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Episode 449: Can't Outshine the Sun

by James Jones, Greg Leahy, Jon Lindemann, and Guillaume Veillette - October 18, 2015, 2:27 pm EDT
Total comments: 7

There is a new king at Royal Tennis Academy. Long live the King!

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New 3DS games (new, 3DS, games - not New 3DS games) dominate New Business this week. Jon doesn't have anything to talk about, and yet the segment still runs to full time. James kicks it off with a look at 3DS JRPG Legend of Legacy - think Etrian in third person - and we all know how much James loves Etrian. Greg has impressions from 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Finally, a good Sonic game in 3D! Guillaume talks briefly about his one-night stand with Rocket League on PS4, and helicopters his plug cord to wrap up New Business with Chibi-Robo Zip Lash.

After the break, it's time for the first RetroActive of RFN Season 5: Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the GBA. The crew spent most of their time in the story mode, a feature of Camelot's handheld sports titles. Conversation covers the world building, parallels with later sports RPG series, the tutorial structure (or lack there of), and the surprising depth built into what one might expect to be a Mario-branded cash in. However, it takes a guest, former Nintendo Pirate Radio host Stan Ferguson, to clearly elucidate what makes Mario Tennis: Power Tour a game worthy of holy matrimony.

Next week is Episode 450 and we're working to celebrate the milestone episode in the new, mature, sensibilities of Season 5. You can send us your comments or questions to our mailbag.

Additionally, Radio Free Nintendo is looking to make a new logo. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them to our mailbag. It needs to be scalable to at least 1400x1400 pixels, as per iTunes specifications.

Lastly, thanks to Michael "TYP" Cole for having James on the latest episode of Radio Trivia, Episode 138: Just Blame Lindemann Syndrome. It's a fun show, so if you're not a regular listener give it a shot.

This episode was edited by Guillaume Veillette. The "Men of Leisure" theme song was produced exclusively for Radio Free Nintendo by Perry Burkum. Hear more at Bluffs Custom Music.

This episode's ending music is the Match Point music from Mario Tennis: Power Tour. It was composed by Motoi Sakuraba. All rights reserved by Nintendo.

Talkback

James, did Dr. Metts impliment the RFN space diaper rule, or did you take direct inspiration from Lisa Nowack?


Don't worry, we're very supportive of your chosen lifestyle

TOPHATANT123October 19, 2015

Yarrr! Where do I sign up for the diapers again?
Music: Anokoroe from Sin & Punishment 2

JonOctober 19, 2015

Glad to hear that guillaume is enjoying Zip Lash. I finished it the other day and really liked it

Okay, time for some real comments on the show, because I have a lot to talk about with you guys' selection on New Business.

Legend of Legacy I suppose misses one or two things i couldn't STAND with it's SaGa ilk in relly not having a story there, as a big turn-off was that all 8 characters they'd let you play as in Romancing SaGa all have different stormy mechanisms you have to follow in the same world but without direction, so you could end up exploring dungeons that aren't meant for your current character and just run into a dead end with no reward other than the RNG-generated stat boosts you got. at the same time, even this was detrimental though, as SaGa usually includes a bullshit invisible count of the number of enemies you've fought, and will just scale everything in the world if you've hit X number of battles.

i had more than one playthrough of SaGa frontier end because of these sudden and drastic difficulty bumps that can happen rather suddenly and without warning.

Honestly, it's par for the course. it's why they only let you buy HP800 in SaGa 1 and hide the weapon you need to beat the final boss in a random chest; these are games meant to make you feel out of your league at all times.



There has been some REAL hostility towards Sonic around these podcasts lately. We got a dose of TYP bagging on it in Radio trivia, and now Greg visiting the gold standard for western developed sonic and bagging on the several gotcha moments that the games tend to have. I... tend to agree, actually... and yet I still eat these games up. Why?

because the physics model is if nothing else a consistent one, and sonic games are probably some of the most rewarding when it comes to level memorization, to both look at and dare I say, play! the Multi-tiered level design (Yes, Greg, it was in SOnic 1, just not in the more platforming-centric zones like Marble or labyrinth zone) give these games a shitfuckton of replay value as you not only optimize your way through your favorite route and commit it to muscle memory, but also you can take the time to become proficient with other routes and such.

Enemies are important because they give another utility to curling other than picking up speed down a slope or such. curling is a more immediate defense than jumping into foes, and that's something that i don't think I initially understood when I first started playing Sonic games. they also tie into speedruns and memorizing where enemies are so you can bounce on them to keep your speed and height going.

That still doesn't excuse special stages. While Super Sonic is a wonderful reward for your troubles (unlockable god-modes in games for regular gameplay are awesome to me), special stages are often blind memorization, no matter what sonic game you're looking at, either because of the conditions to even get into a special stage, or the special stage itself. I think the only decently designed ones might be the ones in Sonic CD or maybe the redisign of the sonic 1 special stages found in S4E1

I have a request to make. If at all possible when it lands in November, Greg... Please Give Freedom Planet a try. I think you'll like it, as it's more more a platformer with diverse characters and it doesn't do that thing where it just throws you into spikes or enemies.


I want to apologise that I couldn't aprticipate in retroactive, but I just really was not feeling it. :C

EnnerOctober 20, 2015

Great show. The Retroactive was excellent. It makes me really want to get the game.

Sonic 2 is definitely one of the highest points in the series, even if I have a preference towards the original.  That said, I cannot express enough how much I hated the chaos emerald minigames in this particular Sonic game.  Sonic solo is the only way you can achieve this, because Gui is correct that the AI controlled tails has a delay, which means for every dodge you have to make a split second move away from, Tails gets hit and loses the rings you need, setting up an almost guaranteed loss in the harder levels. 


Rocket League is probably my personal 2015 game of the year.  It's a silly variation on a soccer game that has a lot of fun floatiness and the excitement over getting a clutch win with some friends online is some of the most fun I've had in a game for a while.  Also one of the few games I've gotten a platinum trophy in, and am considering buying the DLC since I got it for free* off PS+.

I've played one level of Chibi Robo, and find it pretty bland so far.  It seems like a good game to play while sitting on the couch with jeopardy on the background, but I don't know how much I will enjoy it beyond that.  That said, not every game needs to be more than that, but I can see why they packaged in the amiibo for $40.

Quote from: Enner


Great show. The Retroactive was excellent. It makes me really want to get the game.

I honestly had way more fun with it than I expected. Your mileage may vary, but I was totally invested. Did go back and take my co-hosts learnings on drop shots and lobs to put Peach into the ground.

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