Got Any Topics For The Podcast?

There are several that popped into my head as interesting possibilities: ie. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Dune Series (already exists technically, but I'd like to see a modern take), A Wrinkle in Time, The Silmarillion, Out of the Silent Planets. In general, most of what popped in my head are some science fiction novels mixed with fantasy – or straight fantasy. On a gameplay front, not all of them have a straight forward answer, but could make for expanded worlds to explore.

Ha! I'd have to think about it in order to get specific, but one thing I can say is that it would be a transforming character (like Sheik/Zelda) and down B would transform Warialasky into Time Cop.

Resonant Arc

I actually can't think of a feature that I think would disappear entirely ten years from now. If I had to pick something just for kicks I'd say random encounters but I really don't see that happening. There are so many retro style rpgs that are selling well right now that I can't see the older design philosophy going away any time soon. That being said I think Octopath and Bravely Default are part of a small subset of games that serve the audience looking for those old school experiences. While Final Fantasy moves away, I think it's good that they hold true to some of those features that have been lost by Square's flagship.

Resonant Arc

In agreement with you there man 👍🏼💔

That's a very good question! I'm actually not sure I have a good answer to it. What do you think?

Resonant Arc

To some extent I think they've already lost them. Almost all I see in any discussion about Square is how they're incompetent, don't know how to tell a story, etc. If the FF7 Remake is divisive though, I think it will for sure be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of us older fans. For me personally it will be my last straw, so yeah I think that would be fair to say.

Resonant Arc

If SE mess up the FF7 remake, do you see then losing the majority of their loyal; old time fan base?

No, unfortunately. I'm not on the level where I can travel out of the country yet.

Resonant Arc

What game do you think you will cover after Vagrant Story? Grandia, Legend of Dragoon, Illusion of Gaia, Breath of Fire III, Soul Blazer, Terranigma, Secret of Mana, Shining Force I or II, etc? (Just some suggestions)Also when do you think the Golden Age of RPGs or the Golden Age of gaming began and ended? What is your view of the PS1 era at this point?

Are you guys going to Gamescom?

Mike, while listening to an earlier podcast (I'm an audio podcast listener - represent!), you and Casen were talking about what a pain the Great Crystal/Giruvegan was in FFXII and how Casen quit close to the end. Reflecting on what a rough patch that part of the game was for me personally I had a couple questions: 1.) When do you consider an RPG "completed" (e.g. story finished, platinumed, "Completionist"-finished, etc.)? Personally, I shoot for platinum trophies in the beginning, but end up settling when I have beat all the bosses and story content. 1a.) How would you expand this to other genres? 2.) Continuing with the above, how often do you find yourself "burnt out" on end-game/post-game content (or perhaps almost end-game like Casen) and never actually complete the game? For example I've come *this* close to beating the following games but just lose interest, take an extended break, hit the point where I'll never gather the gumption to push through, and leave them psuedo-completed: FFX HD - Maxing out sphere grid to prep for fighting Penance, so I never finish the final boss either (who is laughably easy at this point). FFXII - Grinding out levels to defeat Yizamat. In addition to levels, I just can't get myself psyched enough to take on a 50MM HP marathon boss. Never beat the game prepping for this. FFXIII - I beat the story, but burned out on the hunts (especially the last couple where you have to go through the same maze several times). 3.) What do you consider to be good/engaging game design for end-game and post-game content? Also, any updates on Landon? While I very much enjoy the content with just you and Casen, one of the biggest early draws for me has always been when you all go off on tangents about this memory or that. I feel very much like I got to share that experience with you all and get to know you that much better. When Landon is on with y'all the chances of those tangents goes up by 50%. I mentioned it in a comment a while ago, but I'm still down to donate for a charity of your choice to have you guys do a live stream series of Quest 64. :P

The “classic” PS1 Squaresoft titles: Mike, by finishing Chrono Cross recently, you have now completed all of the most acclaimed/well known PS1 JRPG’s from Squaresoft. Final Fantasy 7-9, Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross. (We could add Legend of Mana to this list, but I'm not sure it's quite as well known as the list above. I also left it out because I don't think you've beat it yet but I still wanted to ask this question so....) Questions: In your opinion, how would you personally rank these 7 classic JRPG’s from best to worst? For the games near the top of your list, what did they do better than the other games? And for the games near the bottom, what would they need to improve in order to rank higher for you? (All in your opinion of course) I'm not sure if Casen has played all of these games, but I’d be interested to hear his opinions/ranking on them as well!

What novel do you think would make the perfect RPG story?

Do you think game development companies who could afford it would ever see any benefit in hiring professional writers or novelists to help craft RPG stories? What would that even look like from an execution perspective? How would the two mediums merge to create a playable game, yet one with a better narrative and flow than current RPGs?

What common design features of RPGs (e.g. random encounters) do you think will be eliminated from games ten years from now? Similarly, do you feel that contemporary old-school games (e.g. Octopath, Bravely Default) should be more bold about breaking away from their predecessors in terms of gameplay while retaining their distinctive visual design and aesthetics?

Last week you you spoke of how the only character yet missing from Super Smash Bros is Waluigi, surely a more obvious one should however be Wariolasky. What is Warialasky's design and move set in SSB?

ChocolateRob