Frame Trap - Episode 30 "Blade in 2017"

I don't mind if Frame Trap has 2 or 3 guests on the panel really, as this show proved it can work well with 2 (and I think it's worked well with 3 in the past). My only concern is that (apart from reviews, which are a bit more formal) Frame Trap is the only real way to get insight into what the EA guys have been playing lately. There are only two Frame Traps a month and now with only 4 panel members in that period it could easily be a month or longer between hearing what certain Allie's have been playing and their insights on those games. I think it's a great way to through out some recommendations or discussions on games that might not be discussed anywhere else, since things like Don't Skip require much more work and thus are fairly infrequent. I appreciate that the solo streams also present an opportunity to discuss other games but a lot of those seem to be full playthroughs of lengthy games and unless you're interested in that game, it's hard to find the time to watch them all. I love Frame Trap and I'll always watch/listen to the latest episode, I just wanted to throw out my opinion on it: personally I'd like more time spent discussing what people have been playing, not less.

Great episode. The 3-man panel worked really well this time, HOWEVER, I do feel like you had the perfect allies for the job and I'm not so sure this format would necessarily work as well with different allies who maybe aren't quite as talkative or don't have the same level of chemistry. I think it'd be cool to keep the 3-man format as an occasional special thing but I wouldn't commit to it as a permanent change just yet.

Bynoe

Great Frame Trap, Ben, thank you for the HOTTAKE. Sometimes I feel like from different dimension when you're talking about all the NESes and SNESes and Metroids and Zeldas, because my childhood was spent with Commodore64 which had ton of great games, but it seems like they have never existed :) But I still enjoy the different perspective, if anything it has widened my interest in games in general.

3 person Frame Trap rules; keep this up! It feels a lot less crowded/rushed through certain segments.

That was hilarious. Kyle and Huber need their own show. Great chemistry. But I love this combination of three people for Frame Trap. Just a good time. Make it happen again please!

I have so many game trading/selling regrets from when I was young. Traded all my n64 stuff ...for a dreamcast (mostly for shenmue....worth it...?) then all the dream cast stuff for a ps2. I also really regret selling Metal Gear Ghost Babel for gameboy color. I also wish I still had my GBA. I figured "well my DS plays those games" but now my ds is dead sadly.

Chachzilla

Hey guys, just wanted to say that Frame Trap has become my favorite EZA podcast and it's partly due to the longer format. The relaxed and conversational pace is refreshing and I hope you preserve that element of the show. That said, I liked the two-guest setup (great conversations as usual) but I still enjoy having that third guest in the mix. Maybe you can change it up every once in awhile? L&R

Haha, love that episode's title. Thanks for sharing :) I really like the 3 person panel, it was more detailed, and more focussed ;p Always love having Bosman and Huber together on Frame Trap :) Thanks again! L&R

Mumble Mumbleton

I like the 3-member podcast, because there is more time to spend on other segments besides the what-have-you-played-segment from the beginning. On the flipside, I really like the dynamic of having three persons next to the 'moderator', someone always has a totally different opinion on things. Then again, having two persons next to Ben, does differentiate Frame Trap from the EZA Podcast. All in all, having three persons in total with Frame Trap is probably the way to go for me.

Backlog Crusader

A fusion of Huber and Bossman would be called...Hu-Man...o_o #mindblown

Larry DuPreez III

Really like 3 members - with 4, I always felt like somebody was always sitting out or that it was difficult to truly have a 4-way discussion. 3 is much more natural and focused, love it!

Brandon Ray

Really like the approach Kyle is taking, trying to bring at least a little VR for each ep. I'd like to throw my praise to Farpoint. The story is fairly uninspired, but being in those environments feels good. And the little gauntlet survival mode is a rush (it's how I managed to make it a couch switch off game with my friends). I figure this might be a little clarification on movement/enemies. The level design is made in such a way you never have to do a 180 from starting position, so enemies will always approach from the front mostly. Feels so good shooting down some spiders!

Jordan Kirk

and doesn't say "y'know" every 5 seconds.

Cash

I really like the dynamic of a 3 people podcast. It's more suited for a very long podcast. Finally, they got caught in a Frame Trap again. I was waiting for this for so long. I giggled at the regret question. You regretting selling for 10$ Wind Waker was funny to me. I got through a phase in 2005 where I was feeling like I was going nowhere in life and I wanted to change something drastically in my life. I decided to get rid of everything that was related to video games in my life. I gave all my gaming tools to coworkers for FREE. I gave my DS, my Game Boy, my Dreamcast, my Playstation 2, my Gamecube and hundred of games to them. Some of them felt bad and gave me a little bit of money for what they took. The only thing I did not get rid of at that time was my friends that played and still plays loads of video games so of course I came back to video games in 2006. I regret that decision for sure today, but regreting is bad for my sanity so I keep looking forward instead of backward and here I am on Easy Allies with my best group on the Internet. Maybe one day I will feel courageous enough to take a trip to LA and meet with the people that makes my daily shows. I consume them every day of my life, because they are fabulous human beings that have interest that I can relate to. L&R

Feeling the 3 person episode-- seems more concise, focused and just seems to flow a little better!! Btw, I really like the fact that Kyle is dedicating some of his coverage time to VR games!!! I really dig that! I am truly optimistic about VR and see it maturing into a viable platform, along side traditional gaming---although I do agree that it is currently at a lull due to lack of fully realized, triple A titles and its high price point. I remain optimistic because after 30 years of gaming, VR is providing some of the most exciting, immersive, and memorable gaming experiences I've ever had! Raw Data and Vanishing Realms come to mind. Also, Still waiting for one of the allies to play 'Chronos' which is a more traditional, 3d person adventure game for the Oculus/Vive. It is so underrated... just a beautiful, well thought out game worth playing. I can't stop thinking of what a Castlevania or God of War would look like in a few years. I don't think I'm alone there... Thanks for the great coverage as always. Love & Respect!!

I'll try and keep this comment as short as possible, but we have a lot to cover in regards to fighting games. First off, I see a lot of people try to describe anyone who is playing a fighting game properly as a professional. It seems very dismissive. I guarantee that with 2 hours of properly guided training and teaching any member of Easy Allies could become a competent player (side note: I would love to see EZA partner with someone in the FGC and actually make this into a show or stream). There's an excellent few videos of Gootecks and Mike Ross teaching Xavier Woods how to play SFV in under an hour and a half. There are so many good resources online to teach you how to play. Secondly, I want to talk about competition and why fighting games are so amazing for it. In a video game like this, you cannot break the rules. Everything that you can do is fair game. You can't cheat unless you reach over and physically mess with your opponent. Also, good fighting games have little to no randomness. You can't blame a loss on a lucky crit or a top-deck. This means that the winner of a match is the person who played better during the match. This may not sound like much, but its such a huge thing. This is what makes a fighting game a fighting game. You're playing to win, you're opponent is playing to win, and both of you are doing everything you can to make it happen. When you actually pull it off, it feels so good because you really earned it. In that match, you were better than your opponent. Ultimately, the problem with fighting games comes from a lack of education. I hate it when people throw around words like "cheap" and "dishonorable". They're always used as an excuse and drive that person away from actually learning the game. Its not that something is cheap, its that you don't know how to deal with it. In a good fighting game, every action your opponent takes can be countered to some degree if you know it's coming. If your opponent keeps using their "cheap" move, you'll be able to predict it and punish it, giving you the advantage. I want to thank Ben for bringing up Guilty Gear Xrd's tutorial as it is a huge step in the right direction in teaching fighting games. In response to Huber's hatred of ranged attacks. He always picks the big, hard-hitting characters that have a huge advantage in short range, but a huge disadvantage at long range. He then complains that his opponent won't come into that short range. Of course your opponent is going to do everything they can to keep away from you! You need to learn what your character can do to deal with the ranged filth, not just complain about it. If someone legitimately hates playing around ranged attacks, I'd suggest staying away from 2D fighters and sticking with 3D fighters where you can sidestep to avoid them. Love and Respect, Ken P.S. A few actual good ways to break through a frame trap are to just keep blocking or to use an invincible reversal like a shoryuken.

Kenneth Childs

Huber, Bosman and Ben are national treasures and our taxpayer money should go towards hiring secret service to keep them safe at all times.

Shane Sanders

2 guests instead of 3, longest episode yet

Todd Kremer

3 people podcast works great Ben.

The Hashtagonist

I am super envious of how well Ben is able to illustrate a point he is trying to make. Love just having two guests as well. Great episode.

I think it's true couch co-op is harder to find in video games, but tabletop games are more popular than ever, and they are arguably more social experiences anyway, because you're focused on each other rather than the screen.

Hope Kyle talks about Thumper on a future Ep. Because of the input lag the game didn't connect with me on normal mode but in VR I can't praise it enough. I can't say I'm super satisfied with PSVR but Thumper is one of those games that alone justified my investment . Don't know why but every time I play it, it moves me. That feeling of "being in the zone" in this game is pretty much like no other game I've played. When you start to master it... the visuals, the music(!!!), the speed, just wow!

Rui Fidalgo

Great Show! Love the 3 people podcast.

As ever though great episode, keep it coming L&R.

Rhys Simons

As someone who barely ever plays fighting games, yet saw and liked the look of Injustice 2, it's really nice to listen to these guys rail off what a cheesy, range filth, cheap scumbag I am because I enjoy playing Deadshot. I've not gone into the online community or looked up exploits to use I just like his design and find him pleasant to use which means I can occasionally hold my own online. I know Huber just wants to stand face to face and mash the hammer fist button with whatever tank character he uses and to hell with any character not suited to that style of combat, but that was a pretty brutal part of the episode. For a group of people that preaches 'Love and Respect' frankly to a nauseating level sometimes, occasionally these group discussions don't half single out and crap on a section of the gaming community quite a lot. The group does it a lot regarding sports and racing games a lot too (unless Blood is in the room). Would sometimes be good to pay more than an appeasing sentence to the fact that there are other types of gamers out there.

Rhys Simons

Really enjoyed the more intimate Frame Trap, it was crackalackin!

confusedhulk

Great show allies! Can we get a Huber "E3 Conspiracy Theories" show lol?

The smaller panel is a nice way to mix things up. With the format of the "what have you been playing" segment, and the way it goes 1 by 1, with 4 people it often seemed like one member of the panel wouldn't get to say much for a stretch of time. Condensing makes it more inclusive and easier for everyone to engage.

Cash

Huber forgot to mention one thing during his Injustice 2 talk: You can setup the AI to fight for you and invest points into them to tell them how to fight. I love it, it becomes Fighting Game Manager 2018

Skankman

Ben: perfect choice to reduce the panel. Keep it in play!

DaleBastion

I do prefer the 4 people format. Since it's the only show with what people have been playing and is only every 2 weeks, I do want to hear from more Allies. If it does stick to 3, it might be that Huber's stint as unofficial co host would need to unfortunately end to get through more Allies.

Skankman

I definitely think 3 people is the way to go. I can totally see how the usual four might be more appealing, and that there are always four with the EZA Podcast, but with the differing structure of Frame Trap I just think everything flowed better. Usually feels like there's an odd man out - not this time. Hope this becomes the new norm!

John Leitner

3 people felt good. And I like the length as is (don't sweat it!!). Fusion Kyle and Huber would be Huber Bossman and he would produce a show called the final syndrome.

Raven Perez

Liking the differentiation from the Easy Allies podcast less people really helps with going in depth on those few persons thoughts.

Less people makes it easier to produce logistically I suppose, sure didn't make the show any shorter (Not that I mind, I love the meaty timestamps on every show). But I like having more voices/opinions during a discussion, 4 just seems like a perfect number, no big deal though, either way works. At the same time I do realize how a lot of the time with 4 people one person almost always goes silent for a greater majority of the show once they've talked about what they've played, whereas this time everyone was engaged the entire time. So, maybe it's not all bad and is worth exploring further. But I would say that if there's ever a time where a game has wholly consumed the allies like say Fire Emblem or Destiny 2 later this year that you have as many people as possible to discuss it with.

ZyloWolfBane

Really enjoyed the new format. Three allies leaves a lot more time for good in depth conversations for both the games they're playing and HOTTAKE.

Man I love frame trap, you guys are the best

Jovan Sreckovic

Love Frametrap while I defeat some Yokai

Not sure if there's something wrong with the YouTube app on iOS but the last few shows released have had lip syncing issues. i imagine you guys are already aware if it's something on your end but figured i'd let you know just incase. Anyway, thanks for all your hard work as always!

So happy that GNOG got on Frame Trap! I felt it went largely unnoticed. It deserves attention for its originality.

Łukasz Wizła

I'm so happy caught in a frame trap is a thing again haha I'm gonna keep repeating this every Frame Trap until it comes true: This is my favorite show on Easy Allies and I hope it'll be a weekly show! :D

Nut Kon