212: Behind the English Box

Clawing our way out of the ice! This April, we share notes; what do Patreon and Uniqlo have in common?; platforms and piracy in the realms of games, movies, and music; Ray reports on his sojourn to the Game Developers Conference; publically announcing the bar's closure; Alex is finally diagnosed with Advanced Stage Alex; a trip to the Koban; FF7R (no, the new one) and a critique of precious dialogue; the many faces of Akira Toriyama; Phone Phun, and a collection of Collections! Check out our pavilion at the Minute Maid Spring Break Concert Series sponsored by Mint Mobile! Mint Mobile: Why Else?

Hey whoa, get a load of this: It's a packed discussion about a packed month, and we lead off with ACAB Japan; game developers and the conferences that love them; way too much about taxes (it's March, give us a break!); dumb slogans and the guys who read them; two big RPGs with big parties, including Cosmic Kiryu; applause breaks; Alex retro-achieves crawling back to Vana'Diel; and hey, play some of those free games! As ever, this podcast is nonrefundable.

Celebrating our fourth leap year! This episode, the podcast returns to free-range easy-livin'; the enigma of the podcast promo; the inaugural installment of What Did Alex Do?; commencing Operation Sunset (thanks in part to the rules of Japanese unemployment insurance); phone etiquette in the wild; Alex concludes his research on Love Letter RPGs; Ray continues to like a dragon; games on the horizon and an analysis of survival horror combat; a tight and tidy Phone Phun, and video games for fitness and otherwise! This is the last rest area for 60 miles!

Casting pods for 242 years! Or it feels like it, anyway! This time: Alex shoulders the burden of being an American taxpayer; for Ray, No More Schoolers; how both those things leave us hopeless; Hemophobes beware because talk about a very bloody good time; and obsolete sitcoms rule our lives. This podcast is like AI but we can't tell you how to start a car dealership.

A December to never forget! This episode, Alex's Thanksgiving journey leaves him jet-lagged and loopy; a busted entertainment unit leads to mild inconvenience; Firewatch with me; Like A Dragon and turmoil in the Seiyuu Clan; anime's unfortunate effects on modern VA; dealing with cranky friends and family; negativity on social media; recapping the 2023 Game Awards; more cool folks visit the bar, and tax updates all around! Get your picture taken with us!

One in-person wedding and global pandemic later, we're back to our NMW holiday tradition: the Pittsburgh call-in! Alex reports on food ate, backs hurt, and Mario games played. And will they ever find frozen artichoke hearts? PLUS special guest: the contractors' saw!

240: No longer just a Frappuccino calorie count! This time it's all about the infeasible pasta bowl; Japan's jobs drying up; Halloweirdos; the soothing sounds of Killer Kuts; Resident Evil Zero six! I mean sucks! (Resident Evil Six is cool); making games: still messy!; And running a bar, for that matter!; curious yellow cartridges, and frankly, this one is thick with video game talk. This podcast is the vanilla next to chocolate and strawberry. ===MUSIC==== Guitar Vader - Super Brother Bitei Matsuki - The Magic of Creation

Get spooked or die trying! This episode, vaccines all around; a veritable dental bloodbath; haircuts outsourced and otherwise; higher education plods along; cool visitors to the bar; so long, Zuck; another Nintendo Direct recap!; a disdain for references; the Unity mistake; Like A Dragon fails to follow through; the bloom is off the Persona, and an adults-only Phone Phun! King Size candy bars or bust!! ==MUSIC== 2 Mello - Benten-cho Boogie Masayoshi Soken - Course Uncharted

(This episode is a free public preview! Catch the rest of the series at our Golder Subscriber tier on Patreon! patreon.com/nomorewhoppers) Alex and Ray collide as we enter -- then exit -- the GIA. Eight weird months follow.

If you're a fan of ours, you'd be home by now! For the occasion of the 238th episode, we have good cop/bad cop at the government office; the Wind Era; intense corn; post-Natsumon thoughts; shedding shame in order to live; and a pixel art RPG about a venerable star ocean! This podcast does not operate in the jurisdiction of the bone zone.   ===MUSIC==== Kukikodan - Hakugin No Shoujo Masayuki Yamamoto - Lucky