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Easy Allies |EZOT| Good Vibes and Good Hype

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G

Gvitor

Member
Ben, you don't need to level up pokémon up to 100 for competitive play. The game upscales your pokémon up to either 50 or 100. You just need to set them up to the stats that you want, whatever level may that be (EV training and move learning).
 
G

Grayfox341

Member
Gvitor said:
Ben, you don't need to level up pokémon up to 100 for competitive play. The game upscales your pokémon up to either 50 or 100. You just need to set them up to the stats that you want, whatever level may that be (EV training and move learning).
Click to expand...

Good to know! Thank you.
 
I

IdreamofHIME

Member
In the Q&A, Kyle's thinking of Einhander right? He says Ehrgeiz, but that was Squares shitty fighter while Einhander was their awesome shmup. Just when he talks about the awesome looking ships.
 
A

Auctopus

Member
Just listened to the first half hour of Frame Trap and I stand by the opinion that Journey was and is a part of a zeitgheist and is held in a far higher regard than it deserves. There is no real difference in quality or presentation between Journey and Abzu, the latter is just a bit shorter than the others. It's interesting that Ben disagrees with the sentiment that if you weren't affected by an ambiguous ending then you just didn't get it. I'd agree with Ben that that line of thinking is bollocks too, if you couldn't really tell, I think Journey is a decent game but nowhere near this masterpiece that a lot of people seem to think it is.

I'm not primarily trying to trash Journey but the reaction compared between it and Abzu is an interesting/frustrating one. I think if you can squeeze meaning out of Journey then you can squeeze just as much meaning from Abzu. Maybe it's because people have seen the style of game done before (I'll admit they are strikingly similar in terms of pace and progression) or maybe it's because Journey is far more on the nose (the game is called 'Journey') about its meaning. I will admit though that Abzu tries to say a lot less than Journey does, then again it was a smaller game with a smaller budget and marketing. I think a lot of the time, people will take what they want from a game despite what the actual game does. So many people's "feelings" towards Journey are real-life emotions/experiences that have been projected on to the game itself, in a way awarding it some sort of impact it didn't directly cause. I think a lot of people in the OT had already decided that they were going to compare it to Journey and it already "wasn't as good". It'd be interesting to replay both games in a few years.
 
S

slash3584

Member
Now we get Ben Plays Pokemon right? Please?

l0MYuD7OkdG2Se8da.gif
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Auctopus said:
Just listened to the first half hour of Frame Trap and I stand by the opinion that Journey was and is a part of a zeitgheist and is held in a far higher regard than it deserves. There is no real difference in quality or presentation between Journey and Abzu, the latter is just a bit shorter than the others. It's interesting that Ben disagrees with the sentiment that if you weren't affected by an ambiguous ending then you just didn't get it. I'd agree with Ben that that line of thinking is bollocks too, if you couldn't really tell, I think Journey is a decent game but nowhere near this masterpiece that a lot of people seem to think it is.

I'm not primarily trying to trash Journey but the reaction compared between it and Abzu is an interesting/frustrating one. I think if you can squeeze meaning out of Journey then you can squeeze just as much meaning from Abzu. Maybe it's because people have seen the style of game done before (I'll admit they are strikingly similar in terms of pace and progression) or maybe it's because Journey is far more on the nose (the game is called 'Journey') about its meaning. I will admit though that Abzu tries to say a lot less than Journey does, then again it was a smaller game with a smaller budget and marketing. I think a lot of the time, people will take what they want from a game despite what the actual game does. So many people's "feelings" towards Journey are real-life emotions/experiences that have been projected on to the game itself, in a way awarding it some sort of impact it didn't directly cause. I think a lot of people in the OT had already decided that they were going to compare it to Journey and it already "wasn't as good". It'd be interesting to replay both games in a few years.
Click to expand...

Disagree. I can not understate that a huge part of what made Journey work in the way that it did is its multiplayer elements. Not sure how well it's populated nowadays but in my mind taking the journey only ever experiencing it solo, in my mind people would miss out on something that made that game truly magical.
That's what made that game really special especially if you were willing to dive into its mechanics that did have a surprising amount of depth.

Chirping/Singing to someone and then somehow achieving the kind of harmony/synergy required to pull of basically infinite coop flight is one of the most profound gaming experiences I had ever. There is not a single game that even approached this kind of experience for me, truly unique.

Even something as simple as guiding red robes as a white robe was pretty interesting.
 
T

TheDarkKnight774

Member
Holundrian said:
Disagree. I can not understate that a huge part of what made Journey work in the way that it did is its multiplayer elements. That's what made that game really special especially if you were willing to dive into its mechanics that did have a surprising amount of depth.

Chirping/Singing to someone and then somehow achieving the kind of harmony/synergy required to pull of basically infinite coop flight is one of the most profound gaming experiences I had ever. There is not a single game that even approached this kind of experience for me, truly unique.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Journey was something really special. I went in not wanting to do multiplayer option but went with it anyway and was glad I did. They set it up to enhance and avoided all the issues multiplayer gaming gives me.

Also the emotional beats for Journey are much higher than Abzu. Abzu is a fun and "safe" Journey like game. Glad I played it. But like Huber it didn't hit near as hard. Which is fine but just highlights how special Journey was. It was my GOTY that year.
 
L

LiquidSolid

Member
Auctopus said:
Just listened to the first half hour of Frame Trap and I stand by the opinion that Journey was and is a part of a zeitgheist and is held in a far higher regard than it deserves. There is no real difference in quality or presentation between Journey and Abzu, the latter is just a bit shorter than the others. It's interesting that Ben disagrees with the sentiment that if you weren't affected by an ambiguous ending then you just didn't get it. I'd agree with Ben that that line of thinking is bollocks too, if you couldn't really tell, I think Journey is a decent game but nowhere near this masterpiece that a lot of people seem to think it is.

I'm not primarily trying to trash Journey but the reaction compared between it and Abzu is an interesting/frustrating one. I think if you can squeeze meaning out of Journey then you can squeeze just as much meaning from Abzu. Maybe it's because people have seen the style of game done before (I'll admit they are strikingly similar in terms of pace and progression) or maybe it's because Journey is far more on the nose (the game is called 'Journey') about its meaning. I will admit though that Abzu tries to say a lot less than Journey does, then again it was a smaller game with a smaller budget and marketing. I think a lot of the time, people will take what they want from a game despite what the actual game does. So many people's "feelings" towards Journey are real-life emotions/experiences that have been projected on to the game itself, in a way awarding it some sort of impact it didn't directly cause. I think a lot of people in the OT had already decided that they were going to compare it to Journey and it already "wasn't as good". It'd be interesting to replay both games in a few years.
Click to expand...

I love me some Abzu but IMO Journey's the better game for three main reasons:

1. Journey's story is simple, straight forward and has brilliant, subtle, pieces of characterisation that makes your character and your partner feel more real and relatable. Abzu, on the other hand, wasn't straight forward at all, I didn't even know what the goal was for most of the game, and its characterisation was... Robotic, for lack of a better term, And while that may make sense for the playable character in context, I had little emotional attachment with anything in it as a result. Like, I was kinda sad when the
Great White died but only because I like sharks, not because I actually cared about it like I did, say, Agro (to use the best videogame animal).

2. Journey's multiplayer implementation was one of the coolest I've ever seen in a game and added a lot. The camaraderie you can form with a partner is honestly pretty incredible and I was shocked how disappointed I was when I finished the game and found out I'd actually played with three different players, not just the one.

3. I get that you're trying to compare them in isolation but I don't think that's possible, not when Journey was clearly a huge influence on Abzu. When I play it and come across a part where I'm thinking "this is just like that part from Journey", it isn't a coincidence, it's an influence Journey had on the game and the number of those moments hurts it as a result.

That's not to say I didn't like Abzu, I really did, but it didn't reach the same heights Journey did for me.
 
R

Roubjon

Member
Auctopus said:
Just listened to the first half hour of Frame Trap and I stand by the opinion that Journey was and is a part of a zeitgheist and is held in a far higher regard than it deserves. There is no real difference in quality or presentation between Journey and Abzu, the latter is just a bit shorter than the others. It's interesting that Ben disagrees with the sentiment that if you weren't affected by an ambiguous ending then you just didn't get it. I'd agree with Ben that that line of thinking is bollocks too, if you couldn't really tell, I think Journey is a decent game but nowhere near this masterpiece that a lot of people seem to think it is.

I'm not primarily trying to trash Journey but the reaction compared between it and Abzu is an interesting/frustrating one. I think if you can squeeze meaning out of Journey then you can squeeze just as much meaning from Abzu. Maybe it's because people have seen the style of game done before (I'll admit they are strikingly similar in terms of pace and progression) or maybe it's because Journey is far more on the nose (the game is called 'Journey') about its meaning. I will admit though that Abzu tries to say a lot less than Journey does, then again it was a smaller game with a smaller budget and marketing. I think a lot of the time, people will take what they want from a game despite what the actual game does. So many people's "feelings" towards Journey are real-life emotions/experiences that have been projected on to the game itself, in a way awarding it some sort of impact it didn't directly cause. I think a lot of people in the OT had already decided that they were going to compare it to Journey and it already "wasn't as good". It'd be interesting to replay both games in a few years.
Click to expand...

Except that's exactly what made the game so amazing and a masterpiece in many people's eyes. No game has ever made me feel the way Journey did. It had the ability to bring out emotions in people that a game previously never has before. It made me think about games in ways I've never thought about them before. Even now when I think back to that first time playing Journey it was honestly one of the best media experiences I've ever had.
 
J

Japanmanx3

Member
FT was epic. All the Ninth controller hate was triggering lol. But it's cool. Hype-fueled, discussion based passion makes it only logical that the extremes would be mentioned. The NX hype was crazy too. Some good ideas that will never be seen smh lol. Huber saying Naruto is better than DBZ crushes me tho :-(.
 
T

TC McQueen

Member
I don't mind Frame Trap going long, but yeah, ~40 minutes of e-mails kinda kills it for me. It's not enough to make me stop listening, but whether I bail out early on an episode is super dependent on the topics and the specific crew for that episode. If the crew's vibes are super good, such a long e-mail section's not too bad, but if the vibe is just average, that might not be able to keep my interest, especially if the questions are mediocre.

That said, I can't get enough of Brad's waiter shirt in this episode. He looks so out of place in this episode next to everyone else in casual clothes.
 
Portugeezer

Portugeezer

Member
I am thinking it's the 1 hours 30 minutes of discussing what they have been playing that is long, but then again, it can't just be run of the mill Podcast about current news because the main EZA Podcast does that already.

I liked hearing Damiani talk about Zelda PH and the Metroid 2 remake in some detail though, you wouldn't really get that in a regular podcast... I dozed off on Batman though.

I was excited to hear them blow my mind with NX ideas, but that ended up being fairly short (RIP Huber).
 
T

TheAbsolution

Member
I'm fine with FT being as long as it needs to be. Podcasts with those formats need time to breathe and the conversation to flow naturally. The main podcast is for news and as such shouldn't be too long.
 
N

Napalm_Frank

Member
Really enjoyed the Origins stream. Without the allies I probably would have tuned out after the first episode even doe it's a decent and interesting adaptation. Some of the Brandon comments and Kyle sounds slayed me.
 
A

Auctopus

Member
The longer the better for me with Frame Trap. I can only listen to it during commutes in the week. My combined commute each day is an hour so I listen to it chunks and don't really notice the length.

My only complaint this week was the Emperor Miyamoto, it just felt like a pretty thinly veiled excuse to just talk about the NX again when there's been no more information. Whilst the idea of an Easy Allies Nintendo Village sounds amazing and I'd happily take up a lease there, I feel like Nintendo NX conversations are going to feel really empty until Nintendo actually give us some solid information.
 
D

DKHF

Member
September will be the best month of the year for reaction streams with the Neo reveal, PS TGS conference and NX reveals all happening. I hope the EZA guys stream for all of them (and I think they will).
 
B

Brian_FETO

Banned
Frame Trap is meant to be a longer show, the entire purpose is to be more relaxed and long-winded than EZA podcast's 1hr15min sweet spot

If they start worrying about the length (which is still under 3 hours) then at a certain point you lose the relaxed feel

(You don't always have to listen in one go, pause and finish later!)
 
A

ArjanN

Member
EuropeOG said:
I am thinking it's the 1 hours 30 minutes of discussing what they have been playing that is long, but then again, it can't just be run of the mill Podcast about current news because the main EZA Podcast does that already.

I liked hearing Damiani talk about Zelda PH and the Metroid 2 remake in some detail though, you wouldn't really get that in a regular podcast... I dozed off on Batman though.

I was excited to hear them blow my mind with NX ideas, but that ended up being fairly short (RIP Huber).
Click to expand...

The 'What you're been playing' part is almost always the best part of any gaming podcast though IMO. And the email section is generally the worst
 
H

Hasney

Member
sora87 said:
I'll tell you what did go too long this week, the gift section on the group stream, taking away Fatal Fury time
Click to expand...

It's the only bit I watch these days. The subs taking up all that space in the centre makes gameplay too annoying to watch.

Probably get more subs though as people like seeing their name.
 
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