Episode 23: What Even Is Exclusive Anymore?

We're joined this time by the fantastic Hayes Madsen to talk about Final Fantasy Resonance, the latest in the Final Fantasy series, and a console reimagining of the mobile game Brave Exvius! We talk about story, gameplay, and what this entry might signal about the future of the Final Fantasy series, and Square-Enix as a whole!Thank you so much to Square-Enix for the review code for this episode, and thank you to Hayes for joining us! If you want to find more of his awesome work, you can at:Bluesky: @solfleet.bsky.socialSkybox: https://skyboxcritics.com/author/madsenhayes/And you can read his review of Final Fantasy Resonance here! https://www.rpgsite.net/review/21594-final-fantasy-resonance-review

The return of Stephen! Stephen is home to talk about the horrible closure of Bioware, and to fill us in on what he's been playing in his extended absence. He has been missed. He also gets to tell Joe off on air, so all is well. Joe and Rhi touch on Final Fantasy: Resonance, and we talk Bioware, of course. And Rhi tells us all about their trip to Scotland. That, and more this time!

Joe bellyached enough about Ape Escape that it seemed that someone was actually listening, how bizarre. He still hates Astro Bot, though. Ryan talks about how he's indoctrinated his Grandma into the streamer lifestyle, and Joe dissects the cultural appeal of Tomb Raider. He doesn't get it, as expected.That much, and how stupid Fortnite is, and even more!

Joe went to the Undertale Determination Symphony, played Fire Emblem, and managed to get a bit of Control in. Ryan's been playing a Dune game that's visually distinct from the movies, we promise. We also talk about the state of remakes in the industry, and what we think they should represent. There are too many remakes, that much we can agree on.

It's the PlayStation game that they wanted you to love, but you probably don't. Join Ryan and Joe as they desperately try to figure out this confusing mess of a release, and dive into the weird design philosophies that seem to be everywhere at the moment. Ryan also shares his thoughts on hotly anticipated Trails of the Sky 2nd Chapter (in which there are several more chapters).Joe also discovers that Marvel characters often have stupid names.

Joe's not played anything this week, he's been trapped on the continent. Ryan's finally beaten Trails in the Sky, and has had a change of heart about a certain small game coming out this November. It's all happening! Ryan and Joe also discuss Kingdom Hearts 4, and the horrific state of DLSS5. A visual example is attached with this episode thumbnail, for your convenience.

It's the week before Gamescom, and the industry seems to not want to slow down at all. Joe's uncharacteristically been playing a lot, with one game so boring that it sent him into a week long stupour, and Ryan has been excluding Joe from a Games Club. It's a normal day. Ryan also seems to think that Earthbound is a real place, we're still trying to work that one out.

Joe and Ryan talk about what the hell makes a good exclusive, and why the hell PlayStation doesn't have any of them. Astro Bot sucks. Splatoon Raiders does not suck. Nintendo knows how exclusive games work! Neither of us have played Balan Wonderworld this week.

Join Joe and Ryan as they try something new, and we decide to get into the news! For longtime listeners, Joe gets the chance to bellyache about the very game that began his podcasting career, and Ryan has to listen. And we talk about how great physical media is. And how awful chicken wings are. That, and more!

After a very normal length episode, and an episode that definitely wasn't lost to Audacity corruption, we're slowing the pace down and talking about Deltarune: Chapter 5. The fifth part of a seven part adventure, there is a lot to talk about with this one!Stick around and listen to Joe and Ryan talk about it!Read Stephen's Thoughts: https://backloggd.com/u/stephenage/review/4883920/And that one video about useless spaces in games! Any Austin's video about NiGHTS is really greathttps://youtu.be/lg9F_A1OcQs?si=HclmGW7923ZdGiGe