Scanline Talks

Ok. So we know what characters we're looking for from the gacha. We know what characters we can't get from the gacha. And we know about some truly spectacular dresses, though that's not particularly helpful. There's nothing left but to roll the gacha. Again. And again. And again. ...Hey Kyrie did we want to set like a MAX, or- This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

Granblue Fantasy hits its tenth anniversary this year. For the mega-popular gacha game, what better celebration than a bunch of other products to hook in those who aren't into the gacha? This has inspired Granblue the Animation, the action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink, and yes, Granblue Fantasy Versus, and its sequel Rising. As you might expect, these games shine a spotlight on some of the most popular characters in the game, selling you on their appeal. But, speaking of selling... what if someone were to pick up Granblue today and try to get all the characters included in their copy of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising? Would it be expensive? Would it even be possible? Well, let's find out. ...Right now? No no no no. This is going to take a whole podcast just to set up all the specifics of the QUESTION. On Part 2 we'll answer it. Or... try to. Let's just say there were some challenges in the process. This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

Scott Pilgrim, huh? I dunno what anyone sees in this guy. Regardless this new Netflix anime follows a new story in the Scott Pilgrim series, commenting on the series impact on culture, reflections on the characters, and a lot of video game and anime references. We bring on Jackie of Ultimate Despair Reprise to gush about this new anime. Spoilers ahead, we watched the whole series for this episode! Editor's Note: This was supposed to be a request episode (which we will still do!) but some life stuff came up. We hope you enjoy this episode in it's stead. We also accidentally call this Oops All Anime, but hey. You know the drill.

As the holiday season ramps up, we here at Scanline are prepared for a yearly ritual: playing all the games that we feel like we should have an opinion on before we record the Gimmick Awards, our yearly Game of the Year (and more than game) awards. That makes this the last stop of us just chatting normal games before we dizzy ourselves with our obligations as critics. To that end, Jen has been mourning the loss of a rival in F1 2023, Six has been modding Metal Gears on Steam Deck, and Kyrie wanted to see what's so remade about the Super Mario RPG Remake. Plus, we've all got thoughts on the 25th Anniversary Update for Half-Life. In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, The 23 Enigma by Ian & Ethan Livingstone featuring Julie Seechuk from F1 23, the Steam Deck startup sound, Nuclear by Mike Oldfield from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Calling to the Night by Natasha Farrow with lyrics by Nobuko Toda, composed by Akihiro Honda, and arranged by Norihiko Hibino from Metal Gear So

The Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, and Saturn were a pivotal moments for video games. 3D video games had arrived in full force, and the industry has never turned back. But Jennifer, Kyrie, and Six turned back the clock to dive into nearly 50 games that defined the generation, and we decided to sort the best of the best.

Fighting game tournaments are great, and a LOT of work to run. Shoutouts to the tournament organizers, the streamers, the casters, and more that make these tournaments run. But think about this for a moment: if a King of Fighters XV tournament is hard to run, how difficult is it in-universe to get these lunatics with magic powers and demonic possession and GUN ARMS to not only play nice to run a fighting tournament, but also to actually make it a good experience to watch? Seed it for good matches, build around TV primetime, and more? Probably really easy, right? So Kyrie and Six are gonna just do it. This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

Around here, Bethesda's games are pretty divisive. We can all agree they're deeply flawed games, but to what extent their unique charms prevail against those weaknesses varies person to person. Jen still holds some affection for Skyrim, Six can't stand it, and neither have anything but disdain for Fallout 4. So what's the vibe with Starfield, their latest and most ambitious work? It's... charming. Though neither Jen nor Six has spent a ton of time yet- both around a dozen hours at time of recording- there's enough to want to get together and talk about the experience. And why not have mics on while we're at it. You can find our hosts on various socials: on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar. On Cohost, Jen is @jen-and-aster, and Six is once again @sixdettmar.

Life moves pretty fast. Despite that, we all found times for a few games that we weren't playing for other podcasts this month, and time enough to sit down to talk about them. This year has seen Jen finally coming to appreciate baseball, and by extension baseball video games in MLB The Show 23. Kyrie has fallen for familiar comforts under friendly names by plugging her friends into Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth. And Six has been playing Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker and frowning at it... and reading the announcement for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, and SCREAMING at it. In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, The Real Thing from MLB The Show 19 by Cook Classics featuring Outasight, Shooting Stars by Bag Raiders, The Handed Down Name from Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth by Yuzo Koshiro, Prelude - Tales from Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker by Masayoshi Soken, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita. You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage 

They really did get our trust back only to throw it away, huh? After a messy first cours, G-Witch came back strong with the first three episodes of cours 2, and our early check-in was quite positive. It continued strong for a while, but of course, the same production troubles were bubbling beneath the surface, and that strong start began to collapse under the weight of all its problems. Now we come to you to talk about a show that just... didn't do it.

It's Not E3! Barring some stupid revival, it will never be E3 again! And yet game companies are still rushing to show us the Reason for the Season. Summer Games Fest, Future Games Show, PC Gaming Show, Wholesome Direct, Ubisoft Forward, Xbox Games Showcase, PlayStation Showcase, the list goes on... and on... and what does it all mean? Jen, Kyrie and Six sat down to talk about the announcements, the trailers, and the temperature of the industry in the middle of 2023.

SPOILER WARNING for early- to mid-game of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Six years have passed since the release of Breath of the Wild. Six years, then, since our podcast about Breath of the Wild, which was the first time we had Kyrie on a pod. And hey, also, my name is Six! Dang, this is starting to feel pretty important. I guess we should podcast about Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild, huh? It's a game jam-packed with stuff, bordering on Assassin's Creed levels of content- though I'd never accuse it of that level of clumsy implementation. I wouldn't say it was ZERO clumsy, though....

I have never much liked theaters, even from a young age. So it takes a lot to get me to go see a movie in theater. Adding extra hurdles like it being a limited release, during a pandemic, only makes it less likely. But when it finally hit home streaming, I, Allen, and Harri were eager to check out the Kaguya-sama: Love Is War movie, The First Kiss That Never Ends. Well, I think Harri was mostly eager to talk about it, since it's all stuff he's already read in the anime. But we appreciate him for that.

At the end of the last cour, Allen and I (Six) talked about whether we wanted to come back and cover the second cour episode by episode, like we did the first. Our conclusion was "probably not, but who knows?" Now that we're decently into it, we're here to say... no. Definitely not. But, we felt the need to make that official, and we might as well discuss the first three eps while we're here, right? Because they're definitely interesting.

You know with all the podcasts we put out, it's amazing we find time to do much else. But luckily we find time to relax occasionally. Six took some time with Resident Evil 4 Remake while on travel, finding the experience a little lacking. Meanwhile Jennifer paddled her raft to the middle of a spooky lake, finding herself charmed by the world Dredge thrust her into. Lastly, Kyrie continues her revisit through Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters and finds lots to love despite a messy release of a beloved series. Editor's Note: This episode got lost in the shuffle, and we recorded this one about three weeks ago. Please enjoy, regardless. In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, the Save Room Theme from Resident Evil 4 Remake by Kota Suzuki, the Main Theme from Dredge by David Mason, Fight It Out!! from Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters by Masatoshi Ono, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita. You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage 

Belts, as you know, are the most important meal of the day. You get up every morning, and say, "I love my pants, but I just wish I had control over how tight they were!" This is because you are naive, innocent of the world. Guilty Gear is here to tell you, belts for pants? Sure, I guess. But what about belts for gloves. For sleeves! For tightening around the base of your arm to make your bicep look bigger? Daisuke Ishiwatari has a belt affinity, and it spread through all of his designs. And so we ask ourselves: just how many belts ARE there in Guilty Gear Strive? Let's count.

It's a new season of Racing Line, and the gang is back at it with our look at the latest season of Drive to Survive! Allen, Rose, and Danny hash it out- trying their best to keep it together through Louis Hamilton's Discord rants, Gunther's vacation in North Carolina, and the future of F1. You can find Allen at Chatz: A Television Podcast with coverage of great television, Rose at the The Safe Room at the Abnormal Mapping Network, and Danny over on Skrimmage, his sports Mastodon server! Album art provided by Jackie Platinum over on Twitter, who can also be heard on Ultimate Despair Reprise on this very network!

You'd think after everything, we'd be free of games by now. But no- games returned, despite everything. Jen takes point with Metroid Prime Remastered, which finally got her to spend more time with the certified all-timer. Then Six explains their befuddlement at the strange tone and choices of Like a Dragon Ishin!, where historical fiction meets... weird ideas of treating people. Finally, Kyrie's wrist has been steadily improving, and she's been celebrating by playing a classic with Six- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, the File Select Theme from Metroid Prime by Kenji Yamamoto and Kouichi Kyuma, Collisions of Our Souls from Like a Dragon Ishin! by Chihiro Aoki and Hidenori Shoji, the Character Select Theme from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 by Hideyuki Fukasawa, a track whose name I couldn't find from Reigns Three Kingdoms by Roc Chen, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita. You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @Kyri

It all comes down to this. No more left, it's time we declared Scanline Media's Game of the Year! The Nominees Are: Drainus Elden Ring Gran Turismo 7 Immortality Kirby and the Forgotten Lands Live A Live Pentiment Pokèmon Legends: Arceus Potionomics Signalis Splatoon 3 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin The Quarry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Witch on the Holy Night Here's our write-up for the winners! Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Critters. Monsters. Creatures. Little guys. Whatever you call them, games employ wonderful artists to imagine what sort of beings might reside in their worlds. This one's for all the friends out there. Join Jen, Kyrie, Six, and guest Allen as we find out the Best Creature of 2022. The Nominees Are: Kleavor (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Typhlosion (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Zoroark (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Huisian Goodra (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Decidueye (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Sprigatito (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Nacli (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Miraidon (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Ceruledge (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Farigiraf (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Paldean Wooper (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Tinkaton (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Frye's Eel Deal (Splatoon 3) Shiver's Master Mega (Splatoon 3) Lichdragon Fortissax (Elden Ring) Living Jar (Elden Ring) Jellyfish (Elden Ring) Malzeno (MH:R - SB) Regal Ancestor Spirit (Elden Ring) Here's our write-up for the winners! Our intro and outro music fo

There's always the moments, right? The ones you tell your friends about, the ones you clip, the ones you tweet about. The ones you tweet AROUND because they're too cool to spoil. Every year generates a lot of them, and 2022 was no exception. It's nice to sit around and celebrate things. But in any meeting of minds, there must be a loser. The Nominees Are: Quelling Noble Pokémon (Pokèmon Legends: Arceus) The Walk Into Exile (Pokémon Legends: Arceus) Nailing a combo recipe from the Combo Maker (GGST) Razzo Sends A Message @ CEO 2022 (GGST) Prison Breakout Flashback (The Quarry) Pros Shattering the Score Ceiling with Rolling (NES Tetris) Ending The Mammalian Plot (Splatoon 3) Haggling To Maximum Profits (Potionamics) MOUTHFUL MODE (Kirby and The Forgotten Lands) Act 2 to Act 3 Transition (Pentiment) Font Reveal (Pentiment) AmSa Brings Down The Big House (SSBM) Batman says ACAB (Batman: Arkham Origins) Kicksy Land, the Kingdom of Flat Snark (Witch on the Holy Night) Alice Goes Penguin Mode (Witch on the Holy N