Podcast Summary
New Metroidvania game captures Jason's obsession: Jason recommends 'The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown', a non-linear Metroidvania game that has captivated him, despite no prior experience with the series.
The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a new Metroidvania game that has captured Jason's obsession, despite having no prior experience with the Prince of Persia series. The game, developed by Ubisoft Montpelier, has been compared to Metroid and Castlevania titles due to its non-linear exploration and progression. Jason was initially intrigued but not immediately sold, but as he delved deeper into the game, he became completely engrossed. He highly recommends it to listeners, especially those who enjoy Metroidvanias. For those familiar with the Prince of Persia series, Kirk can share insights from the franchise's history, including the delayed Sands of Time remake, which is a different game from The Lost Crown. The trio also discussed their experiences surviving a severe winter storm, including power outages and learning about propane heating systems. They encouraged listeners to check out their bonus episodes, which are available to Maximum Fun members. Overall, the group shared their excitement for discovering new games and the unique experiences they bring.
The Evolution of Prince of Persia: The Prince of Persia series, from its roots as a platformer, has transformed into a Metroidvania-style game with a rich narrative and intricate platforming challenges, showcasing innovative storytelling techniques.
The Prince of Persia series, which originated in the late 1980s, has evolved significantly over the years, from its roots as a platformer to more recent Metroidvania-style games. The latest installment, which the speaker has been playing on both PS5 and Switch, is a Metroidvania game that offers a rich narrative and intricate platforming challenges. The speaker has fond memories of the series, having reviewed earlier titles like The Forgotten Sands, and appreciates the innovative storytelling techniques used in games like The Sands of Time, which allowed the narrative to seamlessly integrate with the gameplay through the use of time rewinding mechanics. Overall, the Prince of Persia series continues to push boundaries and deliver engaging experiences for players.
Exploring the Delights of a New Metroidvania Game: Speaker enjoys major power-ups, teleport ability is a game-changer, draws inspiration from Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, some bugs encountered
The game being discussed, despite some minor bugs, is a delightful Metroidvania experience with major power-ups that significantly enhance exploration and gameplay. The teleport ability, in particular, was a game-changer for the speaker, making them feel like they could do anything. The game also draws inspiration from other successful titles like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, incorporating elements such as shortcuts, enemy respawns, and the retention of items upon death. Overall, the speakers are enjoying the game immensely, finding it to be a worthy addition to the Metroidvania genre. However, the presence of bugs is a notable downside, with one speaker encountering a side quest glitch that left a quest incomplete.
Gameplay bugs detract from the overall experience of a Metroidvania game: Despite excellent gameplay, bugs hinder progression and completion of certain quests in a Metroidvania game, frustrating players who have come to expect consistent progression.
The game in question, despite its excellent gameplay that feels like a natural progression from a beloved title like Hollow Knight, is currently marred by several gameplay bugs that detract from the overall experience. These issues have been reported by some players, including those who gained early access through Ubisoft's subscription service. The bugs don't affect performance but rather the progression and completion of certain quests. This is particularly unfortunate in a game where consistent progression is crucial. On a positive note, the speaker has not encountered any major issues, only a few crashes. They are hopeful for a day one patch to address these concerns. The game's mechanics, borrowing from Hollow Knight and other titles, have been praised for their smooth implementation, making the bugs all the more disappointing. The speaker's analogy of the game being the "b flat blues" of Metroidvanias emphasizes the sense of familiarity and comfort, making the occurrence of these bugs even more frustrating.
Comparing Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight's combat mechanics: Metroid Dread's challenging boss battles require different parry and counter strategies than Hollow Knight, enhancing the classic Metroidvania experience
Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight share similarities in their platforming and combat mechanics, but Metroid Dread introduces more challenging boss battles that require different strategies, such as parries and counters. The speaker found it intriguing to apply his Hollow Knight skills to Metroid Dread, despite some differences in parry timing and boss fight approaches. The game's difficulty settings, including parry timing, add to the classic video game experience and make the challenge enjoyable for players. Overall, Metroid Dread offers a fresh take on the Metroidvania genre with its tough bosses and tight parry mechanics.
Enjoying the Balance of Challenge and Progression in Metroidvania Games: The speaker enjoys Metroidvania games due to their balance of tough challenges and helpful features, such as purchasing hints, taking screenshots-to-map, and quickly retrying boss fights.
The speaker finds enjoyment in games that provide a good balance of challenge and gradual progression. They specifically enjoy Metroidvania games like Hollow Knight and the one they're currently playing, which offer tough platforming challenges and helpful features. These features include the ability to purchase hints from NPCs, a screenshot-to-map function, and the ability to quickly retry boss fights upon death. The speaker also appreciates the dialogue and interactions with NPCs in the game. Despite occasional bugs, they find the game welcoming and worth the challenge. The game's difficulty is tuned for those who enjoy hard games, and the addition of helpful features makes the experience more enjoyable and less frustrating. Overall, the speaker values the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming challenges in these types of games.
Challenging platforming sequences with healing trees and optional rewards: Players face tough platforming challenges, but healing trees and optional rewards reduce stress and enhance satisfaction. Collecting amulets with powers and completing difficult challenges increases slots.
The game features challenging platforming sequences that require skill and planning, but the presence of healing trees and optional rewards makes the experience less stressful and more satisfying. Players collect amulets with various powers and can only acquire more slots by completing difficult platforming challenges. These challenges often involve intricate timing and the use of multiple abilities in the air without touching the ground. The familiar mechanics and gradual increase in challenge difficulty make these sequences enjoyable and rewarding.
A Persian warrior's journey to save a kidnapped prince in a time-cursed mountain: Explore a time-cursed mountain, restore out-of-place objects, and save the kidnapped prince with immortal companions in 'Mount Kuf'. A unique blend of narrative and gameplay inspired by 'Singularity' and 'Ocarina of Time'.
"Mount Kuf," an intriguing action-adventure game, offers a unique blend of compelling gameplay mechanics and an engaging narrative. Players assume the role of a Persian warrior tasked with saving the kidnapped prince, all while navigating a time-cursed mountain where people are trapped in accelerated timelines. The immortal soldiers, who are actually mortals, accompany the player on their journey, adding a sense of camaraderie. The time shenanigans also influence the gameplay, requiring players to restore out-of-place objects and areas. This concept is further enhanced by the narrative, which includes unexpected encounters with characters who have aged significantly due to the time distortions. The game's narrative and gameplay elements are reminiscent of titles like "Singularity" and "Ocarina of Time," offering a captivating and surprising experience.
Character growth in Ocarina of Time: Ocarina of Time effectively uses Link's growth from novice to hero as a captivating storytelling tool. Players witness his transformation, enjoying intriguing palace intrigue, power-ups, challenging platforming, and resonating with classic gaming tropes.
"Ocarina of Time" and similar games effectively use the character's growth and development as a compelling storytelling device. The protagonist, Link, starts as a novice and gradually becomes stronger and wiser, allowing players to witness his transformation into a hero. This narrative of identity evolution across generations is a classic gaming trope that resonates with audiences. During the discussion, the speaker also mentioned some gameplay aspects they enjoyed, such as the intriguing palace intrigue and power-ups. However, they also pointed out minor mechanical issues, like the inconsistent running mechanics and the difficulty of mapping movement to the d-pad. Despite these complaints, they expressed their fondness for the game's challenging platforming sections and the comparison to other titles like Hollow Knight and Celeste. Overall, the speaker appreciated the combination of character development and engaging gameplay in "Ocarina of Time," which has left a lasting impact on them and the gaming community.
A standout platformer with classic NES feel and impressive animation: Sable is a well-designed game with a refined move set, smooth gameplay, fantastic music, and impressive animation, despite its generic art direction.
"Sable" is a well-designed and responsive platformer game with a refined feel reminiscent of classic NES games, boasting a remarkable move set and smooth gameplay. Its music, composed by a talented duo, is fantastic and adds to the overall experience. Despite the game's generic art direction, the animation is impressive, particularly in cut scenes. The game's mechanics and systems are well thought out, and the gameplay is fair and responsive. While some may find the look of the game a bit generic, the game's strengths lie in its gameplay and musical composition. Overall, "Sable" is a standout platformer that delivers an enjoyable and immersive experience.
Celeste's gameplay and precise animations make it enjoyable: Celeste's gameplay and puzzles are its strongest selling points, despite visuals not initially grabbing attention.
While Celeste looks simple at first glance, its gameplay and precise animations make it a satisfying and enjoyable experience. However, the game could benefit from more environmental puzzles, as these types of challenges are a favorite among Metroid and Zelda fans. Despite the game's visual style not standing out initially, the beauty of its environments and the satisfaction of solving puzzles make Celeste a worthwhile play. The game runs smoothly on the Nintendo Switch and its animations, especially those of the enemy and player character, are clear and easy to read. Overall, Celeste's gameplay and puzzles are its strongest selling points, even if its visuals don't initially grab attention.
Discovering joy in problem-solving through video games and everyday topics: The speaker finds joy in video games with platforming and puzzles, appreciates the feeling of mastery, and is fascinated by ordinary topics like cabbage and asphalt. They also recommend the podcast 'The Flop House' and share their newfound interest in weightlifting from the book 'Lift Off: Couch to Barbell'.
The speaker enjoys the sense of problem-solving and creativity that comes with playing video games that incorporate platforming and puzzles. They find the holistic experience of these games impressive and enjoy the feeling of mastery that comes from executing moves at the right time. The speaker specifically mentions "Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown" as an example of a game with excellent environmental puzzles. Another topic discussed on the podcast is the surprising fascination behind ordinary topics, such as cabbage and asphalt. The speaker also promotes their podcast, "The Flop House," where they discuss and analyze bad movies. Moving on to a different topic, the speaker mentions a book they've recently read called "Lift Off: Couch to Barbell" by Casey Johnston. The book aims to teach readers the fundamental weightlifting exercises that can be done with body weight or free weights, eventually leading to the ability to lift a standard barbell found in gyms. The speaker shares that they've followed the author on social media for her political opinions and ended up purchasing and reading her book. Despite not being able to apply the weightlifting routine to their current situation, the speaker appreciates the knowledge gained from the book.
Exploring the World of Weightlifting with 'Lift Off': Discover the transformative power of weightlifting through 'Lift Off', a beginner's guide to building strength and improving daily life.
Weightlifting, much like playing a video game or learning a new skill, can be a rewarding and transformative experience. The speaker shares her appreciation for the book "Lift Off" by Casey Johnston, which serves as a beginner's guide to weightlifting. Johnston, a former tech and games writer, now focuses on weightlifting and fitness, and her meditative approach to correcting form and using full-body exercises resonated with the speaker. The book is not only for those aiming to lift heavy weights but also for individuals seeking to improve their daily life by building strength. The speaker recommends the book and shares her personal connection to Johnston, who was a guest on their podcast. Additionally, the speaker mentions another book, "Guitar 0: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age" by cognitive psychologist Gary Marcus, which she finished and highly recommends for those interested in learning music as an adult. Overall, these books and experiences highlight the value of continuous learning and self-improvement through various means.
Exploring music, learning, and the brain: Guitar 0 explores the science of music, learning, and the brain through the author's personal journey of learning guitar as an adult and interviews with experts.
"Guitar 0: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age" by Gary Marcus is a thought-provoking book that explores the rules for artificial intelligence, but also delves into the author's personal journey of learning to play guitar as an adult. Marcus, who wrote the book in 2019, shares his fascination with music and the brain, interviewing famous musicians, neurologists, and language experts. The book also touches on the ease with which children learn music and language, and the various parts of the brain required for musical abilities. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in music, learning, and the brain, and is reminiscent of Oliver Sacks' "Musikophilia." Marcus' writing is engaging and relatable, and the book offers insights into the challenges and rewards of learning a musical instrument at any age. If you're intrigued by the idea of rewiring your brain to learn something new, this book is for you.
Competition in Journalism and Polar Exploration: The late 1800s saw intense competition in journalism and polar exploration, with yellow journalism reaching new heights and explorers racing to reach the North Pole, reflecting the narrative tension between the two fields.
The late 1800s was an era of intense competition in both the newspaper industry and polar exploration. Yellow journalism, with its sensational and often fabricated stories, reached new heights during this time. Two notable figures, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, led their respective newspaper empires in a battle for readership. Simultaneously, explorers raced to reach the North Pole, creating a narrative tension that mirrored the newspaper wars. The book "Battle of Ink and Ice" by Daryl Hartman provides a well-written and straightforward account of these events, offering insights into the origins of yellow journalism and the polar exploration race. Despite its complex structure, the book is engaging and provides valuable context for understanding the media landscape of the past and its relevance to our modern era. Recommended for those interested in media history or polar exploration.
