadOn the back of this, both Squidge and Jay share their stories on how they discovered Resident Evil, and Jay mentions the many different branching pathways through Jill's scenario. And the guys agree that there are quite a few different ways to

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.We hope that you've had your recommended daily amount of pastel colours, spandex, and cocaine as we dove deep into the only game which has ever gone full-80s: Grand Theft Audio Vice City. Chief joined us for a long talk about our collective memories of this amazing title, what the heck Rockstar were thinking when they released Table Tennis, and just how 80's we all are.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningWe're discussing the 80s spoof-a-thon, and Scarface rip-off pastiche Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in this episode. As such we talk about a lot of rather NSFW topics.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesThis episode saw the Wafflers tackle the fantastically stupid GTA: Vice City - one of the first 3D, open world, crime-a-thons from acclaimed developers Rockstar. It wasn't the first, but was a lot of people's firsts - the earlier title GTA 3 was the first from Rockstar, and it set the stage for later titles in the series, and competitor titles like Saints Row.Anyway, Jay and Squidge were joined by Chief in this episode - and it was recorded on the same day as his previous appearance on the show: Spirits Within; Plot Without. Chief wanted to start the conversation by bringing up "Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis" (aka "Table Tennis"):It was bonkers, completely out of left-field.- ChiefAnd he's not wrong, because there wasn't even a table tennis competition or global event happening at the time. They just released it, seemingly randomly.And the big topic of the day that we recorded - back in September of 2022 - was that someone had hacked into Rockstar's systems and leaked a bunch of early GTA 6 stuff.this is Jay: please don't do this. Us developers don't want our early builds of stuff to see the light of day otherwise, we'd release them. Please remember to be nice to people, especially developers.But before they could do that, the system that they use to record episodes completely crapped outJay: and it was after that day that we started using our Discord server to record episodesGrand Theft Auto Vice CityWe all need to put on our pastel coloured suits, [and] get a pile of cardboard boxes and prepare to drive into them. Because we are going to be talking about Scarface meets Miami Vice - or as we all know it Grand Theft Auto Vice City- JayBut they couldn't seem to get away from just how bonkers it was for Rockstar to have released a Table Tennis game, randomly between several entries in all of their extremely violent, very silly, crime-a-thons. It would be as bonkers as if:Nintendo releases Diddy Kong Does The Accounts- SquidgeThis brought us to the topics of Nintendogs, societal pressure from parents in Japan, and what some young, Japanese couples get up to during bank holidays - or BONK holidays. Amiright?I mean, that hasn't helped at all.What Miyamoto has done is he's clocked into other people's misery, and sold them a copy of Nintendogs. Which hasn't helped the problem, and has just made it worse, AND he's charged them £45 for it.- ChiefAttempt Number 2Since there are a lot of people who have neither played Grand Theft Auto, nor GTA Vice City specifically, Jay wanted to challenge both Squidge and Chief to come up with a 30 second long (or less) elevator pitch for Vice City. Squidge went first:Do you wanna play a game where you can race around, jump over things, shoot people, and apparently there's a story that's set in the '80s?You need to play the story, you can just drive around, running people over and shooting things.- SquidgeThen Chief came in with:Don't bother, just play Table Tennis.It's reliving the '80s, isn't it? Great soundtrack. You drive around in '80s, like, Miami and Florida. It's fun, yeah. And you drive around and it's cool. '80s soundtrack.It's a lot of fun. There's a good story there as well, despite what Squidge said. I mean, it's just nicked off Scarface like, but yeah. A lot of fun. A lot of fun.'80s!- ChiefBut who won the elevator pitch battle? You decide! Let us both know either on Twitter or on our Discord server.And afterwards, Squidge was able to reduce his elevator pitch down to:Vice City is a soundtrack with a game built around it.- SquidgeAnd finally, Jay had a shot at it (but without the timer):So GTA Vice City.It's a game set in 1986. You play as Tommy Vercetti, who is essentially Scarface, and you're running through a whole series of situations that are very similar to episodes of Miami Vice.And it has an absolute BANGER of a soundtrack - I hate to have said that word after all of that; I'm getting the finger from Chief, but not the naughty one, the other one: the naughty finger.- JayAnd it's a real shame that they had to drop most of the licensed songs in the soundtrack for the "remasters" - the less said about them, the better - due to the rights being way more expensive now.Full Sh

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.The 30th anniversary of Sonic 2day - the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis/Mega Drive - is upon us this month, and we asked a few friends to talk about their memories of the landmark title. This week, we talk about favourite and least favourite music, just how tough the original Sonic games are, and ways to celebrate the 30th anniversary.psst. this is the first in a series of four episodes on Sonic 2's 30th anniversary. Be sure to check this page to see the other episodes in the series when they drop.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesTo celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic 2sday - Tuesday November 24th, 1992 - aka the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis - we wanted to create a very special episode of the podcast, and it ended up being so long that we split it into four. And this is part three of that series of special episodes; with part one having released last weekpart onepart twopart threeWe wanted to create an episode which would have us interviewing some amazing people that we know from the podcasting and video content community, and we wanted to talk with them about their memories of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis/ Mega Drive; and reach out, we did.As you can see from our players section - psst. if you're not reading these show notes on the website, then you're missing out - we reached out to some amazing folks. In fact, we got so much content that we've had to split this special episode into two separate episodes, each with two parts. In this episode we talked with:Gamer Jason (aka one of the hosts of What's Wrong With Wolfie?)White MageNezzaloniusAssisting us with this episode was Russell, an artificial intelligence that Jay may or may not have sunk several years of his life into creating, for the specific purpose of making everyone's lives easier. Russell took hosting duties for this episode - you'll see why as we work our way through the series.Full Show NotesAll the details on the questions we asked, the format we took, and the answers that our amazing guests gave can be found in the full show notes, we definitely check them out here.Do you remember the first time that you played Sonic 2? Was it on Sonic 2sday? Have you checked out all of the content that our guests create? You totally should. Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiGamerJason's Links:TwitterWhat's Wrong With Wolfie?White Mage's links:Trich ComicsNezzalonius' linksTwitterSonic 2sdayAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaym ★ Support this podcast ★

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.The 30th anniversary of Sonic 2day is upon us this month, and we asked a few friends to talk about their memories of the landmark title. This week, we talked with GamerJason, White Mage, and Nezzalonius about what comes to mind when they think about Sonic 2, whether Sonic Team have a trademark on the Casino Levels, and slipping and sliding everywhere.psst. this is the first in a series of four episodes on Sonic 2's 30th anniversary. Be sure to check this page to see the other episodes in the series when they drop.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesTo celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic 2sday - Tuesday November 24th, 1992 - aka the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis - we wanted to create a very special episode of the podcast, and it ended up being so long that we split it into four. And this is part three of that series of special episodes; with part one having released last weekpart onepart twoWe wanted to create an episode which would have us interviewing some amazing people that we know from the podcasting and video content community, and we wanted to talk with them about their memories of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis/ Mega Drive; and reach out, we did.As you can see from our players section - psst. if you're not reading these show notes on the website, then you're missing out - we reached out to some amazing folks. In fact, we got so much content that we've had to split this special episode into two separate episodes, each with two parts. In this episode we talked with:Gamer Jason (aka one of the hosts of What's Wrong With Wolfie?)White MageNezzaloniusAssisting us with this episode was Russell, an artificial intelligence that Jay may or may not have sunk several years of his life into creating, for the specific purpose of making everyone's lives easier. Russell took hosting duties for this episode - you'll see why as we work our way through the series.Full Show NotesAll the details on the questions we asked, the format we took, and the answers that our amazing guests gave can be found in the full show notes, we definitely check them out here.Do you remember the first time that you played Sonic 2? Was it on Sonic 2sday? Have you checked out all of the content that our guests create? You totally should. Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiGamerJason's Links:TwitterWhat's Wrong With Wolfie?White Mage's links:Trich ComicsNezzalonius' linksTwitterSonic 2sdayAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaym ★ Support this podcast ★

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.The 30th anniversary of Sonic 2day - the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis/Mega Drive - is upon us this month, and we asked G to the Next Level, Franny, Alyxa, MVG, and JonnyG to choose their favourite and least favourite Sonic 2 music, whether it was their first Sonic game, singed furry animals and how Sonic's eco-warrior vibe was dropped, multiple endings, and PS3 era game designpsst. this is the second in a series of four episodes on Sonic 2's 30th anniversary. Be sure to check this page to see the other episodes in the series when they drop.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesTo celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic 2sday - Tuesday November 24th, 1992 - aka the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis - we wanted to create a very special episode of the podcast, and it ended up being so long that we split it into four. And this is part two of that series of special episodes; with part one having released last week - here's a link to part one.We wanted to create an episode which would have us interviewing some amazing people that we know from the podcasting and video content community, and wanted to talk with them about their memories of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis/ Mega Drive; and reach out, we did.As you can see from our players section of the fuller show notes - psst. if you're not reading these show notes on the website, then you're missing out - we reached out to some amazing folks. In fact, we go so much content that we've had to split this special episode into two separate episodes, each with two parts. In this episode we talked with:G to the Next LevelFrannyAlyxaMad Viking GodJonnyGAssisting us with this episode was Russell, an artificial intelligence that Jay may or may not have sunk several years of his life into creating, for the specific purpose of making everyone's lives easier. Russell took hosting duties for this episode - you'll see why as we work our way through the series.Full Show NotesAll the details on the questions we asked, the format we took, and the answers that our amazing guests gave can be found in the full show notes, we definitely check them out here.Do you remember the first time that you played Sonic 2? Was it on Sonic 2sday? Have you checked out all of the content that our guests create? You totally should. Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiG to the Next Level's Links:TwitterYouTubeTwitchPillarFranny's links:Druids of Doom PodcastAlyxa's Links:WeeblyTwitterTwitchYouTubeMad Viking God's Links:TwitchGitHubJohhnyG's links:The Monster's Playbook podcastThe Monter's Playbook on TwitterThe Monter's Playbook on InstagramSonic 2sdayInsaneInTheMusicSonic 2: Aquatic Ruin Zone Jazz Arrangement || insaneintherainmusicAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaym ★ Support this podcast ★

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.The 30th anniversary of Sonic 2day - the worldwide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis/Mega Drive - is upon us this month, and we asked G to the Next Level, Franny, Alyxa, MVG, and JonnyG about what their first thoughts of Sonic 2 are and their least favourite zones in the game. We also talk about the Dreamcast and just how amaze-bonkers Comix Zone was.psst. this is the first in a series of four episodes on Sonic 2's 30th anniversary. Be sure to check this page to see the other episodes in the series when they drop.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesTo celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic 2sday - Tuesday November 24th, 1992 - aka the world wide release of Sonic 2 on the Genesis - we wanted to create a very special episode of the podcast. We wanted to create an episode which would have us interviewing some amazing people from the podcasting community that we knew, and wanted to talk with them about their memories of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis/ Mega Drive; and reach out, we did.As you can see from our players section of the fuller show notes - psst. if you're not reading these show notes on the website, then you're missing out - we reached out to some amazing folks. In fact, we go so much content that we've had to split this special episode into two separate episodes, each with two parts. In this episode we talked with:G to the Next LevelFrannyAlyxaMad Viking GodJonnyGAssisting us with this episode was Russell, an artificial intelligence that Jay may or may not have sunk several years of his life into creating, for the specific purpose of making everyone's lives easier. Russell took hosting duties for this episode - you'll see why as we work our way through the series.Full Show NotesAll the details on the questions we asked, the format we took, and the answers that our amazing guests gave can be found in the full show notes, we definitely check them out here.Do you remember the first time that you played Sonic 2? Was it on Sonic 2sday? Have you checked out all of the content that our guests create? You totally should. Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiG to the Next Level's Links:TwitterYouTubeTwitchPillarFranny's links:Druids of Doom PodcastAlyxa's Links:WeeblyTwitterTwitchYouTubeMad Viking God's Links:TwitchGitHubJohhnyG's links:The Monster's Playbook podcastThe Monter's Playbook on TwitterThe Monter's Playbook on InstagramSonic 2sdayClassic Sega Game "Comix Zone" to Get Movie AdaptationAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaym ★ Support this podcast ★

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Gammy legs, getting older, men in rubber suits, first-person shooter sections, Semper-Fi, testosteroni (and whether that should be a pizza topping), and guns that make the uwu face. Obviously, this means that we talked about the 2005 movie Doom for our 2022 Spooptober episode.psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningAs this is both our Spootober episode and an episode which covers the 2005 action horror movie Doom, this episode contains discussions of things, and words, which are not safe for work or the ears of the innocent.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSpooptober is upon us once again. This year we wanted to tackle a spoopy video game movie for our Waffling Taylors Goes To The Movies series. But what to choose, what to choose? We've already covered The House of the Dead, and the first two Resident Evil movies - psst. there are three links there for the Resident Evil movies, because our exploration of the second movie took that long that we split it into two parts - because of that, we decided to cover the 2005 action horror movie version of Doom!As with our House of the Dead episode - do check that out, if you want to hear the boys talking smack about an Uwe Boll movie - we decided to change up the format of our "goes to the movies" episodes. Instead of working through the plot, we decided that it would be much more fun to focus on a handful of scenes from the movie. This serves the double purpose of:Simplifying our episodes, and getting to the gags quickerNot having to discuss the plot - the one thing we're not here forBasic Info on the MovieJay dropped some key facts on this movie before we could get to our discussion on it:This is a movie that was released in 2005.It had a budget of 60-70 million dollars, but only took 58 million dollars at the box office. So it was kind of a flop, but not as much as Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within.Although it's based on Doom, I feel like it's more based on Doom 3 due to the design of the BFG and the dark corridors.- JayInitial ThoughtsSquidge started the conversation off with a very relevant question:But why did they make Doom into a stealth movie?- SquidgeAnd he's not wrong, a large part of the first hour of the movie is mostly the Marines stalking about in the darkness.This is just Doom, but set in the Red Dwarf universe- Squidge... another thing that everyone agreed with, too.Then Jay dropped the ultimate piece of trivia for this movie:Apparently, Rosamund Pike turned down the role of Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to be in this movie- JayWas that a misstep? Well, Lulu thought so:Fool! She would have been fantastic as Rita Skeeter- LuluAnd the big twist - if you want to call it that - that "The Rock" didn't play the good guy in the movie was a breath of fresh air.They actually hint at it early on in the movie, too. So if you're not just turning your brain off and watching along, there are hints to pick up on.- LuluAnd thank goodness that ol' Rocky Maivia had started taking acting lessons after this movie, otherwise he may not have made it in Hollywood.He was doing a lot of "smell the fart acting", too- LuluThen again, there are a lot of bad actors who are incredibly highly paid by Hollywood.Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, some out-of-context screen grabs from the movie, and some links to related things.Are you a fan of the Doom games? What about this movie? Did the first-person section of the movie grab you and take you back to the games? psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.What other movies would you like us to cover? Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesUs on TwitterOur Facebook pageSupport us on Ko-FiDoomRed DwarfRita SkeeterDoom Annihilation is Doomed (A Rant)Big Fat Tacos - Ruby Weapon's theme misheard lyricsAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.From mocap to Resident Evil, and from the passing of a family member to a financial loss of $105 million. This week we talk about the commercial failure (and reason why Square-Enix games where Playstation 2 exclusives for a long time) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningPlease listen responsibly.Show NotesIn this "Goes to the Movies" episode, we wanted to tackle a movie which isn't necessarily based on an actual game, per se - but keep a look out for Jay's interpretation, very soon - so we tackled Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.As with our House of the Dead episode - do check that out, if you want to hear the boys talking smack about an Uwe Boll movie - we decided to change up the format of our "goes to the movies" episodes. Instead of working through the plot, we decided that it would be much more fun to focus on a handful of scenes from the movie. This serves the double purpose of:Simplifying our episodes, and getting to the gags quickerNot having to discuss the plot which this movie doesn't haveJust before we started recording though, Chief uttered the following famous last words:I'm a pro at this now, I've done that many episodes that I could probably do this myself.- ChiefWith that said, we jumped to jump straight into a description of this movie...Basic Info on the MovieJay dropped some key facts on this movie before we could get to our discussion on it:This is a movie that was released in 2001... it is THE reason why a whole bunch of Square-Enix games that came out after that were PlayStation exclusives for a long time... it is known as the 4th biggest box-office bombs of all time... it cost (in 2022 dollars) $190 MILLION to make, and almost drove Square out of business... and only ever made $85 million back, which is less than half of it's budget.- JayInterestingly, the story that this movie was based on - the script was originally called Gaia - was written during the final few days of working on Final Fantasy VII, and was written by Hironobu Sakaguchi shortly after his mother passed away. It was then re-written by Al Reinert (co-writer of Apollo 13) & Jeff Vintar (writer of I, Robot), and was combined with three years of RnD in Hawaii to create the final movie.It's also important to remember that the fallout of this movie lead to the merger between Square and Enix almost being canned. Both companies were in pretty dire straits - even with the rousing success of both Final Fantasy VII and VIII - and Sony had to step in to buy a (reported) 20% stake in Square to keep the merger alive (as Enix wanted to pull out). And this is why a large number of Square-Enix games of the early 2000s were Playstation exclusives.Just think about that for a second: The Spirits Within was that expensive and that much of a flop that it undid all of the profits from both Final Fantasy VII and VIII.Initial ThoughtsEach of the boys agreed that the movie is beautiful to look at, especially for it's time.I don't think I'd willingly go back and watch it again, though.- ChiefBefore we got into the movie proper, Jay asked:With 0 being the worst and 10 being the best, how would you rate this film as a film? Imagine that it's an IGN score though: it doesn't mean anything- JayChief: 5Squidge: Numberwang (or a 7)Jay: unratedChief had this to say about his score:What I mean is it's a middling film. The plot is serviceable, if a little uninteresting and uninspired. It makes sense, and the animation is good... but one thing I will say about the sound, though. You know when they're firing the weapons? It always feels under-powered.- ChiefSquidge had this to say about his score:I've seen some good CGI movies, and I've seen some $h!t. And so many years later, it holds up... some of the best parts of the movie are Steve Buschemi... the pacing is way too fast, then way too slow.- SquidgeAnd the boys all agree that the movie would have made a great limited series or a game. In fact, they all agree that it plays out very much like a video game.You could probably make [this into] a tactical shooter, survival horror game.- JayHad Netflix been a streaming service back in the tail end of the 90s - rather than just a DVD rental service - they would have bitten Sakaguchi's hand off to make it.It's just done too quick, isn't it? There's good stuff in there, but it's so rushed over that by the time you get to it, you think "ugh, well I've seen that now."- ChiefFull Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, some out-of-context screen grabs from the movie, and some links to related things.Are you a fan of the Final Fantasy

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Jay was joined by Mono of the Tokyo Game Life podcast, and they nerded out about Japan, Japanese culture, and video games. Along the way, they discuss the live action, immersive experiences that Japanese companies create. Mono talks about being "Turtled out" and what it was like at this year's TGS - Tokyo Game ShowHere's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesUnfortunately Squidge couldn't appear in this episode, as he was feeling super under the weather. But by the time it came round to editing this episode, he was feeling much better.Feel better soon, Squidgey!- JayMono of the Tokyo Game Life podcast joined Jay, to talk about all things Tokyo and video gaming... including a few tidbits about Tokyo Game Show.Before they could get around to talking about video games though, Jay started talking about his trips to Japan - you can listen to some of his audio diaries from his most recent trip here - which lead to Mono and Jay talking about some of their favourite memories of Kyushu - the southernmost of the big islands which make up Japan - including when Jay was in a crowd of people playing this Space Invaders Groovy Invades Canal City.Mono describes his show as:A Tokyo based video game podcast focussing on Nintendo and gaming culture in Japan's capital... it's also like a slice of life of Tokyo.Yeah, it's just a place where I celebrate Japan, Japanese gaming, and also Nintendo.- MonoRecent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more game that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.And this episode was no different.Mono's Recent GamesSplatoon 3And a bunch at TGS; some of which were:Sonic FrontiersSuper Bomberman R 2Atelier RyzaONI: Road to be the Mightiest OniWanted: DeadRUINSMAGUSBe sure to check out Mono's podcast for his coverage of (and advice for attending) Tokyo Game Show. Here's a link directly to his TGS 2022 episode.Jay's Recent GamesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga CollectionFull Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.Have you listened to the Tokyo Game Life podcast? Did you catch Mono's episode on TGS yet? What did you think to it? Have you ever been to Japan? Are you excited for Sonic Frontiers, or will it continue the 3D Sonic games legacies of not being very good?Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiKyushu at WikiPediaTokyo Game Lifeon Twitteron the webMono's TGS 2022 episodeAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia ★ Support this podcast ★

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.This episode sees Anthony of the Capes on the Couch podcast join us. We talk about his show (which you should definitely listen to), ‘previously on’ mode, RPGs and forgetting what to do, the recent TMNT releases, reaching level 99 too soon, airborne controllers, and profanity generators.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningWe talk with Anthony about his podcast (which deals with exploring the mental health aspect of comic book characters), and as such need to bring up mental health points. We can't say whether anything in the episode will offend, but what we will ask is that you listen responsibly.But also that you look after yourself and, if you can, someone else too. Please consider getting help if you need it.Show NotesAnthony of the Capes on the Couch podcast joined us, and we wanted to take a few moments to discuss both his podcast and mental health. Mental health is something which is important to both Jay and Squidge, and they take it very seriously.If you need help, please go get it. There's no shame or stigma attached to it.Anthony describes the show as:Capes on the Couch is a podcast that my best friend, my brother, and I have been co-hosting now for four and half years. He is a board certified psychiatrist, and I am a comic book aficionado. And each episode, we take a look at a particular character, a group of characters, or sometimes a theme; and we examine their mental health issues, any concerns that they have, what's going on in their life that might cause them strife or distress... and what would the treatment of the real-world analogue look like...We do it to destigmatize a lot of the discussions around mental health, because there's this big bugaboo about if you're feeling sick then you go to the doctor; if your leg is broken then you go to the doctor; but if you're feeling depressed or you're hearing voices in your head, or if you are going through something in your life and you go to see a therapist, "oh we don't talk about that. Shh. Don't tell anybody about that." And it's just as valid and necessary.- AnthonyWhich, you'll agree, is an amazing setup for a podcast. And a very, _very_ important topic to discuss. And it's such an important point that Jay and Squidge wanted to explore it for a big enough portion of the episode.Along the way, Jay talked about the wonderfully creepy world of deep fakes. He brings up a fantastic video by Corridor Crew where they took all of the appearances of their lawyer on their podcast, fed them into Descrypt - to build up a machine learning model of his voice - then used GPT3 to write a script for a speech, and had Descrypt create the audio for the speech. Effectively, they had a set of machine learning tools generate a full speech, and delivery it to the rest of the company.It's wonderfully dystopian.And the reason that Jay brought this up because, looking at his podchaser profile Squidge has edited almost two weeks of continual content with Jay's voice in it.NO NEED TO WORRY JAY, I HAVE ALREADY DEEP FAKED YOUR VOICEMWAHAHAHA!- RusselRecent GamesAfter almost 40 minutes of discussion on comic books, superheroes, and mental healthIf you need help, please go get it. There's no shame or stigma attached to itAnthony brought us back on topic, and with the Recent Games segment.The Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more game that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.And this episode was no different.Anthony's Recent GamesSuper Mario OdysseyTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s RevengeAsphalt 9: LegendsAnd when discussing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, both Anthony and Jay talked about a "Parent mode" or "Previously on... mode"where it just gives you like a 60 seconds of, "here's getting you back up to speed; here are the characters, the story, and how they're all interacting; here's your current objective, where you're going, and where you came from."- JaySponsor MessageHello adventurers. Do you enjoy stories about monsters and magic? Welcome to Autumn Falls, a cozy small town in the Pacific Northwest. There's mysteries to uncover, but first let's check in with our heroes.Hugo RashaadFighting monsters isn't the safest thing. I'm Hugo Rashaad.Agent WhitakerCan I get verbal confirmation that none of you will say anything about what you saw today? Agent Lonnie Whitaker reporting in from the Eastey Agency.Raven Eugeniait's really weird, and bizarre, and a whole lot of feeling stuff that I did not want to get into it. So I kind of booked it out of there. I'm Raven Eugenia.Damien EdgecrestI just wanted to be friends because that's what everyone e

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.We were joined by Raina of The Ancient's Den this week. Raina has recently released an HD mod for the Dreamcast version of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, and it's bloody impressive. We talk zombie feeding simulators, the entire Legacy of Kain series, and about Raina's favourite controllersHere's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningBecause we're talking about some of the entries in the Legacy of Kain series - a series of games about vampires going around and doing what vampires do - we'd recommend that you skip this one if you have little ones listening, or are in a space where listening would be inappropriate.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesThis week's episode starts with Squidge in the Nosgoth underworld... or was it Brighton?But before long, the boys where joined by Raina of The Ancient's Den, the person behind the Soul Reaver HD Mod, and all-round amazing person.And Raina takes us back in time to the late '90s - gaming magazines, demo discs, and incorrectly spelt main characters - when bringing us up to speed about how they got involved with the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. This was a time of internet cafes - remember them? - and floppy disks - remember THEM?! - and before widespread use of email.Jay also shares a story of him playing around with the MP3 encoder on his home computer so that he could MAYBE load a single MP3 onto a single floppy disk.I would go down to the library with a stack of floppy disks, which was my music library... I would swap disks after each song.- JayAnd Squidge tells us that he first played Resident Evil 2 as a 9 year old.I was so bad at playing it, I thought that it was a zombie feeding simulator.-SquidgeBefore we could talk about the HD mod, Jay asked Raina to...Get Control of YourselfThis is a segment that we like to do every so often, which is based on a tweet from SinceSpacies - who is an absolutely amazing person, by the way. Seriously, go follow him on TwitterGet a control of yourself!!!!!! What’s been your most fav controller of all time…(and what controller bites the big one?)- SinceSpaciesThe idea here is that we want to know which is the best and which is the worst controller of all time.Raina's Worst ControllerRaina chose the Xbox 360 controller.The controller is really big and bulky, and it uses batteries... come on!- RainaRaina also dislikes the Dreamcast controller:Not for anything other than the missing features. So with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, they had to break the controls to make it work.- RainaRaina's Best ControllerThe dual sense really surprised me... You can really feel the rope as your character climbs down, and you can feel tension when you pull an arrow.- RainaAnd both Raina and Squidge agree that the PlayStation controllers from DualShock on-wards are fantastic for FPS games:I don't know whether it's because the analogue sticks are on the same level.- SquidgeThe HD ModRaina describes the origins of the mod by taking us back in time to the release of the original Legacy of Kain on Dreamcast:They literally had three months to create the port, and that's not a lot of time- RainaStrangely enough, during the process of porting to Dreamcast, the graphical assets were reduced by quite a lot - meaning that the "inferior" release on the PlayStation TECHNICALLY has better graphics than the Dreamcast version.They didn't have a lot of time, so I don't blame them.- RainaAnd Raina is calling this a "remaster" (or sorts) as the mod contains MUCH higher resolution textures which are swapped out, at runtime, by the Flycast emulator for Dreamcast.You should certainly take a look at the comparison screenshots on the project's website here: https://www.sr1hdremaster.com/screenshotsFull Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.Have you ever visited the land of Nosgoth? If so, which Legacy of Kain games have you played, and why is Soul Reaver the best one? Have you tried out Raina's HD mod for Soul Reaver? Let us know on our shiny new Discord server.Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiThe Ancient's DenThe Ancient's Den blog The Soul Reaver HD ModFlycastAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for a

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Moonwalking to the fridge, Memento, video games, kitties, The Lonely Island of programming, spoilers, whether Tom Holland knows he's Spider-Man and silliness. That could only mean one thing: G has returned to the show. But what do these things have to do with video games?Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningThis episode has a few poop jokes in it, all around the 10 minutes and 30 second mark.A misquote from the 1982 classic Blade Runner ("am I lesbian") at 12 minutes and change could cause issues for some listeners if they are listening with little ones.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSeeing as how it being several weeks since Jay had done the intro, he decided that he would be in charge of intro-ing the show, and he did a pretty terrible job of doing it - as always - but it wasn't just Jay and Squidgey in this episode, as they were joined by G (aka #dontCallMeAudrey).Considering that it had been almost two years since G was last on the show - his last appearance was in episode 92 "Would You Kindly" from October 2020 - and a lot of amazing things have happened in his life since he was last on - including having a new little one, and her taking her first steps ON THE DAY THAT THE EPISODE WAS RECORDED! How cool is that?Nothing in the episode will compare to that news, and it will be all downhill from that moment. So strap yourselves in, folks.And even though G had not been on the show for a long time, he fell right back into the format without any issuesThe memories may fade, but the pain remains- GLess than 10 minutes into the episode, the boys started to have an existential crisis:Surely the best way to know whether you are a Sim or not would be to look up. If you see the green crystal, then perhaps you are Sim... perhaps- JayThe Cat GameOf course the hot topic of the month came up: The Cat Game - aka Stray - and the boys had a lot to say about it: from the fact that G has been playing it with his eldest, to the fact that Jay remembered being interested in it because the first ads for it played up the Kowloon Walled City based design of the game world.And when talking about mutual friend Sakura, and how she should definitely play this game - seeing as she is a rather big fan of the feline species - G had this to day:I don't understand why we don't just get responses to our every message with, "Can't talk; being a cat"- GIndeed....Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.Have you ever played The Cat Game? Does it fill you with the cutesy-wootsy fuzzy-wuzzies? What about that rather dark storyline? What about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, have you played that? Is it really that good?Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSupport us on Ko-FiClassic REbirth modG on TwitterAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia ★ Support this podcast ★

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Squidge invited Jay to make his first appearance on the Cupboard of Shame, and he brought along a white whale of sorts. What do Arnie, Sly Stallone, and trashy 80s cyberpunk movies have in common? And why is Jay recommending running, head first, into walls? This CoS will answer those questions and more.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the fifth episode in the new series, he invited Andrew "Podcast Collector" Dickinson to dispatch something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138Sean wanted to yeet Risk of Rain 2 into the underbelly of the cupboard in episode 139Ginger wished to send Final Fantasy X-2 into the depths of cheap MDF that is the cupboard in episode 140AndrewD was on the fence about Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days and whether it should have been in the Cupboard of Shame, in episode 141JonnyG spoke about the weird-a-thon that is Deadly Premonition is episode 142Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode. All of the "classic" Cupboard of Shame episodes - aka before Squidge's 2022 sexy reboot - can be found here.Jay's Chosen GameAnd Squidge got directly into the topic of discussion: which game would you like to put into the Cupboard of Shame:It's actually three games, but the game that I want to throw into the Cupboard of Shame is called "Power Blade 2" on the NES. But I can't talk about Power Blade 2 without talking about Power Blade. And I can't talk about Power Blade without talking about Power Blazer- JayBut using Squidge's rules, it's not possible to throw more than one game in at once. So Jay had to pick just one game:Power Blade 2 is what I would like to nominate to be thrown into the Cupboard of Shame- JayOr for those tuning in from Japan - and there are more than a few of you, if our podcast hosting stats are to be believed - Jay is referring to "Captain Saver".But before he could talk about Power Blade 2, Jay needed to talk about Power Blade:So Power Blade is a game for the NES, right?In this game, you play totally-not-Arnold-Schwarzenegger who runs around in '80s style tank-top [attire] and everything. He doesn't use his fists, doesn't use guns. He uses a boomerang - which is vaguely daft as it is, right?And that's all you really need to know.... they took a game called Power Blazer which was released in Japan in around 1990-1991, which was a Mega Man clone... except that you used a boomerang. When the [locationsation] over to the UK and US happened, **EVERYTHING** about the game changed except for the boomerang and the music.- JaySquidge regaled us with both of the stories presented on Wikipedia, and on GameFAQs. First up, Wikipedia:After years of fighting that took millions of casualtie

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Matthew Bliss (the host of The Dead Drop podcast) joined us to talk about two of his favourite puzzle games ever. We also talk about what we've been playing recently, and we drop him off for a short spell in the Thunder Plains. But we also talk about Wata Gaming, NFTs, and ARGs, too.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningWhilst there aren't any swears in this episode, there's discussion of Doki Doki Literature Club! and the mental health issues that the characters in the game suffer from.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge decided to start this episode off by intro-ing everyone - including the first reference to the Waffling Taylors Tag Team Champion belts, and the "Half a brick in a sock, on a pole" match - a real wrestling match and a real championship belt, by the way. And before we had much of a chance to talk video games, Jay wanted Matthew to talk through his podcast a little:Part of the reason I wanted to hang with you guys a little bit is because I do my own video game news podcast called "The Dead Drop"Basically, that podcast runs twice a week. I do it on a Monday and a Thursday, which may or may not be Wednesday and Sunday for people with our present time futuristic thing happening.Each show only goes for ten minutes. I'll cover six or seven major video game news stories, or ones that I think are of interest.... And the whole point of that podcast is to ensure that people are getting informed if they can't get through all the Kotakus, IGNs, and the GameSpots.- MatthewRecent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more game that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.And this episode was no different.Matthews's Recent GamesCitizen SleeperAnd mention of this game has Squidge giving us his most important piece of life advice:Always be yourself, unless you can be a giraffe- SquidgeHer StoryDiscussing Her Story gets Jay stuck on discussing Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and in almost as much detail as the last time it came up.Jay's Recent GamesPower BladeSquidge's Recent GamesThe WitnessAnd discussion of this game reminded Jay of one of his favourite lines in The Good Place:This is how I always got out of escape rooms. If you break enough stuff, they open the door and kick you out- Elanor Shellstrop; "The Goods Place", Season 3 Episode 8: "The Book of Dougs"Wata & Game GradingThe conversation about Jay's recent game - Power Blade on the NES - started a conversation about Wata and the game grading scandals. And Jay gives a scathing description of how Wata are grading their games. It's similar to the coin collecting, baseball card collecting, and any other collectable industry.Interestingly, Matthew points out that NFTs could be described in the same way. Except that NFTs (and other blockchain based technologies) are destroying the planet with the sheer amount of electricity required to create them.Inscryption & AsemblanceMatthew's description of these two titles is practically perfect:These are games that bend so far backwards on themselves that their head is going over their back, through their legs and over their back again so that they are staring at their hamstrings.- MatthewBut the problem is that these types of games need to be experienced rather than described, because the gameplay is based on discovering the right pieces as they go along.Both Inscryption and Asemblance have ARG components in them, with Asemblance literally taking you out of the game and over to Reddit, then to imgur:[there are] little flashes of images on the computer, and one of those flashes is a Reddit page, and you can read a username.So you look up that user on Reddit, and it's got like 13 posts. And one of those is about a blue butterfly. But you see a blue butterfly in the game.So you look up that imgur location. And that account that's attached to that Reddit account also has an image that solves an interior puzzle to the game. Which is an overlay of a map, attached to a wall... that allows you to navigate a different memory, using both time codes, and locations and interactions in order to complete it.... It takes a village to complete it.- Matthew...Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.Have you ever played Incryption or Asemblance? We'd love to hear from you about you experiences with it. What about other ARG heavy games like Doki Doki Literacure Club? Did you know about the spectral analyser thing in the soundtrack to Doom (2016)?Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook,

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Discord server, Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.What do The Bushwackers, Borderlands 3, The Matrix, and Zorro have to do with the 2003 "cinematic experience" that is Uwe Boll's first video game adaptation: The House of The Dead?Squidge and Jay sat down to discuss Uwe Boll's The House of the Dead. Is this movie worth watching? Is it even any good? What's with the LED eyes? And did SEGA really sign off on all of this?psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningDue to the nature of the movie we talk about in this episode, we’d recommend that you don’t listen to this one with little ones around.This film (whilst also being pretty dreadful) contains nudity, swearing, violence, and pretty badly acted out zombies.We've also left in all the swears, as it's an episode about a horror film.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesOur amazing intro was performed by Morgan Ritson, definitely check him out for similarly amazing stuffWe decided to change up the format of our "goes to the movies" episodes. Instead of working through the plot, we decided that it would be much more fun to focus on a handful of scenes from the movie. This serves the double purpose of:Simplifying our episodes, and getting to the gags quickerNot having to discuss the plot which this movie doesn't haveWith that said, we jumped to jump straight into a description of this movie...Basic Info on the MovieWe didn't even get through our introductions before Jay started complaining about this movieThe dynamic range compression in this movie is almost non-existant- JayIn fact, the audio issues in this movie made Jay "do The Bushwackers thing", which is the walk that the legendary pro-wrestling tag team did on their way to the ring.Squidge sets the scene by reading the IMDB plot summary for this "cinematic experience":A group of college students travels to a mysterious island to attend a rave, which is soon taken over by bloodthirsty zombies- Squidgeand that's about all that really happens in this movie, to be fair. However, the 1978 movie with a similar name sounds pretty good:A 1978 film consisting of four short stories about a man who takes refuge from a thunderstorm in the residence of a mortician- SquidgeInitial ThoughtsRemember that this movie is based on a 1996 on-the-rails arcade shooter which takes less than 26 minutes to get through. Sure, there was a story but it was essentially:On December 18, 1998, AMS Agent Thomas Rogan receives a distress call from his fiancée Sophie Richards from the Curien Mansion. Rogan and his partner "G" fly to Europe and arrive at the estate, finding it overrun with undead creatures, which Dr. Curien unleashedLike, that's literally it.Seriously, there's so little plot in this game that the arcade cabinet takes 28 minutes to get from booting to completion.The ADR (Additional Dialogue Replacement) in this movie is off the charts:This is ADR: the movie- JayWith all of the important dialogue being recorded on set, with a microphone which was located two galaxies away, and all of the un-important dialogue - the grunts, screams, and such - being replaced with ADR.And if you want to read Jay's notes, you can by clicking here. Warning: he took this notes whilst watching the movie, and was several beers in by the time he got to the 36th minute mark.it was the only way to survive this "cinematic experience"- JayFull Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, some out-of-context screen grabs from the movie, and some links to related things.Are you a fan of the Silent Hill games? Have you seen this movie before? If so, what did you think to it? Would you fling it into a tree? If not, are you likely to watch it now?psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.What other movies would you like us to cover? Let us know on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Join our Discord server and be part of future episodesUs on TwitterOur Facebook pageSupport us on Ko-FiHouse of The Dead on IMDBhouseofthedeadmovie.comDouble Dragon - Witty Remark HereOur other Goes to the Movies episodesTrancersAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningBecause the game we discussed in this episode deals with some pretty tough topics around mental health, we wanted to give you all a fair warning about it. We don't just discuss the mental health topics in the game, but we also take a moment to talk about how important it is for those who are suffering to get help.As such, you may want to skip this episode if mental health issues are a particularly triggering topic.But we'd also like to say, in the words of Stephen Dubner:Take care of yourself, and if you can someone else too.- Stephen DubnerPlease listen responsibly.Show NotesTom from Kölncampus ECHO wanted to join us about Disco Elysium, so we invited him on the show to tell us what's so great about it.But the first question to ask was whether we had played it. Jay hadn't, and Squidge had only played a little of it:I essentially looked round the main area that you get in the tutorial: the tutorial area. Adn I realised that me trying to be a good cop is a bad idea. And it's one of those where you've gotta set up your skills, and I don't think I set them up right, so I got dead ends at every turn.- SquidgeTom handily passed on the studio's short description of the game by way of tempting him to play it:DnD meets '70s cop show. What do you imagine the game to be, just from that sentence?- TomWhich lead the chaps into a discussion about the clever design and story-telling trick of having the main character forget what their name is.You, the person, are the character; the character is an avatar through which you interact with the world. By having the character not know their name, you're providing a blank sheet for you to become. You're saying, "this is the person, this is what they look like, but you can choose the name you want."- JayBut the clever design doesn't stop there. As Tom points out, standard RPGs have you design a character of your own, setting stats, picking out a head, body, hair, and whatever; and you provide the character traits for the character through your choices. Whereas with Disco Elysium, the character already exists, and your job is to rediscover their character traits - through the use of virutal die rolls, your choices, and how with the game altering it's story slightly based on both of those.Standard RPGs have skills like Defense, Attack, Initiative; whereas Disco Elysium has skills in things like "electro-chemistry" which reduces the affects of drugs and alcohol. The other difference being that each of the 24 skills in the game can talk to the player. The electro-chemistry skill, for example, talks to the player trying to get the player to have the character take more drugs and alcohol.The thing that makes Disco Elysium brilliant for me is [that] it does not only depict the trauma - a lot of video games try do that, or do that. But it let's you play the trauma. It lets you really experience being in a situation, playing as a character, that has a lot of trauma in him... and you get to play with them, and experience living with them, because they constantly tell you things. You don't get a break. Every time you got to sleep in the game, you have dreams about them.- TomThe fact that game itself started out life as a table-top RPG game is rather telling. The detail put into the gameplay mechanics, the frankly huge amount of lore (and how regularly it is delivered), adn how it is designed really bear this out. Apparently, the game that Robert Kurwitsz (the designer of the game) would host game nights where his bandmates would play the game - he even wrote a book, expanding on the universe of the game, in 2013 called "Sacred and Terrible Air" - at the time of writing these show notes, it's only available in Kurwitz's native Estonian...Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.What have you been playing recently? Do you agree with the anonymous review that Chief read during this episode? What would you take with you to the Thunder Plains?Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Support us on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterTom on TwitterTom's interview with Brian David Judkins about his podcast "Encounter Party"Tom's podcast is mostly in GermanMoon logicResident Evil HeardleIt's like Wordle, but with the music from the Resident Evil gamesWordle is a daily dose of delight, despair, and sometimes smugnessAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so che

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the fifth episode in the new series, he invited Andrew "Podcast Collector" Dickinson to dispatch something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138Sean wanted to yeet Risk of Rain 2 into the underbelly of the cupboard in episode 139Ginger wished to send Final Fantasy X-2 into the depths of cheap MDF that is the cupboard in episode 140AndrewD was on the fence about Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days and whether it should have been in the Cupboard of Shame, in episode 141Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode. All of the "classic" Cupboard of Shame episodes - aka before Squidge's 2022 sexy reboot - can be found here.JonnyG's Chosen GameAnd Squidge got directly into the topic of discussion: which game would you like to put into the Cupboard of Shame:The game that I would like to put into the Cupboard of Shame is called "Deadly Premonition", alternately "Deadly Premonition Director's Cut", or more recently "Deadly Premonition: Origins"- JonnyGEven though JonnyG already owned Deadly Premonition, he was suckered into buying one of the other two releases of it. This happening to JonnyG is such a regular occurrence that his friends call it "pulling a Jonny."And before long, the first tangent of the episode was in play:Before we actually owned a Playstation, we went and rented one from the game shop down the street.We rented the Playstation, we rented Final Fantasy VII. We did not know that you had to provide your own memory card.I played Final Fantasy VII for two and half days without turning the machine off, and I got to a point where you were only allowed to put one fighter in, and forgot to give him cure magic.And it was all gone.- JonnyGWe all need to take a moment to press F on our keyboards and pay our respects to young JonnyG.Sponsor MessageThe Infinite hallway has been closed.It took a year for an unlikely trio to manage to seal dozens of holes in the fabric of reality. But I can see the Threads of Fate. I know there is more in store for them in this world. And in another.I see Kira Ashwood, the journalist who still bears the scars from her cult days, rising in great and terrible power. I see the supernatural social outcast Mark Clayton, his ability is expanding and evolving, growing without limit. Without explanation. I see the one they've yet to meet: a sorceress from between worlds, yet drawn to power and burdened by legacy. I see the extra normal investigator Casey Davis. But for the moment, I am one of the few who does.I can see what's next. I can see it all unfold

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the fifth episode in the new series, he invited Andrew "Podcast Collector" Dickinson to dispatch something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138Sean wanted to yeet Risk of Rain 2 into the underbelly of the cupboard in episode 139Ginger wished to send Final Fantasy X-2 into the depths of cheap MDF that is the cupboard in episode 140Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode. All of the "classic" Cupboard of Shame episodes - aka before Squidge's 2022 sexy reboot - can be found here.Andrew's Chosen GameAlthough Andrew has a list of games which are Cupboard of Shame worthy, one shone like a beacon when Squidge approached him to be on the show:It didn't review particularly well, but I liked it as a guilty pleasure - and that's Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days- AndrewDSquidge admitted that he had never played either of the Kane & Lynch titles, because he had been blinded by the light of Borderlands. Which is quite interesting when you think about it.Apparently, it was initially the art style which drew Andrew in:So [Kane & Lynch :Dead Men] is like a generic looking PS3 third person shooter. It's a decent enough game - I've never played it, but from what I've seen it's a decent enough game.But for [Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days] they completely changed it. ...it's all set in Shanghai for the majority of the time. And it's mostly at night, all neon lights and stuff... it looks amazing, and that kind of caught my eye.And then I ended up playing it. I played it on my own, and I also played it in co-op. And it took me by surprise that a very generic third person shooter could actually be quite enjoyable. And almost film like- AndrewDWhat's So Bad About it?Any discussion of a bad game needs to cover what’s so bad about the game. So Squidge asked, “what’s so bad about this game?” before visibly recoiling.What's bad about this game?Well it reviewed horrifically when it came out; it was lambasted as being this generic third person shooter that really didn't make any effort. It was almost a step back in some regards to what had come recently, like Gears of War and those kinds of third person shooters that have done things like cover mechanics.Kane & Lynch is a straight forward third person shooter, so you just run at people at shoot them. It was super generic and came out at a time when these kinds of games were evolving. A lot of people saw it as style over substance- AndrewDThose are some pretty strong points, to be fair.---And even the story felt phoned in, apparently:

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the third episode in the new series, he invited Sean "Rackham The Dancing Bugbear" O'Dell to yeet something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138Sean wanted to yeet Risk of Rain 2 into the underbelly of the cupboard in episode 139Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode. All of the "classic" Cupboard of Shame episodes - aka before Squidge's 2022 sexy reboot - can be found here.Ginger's Chosen GameWasting almost no time at all, Squidge leapt in with the all-important question: which game are we yeeting into the Cupboard of shame?Final Fantasy X-2. Where do I even begin with this game?...It's shameful for me to actually admit that I've never been able to beat [this game], honestly, because it made me so damned mad.- GingerAnd, as Squidge said:Unless you put in the time to 100% it, the payoff isn't worth it- SquidgeWe're convinced that Ginger's initial thoughts are shared by a lot of people:When X-2 first came out, I was super excited. I was like, "hell yeah! Girl power!" There's an all female lead. I was stoked. I was super stoked.And then I played it.... it's a beautiful game, like you said. It comes right off of, like, when graphics were finally getting good for video games.... and here's why I always talk $h!t about this game: why do I need [the strategy guide] to actually beat the game?- GingerSquidge's detailed description of Final Fantasy X-2 (for those who haven't played it) is:Final Fantasy X-2 is the first direct sequel in the renowned RPG series. X-2 highlights a cast of returning characters and features mission-based gameplay. An all female lead cast, unique job classes, and dynamic battle system.It doesn't stop there, there's more.The story takes place two years after Yuna defeats Sin in Final Fantasy X, and follows Yuna's journey to find her lost love. Scattered across the land are spheres which show visual recordings of historical events or open up different types of job classes to use in battle.- SquidgeAs Ginger points out, the game doesn't pass the Bechdel test because Yuna is looking for Tidus, and all of her conversations with other female characters revolve around Tidus.And no discussion of Final Fantasy X-2 can be complete without Jay's description of it:Let's play dress-up- JayWhen asked for comments, resident expert in all things Final Fantasy Lulu had the following to say:I remember two things:1) Final Fantasy XIII-2 is best described as "Lightning raising her wardrobe"2) I remember final beating Final Fantasy XIII. I was sitting on the li

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the third episode in the new series, he invited Sean "Rackham The Dancing Bugbear" O'Dell to yeet something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode.Sean's Chosen GameBefore they discussed Sean's chosen game, Squidge asked for Sean to describe the show that he works on: Dungeons and Pop[Dungeons and Pop is] an actual play variety show. Because the players who run the main campaign are busy half the time, so we run multiple campaigns and one-shots.A lot of pop culture stuff. Like out main one is, basically fantasy Power Rangers; before the Power Rangers RPG came out, too.- SeanAnd with Sean's podcast description out of the way - to be fair, fantasy Power Rangers as an actual play sounds pretty cool - Squidge asked the all-important question: which game are we yeeting into the Cupboard of shame?It's kind of an older game, but it's one that a friend suggested.I was looking for a game to get when there was a game sale on Switch and a friend of mine, I told 'em that I liked Enter the Dungeon and rogue-likes like that. Nuclear Throne. And he suggested Risk of Rain 2.- SeanBut why did Sean buy the game? Had he read up about it before purchasing it, did he just go with what was listed on the Switch store page, or did he trust his friend's recommendation?What I found was kind of neat was that it was a 3D game with that kind of... running around, grabbing items, that kinda stood out. And the art style is, I don't want to say "simplistic", but it's pretty minimalistic... it's kind of solid colours on top of other colours.- SeanWhen it was first released, there was no intro sequence meaning that most players had to scramble to try and figure out what the story was. But Squidge had done some digging for us:What I can tell is:You are a captain who are hired by UES - which appear to be an intergalactic delivery company, kind of like FedEx, "you weren't in, so we left your package on the opposite side of the moon". And from what I can see, the whole thing is like a survival, monster killing thing, where you're picking up a scavenger hunt for packages, and there's boss monsters.That's all I can gather from it.- SquidgeWhat's So Bad About it?Any discussion of a bad game needs to cover what’s so bad about the game. So Squidge asked, “what’s so bad about this game?”When I first played it, the difficulty ramped up sooooooo fast.Because I was trying to level up by taking on hordes of enemies. But I was looking it up, and it was like, "you need to

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsiblyShow NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. For his second episode on the eponymous - and totally real cupboard - cupboard, he could think of none better than Lulu.As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameThe Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen one entry so far, which was when Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny. You can hear Chief's reasoning behind his choice on episode 136 - which you can listen to here.Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge has challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode.Lulu's Chosen GameSquidge started this episode strongly:Any road, we've gone completely off topic- SquidgeAnd that was in the first three minutes of the episode. But very shortly after that, he asked Lulu for the title of the one game that she would like to discuss:I did have a long think about this, I'll be perfectly honest. But every time I thought about it, one game kept coming up and it was: Chaos Legion- LuluBut before they could discuss the game, Squidge needed to describe the game's setup:Two men, once friends, now have their fates tied together by the death of a young maiden. Each man holds the key to a sacred glyph that, when combined with the other two, can open the Gateway of Chaos and lead the people to the Red Moon.- GameFaqs; https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/562317-chaos-legionTalk about "dun dun duuuun"He also wanted to give a description of when he first encountered the game - you know, for science and stuff:It was 2003, I was 14. It was the weekend. Reallising as I woke up, that due to exceptional circumstances I was awake, it was very real to me that for the most of the day I would be unsupervised. Anything could happen.However, I had recently picked up a game called "Chaos Legion", and hilarity ensued. As you might imagine- SquidgeBut why did Lulu buy this game?I just remember seeing the trailer playing a lot in [my local GAME] store. And I really, really liked the style of it. It was kind of like gothic and a little bit steampunky, and that is entirely my jam.- LuluWhat's So Bad About it?Any discussion of a bad game needs to cover what's so bad about the game. So Squidge asked, "what's so bad about this game?"I do remember 1) the controls being a little bit janky (and that's being nice), and 2) the gameplay being kinda repetitive.- LuluNaff controls and repetitive gameplay is not what you want from a - pause for effect whilst we check the box - Capcom game?! Seriously? Capcom made this?I remember thinking, "haven't I done this level already?" because they all started looking very, very samey. I know that with early Devil May Cry games they were corridor simulators. But at least with the Devil May Cry games, they had a good story. The Chaos Legion story felt a bit flat.- LuluAnother criticism was the difficulty and the repetitive nature of having to replay previous missions, multiple times in a row, in order to get the required exp

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningAt around 10:32, whilst discussing sandbox games, Jackal brings up the fact that titles like RimWorld allow you to safely explore very taboo subjects like cannibalism. We felt that it was important to keep this discussion in the episode; not because we support cannibalism, but more because we thought it was important to have the discussion about the fact that games allow us to build a fantasy world where we can explore these ideas and see what they are about.At 34:16, when describing the beginnings of the project, Bird mentions that the game started out life assort of a $h!t post- BirdPlease listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge was MIA when we recorded this episode, so he isn't on this one. But Jay was on hand to interview Jackal and Bird from the Roadkill Software team. At the time of the recording, Roadkill Software were working on a brand new PC title called Fluff 'n Fury.Fluff 'n FuryBefore they got sidetracked, Jay wanted to know about Fluff 'n Fury. And the Roadkill folks described it as:It's basically an FPS shooter, sort of in the vein of Half-Life - well not really Half-Life. It would be a little unfair to call it Half-Life; more like a campaign of some sorts.It'll also will feature a diverging cast. So you'll have to go through several different play-throughs to find every single level. And it will include some non-FPS segments as well- BirdImmediately, it sound rather intriguing and reminded us of the branching story-path of Sonic Adventure and similar titles - but with less in the way of embarrassing voice acting and audio levelling issues, we hope.All this talk of mixing up the play styles had us talking about sandbox games, and how the sandbox genre - if you can call it that - is likely one of the most innovative in the industry right now. Being able to throw a player into a world with tools, vehicles, basic rules, and allow them to invent their own fun is truly game-changing - if you'll pardon the pun - with the greatest of them being Garry's Mod.Favourite Sandbox TitlesA discussion of sandbox games would be incomplete without talking about some of our favourites. So Jay posed the questionWhat are some of your favourite sandbox games?- JayBirdPavlov VRSubnauticaJackalRimWorldStellarisAnd this discussion on sandbox and sandbox-like games brings up the topic of being able to explore different ideas, political stances, behaviours, and taboos without worrying about any real-world results or potential side effects of those actions or thoughts.It's not like you endorse this thing in real life, but what could happen in a diplomatic way if you go for it.- JackalAnother example that we bring up is the Postal series. We're all in agreement that very few (if any) players of those games endorse the ideas of over-the-top situations and behaviours in those games, but it does allow the player a safe space to explore the absurdity of the situation.And of course, Jay takes a logical extreme using a recent release as an example:At the time of recording [Pokémon Legends: Arceus] has just been released. Is that game endorsing running around, capturing [wild] animals, and stuffing them into small metallic boxes?No. But it is encouraging people to go out into the world and have a look around at what there is to see and what there is to do.- JayThe Thunder Plain GamesFor those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguely reminiscent of a certain programme on BBC Radio 4 - but for copyright reasons, it is completely different.Imagine that you are in Final Fantasy X, and the Thunder Plains) is a place that you get banished to. And what we're going to do is we're going to open a portal to the Thunder Plains and, very nicely and politely, boot you through it. You will get help, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be in a week, maybe it will be in an hour.To stop you from getting bored, we've said that we'll keep the portal open and we'll throw through up to three video games and everything you need to play them - including an Internet connection. The only rules are that you can't ask for help, because help is on the way, and you can't tell anyone that you're in the Thunder Plains.So our question is: were we to do throw, boot, or yeet you through the portal, which games are we throwing through with you? And both Bird and Jackal obliged with the titles that they would take with them:BirdMinecraftJackalFallout 2 (with the Restoration Patch)...Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.What have you been playing recently? Do y

If you like the sound of this, then you'll likely love the show we put together. Don't forget to subscribe (it's free!), and head over to https://wafflingtaylors.rocks to find out more about us.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningSquidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesSquidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. Since this is the first episode in the new series, there was no better choice than Chief Problems.For those who don't know, Chief was our very first guest, appearing on the very first episode of the podcast (released back in 2017) - aka "56 Games in 63 Minutes".The Cupboard of Shame is something that Squidge describes as:The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game- SquidgePrevious Entries into the Cupboard of ShameIn previous episodes of the podcast, Squidge has challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:Iron Man the Movie Video GameWETRambo: The Video GameCrackdownFinal Fantasy XIIIYou can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episodeChief's EntryStarting things off on the correct foot, Squidge asked of Chief:What do you want to put into the Cupboard of Shame?- SquidgeAnd Chief started the new series off with a truly controversial pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - specifically the PS3 version. But why is it shameful?It's shameful in that I've never really finished it, and that I've given up on it.That's not to say that it's a bad game, but it's definitely one of the games that I've not finished, just because I can't be bothered to push through to the end.- ChiefThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had passed Chief by and he hadn't even heard of Morrowind - talk about walking in, right in the middle of the story - and although he had never played any of the earlier entries, he knew that he was going to like Skyrim.It's like your first Final Fantasy game- ChiefAnd the discussion on similar C-RPGs - classic RPGs - of the time, brought up both Fallout and the Dragon Age series of titles, how they seemed more engaging than Skyrim, and how Skyrim's mapping system seemed overly complex.Characters & EditionsCharacter creation seemed to be a sticking point for both Chief and Squidge. Not only is the character creation wizard in Skyrim that complex, but it seems that naming characters is also quite difficult for both of our intrepid hosts. But Chief came up with a source of inspiration:When I watched Game of Thrones, I would just choose the names of the characters that I liked- ChiefThis reminded Chief that Bethesda had released several versions of the game for his console (PS3) at the time, including the Legendary Edition. And of course, he bought the Legendary Edition tooBasically [I bought it again] for the DLC.The old Guard stuff wasn't bad. And you got to be on a horse, that was nice.- ChiefCombatBut riding around on a horse wasn't enough to save the game for Chief:You can just wander everywhere and it's quite picturesque. But the game is shocking, the combat is shocking. I mean, the magic combat is shocking.- ChiefWhich Squidge defends because Skyrim was a simplification of the combat and gameplay system of Morrowind, making it more accessible to gamers. And Morrowind lead to something that Squidge calls "The Bethesda Gambit":With any Bethesda game you start, learn how it works, then you start again and you do a bit better. And then you just end up repeating it until you get the most optimum character with the least amount of wallops.- SquidgeWhy Chief Bought Skyrim OriginallySquidge asked what it was that made Chief buy Skyrim. Was it the boxart? Was it the fact that you could play as a dragon born? Squidge wanted to know what drew Chief to the game in the first place.I definitely wasn't bothered about being the dragon born. I was interested in the world that you could be in... that was the selling point for me. The story was just $h!t.- ChiefAt least it wasn't as bad as Fallout '76, right?The combination of the plot being both predictable and forgettable, and everyone in the world of Skyrim thinking th

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesThis is the final part - of four - of a conversation with author and video game historian Steven L Kent, and is a collaboration between ourselves and Zoom Platform. Whilst this is an audio episode, it was originally recorded as a pair of video interviews. What we've done is cut the two video interviews into four parts and will be releasing them as audio episodes. But if you'd rather watch the first two parts as a video you'll find it here.Don't forget to check out the other parts of the conversation:part onepart twopart threeAnd all four parts of our interview with Steven can be found here.The Final PartIn his own words, Steven describes his books asMy books are called "The Ultimate History of Video Games".Volume 1 starts out with Abraham Lincoln and Bagatelle, and goes all the way to 2000 and sort of the collapse of the Dreamcast - or it's about to collapse, you can tell that it's faltering - PlayStation 2 has been announced and is just coming out, and Xbox has been announced.Book two has some overlap, because there will be some people who read volume 2 without reading volume 1, so it's got a bunch of overlap. But what's interesting is that I thought I'd be able to go from 2000 to the present, but I only got to 2012. So volume three should come out around 2026.- Steven L KentAs with part three of our discussion, we reached out to you all - aka, the community - for questions that you would like to as Steven. And we had some doosies of questions to go through. Starting with...2) Which Was The Best Console?this is question 2 because the first question was asked in the previous partOur first question was from Unaffiliated JZ and it was:Which was the best console ever, and why was it the SNES?- Unaffiliated JZAnd this started a wonderful conversation about the 16-bit generation, how Steven thought that it dragged on for a little too long, and which were his favourite consoles.I think that the Super NES was a fabulous console, I really do. Head and shoulders above its competitors. And when I say "its competitors," - here I am sticking my foot in my mouth again - really, truthfully I group the 3DO and the Jaguar in with the Super NES that I do with the Saturn and the PlayStation and the N64.- Steven L KentAnd we all tended to agree with the time periods that Steven had chosen, as it had lead to huge innovation in video games, storytelling, gameplay, and technology. Jay also mentions one of his oft-told stories from Masters of Doom, Super Mario Bros. 3, and a Cease and Desist letter from Nintendo.3) Retro Game Collecting of the FutureWould be interesting to also know their take on what modern titles will be historically relevant in 20 years.What does a top 10 list of games look like in 20, 30 years? Will people be clamouring for a cartridge copy of breath of the wild?- GlanksWhich is an amazing question that looks into the future of gaming. What _will_ retro game top-tens look like in 20 years? Will we all be writing op-eds about howVideo games?! Video games?! Pah! I was there at the start. There were 256 colours, 8 bits, and two buttons on your controller. And that was all you needed- Crotchety old Jay4) Sequels and Weird IPThe NES had a weird streak of taking an a completely different game and slapping nintendo IP on it and calling it a sequel - what are your thoughts on this?- MadVikingGodWhich started a conversation about the best and worst sequels that video games have ever had - including Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros., Nintendo being incredibly progressive and Capcom being accidentally progressive as a way to get around the Nintendo seal of approval.5) What About PC?I’d love to learn their thoughts on PC gaming history, too. A lot of coverage seems to be centred around consoles (WoW being the exception). Like, what genres of games have PC gaming to thank (MMOs being the top of the list, I’d say)?- TyrenInterestingly, Steven was originally planning to write two separate books:One on the history of video game consolesOne on the history of PC video gamesBut the biggest barrier was that PC gaming history is so sprawling; and, quite frankly, the history of video game consoles is much more interesting.6) The Question of DifficultyDo you think the older games are harder, or is it that the newer games are easier?- SquidgeAnd Steven came out of left-field with his answer, but is completely and utterly right with what he says. And no, his point wasn't _just_ about the fact that arcade games were designed to be played for 5-10 seconds at a time.When Defender came out, people said, "this is impossible! There are four buttons!"- Steven L KentFull Show NotesMake sure to check ou

Steven is someone who hasn't just written about the history of video games, he has lived it; meeting some of the biggest names in the industry. Steven was gracious enough to share some of his time with us. This week we discussed asked some more community questions, but which ones?

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesThis is part three - of four - of a conversation with author and video game historian Steven L Kent, and is a collaboration between ourselves and Zoom Platform. Whilst this is an audio episode, it was originally recorded as a pair of video interviews. What we've done is cut the two video interviews into four parts and will be releasing them as audio episodes. But if you'd rather watch the first two parts as a video you'll find it here.Don't forget to check out the other parts of the conversation:part onepart twoAnd all four parts of our interview with Steven can be found here.Part Three of FourIn his own words, Steven describes his books asMy books are called "The Ultimate History of Video Games".Volume 1 starts out with Abraham Lincoln and Bagatelle, and goes all the way to 2000 and sort of the collapse of the Dreamcast - or it's about to collapse, you can tell that it's faltering - PlayStation 2 has been announced and is just coming out, and Xbox has been announced.Book two has some overlap, because there will be some people who read volume 2 without reading volume 1, so it's got a bunch of overlap. But what's interesting is that I thought I'd be able to go from 2000 to the present, but I only got to 2012. So volume three should come out around 2026.- Steven L KentThe One Pixel and Tomb RaiderWe all agreed that parts of the first Tomb Raider trilogy are a little overhyped, and treated with rose-tinted action-platformer glasses.Whilst these games were important for both UK-based games development and the Girl Power movement in the mid-90s, a mixture of a slightly sluggish control scheme, magic pixel-based jumps, and the outright sleaze of the Tomb Raider commercials have put us off of those early entries.Books, Christmas Time, and PSPsJay was hoping that he could get volume 2 of Steven's book read over the Christmas period and take part in Jolabokaflod. This is where family members will buy each other books and chocolates as Christmas gifts, but exchange those gifts on Christmas Eve. People then read those books, drink the cocoa, and fall asleep all snuggly-buggly style.So what Jay is saying, Squidge, is that my books put him to sleep- Steven L KentUnfortunately, Jay didn't get to read volume 2 over the Christmas period. But this did spark a discussion on the PSP and one of Squidge's favourite titles for the handheld that could: Phantasy Star portable.I genuinely believe that the PSP and the PSP Vita were amazing pieces of hardware- JayAnd the discussion on PSP lead to an anecdote about the day that he had a candid discussion with the head of Square-Enix about the console, and a discussion of the Sega Nomad - the portable Mega Drive/Genesis device.Community QuestionsShortly after the first episode was recorded, we reached out to you all - aka, the community - for questions that you would like to as Steven. And it seemed fair to devote one and a half episodes (this part and the next) to posing those questions to Steven.And the first question came from friend of the show Andrew Dickinson:Steven is lovely. Say "hi!" from me- Andrewto which Steven broke in with:Hi Andrew!- Steven L KentAnd his question continued:And ask him where he thinks gaming is headed now. Is VR the next big thing? Are we headed for a console-less cloud?- AndrewWhich is an amazing question to start off the questions. And it lead to a real discussion about the fact that the human brain isn't meant to deal with VR.Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.What have you been playing recently? Do you agree with the anonymous review that Chief read during this episode? What would you take with you to the Thunder Plains?Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Support us on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSteven on Penguin Random HouseThe Ultimate History of Video Games volume 1The Ultimate History of Video Games volume 2Zoom PlatformJolabokaflodFree GuyHull Immersive Visualisation Environment (HIVE)Our suggested titles from Zoom Platform's catalogue:Squidge:Cannon FodderD: The GameEvil GeniusJay:I.G.I. 2: Covert StrikePraetoriansOverlordOur conversations with Steven:Part One

Steven L Kent joined us - he is someone who has not just written about the history of video games, he has lived it; meeting some of the biggest names in the industry. Steven was gracious enough to share some of his time with us. We discussed his books (The Ultimate History of Video Games volumes 1 & 2), he has a shout out to Andrew "@oddment84" Dickinson, and puts his foot in his mouth

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesThis is part two - of four - of a conversation with author and video game historian Steven L Kent, and is a collaboration between ourselves and Zoom Platform. Whilst this is an audio episode, it was originally recorded as a pair of video interviews. What we've done is cut the two video interviews into four parts and will be releasing them as audio episodes. But if you'd rather watch the first two parts as a video you'll find it here.Part Two of FourAs a reminder, Steven describes his books asMy books are called "The Ultimate History of Video Games".Volume 1 starts out with Abraham Lincoln and Bagatelle, and goes all the way to 2000 and sort of the collapse of the Dreamcast - or it's about to collapse, you can tell that it's faltering - PlayStation 2 has been announced and is just coming out, and Xbox has been announced.Book two has some overlap, because there will be some people who read volume 2 without reading volume 1, so it's got a bunch of overlap. But what's interesting is that I thought I'd be able to go from 2000 to the present, but I only got to 2012. So volume three should come out around 2026.- Steven L Kent299No discussion on video game history would be complete without a discussion on "the price heard" around the world. Which you can find here.And for those who don't know, there is a very long story behind the crowd reaction here. Essentially, the story is that Sega had just announced their Saturn (only a few hours earlier), which was a surprise to most of the retailers who were in attendance (because Sega hadn't told them that it was being announced). Sega also announced it with a $399 price tag.As such, Sony's entire announcement of the PlayStation was simply299- Steve Race, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment---The following is a promo-spot for The Shrimp and Crits Podcast. Why not reach out today, if you'd like your promo included in a future episode of the podcastNarratorHey, sorry to interrupt your favorite podcast but I'm here to tell you about shrimp and crits an actual play podcast with a southern twist.My name is Ian and I am the keeper for this show as we play Monster of the Week by Michael Sands. If you like the sound of swampy monster mayhem, gators gone shopping and magical fairy mischief you will be right at home in the remote Panhandle town of Gullacochica, Florida, where spooky danger has begun to wash ashore.Shrimp and Crits is the story of Sarah Pain, the mundaneSarah PainAll I'm asking for his answers. That's all I'm looking for is the truthNarratorAri Green, the searcherAri GreenYou know the proclamations of the fae? I suggest you follow them from now onNarratorAnd Ray Ray, the most mundane monstreess you will ever meet.Ray Ray"Mr. Zeus, I'm a big fan. I knew you were, I knew you were real," And Ray Ray's just like bowing in front of this swanNarratorAs they fumble their way through protecting their skeptical town from mysterious evils.We release new episodes every other Monday on the pod catcher of your choice. I hope to see you soon in sunny Gullacochica.Find out more at linktr.we/ShrimpandCrits or check the show notes for a link.---Gunpei YokoiGunpei Yokoi really was an amazing engineer. He started Nintendo's "responsible engineering" philosophy - the idea that they will use technology that is widely available now in order to innovate in non-traditional ways. And this is something that Nintendo has continued to do to this day. He was the designer of the Game&Watch, GameBoy, the "cross pad" controller, and the Metroid series.Steven shared a wonderful story about Gunpei in this episode:So I was at a CES - I was fairly new in the industry - and Virtual Boy had not come out yet. I was covering [Virtual Boy] for Electronic Games.I went to Nintendo and I said, "I wanna meet all these people," in truth I clipped their names out of "Game Over" by David Sheff. I didn't know this people. Nobody did, really. If it weren't for Sheff, we might still not know them... [Nintendo] gave me some Miyamoto time.But Gunpei Yokoi gave me an hour, two days in a row. And after that, if we were ever at a show and we would see each other, we'd go have a drink together. We couldn't talk very much, because my Japanese is non-existant, and I'm not sure where his English was, but it wasn't strong. But there was a bond, there was a real friendship.I remember the last time I got to see him was at the unveiling of the N64 at Space World... and everyone ran to this one corner and looked at the N64, and near the exit as you left, there was a little ring of Virtual Boys and Gunpei was there with his translator. And as I was leaving to write my article about the N64, there's Gunpei

Steven L Kent joined us - he is someone who has not just written about the history of video games, he has lived it; meeting some of the biggest names in the industry. Steven was gracious enough to share some of his time with us. We discussed his books (The Ultimate History of Video Games volumes 1 & 2), his favourite games ever, and the best consoles of the 90s.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesThis is part one - of four - of a conversation with author and video game historian Steven L Kent, and is a collaboration between ourselves and Zoom Platform. Whilst this is an audio episode, it was originally recorded as a pair of video interviews. What we've done is cut the two video interviews into four parts and will be releasing them as audio episodes. But if you'd rather watch the first two parts as a video you'll find it here.Part One of FourIn his own words, Steven describes his books asMy books are called "The Ultimate History of Video Games".Volume 1 starts out with Abraham Lincoln and Bagatelle, and goes all the way to 2000 and sort of the collapse of the Dreamcast - or it's about to collapse, you can tell that it's faltering - PlayStation 2 has been announced and is just coming out, and Xbox has been announced.Book two has some overlap, because there will be some people who read volume 2 without reading volume 1, so it's got a bunch of overlap. But what's interesting is that I thought I'd be able to go from 2000 to the present, but I only got to 2012. So volume three should come out around 2026.- Steven L KentA Sense of DiscoveryJay mentioned that the sense of discovery related to technology may be lost on the younger generations via a story about when he and Squidge got their first NES:It's December 26th, 19-mumble-mumble, and we've gotten up early... Dad walks in with a present under his arm, and it's a NES.And it's the memory of opening up the box and saying, "Oh, what's this?" because we'd never even seen a video game console before. And it being a family activity that we're discovering what the contents of this box are, together.And I remember so vividly. We had Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on the cartridge. I remember fumbling my way into starting Super Mario Bros. and suddenly I'm controlling a cartoon. It's not a video game, because it looks like a cartoon to me.And I was talking to someone the other day about this...- JayThe "someone" was Jay's appearance on the Gamerhood Podcast, where he talked about being a gamer and a father.Video Game CommercialsWhen discussing Crash Bandicoot, Steven brings up a fantastic commercial for Crash Bandicoot which was filmed in the parking lot of the Nintendo US headquarters. Here is that commercial.Which lead us on to the "Michael" commercial for PS3.299No discussion on video game history would be complete without a discussion on "the price heard" around the world. Which you can find here.And for those who don't know, there is a very long story behind the crowd reaction here. Essentially, the story is that Sega had just announced their Saturn (only a few hours earlier), which was a surprise to most of the retailers who were in attendance (because Sega hadn't told them that it was being announced). Sega also announced it with a $399 price tag.As such, Sony's entire announcement of the PlayStation was simply299- Steve Race, CEO of Sony Computer EntertainmentFull Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.What have you been playing recently? Do you agree with the anonymous review that Chief read during this episode? What would you take with you to the Thunder Plains?Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Jay & Jay MediaJay & Jay on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterSteven on Penguin Random HouseThe Ultimate History of Video Games volume 1The Ultimate History of Video Games volume 2Zoom PlatformOur suggested titles from Zoom Platform's catalogue:Squidge:Moto Racer 2Rogue TrooperZ: The GameJay:Oddworld: Abe's OddyseeCannon FodderDuke Nuken 3D Atomic EditionJay's appearance on the Gamerhood PodcastAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia ★ Support this podcast ★

Steven L Kent joined by someone who has not just written about the history of video games, he has lived it; meeting some of the biggest names in the industry. Steven was gracious enough to share some of his time with us. We discussed his books (The Ultimate History of Video Games volumes 1 & 2), his favourite games ever, and the best consoles of the 90s.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningThere is talk of tea bagging in this episode, due to the mode in Splitgate called "tea bag confirmed."Please listen responsiblyShow NotesDefinitely no burps in this episode's intro, but there was a mystery sound - get in touch, if you know what it was - and we waste almost no time in preparing you all for the Recent Games section with our guest Lord Nerdy Cephalopod - aka Brian - so here we go...Recent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more games that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.I love to hear what everyone's been playing, and whether they would recommend it.- JayLord Nerdy Cephalopod's Recent GamesSplitgateWhich is one of the best FPS games of the year in our opinions - even though Squidge hasn't played it yetPsychonauts 2ValheimBecause who doesn't like exploring Viking daily life and mythology.Odin will be proud of us!- Lord Nerdy CephalopodSquidge's Recent GamesDiablo II: ResurrectedBecause of course Squidge bought Diablo II again.Kingdom Hearts 2Even though Squidge brought this up in the previous episode - here's a link to that - we actually recorded this episode first.Screw it. I'll just keep hitting it over the head- SquidgeWhich is the same way that Squidge beat the hell house in the Final Fantasy VII remake: bash it until it dies.Jay's Recent GamesSamurai Warriors 5SplitgateBoth of which can be played for 5-10 minutes at a time, or for hours across an afternoon. And they are both hella-fun.I'm imagining a mod for Splitgate where all the characters are the beans from Fall Guys, running around tea bagging everyone- SquidgeDreamcast ChatTalk of Quake III Arena - prompted by our conversation about Splitgate - took us on a minor diversion into Dreamcast territory - which AndrewD will be happy to hear about. And no discussion about Dreamcast would be complete without a discussion on why Seaman never had a karaoke mode:but there's only one song... and it has to have Shatner's hair- Lord Nerdy CephalopodAfter that, we have no idea what we actually talked about... seriously, it got very, very silly.I swear, this is just for comedy. What have we done?!- Lord Nerdy CephalopodThe Thunder Plain GamesFor those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguely reminiscent of a certain programme on BBC Radio 4 - but for copyright reasons, it is completely differentImagine that you are in Final Fantasy X, and the Thunder Plains) is a place that you get banished to. And what we're going to do is we're going to open a portal to the Thunder Plains and, very nicely and politely, boot you through it. You will get help, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be in a week, maybe it will be in an hour.To stop you from getting bored, we've said that we'll keep the portal open and we'll throw through up to three video games and everything you need to play them - including an Internet connection. The only rules are that you can't ask for help, because help is on the way, and you can't tell anyone that you're in the Thunder Plains.So our question is: were we to do throw, boot, or yeet you through the portal, which games are we throwing through with you?...Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.What have you been playing recently? Do you agree with the anonymous review that Chief read during this episode? What would you take with you to the Thunder Plains?Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Jay & Jay MediaJay & Jay on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterRE EngineDiscworld and Beyond with Gregg BarnettLord Nerdy Cephalopod on TwitterInfinite Nerd TheoremInfinite Nerd Theorem TwitterAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia ★ Support this podcast ★

Y'aar. We be joined by CJ, the host of the Casually Meta podcast. We hoisted the main sail, scrubbed the poop-deck, and avoided walking the plank in this episode. Actually, we did none of that; but we did talk about what we've been playing recently. And Borderlands; lots and lots of Borderlands.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningWe start with an immediate (censored) swear, which really sets the tone for this episode:Stick that sh*t on the calendar- SquidgePlease listen responsiblyShow NotesEven though he tried his hardest to stop Squidgey from burping into the microphone, Jay was completely unable to. So we apologise for that.Casually Meta PodcastWe were joined by CJ of the Casually Meta Podcast - eagle eye'd listeners will have noticed the guest appearance we made on CJ's podcast a few days prior to this one going out - here's a link to that episode. Our appearance on CJ's show was centred almost exclusively around Pokémon - which is also a topic we covered recently on the show, in an episode with The B.And before we got onto the episode proper, we asked CJ to describe his show to you all:The premise is that I've been sucked into a virtual world and that I'm aboard a pirate ship called The Casually Meta. And the sea captain, Captain Seven-Sea Savy, uses an inter-dimensional transporter to pop me into different video game worlds and has me take people hostage and bring them aboard to interview them for arbitrary information which hold no actual relevance to the ship itself, but is just about video games.- CJCJ also points out that the captain in his show is an homage to Anne Bonny, a real pirate who struck fear into the Caribbean; and not just because she was a fearless female pirate. And, of source, talk of pirates lead to talking like a pirate, which reminded Jay of this golden oldie from Loading Ready Run.Also, this happened:So what you're saying is that Blackbeard was a pro-wrestler- JayRecent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more games that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.I love to hear what everyone's been playing, and whether they would recommend it.- JayCJ's Recent GamesARK: Survival EvolvedAlthough the sheer amount of time required to raise the Gigas is currently holding CJ back from playing it - which reminds us of how much real-world time is required in order to get your character trained up for EVE Online.Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarAnd CJ has been staying away from that game too, because of the entire Blizzard/Activision - and several other companies - thingCall of Duty: WarzoneBut there are too many hackers involved in that game - plus the Blizzard/Activision stuffApex LegendsRustSquidge's Recent GamesKingdom Hearts 2I booted it up, and that's where my problems started- SquidgeAnd this sparked a conversation about the recent - at the time of recording - news that the first two Kingdom Hearts games are coming to the Nintendo Switch as cloud based games. As in, "you need to be connected to the server where the game is running in order to play the game" based.... which is bonkers. Especially for a console which is meant to be mobile, with games played on the move.It was also CLEARLY only OKd because Nintendo wanted to put Sora - the hero from Kingdom Hearts - into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Which was the very last chance we had for a Surprise Waluigi, and we were screwed out it completely.What they should have done is that they should have said - for that final character reveal - "Hey, it's Rick Astley!" That's what they should have done.- JayJay's Recent GamesSplitgateWhich is a wonderful mishmash of the best of Halo, Unreal Tournament, and Portal. If that previous sentence is lighting up the gaming pleasure centre of your brain, tell them that Jay of the Waffling Taylors sent you.Final Fantasy VII (2020)Jay had finally gotten around to playing the FF VII remake. He has made it to the plate fall - wasn't that a song by Adele? - rescuing Wedge, and rebuilding Sector VII. But had to take a bit of a break from the feels.---We've discussed this title at length on the show already. Here are each of the episodes where Squidge and Lulu have talked about the FFVII remake, in the order that we'd recommend listening to them:Final Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part OneFinal Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part TwoFinal Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part TwoFinal Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 1Final Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 2Final Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 3That's almost 6 hours of us talking about the remake so far. And that's before Jay has had a chance to talk about it.Expect a revisit very soon.---The Thunder Plain GamesFor those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguel

Chief is back on the podcast. It's been 62 episodes since he was last on, so we wanted to talk about what he's been playing and finally yeet him into the Thunder Plains. Along the way we talk about whether reviewers can be objective, Jay explains ray tracing, and Squidge burps a lot. Check out the full episode, which should be in your feeds now.

Chief is back on the podcast. It's been 62 episodes since he was last on, so we wanted to talk about what he's been playing and finally yeet him into the Thunder Plains. Along the way we talk about whether reviewers can be objective, Jay explains ray tracing, and Squidge burps a lot. Check out the full episode, which should be in your feeds now.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningThere are a couple of references to reproduction in this episode. The first is at 19:16, when Chief says:You know, the blue ones who can have sex with anybodyChiefAnd after that, Squidge says the following at 42:52The bonus of having sex on the back of a unicornSquidgePlease listen responsibly.Show NotesYou can tell that we're back with another episode because it starts with Squidge letting out a really loud burp - sorry listeners - but that didn't stop Jay from introducing the show and the hosts. This is important becauseCHIEF HAS RETURNEDThat's right, Chief has returned. The last time Chief was on an episode was WAY back in January of 2020 - on an episode called Agent QTE - And in traditional style, Squidge welcomed Chief back with open arms:It is nice that you've brought your cannon round. I don't know how you got it through the front door.SquidgeRecent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more games that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.I love to hear what everyone's been playing, and whether they would recommend it.JayBecause it had been over a year since Chief's last appearance, we didn't want to know about every game that he'd played recently. Listing them all would take a long time, so we asked him to discuss three or four of the games that he had played most recently.But before we got to that, we asked Chief whether he'd like to go do the Thunder Plains - without telling him what that meantThis sounds like a pyramid scheme."Just sign your name here, but we wont tell you what you're gonna get"ChiefTo be fair, he might not be wrong. You'll find out later in the episode...It's also worth noting that we record these episodes a little in advance - which you're probably aware of any way - in fact, we recorded this episode back on September 24th, 2021.Chief's Recent GamesFinal Fantasy VII (2020)This was released just as the world started to change, and Chief wasn't able to talk with us about this release.---Fear not, dear listener/reader. We've discussed this title at length on the show already. Here are each of the episodes where Squidge and Lulu have talked about the FFVII remake, in the order that we'd recommend listening to them:Final Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part OneFinal Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part TwoFinal Fantasy VII Remake With Lulu - Part TwoFinal Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 1Final Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 2Final Fantasy VII Remake Reflections - Part 3That's almost 6 hours of us talking about the remake so far.Wow!---Horizon Zero DawnCommand & Conquer Remastered CollectionTotal War: ROME REMASTEREDShocking almost no one in particular, two of Chief's highlights are real time strategy/tactics games - for a quick 411 on what RTT and RTS games are, check out The Quantum What of WhatWasteland 3Ghost of TsushimaTwo titles title which Chief has only played the beginning of.Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD RemasterAnd Chief hasn't been using any of the special commands/cheats which are included in the remaster, too.Final Fantasy X: good; Final Fantasy X-2: not good.ChiefSquidge's Recent GamesCyberpunk 2077Kingdom Hearts 2Castlevania Advance CollectionThis contains (among others) Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and is hella fun to play - especially for MetroidVania fans.Mass Effect Legendary EditionSo I've probed UranusSquidgeJay's Recent GamesMafia II: Definitive EditionAnd that was about it, really. As he said, Jay doesn't get a lot of time to play video games these days.The Thunder Plain GamesFor those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguely reminiscent of a certain programme on BBC Radio 4 - but for copyright reasons, it is completely differentImagine that you are in Final Fantasy X, and the Thunder Plains) is a place that you get banished to. And what we're going to do is we're going to open a portal to the Thunder Plains and, very nicely and politely, boot you through it. You will get help, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be in a week, maybe it will be in an hour.To stop you from getting bored, we've said that we'll keep the portal open and we'll throw through up to three video games and everything you need to play them - including an Internet connection. The only rules are that you can't ask for help, because help is on the way, and you can't tell anyone that you're in the Thunder Plains.So our questio

What's with all this ash? What's her name again? Why is Boromir Sharpe in this movie? Do Miranda Rights not exist? Did they just meow at each other!? For Spooptober 2021, Lulu joined us to discuss the 2006 horror movie Silent Hill. Is it a good video game movie? Find out in this episode. Check out the full episode, which should be in your feeds now.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.We wanted to tackle something really, REALLY spoopy for this years Spootober episode. So we tackled the 2006 movie based on the 1999 survival horror classic: Silent Hill. And we couldn't have asked for anyone better to cover this movie with than Lulu. What's with all this ash? What's her name again? Why is Boromir Sharpe in this movie? Do Miranda Rights not exist? Did they just meow at each other!?psst. we've actually done a bunch of these "goes to the movies" episodes. Check this page to see all of the released specials.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningDue to the nature of the movie we talk about in this episode, we’d recommend that you don’t listen to this one with little ones around.This film also deals with some pretty terrible things, whilst we don't actually talk about the terrible things, please take this as a trigger and/or content warning for harm befalling children.We've also left in all the swears, as it's an episode about a horror film.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesWe started the episode by heading to Silent Hill in our outfits. Lulu went as the Grim Reaper, Jay as a Necromancer, and Squidge as... well, Squidge.And finally, after 130 episodes, Jay go the intro rightHello Squidgey!- JayYou'd have thought it wasn't difficult to mess up, but he manages it on almost every episode.As Jay mentioned, this is Lulu's 16th appearance on the show - check this page for all of her appearances. Surprisingly, not all of them have been about Final Fantasy, too. Although, Lulu was distracted for a moment when thinking about her Hot Trash Daddy and decided that she needed a lobster bib because:it's easier to just fling it over the balcony then- LuluThoughts Going InWe didn't really discuss our thoughts on the film before tackling it, except to say that Lulu isn't a fan of the sequel.Nope. Burn it- LuluBut we did talk about our backgrounds regarding the games. Jay had played a little of the first one, the gave up; whereas Lulu and Squidge are the experts of the group, having played them all.There were a lot of references to the video game, as the director (Christophe Gans) is on record as saying that he is a fan of the original PlayStation game and even had members of team Silent Hill on set to oversea certain aspects of the movie. As such, at points it feels like "References: The Movie".And, of course, Sean Bean survives the movie. Which is one heck of an achievement.Why was he in the movie, you ask? Because the studio said:We can't sell a movie with an all female cast- Very stupid movie producersAnd not only is this bonkers but it's also bonkers - double bonkers, indeed.The PlotHere's a 10,000 ft view of the "plot", as we see it:SHAAARONN!Rose is running around in her sleepy clothes, because someone has gone missing - what's her name again?Cringe-fests and lack of chemistry between Mum and DaughterLet's not forget that Rose was wearing her socks to bedBecause people on IMDB are like that: they're weird. They tag, like, "this is a film about..." and then it's like "horror", and "multilation", and "horribleness", and "socks"- Jay"Chekhov's CrossTravelling to Silent Hill in search of a scriptEven more lack of chemistry - cat noises does not mean that characters have bondedclenched so hard you turned your face into a fist- SquidgeWKX-Weird Music on the radio"No credit cards for you!" - Boromir SharpeThe Silent Hill of the film is based on Centralia, PennsylvaniaIt's worth reading about Centralia, as it's fascinating."I'm not supposed to talk to strangers"More chemistry between the cop and Sharon, than with Rose and SharonDrive-by tattoos at a cafe?Running from the police is a bad ideaIt's the crash from intro to the video gameAsh is falling, all around me; kid's gone missing, where's she gone?The fog exists, but only to be creepy---About the FogSo the fog was included in the original game because the 3D models and environments in the original game were so detailed that the drawing distance for the game had to be very close to Harry Mason's character model. The folks over at Team Silent (the developers of the Silent Hill games) decided to hide this by adding a fog effect. This served a dual purpose of making everything look really creepy and hiding the incredibly close drawing distance.This was also why Harry picks up a broken radio, and uses that to know when the enemies are close by. Otherwise, the player would never know and would end up being ambushed by enemies they didn't know were right there.---The plot is that convoluted, in the early stages, that Jay became super confused and forgot a whole section of the movie: the first time Rose walks around in the town, before being arrested. Anyway, back to the plot...

Jon Doyle (Designer and Owner of Lost in Cult) joined us to talk about [Lock-On] and the many different projects that Lost in Cult are part of. We also have some exclusives about Volumes 002 and 003. Check out the full episode, which should be in your feeds now.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesThis was the final part in our trifecta of Lost in Cult related episodes from late 2021 - to see all of the episodes relating to both Lost in Cult and [Lock-On], click here - and we wanted to end with a bang. So who better for that than the big boss himself: Jon Doyle. Jon is the designer and owner of Lost in Cult, and the man who brought us [Lock-On].As Jay pointed out:This will be episode 127. Which, technically, is all of the values you can store in a byte of data- JayWhich is actually wrong, as you can hold 256 values in a byte of data. You'd have thought that Jay would know this stuff. But none of that matters, because we have Jon Doyle on the show. As we've said before, this wasn't Jon's first appearance on the show. But he and Jason Maddison where on a bonus episode from March, 2021 called "lock-on Volume 1 - A Discussion on Passion - at the time of writing, that bonus episode doesn't have a show notes page, but we're working on it---If you're brand new to the show - why not subscribe? It's completely free to do so - then you might be interested in our previous episodes about [Lock-On] which you can find here. This contains the interviews with Andrew Dickinson, Jason Maddison, and our bonus interview with Jon and Jason from March, 2021---But what _IS_ Lost in Cult:Lost in Cult is a[n] independent publisher that I set up with the hopes to bring people physical content that is based around preserving video games, films, and, kind of, their legacies.- JonAnd what is [Lock-On]?And then [Lock-On] is our first published product. It is a video game journal, which is based around the art of video games, the stories that they tell us, the communities involved. It's all about capturing and preserving that aspect of video gaming in a physical form.- JonAt the date of recording - September 21st, 2021 - both Squidge and Jay had had their copies of Volume 001 for around two months and neither of them had finished reading them, cover to cover yet. This is something that I want to savour, and I want to read each piece, and look at each piece of art that comes with it and let that sit with me for a while - almost like I'm digesting it, you know?- JayAnd that is entirely by design, as Jon had decided that each piece in the publication had it's own design and colour pallet.The idea of quarterly - which is we're switching now to a quarterly model - is so that you have time to, kind of, digest the content. We didn't want to throw content at people continuously, we wanted it to sit a little bit.- JonWe recorded this episode just three weeks after the kickstarter campaign for volume 002 had ended but Jon wasn't resting on his laurels, as he was already planning articles for Volume 004 - after we'd gone off the air, Jon showed us a preview of the cover art for Volume 003. No, we're not going to tell you what's on there. He swore us to secrecy; with real swear words, too.And that's not to say that the Kickstarter JUST ok, either:[the Kickstarter campaign for Volume 002] did really well. It was one of the biggest independent magazine Kickstarter's in history actually. So not a bad growth, that one. It, kinda, did the numbers that I wanted for Volume 005 on Volume 002.- JonWhich lead to a discussion on how difficult it can be for projects to gain traction on social media sites without actually paying large amounts of money to the social media sites - they actually pick up on when something goes viral, and artificially block or slow it down, then ask for money to release it again.Full Show NotesMake sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.Have you seen the kickstarter campaigns for [Lock-On]? Did you back volume 001 and/or volume 002? Are you looking forward to Volume 003?Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.LinksHere are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:Jay & Jay MediaJay & Jay on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterJon on TwitterLost in Cultlock-on Volume 1 - A Discussion on Passionaka Jon's previous appearance on the showSome photos of Squidge's Volume 001Lost in Cult storeCultCastLost in Cult on SteadyLost in Cult's Patron Prints storeAnd have you left us a rating or review? We really like to hear back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donat

IntroThis is a new type of shorter episode that we'll be putting out each month, called "THE LOOK BACK!". In these, we'll be looking back at the previous month's episodes and giving you a rundown of them. That way, if you somehow missed one, you can get the low down on what you missed. Pretty handy eh?We'd still recommend that you check out the podcast proper. And if you haven't already, then look for us on your podcatcher of choice and subscribe. It's 100% free to do so, you know.Before we , we’re a week late with the look back this month. The reason for that is super simple: I edit everything, and a fair few podcasters have reached out to have me edit their shows; including one who will be producing a physical product - which is exciting.Anyway, tell the people what we released last month JayEpisode 125 - Chief Andrew is Lost in CultThis past month - September 2021 - we put out two brand new episodes. The first episode was an interview with friend of the showWe didn't release a teaser for this episode, because it would have been exceptionally difficult to distil all of the humour and deep game narrative analysis (sometimes happening at the same time) into a 2 minutes clip. Squidge actually tried to to this, and it ended up being a copy of the episode - in all its 95 minute glory.And possible new Waffler, if his plans ever come to fruition- SquidgeAndrew Dickinson. We called this episode Chief Andrew Is Lost in Cult, as it was all about Andrew’s many, many, many many projects. These range from being the Editor in Chief of the Lost in Cult publication Lock-On, to being one of the hosts of Lost in Cult’s official podcast (Cult Cast), and writing volume two of his Dreamcast Years book and hosting the podcast of the same name.We discussed the games we’d been playing recently, MiniDisc players (because both Andrew and I are fans of the format), the SteamDeck, and we gave him a chance to revisit the Thunder Plains and swap some of the games he’d be taking with him - this is due to the recent controversy with Activision, Ubisoft, and others.We also came up with a long list of podcast ideas - all of which are in the show notes, so do give them a look. The last time I checked, there were around 13 new ideas in the episode.Episode 126 - Locked On with Jason MaddisonNext up was an interview with another friend of the show Jason Maddison. Jason is the Technical Director at Lost in CultTWO LOST IN CULT EPISODES IN ONE MONTH. YOU ARE SPOILING US, SQUIDGE- RUSSELLIndeed Russell.Anyway, the episode with Jason was called: Locked On with Jason Maddison. It was the first episode to include a wonderful intro performed by our friend Morgan .You’ll remember him from episode 123 Ten Minutes of TV Time with Morgan Ritson- JayKeen listeners to the show will know that we’ve already spoken to Jason about Lock-On. Back in March, we had a chat with him and Jon Doyle in a bonus episode we called Bonus: lock-on Volume 1 - A Discussion on Passion.But in this episode we discussed how Jason got involved with the Lost in Cult crew, his piece “I Have Lived” and how close to home it felt for both Jay and myself, and the phenomenon of some people not wanting to read their physical copies of Lock-On for fear of somehow destroying them.But before we could get on to that, Jason and I had this exchange:SQUIDGE: What am I doing here? I could have still been in bedJASON: I’m knackered. I wanna get back in bed, like Squidge hereOnce we’d figured out that philosophical problem, we asked Jason to give us the low down on the “I Have Lived” piece.Coming up This MonthWe thought we’d give a little teaser on what’s coming up this next month (October, 2021); remember to subscribe if you haven’t already.First off, we’ll be finishing out trifecta of our interviews with Lock On folks with an interview with the big boss himself: Jon Doyle. In this episode, we’ll be talking about how Lost in Cult came to be, covering a little on his passion for design, and we’ll be talking about some of the exclusive goodies that the backers of Volume 2 will get when it drops - this was news when we recorded, and some of them have stayed exclusives to our conversation. So definitely be on the look out for that episode when it drops.After that we’ve got a super spoopy episode for Spooptober. We’re keeping the subject a secret for now, as we don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, or should that be skull out of the cauldron?MWA HA HA HA HA!We think you’ll agree that this coming month’s episodes are looking and sounding great. Keep an eye on the podcast feed or our YouTube channel for the trailers when they drop.Wrapping UpSo that’s what we put out in September, and a little on what we’ll be putting out in October. Keep an eye open for more of these retrospective episodes each month, that way you’ll know about the episodes that you may have missed.Music CreditsAll music included in this episode is fully licensed and remains copyright of their creators/publishers. The music used wa

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesSquidge had a philosophical question for us all, as the episode opened:What am I doing here? I could have still been in bed- SquidgeSomething for the great philosophical minds to ponder on, for sure. It's also a point that Jason - our illustrious guest for the episode - brings up:I'm knackered. I wanna get back in bed, like Squidge here- Jason MaddisonWhy was everyone - except for Jay - tired? Because it we recorded this episode on a Monday morning. Perhaps we should have recorded this episode in bed. Who can say?Our guest this week is Jason Maddison, one of the people behind Lost in Cult, and an all-round nice guy. We've actually chatted with Jason earlier this year, in a bonus episode that we put out called "lock-on Volume 1 - A Discussion on Passion"Back then (March 20th, 2021), the kickstarter for volume 001 was just coming to a close and we'd asked both Jason and Jon Doyle to talk with us about the passion that they have for preserving physical media, [lock-on], and what they had in mind for it.At the time of recording this episode, the kickstarter for volume 002 was wrapping up, so we wanted to get Jason back on the show to talk about it, his piece from volume 001 (called "I have lived"), and what volume 002 might have in store.---If you're brand new to the show - why not subscribe? It's completely free to do so - then you might be interested in our previous episode: Chief Andrew is Lost in Cult. This was an interview and catch-up with our friend Andrew Dickinson, who also happens to be the Editor-in-Chief for Lost in Cult.---We wanted to let Jason describe what [lock-on] is, in his own words:[lock-on] is a curious beast...I'm the sort that likes to collect gaming art books, even if it's fan art or unofficial art... So what we have here is a kind of hybrid of an art book but also, what I felt like was an academic journal. And being someone who works at a university with academics, and working on university journals, I felt like we're on to something here.- Jason MaddisonAnd after a lengthy discussion on the genesis of the project, Jason asked for our viewpoints on the project. I've got to say that I still haven't finished reading through it, because... normally when I have a paperback, I've got it cracked open and laying flat. But I'm looking at the quality of the paper and the print and stuff like that, and I'm thinking that if I break this - it would take a lot to do it - but if I break this somehow, I can't get another one. So the hardback copy has stayed in the bubble wrap that it was delivered in.- JayThis is something that should be opened and experienced... and a lot of effort has gone into creating this.- Jason MaddisonBut what about the future of the publication? Well, the kickstarter campaign for volume 002 was still on going at the time of recording - it has since closed, rather successfully - and it was on track to do much better than anyone had imagined:[for volume 001] it took us about a month to get to 17k [pounds in funding]. Within about six days, [the kickstarter campaign for volume 002 is] already at about £30,000.00... and Andrew told me that [volume 002 was] fully funded within 18 hours, and as a gaming magazine on kickstarter we had the biggest opening three days [of any product] on kickstarter.- Jason MaddisonWow! Just wow!---The following is a promo-spot for the Starfleet Leadership Academy podcast. Reach out today, if you'd like your promo included in a future episode of the podcastLeadership, the final frontier.These are the voyages of the Starfleet Leadership Academy. Its ongoing mission: to develop leaders through Star Trek. To boldly go where no podcast has gone before.A Star Trek podcast told through the lens of leadership development.Subscribe today! The Starfleet Leadership Academy.- Jeff Akin---Jason's Article: I Have LivedWe wanted to talk to Jason about the piece he had penned for volume 001, called "I Have Lived" and how impactful it was on both of us to have read that articleThanks for the feels, by the way- SquidgeFor those who haven't read his piece, Jason describes it asVideo games are one of the most powerful mediums for story telling... you come across people who say "it's just a video game"... when Jon talked to me about it, he said, "when you talk about video games, you have that emotional weight to what you're saying. And I want you to write something about all that baggage and emotion, because of the place that you've come from"I always remember an advert that Sony London put out called "double life"...people from all walks of life talking about their live with the PlayStation. They go through their normal life, but at night they go

Andrew Dickinson (aka @oddment84) joins us to talk about the video games he's been playing recently, the SteamDeck, everything Lost in Cult and Dreamcast Years, and whether he would changes the games that he would take with him into the Thunder Plains (spoiler: he does). Check out the full episode, which should be in your feeds now.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Show NotesHis go at hosting the show in our previous episode - Mad Max in Bright Colours with The B - might have gone to his head, as Squidge decided to start this episode off in a confused place.And we started the conversation off with discussion of Jay's moustache, which looks somewhere between Yosemite Sam and Freddie Mercury. But this episode wasn't just about Jay and Squidge, they were joined by... let's quote Jay, actuallyAndrew "Dreamcast years, multiple podcast man, Editor in Chief for Lost in Cult" Dickinson- JayAnd that might just be his official title. Andrew was most recently on the show in the second part of our discussion on Resident Evil Apocalypse - here's a link to that - but that wasn't the last thing that the three of us were on together. Both Squidge and Jay were invited onto an episode of the Dreamcast Years podcast - it was episode 12 actually - and it was a complete blast. So definitely check that out, if you haven't already.Catching Up with AndrewWe couldn't have Andrew on the show without talking about the positive things that have happened with him recently. Some of these things include:Dreamcast Years Volume Two is well on the wayLost in Cult has started, and Andrew was made Editor-in-ChiefLost in Cult volume One has shippedLost in Cult Volume Two has started production, tooat the time of recording this episode, the kickstarter campaign for volume two was still active. Please bear that in mind as you listen to the episodeCultCast has launchedIt just goes to show that if you want something done, give it to someone who is already busy- SquidgeRecent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more games that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.I love to hear what everyone's been playing, and whether they would recommend it.- JayOf course we were interested in what Andrew had been playing recently. So it was only natural that we would ask him what he had been playing recently.Andrew's Recent GamesMario Golf: Super RushThis title had reminded Andrew of Wii Sports Club, for the Wiiu - remember when Wiiu's where a thing?Resident Evil: VillageWhich Andrew had completed within a few days of it being released, and he thoroughly enjoyed.Squidge's Recent GamesResident Evil: VillageSquidge was part way through RE: Village when we recorded this episode actually. He has since completed the game and unlocked, pretty much, everything.Diablo IIISamurai Warriors 5He's also been playing "Surviving Windows Updates", a perilous game which involves getting angry at how everything on your computer seems to break shortly after installing the latest Windows Updatesomething something I use Linux- JayJay's GamesPokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!Squidge was kind enough to let Jay borrow his copy of this wonderful remake of the 1st gen games, and he had a lovely time playing it.Samurai Warriors 5Both Squidge and Jay are huge fans of the Koei Warriors games; it's always a tonne of fun to drop into a virtual battlefield with an almost unlimited supply of enemies and button bash your way out.Mafia II: Definitive EditionThis game was plagued with issues on it's initial release - the HD remaster, that is. The original game was pretty much flawless - and Jay had been battling with getting it up and running for a few days, but he eventually triumphed and can now run it on his Linux-based computer.SteamDeckNaturally our conversation turned to the (at the time of recording) recently announced SteamDeck. With Jay wanting to eventually get one so that he can run RetroArch on itpro tip: Jay is going to wait until after they are released so that he can buy one used, from someone who wasn't expecting it to run a Linux-based operating systemand Squidge brought up the point that it looks like the GameGear's younger brother.The Thunder Plain GamesFor those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguely reminiscent of a certain programme on BBC Radio 4 - but for copyright reasons, it is completely different.Imagine that you are in Final Fantasy X, and the Thunder Plains) is a place that you get banished to. And what we're going to do is we're going to open a portal to the Thunder Plains and, very nicely and politely, boot you through it. You will get help, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be in a week, maybe it will be in an hour.To stop you from getting bored, we've said that we'll keep the portal open and we'll throw through up to three vid

This is a new type of shorter episode that we'll be putting out each month, called "THE LOOK BACK!". In these, we'll be looking back at the previous month's episodes and giving you a rundown of them. That way, if you somehow missed one, you can get the low down on what you missed. Pretty handy eh?We'd still recommend that you check out the podcast proper. And if you haven't already, then look for us on your podcatcher of choice and subscribe. It's 100% free to do so, you know.IntroWe usually do these Look Back episodes together, but Squidge was quite ill when we were planning to record it and ended up having to bow out in order to get better. So it's just me and RUSSELL this week folks. Anyway, roll the intro music RUSSELL.Rolling in 3 ... 2 ...- RUSSELLThis is a new type of shorter episode that we'll be putting out each month, called "THE LOOK BACK!". In these, we'll be looking back at the previous month's episodes and giving you a rundown of them. That way, if you somehow missed one, you can get the low down on what you missed. Pretty handy eh?One quick note: we ended up putting out fewer episodes than we'd planned last month. We went into the reasons for this in our previous Look Back episode - so definitely give that a listen if you'd like to know why.We'd still recommend that you check out the podcast proper. And if you haven't already, then look for us on your podcatcher of choice and subscribe. It's 100% free to do so, you know.Make sure that you check out the show notes which should be showing in your podcatcher. There are a tonne of links in this episode, and they'll all be right there in your podcatcher. You can also read along with the episode if you wish.We're also going to be doing something a little different with this month's Look Back, so stick around to find out what.Jay, tell the people what they might have missed.- RUSSELLEpisode 123 - Ten Minutes of TV Time with Morgan RitsonThis past month - August 2021 - we put out two brand new episodes. The first episode was an interview with a new friend of the show: Morgan Ritson; we called it Ten Minutes of TV Time with Morgan Ritson. Morgan is one heck of a funny guy, and we tried not to edit out too many of his jokes and skits.We didn't release a teaser for this episode, because it would have been exceptionally difficult to distil all of the humour and deep game narrative analysis (sometimes happening at the same time) into a 2 minutes clip. Squidge actually tried to to this, and it ended up being a copy of the episode - in all its 95 minute glory.Like I said, Morgan is an exceptionally funny gentleman; but he's also a very deep thinker. We met Morgan on the discord server for [lock-on] - a new gaming journal from the folks over at Lost in Cult. As a side note, if you've not heard of them then you should listen to our interview with them, from February.Anyway, we talked about Sekiro and the lack of narratives which focus on reluctant footsoldiers, the Final Fantasy series as a whole and the trope of the tragic villain, Dragon Quest and the birth of the JRPG genre, and we dropped him off at the Thunder Plains for a spell.Morgan is also a talented voice artist, and you should consider hiring him. You can contact Morgan on twitter: @MorganRitsonYou'll definitely have to give this episode a listen if you haven't already, because it was so much fun to make and listen back to. Check your podcatcher for a link.Here comes Jay, again- RUSSELLEpisode 124 - Mad Max in Bright Colours with The B🎵Gotta catch 'em all, doo dee doo.🎵A week after Morgan's episode, we got together with The_B and tackled the fact that Pokémon turned 25 this year.Are you feeling old yet?- RUSSELLWe had one heck of a conversation with The_B about the global phenomenon that is butterfly catching... I mean Pokémon. We called this episode Mad Max in Bright Colours with The B. And when I say episode, I really mean it: the final edit of the episode was 2 hours and 12 minutes. But don't let the length of the episode put you off, it's split into easily digestible chunks.We had Squidge run this episode, because he knows WAY more about Pokémon than I do. At the time of recording the episode, I had only played Pokémon Blue for the GameBoy. We recorded this episode on July 4th, and since then I've had the joy of playing through the majority of Pokémon Let's Go, Eevee!In this episode of the 'cast, we reached out to some friends and Pokémon fans for community comments, and we weren't disappointed. Among the people who go back to us where:Mr. Ray of the $2 Creature Feature PodcastMazGamingUkFriend of the show, and us both: SakuraUnaffiliated JZ of the Coding Blocks podcastGrand Rapidian WillieBut what did we actually talk about? Everything Pokémon related. From the games (and how there have been 122 of them so far) to the TV shows, and from the movies (plural) to the effect that TV show's intro song can have on a room of 1000+ people.🎵It's you and me, something something Caterpie!🎵Those are th

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Pokémon turned 25, and it made both Jay and Squidge feel really old. And because misery loves company, we asked The B to talk about it on the show. We also reached out to the Pokémon community for comments and questions.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningThere are a couple of bleeped swears in this episode - because bleeped swears are funnier, right?At 01:15:03 The B says:it's the crack cocaine of video games- The BThere's also a potential spoiler for the first Pokémon movie at 01:58:03, check your podcatcher for chapter markings for this.And there is one mention of a certain type of disease, at the _VERY_ end of the episode - like, within the closing minute of the episodePlease listen responsiblyShow NotesWelcome back to another episode of our podcast! This episode is all about Pokémon - that's right, the game which took butterfly catching and made it into a video game - and we don't mean that creepy intro bit to Resident Evil: Code Veronica, eitherPokémon turned 25 this year - 2021, in case you're listening from the future - and it made us feel super old. So we got together with The B to talk about just how old it makes us feel.As a bit of a break from the norm, we handed over the hosting privileges to Squidge for this episode - mainly because he knows WAY more about Pokémon than Jay does.In fact, the actual cast for this episode was:Backpacker SquidgeBeautiful Lass JayHex Maniac BAs you can see, it was one heck of a cast.10,000 ft View of PokémonWe started the episode by asking everyone to give their own 10,000 ft overview of the Pokémon games. You know, in case someone listening had never heard of it.And some of our interpretations of the games are... interesting, to say the least. It included theories as to who the main character is, where the human hospitals are, why Professor Oak can't remember his grandson's name - worst grandpa ever - whether Professor Oak and Rick (from Rick & Morty) are the same person, why normal RPG rules don't apply, and whether social services should have been involved.It's not like The Island of Dr. Monroe. Humans aren't Pokémon. Or are they?- SquidgeAnd of course Jay's description of Pokémon was provided via interpretive dance - making it harder for Squidge to edit into the episodeBasically Pokémon covers the full gamut of neglectful and abusive behaviour of other species and children- TheBWay to keep up those positive waves, B.Community Comments #1We reached out to the wider Pokémon community ahead of recording this episode, and asked for comments on what Pokémon meant to everyone. We had quite a few comments, so we wanted to pepper them throughout the episode, and these were the first set of comments.First up was Mr. Ray, and he had this to say:Pokémon to me meant friends. Not just with the pokemon pals I had, but that it forced a shy kid to socialize and trade so I could catch them all. Since, yknow, the game is designed for that - Mr. Ray of the $2 Creature Feature PodcastNext up was Sakura, and she had this to say:To be the best, like no one ever was because it's my destiny.Seriously though, Pokemon means to me: nostalgia/good memories, friendship, a connection, determination, and something that makes people come together.You don't realise the power and effect pokemon has given to people universally, until those first few notes of the original theme song play and you see a venue holding a 1000+ attendees, suddenly stop whatever they were doing and all sing the song in unison with such passion in their voices - everyone in that room is rethinking their own adventure together with everyone in that moment. It's beautiful and makes you feel wholesome that your part of such a worldwide phenomena- SakuraBoth of these comments are wonderfully wholesome, we're sure that you'll agree.And as B points out, both Tomb Raider and Pokémon have this uncanny ability to bring communities together. And of course we couldn't let B mention this without referencing out previous anniversary episode - which was on Tomb Raider; here's a linkCULTURAL ZEITGEIST!- The BFamous FirstsNo one can talk about Pokémon without talking about their firsts, and being the investigative types that we are, we wanted to know what everyone's first Pokémon game was.Jay: Pokémon BlueIn fact, his first exposure to Pokémon was not the games, the TV shows, or the movies. But a high school maths class - which is something he goes into later in the episode, when a special guest appearsThe B: Pokémon YellowWhich had more references to the TV show; with the main character been called Ash and there was a Pikachu which followed you around the game overworld.Squidge: Pokémon BlueSquidge got into Pokémon through friend of the s

The B stopped by Waffling Taylors HQ to chat all about Pokemon, seeing as how it turned 25 this year - feel old yet? We talked about our favourite starter Pokemon, the TV shows and movies, our favourite generations of the game, have some community comments from friends of the show, and what we think the future holds for Pokemon. Join us this coming Friday (August 27th, 2021) for this great episode.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.Voice actor extraordinaire, all round good egg, and fellow Lock-On backer Morgan joined us to talk doing homework to get TV time, the world and characters of Sekiro, and the trouble with homework and American TV.Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.Content WarningThere were a few swears in this episode, but we've bleeped them all - bleeps are funnier than swears anyway - We've thrown the trigger warning claxon in at the following timestamps, as the subjects we talk about could be a upsetting to some listeners:At 27:20, Morgan mentions a certain something that happened during the Second World WarAt 41:16, Morgan mentions self-gratification, but only in passing Check your podcatcher for chapter markings which will help you to skip these sections, should you wish.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesEven though Squidge is very special - and I'm sure you'll all agree that he is, indeed very special - our guest for this episode was Morgan Ritson. Morgan describes himself as:I am the world's greatest lover... I am a writer, student, voice actor; a lot of creative things that don't make money.MorganWhen introducing himself, we have a conversation about how we should always be positive around each other. We use the example of Morgan being told that his ability to write things down wasn't great, and how one of my professors at university has dyslexia and dyspraxia, but both are great people who are achieving great things - please don't tell someone that they can't do something because they are x, have y, or don't have z. Just be positive to them, and support them if you canOne thing to note: because of the gap in our schedule - as explained in The Lookback: July 2021 - we had recorded this episode quite some time ago.But after that, we wasted almost no time getting to one of Jay's favourite topics:Recent GamesThe Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more games that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.I love to hear what everyone's been playing, and whether they would recommend it.- JayAnd, of course, we shared ours too. Would we recommend the games that we've all been playing? Or course!Morgan's Recent GamesAs is tradition, we asked our guest to go first.Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceMorgan tells us that he is drawn to games which are greater than just person-vs-person, and the first game on his list is one such game. Both Sekiro and Bloodborne as spiritual off-shoots of Dark Souls, with one (Bloodborne) being more about taking the next step as humans, whereas the other (Sekiro) being more grounded in traditional Japanese mythology and being related to fighting for what you care about.And this lead us into ta discussion on how there aren't many games - or books and films, for that matter - which explore the stories of the foot-shoulder who has never had to fight before, and how this isn't THEIR war but that of someone else's.And the discussion on interesting characters leads us to a conversation about how villains have the potential to be much more interesting than heroes. The examples we used are Xande (from Final Fantasy III) and Hans Gruber - these two villains are arguably more interesting than the heroes who oppose them.This lead us into a discussion with Morgan about how he's looking to pen an article for Lost in Cult's Lock-On series of journals - we've interviewed Jon and Jason from LiC about Lock-On previously; here's a link to thatFinal Fantasy XIVWe talk about the Final Fantasy games a lot - and not just when Lulu is on the showIt has the best writing of the Final Fantasy games, in that the world itself feels very real. And the characters feel very real- MorganBut that one of the down-sides of playing RPGs is that the biggest resource they take up is time, and how that's one of the few resources that we can't renew. And he's not wrong.Talk of Final Fantasy brings up hacking, which brings up Red Mages - trust us, there's a link - which brings us to Maurice Leblanc and the video game Thief.As far as Final Fantasy XIV goes, I would say yes. It's an MMO, so there's a monthly prescription... yeah, you take it in pill form.- MorganJay brings up a great point when talking about Final Fantasy only RPGs - of which there have really only been two. He asked Morgan whether he'd seen "the TV show", referring to Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light, but Morgan thought he was referring to Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV - at least it wasn't Final Fantasy Unlimited; which does have a banger of an intro song.Seriously though, Dad of