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[Crimm]

James sounds like Bobby Flay. I've been listening for some time now, and I can't not hear it.

Wut?

Hey Guys, just a brief update on today's episode.

THERE ISN'T ONE!

Well, not exactly. You see, Gui told us he couldn't edit and then Jonny and I ignored his notice. So now I'm here frantically editing our E3 predictions at 12:16 AM on a Sunday night. Simply put, we're not going to have it done until tomorrow evening. We're very sorry.

 

[big youth]

I still listen and love the show, even if I don't acknowledge it often enough. Keep up the good work

 

[Nbz]

Wut?

Hey Guys, just a brief update on today's episode.

THERE ISN'T ONE!

Well, not exactly. You see, Gui told us he couldn't edit and then Jonny and I ignored his notice. So now I'm here frantically editing our E3 predictions at 12:16 AM on a Sunday night. Simply put, we're not going to have it done until tomorrow evening. We're very sorry.

Thanks for the update James, was wondering where RFN was when I woke up

 

[Ondore]

If you'd like to hear Jon and James going back and forth about various and sundry, apparently they formed a Smash Debate team (36minutes).

And if you need E3 predictions, I was on the NWR E3 preview show last night (1h26m). Bonus drinking game: Take a drink everything toys-to-life (including Amiibo) shows up!

 

[PaulBizkit]

Ok, first time listening to a retroactive in which i didn't play the game that's being talked about.

Spoiler

never had the gamecube, but played smsunshine on the wii.

Very good episode, made the game look interesting and epic, but somehow too long and grindy (too many pointless quests it seemed).

I never really liked the zelda games because they where all the same (shield - sword - bow - bomb - hit the boss 3 or 5 times on the weak spot - the horse) and the lack of a proper story never appealed to me.

i'll send you some questions for the next episode when i have the time.

 

[dragonfart28]

Very impressed with the show and I really like everyone's personality.

I guess Skype is necessary but if there is any way to up the production quality then you guys need to take advantage of that.

It would be worth the investment.

 

[GuillaumeNWR]

Can you be more precise? What aspect of the audio should be improved? And which episodes have you listened to?

If you've only listened to the live episode, then our recording can really only be as good as Skype allows it to be. But you'll find that regular episodes sound better.

 

[Ondore]

A day late but definitely not a dollar short.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/40395/episode-432-tears-of-joyrage

Bad news first: Gui had to drop out last-minute from this episode, so we're down to three with a lot of ground to cover. But not to worry! You should be hearing plenty from Gui on next week's Listener Mail extravaganza on the cusp of E3, as well as in some of the NWR Home Team's podcast coverage during the whole week of E3.

For now, you'll have to settle for just Jon, James, and Jonny, the latter of whom starts New Business with very early impressions of Splatoon, focused entirely on the lesser-known Battle Dojo mode for local competition. Jon blows our minds with his selection -- I don't even want to ruin the surprise, but it's related to his greatest backlog shame. It leads to a pact that could possibly end with us playing Witcher 3 this year... Then, it's time for the impressions you've all been waiting for, as James finally plays Code Name STEAM! Will it meet the standards of our strategy game expert?

We waited as long as possible, but E3 Predictions can no longer be contained. This popular feature begins with a quick review of last year's predictions, all of which were completely accurate (naturally). Thanks to Stephen for helping out with that! And then, it's finally time for our brand new, completely stupid and wrong predictions for E3 2015.

The big show itself is only about a week away, and you can expect the best Nintendo coverage right here at NWR! To keep up with it all, be sure to subscribe to our NWR TV channel on YouTube, keep checking the website's front page everyday, and keep looking for new podcasts to show up on the RFN feeds!

Time: 2'08"43
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Feelin' lucky?: I'm throwing a prediction contest at NWR and there's a Lucina Amiibo up for grabs.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Awesome to finally hear some Code Name: Steam talk! Sad to hear that James isn't enjoying it more but I do think some of his issues become less nagging as the game goes on.

First off, in regards to the power of the weapons, I mostly agree that in the early-mid stages of the game they can feel a little weak. Thankfully that changes soon enough as you unlock more characters, and in particular more combinations of weapons. A lot of the strategy in this game comes from your team composition because the effectiveness of weapons is often altered by other weapons. For example, eventually you will get a secondary weapon called the Stun Mortar that shoots in a similar parabolic arc to John Henry's Bear Grenade. It only uses two steam and its only function is to stun enemies. The beautiful thing is a stunned enemy will take double damage on the next attack. Combine the stun mortar with powerful weapons like the sniper rifle (primary weapon of a later unit) or the Bear Grenade and you can start to dish some serious damage.

Another point I would make is that it is absolutely crucial to hit enemies' weak points. If you can't hit them you are probably better off using your steam to move to a better location because damage output from most weapons is incredibly weak otherwise. Case in point, James mentioned that the Steam Crossbow is fairly useless. Ironically enough that is one of the weapons I used throughout the entirety of the game because it does fantastic damage when aimed at an enemy's weak point.

The point about overwatch feeling overpowered when enemies use it is a fair one and I think the best way to deal with it is by not triggering it. If you trigger it once make sure you don't move that unit again or it will instantly trigger a second time. Movement of the camera doesn't trigger an overwatch attack so you are free to look around and aim, but as soon as you take a step you're going to get nailed again.

Regarding the complaints focused around mobility and the ineffectiveness of parabolic weapons in areas with ceilings, I feel that all of those elements just factor in to your strategic decision making. Why should John always be able to attack with no obstructions, and why should it always be easy to take every path? Parsing out how to tackle these small obstacles is part of what differentiates this game from games like Valkyria Chronicles, although it's a fair point if you simply don't enjoy those elements. I like to think of each stage as something akin to a puzzle box that has to be worked through as opposed to a large battleground that needs to be traversed.

Anyway, I hope James enjoys the game as he gets farther in. Much like a party based RPG a good deal of the fun comes with party composition and preparation which really begins to shine as you open up more options.

Code Name: Steam is by no means a perfect game and I certainly understand some of the complaints but I feel like it is a very fresh take on the genre and I applaud Nintendo for taking a bold risk by creating it.

One final thought, if CNS isn't a turn-based strategy game I'm curious to hear what James thinks it is.

 

[Crimm]

Somewhere in the archive I breakdown tactics vs strategy. CNS is heavy on tactics.

I understand the point on parabolic weapons, but early on you HAVE to use John. The levels in that portion of the game should account for it.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Somewhere in the archive I breakdown tactics vs strategy. CNS is heavy on tactics.

I understand the point on parabolic weapons, but early on you HAVE to use John. The levels in that portion of the game should account for it.

I seem to remember working around it by adjusting the trajectory down and just moving closer. John is actually one of my favorite units, he's the only "starter" unit that remained in my party all the way through to the end of the game.

I didn't get to the end of the segment yet so I'm guessing that's where you got into tactics vs. strategy. I know you've talked about that in the past as well in regards to TRPG's vs. SRPG's. Most people don't worry about making the distinction but I can see why it's worthwhile when you play a lot of turn-based games.

Also, I forgot to mention, screw those tiny flying enemies! Those assholes are such a pain to hit until you get some units better suited for it. Thankfully they don't show up very often after that frozen civilian mission.

 

[OMG Aero]

If you'd like to hear Jon and James going back and forth about various and sundry, apparently they formed a Smash Debate team (36minutes).

Behind the scenes footage of James and Jon performing their pre-Now Playing sacrificial ritual:

 

[IAmtheFMan]

His opinions are fine, his jokes are kinda flat, but it's more so he doesn't understand how a group conversation works. He's constantly talking over people the entire time. No one else notices this? I picked up on it right away.

I started listening to a few of the recent podcasts over the last few months. I noticed this immediately too. I get his enthusiasm to make a point, but the interruptions of others is irritating to listen to.

 

[Somnid]

Listening to James and Jonny's impressions of STEAM and I agree with some but not with others. The game definitely uses respawn heavy handedly. It seems both to prevent overwatch turtling and technical limits to the number of enemies a stage can hold. If I could change one thing it would be to make that more graceful. Also, you can feel a bit underpowered in the early game as your strategies are constrained by the party members.

I disagree that it's not a strategy game, but it would definitely help if you had a bit more a pre-mission briefing to help you understand the layout and some of the enemies before picking a team.

If weapons feel weak it's because you aren't utilizing them correctly. The game doesn't well explain it but as you progress weakspots are mandatory to hit. Explosive weapons blow off armor, bullet weapons are strong against weakpoints and the crossbow is extremely strong on weakpoints but does almost no damage on armor. If you don't use explosives to break armor you want a burst weapon which can do it in one shot. Note that later characters add more options like stun prevention, enemy misdirection, or long range sniping that let you try more interesting tailored strategies (for those with a Marth Amiibo you can completely waste enemy turns with overwatch immunity for example). I also learned at the very end that you can actually misdirect enemies in overwatch by making noise in their periphery so they turn and then duck behind cover before the laser hits while another character sneaks in and gets the weakpoint. For the cannon eyes you want a bursty weapon as you can get them to teleport a few times in the same volley (they always move the direction you fire unless they hit an obstacle and you need to put them out of range in the open). Also, make use of special skills (Henry's can nearly one-hit kill most things) and save and revive at save points to make it more manageable.

 

[Ondore]

I want to emphasize this more than ever tonight: RFN records on Thursday nights.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/40436/episode-433-now-e3-is-real

It's our last episode before E3, and we had to cram in a few more game impressions and some Listener Mail, lest it all get buried by the massive din of this week's activities. There's even a special guest who joins at the mid-point!

New Business has a few chestnuts, starting with James's long-awaited thoughts on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Then, Jon checks in with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and maybe convinces one of us to join the cult... Jonny checks out Adventure of Pip, the brand new indie hotness on Wii U. Finally, you'll hear updates and strategy for Splatoon from both Guillaume and Jonny.

Just after the break, NWR Director Neal Ronaghan joins us (for the first time in years!) for a tour of our E3 coverage plans at Nintendo World Report. We're all set to blast you in the face with videos, podcasts, and written reports on all the cool stuff happening in Los Angeles this week. Just stay subscribed to RFN, NWR TV on YouTube, and this here website so you won't miss anything!

We also convinced Neal to stick around for Listener Mail, in which we catch up with the Humble Bundle news, a surprising Link's Awakening-Twilight Princess connection, franchise-mixing DLC ideas, and our favorite third-party Wii games.

If there's anything you want to ask the NWR staff during E3, please tweet with #AskNWR or use this special E3 email link for a chance to have your question answered in our daily videos. Otherwise, we're always happy to take your non/post-E3 questions and ideas at the usual RFN email. Thanks for listening, and please do check in often for our extensive coverage of the biggest event in video games!

Time: 1'49"58
Downloads: MP3 | AAC
Welcome: TO THE HYPE

 

[Dingens]

the best 3rd party game on Wii? ha I guessed both of James*es picks.
Although my vote would also go towards Little Kings Story. The game was just great, the variety was awesome and the localisation was something else.

I sadly never got to play Trauma Team... Thanks Atlus. Although that might change soon? maybe... hopefully.

 

[Crimm]

the best 3rd party game on Wii? ha I guessed both of James*es picks.
Although my vote would also go towards Little Kings Story. The game was just great, the variety was awesome and the localisation was something else.

I sadly never got to play Trauma Team... Thanks Atlus. Although that might change soon? maybe... hopefully.

Atlus' failure to find someone to bring that game to Europe and their own failure to ensure sufficient supply is a real tragedy.

 

[Tripon]

What is this about Jon Linderman leaving?

 

[Jonnyboy117]

Hey GAF listeners, sorry for the lack of posts for all the new episodes we are posting during E3. Things are pretty crazy, as you can imagine. We aren't creating individual articles for each episode this week (it slows down publication too much), but non-subscribers can find all the direct download links in this convenient page, which is updated for every episode released. We are posting 2-3 shows per day, so there's a lot of content for your ears! Please enjoy during E3 or later, at your convenience.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/sitenews/40472/e3-2015-podcast-archive

Subscribers should get all new episodes immediately, as always.

Also, I'd encourage you to tweet with #askNWR if you have any questions for our staff. We are taking this initiative seriously and will try to find whatever information you are seeking. Nintendo is of course cagey about many details of their upcoming games, but sometimes all it takes is playing the demo again or asking a representative about a certain feature that may not be addressed in press materials or a Treehouse Live presentation.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Hey GAF listeners, sorry for the lack of posts for all the new episodes we are posting during E3. Things are pretty crazy, as you can imagine. We aren't creating individual articles for each episode this week (it slows down publication too much), but non-subscribers can find all the direct download links in this convenient page, which is updated for every episode released. We are posting 2-3 shows per day, so there's a lot of content for your ears! Please enjoy during E3 or later, at your convenience.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/sitenews/40472/e3-2015-podcast-archive

Subscribers should get all new episodes immediately, as always.

Also, I'd encourage you to tweet with #askNWR if you have any questions for our staff. We are taking this initiative seriously and will try to find whatever information you are seeking. Nintendo is of course cagey about many details of their upcoming games, but sometimes all it takes is playing the demo again or asking a representative about a certain feature that may not be addressed in press materials or a Treehouse Live presentation.

I've been working my way through the content as it has been posted. Thanks for putting in the work!

 

[Negator]

I've not listened to the E3 show stuff yet. My podcast feed has been assaulted with all kinds of stuff!

Unfortunately I have no questions in regards to Nintendo content. Most of my hype went towards things outside of Nintendo this E3, so the only questions I would have would be non-Nintendo centric.

 

[Crimm]

Not a huge fan of self-promotion unless it's actually self-effacing, but I really enjoyed the 3-parter I recorded with Greg, Jon, and Gui. I got each of them in a one-on-one environment and, to a certain extent with the exception of Jon, let them lead us through their reactions.

It was really fun to record, even if the announcements weren't the megatons we hoped for. Each of them brought a unique perspective to the conversation.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Greg is just the best. <3

 

[Neifirst]

Greg is just the best. <3

Looking forward to listening. I immediately thought of him when Yoshi Woolly World was finally revealed - one his final E3 predictions finally came true (he even got the developer right!)

 

[silks]

What is this about Jon Linderman leaving?

I was pretty freaking salty after that B-Reel of an E3 Direct. I have since cooled my my jets but still, SMH.

 

[Somnid]

In that last podcast I just imagined Greg, Jon and Guillaume laying on a fainting couch as gaming therapist James helps them explore and cope with their E3 inner demons.

 

[Crimm]

In that last podcast I just imagined Greg, Jon and Guillaume laying on a fainting couch as gaming therapist James helps them explore and cope with their E3 inner demons.

I do have a PhD

 

[Tom_Cody]

Not a huge fan of self-promotion unless it's actually self-effacing, but I really enjoyed the 3-parter I recorded with Greg, Jon, and Gui. I got each of them in a one-on-one environment and, to a certain extent with the exception of Jon, let them lead us through their reactions.

It was really fun to record, even if the announcements weren't the megatons we hoped for. Each of them brought a unique perspective to the conversation.

The segment with you and Jon discussing your marketing advice for E3 was one of my favorite ever for RFN.

 

[JKBii]

I was pretty freaking salty after that B-Reel of an E3 Direct. I have since cooled my my jets but still, SMH.

I think it's key to remember that the people running Nintendo are only human. I've been flustered by this E3 failure as Nintendo is clearly gambling with my hopes and dreams. But then I played Pokemon with a few friends and realized that the magic in their finished products will always be there. No matter how badly they screw up, they can't unrelease the games they've already made.

At times like these, it's important to separate Nintendo the company, which really needs a strong wakeup call, from the people enjoying Nintendo games and the community we've built for each other. Even as Nintendo falters, the Smash and Pokemon communities are growing stronger. With all these new deals, Nintendo will reap massive profits again soon, and our favorite games will get funded, eventually. In the meantime, let's enjoy what we have.

 

[TDLink]

What is this about Jon Linderman leaving?

Wait what?

 

[Neifirst]

Not a huge fan of self-promotion unless it's actually self-effacing, but I really enjoyed the 3-parter I recorded with Greg, Jon, and Gui. I got each of them in a one-on-one environment and, to a certain extent with the exception of Jon, let them lead us through their reactions.

It was really fun to record, even if the announcements weren't the megatons we hoped for. Each of them brought a unique perspective to the conversation.

I really enjoyed the segment with Jon, but the discussion was self-contradictory at times. This year's E3 was underwhelming because the major games were all known ahead of time, but one of the prescriptions offered was to announce games 2-3 years out like Sony. Nintendo should be planning out their software development better so they can revisit their key franchises more often, but the reason Sony was so successful was because "absence makes the heart grow fonder," so players will be happy with whatever you give them. Maybe I'm misinterpreting something here?

Loved all of your suggestions for tightening up the digital event though!

 

[Ondore]

What is this about Jon Linderman leaving?

He was kind of morose after the digital event, but the crew's brought him back.

 

[Crimm]

Most of the contradictions were either Jon and I disagreeing without challenging each other or comparing ideal state to reality. The lack of wizbang is due to Nintendo showing their cards on these games years ago. Sony did that with two games in particular this year and people went nuts. Jon calls announcements of games that are largely contracts and some sketches "smoke and mirror" announcements. Shenmue isn't a game, it's a plan to make one. We both agreed that Nintendo probably has a game they could have shown that is some ways off, but they've now shifted from the strategy of announce early to announce things often but talk about near term projects. This shift denied them the ability to announce any major console titles because they previously announced all the stuff. If they actually stick to talking near term then they will avoid this problem in the future. They could do that or they can talk long term. They can't try to do both. Nobody will be happy.

 

[silks]

Exactly. And we kind of got at this too. They can't say "we only talk about things 8 months out" (or whatever) but then show a Zelda trailer LAST year, then not talk about it THIS year, and pass that off as "Oh, well we moved the goalposts so technically we didn't break our own rules because back in 2014 we thought Zelda was a 2015 game but it's not now, so..."

If you're explaining, you're losing. Zelda's already out there, people want an update on it, however small, so just show it off a little already.

 

[Tripon]

Exactly. And we kind of got at this too. They can't say "we only talk about things 8 months out" (or whatever) but then show a Zelda trailer LAST year, then not talk about it THIS year, and pass that off as "Oh, well we moved the goalposts so technically we didn't break our own rules because back in 2014 we thought Zelda was a 2015 game but it's not now, so..."

If you're explaining, you're losing. Zelda's already out there, people want an update on it, however small, so just show it off a little already.

They could have pulled a Square-Enix and shown the same trailer multiple times and pretended it was new.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

Yes, there are multiple ways to screw up. I'd prefer if they avoided all of those.

 

[Crimm]

Orca
Vince McMahon
Fireworks
Mobile

All problems solved

 

[Somnid]

Exactly. And we kind of got at this too. They can't say "we only talk about things 8 months out" (or whatever) but then show a Zelda trailer LAST year, then not talk about it THIS year, and pass that off as "Oh, well we moved the goalposts so technically we didn't break our own rules because back in 2014 we thought Zelda was a 2015 game but it's not now, so..."

If you're explaining, you're losing. Zelda's already out there, people want an update on it, however small, so just show it off a little already.

That's not really it, the rules change from E3 to E3 depending on what they want to focus on. If there was hardware Iwata would be there and there might even be a stage presentation. If it was early in a console's life they might have an anemic fall lineup but a lot in future development and focus on that. In this case they had mature systems with a reasonable amount of software and so they wanted to go shorter term. They also aren't so concerned about "saving" Wii U to be aggressive because it's already understood it's getting closer to the end. So instead they take their lumps now but get a nice hype burst when the re-reveal it. Like the Last Guardian people don't remember delays and silence, only the events.

 

[Dingens]

I quite liked the 3 segments James recorded, I expected way more salt and bitterness.. came away pleasantly surprised. good stuff.

@why does it have to be called metroid stuff:
I still don't get why people are so hung up on franchises and names... it's the same with #FE (the smt crossover). What does it matter if it's called Metroid or not? People always act like it's an "either or"-situation. Can't we have some spin-off titles without meltdowns once in a while?
also james and gui, you should watch the #fe tree house segment, if you haven't done so yet.

btw: if I recall correctly, you guys were huge Ys fans, right?
A friend gifted me Ys I, II, Origin and Oath through steam and I have no idea in which order I should tackle them... any advice?

 

[PaulBizkit]

Where is the new episode, guys?

...

... Guys?

 

[Jonnyboy117]

If you depend on the posts here in GAF to find new episodes, you may be way behind. All of our E3 episodes (there are several, last one added just three days ago) were sent automatically to feed subscribers, and the direct download links are all listed here:

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/#/sitenews/40472/e3-2015-podcast-archive

I don't think there will be a new (current) episode this weekend, but we still have at least more good salvo of E3 recordings that just need to be edited. I meant to do it myself but have been too busy with a completely separate cross-country trip just a few days after E3. I'll see if James can help with that while I'm preoccupied.

 

[FunkyDealer]

When I first listened to Radio Free Nintendo, last year I think it was, I thought James Jones was annoying. But now I would actually concider him my second favorite of the RFN crew.

 

[Symtendo]

This is kind of off topic but I get the feeling that at least some of you are Wrestling fans? Have you ever done some off topic podcast sections on that subject? I can imagine if James is a fan he'd be able to rip a lot of the storylines over the years in an insightful but hilarious way.

 

[Weetrick]

This is kind of off topic but I get the feeling that at least some of you are Wrestling fans? Have you ever done some off topic podcast sections on that subject? I can imagine if James is a fan he'd be able to rip a lot of the storylines over the years in an insightful but hilarious way.

I think Jon is (was?) a fan. I don't think the others are though. I could be wrong.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

I was big into WCW in the mid-90s, but I lost interest even before they merged into WWE.

 

[subrosian]

This is kind of off topic but I get the feeling that at least some of you are Wrestling fans? Have you ever done some off topic podcast sections on that subject? I can imagine if James is a fan he'd be able to rip a lot of the storylines over the years in an insightful but hilarious way.

Oh god wrestling... Please stick to giantbomb for your off-topic wrestling discussions.

 

[Crema]

When I first listened to Radio Free Nintendo, last year I think it was, I thought James Jones was annoying. But now I would actually concider him my second favorite of the RFN crew.

Exact same boat. I think it's partly because he's gotten better at not interrupting people (completely understandable on Skype btw) and also because he clearly loves video games and he speaks with genuine passion which bounces nicely off the others more calm style.

 

[silks]

I think Jon is (was?) a fan. I don't think the others are though. I could be wrong.

I am a massive wrestling fan. Have been since about 1986, so I go way back. I've had times when I followed it more closely than others, but I've always followed it to some degree.

 

[Crimm]

I grew up in the south. All my friends were way into wrestling in the mid-90s to early 2000s. I was more amused by the whole thing because it was so absurd. I'd almost rather it all be storylines and promos. Once it actually started I was kind of "okay next."

That said, I know some of the really dumb stuff the promos have done over the years. YouTube is an awesome treasure trove of dumb DUMB stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GTzHd1h47o that one is my fav

As for Ys - It looks like the Steam version is somewhat different from the TG-16 version we played. That said, it looks like the Steam version was fairly faithful. I'd do I and II first. It's very simplified for a JPRG, where as Origin and Oath are more modern in style.

 

[AnGer]

The Steam versions of the Ys games (specifically I & II as well as Oath) are essentially the PSP versions, sans some minor stuff (Oath doesn't let you carry over stats from earlier playthroughs etc.).

My tip: Tackle I&II first and back to back (you'll come to see why), then do either Oath or Origin since they're different in how they play compared to I & II. And, if you're interested, pick up The Ark of Napishtim.