4Player Podcast #785 - The Final Fantasy Critic Show (Pacific Drive, Final Fantasy VII Intermission, Unicorn Overlord, and More!)

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looming on the horizon, Nick and Ed both bring other FF7 games to the forefront. Ed shares his thoughts on Crisis Core Reunion and Nick revisits the remake in the form of Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission; the DLC starring Yuffie. While we manage to squeeze in a fair amount of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth talk, Brad jumps on the opportunity to nerd out over the demo of Unicorn Overlord; a demo which is actually just the first 7-hours of the actual game! Nick also sings the praises of Pacific Drive which finds new and exciting ways to tap into the magic of games like Subnautica. Oh... and the industry is on fire.

• Housekeeping - Fantasy Critic updates (6:30)
• Impressions - Crisis Core Reunion (25:45)
• Impressions - Final Fantasy VII Remake Intermission (37:30)
• Impressions - Pacific Drive (58:30)
• Imrpessions - Unicorn Overlord (1:12:05)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (1:37:50)
• 4Player Minute (1:48:00)

We're down a chair this week but it has little effect; Even this early in the year, there is so much to talk about! After Brad officially challenges Nick to play more Japanese games in 2024, the Fantasy Critic talk leads straight into a discussion about Balatro; one of the year's first niche indie darlings! Later, Nick tries to decipher Ultros but it proves more difficult than he imagined. In the 2nd segment, Brad dives deep into the complicated reception of Aspyr's remaster of Tomb Raider 1 - 3. Of course, we cap off the show with some more Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

• Housekeeping - Brad's Japan challenge to Nick (2:40)
• Housekeeping - Fantasy Critic updates (17:10)
• Impressions - Balatro (27:30)
• Impressions - Ultros (40:40)
• Impressions - Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered (57:15)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (1:32:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:45:00)

We open the show this week with the reveal of our community's top 10 games of 2023! After that, we are finally able to play and talk about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League; Rocksteady's long-awaited follow-up to the Arkham series and their first (and hopefully last) foray into GAAS. Krispy has played the entire campaign and has plenty to say about it; Both positive and negative! Brad talks more about Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth this week but he focuses entirely on one aspect... a mini game that can only be described as "Sleazy Animal Crossing." Nick gives his early impressions of Persona 3 Reload as well; Which coincides with his first time playing this game... ever! Finally, the Chris's talk about Helldivers 2 which certainly holds the potential to be surprise hit... the question is: Does it have legs?

• Housekeeping - The Community's Top 10 Games of 2023 (3:50)
• Impressions - Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (30:20)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (1:01:15)
• Impressions - Persona 3 Reload (1:20:00)
• Impressions - Helldivers II (1:35:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:59:20)

This week, we discuss not ONE, but TWO, Sony State of Plays! First, we delve into all of the new info about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Nolan gives us his thoughts after playing through the brand new demo! After that, Brad takes another journey into the wackly world of Yakuza with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and to nobody's surprise, he loves it. In the second half, Nick finally broaches the subject of Konami's handling of the Silent Hill revival after having a few days to contemplate. It's a complex subject given the breadth of projects in development versus the games we have actually played but he does his best. Of course, this includes his thoughts on Silent Hill: The Short Message, a free 2-hour experience that seems dead-set on artificially re-creating P.T... spoiler alert, that was probably a bad idea.

• Housekeeping - GOTY Videos! (3:45)
• Reactions - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth details + Demo Impressions (18:15)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (46:00)
• Inquiring Minds want to Know: How does Nick feel about the Silent Hill Revival thus far?
• Impressions - Silent Hill: The Short Message (1:07:20)
• Recap: Sony State of Play (1:43:05)
• 4Player Minute (2:00:00)

Despite the strong start to the year in terms of good game releases, it's been an overwhelmingly shitty week for the industry thanks to an abundance of layoffs and Embracer's continued reign of terror which has now led to the cancellation of a new Deus Ex game. We do our best to remain positive though amidst the chaos. In the first segment, we catch up on Fantasy Critic and talk predictions ahead of Sony's first big State of Play for 2024. In the second segment, Nick and Brad revel in the sheer quality of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Brad takes us through his early impressions of Tekken 8.

• Housekeeping - GOTY content is starting to roll out (2:40)
• Predictions - State of Play for January 31, 2024 (14:10)
• Headlines - Mass layoffs + Embracer's reign of terror leads to cancelled Deus Ex game (59:20)
• Impressions - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (1:08:30)
• Impressions - Tekken 8 (1:28:30)
• 4Player Minute (1:46:50)

Its 2024 and we are kicking things off with some indie gems and some closer looks at a few big games coming to Xbox later this year. Chris Davis gives us his thoughts on last year's Trepang2 which has us all spiraling about the state of Monolith and the potential (or lack thereof) for a return of the FEAR franchise. Brad talks about two games that seem tailor made for him; Cobalt Core has DNA from both card-based deck builders and FTL; Kingsvein is a super dynamic and systems driven strategy game that feels like a Final Fantasy Tactics game with a heavy dose of immersive sim. In the second segment, we discuss our reactions to Microsoft's latest "Developer Direct" presentation which gave us closer looks at Avowed and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. Of course, we also got our first look at Machine Games new project, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

• Housekeeping - GOTY Plans + Fantasy Critic superdrops
• Impressions - Trepang2
• Impressions - Cobalt Core
• Impressions - Kingsvein
• Headlines - A closer look at Avowed (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• Headlines - Hellblade 2 details and release date (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• Headlines - Debut of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• 4Player Minute

As is customary around these parts... we send off another great year in video game releases with our annual Awards show! Despite our best efforts to trim the fat, it's hard not to talk about the games that we love (and in some cases, hate) so enjoy another long episode! We talk about everything from hidden gems like Pseudorgalia, to indie bangers like Sea of Stars, to massive successes like Baldur's Gate 3! We even venture down some unexpected rabbit holes like the realistic snot that DEFINED Brad's moment of the year and the... tumultuous reactions to Starfield and Final Fantasy XVI.

• Community Game of the Year Drawing Winners
• 2023 Regrets - The games we didn't get to
• Best World / Level Design
• Best Looking Game
• Best Video Game Moment
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Dave the Diver (Nolan) and Baldur's Gate 3 (Kris)
• Best Storytelling **BIG SPOILER WARNING FOR STAR WARS: JEDI SURIVOR (1:33:30)**
• Best Boss Fight
• Best New Character
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed (Ed) and Sea of Stars (Chris)
• Biggest Surprise
• Biggest Disappointment
• Won't Quit You, I Promise
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (Brad) and Hogwarts Legacy (Nick)
• Spotlight Award
• Asterisk Award

With a new year comes an onslaught of new games to be excited about. As is now tradition around these parts, we kick off the new year with the initial Draft in our ongoing Fantasy Critic league! This year, Ed joins the fray, bringing our roster up to seven! We learned a lot over the last year and I think it shows because not only are our individual rosters stronger and spicier, counter-picking was absolute hell! But hey, it makes for a fun podcast. Pay attention at the beginning for the rundown of the rules and all of the changes we have implemented and then sit back and enjoy. Thanks for joining us for another year of video games!

• How Fantasy Critic Works (4:20)
• Determining the draft order (12:10)
• Initial Draft (18:55)
• Counterpicks (1:15:00)

For all intents and purposes, 2023 was a great year for gamers but the development / business side of the industry has taken a savage beating. In our final podcast of the year, we talk about two more high-profile cancellations: Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project AND E3 were both taken off life support in the past week. Brad talks up Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Pizza Tower as he squeezes in a few more games prior to Awards season and Chris Davis has us covered with his thoughts on the remake of Super Mario RPG. In the second half of the show, we devote our time to the past, present, and future of Fantasy Critic. We talk final rankings and then hash out the changes and improvements we want to implement in 2024 - including ways of allowing the community to join in the fun more directly!

• Housekeeping / Game of the Year Plans (2:38)
• Headline: E3 is (finally) dead (14:50)
• Headline: Naughty Dog / Sony Cancel 'The Last of Us' Multiplayer Project (19:45)
• Impressions: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (35:40)
• Impressions: Super Mario RPG (47:00)
• Impressions: Pizza Tower (59:00)
• Fantasy Critic Results and Plans for the Future (1:15:30)

Follow the 4Player 2023 Fantasy Critic League
Submit your Top 10 Games of 2023 for a chance to win a free game in January! The link is pinned in our #goty-2023 channel.

It's an unexpected race against time this week! Sudden, unexpected technical difficulties near the end of the episode force us to do battle with Chris Davis' PC as it tries to silence us. Before that though, we delve into the first ever Grand Theft Auto VI trailer and take a look back at the history of the series and the impact it has had on culture and the industry. Rather than close out the show in our usual fashion, Brad runs us through a series of increasingly ridiculous predictions ahead of The Game Awards.

• Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer Reactions (09:20)
• The Game Awards Predictions (51:35)