See, even an Admiral can be wrong.?

I also thought that the GameCube had a good controller. For me, the Super Nintendo controller was the best, but the GameCube controller comes at a close second (and the NES controller behind that, because that hurts my fingers).

Out of curiosity, what don’t you like about the GameCube controller? It has a control stick along with a directional pad, a c-stick rather than c-buttons, the zed button in a good spot, the L and R buttons in good spots, etc. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong with it.

Memes though? I’m officially out.

I agree DiceAdmiral. The memes are stupid. Thankfully, you ought to not need to worry. Most of the games don’t have them. It only seems “niche” (if you can call Fire Emblem that) games (hence why Triforce Heroes had them too) have the memes.

Of course, most ‘reviews’ today are not written to help readers make an informed buying decision.

To be frank, Lusipurr, most “reviews” if you can call them that (not talking about this site, of course. This site is my go-to site for real, bona fide reviews) are not even done by websites or magazines anymore. They are done by YouTubers, or worse, Let’s Players. And whilst there are a few good Let’s Players (such as the creator of Let’s Plays from back in the early-mid 2000s, Slowbeef of the Something Awful forums [who also is the head of the duo “Retsupurae”, who mock bad Let’s Plays, bad video games, etc.]) most LPers are no good, and are ear-piercingly annoying.

The point is, you have LPers getting review copies too, which is dumb.

To be fair, though, when gaming journalism is at its all time low, the real question arises: who are the real gaming journalists (as in, those who practice journalistic ethics), and who are just poseurs? I personally think that it is easy to tell when one reads a review.

Memes though? I’m officially out.
You have no chance to survive make your time.

Has the online multiplayer even gotten to the point of usability for fighting games?
No. The people who relish it pretend that it has, but it has not. “C’mon, you hardly notice it!” they say of the .5s interface lag and characters glitching through attacks. “There’s no difference!”

-I thought the Gamecube had a great controller!
See, even an Admiral can be wrong.

The Big Book of Madness is a cooperative game about a school
:(
I was thinking this was going to be about some ultra-dark D&D add-on book.
:( :( :(

I suspect that having more variety of magician powers in play might make the game more interesting. My biggest problem with the game is that it sells itself as a game about kid wizards fighting monsters with magic, but it really doesn’t feel that way because the interaction with the monsters isn’t really that interesting.
This is every game in the world for me. Now you know why I don’t play them! Look how many pieces and cards and rules and people it takes to bore me.

Stayed home, unless you count walking to the theater to see Deadpool.
The only real travel is the kind you do yourself.

I didn’t manage to write anything down, but there were some great ones this week.
This is the only part of the info blast that matters to me, and you’ve let me down on one of our most important episodes ever. “I am disappoint.”

Man, that intro music is WAY too loud.
“You’re wel-come.”

If a game review site ceases getting review copies then they would be forced to purchase games to review. Good.
Yes. It is good. They should be forced to evaluate whether the GAME is worth the PRICE, because that is exactly the prospect facing the readers of the reviews for whom the reviews are ostensibly written.

Of course, most ‘reviews’ today are not written to help readers make an informed buying decision. They are written to indoctrinate.

Except, if a company is purchasing games for their reviewers then the reviewer is still not paying for the game (with the exception of tiny companies where the company IS the reviewer).
I agree; but in this case the company is at least no beholden in any way to the developer. The developer cannot hit their bottom line by saying, “That’s it, buy your own games now.” That is the major issue here: journalists are keen to keep developers on side for the free swag. There should be no free swag. Buy your own games, journalists. You’re not reviewing Ferraris, after all.

I may give MM2 a try once I get my Wii U hooked back up. It’s on the Virtual Console right? Is Earthbound on VC?
Both titles are on Wii U Virtual Console. Actually, Wii U VC has come a long way–but it is still missing every Square title. They are too busy selling them on iOS for $20 a pop.

Feature
Summer Gaming Challenge Fund-raiser
Smash Wii U buy a character Tournament
What settings will the matches be using? Items? Stage? Time/Stock? 1v1/FFA? double/single elimination?
These questions remain unanswered.

NEWS
Fire Emblem Fates Butchered
I felt like renaming classes was a tradition of the Fire Emblem series. I can’t think of a specific example, but my memory is that they change them sometimes. Memes though? I’m officially out.

Street Fighter released half finished no arcade mode
That’s pretty dumb. Has the online multiplayer even gotten to the point of usability for fighting games? Last I checked, it wasn’t reliable enough.

E3 Predictions
NX Will be shown
-I thought the Gamecube had a great controller!

The Last Guardian w/Release Date

Imitanis Literature Corner
The Once and Future King by T.H. White Part 2

Imitanis Entertainment Moment
The Big Book of Madness is my entertainment moment this week.

The Big Book of Madness is a cooperative game about a school for magical youngsters where a few of them get up to mischief and accidentally open the eponymous Book. The Book is full of terrible creatures that escape and will cause mayhem in the school unless defeated by the combined magical abilities of the students. If the students can defeat the final monster and close the book, then they win.

Mechanically, this is a deck building game. I’ve gone into more detail about what that means before, but the gist is that players will start the game with a deck of cards (in this case representing elements) and throughout the game they will add cards to it and shuffle, creating a better engine to power your turns. On a player’s turn they will use their hand of 6 element cards to take actions such as: casting a spell, buying a better element card or buying a new spell. In addition to your element cards each player starts with the same basic four spells (one for each element). These allow a player to cull bad cards from their deck, draw more cards or support their teammate in various ways. The interesting part of these, is that if you pay a multiple of the spell costs, then you get to multiply the effect by the same amount (Draw a card -> draw 3 cards). The most important action that players can take though, is to fight a curse by playing the elements printed on the card (usually 4 of a kind or 1 of each) and removing it from the board.

As monsters escape from the Book, they will add 3 curses to the board. When the turn marker advances to a curse, the players suffer its effects, which range from discarding your hand to drawing madness cards (cards that don’t do anything but can’t be discarded, thus cluttering your hand) and a few other things. Players do not have to defeat a monster’s curses, but are rewarded for doing so (getting free 2 power element cards + a bonus effect for defeating all of them) and punished (basically an extra bad curse effect) if they don’t. When the team reaches the last monster, the effect of not defeating all of its curses, is a loss. It can therefor, be better to get knocked around a bit by some of the less punishing monsters to make sure your team is equipped for the endgame.

I’ve only played the game once and only with 2 players so far. I suspect that having more variety of magician powers in play might make the game more interesting. My biggest problem with the game is that it sells itself as a game about kid wizards fighting monsters with magic, but it really doesn’t feel that way because the interaction with the monsters isn’t really that interesting. They do something when they enter, place 3 curses, then do something when they leave if there are still curses out. The dragon is only different from the bagpipe ghost in that they have different entrance and exit effects. The 5 turns that you’ll take while that monster is out will feel basically identical. I’d give it a mild recommendation for groups that enjoy co-ops with a neat theme, even if the theme isn’t that strongly represented in the mechanics. The art is great btw, if that helps.

DiceAdmiral Travel Moment
Stayed home, unless you count walking to the theater to see Deadpool.

Quotes
I didn’t manage to write anything down, but there were some great ones this week.

Final Notes
Man, that intro music is WAY too loud.

RE: Review Copies.
If a game review site ceases getting review copies then they would be forced to purchase games to review. Good. Except, if a company is purchasing games for their reviewers then the reviewer is still not paying for the game (with the exception of tiny companies where the company IS the reviewer). How would you resolve this? Would you say that all reviewers should be independent? Those are the kinds of reviews that I trust the most, but is that a reasonable expectation for the industry?

Apology Accepted.
I may give MM2 a try once I get my Wii U hooked back up. It’s on the Virtual Console right? Is Earthbound on VC?

Donators
Cumulative total record holder: Imitanis
Single Donation record holder: Imitanis

Donators eligible for end of year drawing: 2

First, thank you for recommending Radiant Historia. Quick Man passed along your note. Actually, I bought RH a few months ago, and hope to have some time to play it later in the Spring.

Optimism is necessary, because in adversarial circumstances, pessimism can quickly become defeatism, which only serves the purposes of the unseemly forces against which we are arrayed.

One good thing that has come from this is that the most pernicious and fascistic SJWs have effectively galvanised together disparate groups of society who would normally not agree on the colour of an orange. I have seen thoughtful Democrats link arms with thoughtful Republicans and thoughtful Greens, Liberals, Socialists, and the like, all in defence of basic human liberty: the right to freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and the marketplace of ideas. And that unity is something quite remarkable, if one thinks upon it.

I’m tempted to sell that The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes I bought because of the stupid meme “humour” that came with it.

What on earth has happened to Treehouse?!

The thing is, Lusipurr, people forget the old saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”. People think that “fight fire with fire” is the only way “forwards”.

Someone said something about the social justice warriors not too long ago, that they are essentially a new bourgeoisie, and, as a result, they make social rules that in order to be bourgeois, one must follow. I think that that is an apt observation.

I too have been worrying about the future because of the social justice warriors. However, I am an optimist, so I will hope that the future will be good.

I’ve not always been kind – or one to stand on ceremony.
Very much pause for thought – genuinely, an absolutely wonderful episode.