Episode 198: The More Missiles Upgrade Gives You More Missiles [Metroid Zero Mission]

Samus is back!  To celebrate that (though mostly because of this month's theme), we're revisiting the first real Metroid remake: Zero Mission.  The team learned a bunch of things from Super Metroid and haphazardly applied them to the original game.  What results is an odd, but relatively solid, of bad map design and progression and reasonable controls.  Fun!



Ah, my powerups - again!  Better download some more lasers.


Show Notes

(08:00) The Long Dark in a nutshell.

(15:00) Battletechnomancy.

(17:30) CAWW

(18:30) Because Blizzard needed more tie-ins.

(21:15) Essentially a Pendulum Eyes Time Dragon.

(29:30) Getting into the game.

(41:30) Zero rankings.

(47:00) Gotta go fast.


Next time on Last Time, Metal Slug X!

Camel Cannons at

Geremy@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Tyler@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Zach@alasttimeonvideogames.com,
 or LTOVG@lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 You can also go to the show page at plus.google.com/+LastTimeOnVideogames or comment on the site at www.lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 Also, you can follow our tweets @LTOVG.

Episode 86: Why Is the Second Game Always the Worst? [Metroid II]

Join us for our second foray into sci-fi spelunking with everyone's alien bird hybrid bounty hunter! Although, she may be the only one. Come explore caves, remnants of an ancient culture, and more caves with us as Samus attempts to commit genocide. Also, she can roll on ceilings!



The download is a little sticky from the spider ball...


Show Notes

(04:30) Gamergate.  Seriously, people, is some class too much to ask?

(13:30) Deicide and you.

(16:10) Zach's League tales and edifying Tyler about lane mechanics.

(24:00) I'm announcing an announcement about an announcement.

(28:30) Some discussion on what qualifies as a "free" game.

(32:35) Innocent Life looks mildly amusing.

(38:00) Metroid II could have had better music.  I shouldn't feel like I'm in Subrosia in a Metroid game.  Or maybe I should?  It looks good, though.


Next Time on Last Time, it's Link's Awakening!

We can put some wind in your fish at

Geremy@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Tyler@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Zach@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 or LTOVG@lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 You can also go to the show page at plus.google.com/+LastTimeOnVideogames or comment on the site at www.lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 Also, you can follow our tweets @LTOVG.

Episode 32: Apparently the Chozo were Flightless [Super Metroid]

This week, we return to Zebes, and take on Metroid II: The Return of... wait, no we skip that game, and play Super Metroid instead!  How does Tyler's favorite child hood video game stack up?  Listen and find out!



Is that a download behind that bombable wall?

(00:40) We get side tracked right away and talk about some movies.

(2:00) What we've been playing!  Zach's still playing Shin Ten, with leads us to game length and content vs grinding.

(4:40) Geremy is playing Cloudberry Kingdom in addition to his normal games.

(9:30) Also Fire Emblem Awakening, Zach and Geremy discuss the characters and their outlandishness.

(18:00) Super Metroid! 

(19:30) The beginning, feelings of isolation.  Can atmosphere of a game make you feel things?

(23:00) New powerups and features.

(24:50) Color pallets and different areas.

(28:00) Game play!  It's like Metroid.  Go figure.

(30:00) Sequence breaking.

(32:00) Is it ok for a game to make you look around and try to find its content?  Or is it on the game to present itself to you immediately.  Obviously a game needs to do something to grab your attention, but does Super Metroid do enough?

(35:00) Exploration in video games, 2d vs 3d.

(37:15) Games with mechanics that help you find hidden items.  Are they good, or do they defy the point of having hidden items in the first place?  Are you entitled to all the secret items/achievements in a game without work?  Achievement Hunter would say so.

(41:20) Compared to Symphony of the Night.  Videogames stopping and slowing your progress, is it a problem?

(47:45) The pacing of video games.  Are modern games faster paced than older ones?  Is this a bad thing?  Also, the Pomodoro Technique.

(51:00) Final thoughts, and some giggling about Metroid Prime.


Next week, we jump a little further into the gaming present than normal for this podcast, and play Animal Crossing.   If you're interested, New Leaf is available on the 3DS, but as its a full cost game, you may wish to skip this one and just listen in!

Contact information?  No need to search for that, it's right here!

Geremy@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Tyler@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Zach@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 or LTOVG@lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 You can also go to the show page at plus.google.com/+LastTimeOnVideogames or comment on the site at www.lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 Also, you can follow our tweets @LTOVG.

Epsiode 4: Do the Metroid [Metroid]

It's that time again:  new episode time!  This time, we talk about about the progenitor of one of my favorite series, Metroid!  This time around, we talk about themes of exploration and stuff, and see what Metroid did and didn't do well.  Does it stand the test of time?  Does the Ice Beam kill things?  Will I ask a standard third question?  Find out in this episode!

As a side note, I think this is our best episode thus far.  Let us know what you think!


Download

(2:17) Wanting something Vs. Having it.

(4:45) Metroid the series.

(8:30) Metroid’s game play.

(13:00) Powerups.

(18:50) The Password system.

(20:50) The goals of Metroid.

(24:30) The Bosses, Ridely and Kraid, why both are not good Boss Fights.

(29:00) Themes and Aesthetics.

(29:30) And the Final Boss, Mother Brain.

(31:30) Multiple Endings.

Oh, my, we managed to stay on topic, and we have decent audio quality.  How will we one up that?  Well, despite what we say in the podcast, Double Dragon only has alternating Co-Op, not simultaneous, so in our first double feature we play Double Dragon and Double Dragon II: The Revenge.  Don’t miss it!

Beat 'em up with us at

Geremy@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Tyler@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 Zach@lasttimeonvideogames.com,
 or LTOVG@lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 You can also go to the show page at plus.google.com/+LastTimeOnVideogames or comment on the site at www.lasttimeonvideogames.com.
 Also, you can follow our tweets @LTOVG.