Community Showcase - December 2020

last second submission; probably too late again, but here is a drawing of The Duck Family finding the χ-blade from Kingdom Hearts. As I have heard Brad liking the DuckTales-series I thought that I could draw the Disney Ducks finding something from the Kingdom Heart-series but these Ducks are not the ones from the Ducktales tv series but from the Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge comic books, with my main inspiration coming from the works of Carl Barks, Al Taliaferro, Romano Scarpa and Don Rosa, just to new a few. Sorry for the late post if I get in the last second! Love and Respect! Mathias Wennberg Link: https:// www.artstation .com/artwork/ELOWLq (chopped link as it gets deletet, Sorry again!)

I knew Pateron would eat my post. Saving my submission once again

Karl Williams

Hi Jones & Brad, I want to use my showcase submission for this month to highlight, quite honestly, the only real thing that brought me absolute joy during this long and frustrating year: Vtubers. I peeked inside the Vtuber “rabbit hole” around mid-to-late summer before fully diving in at early September. And I have not looked back since. Rather than single out a particular Vtuber or moment, I wanted to do something special: My very own shout-out to as many Vtubers as possible under the 500-word limit. Most of the names listed can be seen on Youtube, but some can also be seen on Twitch, if anyone is curious to check to them out. As you do at the end of each EZA podcast, if you can do one big “shout-out” once all the names are read, that would be super (and chat, feel free to join in). May 2021 bring brighter days to us all. Karl Without further ado… Shout-out to: Amelia Watson, Coco Kiryu, Calliope Mori, Kizuna AI, Amano Pikamee, Hikasa Tomoshika, Jitomi Monoe, Artemis of the Blue, Bao, Roboco, Nyanners, Ironmouse, Mocca, Aki Rosenthal, Haachama, Hana Macchia, Kuzuha, Melissa Kinrenka, Belmond Banderas, Fuwa Minato, Kuroi Shiba, Gilzaren III, Kanae, Korone Inugami, Fubuki Shirakami, Kiara Takanashi, Moona Hishinova, Dola, Debidebi Debiru, Usada Pekora, Aadya, Gura Gawr, Risu Ayunda, Io Kuzuryu, Silvervale, BSApricot aka “Froot”, Zentreya, Nerine, Juniper the Luna Moth, Yuuna Nini, Projekt Melody, Hazard Hornet, Hime Hajime, Inuki Matoi, Kiba Iori, Kazami Mikan, Izumo Meguru, Rushia Uruha, Sora Tokino, Aqua Minato, Luna Himemori, Rikka, Roberu Yokoku, Astel Leda, Shien Kageyama, Botan Shishiro, Watame Tsunomaki, Marine Houshou, Chiika Yama, Tsubaki, Himey, Anya Pandaria, Nana Nanatsuki, Klaeia, Ina’nis Ninomae, Yuni Luna, Joe Rikiichi, Fumi, Noel Shirogane, Ibrahim, Taka Radjiman, Bonnivier Pranaja, Vihaan, Noor, Iofifteen Airani, Izuru Kanade, Arurandeisu, ZEA Cornelia, Levi Elipha, Oga Aragami, AZKi, Sakura Miko, Matsuri Natsuiro, Ayame Nakiri, Okayu Nekomata, Suisei Hoshimachi, Lamy Yukihana, Nene Momosuzu, Kanata Amane, Polka Omaru, Flare Shiranui, Mio Ookami, Shion Murasaki, Choco Yuzuki, Miyabi Hanasaki, Temma Kishido, Mel Yozora, Towa Tokoyami, Lulu Suzuhara, Yashiro Kizuku, Kokoro Amamiya, Chaika Hanabatake, Kidakupo, Kai Mayuzumi, Touya Kenmochi, Rena Yorumi, Yuno Usami, Lily Shirayuri, Ran Hinokuma, Natsumi Hashiba, Serotina, Mikey Nyaa, Ewica, Reiyu GuiGui, Ririsya, NaiyoSpede, Kamoa Hiru, FoxyJoel, Pinky Purin, Yukari, UzuriMia, PiCKY, Taiga, Cece, Shizzuie, JeffyBed, Yuhki Ringo, Vei, Mari Mari, Cherrily, Argama, YuikaiChan, Leaflit Mitshua, Rosuuri, Yueko, Kureiji Ollie, Anya Melfissa, Pavolia Reine, Yua Asagiri, Kani Kanizawa, Rio & Ray Omega, Mei Osanai, Ichika Osanai, TheoryArc, Hibiki Ao, Icotsu, Yoruno Neon, Uta Meika, Kimino Miya, Mirai Akari, Kaguya Luna, Hinata Nekomiya, Sister Claire, Aoi Fuji, Mito Tsukino, Izumi Yuzuhara, Rui Sejima, Mico Sekishiro, Inaba Haneru, Kazami Kuku, Taro (VTTaro), Harune, Mimika, Schwiii, Emiko Niwatori, Edgardo Niwatori, Erika Niwatori, Seigi Arakita, Shimae Yukino, Rina Luluna, Cvnka, Nanami, ryuseinova, Utako Suzuka, Ange Katrina, Himawari Honma, Kaede Higuchi, Han Chiho, Shin Yuya, Karu, Aza, Riksa Dhirendra, Makaino Ririmu, Reza Avanluna, Amicia Michella, Nara Haramung, Nari Yang, Kiru Shin, comfyRana, Tojiro Genzuki, Hanayome Kamakiri, Lumi SHOUT-OUT

Karl Williams

So random

Master Pantz

Hi Easy Allies, I have 9 more screenshots from 9 random games using the random game selection button on Xbox. This time, captured on the Xbox Series X! https://i.imgur.com/WddI8L2.jpg https://i.imgur.com/U5SFqLu.png https://i.imgur.com/j5vGSf1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/bU35XUp.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZaydRG9.jpg https://i.imgur.com/E7GYgc7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/rUOYeLh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pKchp0q.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TDcIMMG.png

Master Pantz

I hope it stays

Nik Gothic

Hello, Brandon! Hello, Brad! It’s been exactly nine months ever since I became a Patron for Easy Allies, which I did quickly so I could have my last chance of contacting Kyle Bosman. I’ve challenged myself in making little drawings of the various Allies that were guest-starring the Community Showcase, and I’m happy to say that my collection is complete! I’ve got Kyle, Huber, Brad, Damiani, Ben, Blood, Don and Ian! I got them all, and my months-long project is now done. Thanks, everyone! Love & Respect! I’m so glad it’s over. Everyone is here and absolutely no one is missing. I checked. That was a lot of hard work. Ayup. Nothing left to say. Oh wait, what’s this? https://i.imgur.com/KutiThg.png I dunno, it’s some guy on a horse. Who cares. I bet he’s no one important. Wait, I think the image is getting a little clearer now. https://i.imgur.com/6EUiG1w.png What, is this the best you can do? Come on, let’s see some colour. https://i.imgur.com/8518BuC.png This... kind of looks like Brandon Jones. I think I remember when I first heard him. It was around 2007 when I was 14 and still used dial-up Internet. Getting anything to load was so dreadfully painful but it was worth it for the excitement of the GT top 10s, which I always binged and always thought the silky-smooth voice narrating them was exceedingly charismatic. I remember Top 10 Most Innovative Games being my favourite. And then I saw the GT Retrospectives. Gosh! I barely even heard of Final Fantasy before, but watching the Final Fantasy Retrospective was absolutely breathtaking. It made me a believer! GT was really important to me because it was like my window to the world, in a sense. When you grow up in Serbia in the 90s, a conservative country torn by warfare and poverty, you really tend to want to look for any means of escape, any means of a different life, and I had nobody to talk to or relate to about my dreams and fantasies, which I felt at the time were about the only thing that made me feel real. I remember how I made my first tentative steps on the Internet. I was very shy and scared, afraid to talk to actual real Americans with my then-childish grasp of English, and yet just immensely curious. I have never even heard of Zelda or Metroid before. I loved watching video game sites, and for these many years, Brandon Jones remained something of a constant in my life. I’d always go to GT when I wanted to get basic facts about any video game, and the amazing retrospectives they kept dishing built a lot of trust in me. I slowly started socialising on Internet forums. My English was getting better. Now it’s gotten full circle. I’m much older, sociable, prouder, and now Brandon’s reading my letters. All I can say is... you’re my hero, Brandon. Thanks for making this possible for me. Happy Holidays. https://i.imgur.com/nvteWMJ.png L&R, Nik Gothic (@Clownboss)

Nik Gothic

Hola Brad y Jones, I want to start off by thanking you both for taking the time to do the spoiler mode for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It was an unexpected surprise and honestly any amount of love the game gets sends me over the moon. I’ve been playing and loving games since before the 90’s but I never thought about diversity in video games as a kid. I was always focused on levels, characters, cool animations, things of that nature. Seeing people of color in videos games, or even focusing on the various cultures wasn’t that big of a thing that I was accustomed to seeing, at least not close to anyone like me. I was born and raised in New York City and went to High School in Harlem so I was accustomed to seeing folks who looked similar to me, but I also looked at video games the same way…. accustomed to seeing the same type of characters. I remember playing Guacamelee 1 and 2 and thought to how amazing they were in every aspect. While I knew the games were centered around Mexican culture, it was great to see the layout of the world, the colors, music and even the some of the play on words. As someone who grew up hating how common his name was, it was refreshing to finally have the hero of the story share that name. Fast forward to 2020 when I saw the initial trailer of Miles Morales coming down that fire escape and seeing that Puerto Rican flag sitting there. The emotion I felt was too much. Even when he started walking down the street and you can see the food trucks and hear the music playing and people dancing, I couldn’t contain the tears. Never in all my years had I ever felt like I saw myself, or my culture until now. I come from a Puerto Rican father and Dominican mother so seeing this young man who is also mixed just doing small things around the house on Nochebuena was amazing. Seeing the coqui’s (the small frogs) around the house, his mom cooking the tamales and empanadas, and even just listening to her talk on the phone…I mean….to not only hear her talk Spanish but to actually sound like one of my Puerto Rican aunts…it was a dream come true. Hearing him talk Spanglish to her which is such a common thing for my sisters and I, it was an amount of care towards the details that I’ll never forget or take for granted. Sure, it’s a small part of the overall game, but that small part meant the world to me, especially at a time when I know I can’t spend the holidays with my family like I’d love to. I am forever grateful of the creators of these games, and to you both for shining some light on two series that had such an impact on me. Amor y Respeto, Juan

Juan Rolón Jr.

*"The Safety Dance" plays faintly in the background*

XWF Outlaw

Hello Jones, Brad, and Chat. It's near the end of the dumpster fire hellscape known as 2020 but that isn't stopping me from continuing with my totally healthy, non-addictive weeb odyssey I began back in April. Now I return to the Showcase yet again to bring the recent anime I have watched in October & November. (Note: anime listed as dub and sub are their each episode count. Ex: 25 eps Sub&Dub = 50 total episodes) 1. Citrus (12 episodes, Sub) 2. Devilman Crybaby (10 episodes, Sub&Dub) 3. Free!: Season 1 (12 episodes, Sub&Dub) 4. Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san (12 episodes, Sub) 5. The Great Pretender (23 episodes, Dub) 6. The Devil is a Part-Timer (13 episodes, Sub&Dub) 7. Cells At Work (13 episodes, Sub&Dub) 8. High School of the Dead (12 episodes+ OVA, Dub) 9. Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (24 episodes+ 2 OVAs, Sub) 10. Uzaki-chan Just Wants to Hang Out (12 episodes, Sub) 11. SSSS.GRIDMAN (12 episodes, Sub&Dub) 12. Saga of Tanya The Evil (12 episodes + The Movie. Sub, English Dub, *AND* German Dub) I was wondering just how much time my weebdom has accomplished since April and I crunched the numbers. (BTW, Scouts honor, this is true) Excluding rewatches and movies, I have amassed over 1,670 hours of anime witch, (and, again, I'm 100% not kidding) equals to 69 days. (#nice) Though impressive as that may be I can only imagine Ben Moore watching this Showcase and go full McConaughey meme with the, "You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket." This year has been a big impact on so many lives (including myself) for better or for worse. I only hope that with the start of the new year and the Spring leafs begin to bloom, we can start to find a way to return to a sense of normalcy and comfort. In closing, I think that it is only fitting that I sign off the year using a quote from Mr. Bradley Ellis himself when describing the WiiU that's perfectly encapsulates the official sentiment of 2020. "Stay Dead." Happy Holidays & Auld Lang Syne. X.

XWF Outlaw

.

Scott A. Ford

Hey Brandon and Brad, I wanted to share this older Hollow Knight illustration I did, probably one of my personal fave fan art illustrations I’ve made. (1) Next, here’s some more pages from my in-progress comic Hologram Hunter. (I changed the robot design slightly on the first page, which I showed last month). I had a lot of fun working on these pages, especially trying out the blurred backgrounds and chromatic aberration in the closeup panels. This is just art so far and I still need to add the word balloons and additional sound effects to each page. You can see updates of all my art and comics on my website, Instagram, and Twitter by searching Scott A. Ford. Thanks for all you do and for giving me this opportunity to share my work with the community! Love and Respect, -Scott (or S_001 in chat) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10I8GXV2l2Z-aJvTYNyCrNkcZ5KxQIn9m?usp=sharing

Scott A. Ford

For safety, I guess.

Jason A. Sackel

The month of November ended up being very unproductive. I played a lot of video games. I guess that was to be expected with the launch of a new console. Anyhoo, let's go from the worst thing I played to the best. Make it fun, why not. Bugsnax - It was a PS Plus game, figured why not. Wasn't bad, more of a time waster really. Was glad I didn't pour any money into it. Can't say I remember any of the names of the characters or bugs in the game. It was a thing. Hollow Knight - I had been curious to play this game and PS Plus gave the opportunity. I enjoyed it. Said to be continued, so I guess another game is going to be made. I'll nab it if it goes on PS Plus, sure, why not. Miles Morales - Oh, Spider-Man. I was very optimistic when I started this game. Towards the beginning, I got stuck in an invisible box after engaging in an interaction with a couple during a segment. After the conversation, I was surrounded by invisible walls with no option but to restart. Through trial and curiosity I found out that it happens if you interact with them before they engage in a brief encounter with an NPC. If you beat the NPC, boom, conversation prison, please restart the checkpoint. It was really funny because it made that optional conversation memorable to where when you meet them later in the story, one introduces herself like she never met you before. Great stuff. I was disappointed though. I never encountered the glitch where Spider-Man transforms into a random object that I jealously observed others posting about. Story was by the numbers, no surprises or big twists. I don't think the game is going to surprise anyone. Actually, I don't even think I checked to see if they had a big tree where Rockefeller Center should be. Let me go check that. Eh, not really. There is a tree in correct juxtaposition to where Radio City is, but even that is on the wrong block. Which is weird actually, if you are going to put in real locations, why not the correct location? Even the surrounding area looks correct, just one avenue and a few streets off. Other than that, was fun, it was fine. I'll be honest, completely forgot and didn't notice the Peter Parker face thing while playing. ASTRO's Playroom - This game was incredible. For a free pre-installed game on the console, what a steal. This game made me have nostalgia for PlayStation that I didn't even know I had. It was just fun. Loved the easter eggs. You could tell it was just made from love. What they did with the dualsense controller too was great. This team needs to make more games. If this was a full game, I'd buy it. What a banger. Picross 5 - It's Picross. It's great. Love me some Picross. That's all. Hope the holidays treat you all well.

Jason A. Sackel

Hold

Ben Fitter

safety reply.

Small Leviathan

Greetings friends and comrades. I don't want to be dramatic but November might just have been one of the worst months for me in a long time. Not only did I have to deal with transition from being unemployed to studying (with my currently distant goal being to apply to one of the country's largest game developer schools) with all of the financial paperwork that implied, but my local card game store discontinued all organized play for the forseeable future due to new covid regulations in Sweden, just weeks before my most anticipated Magic: the Gathering set all year. Dealing with constant financial stress and nothing to do with my spare time turned November into tangle of anarchic sleep schedules and far too many days between showers, but I'm powering through it because I have DECIDED that I am going to follow my dream of becoming a game developer and nothing, not even 2020, is going to stop me. Anyway, I picked up a couple of games during the steam halloween sale, so that's what I'm going to talk about now. The first of these is the year's indie darling, Hades. I actually played all of Supergiant's previous games for the first time this year and seeing their progression was very interesting indeed. Hades is, in many ways, their best game, but it's also in my opinion their least interesting game as well. This mostly comes down to the choice of setting; as cool as Supergiant's interpretation of Greek mythology is it pales in comparison to the awe-inspiring writing of Pyre. That said I'm not gonna deny that no Supergiant game feels as good in your hands as Hades does, and I think the 100-ish hours I put into the game within three weeks is a testament to the fact that I really like it. Hades isn't my personal choice for game of the year but to be perfectly honest I hope it absolutely crushes its contenders in The Game Awards later this week because it's better and more ambitious than almost all of them by a country mile. The other game I bought was Prey (the 2017 game by Arkane) and boy did I really like Prey. In fact, I think it's in many ways Arkane's best game. I love the focus on survival over stealth, shifting the focus from quickload-happy ghost run perfectionism to using your tools and your wits to resolving combat encounters while using up as little resources as possible. It's also by far Arkane's thematically densest game, dealing with identity, memory and the value of tests in a way that makes it one of the smartest games I've play in a long time. I always loved Dishonored, so I don't know why it took me so long to pick up Prey but I'm glad that I did, and it has me really excited for Deathloop next year. Well, that's all for this month. Next time it's 2021 and I'll be detailing my top games of 2020, see you then!

Small Leviathan

safety

Megan Linart

i think my comment go deleted so im putting it here too, if i put it in twice just skip Hello gentleman! I hope this month has been treating everyone well. In November ive been quite slow with games, I’ve actually been watching a lot of anime because of this weird game burnout I was experiencing so I figured id just chronicle some of that then end with a super awesome game series I just started this week! I started Naruto for the first time and I’ve been so hooked on it! I’m on episode 90 right now and I can’t wait to get back in and watch more! I love Naruto and Kakashi while Sasuke is the ultimate angsty teen. The cast has been the real highlight for me so far, they are all so memorable! Next up I finished Vinland Saga and this anime was just amazing, very dark and sad but felt so accurate to the Viking time period and the characters are amazing, none of them good people but they gave us a deep look as to why they did what they did and it worked beautifully I highly recommend this one if you love revenge tales, or Vikings I gave it 9.5. I also Started Mo Dao Zu Shi which is my first Chinese anime and this is a spectacle! The music and beautiful art direction make this in my opinion a must see! I’m quite early yet but easily could be one of my favorites when I’m finished. I started Hunter x Hunter I’m roughly 12 episodes in and I enjoy seeing how the creator has evolved since Yu Yu Hakusho which I’m also watching for the first time now as well. Its just so interesting seeing how far he’s come but also feeling so much like it too. It has been veery fun and enjoyable so far, eager to get into it more. Lastly, I started the anime Monster which has been my new favorite anime that I’ve started. The stellar writing and great music keep me on the edge of my seat, I love the slow methodical pace and really mature story I can’t wait to see what happens next. Well, that has been my month for the new anime I’ve started, I’m also watching my seasonal anime too of course which I’ve been really enjoying a lot, jujutsu Kaisen being the real stand out. Thanks to black Friday I was able to secure the Kingdom Hearts all in one package for 20 dollars! As I’m writing this I’m nearing the end of KH1 and I can’t believe how much fun I’ve been having to be honest I haven’t had that game to really grip me in all of November till I started Kingdom Hearts, it’s all I’ve been playing all week! I hope to talk more about it next month when I’m finished but until then Have a great holiday and stay safe!

Megan Linart

saved

Chris Park

Hi Double B's, just throwing out my top battle themes of 2020 that are not Final Fantasy 7, Brad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDNIQ7DtW7Q&feature=youtu.be

Chris Park

Safety

Steven Beaumont

(Whoops, accidentally deleted my original comment and can't edit the safety reply) Hey Jones and Brad! November marked my first voyage into a series beloved by multiple allies: Yakuza. I installed Yakuza 0 thanks to Game Pass and have put about 50 hours in, but still don't think I'm even halfway done with the story due to all the great minigames and side-stories. Plenty of small complaints but overall I'm loving it and looking forward to playing Kiwami next. Anyways, I know this song is already a big meme, but after I heard the jazz version that plays in clubs and bars I had to figure it out for myself. Enjoy! - Ben F. https://youtu.be/zBgMuwKB6jE

Ben Fitter

saftey comment

(Sorry if this is a repost patreon deleted it a few times and now won't show me all the comments so i'm not sure if its been deleted again) Hey Allies, A while ago I submitted a short clip of a game called "Assault Spy " (a DMC like indie game made by 1 person) for the Community Queue when Huber was doing that at the end of his huber syndromes and mentioned that I was replaying the game as I was working on a review for it. The Video below is not that review, I worked on my assault spy video for several months on and off while I taught myself how to write and structure a script as well as how to video edit. It was a fine first attempt but after creating one video I instantly wanted to see how a second would turn out with everything I learnt and so I got to working right away working on a review/analysis for a PSP game that never left Japan called Nayuta no Kiseki and what once took me nearly a year to achieve before only took about a month this second time round. Being able to create something like this has been incredibly satisfying and I've set a goal for myself to create at least 1 video a month with a road map that'll take me up to around March Video: https://youtu.be/vgrkzMVgrUQ?t=571 Please watch around 9:30-12:30 as it the least rambly section but also features a neat editing trick I'm proud off (I'll timestamp it anyway) Love and Respect Kraftium/Timothy Lawrence

Happy Monday Brad and Jones! Made a last minute video, which goes through my gaming experience in 2020, made me realize this is the least number of games I have completed in a year, I blame Devil May Cry 5. Sorry for the poor editing, it’s massive hack job and would probably offend content creators. I was extremely nervous about submitting last month video; I want to thank the community for their very kind comments, made me feel at ease. Brandon’s enthusiasm always helps too. I wish I had your energy. The music is definitely copyright / license free, not making the same mistake as last month. Music is by Bensound from Youtube I hope everyone enjoys a well deserved break during the Holidays Love and Respect Robert Lee Video https://youtu.be/8OmlI4asnos

robert7lee

Safety

Nextgenheff

Hey guys, First off, glad to see Brad playing Yakuza like a dragon. It is definitely a game everyone should play with an amazing story. Other than this I have been playing crusader kings three with its new create your own ruler update. I created the overpowered game breaking ruler Donnucan who took over an area of Ireland. This is the most accurate summary I can give of everything that followed... -I started my campaign by marrying a Welsh girl and allying with her brother, an up and coming Welsh ruler. -We started a happy life with children on the way as I proceeded to conquer parts of Ireland. -Now most of my council were smart and helpful, but my priest who I could not replace was a dumb guy with a poor learning score of 5… and ofcorse he would be the one to bring Bubonic Plague into my lands. -It swept like wildfire throughout my court, killing many. I proceeded to go through 5 more priests, 4 of whom died of the plague, one of cancer. -No physician was really able to help, the 4 I went through either died or were just fired and exiled. -My wife was permanently disfigured and had to wear a mask due to a botched treatment, my youngest daughter at the time died, but somehow my other daughter and son managed to survive the plague, along with my overpowered self. -After all this plague nonsense, expansion was on my mind. I continued a push to rule all of Ireland. Also during this time I declared a war on some Welsh territory to let my wife rule what she had claims to. In the years following her brother and her would be fruitful Irish allies, when they were not fighting each other. -I finally became the king of Ireland and with numerous children of my own, I started to spread my dynasty, marrying a few of my children into future leadership positions around the continent. -I married off my eldest daughter to the heir of the Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, who was able to produce an heir of my dynasty before her husband died in a war. -When I was checking my court I discovered I had a 40 year old man with a claim to the kingdom of England. -So, I choose one of my daughters to marry him and attempt to produce an heir of my dynasty to the crown. -I declared war on England, won, and installed this guy as the new king. Immediately I had to assist him in a war with Scotland, and as soon as that started he asked for help with another. I declined the second one, which he would end up losing to the former king, who strangely didn’t become king again. Instead his sister ended up ruling as Queen of England. -Not to be undone, I have since declared another war on England to reinstall my guy. To be continued… -Nextgenheff

Nextgenheff

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope that there are good Games and good memories for the new year! *ignore if not allowed* Just a quick shout out to my friends in the 'Great Game Debate Podcast'. We met through a shared love of EZA and now we just dropped pur first ever podcast together. Come check us out on Youtube or join the conversation on our discord. Love and Respect

Steven Beaumont

2020 is almost over. It doesn't mean everything is over so keep your common sense in check.

Trung Nguyen

Hi Brad and Brandon. Here are stuff I did this month: https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1325560493982031872 https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1325647998806847494 https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1326768815590567936 https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1325472392123199491 https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1324550201261121536 https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1333651532580057088 Instead of commenting on my own works which I just do without too much thought put in them I rather talk about other stuff. I have three games contending for GOTY. Since I have mentioned two others before, I want to now talk about the third one: Yakuza: Like A Dragon. The gameplay didn't grab at me at 1st but as the story moved forward and unlocking "summons" it started to feel good. Since you have party members this time around it shows the strenght of having more focus on them too instead of single protagonist. After playing it a single performance is one of my favorites in gaming. How they delivered their emotion is just...bringing tears into my eyes. Also about to finish Persona 5 Royal. Soon passing 150h but the ride has been nice with added stuff but overall it's still the same game I have already played. Love & Respect TearjuEngi

Trung Nguyen

Hello Allies! I've been lucky enough this month to be able to upgrade to current gen with a PS5 and a brand new TV to discover 4K HDR. The last few weeks have been a blast! Certainly not least on the list of amazing things I've experienced is Astro's Playroom. I love this game, and I loved Astro Bot Rescue Mission before it. My submission this month comes from this last game. Hearing the amazing music from Playroom reminded me of the equally great soundtrack from Kenneth Young for Rescue Mission. One of my favourites is the Crystal Cave theme and, Playroom-style, I took it on a trip through gaming history, all the way back to the 8 bit era. Have the best end of year possible, be safe and be kind, everyone! Love & Respect, Kévin Gillet Link to the music: https://youtu.be/mnmXICMwFR8

Kévin Gillet

I think my original post was deleted by Patreon but oh well.

James Davie

Greetings Brandon and Brad, Recently I've been addicted to Wheel of Fortune and it has me pondering whether Ubisoft's games prefer addictiveness over enjoyability-except Watch Dogs 2 and Rayman: Legends because those games showcase what Ubi is capable of at their best. Gears 5's scenery has immersed me so much that now I'm concentrating on the food left on the discarded plates outside of restaurants and the microwaves found in the kitchens than the encroaching locust hordes. The main theme for this showcase will be the subject matter of videogame difficulty. I know Brad is a stickler for difficult games so this should be in his wheelhouse. Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Nioh and Cuphead are all very well and good, but I often think the diligence required outweighs the pleasures of besting bosses-yet they are all quality experiences that I respect and I respect those who love them, even though the fanbases telling me to git gud ought to git a loife or something silly like that. However, a particular issue with difficult games that I mentioned in the Q&A regards the unfairness of Ghostrunner. I know Brad reacted with a “meh” which I respect because it's an each to their own thing, but I'd like to get Brad's full thoughts and a retort of the following criticism. Ghostrunner is a decent cyberpunk slasher and wall-running feels rhythmically fluid, but the way enemies can kill you with one hit all the while you as the player have to cut out shields whilst being susceptible to bullets you can't dodge-its design flaws start to expose themselves-and this isn't an example of a game being a fair level of difficult but rather a game that tries to extend playtime through difficulty. You may say this about Super Meat Boy and Hotline Miami but Super Meat Boy's platforming is precise and gives you a sense of control over your jumps and in Hotline Miami you know you need to be sudden and stylish and there are no cheap tricks, but in Ghostrunner you don't possess a significant level of control over what happens and its style is often compromised by repeated deaths. Yet to its credit Ghostrunner's challenges can be overcome when you are in-tune with enemy movement patterns and idiosyncrasies. I love videogame discussion-this is why I bring up negative views on franchises you guys love-not because I dislike those games far from it-it's all about creating a discussion and I love a videogame discussion. I've been meaning to ask will there be another Don't Laugh Challenge like the one you guys did in 2017? Of course with current circumstances it won't be quite the same but I'd love to see an episode including say Ben and Blood taking on Damiani and Brandon. Have either you seen Egoraptor videos such as the Awesome series of videos? If not, one of them includes an Xbox 360 being ripped open including discs getting crushed into snort-able powder. Thanks for all you do. Love and respect.

James Davie

Safety post

Asbo Zappruder

Good afternoon, gentlemen, I hope you’re doing well today. Life continues apace on the island of Poppleton. Let’s take a look. 1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AwwR5M3Uq_6ftpVtxDkXtVVNSpohou34/view?usp=sharing It all started when I took my morning walk and came across the remains of a shipwreck. As I was helping Gulliver, my hand brushed against the mysterious blue stone and I felt a spark. 2. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ho5jLSsT7LwEWnuf1Qc5FSUUloguri-8/view?usp=sharing I didn’t think much of it until a few days later when I was working in the orchard and accidentally pulled up a tree. It seems I had developed super strength! However, I thought it wise not to tell anyone. 3. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ymy1MwliiaOIZe25bCgJN6Rk5XSSaFa8/view?usp=sharing This proved tricky when the island was suddenly attacked by a giant lizard. I quickly pulled together a disguise and the Poppleton Protector was able to save the day! 4. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PX_KQxPKKz9fVFZ7d4OjZsOboiiZraDP/view?usp=sharing Later that day I was visited by Zucker. He apologized for attaching a tracking device to my costume but that he did so because he was amazed by what he saw and wanted to use his technological skills to help me. I offered to consider it but I had to go. Isabelle left a note on the bulletin board asking for the Poppleton Protector’s help in a series of thefts around the island. Someone calling themselves the Nogoodnik had already hit the museum, Nook’s Cranny, and the bank. 5. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dbkEJLiNlPho1mCmU-wwdTSe9uB6lxBD/view?usp=sharing The bank camera managed to catch a picture of the villain but they didn’t look like anyone I had seen before. I thought Zucker could use some of his fancy computer magic to ID the culprit so I went to his house. 6. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gj0xI19wRiEDIRgEY7NB6_2rPMeNLeri/view?usp=sharing Unfortunately, someone had gotten there before me. And according to the calling card left behind, it was the Nogoodnik himself! I was feeling guilty that I couldn’t stop the kidnapping when I noticed that Zucker’s computer had a map with a blinking dot. He had attached a tracker to himself! And according to the map, he was taken to Elmer’s house. 7. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10KXqibOcv6mhCXlvyvuGdWRpYR-LaGrk/view?usp=sharing When I got there, the door was locked. But as I looked around, I noticed an oddly placed hose reel. I turned the handle and found a cave opening up behind the waterfall. 8. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ck5dKtpdQL3x7RAgwVAQvzGbrCKFGD1c/view?usp=sharing Inside were some of the treasures that had been stolen. I could also hear Zucker trapped in a locker. However, they were all guarded by a giant robot! By the time I was able to defeat it, Elmer was long gone. He’ll need to make the most of his last few days of freedom. The Poppleton Protector and the Silver Cub are on the case and ready to deliver justice wherever it’s needed! 9. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Harcoek54bX3x7d2xzUQno6TXND-mPvZ/view?usp=sharing Anyway, that was November. I’m sure December will be much calmer. Until then, Asbo Zappruder / screaming_argonaut

Asbo Zappruder

Hold

Ben Fitter

NOTE: This might be a double post. My orginal post apparenlty has been eaten. Hello Allies, Today I would like to share a Unity project I made in 2 weeks for my birthday party back in August: JeoParody, a customizable Jeopardy! app that allows anyone to create and run a full 61 question episode of Jeopardy! Link: https://cowfish13.itch.io/jeoparody Screenshot 1: https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvNzQ4NDk1LzQxNzYwNTMucG5n/original/DY3RBI.png Screenshot 2: https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvNzQ4NDk1LzQxNzU5NTAucG5n/original/8Fqdzv.png Some background on why I made this: I am a frequent con-goer and I love attending all the trivia panels and shows that are available at these cons. These shows focus mostly on geek media, and rarely does my near encyclopedic knowledge of geek media comes in handy; its not nearly as useful in game development or in conversation as I hoped. Overall, watching and participating in these game shows is a lot of fun, and the people that run these events are extremely passionate in what they do; to the point some of them create their own game show applications for these events. However, these applications are usually bare bones, aesthetically, which is understandable because visuals are not their focus and are strictly for personal use. However, seeing how popular the game show format of Jeopardy! is, I felt that there was a need to create a smooth and sharp customizble Jeopardy application for anyone to use. (Also, I despised all the Jeopardy powerpoints that many of my former teachers used, so that was motivation too) JeoParody is my first full fledged solo project in Unity and I was surprised how well it turned out. It taught what is there to love about Unity, compared to other game engines, and it also taught me the trials and tribulations of UI creation. What I'm really proud of is how it matched what I have pictured in my minds eye, which rarely ever happens, mostly due to scope or a lack of skill in specific disciplines (art, music). Hosting is it's own adventure in itself. I like to think of myself as fairly charismatic, but I see why the late-great Alex Trebek was considered such a master of his craft of hosting. I've ran about 6 sessions with friends and I still have a lot to learn about the art of hosting. I still consider my latest release to be pre-release, as I have yet to implement many things, including a buzzer. I have only ran the app with friends via screenshare, and used a third-party online buzzer (I lack any networking skill to implement my own online buzzer). Aside from the buzzer, I look forward to include more visual flair and making the experience more modular, by letting users choose things like amount of players or categories and how long each timer lasts. I know you guys have your own signature game show, but my hope is one day, one of the allies feels compelled to create their own session of JeoPardy and plays it with the rest of the Allies. Thanks for reading! Love and Respect, Austin Kruckmeyer

Austin Kruckmeyer

#8 is extremely unsavory, and I love it.

R.F. Switch

Hello Jones and Brad, For my Community showcase post I would like to have Brandon be interviewed by Brad. I believe, with the exception of Don, this will be all the Allies interviewed and I will have to think of something new for the next showcase. As always, the questions will be an assortment of broad ranging questions related to life and video games. There is a list of 10, Brad can pick 5 that he likes and Brandon can feel free to skip and replace any unsavory or outlandish questions with a different question from the list. The audience, as always, will be left wondering what got left unasked due to its extreme nature. L&R Morgan Mohalla 1- What EZA score would you give to parenthood so far and when do you see it becoming a 10 out of 10 if it isn't already? 2- If you could flex your boss muscles, what changes would you make around EZA? (The more "Brand Manager" the better for this response). 3- What is the most uncomfortable thing you have had to deal with at Game trailers vs at EZA? Most proud? (If too personal or involving Brad, feel free to skip). 4- Though you are still young, have you picked up any "old person" habits or opinions? 5- Can you briefly explain your knowledge of anime as if you were trying to impress someone at a job interview? 6- A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here? 7- Time to get spicy with opinions! What song, game and movie do you feel are overrated? (Explanations are optional) 8- High brow joke for you Jones... Do you know why Oedipus never swore...? (He kissed his mother with that mouth) 9- What has 2020 taught you and how are you using that knowledge to improve EZA in 2021? 10- Teach us (The audience) something in that we can do at home.

Morgan Mohalla

As we grow older, the passage of time feels to accelerate exponentially. While I feel like I do a pretty good job at not dwelling on the past and instead focusing on the present, for some reason I think a lot about the substantial time gaps in gaming releases now compared to similar time gaps in the past that felt like an eternity. I'd like to share a few of these time gap observations. While they should sound reasonable at first, they might feel unbelievable when considering the relative time gaps from our past. I'm 35 - which I believe is between the ages of Brad and Brandon, so perhaps they will get similar feelings that I experienced when thinking about this stuff. Also these relative time gaps I'm about to mention are not to the exact by number of days or even months, but rather by year. Ready? The Xbox 360 is now as old as the Super Nintendo was when the Xbox 360 released; 15 years. It's been longer since the release of Mario Galaxy than the time between Mario Galaxy and Mario 64's release. The Gamecube came out 19 years ago.  At the time, the NES released only 16 years ago. The original Game & Watch Gallery on Gameboy released 23 years ago, but that came out only 17 years after the first actual Game & Watch game released.  In fact, Super Smash Brothers Melee is almost as old now as Mr. Game & Watch was at the time. Assassin's Creed came out 13 years ago, which is how long ago Super Metroid came out at the time. Half-Life Alyx released almost 13 years after the most recent Half-Life 2 episode. That's longer than the gap between the release of DOOM 2016 and DOOM 3, and only slightly shorter than the gap between the announcement and eventual release of Duke Nukem Forever. Namco Museum on Gameboy Advanced is now as old as some of the arcade games on those collections were at the time. Star Wars The Force Unleased came out 12 years ago, the same time between that game's release and the release of Shadows of the Empire on N64.  The same 12 year gap also applies to Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts and Super Mario 64. And I saved the most insane one for last - the very first episode of The Angry "Nintendo" Nerd released longer ago from now than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles released on NES at the time. Wanna really feel like you're old and living in the distant future? Blade Runner takes place in 2019. Back to the Future 2 takes place in 2015. The Season 6 episode of The Simpsons where a fortune teller predicts that Lisa gets married in the future took place in 2010. Happy Holidays, everyone! Please continue to stay home. I know we're social creatures but you are loved regardless of how far away your friends and family are from you.

Joseph Caruso

safety!

Mason Victoria

Hi Brandon and Brad! Today I share a short cover of a song found in a short game titled "a short hike". I have had the pleasure of getting to know both Adam, the developer, and Mark, the composer, over the past year and I can't help but feel inspired everytime I revisit this beautiful game. I wish you, the rest of the allies and our community a wonderful holiday season and a brighter new year. L&R Mason Victoria (@masonachu) (feel free to stop at the 3 minute mark!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgmZJ8Jfjs

Mason Victoria

Hey, Jones and Brad! Here are some of my favourite screenshots I took https://imgur.com/a/iyyTIjP

Dragonhunter

The following are currently my Most Anticipated games, and CyberPunk is disqualified for being imminent. Of these dozen, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is last and will likely be eliminated. A 25-minute developer commentated demo shows promise, but with everything coming out about Ubisoft, my initial hype is practically gone. Back 4 Blood is also low because there’s nothing released about it sans concept art and Turtle Rock’s Mocap Mondays tweets. Also, if a rumor is true about it being tower defense, I’ll lose interest because defending an objective against waves of enemies isn’t appealing. Halo Infinite barely makes the top 10, yet all the development problems plus the underwhelming reveals of gameplay and story leave me unenthused it’ll work out. Xbox can’t miss, so I’m ok waiting. Get to the Orange Door is if Titanfall 2 looked like Tron and having a trailer for GamesRadar’s Future Games Showcase was neat. Technically already on PC, the stream confirmed an Xbox port I want to try. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin has been in Early Access for a year, but was slated for consoles this past Spring, and we all know what happened. Now pushed to February 21st, this looks like a gothic horror version of DOOM. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition is the last port on my list, and I became interested with the announcement at the 2018 Game Awards. But like Wrath, it too was delayed because of the pandemic. Now into the top half dozen, and all are Playstation exclusive. In sixth is Final Fantasy XVI. I’m surprised to see it with the VII: Remake project not finished, and while the trailer leaves me mixed, I hope it’ll be good. Squeaking in the top five is Kena: Bridge of Spirits. It’s the only new IP announcement from this year I’m interested in, and Game Informer’s cover story has all kinds of exciting details for what seems like a jolly time. Next up is Horizon: Forbidden West. The sequel to my 2017 GOTY, I fell in love with Horizon’s story, world, machines, and gameplay, and I’m eager to go back and face new machines and mysteries. Taking bronze is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Being a massive R&C fan, I was overjoyed the reboot was Insomniac’s most successful project before Spider-man. I was afraid Spider-man’s success would shift focus from R&C, but I’m happy to be wrong. Rift Apart has done the best on selling next gen, and I’m doing another full series replay before release. The runner-up? God of War: Ragnarok. I feel it’s a guarantee for GOTY contention as anything unreleased can. With how awesome the reboot is, I have complete faith Ragnarok will be phenomenal, but I don’t believe the 2021 date. Lastly, my most anticipated game is a spoiler for my 2020 GOTY list: The next and all future installments for Final Fantasy VII: Remake. With how incredible the first game is, I’m confident the full project will hit all the right notes for me.

Brandon K Gann

I put a piece of gum on this post, so I assume it should hold.

R.F. Switch

Greetings Jones and Brad, Brad, you told me in a tweet that you were a fan of Sci-Fi, and sometimes, you just have to learn not to answer a writer’s innocuous, random questions. It’s fine though, sometimes we just have to learn the hard way *evil chuckle*. The premise of today’s story is using a character from the first draft of Themis the Catgirl, but with a better origin and a more interesting plot. And I do thank you, because it’s not everyday you get to bring your sentient, hulking mass of bubblegum back from the ‘dead’… Remember Mr. Ellis, you brought this upon yourself… Love and Respect, R.F. Switch P.S. Please forgive my voice if it sounds off. My bad luck from last month took a turn for the catastrophic. Also, sorry about random background noises, my new mic pics up a LOT... *Note for Jones: Please read the following sentence in your Golden Voice* And now, a World Premier Excerpt from "A Sticky Situation", Written and Performed by R.F. Switch ---- *Clip in replies*

R.F. Switch

Save

JessieBlu

Hello Brandon, Brad and Chat, Greetings from the Midwest. November was a hell of a month in this year that just won't die. It started with an election and a migraine headache (my first in 6 months). After all this time in the office as an essential worker, they finally sent me back to work from home, but not in time to keep me from catching COVID. The worst part is that since you can't get tested until you've had symptoms for 5-7 days and you're contagious for 3 days before you show symptoms and another 3 days to get results you won't know how many people you've spread sickness to in that time. This is the biggest reason why masks are so important. I gave it to my daughter without even knowing I had it. Please please please wear a mask anytime you're around anyone. And even if you think its allergies or "something you ate" or a "tickle" in your throat if you have ANY of the COVID symptoms wear a mask at home around your family and keep track of your symptoms. You see, I never had a fever. I just had mild cold symptoms, drank some orange juice, ate some chicken soup took some cold medicine and I was fine...until the "difficulty breathing" set in. That was when I realized I probably had in. By then it was too late. Luckily I was already back to working from home so I didn't pass it to anyone at work. Did you know you can still test Positive even 3 weeks after your symptoms end and you aren't contagious anymore? I didn't. And now with all the stress this past month has brought I'm heading into the start of this month with yet another migraine (hence the reason for a text post instead of an audio clip). I don't know what else to say but take care of yourselves and that means thinking about your health above your comfort. Take care of your loved ones by not hiding it if you feel sick. Take care of others by wearing a mask and getting tested. Take care of each other, Chat, because mental health is important too, especially right now. Anxiety and self loathing are at an all-time high. Check in with people you haven't heard from in a couple days. You never know how much it might mean to them. Shout out to RF Switch, MXA Ghost, ItsJessIGuess, and my other ally and ACNH friends for checking on me and boosting my spirits when I need it. And thanks to the "great 8" Allies and their friends and families for letting us peek into their lives for a little bit of entertainment. This year we really need it! Thanks for listening. L&R and Happy Holidays Jessie Blu

JessieBlu

Hi Jones and Brad! So I already had a completely different track picked out, recorded and filmed for this months showcase, but then I was one of the lucky ones and got my PS5. Now realising that Sony had dropped the feel good hit of the decade on us with Astro's Playroom's "GPU Jungle" I knew I had to go back to the drawing board. If that game is a love letter to Playstation, consider this video my love letter to that game. 10/10. If anyone watching has not gotten their PS5 yet and plans on playing this game, I urge you to mute your sound for the next few minutes, as I would never want to ruin the moment of discovering this song for yourself in the game. I honestly believe it's one of the greatest video game songs of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pnzECxptXo Sing along if you know the words! Ciaran/MrConeman P.S - I hope all 8 Allies and the community have a safe and happy end to the year, Love & Respect to all! P.P.S - Jones you don't have to read this bit, apologies that I went over the time limit this month, feel free to fade me out whenever you deem appropriate!

Ciaran Lyttle

I'll add this in as a PS/safety comment, so many allies have seen bits of this during its production that I'd like them all to see this so I'll probably end up tweeting you all, hope its not too spammy

Hi Brad and Jones! So much, much, later that I hoped, I finally have my finished Mega Man animation. It's oddly apt since I believe Brad was on the showcase where I first showed the very early stages of the character model (when he was just an awkward looking head) Unfortunately due to covid and budget reasons I ended up having to do the voice myself, and then have the guy I hired to do the sound had take recordings of a fully grown adult Scotsman yelling into his phone and try and make it sound like an anime teen Other than that I'm really happy with it and would love it to be seen by as many people to see it as possible https://youtu.be/0tT9hIy5lOo Shout out to chat who have said some really positive things when I've shown updates in past showcases! Love and respect Dave Cleland

Hello allies. Id like to thank you for all you do. 2020 has been a shitty year for me i had a house fire in febuary wich effect the whole house to the point that we have not moved back yet. Then in march the uk went into its first lockdown and to top it off in october we found out my dad has cancer. This effected my mental very badly, but then i found the allies. Being able to watch streams and videos from such positive an funny people has helped me get through this year. I love what each of you brings to the tabel. I watch and love everything you guys make from the poscast to manatory update and everything in between.With everyting that was happing next gen tock a back set untill your coverage got my hyped, the week wait was long. Keep doing what your doing i know in 2021 you will smash it. Much love and respect louise aka lou.bro1984

Louise Brown

Sent from my next gen PC.

St0mpz

Happy Heyo there allies, and Merry Decemberween! Last year my cousin Heidi suggested my family White Elephant gift exchange should be only homemade gifts. Being a musician with no tangible skills, I made a family epic, which included a song called "Christmas Time" I threw together a quick music video to accompany it as my contribution to this month's showcase, but since I skipped out on my October submission, I think a bit more horror than I anticipated made its way into the visuals. So please enjoy this fresh, disturbing Christmas Classic about routine, excessiveness, and bitter feelings towards my cousin Hiedi. Enjoy "Christmas Time" https://youtu.be/mhKXy-dpJxY

St0mpz

Safety comment.

XWF Outlaw

Safety in wearing a mask.

Sara Knite

Greetings Brad and Jones! Happy holidays!!! Just one piece of art today. A promo image for my webcomic, Summer Days, and unlike last time I submitted promo material where my main characters were wearing Halloween costumes, this image is 100% canon. https://drive.google.com/file/d/19YpiFw6TPQbZuw_Un4itykIrUzfumilC/view?usp=sharing Hope everyone is staying safe out there, wear a mask, and wash your hands! Black lives matter! Merry Christmas and happy 2021! Much love and respect, Sara Imshaug SaraKnite

Sara Knite

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Adam Hentschel

Hey Brandon and Brad! After seeing the reveal for the Demon’s Souls remake back in June, I finally started to make my way through FromSoftware’s catalogue and it’s just been an absolute blast. For this month, I rearranged Gwyn’s Theme for guitar and seeing as their two boss fights are so thematically intertwined, I started things off with a short reinterpretation of the Soul of Cinder theme from Dark Souls 3. Thanks for the listen and I hope everyone has a fantastic December! Adam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMI4xfotPu0

Adam Hentschel

Please don't eat patreon. You already have my money, don't take my pride.

Parasitepaladin

Hello Jones and Brad! Two months ago when Huber was on I talked about my love for professional wrestling, and decided to do it again! In these past two months, I finally did it and completely dropped all WWE programming. Feels good to no longer watch a company that is just SHITTY. Also the overall quality of the product can’t be trusted to be enjoyable, so there is that too. Fuck you, Vince McMahon. New Japan Pro Wrestling has been going strong, squeezing in all the usual tours in this COVID-19 wrecked year. Currently they are having two tournaments going on at the same time. World Tag League, which ten tag teams battle round robin style, in which the two highest point scorers battle in a final to get a shot at the tag titles! The other tournament is the highly acclaimed Best of the Super Juniors. Same round robin situation, where junior heavyweights (commonly known in the west as cruiserweights) fight to win a chance at the Junior heavyweight championship! Normally these tournaments would have two blocks, where the point winners of each compete in a final, however due to COVID-19 restrictions, foreign wrestlers are limited to come over for a single tour. Still, the action in the ring is fantastic as usual and I am enjoying it completely! Even if it is a little hard to keep up to date. The winners will most likely compete for the belts at New Japan's biggest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom. Which is shaping up to be a must not miss show like it is every year. The promotion known as Stardom is also still putting on great shows, though I am new to watching it so not sure how their tours and big shows are set up throughout the year. Like I mentioned before, every single woman in the company is just so ENDEARING and I want to support them all! These women give it their all and their big shows (think pay-per-views) have some of the best matches you will see all year in them! Both NJPW and Stardom have their own streaming services called New Japan World and Stardom World respectively. Each cost 999 yen (about 10 bucks American) and you are charged at the start of the month, so subscribe sooner the better if you are curious! Some of the best wrestling you will see! And a ton in the archives if you choose to go digging! Elsewhere, I am enjoying the weekly shows for AEW and Impact Wrestling. AEW has fantastic storytelling and in ring action, so I am always waiting for next week! And Impact is a fun, easy breezy watch. Last is NWA. It had a weekly free show on youtube, but COVID-19 stopped that. Until now! NWA returned December 1st after six or so months gone! Another easy to watch show, especially for you promo lovers. Let me end again saying pro wrestling is great, and can easily be enjoyed without WWE.

Parasitepaladin

Hewwo allies!! All I have to say this month is I love you, hope you're safe, and also stream Wayne on amazon prime it's about a socially awkward teenage boy on a trip to get his dads car back with his girlfriend who he's known for... like a day and theyre both on the run from the cops. Anyways it's good and made me feel emotions. Plus action and comedy that had me losing MIND. Warning it IS a bit gorey but listen. Trust me. Please. I want a season two so bad. L&R Kit "loves Wayne" Snow

Kit Snow

Please don’t evaporate.

Michelle Jackson

Comment will be below :D

Juan Rolón Jr.

Here we go

Eric Jackson

Hello Allies, this month I’ll be focusing on Perenelle’s battle animations. I’m still in the process of casting someone for Perenelle’s voice so instead of a full battle test I thought I’d show some of the process of making battle animations. (These are still very rough.) L&R! https://youtu.be/gnuEfIqFp6Q

Michelle Jackson

Safety post

Happy Gaming

Hey Brandon and Brad, hope you're doing well. This month has seen some of the biggest personal trauma I've had to deal with, and while I know it pales in comparison to that of most of all people, it's definitely been something that's really kept me down quite a bit as I endeavor to move into a new apartment by myself for the first time ever, as well as adapt to the ever changing landscape colored by things like police brutality and the black lives matters movement. May we all strive to give voice to the voiceless, so that tomorrow may see a brighter sun. This month is no voice over, but instead all the juggling that I filmed this year that I posted to my instagram. Some of this will be a little familiar. The full video is just over 4 minutes, so all that juicy cut content is available to view should anyone have the interest beyond where Jones cuts me short. Thanks for everything you do, Brandon and Brad. Love and Respect P.S. Brad, please bring back the full beard, you looked so freakin badass rocking that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvwLoMSyGjk&list=PLq-tVxkt5XKEzN3RIjVK6htBg4dZcoc-o&index=23&ab_channel=EricJackson --------------- I got the music off of Epidemic Sound, so it should be good, but feel free to mute if that turns out to not be the case.

Eric Jackson

Hello Brandon and Brad. I wish I could make my submission about anything else, but I must talk about how bad Sony treats its loyal fanbase in my region. If it’s not like this in your territory – good for you, but here it’s beyond being just frustrating. I like PlayStation and several exclusives are among my favorite games. PS3 was the first console I’ve bought and PS4 was my console of choice in 2013. However, over the years PS4 became less and less appealing due to one extremely important thing: game prices. During last-gen Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft introduced subscription services that allow you to play brand-new games for a very reasonable price. What was Sony’s response? They raised game prices 4 times during PS4 era! Other companies and platforms raised prices too, but no one charge as much as Sony, even if it’s a PlayStation exclusive. For example, at launch Ghost of Tsushima costed 28% more than Persona 5 Royal. My problem with prices is not about money, it’s about expectations. Since only Sony’s games cost that much, I expect way more from them, which is a sure way to be disappointed even in 10/10 game. I’ve played The Last of Us Part II at launch (to avoid spoilers), and I’ve spent a lot of mental energy to push away pricing thoughts and enjoy the game for what it is. I’ve succeeded, but it was very taxing for my brain, and I don’t want to do this ever again. Another huge problem with Sony is how random their actions are. Remember I’ve said that Ghost of Tsushima costed 28% more than Persona 5 Royal? Now it’s 42%, because in October Sony raised Ghost’s price. But only Ghost became more expensive - The Last of Us Part II’s price wasn’t changed. And let me talk about PS5 pre-orders (the console wasn’t sold out for a month, so it’s a long story). At first you had to buy pre-order coupons to order the console. Several days later this system was completely discarded. After pre-orders have started, Sony introduced a small discount for selected stores, then changed the list of stores, then cancelled this program before it was supposed to end. And nothing is ever explained or even announced – it just happens, and you are lucky if it doesn’t affect you in negative way. All of this makes me feel like I’m treated like a mindless fanboy, who will go through any hardship to play PlayStation games. And I really, really don’t like when I’m treated like I’m mindless. So, I’m still thinking what to do with my PS5 (I wasn’t planning to spend $600 on new PlayStation, but I’ve got scared that Sony will raise its price too). I’ll probably do trade-in-only for first-party titles, since playing games, but not giving money to Sony seems the most satisfying. Hopefully, Sony will change its approach in the future, and our relationships will be able to go back from abuse to mutual love.

Alexander Zyryanov

Happy Holidays Brad and Brandon, As I foreshadowed last month, I have my newest review for you guys to check out and enjoy. This month is Crash Bandicoot 4. It is to date the largest review I’ve made, as it’s the first time I’ve reviewed anything outside of a smaller title or indie game. I’m exhausted, but am also very proud of how it turned out. Overall, I really enjoyed it as a lifelong Crash fan. It’s a difficult game though, and that difficulty has a lot to do with unpolished controls, not difficult level design. A lot of the mechanics can feel a little sloppy. The difficulty often comes more from that control on top of a camera that often doesn’t allow for confident platforming. It all adds up to a somewhat frustrating experience. I still personally enjoyed regardless, mostly because of the evident passion and love Toys for Bob brought to the game. The review had me looking back on an editorial Jones put together at one point about what he personally feels a final score represents. Without spoiling anything, as much as I enjoyed the game, I would find it tougher to recommend if people are not already invested in Crash or aren’t especially into platformers after the issues I experienced. If anyone would like to check out the full review, as I’ll need Brandon to cut it off at around 3 minutes, feel free to check out my Patreon at Patreon.com/HappyGaming. I’d love to hear feedback from you both, as always! Next month, I’ll likely have another review to show off, but don’t yet know what from my queue it will be. Until then, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. Brad, Jones and Chat, I love you all, and wish you the very best. Brian from Happy Gaming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXIuYwXtX8

Happy Gaming