The Texture Pop: Episode 18: Going Back to Persona Q

Happy late Thanksgiving from the Texture Pop! We recorded this on the Saturday after Black Friday, so we hope that you were in good spirits to the kickoff of the Holiday Season! We, as usual, were completely out of control.

0:00:00 Introduction

This intro referenced an earlier conversation we were having before the recording stuff.

And we mention Destiny again!

0:03:25 Viewer questions.

"What do you guys think about Sega?"

We jested on the cast, but in all sincerity, Sega has everything they need to be a successful company. However, they do not seem to have the saaviness to produce what audiences outside Japan want. Like many Japanese companies, it seems like they are unable to see too far outside of their national bubble. They've lost touch with the outside world, and they are paying for it. Especially with the release of the new Sonic and the not-release of Valkyria Chronicles 3 outside Japan.

This article talks a bit more about this, regarding Valkyria Chronicles 2.

0:17:20 News time, children.

Assassin's Creed: Unity's Season Pass is no longer on market.

And then we discussed Unity a little more. While this is the correct way to handle the problem, Ubisoft really should not have put themselves in this position.  The microtransaction discussion made us bring up this piece I wrote about Dead Space 3.

Dark Souls 2 coming to next-gen consoles.

And Sam said all that needed to be said.

Nobody is getting review copies of The Crew

Which is never a good sign for a game. This is especially egregious after what happened regarding Assassin's Creed: Unity and its embargo.

Sony is offering $25 rebate to early PS Vita adopters.

Halo: Master Chief Collection is still broken.

0:45:20 Chris has been playing more Hyrule Warriors

They released new DLC, feeding Chris's habits. Yes, Nintendo is very much like a drug lord.

We pretty much just run down the DLC in this segment.

This leads into a conversation about DLC, pricing, and Season Pass.

0:58:40 Chris played Mario Kart.

And again, there's not much to add.

1:02:00 Chris and Garrett played Warframe.

And he get a Destiny reference in. Truly, we are the best Destiny podcast on the internet. It's a lot like Destiny, except not bad.

It's free to play, so if this conversation caught your interest, you should check it out.

1:10:00 Garrett has been playing League.

And eating hi-chews. Also, he has Twitch violate Sly Cooper's copyright.

We also tell Sam about various mythologies and how much he doesn't know about them. Most of those deities are Personas in the Persona series, so I know quite a bit about them.

1:18:00 Garrett has been doing Holiday shopping.

And we talk about credit cards and shopping and stuff.

1:21:00 Garrett watches an anime called "The Devil is a Part-Timer".

Anime. And anime McDonald's clones.

It did remind me of Invader Zim (and my previous job), but that's not worth talking about too much.

And, so course, Sam talks about anime.

1:28:00 Garrett read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" some more.

I admit, the comparisons between the book and the movie versions are quite interesting, because it highlights the difference between what readers want and what viewers want.

1:31:50 I played the Binding of Issac: Rebirth
When playing on my Vita, I was always constantly trying to minimize screen glare from the sunlight, which really hindered my experience. Further, the screen made some details hard to see even in ideal situation. Just moving to the TV in my room solved a lot of my problems.
But even then, the PS4 controller is so much more suited to playing the game than either KB&M or the Vita. Really, I would say that's the ideal way to play. Either that, or with a controller on the PC. Do not use KB&M, it will hurt you physically.
As on the time of this release, it is no longer free on PS+.

1:40:05 I played Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.
And you'll quickly see how we came up with this episode's title.
Also, I should not play games in the middle of the cast.

Going back to Persona Q:
If you like Persona 3 and/or Persona 4, this is a game that you need to play. Even if you dislike the Etrian Odyssey stuff, the rest of the package is so great that it is easily worth the asking price. You won't regret it. It feels a lot like an old-school JRPGs, for better or worse. However, someone like myself would be totally fine.
I actually made a mistake in this. I said that Zen/Rei get refunded for their SP they use for exploiting weaknesses. I was wrong, they actually have a skill that regenerates their SP as they walk around the map.

2:05:11 I talked about Black Friday.
(My opinion does not reflect those of my employer.)
For the record, I work retail. (Also, this was recorded on the Saturday after Black Friday.) I worked three shifts from the end of Thanksgiving to the end of the Saturday afterward. It was not great.
Black Friday is an interesting subject to think about, because really wants to do it. It's just the natural consequence of the fact that nobody wants to shop before Thanksgivings, but everyone wants to buy tons of stuff immediately afterward. Shamus Young wrote a really interesting piece on the matter.

2:12:20 Sam played Hatsune Miku... something or other.
You know how it is.

2:13:00 Sam played more Far Cry 4.
And this kinda speaks to the Ubisoft formula. They prefer, for better or worse, small iterations as opposed to large changes. Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and even Watch_Dogs show how similar the Ubisoft open-worlds are.
If you liked Far Cry 3, you'll like Far Cry 4. If you didn't like Far Cry 3, you won't like Far Cry 4. It is as simple as that.

2:24:10 Sam played Assassin's Creed: Unity.
I am really glad that Sam got the chance to play Unity. The reason is that I have noticed that my viewpoint regarding video games is very critical. Sam is much more optimistic and positive in his viewpoints. As a result, I can play off him and we can talk much more about the positives of the game much more than I'd be able to talk about alone.
Because there is a lot of good to talk about. The character customization is great. The equipment and character development are great. And the assassinations are... amazing. I would almost recommend the game for the assassination missions alone.
So yeah, go optimism!

Sam's article about buying games on launch is here.

In response to Chris's question, if Unity would have been better after one extra year, I would say "No", with a caveat. While many technical issues would have likely been resolved in that year, I would posit that many of the fundamental issues I have with the game would still be present. This is because they mostly come down to design decisions, which I talked about here.

2:53:00 Wrapping Up
And we plan stuff regarding future shows on the air. Such professional!

The Texture Pop: Episode 15: Floppy Devil Dick (and Minor Site Update)

BTW, because I have been extremely busy these past few days, there will not be another article posted on Saturday. I apologize for this. Having said that, onto the usual shenanigans.

0:00:00 Introductions
And you get a glimpse of what it's like behind the curtain.

0:01:55 Viewer Questions
From our usual source:

"Why do so many people seem to hate Skyward Sword?"
Like I said during the cast, my opinion on the matter is purely a matter of speculation. Having said that, what I strongly suspect was the case is that the new style of play greatly affected the design.
It's a problem you see in games like Deus Ex and Dishonored. Since the design can't assume that you have certain items in your inventory (because you may or may not have any given item), it needs to be theoretically possible to beat without using any of the equipment they may or may not have obtained. They can be used to make your task easier, but it must still be possible to complete it without any of that optional equipment. Previous Zelda games make players feel like they are building their character's power over time. With this type of design, that is much more difficult to pull off.
Of course, other issues like unresponsive controls and an annoying side character would also be contributing factors, but I would posit the fundamental change in game design is the primary reason.

"Did any of you guys read Shonen Jump back in the day?"
Of man, I wish Sam was present for this discussion. He would be able to provide a more interesting conversation than either me or Garrett.

0:11:45 Chris brings up Dawngate (and its cancellation)
Though I would hardly call myself an expert, I can hardly call this surprising. The MOBA space is super competitive, and you need to make yourself stand out if you want to do well.
For the record, the incomprehensible blurb that came out of my mic was me jokingly referencing The Old Republic.

Then, we start talking about MOBAs in general. And the call dropped in the middle of our conversation.

0:23:20 Chris beings up Blizzard's new shooter, Overwatch.
After you get over the initial wave of "THIS GAME LOOKS AWESOME!", and you stop to analyze it, you wonder how good this game will be.
Blizzard has never made a shooter before. Further, this is a multiplayer-only, character-based shooter. Beyond that, the last game with such a colorful-looking initial trailer was Overstrike, aka FUSE.
This could do well, but on paper it looks like it's almost destined to fail, once you get passed the initial shock. On the other hand, Blizzard has a proven record for turning anything into a gold mine. I will be interested in how it develops over time.

0:33:30 Garrett plays Neotokyo.
Which sounds like a very fascinating Source mod. Unfortunately, I cannot comment any further.
And of course, ANOTHER Destiny reference. We're the best Destiny podcast on the interested.

0:46:00 Garrett has been getting into SMITE
And talks about how it blatantly steals from League.
Then, we discuss Adam Sandler movies. I'm not sure why.

0:56:05 I have been playing more Shin Megami Tensei IV.
And I have gotten to the point where the difficulty curve begins to level out. SMT fans know about this point, but I explained it a lot here.
I didn't say this during the cast, but I think part of why I have been enjoying the side-quests is because the game does a great job of making them available and easy to access. All you need to do is drop by a tavern every once in a while to see what's come up on the bulletin board.

0:59:50 I have been playing Binding of Issac: Rebirth
It is a major improvement over the base game in so many little ways that I really recommend it to anyone who played the original. There's also so much more content added to the game that the higher price is justified. No matter which system you get it for (PC, PS4, or Vita), you will definitely be getting your money's worth.
Having said that, it is not a game for everyone. If the old game wasn't great for you, this probably won't change your mind unless your issues were mostly technical in nature.

1:12:45 I played my first game of One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
For those who want to know more, you can watch Table Flip play the game here.

1:15:50 Chris has played more Hyrule Warriors
And we didn't talk much about it because Sam was absent.

1:18:45 Chris bought a copy of Dante's Inferno.
And I apologize to him on his behalf. No one should be subjected to that game.
On the positive side, it made the title for this episode very, very obvious. (I still think "Satan's Dick and Tongue Nipples" should have been the title, but we still chose very well.)

1:31:20 Wrapping Up
Yep.
Remember, send us stuff at TheTexturePop@gmail.com if you want us to talk about you on the air.

The Texture Pop: Episode 14: You've Got (New) Mail

Another week, another Texture Pop podcast. This week, we attempted, and mostly succeeded, at keeping it at a manageable length.

Also, for those of you who are unaware, Sam has also been much better about posting the MP3 versions of the podcast. You will usually be able to find links to them in the descriptions of the videos from here on out. For those of you with long commutes, it might be a good idea to get some quality(?) audio entertainment.



0:00:00 Introduction
Sam lovingly lampshades my minor misanthropic tendencies.

0:00:55 Viewer Questions
BY A NEW PERSON!

"I bought a Wii U and have been playing Hyrule Warriors too. My only complaint about the Wii U is its battery life."
I don't know enough about it to comment beyond what we discussed.

"Brandon, have you ever played Shadow Hearts?"
Definitely. When I was in middle school, a close friend introduced me to the franchise. I wish another one was in the works, but I'm content with the three games that were released. For anyone looking for a quirky, unique JRPG experience, Shadow Hearts is a great game. They are also very unique in terms of settings, because if memory serves, the first two took place immediately before and during WW2, and the 3rd game takes place in Prohibition era America.
A bit of warning though: While the franchise is known for having a sense of humor, the actual story tends to get very, very dark. People who dislike more mature, dark themes may want to watch out.

0:15:15 Chris brings up Avengers 2 (and Marvel's plans)
And we all agree that it's AWESOME!
DC still sucks though, at least in terms of movies. We also learn a lot about comics in this segment.

0:29:40 I played Shin Megami Tensei IV
I haven't finished it yet, but it is interesting to compare this game to previous entries like Nocturne. Through it is significantly more user-friendly than Nocturne, as an example, SMT IV is feels a lot harder than Nocturne did.
At the same time, this difficulty is almost like a Dark Souls game, where it is designed to both reward skillful play and punish those who do not learn their lessons.

0:38:10 I played Soul Calibur 2 HD.
It is really nice to play what I consider to be my favorite fighting game of all time again. Compared to a lot of other fighting games, I have found that SC 2 is much more forgiving to new players than other fighters. While it has issues, it is great for both single and multi-player oriented play sessions.
Also, another reason I love the game is that, through mission variety in the single-player mode, it teaches you all you need to know about the mechanics. Weapon Master mode really is one of the best I've played in a fighting game.
This gave me license to bitch about both Soul Calibur V and Lost Swords, which were both some of the worst fighting games I've ever played. I could not stand those games, and would never recommend them.

0:49:00 We wait for Garrett to get back so he can talk about League.
Please stand by for technical difficulties. Also, this might have been our first warning.

0:51:00 Garrett has been going to Best Buy to look at computer parts.
And I just let Sam and Garrett talk about a subject I know little about.

0:54:00 Garrett played the Evolve Alpha.
While I am interested in Evolve, I take this time to bitch about the game industry misusing the words "Alpha" and "Beta" incorrectly.
Then, we actually discuss the Alpha.

0:56:30 Garrett talks about Curse Chat?
Which leads to us discussing audio software... while we are recording an audio podcast... on Skype.

0:59:55 I get Sam to explain the title of the last episode 
Because I had no idea where it came from.
"I can't explain Spoopy. I can't even attempt to." - Brandon Carey
"[Spoopy] sounds like something my mom would say."- Brandon Carey

1:02:50 Chris has been playing more Hyrule Warriors
And it's definitely.... a conversation.

1:07:15 Chris was playing Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
The bottom-line is that it is more Borderlands. If you like Borderlands, you will like the Pre-Sequel. Otherwise, you won't care. There isn't anything radically new enough that your opinion on the matter can be swayed.
As for me, I could barely tolerate Borderlands 2. I really liked the friends I played with, the writing, and the characters. However, the act of playing in a session of Borderlands is just so painfully dull to me. Because of this, I have no reason to pick up the Pre-Sequel.

1:25:50 Sam thinks he's been working, but isn't sure.
I did not know Halloween was so busy for a pizza shop. The things you learn.
Though his shift was much worse than anything I faced, I certainly know the pain of a last minute customer. "That guy" is always a dick. Nobody likes "that guy."

1:30:50 Sams tells us about politics in fan-subbing anime.
And I've never thought about this before the recording.

1:32:50 We talk about talking about games with friends and strangers.

1:35:30 Sam talks about The Evil Within and Alien: Isolation.
I mentioned Errant Signal's episode on Alien: Isolation, which can be found here. I would recommend watching it if you haven't already. The comments made regarding the feel of the game and its use of save systems to invoke emotions is interesting.
I think it speaks wonders to how much more engaging a game can be when the player does not feel almighty, like most games are want to do. Limiting player power can lead to much more creativity, which can make a game so much more interesting when done correctly.
One thing that comes to mind now, when I think about how save systems make you feel is Hitman: Blood Money. Though you can save anywhere in a mission, you only have a finite number of saves (unless you play on Easy). Harder difficulties limit this even further. In this way, saves are just as much a finite resource as your other tools. As a result, you need to plan your use of them in much the same way you plan for everything else. To some, this detracts from the game. To others, it adds to it.

1:41:45 Sam bought Lords of the Fallen.
Which further adds to our save game discussion from earlier.
It's also a good game for Sam to talk about more than me, since he's much more familiar with Dark Souls.

1:45:50 Sam teases his Wii U discussion for next week,

1:46:15 Wrapping up.
My Nocturne impressions are here.
Our e-mail is also thetexturepop@gmail.com , so please send us your questions, comments, and feedback.

The Texture Pop: Episode 13: Spoopy

As the Halloween episode, we considered it very important that we don't talk at all about Halloween and act like the holiday doesn't exist.

Instead, we decided to do our usual antics.



0:00:00 Introductions
We never did discover Chris's joke. It was probably about ethics in game journalism.
As a podcast about gaming should, we begin by talking about Mountain Dew and Doritos (and Soulless Geoff Keighley). Literally 10 minutes were spent on this topic.
Call of Duty also comes up in this conversation.

0:10:05 Garrett saw Gone Girl.
It was super good. I don't know movies very well. Also, we make fun of Tyler Perry.

0:12:10 Garrett apparently went to his sister's school.
We're not sure if it was, in fact, his sister's school, but there is a high likelihood.

0:14:45 Garrett plays more League of Legends.
Which I'm sure none of you are surprised by.

0:16:50 Garrett talks Game Design Class.
And I don't have more to say about it.

0:18:45 Garrett is getting into Magic: The Gathering.
Which leads into a conversation about TCGs and video games. When you think about it, it is amazing how much money is being made off of what is essential small pieces of cardboard.
Even if I wanted to get back into Yu-Gi-Oh, I fear that the game has evolved so much that I wouldn't be able to keep up. Like Chris, I would pretty much only go for a digital/virtual card game nowadays. It is the only way to keep my costs down.
Man, I spent way too much of my parent's money on Yu-Gi-Oh in retrospect.

0:25:00 Garrett discusses his 360 exploits.
And brings out Sam's PC elitism by mentioning that he plays better on a controller than a KB&M. It's adorable.
I love that you can't see the visual joke on our audio-only podcast.

0:31:15 Viewer Questions
And the fact that Sam is no longer the only one to have access to the e-mail is confusing him.

"Have you guys heard about the controversy over the indie game, Hatred?"
Yes, I have. It looks so pointless. I just don't get it, and have nothing further to say on it beyond what was said on the podcast. Having said, this game came out at a terrible time, when the industry's reputation has been shot by recent events. We need to rebuild our credibility, not shatter it further.

"Have any of you guys played the old Ninja Gaiden games?"
I have, but I am really bad at them. The only game I played in the franchise is Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I died... a lot.
Chris is in a much better position to talk about them than I would be.

0:45:20 I played Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
After all of the SMT games that I have played in the past few months, it is of no surprise that the other guys are getting confused by all of them.
An impressions piece on Nocturne will be released in the next few days. Expect an impressions piece on it in the next few days. My explanations on the cast we're great, so I hope that piece will better clarify my thoughts.
Yeah. Interesting, if niche, game.
The article on Persona 3/4 that Sam is referring to is this one that I wrote.

1:01:00 I played Shin Megami Tensei IV.
The big thing I am noticing in SMT IV is that ATLUS has finally been clued in to the fact that literally no one liked how fusion was strongly linked to needed to deal with the random number gods.
Which is a good thing. It saves the player a lot of time and patience.
Having said that, this is still an SMT game. Do not expect the game to give a shit about your pansy ass.
That comment on Persona being SMT-lite really isn't a joke. The original intention behind the Persona franchise was to make a more beginner-friendly SMT game. It did not succeed.
Technical difficulties were experienced.

1:11:50: Chris has been playing Hyrule Warriors.
And, very briefly, goes into a rant about how Dynasty Warriors gets a bad rap. I tend to agree with him on that, personally. Yeah, the Warriors games are stupid fun, but stupid fun is fun nonetheless. I even find myself enjoying them when I play them, as rare as those occasions are.
I sincerely wonder if Ganondorf being the bad guy is a spoiler. It is a lot like Mario and Bowser, where it would be more surprising to not have him as the villain. At the same time, some people might be upset at finding that out.
Aside from that, I have not much more to add to the conversation in the cast.

1:30:10 Sam was selling furniture.
Which gives me a pun opportunity.

1:32:10 Sam plays Adventure Express (by Adult Swim Games)
And it's freemium. Interestingly enough, it reminds me of Marvel Puzzle Quest.

1:33:50 Sam tried a game called Out There.
Not much to say.

1:35:50 Sam played a game called Device Six.
Again, not much more to add beyond what was said.
The trailer Sam was referring to is here.

1:42:50 Sam picked up Shadow of Mordor.
One of the rare times where you'll hear negative critiques of the game.

1:47:30 Sam talks with my game design buddies about indie games.
I honestly did not know my friend Javy was designing his own games. One of the ones Sam was talking about is this one. The site Sam says Javy referring him to was this one.

Javy himself is a pretty cool dude, that I talk games with all the time. You can follow him on Twitter. When Bioshock: Infinite was released, I did a Spoiler-Cast with Javy and our mutual friend Marc Price after we had all finished it. You can find that here.

1:53:00 Wrapping up.
My Impressions of Project X Zone are here.
And Sam's website is here.

The Texture Pop: Episode 10: Are You Tsunder Ready?!

So, Sam could not join us this week because he was away visiting relatives in the foreign country known as Texas. To fill in the vacant slot, I brought a friend of mine Ryu... Ian, to the cast this week.

Also, the image and title for this week were both my idea, so you can go ahead and blame.... thank me for that.



0:00:00 Introductions
To understand the context behind this initial conversation, Ian uses a very crappy headset that only works when a game is playing on his console. You'd have to ask him more about it, because I would never purchase a headset like that.

0:05:10 Chris, Ian, and I all bought Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
WE ARE TSUNDEREADY!?
We actually cut our session of Persona 4 Ultimax short to record the podcast. Truthfully, that's probably a large part of why Ryu... Ian joined us for the podcast.

The day this podcast went up, the price for Marie and Adachi went from free to $5. Anyone who hasn't gotten them yet is SOL unfortunately.

I will talk about the story and mechanics more in my upcoming Impressions piece, so you can look forward to that. Although, I will admit that this discussion heavily informed some of my thoughts on the game.

When Chris talked about "It would be worse, they could say 'A battle was fought'", it reminded me of the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days that were included in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ReMIX. That's exactly what they did, but I think it's more acceptable because of the presentation of those scenes.

In terms of fighting games, this is a great purchase because they added so much to the game. The discussion is so through that I think it stands on its own very well.

Also, the fact that the original P4 Arena Story is DLC reminds me of how the story of the Dissidia: Final Fantasy was included in Dissidia 012: Duodecim when that game was released.

This discussion did give Garrett ample time to come into the chat, luckily enough.

0:41:35 I finished Digital Devil Saga 2 (finally)
I will say, explaining this story to someone else is really silly unless you were actually following it from the very beginning. I really can't listen to my own explanation without laughing.

It's the weirdest use of Buddhism I've ever played. And you can

*SPOILERS* Also, I constantly mistakenly refer to Seraph as "he." Canonically, since they are fusion of a guy and a girl, they are technically hermaphroditic.

You can also see my impressions piece on that game here.

0:52:30 I was accepted? into a beta for Dragonball: Xenoverse.
And I have literally nothing to say about it.

0:53:30 I Kickstarted One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak.
And we talk about pricing and stuff. The Kickstarter is here if you are curious.

0:55:00 Ian reformatted his HDD.
And he talk about the games he played since he lost the save data for them, like The Last of Us, Suda 51 games like Shadows of the Damned, and Platinum Game's games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

We then detour to discuss Avatar: The Legend of Korra and binge watching as a concept.

Ian probably would have talked more if we didn't spend all our time playing Persona 4 Ultimax.

1:05:00 Garrett plays League of Legends
And we talk a bit about F2P games and other things.

1:09:30 Garrett plays The 3rd Birthday and The Yawg.
I unfortunately cannot comment too much on these games, because I've never played.

1:10:15 Garrett saw Box Trolls?
I don't know if I got that title right.
We also take a brief detour to discuss movies.

1:11:55 Garrett goes back to The Yawg to discuss it some more.
And some of the things in the game sounds pretty gruesome from what he was talking about.

1:17:25 Garrett talks comics!

1:18:10 Chris goads Garrett into talking about Destiny.
And we're still the #1 Destiny podcast on the internet.

Since Ryu... Ian is here, I get to take this time to tell him off for convincing me to play the beta because it's "teh best thing evarrrrrrrrrr!"

I would really like to see a "developer tell-all" about Destiny. I think it would be truly fascinating. There has to be a story behind what we got as the final product.

This conversation is probably nothing you haven't seen before on the internet in some capacity. It's a fine game, but it's not the ultimate god-slaying game of awesome that people thought it would be.

1:29:15 Chris recently obtained a Wii U.
Specifically, the Mario Kart bundle.
He also seems to really enjoy all of the features of the Wii U.

I actually did not know that the Wii U GamePad could be used as a semi-universal remote the way Chris describes.

It seems like installation was pretty easy for him too.

We also talk briefly about services like Netflix and YouTube and how they compare on different consoles.

1:36:55 Chris talks about the games he bought for the Wii U.
It's Mario Kart. Do you really need me to talk about it? Everyone knows how good Mario Kart games are.

He also got Wonderful 101 and Hyrule Warriors. I don't have much to say about Wonderful 101, but Hyrule Warriors looks amazing. I have been watching footage of that game, and even as someone with no interest in Zelda or Wii U, that game looks HYPE!

1:40:10 We discuss Wii U hardware again.
Being able to use the GamePad in so many ways makes it an interesting, and very useful multi-purpose tool. I was actually surprised at this, because I honestly didn't know that the GamePad had so many features.

1:50:07 Ending
Turns out we actually did release the cast on time... but I was just dragging my feet too much.