I think the localization conversation does deserve a little more attention at times. If I remember correctly a main critique against Breath of the Wild's iteration of Link was his lack of characterization despite his status as a pre-established character this time around. I recently found out that in the original (Japanese) version for Breath of the Wild, the entries for the quest-log/journal are written in a first-person manner, as though he himself were writing them. A strange omission given it would have played a crucial role in giving Link a little more characterization under the hood. www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/6wouvr/til_in_the_jpn_ver_of_botw_the_quest_journal/
WeebyWhale Link has always been a silent protagonist, and it should stay that way. Just like giving Gordon Freeman a voice would be blasphemy. Those are just butthurt idiots that want their movie games like Uncharted. Link had a lot of personality through his facial animations and body language, just like Mario
I agree that Link should remain unvoiced, and he was. The first-person journal entries would've been another neat subtle addition to Link's characterization without the requirement of speech, just like facial expression and body language. I'm just puzzled as to why the first-person aspect was lost through the localization process. In fact, as that reddit thread depicted, it seemed as though only the English localization in particular suffered this problem.
I'm pretty sure it isn't in the same universe as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or X. It's like Final Fantasy were most of the games aren't in the same universe.
Ben: "We've got great emails this week, they are getting better and better!" Email: I'm puzzled to see Persona 5 nominated for GOTY. Yeah... great email indeed...
One of my favorite features of a good menu is when you can hover over names/terms and a definition/description pops up. You can get so much info, at the player's discretion, from just one screen.
I've been loving the Switch immensely ever since it came out. Just about every game I've played has been fantastic, starting with Zelda, to Mario Kart, to ARMS, (admittedly a low point for me), then Splatoon 2 which I'm still playing now, Mario + Rabbids, FE Warriors which I really enjoy, and then Mario Odyssey capping it off for now. Even if 2018 is half as good for Switch, it will be a good time for sure. All that being said, I honestly don't care much about taking the Switch outside with me on the go, partly for fear of it being lost, or damaged, since it has so much precious data on it already.And this is speaking as someone who takes their 3DS with them everywhere since it's still portable. It's sold me 100 percent on games alone, but I feel iffy about the portable nature still. Maybe that will change someday.
I had skyrim way back on the 360 before I had internet and haven't touched it since, but now I may just have to pick it up again for all the DLC and updates like actually being able to fight on horseback.
Hey there allies, I just wanted to say I've been watching you guys for awhile now and frametrap is my favorite show! I always get super excited to get the notification :) so, u kno, just keep it up! Also I just got a switch and this episode made me feel super good about it haha
regarding the menu email, always online games are a pain when everytime you press a button they force you to wait seconds have to connect to the server
Final Fantasy XIV: Rival Wings sounds a lot like the MOBA-esque Square Enix used to have I think it was called Fantasy Earth Zero or something like that. It was really fun to play
Ben, I understand feeling passionate about a game and being desperate to talk about it, but I think you sometimes need to pause and try to bring your guests into the conversation a bit more. I've only just started the podcast so the only example I have is that basically from 11 mins to 17 minutes, it's just you talking. Towards the end you transition into the more disappointing aspects of the game and look at Brandon, saying "this is something you can touch on". I thought that was a great setup for Brandon to start discussing his experiences of the game, but instead you carried on talking about something that you found disappointing. I feel like posting this comment makes it sound like a big deal and I honestly don't mean it to be. Frame Trap is awesome and you do a great job with it, it's just something I've thought before and wanted to mention. I realise that sometimes your guests may talk for a long time but I feel that trying to have a more dynamic and natural dialogue would be something to aim for, and as the moderator/host that burden falls on you. I appreciate that it's a very hard balancing act though, and my tiny quibble aside I think you do a great job of it.
I agree, I noticed this in the last two episodes! I dig ya a lot Ben, and the show is great! But sometimes you attempt to structure the discussions a little too much. Sometimes I'd like to hear the guests just go off or more back and forth.
After watching most of the show it feels a bit like the previous concept where each panelist spoke about a game that they were playing and especially at the beginning with XB2 giving Ben so much to talk about. Towards the end this changed again and both Brandon and Damiani did some of their own monologues about what interests them. Instead of saying that there shouldn't be any monologues I'd rather suggest that, in such a long show, you accept that monologues are part of it. If this is how long FrameTrap will be then make it part of it and embrace the fact that some things take longer to say and elaborate and that this is the show where that's possible. Rather than shorten it and force back and forth discussions for every topic, look at the topics that suit panelists and you as the host. Look at how you order them so that everyone gets to kick off a discussion or topic. Part of the charm of EZA is that the allies are upfront about the fact they're not playing everything or know everything - this is awesome, refreshing and can be used by involving people who are not well versed in something by simply asking them about their thoughts on what they're hearing. This also means that not everyone will have the same air time on each topic - again, shouldn't matter on a 3.5h show. If a topic results in two out of three participants to go back and forth about something they're passionate about then so be it. Stick to what you're good at and build the show around it - this episode has been really interesting.
Honestly after watching myself I don't think ben or the other allies were dominating the conversations all that much. Sure certain games one person talks about it more since they played and has the most to say about it, but I don't think it was detracting from the others really.
You’re not wrong, but that’s the type of podcast this is. His hype and passion is the reason why ppl watch/listen to this podcast. I’ll be honest I feel the same way you do, but that’s why I skip around this podcast. Unlike the EZA Podcast where I listen to the whole thing. Different type of podcast for different type of ppl.
I am genuinely pleased that Skyrim is getting a bit of a reassessment by the Allies. It went through a little phase where it just became a meme (for understandable reasons - it was absolutely overexposed, and some of the Switch marketing around it seemed a little desperate. Perhaps the general sense of weariness at Fallout 4 didn't help either). But it's a truly outstanding, unique achievement.
I still honestly dont know what the hell the title of this game is. Is it "R: ghosts of war", "Our Ghosts of War", or "Are Ghosts of War"? Everytime Ben says this I feel dumber and dumber, lol!
I think the canned responses to side-quests were also a thing in the first Xenoblade. If you accepted or turned in some of those side-quests there was always a chance the character you played with, or one of the ones in your party, would say some standard line which would give some extra affinity points between the party member and the character you play with. Didn't always fit with what the NPC said, but it added some flair and the extra affinity points were always appreciated. Good preview though. Looking forward to the review, sounds like at least a 4.5 game and maybe even a 5 star game?
Going through old EZA content leading up to the announcement and release of Mega Man reliving the hype of a new Mega Man finally coming out. Hope we can live through another Mega Man again sometime soon ;_;
In regards to awards: I don't care that much about the award per se but in the discussion and the passion people bring to explain why they think "their" game deserves better.
I’m really putting my faith in Ben for Xenoblade 2. I don’t have any doubt the game will be great. I just have never played a jrpg like that and I’m excited to try something new. Plus buying something new on the Switch just feels good.
Relative to games like Middle Earth, Breath of the Wild also doesn't require microtransactions but they can still be used to aid progression. However, unlike Middle Earth, Breath has a ton of equipment and the entire companion feature that are held behind not so micro transactions.
I love during the caught in a frame trap ben says the name of the 3rd person: Damiani nods and brandon is like I have no idea what you just said.....poor brandon love the podcast
When I watch Xenoblade 2 trailers, it revive my dead love for Anime. I’m not like that part of sub-culture not as much as before, and that game is so, Anime. In a good way I mean.
I'm surprised by the question about Persona 5's localization. I think the localization is incredibly well done. It's one of the best localizations I can think of. There's so much dialogue, spoken and text, that feels natural and gets the point of the scene across very well. The only questionable parts that I noticed are the inconsistent pronunciations of Japanese names. For all it does right, I don't see how people think it's anywhere near bad.
Yes, that's very true. This game takes place in Japan, so there naturally will be a lot of nearly untranslatable idioms and cultural differences that are hard to convey naturally. When translated poorly, a lot of that turns into confusing or nonsensical dialogue. They've done a good job with making it all (for the most part) sound reasonable to an English speaking audience, which is a success in my books.
I agree. It does have a some awkward lines, but I imagine that it's also one of the longest scripts for a video game, so it's almost inevitable that such a thing would happen. Also, I've seen localization complaints about character dialogue being unnatural, such as the school principal "overindulging" in his vocabulary use, and I just think that it's part of his characterization. Especially when it's only him that talks in that uniquely formal/proper way.
Tyke you could not see them in Xenoblade X too if I am not mistaken. What you could check is the digital manual. Now for XC 2 you can re-check them as much as you want if you buy them.
Great episode. Regarding the hottake, I think the Switch had a great first year, but I think some people forget Wii U lost a lot in the last two years of its criminally short life so that the Switch could be this good at launch, which was reason enough for me, as a Wii U owner, to not want a Switch at launch (might get one next year, though). I truly feel burned that Zelda got delayed (and lost second screen features which were available early on) for it, that Mario Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids probably were turned into Switch games in the middle of their 3~ year development cycles so that they could be ready for Switch's launch year (the Wii U was killed prematurely and, while I have no evidence those were Wii U games, I find it hard to believe they weren't making those for the previous console, considering development time), that some indie games were DEFINITELY moved to Switch etc.
Do people really think the Persona 5 localization is bad? I mean I can understand people criticizing it, I definitely think it has problems, but bad? I remember hearing a lot of people around release praising the localization, even within EZA, and it feels like everyone secretly agreed to all say it's bad now. Might just be the panel, but is this a widespread thought? Personally, I think it's pretty good, silly at times yes but good.
Oh Ben... Ben... PLEASE play through Earthbound. Even if you don't stream it. Might be a good game to play with the gf cause I know you guys have been doing that. It's a ten. If you don't do it for me, or yourself, do it for Iwata.
quagthias I can see why people like it but those types of games aren’t for me. Like old jrpgs(final fantasy, chrono trigger, earthbound, etc.) I can never play them for more than like 2 hours and then I get bored
Earthbound is simple and yet so charming, funny and have one of the most bizarre dialogue and characters in any RPG ever. Mother 3 is the best of those series tho.
Anyone know that if the guests don't get caught in a Frame trap the sponsers of Frame trap won't get mentioned? Seems like a risky sponsership deal if that's the case :D
I'm fairly sure it's part of the joke. The word get's picked after the fact by Ben. They have always triggered the frame trap which is super unlikely if the word was chosen prior. It's just to break up the pace.
It may help to see it written *Hour Ghostₛ of War* . I'm also from the mid-west so I understand how annoying it can be to enunciate those words correctly. As an aside, many people I know will typically say Om instead of I'm, it's these little things that will help you with speech in the future as long as you're aware of them.
I just wanted to know which game you people voted for GotY at the Game Awards if you did or which game is yours if you didn’t. I voted for Persona 5 (pretty controversial, but was torn up between this, BotW and SMO).
My order is Zelda, Mario and Persona 5. I am sure Xenoblade will be up there as well. I was high on Nier Automata but I enjoyed the first Nier's story and music more. Yakuza 0 was also fantastic. What a year!
Wild Link True, definitely been a phenomenal year. Yakuza and NieR, and to some extent Persona, basically all ‘niche’ titles deserve every bit of recognition they get.
I've never played Skyrim but dammit, Brandon Jones....on the same wee as Xenoblade C 2....you going to finally be the person to push me over the edge to pick it up? UGH. SUUUCKED INNNN
Ben, the rest-level-up thing in Xenoblade 2 was likely done to address the issue in Chronicles where doing all the sidequests tend to overlevel you. You see, Chronicle's skill tree and skill linking system actually has some depth. Depth that lets you pull off shit like beating superbosses at level 50: ruclips.net/video/bwx2oIzAfkA/видео.html. If you wanted to do that, you'd have to ditch most of the sidequests unfortunately. Unsurprisingly, this didn't really become widely known throughout the fanbase because of how poorly it was explained. I wouldn't be surprised if the same possibilities exist in 2. As for Animal Crossing, the lack of features is a limitation of the platform most likely. Both Google and Apple have constraints on app sizes, and while they can certainly work around that.
Lol....it is pretty funny when you're trying to emphasize "Our" Ghosts of War you still keep saying it like "are"..... Say it like "hour" haha. It might be an American thing.
Ben, you need to stress the Our in Our Ghosts of War. Don't say it like R Ghosts of War, but more like Hour Ghosts of War and people will probably understand it more easily. L&R
I hate 1st person view, so I've played about 100 hours of Skyrim in 3rd person on PS3 and I don't understand why somebody would say that you "must" or "need" to play the game in 1st person.
Because it's more clunky to play in that view. It's playable in third person, but it's just not as precise. The animations are also disgusting in that view.
For me, Minecraft is superseded by Portal Knights. I enjoyed that more. More direction but still having plenty of freedom. Mario Odyssey's level design to masterful. Every time I play it, I find out more and more how well-designed things are, and intentionally built for maximizing your skill-set (the coins on top a a huge wall that you scale comes to mind - they put coins up there to let you know, that you are THAT good because they built that challenge with good players in mind). Fantastic! Skyrim - Gushing since 2011. Oh, and I liked Mass Effect 3 on WiiU. I played the PC version and PS4 version. And, I thought the WiiU port was very competent! VC. Damn. I want to consolidate my retro game collection to ONE system. And portable!! Super Metroid. Portable. NETFLIX, RUclips, HULU, etc -> MORE VALUE TO THE SWITCH!! How can ANYONE say "no" to putting that on it.
Not everyone that is critical of nintendo are looking for them to fail. It's a great 1st year but its still a year backed by the same 2 franchises that have kept nintendo alive for what feels like 50 years now lol. Yes both mario and zelda are great games, but now we're most likely going to be waiting around 4 years until we play another zelda or mario of that type and quality. For me, switch is not a system i'm going to be getting 3rd party AAA titles for because i have other options where they both look and perform better. I feel like nintendo needs a company to make exclusives for them like they had with RARE back in the day. Something like a nintendo exclusive in the vein of persona would be great to play on the go. I just don;t want to get caught up in all the hype for the switch and have the same situation where im playing the crap out of mario and zelda and then forcing myself to buy inferior versions of games just to have stuff i want to play on that system until the next huge entry in one of nintendos ip's.
Everyone is so salty about all the Nintendo content in this podcast haha. Sure there is a place for Nintendo stuff but this is Ben's open forum podcast. If the topic of discussion is Nintendo then so be it. Doesn't mean next episode of every episode has been purely Nintendo talk. Get over it.
All I'm hearing is a couple of actually interesting exclusives, and games you've already played but on the go now. That's not enough. My Switch still sees the least amount of use out of all of my gaming devices. It's not even close to my PC or PS4, not even almost close. And buying a multiplatform game for the Switch feels like buying Persona 5 for PS3. I have a choice to play it on a better machine, so why would I ever get the objectively inferior version? I hope 2018 is a good year for the Switch, because I already paid for it, and I'd love for it to justify my purchase.
I feel like nintendo has finally broken the trend of casualising and dumbing down their games since the wii/ds's success. Skyward sword and SM3DW were prime examples of this. Their sequels are such a big improvement.
I can't listen to Damiani's straw manning anymore. He does it so much it's infuriating, the only way he can communicate ideas is by creating a character that espouses ideas he doesn't like.
Persona 5 is fantastic in English. So her name is pronounced as Ahhhnn instead of Ann and other names are slightly off... who cares. Still better localization than 95%+ of other Japanese games.
Sorry, Damiani. There is no chance that I am going to be positive about Nintendo until they consistently go against history. They are still doing a lot of things wrong which includes esports, RUclips Let's play policy, inventory issues, charging a premium to 3rd parties on manufacturing due to their cartridges, the amiibos, constant rehash of their first party IPs, a poor online infrastructure and obsession with control. Year 1 should have been great for them. The real test begins at year 2 for the Switch.
Char Aznable the voice acting is way better than it was when it was showed off dude. Also the voice acting for some of the characters in Zelda was fucking horrendous and it's up for GOTY.
Robert Hall RIP buddy. 100 years old is a great number to reach.
I think the localization conversation does deserve a little more attention at times. If I remember correctly a main critique against Breath of the Wild's iteration of Link was his lack of characterization despite his status as a pre-established character this time around. I recently found out that in the original (Japanese) version for Breath of the Wild, the entries for the quest-log/journal are written in a first-person manner, as though he himself were writing them. A strange omission given it would have played a crucial role in giving Link a little more characterization under the hood.
www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/6wouvr/til_in_the_jpn_ver_of_botw_the_quest_journal/
WeebyWhale Link has always been a silent protagonist, and it should stay that way. Just like giving Gordon Freeman a voice would be blasphemy. Those are just butthurt idiots that want their movie games like Uncharted. Link had a lot of personality through his facial animations and body language, just like Mario
I agree that Link should remain unvoiced, and he was. The first-person journal entries would've been another neat subtle addition to Link's characterization without the requirement of speech, just like facial expression and body language. I'm just puzzled as to why the first-person aspect was lost through the localization process. In fact, as that reddit thread depicted, it seemed as though only the English localization in particular suffered this problem.
Can't wait to play Xenoblade 2!
first time trying a game in that universe.
If you can find a way and the time to go back, both games are fantastic. The first is one of the greats!
Me too
It's a bad anime with auto-attack, action bar combat. Oh, and fetch quests in an copy-paste world. With robots.
The others are great. Xenogears and Xenosaga too.
I'm pretty sure it isn't in the same universe as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or X. It's like Final Fantasy were most of the games aren't in the same universe.
There is just something so satisfying when I wake up to have my morning coffee and a new episode of Frame Trap episode.
A tip for the pants in AC Pocket Camp: if you put on a dress and then a shirt, it will revert to default pants
Hearing Ben talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 enthusiastically makes the wait for the game even harder...
Ben: "We've got great emails this week, they are getting better and better!"
Email: I'm puzzled to see Persona 5 nominated for GOTY.
Yeah... great email indeed...
Thanks Ben for all the XC2 talk, this sounds excellent. Can't wait until Friday.
One of my favorite features of a good menu is when you can hover over names/terms and a definition/description pops up. You can get so much info, at the player's discretion, from just one screen.
I've been loving the Switch immensely ever since it came out. Just about every game I've played has been fantastic, starting with Zelda, to Mario Kart, to ARMS, (admittedly a low point for me), then Splatoon 2 which I'm still playing now, Mario + Rabbids, FE Warriors which I really enjoy, and then Mario Odyssey capping it off for now. Even if 2018 is half as good for Switch, it will be a good time for sure.
All that being said, I honestly don't care much about taking the Switch outside with me on the go, partly for fear of it being lost, or damaged, since it has so much precious data on it already.And this is speaking as someone who takes their 3DS with them everywhere since it's still portable. It's sold me 100 percent on games alone, but I feel iffy about the portable nature still. Maybe that will change someday.
As burnt out as I've been with Bethesda games as of late, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Damiani talk about Skyrim. A little tempted to go back.
I had skyrim way back on the 360 before I had internet and haven't touched it since, but now I may just have to pick it up again for all the DLC and updates like actually being able to fight on horseback.
the evil within is one of the freshest bethesda games and coolest .
abacheese oh I'm sure it was, but I was mostly referring to the Todd Howard team and not Bethesda the publisher.
Bethesda is killin it!..i dove back into skyrim..lovin it
3 and a half hour podcast. Fuck yes!
Frame Trap is one of my Most favorite shows, thanks for all you do
Loved hearing these skyrim stories!
Hey there allies, I just wanted to say I've been watching you guys for awhile now and frametrap is my favorite show! I always get super excited to get the notification :) so, u kno, just keep it up! Also I just got a switch and this episode made me feel super good about it haha
I'd love to hear what Brandon thinks about XC2!
regarding the menu email, always online games are a pain when everytime you press a button they force you to wait seconds have to connect to the server
that like reaching the end credits at level 100 , what a run !
Final Fantasy XIV: Rival Wings sounds a lot like the MOBA-esque Square Enix used to have I think it was called Fantasy Earth Zero or something like that. It was really fun to play
Ben, I understand feeling passionate about a game and being desperate to talk about it, but I think you sometimes need to pause and try to bring your guests into the conversation a bit more. I've only just started the podcast so the only example I have is that basically from 11 mins to 17 minutes, it's just you talking. Towards the end you transition into the more disappointing aspects of the game and look at Brandon, saying "this is something you can touch on". I thought that was a great setup for Brandon to start discussing his experiences of the game, but instead you carried on talking about something that you found disappointing.
I feel like posting this comment makes it sound like a big deal and I honestly don't mean it to be. Frame Trap is awesome and you do a great job with it, it's just something I've thought before and wanted to mention. I realise that sometimes your guests may talk for a long time but I feel that trying to have a more dynamic and natural dialogue would be something to aim for, and as the moderator/host that burden falls on you. I appreciate that it's a very hard balancing act though, and my tiny quibble aside I think you do a great job of it.
I agree, I noticed this in the last two episodes! I dig ya a lot Ben, and the show is great! But sometimes you attempt to structure the discussions a little too much. Sometimes I'd like to hear the guests just go off or more back and forth.
After watching most of the show it feels a bit like the previous concept where each panelist spoke about a game that they were playing and especially at the beginning with XB2 giving Ben so much to talk about. Towards the end this changed again and both Brandon and Damiani did some of their own monologues about what interests them.
Instead of saying that there shouldn't be any monologues I'd rather suggest that, in such a long show, you accept that monologues are part of it. If this is how long FrameTrap will be then make it part of it and embrace the fact that some things take longer to say and elaborate and that this is the show where that's possible. Rather than shorten it and force back and forth discussions for every topic, look at the topics that suit panelists and you as the host. Look at how you order them so that everyone gets to kick off a discussion or topic. Part of the charm of EZA is that the allies are upfront about the fact they're not playing everything or know everything - this is awesome, refreshing and can be used by involving people who are not well versed in something by simply asking them about their thoughts on what they're hearing. This also means that not everyone will have the same air time on each topic - again, shouldn't matter on a 3.5h show. If a topic results in two out of three participants to go back and forth about something they're passionate about then so be it.
Stick to what you're good at and build the show around it - this episode has been really interesting.
Honestly after watching myself I don't think ben or the other allies were dominating the conversations all that much. Sure certain games one person talks about it more since they played and has the most to say about it, but I don't think it was detracting from the others really.
I don’t think Ben dominated at all. Brandon and Domiani are both good listeners, while Ben’s keeping out dead air.
You’re not wrong, but that’s the type of podcast this is. His hype and passion is the reason why ppl watch/listen to this podcast. I’ll be honest I feel the same way you do, but that’s why I skip around this podcast. Unlike the EZA Podcast where I listen to the whole thing. Different type of podcast for different type of ppl.
"Beat the snake"
- Ben, 2017 (I'm sorry)
I am genuinely pleased that Skyrim is getting a bit of a reassessment by the Allies. It went through a little phase where it just became a meme (for understandable reasons - it was absolutely overexposed, and some of the Switch marketing around it seemed a little desperate. Perhaps the general sense of weariness at Fallout 4 didn't help either). But it's a truly outstanding, unique achievement.
Hoo boy. It's already 4 am for me. Guess I'm just not sleeping tonight.
Top same, friend
Little did Ben know, but he predicted Megaman 11 weeks before it was announced.
OURGOATSOFWAR sounds like a GOAT game
Personally, I think Argo s'Avore sounds a bit hoity-toity.
I still honestly dont know what the hell the title of this game is. Is it "R: ghosts of war", "Our Ghosts of War", or "Are Ghosts of War"? Everytime Ben says this I feel dumber and dumber, lol!
Man i shouldn't get Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with my insane backlog, but i still really wanna play it, at least already finishing Mario Odyssey.
I think the canned responses to side-quests were also a thing in the first Xenoblade. If you accepted or turned in some of those side-quests there was always a chance the character you played with, or one of the ones in your party, would say some standard line which would give some extra affinity points between the party member and the character you play with. Didn't always fit with what the NPC said, but it added some flair and the extra affinity points were always appreciated.
Good preview though. Looking forward to the review, sounds like at least a 4.5 game and maybe even a 5 star game?
THNXS!!!
2:22:00 is there hope?
Going through old EZA content leading up to the announcement and release of Mega Man reliving the hype of a new Mega Man finally coming out. Hope we can live through another Mega Man again sometime soon ;_;
When Fate/Stay's name got dropped. I smiled.
25:42
Ben Moore, November 2017
Do U need to play Xenoblade 1 first? Is it better to play 2 now for the zeit geist or to play 1 anyway and play 2 a year or 2 from now
In regards to awards: I don't care that much about the award per se but in the discussion and the passion people bring to explain why they think "their" game deserves better.
I’m really putting my faith in Ben for Xenoblade 2. I don’t have any doubt the game will be great. I just have never played a jrpg like that and I’m excited to try something new. Plus buying something new on the Switch just feels good.
Relative to games like Middle Earth, Breath of the Wild also doesn't require microtransactions but they can still be used to aid progression. However, unlike Middle Earth, Breath has a ton of equipment and the entire companion feature that are held behind not so micro transactions.
I love during the caught in a frame trap ben says the name of the 3rd person: Damiani nods and brandon is like I have no idea what you just said.....poor brandon love the podcast
90 minutes of Nintendo
Awesome!
Nintendo is back baby.
Yup, Sony dude.
ib0show yessss
Because we don't have a Nintendo show :(
I miss Kyle or Blood on this, they always play random games or something cool and unexpected
Trick to getting the default pants back. Put on a dress and then change it to a shirt :D
1:20:54 Jones knows he's in deep trouble.
Damani's water looks super refreshing.
An upbeat episode is all I need after all those bad news about micro transactions and loot boxes!
When I watch Xenoblade 2 trailers, it revive my dead love for Anime. I’m not like that part of sub-culture not as much as before, and that game is so, Anime. In a good way I mean.
Dot Park I wanna go in blind. I didn't watch any of the trailers
+Tryhardblackguy I saw which artist designed what, and oh man, I surprised by myself how much I remember Japaness sub-culture things.
It's ok to like anime :(
+Skyedogg no one said it's not my friend :) who know maybe this game bring me back to anime again XD
Is that a Waluigi Ouija behind Damiani?
MOAR!!!!!
I'm surprised by the question about Persona 5's localization. I think the localization is incredibly well done. It's one of the best localizations I can think of. There's so much dialogue, spoken and text, that feels natural and gets the point of the scene across very well. The only questionable parts that I noticed are the inconsistent pronunciations of Japanese names. For all it does right, I don't see how people think it's anywhere near bad.
ajtrink it's one of the best localizations I can think of with a hard core Japanese focused game
Yes, that's very true. This game takes place in Japan, so there naturally will be a lot of nearly untranslatable idioms and cultural differences that are hard to convey naturally. When translated poorly, a lot of that turns into confusing or nonsensical dialogue. They've done a good job with making it all (for the most part) sound reasonable to an English speaking audience, which is a success in my books.
I agree. It does have a some awkward lines, but I imagine that it's also one of the longest scripts for a video game, so it's almost inevitable that such a thing would happen. Also, I've seen localization complaints about character dialogue being unnatural, such as the school principal "overindulging" in his vocabulary use, and I just think that it's part of his characterization. Especially when it's only him that talks in that uniquely formal/proper way.
Easy Allies guys, you can buy the tutorials again in Torigoth Town on Xenoblade chronicles 2, so it is not really a problem.
Willians Santos wait you can't see them at any time like in the previous game?!
Tyke you could not see them in Xenoblade X too if I am not mistaken. What you could check is the digital manual. Now for XC 2 you can re-check them as much as you want if you buy them.
I think it would be more clear if you said it like hour ghosts of war
You used the GBA to go to the island in the Gamecube Animal Crossing.
Great episode. Regarding the hottake, I think the Switch had a great first year, but I think some people forget Wii U lost a lot in the last two years of its criminally short life so that the Switch could be this good at launch, which was reason enough for me, as a Wii U owner, to not want a Switch at launch (might get one next year, though). I truly feel burned that Zelda got delayed (and lost second screen features which were available early on) for it, that Mario Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids probably were turned into Switch games in the middle of their 3~ year development cycles so that they could be ready for Switch's launch year (the Wii U was killed prematurely and, while I have no evidence those were Wii U games, I find it hard to believe they weren't making those for the previous console, considering development time), that some indie games were DEFINITELY moved to Switch etc.
Do people really think the Persona 5 localization is bad? I mean I can understand people criticizing it, I definitely think it has problems, but bad? I remember hearing a lot of people around release praising the localization, even within EZA, and it feels like everyone secretly agreed to all say it's bad now. Might just be the panel, but is this a widespread thought? Personally, I think it's pretty good, silly at times yes but good.
Oh Ben... Ben... PLEASE play through Earthbound. Even if you don't stream it. Might be a good game to play with the gf cause I know you guys have been doing that. It's a ten. If you don't do it for me, or yourself, do it for Iwata.
quagthias I can see why people like it but those types of games aren’t for me. Like old jrpgs(final fantasy, chrono trigger, earthbound, etc.) I can never play them for more than like 2 hours and then I get bored
Earthbound is simple and yet so charming, funny and have one of the most bizarre dialogue and characters in any RPG ever. Mother 3 is the best of those series tho.
Anyone know that if the guests don't get caught in a Frame trap the sponsers of Frame trap won't get mentioned? Seems like a risky sponsership deal if that's the case :D
I'm fairly sure it's part of the joke. The word get's picked after the fact by Ben.
They have always triggered the frame trap which is super unlikely if the word was chosen prior.
It's just to break up the pace.
Oh.. x) But there used to be loads of episodes where they diden't trigger the Frame Trap? I guess it's different now the show's sponsered.
It may help to see it written *Hour Ghostₛ of War* . I'm also from the mid-west so I understand how annoying it can be to enunciate those words correctly. As an aside, many people I know will typically say Om instead of I'm, it's these little things that will help you with speech in the future as long as you're aware of them.
I just wanted to know which game you people voted for GotY at the Game Awards if you did or which game is yours if you didn’t. I voted for Persona 5 (pretty controversial, but was torn up between this, BotW and SMO).
My order is Zelda, Mario and Persona 5. I am sure Xenoblade will be up there as well. I was high on Nier Automata but I enjoyed the first Nier's story and music more. Yakuza 0 was also fantastic. What a year!
Wild Link True, definitely been a phenomenal year. Yakuza and NieR, and to some extent Persona, basically all ‘niche’ titles deserve every bit of recognition they get.
I voted Persona 5 too! Love it so much. Think it actually might have a chance to win with Zelda and Mario potentially splitting the vote.
Tom Brouwers Nice! Will be crossing my fingers, hoping for that to happen....
P5. Though I've not played the others so it was an easy choice :P
51:04 that's a lot of damage
Ben, please play Earthbound. It stands next to Chrono Trigger and Super Metroid as a classic SNES game that is not overhyped.
Hideo Kojima Earthbound combines its storytelling, gameplay, and atmosphere cohesively on a level few games compare. So ahead of its time.
I love Frame Trap.
5:26 that laugh
Our Ghost of War
45:54 Completely different visually, like DUNBAN a completely different artist
I can't wait to get my Switch!
@Ben yes! play earthbound. I played it for the first time this year and loved it. In return, I'll play TTYD. :)
I've never played Skyrim but dammit, Brandon Jones....on the same wee as Xenoblade C 2....you going to finally be the person to push me over the edge to pick it up? UGH.
SUUUCKED INNNN
Over half a hour of XC2. Good lord.
Qudi Mayonnaise If only they had some sort of Nintendo podcast where they could talk about this, right?
Ben if (you have) equip "alpinist dress" then equip a t-shirt and voila! You got default shorts back.
L&R pocket pals! ✌
Ben, the rest-level-up thing in Xenoblade 2 was likely done to address the issue in Chronicles where doing all the sidequests tend to overlevel you. You see, Chronicle's skill tree and skill linking system actually has some depth. Depth that lets you pull off shit like beating superbosses at level 50: ruclips.net/video/bwx2oIzAfkA/видео.html. If you wanted to do that, you'd have to ditch most of the sidequests unfortunately. Unsurprisingly, this didn't really become widely known throughout the fanbase because of how poorly it was explained. I wouldn't be surprised if the same possibilities exist in 2.
As for Animal Crossing, the lack of features is a limitation of the platform most likely. Both Google and Apple have constraints on app sizes, and while they can certainly work around that.
Lol....it is pretty funny when you're trying to emphasize "Our" Ghosts of War you still keep saying it like "are"..... Say it like "hour" haha. It might be an American thing.
Reely thought it was "argos of war" till today...ben..pronounce it like "hour" maybe
Damiani, The emmy's and the oscars also have cut off points.
Ben, you need to stress the Our in Our Ghosts of War. Don't say it like R Ghosts of War, but more like Hour Ghosts of War and people will probably understand it more easily. L&R
I hate 1st person view, so I've played about 100 hours of Skyrim in 3rd person on PS3 and I don't understand why somebody would say that you "must" or "need" to play the game in 1st person.
Because it's more clunky to play in that view. It's playable in third person, but it's just not as precise. The animations are also disgusting in that view.
Cause it looks like shit in 3rd person
For the Alliance!!! Yeah, Jones!!
Why not set up something like frametrap@easyallies.com to use for questions for this podcast?
I thought there already was a EA nintendo podcast
i beginning to understand the purpose of this podcast. Ben talks and 2 people listen.
Hey, Bloodworth! How much of EZA's budget goes to coffee?? :D
"Hey man!"
Ben, it's hour ghosts. Not are ghosts.
Thanks for the Spoiler warning I can’t wait to play through Xenoblade 2!
For me, Minecraft is superseded by Portal Knights. I enjoyed that more. More direction but still having plenty of freedom.
Mario Odyssey's level design to masterful. Every time I play it, I find out more and more how well-designed things are, and intentionally built for maximizing your skill-set (the coins on top a a huge wall that you scale comes to mind - they put coins up there to let you know, that you are THAT good because they built that challenge with good players in mind). Fantastic!
Skyrim - Gushing since 2011.
Oh, and I liked Mass Effect 3 on WiiU. I played the PC version and PS4 version. And, I thought the WiiU port was very competent!
VC. Damn. I want to consolidate my retro game collection to ONE system. And portable!! Super Metroid. Portable.
NETFLIX, RUclips, HULU, etc -> MORE VALUE TO THE SWITCH!! How can ANYONE say "no" to putting that on it.
Ben if you want your default shorts back just put on a dress then put your shirt back on
Xenoblade? 3.5 hours? I am damn sure really feeling it
Not everyone that is critical of nintendo are looking for them to fail. It's a great 1st year but its still a year backed by the same 2 franchises that have kept nintendo alive for what feels like 50 years now lol. Yes both mario and zelda are great games, but now we're most likely going to be waiting around 4 years until we play another zelda or mario of that type and quality. For me, switch is not a system i'm going to be getting 3rd party AAA titles for because i have other options where they both look and perform better. I feel like nintendo needs a company to make exclusives for them like they had with RARE back in the day. Something like a nintendo exclusive in the vein of persona would be great to play on the go. I just don;t want to get caught up in all the hype for the switch and have the same situation where im playing the crap out of mario and zelda and then forcing myself to buy inferior versions of games just to have stuff i want to play on that system until the next huge entry in one of nintendos ip's.
now bear my arctic blast
Now I think I've got my head around this different dimensions business, but hauuw do I get back to Toe-key-oh?
Localization problems or not, at least Persona 5 is a finished product. Unlike a certain other GOTY nominee. ;)
Hah people complaining about localization of p5, but they are ok with nominating an unfinished game!!!
Hey Ben, just buy a dress and wear it, then take it off. It will get rid of the pants for Animal Crossing
Frame Trap has become Friend Code now?
The Archetype Frame Code? Friend Trap?
No Huber in any podcast this time, is he on vacation or something?
i always stay til the end ben XD
Damian Is crazy odyssey 100% controls better than 64 lol
Everyone is so salty about all the Nintendo content in this podcast haha. Sure there is a place for Nintendo stuff but this is Ben's open forum podcast. If the topic of discussion is Nintendo then so be it. Doesn't mean next episode of every episode has been purely Nintendo talk. Get over it.
All I'm hearing is a couple of actually interesting exclusives, and games you've already played but on the go now. That's not enough. My Switch still sees the least amount of use out of all of my gaming devices. It's not even close to my PC or PS4, not even almost close. And buying a multiplatform game for the Switch feels like buying Persona 5 for PS3. I have a choice to play it on a better machine, so why would I ever get the objectively inferior version?
I hope 2018 is a good year for the Switch, because I already paid for it, and I'd love for it to justify my purchase.
I feel like nintendo has finally broken the trend of casualising and dumbing down their games since the wii/ds's success. Skyward sword and SM3DW were prime examples of this. Their sequels are such a big improvement.
1:10:00 please play earthbound.. please stream
I can't listen to Damiani's straw manning anymore. He does it so much it's infuriating, the only way he can communicate ideas is by creating a character that espouses ideas he doesn't like.
Too short.
Persona 5 is fantastic in English. So her name is pronounced as Ahhhnn instead of Ann and other names are slightly off... who cares. Still better localization than 95%+ of other Japanese games.
Sorry, Damiani. There is no chance that I am going to be positive about Nintendo until they consistently go against history. They are still doing a lot of things wrong which includes esports, RUclips Let's play policy, inventory issues, charging a premium to 3rd parties on manufacturing due to their cartridges, the amiibos, constant rehash of their first party IPs, a poor online infrastructure and obsession with control. Year 1 should have been great for them. The real test begins at year 2 for the Switch.
Kyouya what sad must you be! 🤭
Nintendo has been killing it! The Switch is the first Nintendo home console i've bought since the GC.
salty troll
No one cares
It's hilarious how you list specific and reasonable criticisms, but the fanboys' only defense to those criticisms is to call you sad and a troll.
Xenoblade 2 is a GOTY contender
What?
Char Aznable I love the aesthetic and voice acting... Look up the direct trailer in English, it's really good.
Char Aznable the voice acting is way better than it was when it was showed off dude. Also the voice acting for some of the characters in Zelda was fucking horrendous and it's up for GOTY.
Tryhardblackguy Which voice acting are you talking about in Zelda? English or japanese? Because I felt the japanese voice acting was awesome.
Ma Greiner the award shows don’t use the Japanese version.