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66: Traditional Christmas Potatoes

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What? It’s Christmas again already? Impossible. And yet – here we are with a festival shambles episode, with all the audio dropouts and edits only a True Christmas Shambles Episode could provide.

In Episode 66, deKay, Kendrick, Zo, Toby and Luffer talk about the Evercade EXP Special Edition theft, Ash Ketchum finally retiring from the world of Pokémon, the exciting announcement trailer for Armoured Core VI, and a few games:

  • FIFA 23
  • Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal
  • Bayonetta 3
  • Pokémon Scarlet

And then! The main event! Luffer has created one of his legendary games for Christmas and we attempt to play it. Apologies in advance for your ears. Oh god.

(Direct link here)

Intro music credits: GaMetal cover of Cool Cool Mountain from Mario 64.

Don’t forget, if you want to contact us with questions or comments for or about the show, you can email podcast@ugvm.org.uk or publicly shame us @ugvmpodcast on the Twittors, or on Mastodon: https://mas.to/@ugvmpodcast

Pokémon Scarlet (Switch): COMPLETED!

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Well, completed insofar as the story is done. Actually, there are four stories – three “paths” to take, then a final story available once you’ve done all those.

As with other recent Pokémon games, getting to the “end”, beating the Elite Four, then completing the story and defeating the final “boss” was all very, very easy. Yes, you need suitable Pokémon for each part, and yes, they need to be sufficiently levelled, but I was totally overpowered by the time I’d done 5 or 6 gyms and was a laughable 15 levels higher than every opponent for the rest of the game.

With that done, though, I realised that I was closer to completing my Pokédex than I’d ever been in any other mainstream game in the series, so I think, for the first time (Arceus doesn’t count!) I might actually try to catch ’em all. I’ve about 50 left at the moment, with around half (I think) easily obtainable from just evolving other Pokémon I have already, and most of the rest available from my daughter’s copy of Violet.

Later Alligator (Switch): COMPLETED!

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Alligator New York, the setting for this game, is like Real New York only everyone is an alligator instead of a human being. If I were an alligator, I’d probably struggle to wear human clothes, drive human cars, and use human tools, but apparently instead of alligator things, human things work just fine. And alligators can have moustaches and hair? Of course.

As a mysterious alligator, decked out in a 1920s Speakeasy-going suit, you’re convinced by paranoid young alligator Pat to discover What is Going Down later on. He’s pretty sure The Family are going to Take Care Of Him, so the game is for you to talk to all the alligators, most of which appear to be related to Pat, and figure out what really is happening that evening.

It’s bloody obvious about five seconds into the game, but still. It’s about the journey!

Interacting with many of the quirky relatives triggers a mini-game of some sort, which, if completed, makes them reveal some more about what The Event is. These games are generally standard mini-game faire – a slide puzzle, Towers of Pancakes/Hanoi, a UFO catcher, matching pairs, etc. but they’re nicely presented and some have unusual rules. The pancakes, for example, are on a toy train’s carriages, which drives around a track while you try and move them.

It’s not a tricky, or especially long game, but it is very funny and you really want to talk to all the bizarre characters as you play. There’s a great art and animation style, and the music is excellent – especially the alligator who plays the guitar (although the music is actually brass!). There’s also scope to replay, as time passes in the game and you don’t get a chance to visit everyone or everywhere.

A silly little game, but well worth playing if you like point and click adventures, silly little games, or alligators.

Pokémon Scarlet (Switch)

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A rare (these days!) post about a game I’m playing but have not yet completed!

So I’ve very much enjoyed recent, as in, 3DS onwards, Pokémon games. Partly because I’ve played them all while my daughter plays the other game (Violet, this time) and we sort of race to the end. Naturally, I win.

This time around there has been more than usual in the way of complaints about the game. Mainly to do with bugs and performance issues, and because of these I’m posting. Mainly to say, they’ve not been a problem for me! I’ve completed all eight gyms, have taken down three Titans, and beaten three Team Star camps, so it’s fair to say I’ve seen a good proportion of the game so far. And yes, I’ve seen bugs and glitches. But literally none of it has affected the game itself.

The main issues I’ve come across have been visual. Frequently, in battle, the trainers are spaced so far apart the camera can’t include them both in a wide shot so it often ends up inside a cliff, a pokémon (especially if mine is huge), or facing completely the wrong way. It means you don’t see much of the action, but it doesn’t make any difference to how it plays. Also visual, sometimes pokémon in the wild will spawn right in front of you. Not usually a problem, but can be annoying if you’re riding your Koraidon fast and run into them.

I’ve mentioned before that framerates mean nothing to me. I can’t tell the difference between 30 and 60fps, and sometimes 15fps and 30fps look identical too. I do, however, notice fluctuating framerates and dropped frames, and that has happened a few times. In particular, the forest area around Atticus’ Team Star base slowed to a crawl. But, it didn’t affect the gameplay – it just felt like wading through water. I’ve seen complaint about moving objects and characters in the distance animating at a low framerate. Yeah, that happens. I don’t care, because it doesn’t affect anything. It’s also a pretty common thing these days and not just on the Switch.

Much has been said about how ugly the game is too. It isn’t. No, it isn’t as good as Horizon Forbidden West or the new God of War (gee, I wonder why). It’s also not as good as Breath of the Wild, or, some of the time, even as good as Arceus, which is a bit more baffling. But it’s not a bad looking game – just not as good as it could, or perhaps should, be. And some areas still look amazing, not least in how you can see for miles.

Well, there you go. Some issues, for sure, but I believe many people have been over-complaining about them, and almost none of them actually affect the core gameplay which is one of the best pokémon experiences there is. I would have liked the “catch without having to fight” mechanic from Arceus to have come through, but the autobattles sort of make up for it. Everything else? Excellent. Especially Lechonk.

A Building Full of Cats (Switch): COMPLETED!

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This is a little “find the hidden cats” game. You literally just have to click on all of the cats, of which there are about 300, and then you “win”.

Some are hidden in drawers or behind curtains. A few move and have to be found several times. Some blend in with the wallpaper, some don’t actually look much like cats, and some are tiny.

But it’s a nice, quiet little game and passes the time, and sometimes, that’s fine.