The Gamesline Podcast returns with John, Maverick, and Jackson! John and Jackson are both playing Grasshopper Manufacture’s Romeo is a Dead Man. John also explores Arknights Endfield and older monster tamer games like Jade Cocoon and Robotrek. Jackson supplements Romeo time with 360 classics Tales of Vesperia and Final Fantasy XIII. Maverick talks about his experiences at MAGFest, the Denshattack! demo, and Skate Story and UNBEATABLE.

In the news, Konami legend Shutaro Iida passed away, Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out of Microsoft Gaming, EVO is fully bought by Qiddiya City-owned RTS, Bluepoint has been shuttered, and Tencent secretly funded Highguard. But that’s not all! A new .hack is coming, FireRed and LeafGreen are for sale on Switch, Nier: Automata will be continued, Xenoblade Chronicles X got a disappointing Switch 2 edition, and ArcSys made some AI generated border bullshit game.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on social media @gamesline.net, John, Maverick, and Jackson.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions, send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net!

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited by Lorelai with video production by John

The post The Gamesline Podcast Episode 83: Rosebud is a sled, man. appeared first on Gamesline.

John is joined this week by Rose, Lorelai, and Nikolas to talk about how few games they’ve been playing. John’s been playing the Pikmin 2 romhack Pecan 2 and Lorelai was on the road for 3 weeks for a stop at San Diego Comic-Con before arriving home to dive into the new Final Fantasy XIV patch and First Berserker Khazan. Rose has been digging into all of her Gatcha games while Nikolas on the other hand has been playing a whole bunch of Sonic Forces while the crew tries to sell him on the glory of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

In the news, the developers of Wuchang Fallen Feathers caved to right wing trolling and kind of ruined their game, Christian Whitehead teased that a sequel to Sonic Mania was nixed, Arkane’s union is demanding that Microsoft stop supporting Israel, and we touch more on the payment processor news.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, John, Rose, Lorelai, and Nikolas.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions, send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net!

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited and Produced by Lorelai.

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John hosts Rose and Maverick on a bountiful episode of The Gamesline Podcast. This time, we learn what Switch 1 games are getting Switch 2 bumps on day one, discuss why Kingdom Hearts‘ latest mobile game was scrapped, the Marathon plagiarism debacle, and more! Plus, Rose lays out Hundred Line‘s quality, Maverick ruminates on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas‘ writing in 2025, and John keeps playing grindy RPGs for some reason.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, John, Rose, and Maverick.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

The post The Gamesline Podcast Episode 52: A Marathon Run Into the Ground appeared first on Gamesline.

The Gamesline Podcast is back and under new leadership. That’s right, Lorelai is now the Producer of the podcast and she’s here with Delgo 2 director Scott and our special guest, Russ from the Hogcast as she brings in her strict new rules for this very serious podcast. Lorelai and Scott have both dug deep into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 while Scott’s also been playing Drop Duchy and Blue Prince and has a lot to say. Lorelai’s still playing games with finally hitting the new endgame of Xenoblade Chronicles X as well as the brilliance of the first 2 acts of the incredible 1000x Resist. What’s Russ been up to you ask? Well he preordered a Switch 2 and celebrated by playing Super Mario Odyssey and Tsukihime Remake. In the news we’ve got two whole new classes coming to the Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, Fandom selling Giant Bomb to the crew of Giant Bomb, the fanbase of Infiniti Nikki turning on the game and calling for a girlcot, and finally the Ecco-heads keep winning because we’re getting 2 classic remakes and a new Ecco the Dolphin game from Sega.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, @JudgementScythe, @FKASocks, and our special guest @pissgoblin.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at gamesline.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited by Lorelai

The post The Gamesline Podcast Ep. 51: Absolutely No Comedy appeared first on Gamesline.

It’s time again for another episode of the Gamesline Podcast, this week, John and Lorelai sit down to talk about all the news coming out of both Nintendo Switch Directs. We try to parse through all the confusing Switch 2 messaging and also spend some time to talk about the BDS boycott of Microsoft’s Gaming products and services as well as Fatal Fury: City Of the Wolves burning a ton of goodwill by adding random celebrities to the game.

In games, both of them have been playing Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition while John also dug into the Pokémon romhack Mariomon. Lorelai played a ton of stuff but narrowed it all down to talking about the chaos of Nubby’s Number Factory, the pure comfort of Suikoden 1/2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars, and relaxing puzzle dating with Spirit Swap: Lo-Fi Beats to Match-3 To.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, @JudgementScythe, and @John_Michonski

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at gamesline.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited by Lorelai

The post The Gamesline Podcast Ep. 50: Hey Tingle! appeared first on Gamesline.

10. Persona 4: Dancing All Night:

The final Persona 4 spin-off is also the strongest, and even though it was a blatant ploy to line Sega/Atlus’ pockets for Persona 5, I’ll gladly feed the Investigation Team beast so long as games as quality as Persona 4: Dancing All Night keep coming out. With a slick interface, responsive controls, and a rocking soundtrack, P4D is a perfectly good reason to extend Persona 4 just a bit longer.

9. Rocket League

PS+ gave us a gift this year. Rocket League is simple, smooth, and stunning, and nobody saw it coming. Sports games are a stagnant genre, but Rocket League gives it a kick in the pants it desperately needed. Blasting cars across a soccer field and knocking the oversized ball into the goal at the last second will never not be satisfying, and it’s adorable sticking hats on your car to personalize it. Rocket League isn’t my favorite surprise of the year, but it’s a damn great time to share with your friends.

8. Mortal Kombat X:

It’s easy to forget Mortal Kombat after Street Fighter V’s announcement earlier this year, but please don’t! Mortal Kombat X is a strong release in both the franchise’s history and fighting games in general, and even if the game’s community is waning, the rich story mode is worth visiting on its own merits. Cassie Cage and her group of younger, fresher Kombatants are some of my favorite characters from this year, but seeing Scorpion perform his classic “GET OVER HERE” in a bombastic fashion also won me over.

7. The first ten hours of MGSV:

MGSV didn’t exactly win me over. It quickly went from my easy pick for GOTY to a wishy-washy disappointment that I’d almost soon forget. But those early moments were magical. Climbing out of a hospital bed, running away from a flaming horse, building up your base and capturing enemy soldiers, it was all so fun! Eventually, the mission structure became less and less stellar, and I ended up losing interest in the game once I heard I’d have to replay some of the game’s shoddier missions in hard mode in order to proceed past a certain point. MGSV is somehow both too long and missing content…but when it worked, when it didn’t feel bloated, it was something. And I’ll appreciate those first few hours.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles X:

Xenoblade took an odd approach to open worlds, and at least in concept, pulled it off. Walking out of your home base and almost immediately seeing level 93 monsters co-exisiting with level 3 monsters was horrifying, but it also had the game lay its hand out for you in a unique way. I knew what was coming, and I wanted to build myself up to it. Most open worlds are cities or landscapes with definite paths to take. Xenoblade dumps you into a world and forces you to find your own path, both in the world and in your in-game career. You better yourself in the way you see fit, and working with others, create a richer experience for all.

5. Super Mario Maker:

*Dr. Steve Brule voice* You can make up your own levels….It’s not any more complicated than that. Just make up your own levels. Take a level you like from a game and chop it up into little pieces, then players won’t know how to put it back together! And it’s a homemade level of yours.

But really, Super Mario Maker has unleashed a new wave of creativity on the world, and I’m so happy about that. Seeing people craft classic levels from Mega Man games, cute auto-play levels, and torturous mindbenders has resulted in some of the most fun I’ve had in games, both on streams and otherwise. Sometimes you have to give props to a game even when your direct input isn’t what’s causing the fun.

4. Splatoon:

I talked up how much fun Rocket League was for multiplayer earlier, but hot damn does Splatoon take it to the next level. Splatoon has something that most other games lack, and that’s its character. There never has been a game with this amount of style, and not only does Splatoon know this, it revels in it. The outfits, music, and overall gameplay feed into its sense of self, proudly proclaiming “yeah, this is a game about squid kids that like to have fun battles, and we want you to have as much fun as they do!” Splatoon shows how great Nintendo is at personifying and welcoming you into their worlds, and it’s definitely my favorite Nintendo game this year.

3. The Witcher 3:

Dragging my feet playing The Witcher this year was a huge mistake. This was a year of open worlds, and Witcher knocked it out of the park. The best games this year felt lived in, invited you into their worlds in realistic ways. The Witcher did this like no other, allowing you to stumble upon quests organically, weaving stories together as different groups of people interacted, and humanized the inhuman Geralt by giving him a daughter-figure to worry about. Mind you, Ciri is not just a plot point for Geralt to dote over, and no matter how much “dad” protests, Ciri does what’s right for herself. Personally, I appreciated the attention to detail during monster fights. Each creature has weaknesses, and even if you’re leveled up enough, you’ll be destroyed by your foes if you don’t prepare ahead of time. All of these aspects meld together into a fantasy epic unlike any other. Living as Geralt is equal parts empowering and horrifying, and that’s why Witcher 3 is so good.

2. Tales from the Borderlands:

Telltale shut me up. I remember when Tales from the Borderlands was announced a while back, since I remember sighing and groaning at the thought of a good developer wasting their time on such a poorly written franchise. I’m so glad I was wrong. Tales from the Borderlands finds what worked in Gearbox’s shooter, ignored the bad, and fleshed out the world of Pandora in exciting ways. If you had told me I’d have a feeling over Scooter, the Catch-A-Ride guy, this year, I’d have told you to shove it. Almost every character in Tales is riveting, and Loader Bot steals the scene time and time again. Tales made me want to play other Borderlands games, which is quite the problem to have when none of them are anywhere near as well written as this one is.

1. Undertale:

Undertale does something wonderful, and I’m not talking about “turning RPG mechanics on their head!” or whatever most of the games press talks about when they praise this game. To me, Undertale is a story about kindness well told, and that’s its most important aspect. Sure, you can kill things, yes there is a genocide run, but the overall story arc is one of forgiveness, understanding, and companionship. If we all look into our hearts and act determined to understand others, we really all could be friends. Not only does Undertale tell this story beautifully, it compliments the moral with an engaging battle system, memorable characters, and one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. The number one thing to take from Undertale is that being kind brings us all together, and that’s why it’s my favorite game of 2015.

The post John’s Top 10 Games of 2015 appeared first on Gamesline.

Follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo, @JohnMichonski, @finaldasa, & @ryanmcd720 

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