8-4 Play

Join us as we traipse through a field of misty GameCube memories, Lost Judgment verdicts, Bugsnax morsels, and PlayStation Showcase amuse-bouches.   Time – Topic Discussed: 00:56 – Nicknames 22:04 – Bloodborne 28:10 – Lost Judgment 43:39 – Bugsnax 54:28 – Pokémon Unite 57:20 – Genshin Impact 1:00:29 – News: PlayStation Showcase, the GameCube turns 20, PS5 & Nintendo Switch Updates, and more!

Friend of the show Liam Edwards joins to talk his newly-announced golf-like, Cursed to Golf, plus BitSummit, indie life in Japan, No More Heroes 3, Guilty Gear Strive, and a healthy shake for dinner. Time – Topic Discussed: 01:12 – Nicknames 15:27 – Bitsummit Talk 17:34 – Cursed to Golf 46:31 – Sol Cresta impressions 54:58 – No More Heroes 3 1:02:45 – Guilty Gear Strive 1:09:00 – Pokémon Unite

Look: if you aren't Monster-Hunter-positive or at least MH-curious, might wanna just skip this ep. Otherwise, enjoy as GaijinHunter Adam Evanko joins to chat about the new Netflix special, Rise and MH Stories 2, what's next for the series, and (of course) Cheetos vs. Potato straws.

This week we debate the strengths and weaknesses of the two big conbini chains in Japan. Who makes the best pasta? The best fried chicken in an envelope? The best onigiri? Listen to find out! Oh, we also talk about video games. Time – Topic Discussed: 02:01 – Nicknames 21:09 – Pokémon Unite 40:42 – Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters 48:41 – Demon's Souls 53:25 – Apex Legends 1:00:52 – Terranigma 1:03:38 – Listener Questions & Answers

Rainy season is out, Skyward Sword HD is in, Gabe is...all over the place, and it's a four-day weekend in Japan?! Join the holiday celebration as we answer listener questions and talk about Zelda, Steam Deck, crazy auctions, and more! Time – Topic Discussed: 01:01 – Nicknames 15:45 – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 31:51 – News: The Steam Deck, Mario & Zelda Auctions, and more! 01:02:49 – Listener Questions & Answers

Ex game-journo and noted theme park connoisseur Michael Donahoe joins us for a deep dive into what he considers the best park on the planet (!): Super Nintendo World. Time – Topic Discussed: 01:09 – Nicknames 23:34 – Streets of Rage 4 34:22 – Chicory 45:01 – Super Nintendo World Report 01:15:59 – News: The Nintendo Switch OLED, Sony’s Acquisitions, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, and more!

The hype train has left with a resounding choo-choo! In its wake, we unpack this year's E3 news and share thoughts on Stranger of Paradise, FF7R Intergrade, 25 years of N64, and more! Time – Topic Discussed: 01:40 – Nicknames 11:17 – Apex Legends 19:47 – Stranger in Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin 35:20 – Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade 52:07 - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition 54:28 – Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers 1:05:37 – News: E3 Recap; Sonic’s 30th Anniversary, Nintendo 64’s Anniversary, and more!

E3 is (sorta) back, which means it's time to buckle up for another round of baseless speculation, ridiculous predictions, and general mayhem as we once again board the #E3HYPETRAIN! Time – Topic Discussed: 25:30 – News: Nintendo, Uncharted 4 on PC, E3’s Award show, and more! 34:17 – Nintendo E3 Speculation 57:14 – More News: The EGRETII mini, Yuji Naka’s retirement (?), The Playdate, and more! 01:26:35 – Capcom E3 Speculation 01:33:08 – Microsoft & Bethesda E3 Speculation 01:44:38 – Square-Enix 01:50:30 – Our Wishlists & Last Minute Predictions

Dragon Quest may be getting 'darker' and 'more adult', but we here at 8-4 Play pledge to remain as cute and carefree as ever. Join us for talk of all the recent DQ-related announcements, the latest Switch rumors, a little RE: Village and New Pokémon Snap, and more! Time – Topic Discussed: 00:50 – Nicknames 13:22 – News: Dragon Quest Announcements, Valve’s portable steam device, new Switch Pro rumors, and more! 1:17:54 – Resident Evil: Village 1:25:48 – Control 1:29:50 – Earthbound 1:39:07 – New Pokémon Snap 1:45:43 – Last Minute Rumors & News: Team Ninja & Final Fantasy, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Edition, and a little bit more!

No news is good news when the only news is Alex "cvxfreak" Aniel joining us for nearly two hours of impressions of two of the past month's biggest releases: Returnal and Resident Evil Village! Check out Alex's book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil (Thanks to Peter Jonca for the Resident Evil font used in our image!) Time – Topic Discussed: 01:04 – Nicknames 09:17 – Returnal 41:59 – Resident Evil: Village

It's Golden Week in Japan! Join us for pre-holiday impressions of SaGa Frontier Remastered and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139, plus the latest news from the worlds of video games and fast food (spoiler: MacDonald is out this week, but McDonald's is -in-). Time – Topic Discussed: 01:25 – Nicknames 13:05 – SaGa Frontier Remastered 33:29 – NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… 01:01:37 – News: PS5 Sales, PS3/PS Vita stores are here to stay, RE8 news recap, and more!

Impressed with the dioramas in Fantasian, we work together to construct a faithful replica of the 8-4 office. We spare no detail, including our fridge in the state-of-the-art podcast wing filled with tiny Chu-hi! Time – Topic Discussed: 01:31 – Nicknames 14:21 – Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers 24:26 – Monster Hunter Rise 27:04 – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 31:42 – Fantasian 40:32 – Dragon Quest X 41:59 – No Man’s Sky 52:03 – News: Nintendo Indies Announcement, the latest Sony happenings, and more!

Joined by special guest Adam "Gaijin Hunter" Evanko, we celebrate the latest pointy, bitey addition to the Monster Hunter franchise! 00:53 – Nicknames 05:52 – Monster Hunter Rise 1:04:48 – News: DLSS on the Next Switch, Sony’s Sunset Plans PS3/PSP/PSVita stores, and more!

This week we bravely default to talking about Japan, games, and Japanese games! Plus a bit of reminiscing about boy bands, print gaming media, and some classic puzzle platformers. Time – Topic Discussed: 00:58 – Nicknames 27:19 – Bravely Default II 38:40 – Don’t Starve Together 44:45 – Little Nightmare 2, Inside, & Limbo (***Limbo Spoilers***) 51:28 – News: Bethesda Joins Microsoft, Super Nintendo World, Apex Legends on Switch and more!

17-Bit’s Jake Kazdal returns to talk about his newly-announced VR title “Song in the Smoke,” Japan Studio’s closure, a bigger-screen Switch, PS5 VR, banana controllers, being Seth Rogen’s stunt double, and more! Time – Topic Discussed: 00:58 – Nicknames 10:59 – Song in the Smoke 44:49 – News: PlayStation VR News, Japan Studio’s fate, New Switch rumors, and lots more

We gorge on Nintendo news along with 17-Bit's Jake Kazdal, topping it off with lots (and lots) of thoughts on Bowser's Fury and very, very little FFXIV updates. And the long-awaited reveal of exactly what time Gabe secured his PS5 order. Time – Topic Discussed: 00:51 – Nicknames 15:10 – Devil May Cry 5 18:50 – Nintendo Direct News 1:07:35 – Super Mario 3D World: Bowser’s Fury 1:41:27 – More News: GoldenEye Leak, DualSense drift, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie, Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, and more!

What do the RE8 and Balan demos, Cyber Shadow, Evangelion, Xbox Live Pricing, Switch LTD Sales and Sega politics all have in common? We talk about them on this podcast. Duh. This is always a list of the stuff we talk about. It was a rhetorical question. Time – Topic Discussed: 00:46 – Nicknames 04:58 – Cyber Shadow 11:01 – Some Evangelion chat 19:31 – Resident Evil Village Visual Showcase 43:14 – The Medium 59:31 – News: PS5 Chaos in Japan, Nintendo Switch sales surpass the 3DS, Stadia's New Direction, GameStop at the last minute (literally), and more!

This week we give our expert (read: somewhat experienced) opinions of the Monster Hunter Rise demo. Then it's a mixed bag of games both new and old, with a side helping of anime and Sheila-E. Time – Topic Discussed: 01:06 - Nicknames 03:05 - Mario Kart 8 05:46 - Monster Hunter Rise Demo 26:35 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 30:28 - Slime Bunker 33:23 - Attack on Titan (and some more Anime/TV talk) 43:41 - Spiritfarer 47:28 - News: Lucas Film Games & the New Indiana Jones, Awesome Games Done Quick recap Square-Enix’s mysterious trademarks, Peter Moore’s return, and more!

First episode of 2021! This week we talk about our experiences in radio, the lifestyle that is Sasuke, the life of Saruman, and maybe some video games. Time – Topic Discussed: 02:31 - Nicknames 20:10 - The Lord of the Rings movie & book talk (***CONTAINS SPOILERS***) 28:04 - Mario Kart 8: Deluxe 32:30 - Breath of Fire 3 36:49 - Read Dead Online 37:46 - Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) 44:04 - Awesome Games Done Quick (so far) 48:05 - News: The End of those GoKart tours, Miis & Breath of the Wild NPCs, Nier: Automata’s final secret, and more!

Cozy up by the fire and join us for our annual holiday send-off, filled with tales of Christmas past, plans for winter break, and plenty more. Thanks as always for listening, and see you in 2021!   Time – Topic Discussed: 00:36 - Nicknames 12:41 - Sega Astro City Mini 23:01 - Return of the Obra Dinn (there are no spoilers) 32:09 - Jet Force Gemini 40:25 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons 54:51 - Phantasy Star Online 20th Anniversary 1:06:12 - Video Game Related Holiday Memories 1:19:02 - News: The Game Awards roundup, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Movie, and more! 2:04:38 - Game and TV Plans for the Holiday Break