On our belated fifth episode, we manage to fit in a ton of discussions. John praises the recent Netflix-exclusive animated adaptation of The Little Prince and also discusses his early thoughts on Super Mario Run, while Chris finally dishes out his impressions of Pokemon Sun & Moon.
Where things get real meaty is our in-depth review of Undertale, the little indie RPG that took the gaming scene by storm. While Chris can safely proclaim the title as one of his all-time favorites, John has long been hesitant to dive into it due to fears of it being hyped up too much beforehand. Were those fears unfounded? Either way, we both have a lot to say about this quirky title. We try our best to not discuss plot points for a while, but be warned around the 51-minute mark that we dive headlong into major spoilers, particularly some of the last boss fights and moments.
Timestamps:
04:53 - The Little Prince (2015 animated version)
15:37 -Super Mario Run
22:57 - Pokemon Sun & Moon
37:57 - Undertale
51:00 - Undertale spoiler talk
This week, after a bit more random Final Fantasy XV talk, John pulls a random topic out by discussing his revisiting of the charmingly unique 2011 open-world title Driver San Francisco, leading to talks about other favorite racing titles among both him and Chris.
But that's not what you should listen to this episode for. John's first proper review pick is a childhood favorite of his, the short-lived and semi-obscure mid-90s Kids' WB Spielberg-produced cartoon Freakazoid. Chris revisits the series for the first time in a while and walks away reeling, because there's no better way to describe the show as one of the most unapologetically insane cartoons ever produced. Both hosts give a general overview of the show's recurring elements, standout episodes and jokes, and why they both recommend it despite having overall differing opinions. HUGBEES!
Timestamps:
02:29 - Final Fantasy XV latest thoughts (Mild spoilers up to the ending of Chapter 2)
08:32 - Driver San Francisco & general driving game talk
15:19 - Freakazoid review
Thanksgiving dinner and its accompanying hawk (We'll explain) are done with, so John and Chris settle back into the groove by discussing their early impressions of Final Fantasy XV, their overall impressions of its tie-in CG film Kingsglaive, and per Chris's recommendation, all their reasons why Dreamworks' popular Kung Fu Panda films have turned out surprisingly great.
Spoilers abound for both Kingsglaive and all three Panda films, though in the former case, you're not missing all that much. We don't actually give traditional overviews for the series in this particular review either, instead focusing on what elements of the writing and animation make it so special to us. (Hint: A lot of it revolves around Shifu and the villains.)
Timestamps:
04:15 - Final Fantasy XV early impressions
12:42 - Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV review (Spoilers within)
25:55 - Kung Fu Panda 1, 2, & 3 review (Spoilers within)
Pay no attention to John's opening words in this episode, because our test recording turned out good enough to become the podcast's official debut, making this number two in line.
With a more concrete template worked out, Chris and John share both their takes on possibly the last big Wii U exclusive, Paper Mario: Color Splash, John gives spoiler-free thoughts on Doctor Strange and details his initial impressions for Watch Dogs 2, and Chris details both what drives him up the wall and keeps him coming back with Dragon Ball Super's Future Trunks arc, with some light spoilers to go along with his reasons.
Timestamps:
2:56 - Paper Mario: Color Splash
22:05 - Watch Dogs 2
32:22 - Doctor Strange
40:23 - Dragon Ball Super (Future Trunks arc)
Have a listen to the test recording that John ended up finding good enough to serve as our first episode! Due to both of us having some discussions on our personal tastes and what kinds of stuff we'd like to discuss on the show, this is a bit more freeform than the template we've since established. (Also forgive John sounding so quiet most of the time; sound issues should be less frequent from this point.)
Among many things, John discusses his mixed feelings with the recent Ratchet & Clank feature film, Chris discusses his own mixed feelings with the recent Shin Godzilla, and John gushes over the PC indie title Owlboy. Shorter tangents include both guys elaborating on some of their favorite game and movie genres, how the time they've each spent as film critics has affected their viewing experience, John namedropping a favorite podcast, and Chris's tough love for the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
Timestamps:
05:40 - Kingdom Hearts
10:11 - Ratchet & Clank movie
31:37 - Movie criticism talk
37:10 - Shin Godzilla
47:56 - Owlboy