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[firehawk12]

You mean the left Joy-Con?

I have not had any problems holding the Joy-Cons or the Switch in Handheld mode. Much easier than the Vita, for sure.

Oh yes, the left one. lol

Well I was thinking compared to the Wii U pad, which was the comparison that Greg made. Yeah it feels like a cheap Chinese-made knockoff, but it's more comfortable than the current Switch configureation.

 

[SuperPac]

Oh yes, the left one. lol

Well I was thinking compared to the Wii U pad, which was the comparison that Greg made. Yeah it feels like a cheap Chinese-made knockoff, but it's more comfortable than the current Switch configureation.

I agree with that - I always thought the Wii U GamePad was comfortable despite its terrible build quality. But by the same token I would not want to carry around a Wii U GamePad as a portable. I do not want to take a Pro Controller around me to use the Switch, either - I really like the Joy-Cons.

 

[firehawk12]

I agree with that - I always thought the Wii U GamePad was comfortable despite its terrible build quality. But by the same token I would not want to carry around a Wii U GamePad as a portable. I do not want to take a Pro Controller around me to use the Switch, either - I really like the Joy-Cons.

I would be happy if they sold another left Joycon but with a proper D-pad. I bet only a few people would get it, but the same could be said about the Pro controller probably.

 

[CLICKCLICK]

Totally agree with Ethan on the dungeons. I know it's a point of contention but they are amazing to me (I've only completed the

Spoiler

Rito

and

Spoiler

Zora

beasts so far).

They are seamlessly integrated in the world/story and the puzzles are clever enough to make you feel smart but not frustrating. It's similar to Portal in that way but less repetitive because you have more abilities at your disposal add the mechanics with the physics and 'moving' the beasts and all the puzzles are varied enough to be interesting.

IMO, these are miles ahead of the old Zelda dungeons with the "push the block on top of this switch/shoot an arrow at this target to open the door".

I am also glad that there is no emphasis on fighting enemies either, it's a nice break and I am getting my fix on the 'fighting' in the overworld full of enemies and mini-bosses.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

That was a great episode. Points are certainly made more eloquently when the speaker isn't smoldering with hot takes.

I think the biggest compromise to design, beyond the fact that the thing is a pain to hold, is the fact that the right joycon doesn't have a d-pad.

I was thinking about how nice it would be to have a portable copy of Puyo Puyo Tetris to play, then I realized that it's basically impossible to play without the pro controller, rendering the portability kind of pointless.

The stick has so little travel that I haven't had much trouble using it for Shovel Knight, Blaster Master, or the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo. Obviously, a d-pad would be ideal, but it's way better than the direction buttons.

 

[ClayKavalier]

They used Patreon money to buy each host a Switch, so they ALL bought and played Zelda on Switch.

That's cool, this is only the second thing they've used that money on, right? Maybe I'm forgetting stuff but I remember they bought Bloodborne to talk about it.

I wish they'd take advantage more often. I wouldn't be surprised if they feel awkward using that money for stuff like this, I remember they were proud of doing the show for free (while rarely missing a week) when shows like Idle Thumbs and Rebel FM were soliciting funds to buy equipment and gaming PCs and whatnot. But P1P is the only gaming show I regularly listen to and all of the hosts are interesting, I wish they'd do more "game clubs" with games that one or more of them has no particular interest in. IIRC most of the guys weren't planning on playing Bloodborne but they all ended up liking it to varying degrees.

I'd love it if they took turns picking a game every month or quarter to all get. An episode where they use the Patreon funds to get everyone a musou game of Phil's choosing could be great.

 

[brianmcdoogle]

That's cool, this is only the second thing they've used that money on, right? Maybe I'm forgetting stuff but I remember they bought Bloodborne to talk about it.

I wish they'd take advantage more often. I wouldn't be surprised if they feel awkward using that money for stuff like this, I remember they were proud of doing the show for free (while rarely missing a week) when shows like Idle Thumbs and Rebel FM were soliciting funds to buy equipment and gaming PCs and whatnot. But P1P is the only gaming show I regularly listen to and all of the hosts are interesting, I wish they'd do more "game clubs" with games that one or more of them has no particular interest in. IIRC most of the guys weren't planning on playing Bloodborne but they all ended up liking it to varying degrees.

I'd love it if they took turns picking a game every month or quarter to all get. An episode where they use the Patreon funds to get everyone a musou game of Phil's choosing could be great.

they also had that really cool Bully Game Club! Mike was fantastic on it!

 

[Thoraxes]

Regarding the "What is the Switch designed as?" section; I don't really get why you have to choose one over the other. It clearly functions as both, why not just call it both? It ended up turning more into a "How do you play the Switch?" conversation rather than what the initial question was, so it kinda just felt like the arguments dragged on a little going in circles. Not that "How do you play it" isn't a good question as is, but I feel like trying to pigeonhole it into an objective category just feels... off, I guess.

I know i'm nitpicking though. Doesn't help that I listened to that section driving in almost foot of snow today, heh.

Personally, I view it as a device that's both a handheld and a stationary console that functions as both, was sold/pitched as doing both, and a device I use as both. I like using my TV at home, and I like playing portables on the go. I have breaks and a lunch at work, and since Chicago traffic is often unpredictable, I always leave for work an hour early (with no/light traffic, I usually arrive 20 minutes early, prime time to fit in some Zelda before I head in). When I get home from work, I plop it into the dock, eat dinner, pick up my Pro Controller, and continue on my merry way enjoying the game on my TV.

Re: Zelda

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I look at the inventory as fluid. Where I would hoard items and weapons in 99% of other games and then only use the strongest weapon and nothing else, I find that I frequently go through weapons and am trying new things in combat all the time. It's cool to headshot a dude, watch his weapon fly out of his hand, throw my spear at him so he can't get to it, run up and grab his weapon from him, then subsequently beat him to death with it. Find a stronger item? Just throw a weaker one and keep going. This game is probably the first time i've felt liberated to just use everything and to hoard nothing, and it's really fun that everything is so disposable which forces me to do it. I had to go kicking and screaming into it a little, but now that i'm on the other side, it's just not as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it's kind of... fun.

I think the disposable nature of the weapons would be an absolute bummer if there was no hot-swap menu so you can switch weapons without having to dig into the inventory, but since it's just so fast to do (though yes, my hands did need some time to get used to doing it quickly), I find it doesn't really impede anything. And if I ever get low on weapons, I find that I start to consider more creative solutions to take out monsters using the environment, my runes, or a combination of both.

 

[Massa]

"Link's gotta eat".

Hilarious stuff, this was a great episode.

One thing I'd like to comment. I'm playing Zelda on the Wii U and I couldn't be happier they had to cut all the tablet stuff from the game. Would inventory management be easier on the gamepad? Nope, absolutely not. It's much easier to press a button and immediately be doing inventory than to take my eyes off the game, look down, interact with this different device, and then look back to the TV. The gamepad is completely worthless and not helpful for anything.

 

[Harlock]

Maybe in 1 or 2 years they can play BoW again in the PC, with the Cemu emulation running in great framerate and resolution.

Too bad they are not playing Horizon right now. I really like to know what each one think of this game. Even being a open world game, is compact enough to not be time consuming like the new Mass Effect.

 

[lionpants]

Greg seems so angry lately, haha.

 

[mik]

Too bad they are not playing Horizon right now. I really like to know what each one think of this game. Even being a open world game, is compact enough to not be time consuming like the new Mass Effect.

For sure. I've been basically following only the main questline and I was surprised how quickly I reached the finish line.

 

[dock]

I think the disposable nature of the weapons would be an absolute bummer if there was no hot-swap menu

Hold right on the dpad?

 

[firehawk12]

Regarding the "What is the Switch designed as?" section; I don't really get why you have to choose one over the other. It clearly functions as both, why not just call it both? It ended up turning more into a "How do you play the Switch?" conversation rather than what the initial question was, so it kinda just felt like the arguments dragged on a little going in circles. Not that "How do you play it" isn't a good question as is, but I feel like trying to pigeonhole it into an objective category just feels... off, I guess.

I know i'm nitpicking though. Doesn't help that I listened to that section driving in almost foot of snow today, heh.

Personally, I view it as a device that's both a handheld and a stationary console that functions as both, was sold/pitched as doing both, and a device I use as both. I like using my TV at home, and I like playing portables on the go. I have breaks and a lunch at work, and since Chicago traffic is often unpredictable, I always leave for work an hour early (with no/light traffic, I usually arrive 20 minutes early, prime time to fit in some Zelda before I head in). When I get home from work, I plop it into the dock, eat dinner, pick up my Pro Controller, and continue on my merry way enjoying the game on my TV.

I just think it feels compromised as both, since it's not really portable (compared to a 3DS), and it's kind of jank as a home console. Of course, you can fix the problem with the bad joycons buy buying an 80 dollar add on. lol

 

[ClayKavalier]

Flipping that maze over in Zelda is a really cool way to solve that puzzle. Like Greg I got frustrated and gave up, but I was playing in handheld mode so it didn't cross my mind to try to turn the puzzle completely over like that.

 

[RichyDevil]

Flipping that maze over in Zelda is a really cool way to solve that puzzle. Like Greg I got frustrated and gave up, but I was playing in handheld mode so it didn't cross my mind to try to turn the puzzle completely over like that.

Yup. I did that as soon as I got there and solved the puzzle in about 3 minutes. My son, sitting next to me, was shocked.

 

[shouamabane]

I'm stoked for Ultra Street Fighter II. The game needs a nice rebalance and update.

 

[dock]

That Pro Controller price is the real thorn in the side of the Switch, imo. I have the Pro Controller and it's a really amazing experience with Zelda, swapping between handheld mode and TV mode so easily.

I hope Nintendo consider doing a bundle with a pro controller down the line, as the combined cost could probably be brought down to something far less painful.

 

[FN-2187]

Hearing Ethan's daughter lost her Zelda save file was heart breaking. My son once lost a day's progress in Pokémon because he accidentally turned off the system without saving. He was so crushed; he started crying. And that was just a day's progress. Seeing him get so upset made me so angry. I wanted to take his 2DS to Japan and chuck it at someone's head at Game Freak and tell them to put a damn autosave in their game already. It's the 21st frigging century!! Similar thing with Nintendo and still not having cloud saves. Get your act together.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

How did a grown man bumble his way into deleting his daughter's account? Hopefully we get a full account next week.

And registered horses automatically return to stables, CJ. You can either return to where you left your horse in the world or go get it from any stable.

 

[SuperPac]

How did a grown man bumble his way into deleting his daughter's account? Hopefully we get a full account next week.

And registered horses automatically return to stables, CJ. You can either return to where you left your horse in the world or go get it from any stable.

I realize that...now. And cue me using horses to get to a lot more places. Boom!

Also I really feel bad for the deleted save. That's the worst. And it could be that Ethan didn't know the saves are not on the game card anymore (which is a switcheroo from the DS/3DS). It's definitely time for cloud saving to be a thing on Nintendo consoles. The DeNA partnership was supposed to go in that direction and has yet to.

 

[Massa]

Wow, I think CJ only mentioned the Vita, like, 8 times this week.

 

[cws]

Damn....Ethan deleted his daughters account/profile ? Why....
Im pretty sure they say that you lose all the save data related to the profile by deleting it. Ouch...

Yeah - we def. need a could save solution but you still need to be more cautious with account/profile delting.

 

[Planet_JASE]

Episode 541: Breathing Wildly

This week! Kevin Larrabee joins us to talk about the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Game Pass, the Disney Afternoon Collection, and a whole lot of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Minor spoilers may apply (through Zora’s Domain only). Join us, won’t you?

Audio: http://traffic.libsyn.com/playerone/03_21_17-Episode541.mp3
Blog: http://www.playeronepodcast.com/541
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/player-one-podcast-video-games/id202883543?mt=2
Youtube: https://youtu.be/1EeGcwHW_OQ
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/p1podcast

 

[Quonny]

"The system is great. Nintendo knew that my daughter wanted to experience Zelda all over again so they made a conscious decision to not include cloud saves. And it gives you more time with the Switch, so it really is awesome."

 

[SickBoy]

Different strokes, but every time Greg complains about the Joycons I feel like we must be from different planets. I get the D-pad complaints people have, and I think the +/- buttons are a bit of a reach, but when I'm playing with the Joycon grip I'm never worrying about discomfort or awkwardness.

On a couple of other issues I've heard brought up so far (still listening):

1) I know a guy who had the system self-unlock in his bag, too. I think they need to add options that allow you to customize how it unlocks. You can unlock it by tapping the screen three times as well (or the digital button on the screen), so if you've got something in your bag that will work with a capacitive touch screen, you might have trouble ahead.

2) I didn't pay too much attention to it, but I do believe there were some different setup options around eShop access when I was setting up parental controls. Of course, account security should be something you have more control over, whether or not you're a parent.

 

[Jarnet87]

"The system is great. Nintendo knew that my daughter wanted to experience Zelda all over again so they made a conscious decision to not include cloud saves. And it gives you more time with the Switch, so it really is awesome."

Lol. someone responded to him that she is learning early that Nintendo hates us all, which he replied they don't hate us, this is the first system that feels like it was custom built for me.

Speaking of losing saves I don't think I have created a Nintendo account, only an ID when I started the system. Will I be fine creating an account now since I will be using the one ID I made or will it delete my stuff. May just wait until I beat Zelda to be safe.

 

[Colonel Nasty]

"The system is great. Nintendo knew that my daughter wanted to experience Zelda all over again so they made a conscious decision to not include cloud saves. And it gives you more time with the Switch, so it really is awesome."

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

 

[SickBoy]

Listening some more, I'm not sure if it's how you're supposed to do it (and I haven't played as much as anyone on the show except maybe Greg), but I just leave my favorite horse alone in the world and then go to a stable and request him again even though he's listed as "out." Doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[Cathcart]

Different strokes, but every time Greg complains about the Joycons I feel like we must be from different planets. I get the D-pad complaints people have, and I think the +/- buttons are a bit of a reach, but when I'm playing with the Joycon grip I'm never worrying about discomfort or awkwardness.

Ive been having some wrist problems recently and the joy cons without the grip are now my favorite setup on any console because they don't force my wrists into the same position for the entire time I'm playing. It's enough of an improvement that I will probably buy multi platform games on the Switch when possible.

 

[Massa]

Very insightful discussion on Zelda, I thought Sewart raised some great points.

 

[cws]

Listened to the cast again....i dont think Cloud saving would have made a difference if you delete an account/profile.

 

[Quonny]

"Talk to me when you're 80 hours in."

lololololololol

even cj's like no pls no

 

[phanphare]

"Talk to me when you're 80 hours in."

lololololololol

even cj's like no pls no

on the one hand I think saying things like that in a vacuum is dumb

but on the other hand greg said that he was already enjoying the game so I don't see anything wrong with being like "hey I think it gets better as you go, talk to me when you're further in". I thought it was a little weird to hear greg default to the "if a game doesn't grab me in x number of hours" defense when he had already said he was enjoying the game. it's not like kevin told him that the game only gets good 80 hours in, he said it continually gets better as you progress.

Greg has some fair points. The Titans are no replacement for real Zelda dungeons. I love everything about the game but the dungeons are not great and memorable.

yeah I agree with this. I will say I thought the idea of the dungeons was really cool but the execution was lacking. the boss fights could have been better too.

 

[Benjamin1981]

Greg has some fair points. The Titans are no replacement for real Zelda dungeons. I love everything about the game but the dungeons are not great and memorable.

 

[Quonny]

on the one hand I think saying things like that in a vacuum is dumb

but on the other hand greg said that he was already enjoying the game so I don't see anything wrong with being like "hey I think it gets better as you go, talk to me when you're further in". I thought it was a little weird to hear greg default to the "if a game doesn't grab me in x number of hours" defense when he had already said he was enjoying the game. it's not like kevin told him that the game only gets good 80 hours in, he said it continually gets better as you progress.

Greg's argument is that he's already played 20 hours. If the game hasn't fully grabbed him like it has others by the 20 hour mark, then why would it grab him at 80? The 'it gets better the more you play argument' loses it's effectiveness when you need to invest what is two full work weeks worth of time to get to that point.

And Greg is right about it getting a pass because it's Zelda. That isn't a bad thing. People are emotional beings. We have nostalgia. It's totally fine to say 'yeah this wouldn't be as good if it wasn't Zelda'. If a new Mana game came out and it was mediocre I'd probably think it was good because I love that damn series. Star Ocean 5 was ripped apart and I enjoyed it because I have nostalgia for that series. Kevin kind of admits to this, but the immediate 'whoa whoa wtf' responses made me laugh.

 

[SuperPac]

Greg has some fair points. The Titans are no replacement for real Zelda dungeons. I love everything about the game but the dungeons are not great and memorable.

I count the run-up to those as part of the dungeons since it usually involves puzzle-solving and doing things in a localized area. Yes the beasts themselves are what they are but the lead up to them has been great.

 

[phanphare]

Greg's argument is that he's already played 20 hours. If the game hasn't fully grabbed him like it has others by the 20 hour mark, then why would it grab him at 80? The 'it gets better the more you play argument' loses it's effectiveness when you need to invest what is two full work weeks worth of time to get to that point.

because that was what kevin was saying, that it grabbed him more as the game went on so perhaps the same could be true with greg. honestly it was a point that didn't really need to be made that way seeing as greg is enjoying the game. kevin could have just said something like "I'm curious to hear your thoughts as you keep progressing" or something like that. I think the "talk to me when you're 80 hours in" just got a default response to that kind of thinking that may not have been totally valid.

 

[Quonny]

because that was what kevin was saying, that it grabbed him more as the game went on so perhaps the same could be true with greg. honestly it was a point that didn't really need to be made that way seeing as greg is enjoying the game. kevin could have just said something like "I'm curious to hear your thoughts as you keep progressing" or something like that. I think the "talk to me when you're 80 hours in" just got a default response to that kind of thinking that may not have been totally valid.

You're right. It was the phrasing and the way and time he said it. Very dismissive and almost elitist. That line is just so cringey.

Emotions, y'all.

 

[cws]

Nintendo related discussions tend to get too emotionally lately...so i hope you talk about more other stuff in the upcoming weeks. Its been a while since we had some VR Impressions...

 

[nckillthegrimace]

Very insightful discussion on Zelda, I thought Sewart raised some great points.

Some. "Zelda always gets a pass" is a rough statement to make. Games that are structured like classic Zelda games, like Okami and Beyond Good & Evil, have traditionally received superb critical reception. It's a structure critics enjoy. The problem is that there really aren't that many games designed like that, so it seems like favoritism.

As for this game, similarly open games like Witcher 3, Rockstar's stuff, and the Bethesda stuff also get great reviews. Critics like good open world games. I don't see how BotW's reception is some sort of unthinkable event, explained only by critics treating Nintendo with kid gloves (aka a pass).

And to criticize Kevin, the game is intensely designed and structured despite being so systems driven, which is probably another reason why it's scoring so high. It's not just an unstructured physics playground. I've heard some great discussions on other podcasts from game developers about parts of the landscape drawing the eye and leading the player to stuff.

Greg is right about the Divine Beasts, though. They're fun, but they're not a sufficient replacement for classic Zelda dungeons. The shrines help mitigate that, though.

 

[CLICKCLICK]

I understand wanting to be the 'dissenting' voice and some of Greg's complaints are legit but all his comments every week about this being 'the nintendo cast' just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining and wanting to have an opposite opinion.

We are in the middle of a new system launch with one of the best launch games, of course it's going to be the center of discussion. This is on par with what was discussed on the show around the launch of the PS4/XBOX One.

 

[cws]

I understand wanting to be the 'dissenting' voice and some of Greg's complaints are legit but all his comments every week about this being 'the nintendo cast' just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining and wanting to have an opposite opinion.

Thats why im not a the biggest fan of Nintendo discussions anymore... because of the balance shift thanks to Ethan/CJ+Switch hype Greg probably feels more pressured to always play the devils advocate and counter them. I understand why he does it and that a big part of the audience get tired of only positive Nintendo discussions.....

Just hope we can move along from this period soon with less hardliner arguments about who is wrong/right and just back to casual gaming discussions. Then again im a big Nintendo fan myself and usually like the discussions...but when it always ends up in a "catfight" its less entertaining for me.

PS. Ethan...i hope your daughter managed to forgive you - deleting your own save state in solidarity was a cool dad move.

 

[stewy]

I understand wanting to be the 'dissenting' voice and some of Greg's complaints are legit but all his comments every week about this being 'the nintendo cast' just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining and wanting to have an opposite opinion.

We are in the middle of a new system launch with one of the best launch games, of course it's going to be the center of discussion. This is on par with what was discussed on the show around the launch of the PS4/XBOX One.

I would agree with you if we were just talking about the last month. But if you listen, we've been very Nintendo-centric for the last year or so.

 

[CLICKCLICK]

I would agree with you if we were just talking about the last month. But if you listen, we've been very Nintendo-centric for the last year or so.

I think some of it has to do with the dripfeed of news from Nintendo, they've been dominating thee news for the last 6 months. Initial Switch reveal in September, NES mini in November, Super Mario Run in December, more news on Switch in January, release in March.

There is a Nintendo-bias in the show but the spike in Nintendo discussions seem to be caused by the news itself. When PSVR hit in November, it was also part of the discussion for a few episodes.

I personally find it refreshing because before this year, most Nintendo talk was centered around the 3DS and only CJ seemed to enjoy the Wii U even though it had a lot of gems.

 

[TriAceJP]

Kevin goes so hard in on certain games. First, loving Persona 4 so much is pretty damn odd (it's a pretty basic dungeon crawler with a high school anime spin, dude. Play better RPGs) and now claiming Breath of the Wild is the best Nintendo game is a pretty bold claim.

I feel that he gets pulled in the internet hype machine. I like both Persona 4 and Breath of the Wild, but the overwhelming praise he gives them is so over the top.

I typically enjoy Kevin, though.

 

[1337]

I am thankful that Greg gives reason a voice. I cannot stand the gushing over Zelda anymore, while waving away all its flaws. I listen to quite a few podcasts and together with CAG this is the only podcast where people actually address the issues.

As a parent I have little time to actually play a game and when I do, I want a satisfying experience. Walking 5 minutes without anything happening is unacceptable to me.

About the cloud save situation. Really looking forward to how Ethan is going to say this is not a problem, it would be nice to have, etc. Deleting a profile would probably have wiped the cloud save anyhow, but still. By the way, how can you delete an account, I cannot imagine the UI not showing you a warning message.

 

[CLICKCLICK]

About the cloud save situation. Really looking forward to how Ethan is going to say this is not a problem, it would be nice to have, etc. Deleting a profile would probably have wiped the cloud save anyhow, but still. By the way, how can you delete an account, I cannot imagine the UI not showing you a warning message.

Not sure everyone's being fair to Ethan either, dude does love his Switch but I don't see him 'spinning' this into a positive, he was one of the first to complain about the joycon desync problem since it was affecting him.

 

[cws]

Kevin goes so hard in on certain games. First, loving Persona 4 so much is pretty damn odd (it's a pretty basic dungeon crawler with a high school anime spin, dude. Play better RPGs) and now claiming Breath of the Wild is the best Nintendo game is a pretty bold claim.

Opinions....how do they work. P4G is pretty great - no need to be a dick about it.
Most older gamers are cynical about 99% of the games out there and it gets more difficult to get hyped... lets them have their Forza, Zelda, Persona or whatever to be fanboyish about.

"Play better rpgs" isnt any better than " talk to me after 80h" etc - not everyone had to be convinced.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

I am thankful that Greg gives reason a voice. I cannot stand the gushing over Zelda anymore, while waving away all its flaws. I listen to quite a few podcasts and together with CAG this is the only podcast where people actually address the issues.

As a parent I have little time to actually play a game and when I do, I want a satisfying experience. Walking 5 minutes without anything happening is unacceptable to me.

About the cloud save situation. Really looking forward to how Ethan is going to say this is not a problem, it would be nice to have, etc. Deleting a profile would probably have wiped the cloud save anyhow, but still. By the way, how can you delete an account, I cannot imagine the UI not showing you a warning message.

Yeah, when I'm looking for reasoned Nintendo discussion, I turn to CheapyD.