TBC 025: Paper Mario: The Origami King

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Paper Mario is back! Whereas the last few entries in the series were not received warmly, Nintendo fans were slightly more optimistic about this particular outing. Maybe because Nintendo has been serving up first party hit after hit on the Switch. Maybe because the developers finally seemed to hear our feedback about certain things like attacks-as-inventory being bad or battle companions being good. Even with a more positive outlook, many decided to sit back and wait for reviews before plopping 60 crisp dollar bills down for this origami adventure. Glen and Scott have spent a lot of time with the title and are here to talk about every detail.

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Check out our old YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/TwoButtonCrew

“Two Button Crew Theme” by Katie Straughn

Virtua Quest That Was a Thing

I’ve mentioned it a few times on the podcast, but I love the Virtua Fighter series. Unfortunately, as a Nintendo fan, that puts me in a difficult position. See, the Virtua Fighter series has been absent from Nintendo consoles. There is, however, one noteworthy exception to this history of Nintendo exclusion: the action-R.P.G. spin-off game, Virtua Quest.

Virtua Quest was developed jointly by Tose co. and Sega AM2 and published by Sega. It was released in Japan under the name Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation: Ambition of Judgement Six on August 26, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It was later released in North America on January 18, 2005. As mentioned before, it was a departure from the standard Virtua Fighter series in that the game is a beat-em-up with R.P.G. elements.

My history with this game is a little different than previous installments of That Was a Thing, as I’ve never actually played this game before. Well, not the full version at least. I knew about it way back when it first came out, due it being playable at the GameCube demo kiosk at my local Target. At the time, I thought the idea of a martial-arts-based action-adventure game was intriguing, but after seeing the middling review scores it received in the now-defunct Nintendo Power magazine, I ultimately decided to pass on it.

It wouldn’t be until a few years ago once I got into the Virtua Fighter series that I developed a renewed interest in this title. After over a year of searching, I finally stumbled across it while revisiting the GameXChange in my old, grad-school stomping grounds. Read more Virtua Quest That Was a Thing

TBC Table-Top: Episode 02 A Zelda Table-Top R.P.G. Adventure

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Join Scott, Ryan, Glen, and Nathan Blake of Nathan Blake Games on an adventure through the backwoods of Hyrule as the crew plays a table-top R.P.G. inspired by The Legend of Zelda.

In this episode, our heroes continue their preparations by swinging by the general store and searching for armor.

 

Cast

Sigil: Scott

Trouse: Nathan Blake

Noire: Ryan

Sage: Glen

 

Music Credits

Divinity
Nostalvania
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

Hawaii Shoppi’n
NoppZ
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

Battle (Field)
Manaka Kataoka
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Original Sound Track
Nintendo

The Guru
The OC Jazz Collective
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

TBC Table-Top: Episode 01 A Zelda T.T.R.P.G. Adventure

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Join Scott, Ryan, Glen, and Nathan Blake of Nathan Blake Games on an adventure through the backwoods of Hyrule as the crew plays a table-top R.P.G. inspired by The Legend of Zelda.

In this inaugural episode, our heroes learn that the town that they’re passing through is in trouble: the river that’s vital to their lumber trade is drying up.  They then band together to discover the cause and begin preparations for the journey ahead.

 

Cast

Sigil: Scott

Trouse: Nathan Blake

Noire: Ryan

Sage: Glen

Music Credits

Timeless Journey
Sam Dillard
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

Heart Home and Hearth
Rebeca Tripp
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

The Guru
The OC Jazz Collective
OverClocked ReMix (http://ocremix.org)

 

The rules used in this podcast can be found at: https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Legend_of_Zelda_RPG

Cat Quest, A Switch Nindie about Cats


It’s an action RPG all about cats! Seriously, this is cool. And there’re a lot of cat puns to enjoy. Thanks to the developers for letting us try outt his game! We’ll have a review up on our channel soon.

“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What Makes Geno So Special? HUH?!


Geno has a cult following, that’s for sure. This weird wooden wizard gained immense popularity after starring as one of the playable characters in Super Mario RPG. But what makes him so special that fans would still be clamoring for him to become playable in Super Smash Bros. titles to this day? Allow us to consult our resident Geno expert to bring you the best answers.

“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It’s a ~Secret of Mana~ to Everyone


Thank goodness for Glen, or we would have been wandering around Secret of Mana aimlessly. This is a very interesting, quirky RPG from Square, complete with funny animations for walking up stairs and opening a treasure chest. It’s pretty fun! Watch and enjoy.

“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This is What a GOOD Mario RPG Looks Like


Super Mario RPG is one of Simeon’s favorite games! Modern-day Mario RPGs have since lost their way, but it’s always a good time when you throw it back to this Nintendo/Square partnership. Simeon will even show us a few impressive secrets along the way!

“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Devolution of Paper Mario Scott's Thoughts

I remember being drawn to the first Paper Mario like a magnet.

It was in a video rental store, and I saw the N64 cartridge sitting on the bottom shelf. I didn’t know why Mario was paper, or why it was turn-based, but I immediately brought it home.

Of course, an RPG like Paper Mario can’t really be explored and beaten during a rental period, so I ended up buying it. I had to! The story, the characters, and the gameplay were so compelling that I had to see the adventure through to the end.

The Thousand Year Door was a beautiful follow-up on GameCube, which I first laid eyes upon at a WalMart. It was one of those demo kiosks where you had to stare up at the ceiling and snap your head backward to see. It continued the wonderful characterizations, thickened the plot, and introduced exciting new transformations for Mario that shook up the gameplay.

Super Paper Mario was memorable. Although stripping out the beloved traditional RPG elements, the game introduced a compelling tale of love and tragedy, alongside an interesting 2D-to-3D mechanic.

And then it all went downhill.

Unique, lovable, captivating characters were replaced with gimmicks of stickers and paint.

This image sums it up well.

The modern entries have their own merit, and bring some amount of charm. But along the way, the franchise lost focus. Paper Mario became more about churning out a quick win for sales and marketing than it was about world-building.

It might have been when the father of Mario gave the Sticker Star team these directions:
There were two main things that Miyamoto-san said from the start of the project—”It’s fine without a story, so do we really need one?” and “As much as possible, complete it with only characters from the Super Mario world.”Iwata Asks

Miyamoto was wrong.

Adventures in Earthbound


Our patrons voted that we should try out Earthbound for the SNES Classic Edition, and their wish is our command! This quirky RPG is sure to be weird, if nothing else. Should be entertaining!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Octopath Traveler – Day of the Demo


Neither Simeon or Scott are big RPG players, but how can you resist a game that looks like Project Octopath Traveler? Especially when a free demo is available! This Square Enix title is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2018, but we’re going to take it for a spin and get some initial impressions of the game.
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What Genres are Nintendo Horrible At?

Trying to make our episode titles a little more SENSATIONAL!


We all know Nintendo loves their platformers – that’s the genre that they specialize in. But when they are the company that’s responsible for servicing fans of all kind that use their hardware (because third parties aren’t historically the most supportive), there are some genres that receive the cold shoulder. That neglect is either due to games with poor or questionable execution, or just no games to speak of at all. Have you ever thought about which types of games Nintendo is strong or weak in? Let us run you through a list of all the major genres.

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Gaming Ignorance Confessions!

Every gamer has things he’s not proud of. Today we confess our sins of ignorance.


For every video game you’ve played, there are probably ten that you haven’t. The same is true for our hosts Simeon and Scott, who possess some alarming gaps in their Nintendo gaming careers. Big important games are completely missing from their experience! Well, it’s time that we had a chat with them and got to know exactly what they’ve never played.

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/