Game annotater and journalist John Learned joins the panel to cover dead babies, doing a Batman, and Mr. Bones and me.


Questions this week:

What’d you think of Return to Monkey Island, Frank? (04:57)
What have been the most significant improvements to the Metroidvania format since Symphony of the Night? (11:30)
How many fighters should be in a fighting game? (16:53)
What’s the best use of a musical instrument in a non-music based video game? (21:53)
What job in the video game industry are you not qualified for, but could do an okay job at anyway? (27:14)
Spencer’s Gifts asks: Are lost memories a compelling story device? (35:27)
Violence Island Season 2 (41:37)
Other than an achievement or trophy, what’s the best way to reward a player for 100% completion in a video game? (58:00)

LIGHTNING ROUND: Pull Quotes (01:03:30)


Recommendations and Outro (01:08:19)


Return to the forums to discuss this episode!


A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED:

Alexey Pajitnov

Street Fighter series

Legend of Zelda series

Perry Mason

Asuka 120% series

Radiant Silvergun

Perry Farrell

Demon’s Souls

Dark Souls series

Return to Monkey Island

Monkey Island series

Castlevania / Akumajō Dracula series

F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch

Chasm

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Hollow Knight

Super Metroid

Yoku’s Island Express

King of Fighters series

Tekken series

Skullgirls series

Big Band

Mr. Bones

Ninja Baseball Bat Man

Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures

Darkstalkers series

Super Mario series

Mortal Kombat

Fatal Fury Special

Windjammers

Sunset Riders

Power Dolls

Vagrant Story

Final Fantasy series

Dragon Quest III

Deckard Cain

Abel

Marina Liteyears

U-1

Yuna

Raidou Kuzunoha XIV

Captain Marvel

Captain Commando

Batman: Arkham Knight

Yakuza / Ryū ga Gotoku series

NieR series

Stardew Valley

Recommendations:


Brandon: Buy stuff from Japan right now since the exchange rate is so good, Cypher (2002),


Frank: Beavis and Butt-Head


John: Breaking Bad


Jaffe: Send proof of new or upgrading Patreon membership to personally choose an obscure video game reference to open a future episode with! Wishlist Demonschool on Steam by Necrosoft. Check out our sister show, The Video Game History Hour. Enjoy the new action button reviews boku no natsuyasumi. Subscribe to Annotated Games by John Learned.


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Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Brandon Sheffield, and John Learned. Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

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