Retro Encounter Podcast Thread

[Arvis]

Well... yet another game to cram into the middle of my sparse playing schedule.  SWEET!

[Raven]

Is it me, or is the recording of the Final Fantasy IX podcast corrupted? When I play the mp3, it skips to 1:04:00 the moment the podcast reaches the 06:52 time point 

[Monsoon]

I’m out of the house right now, but I’ll check when I get back. Will be a few hours. I still have the master MP3, so I may just need to re-upload it.

[Towns Car Marty]

I checked, it's not just you. Please check back a little later today and we'll have this sorted. :)

[Mike]

Is it me, or is the recording of the Final Fantasy IX podcast corrupted? When I play the mp3, it skips to 1:04:00 the moment the podcast reaches the 06:52 time point 

We identified the cause as an issue uploading to our server. We’ve re-uploaded the file and it should be fine now, but let us know if you have any issues.

(If you’re listening via a podcast app, you may have to delete any cached versions)

[Raven]

Thanks for the quick fix, I did not run into any further issues after re-downloading it. It was fun to hear FF9 being praised into the heavens :)

[Arvis]

Really loving the Memoria podcasts, guys!

But have to say: Final Fantasy X-2 is one of my Top 5 FFs.  It sounds like some of the hosts need to go back to that one.  Amazing combat, superlative job system, great soundtrack and visuals, and a plot that actually does get pretty good toward the back half.

You guys were also pretty unfair toward The After Years which, from an objective standpoint, was easily superior to IV as an RPG.  Come at me.

[Towns Car Marty]

no

freakin

way

[Arvis]

Way.

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all.  Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

FFIV The After Years: good characters and great music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a MUCH more intelligent plot and handling of characters, tons of party building and potential for customization, as well as just the right amount difficulty to keep you playing with the myriad of cool characters you can use.  Tons of replay potential.

Those are just the facts.  I know which one I'd sooner go back to.

[divingfalcons]

I think I like X-2 for the most part. I've played it twice, so I'm fairly happy with saying it has the best combat in the series and a really cool and unique job mechanic.

The After Years is...unnecessary, but I'm glad you liked it! FFIV falls just outside of my top 5, so maybe that's why I'm not so keen on The After Years. I totally get your criticisms of IV though, which is why, after playing nearly every other title, it slipped out of that ranking but I think it has its memorable bits. It's not aged particularly well either, compared to the other SNES contemporaries. Each to their own, and that's why listener comments are always welcome :D Thanks as always Arvis!

[Arvis]

The After Years is...unnecessary

Ya got me there.  IV felt pretty well complete.  A sequel to... well, ANY other FF that came after IV would have made a lot more sense.

That said, I stand by the assertion that, from a gameplay standpoint, TAY easily trumps IV.

[Frostillicus]

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all.  Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

As much as I love IV (my favorite of the series), and want to defend it against your criticisms... I can't. You're not wrong.  ...Except that the plot is better than "just ok." It's "decent".

Well said, sir.

[Arvis]

FFIV: good characters and GREAT music, coupled with a smooth battle system and a "just ok" plot, all stuffed into an on-rails experience with little exploration, even less difficulty/strategy/planning, and no customization or party-building at all.  Everything is decided for the player and every playthrough is identical.

As much as I love IV (my favorite of the series), and want to defend it against your criticisms... I can't. You're not wrong.  ...Except that the plot is better than "just ok." It's "decent".

Well said, sir.

Heh, thanks! :)
I really believe that it's the characters that make it memorable.  The plot itself can delve into "downright laughable" territory at times (especially when it comes to Kain), but it honestly doesn't matter that much because of the (mostly) lovable and interesting characters.

[jzxBrandon]

Been coming to this website since i was 12 years old (25 now) and i've finally decided to create a forum account although it's looking pretty dead on here :<
Recently discovered the Podcasts and i'm especially enjoying the Retro Encounter episodes! BoFIV is one of my all time favourites, so big shout out to Michael and Alana for those.
Would love to hear you guys tackle either of the Baten Kaitos games!

[Klutz64]

A lot of us have migrated to the discord channel

You should come hang out there, we have soft pretzels.