It’s Wednesday, which of course means that another episode of Retronauts is now online. This edition doesn’t have a subject beyond “we respond to listener mail,” and I’m not sure that it’s necessarily a good episode. However, it was a very fun episode to record, including the part in which I transform into an angry, stammering stereotype of a Scotsman.
Yeah, pretty much that.
Actually, I think part of that little outburst came from having just finished Dragon Quest IV the other night. I guess I felt I had to make it up to Ragnar McRyan, ’cause I never used him after the first chapter. Sorry, dude! Your pink armor and bristly blue mustache are awesome, but Alena is much more effective as a damage machine. Also, you can thank me for yesterday’s Dragon Quest V U.S. release date announcement (February 17), because it is almost certainly a result of my finishing DQIV and thinking, “OK, I’m ready for the sequel now.” We’re talking a 12-hour turnaround from thought to press release, you know?
Don’t worry, I’ll use this profound power responsibly, like Uncle Ben taught me.
Funny enough, I just got DQ IV in the mail from Amazon… can’t wait to get into this one. I saw the release for DQ V yesterday and thought I should get on IV first.
I’ve generally been playing with Hero/Torneko/Meena/Maya, though I’ve swapped in Alena when I’ve needed physical damage and Kiryl when I’ve needed Kabuff.
Not a whole lot of Ragnar here either, no. Or…whassname, the old dude. I pretty much just use him for my Zoom spells so I don’t have to spend any MP from characters I actually use.
El_TigroX, I hope you grabbed it from Amazon the other day when it was 20 bucks.
And yeah, Borya was pretty much my Zoom bitch. I feel bad about that, but Maya’s magic is far more useful in combat. She turns into a friggin’ dragon, man. I actually used an all-girl party until Kiryl learned Multiheal, at which point Meena instantly became much less useful in combat.
Hero, Ragnar, Alena, and Meena for me, almost exclusively (except at the very end, when I traded Ragnar in for the TOP SECRET CHARACTER). I suppose subtlety isn’t my forte, but that’s a party that can pretty much steamroll everything by physical power alone, especially once you’ve gotten a liquid metal sword for Meena. Kiryl would’ve been better purely as a healer, but Meena’s a better fighter, and that was my biggest concern.
Could you wish for Chrono Break, plzzzzzz?
This power is like that one Xanth character who could make any wish come true, but only so long as she was unaware of her wish-fulfillment powers. Let’s not jinx it, OK?
C’mon man. Play both Alena and Ragnar. I’ve always found, since healing magic is always so readily available outside of battle and the hero has sufficient healing stuff, that the balls to the wall offensive approach worked best, or at least most efficiently most of the time.
(Reckon this will devolve into a DQ4 party suggestion thread)
Get this man in front of a copy of Snatcher, stat!
Wow, I never thought I’d see a Piers Anthony reference from mr. parish. Must be something wrong with my computer.
Blame me. Coincidentally, I’ve read a ton of Anothony, and yes, I am ashamed.
Bonus stage back? Sweet.
The Scottish Mario segment was definitely the highlight, partly for the impression, yes, but also WOW is it weird to hear Chris Kohler so completely irritated.
I won’t lie: I had tremendous fun dragging out that topic with Sharkey after Kohler put his foot down about ending it.
Not for nothing – the Escapist actually began its life as a character created by the eponymous Cavalier & Clay. Such a fantastic book only to have its character reduced to something as uninteresting as a Golden Age comic book. (The Irony!)
Also worth noting – Sharkey is a treasure. That man needs to be less reclusive and participate in more of 1up’s podcasts. I smile a little wider every time I hear him on the show.
So I have a man-crush? Big Whoop! Wanna fight about it?
Good lord that was a great Retronauts. Probably the funniest one yet.
That is weird that a bunch of people wrote in about Crystalis… I was one, but I didn’t really have anything specific to say about it. It was basically “Hey, I liked Crystalis. Did you?”
Also: I played through Phantom Hourglass again this summer and it bored the hell out of me. I then played through Minish Cap for the hell of it and found it better – which was odd, because my first play through of Phantom Hourglass was pure joy.
Jeremy, I most certainly did pick it up for $20 from Amazon. I was going to wait until after the holidays but that was too good to pass up.
P.S. Maybe I missed it, but do you ever post the name of the music you guys use on the podcast? Some of it seems familiar, but sometimes I don’t know it and want to know what it is.
That was a fun episode… I didn’t have a question or comment to submit but a few came to mind while listening. You should do it again sometime!
My team was Hero (but of course!), Ragnar, Kiryl and Borya for a buff/debuff setup. Ragnar: because Alena can dish it out but she can’t take it. Kiryl: Kabuff, Multiheal. Borya: because Oomph + Sap = squish. I found Maya one-trick-pony boring aside from the dragon thing, and didn’t use Meena at all until the last fight.
Anyhow, I thought DQIV was a blast. Full of cute surprises and good fun. I’m really looking forward to the next one. Thanks, Parish!
It was a good episode because it was a lot of fun for you, it really comes across when you’re enjoying yourself (this episode, the E3 one, the Dreamcast one) as opposed to gritting your teeth adn just trying to get through it (the Taito episode, SMABURA!).
I got called an asshole by Kohler, so my life feels complete.
Also, I went back and played through Sin and Punishment again, and it’s a good game; but the story is just a wee bit out there. I do really want more details from Treasure about their upcoming 360 shooter.