That's the wrong buttons. Just I don't do this anymore, Jan does. Hey everybody, it's not Tuesday, it's Friday, so that means BombCast Revengeance. I'm your host, Jeff Grubb from giant bomb dot com, joined by a great crew of dudes here, including Mike Manatti. How are you doing?
We decided I was a bitch today. You're already confusing me.
Yes.
Oh, we got to tell our guests about the or we got to ask Hi about the origins of my Mitch's name.
See if he can get it, if anybody can get it, it's him, all right?
Oh okay, well for sure for for Tokoto. Sure absolutely. Dan Reiker's here as well. Dan, how are you doing?
I'm doing great. How are you?
I'm good. I'm doing you know. I really got in there with the theracane, so I'm feeling a lot better.
You know.
I went to physical therapy this morning and it was a new one, new guy because my last one moved, and so he's like, oh, what do you do for a living?
And I told him.
He's like, oh, I want to listen to your podcast. So I don't play video games. I was like, oh, check out the voicemail dump truck what we did yesterday. We actually just started out talking about getting old and thehurricanes and thera guns.
You's gonna hear all about Mike genitals.
Yes, that's right, and then Mike Druncker is here as well. Mike Drunker tell the people about yourself. So, but I think most people are familiar with you, But go ahead and give people a little rundown.
Yeah. Sure. I'm a writer and comedian. I've written for video games and television. I've written for Nintendo as well as places like The Tonight Show, and I have a book coming out about video games, come in April first, called Good Game, No Rematch, which is basically a bunch of funny stories about games and how I've humiliated myself with them.
Yeah. I've been burning through this.
He's been texting me frequently like little like snippets of it, and now I'm like, I want to read this so bad.
If I did immediately pre order it, Drucker, I'm so much like not a reader that like, I liked the idea of it a lot, but like over a year ago, Vinny Caravella recommended the Stephen King Short story collection to me, and I like it, and it's still I'm still like not even halfway through it, and it's been over a year. This fucking thing I'm almost done with in like a week.
The last book I actually like read to completion was Becky Lynch, The Pro Wrestler's Book, so basically pro wrestler books, and this are the ones that I can actually like go through. Well, these guys are gonna love it. It's one of my favorite stories is about Miss Read. Yeah, I think Manati here will love this. I don't know if you want to give them a little teacher of this. Manati is a big Final Fantasy guy.
So when I was in middle school, we had a teacher who we're calling Miss Read in the book because I did not want to use the teacher's real name because it's a story about how she looked exactly liked
Eric from Final Fantasy seven. When Final Fantasy seven came out and we were all obsessed with it, and so there was like me and three other guys in that English class with this teacher, Miss Read, who were so in love with her and so obsessed with her and would volunteer and like make her little gifts and stuff, and she wasn't weird to us. She understood she was, She knew what our game was and was like kept
us at a good arms like you know distance. But it was just these middle school students trying to like tell this adult woman being like, okay, so Final Fantasy seven, you don't need to play the other six to understand it. So if you want to play seven, we could loan it to you. Like literally, just the saddest people, incredible.
We were so in love with her, so and when I say she looked like Erith, I mean like, if you cast a human woman to play Earth in a movie, it would have been this person in nineteen ninety seven. So it was it.
Extra extra hard for you when Arith died in there.
I don't remember if we told her about that part. I think that part we might have admitted, and I.
Love the part.
Two were like, all these years later, you get on Facebook, can you find her?
And she was like, Hey, are you so obsessed with that weird game?
I was like, no, not at all.
No, I definitely don't own the album. I've spent years thinking about Final Fantasy, not at all.
This is why I'm like, I've enjoying the little tidbits of Dan Vincinning because it's like, oh, I know that place in time, because also in it was junior high
where I was at. In junior High, I had some friends who I'd go and hang out with them, and every time I would sit down, for like about a month, they would be talking about the same like the hottest girl in school who they just called Tifa, and because she looked like Tifa, and to them this did not mean, oh, you're going to cast a human woman to play this character. This just means she was the first girl to grow breasts, basically,
and so like she's Difa, that's it. It's like, okay, guys, that's great.
Breast from Tifa. Foun don't speak for all of us at wrestling and learned about it from Sonny.
And so some of our parents did a bad job of storing adult material in a place that se to follow.
Yeah, definitely, peruse a milk rate in the closet.
Ye that reminds behind the cleaning stuff underneath the sink in the bathrooms where my stash was. Don't worry.
My my nieces and nephews stopped over yesterday. They're very young and they're just walking around the house. And that's fine normally, but I forgot that. I bought an issue of Maxim magazine because it was the one that has the uh it's poker, It's Taylor with chips.
Well describes this poker game stat.
Yeah right now, well magazine. I never felt more like an uncle in my life.
It's the one with Vanessa mar Still on the cover. Nicholas Cage's wife in the rock She's on the cover. And then that's got the stacked reviewing there.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm very proud, and I got to find a frame or something for it.
Now, did you did you try to wait? Did you hide it from the kids or did they actually see it?
I think they saw it.
They walked, they did, They were doing laps around my house, and then I noticed it and just flipped it on the back.
The back wasn't nearly as offensive.
All right, good, Okay, So Mike you were writing this book, you were collecting these stories from your life related to video games. How did like what was the process like picking which things to put in the book and like what to leave out? And you know, what was the conversation with the editors?
Like yeah, sure, well when I pitched the book, I essentially wrote three sample chapters and then created a table of contents where I wrote a paragraph on what each story would be. And for those of you listening or watching, each story is its own contained story for my life, like some might call back to others or anything, but it's not like a novel where it's building up to a conclusion. It's more like, here's how I humiliated myself trying to impress a crush by cosplaying as Mario from
Super Mario three. Like that's like one story, and then you know, the Power Glove basically tearing my family aparts another story. So I kind of, well, I tried to think of, like, you know, video games that I love, but I also really wanted to link them all to life stories. I have one or two sort of short, funny interstitial bits, but I didn't want to just to do, here's a funny essay on a video game. But I also didn't want to do, here's me shoehorning a life
story in there that has no video game attached. So I tried to like make a list of the games that were the most important to me, but also the ones that actually tied to life events, and then from there I kind of started shaping stories and working with my editors, and I would send them drafts of the chapters I have and they would give feedback, and over time sort of the book shaped up that way and some stories that I started with dropped away, some got
added in. Yeah, it was sort of an organic process up until the very end.
Is it like organic because like you already think of your life autobiographically, like through video games, because that's I do, Like, like I was doing this at that time when I was playing that game. Yeah, Like, is that what you already thought about life?
It's definite, Definitely that's how I already think about life. And coming from a stand up comedy background, it's also natural to me to be like, Okay, I want to write a segment on this topic. So here's you know, two or three minutes on this video game in this part of my life. So that was a very actual writing process for me, and in fact, even I record. I recorded the audio version of the book a month ago, and it kind of felt like I was doing a bunch of comedy albums in a row.
Sure.
Yeah, very interesting, Mike.
It's you know, I'm forty and grew up in very much similar circumstances with the same interest as you. So, like I I'm not being hyperbolic when I say this is the most relatable piece.
Of media I've ever read.
Like I had the exact same story with the Power Glove, where my dad tried for like an hour to set of that and we could not do it, and I wound up using like the Dpad to play tiny tune adventures like that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it sucked. It sucked because you can at least one hand.
But then the one about even like showing up at the girl's house dresses Mario, the exact same fucking thing for my friend's tenth birthday.
You know, I never was able to talk to girls ever.
And there were these two sisters that lived in the neighborhood, and I wrote a Mortal Kombat play for my friend's tenth birthday and I was a Scorpion, but we needed Katana and Malina, and of course, cockingly, there weren't any girls coming to this party. And so that was the one time I went to this these sisters how and I was like, ooh, can you guys play guitar?
And Molina from wortld Combat and they're like.
Now it be got sports about it.
I swear almost every fucking story in Drugger's book, I was like, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. It's if from going to sports games and talking about the light leaving your dad's eyes when your dad's trying to get you to love sports and you're just wanting to play game boys. Like It's just like, holy shit, this is an incredibly relatable and hilarious book.
I can say enough about this.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, what do you like when when people read it? What do you hope and they kind of take away from it?
I mean, honestly, I just wanted to be a good time I I think, you know, when I first pitched the book, it was twenty twenty three during the writers strike, and I was kind of like, you know, I was
in a bummer place. The world, you know, kind of generally feels like it's in an ongoing bummer place, and I really wanted to write something about video games that was super funny and fun I think, you know, I myself fall into the culture warhole so much of like being angry about this or being mad at someone that I want to be like this is like a beautiful art form that I love, and I wanted to write
something that like how it influences our lives. Like there's a lot of books that are about the history of games that are like beautiful bitmat books that are like you know, coffee table books that show you all this amazing imagery. But I hadn't really seen a lot of like you know books that you see about movies or music where people are like, here is how this art form informs our very lives. And that's what I wanted
to do. I really wanted to celebrate and write a happy, funny book, and I kind of hope I did that.
Yes, yes, very cool.
I'm laughing outloud on almost every page.
Thank you not kidding?
Yes, yeah, Like I said, really looking forward to it. I let's get people the call to action, like when can they get it? Where should they go to get it? All that good stuff.
Absolutely. So this book is called Good Game, No Rematch, and it is available anywhere you can buy books. So you can get it on Amazon, you can get it on you can get it at Barnes Noble, you can get it on bookshop dot Org if you're if you want a shop indie. It'll be available digital, hardcover, and audio. I read the audiobook and it's all available April first.
I know that it sounds like a bit and it sounded like they were messing with me when they told me that, but April first, So if you if you want to get something very exciting right before the switch to news, Michael comes out.
Out there, compete with the switch to man.
When they when they when they said switch to news April second, I was like, motherfuck, Like, couldn't have been like the fifth.
Was there any discussion of someone else doing the the audiobook or where he was like, oh, no, of course I'm always going to do that.
It was sort of they sort of we sort of had decided early on that I was going to do it. I had pitched and as a joke having Keith David read a chapter as a bonus check.
It's very good. Yeah.
Their response was basically like, do you know how much that would cost us? And I was like no, when they were like, we're not going to do that unless you paid for him, We're not doing that.
I always had there something inherently weird about like an autobiographical thing being read by someone other, because like I did the Anxiety book and a company reached out to me being like, hey, we will make the audiobook for you. We have professional voice actors, we have all this, and I was like, yeah, I want to do the audiobook, but can I do it? And like so I went into a place in New York and recorded. Mind Like,
how did you find that process? Because like it's so weird, like you have to be so aware of your voice and clearing throats and it's such an au natural way to talk, like it just like hours and hours and hours.
It was odd.
Oh yeah, it takes hours and there's take after take after take. I'm lucky in that I had a really great uh director and sound engineer who also really enjoyed the book, so they got what I was trying to do with it. I'm sure like if I had someone who was just confused by it, it would have been worse.
But I think what I struggled with was, you know, you can hear this in the way I'm talking right now, and if you ever listen to my stand up, I talk pretty fast, and so I had to really work hard to slow myself down yeah yeah, and be more deliberate with the way I read but while still keeping Joe Cadence in my voice and emphasizing the right words, you know, uh, slowing down but not making it sound
like I'm reading a report in high school. Yeah, and that was like the most work was like, you know, reading it but in my head being like, okay, talk at a more normal clip. You don't have to bum rush all of your words out. But it was also it was super fun and again the crew of the sound engineer and the director were like really supportive and really fun, and they also like gave me great reads.
Like at one point I was stumbling and he was like, how about you try it this way, And it made the joke better than it actually just reads in the book itself. So it was a really good process. But yeah, it took like a week.
Yeah, I've just always been and I've told you this personally, but like I've been in awe of your career because it's just like, you know, not just like the you know, the video games with Nintendo and everything, but also you're a late night guy. And so I remember the first time we got drinks in San Francisco, probably a decade ago or more at this point, and just like I was just kind of marking out, just asking about like the process of right monologue jokes intern at SNL and
all that stuff. Like so you've been like the one guy I know that's like done, like the Late Night County, the stand up com thing and the video game stuff, and now you're writing for TV.
And it's just always been very very in awe of your.
Thank you, thank you. I've been very lucky. I feel like I've, like mister magoot, into a career, like I stepped on a banana peel that hit a pie cart and like walked onto a construction site and I have a career.
Hey, mister McGoose, the one old reference I think we could still get away with. That's like the old man reference, Like no, we get that, we get what you're going for. I don't. I mean they know them.
I think they know like the tropes of the Three Stooges, but they probably don't know like they know like whoa whoa whoa wall and like an eye poke, but they might not go off.
To a child and try to poke them in the eye with like you know, the two fringers out and if they.
Another thing I'm in awe of is Mike Manatti's longtime handle on the Internet, and I now I want to see if Mike Drucker can can guess what this is Manati, do you want to explain?
Okay, sure, yeah, yeah. My my handle is told koto e O l k O t oh. Do you have any idea what that?
Possibly?
Can we say that it's a portmanteau?
Well you did?
I did.
What sucks is? I feel like once you explain it to me, it'll make all the sense in the world. And I'm just not thinking of.
This way nerdier than you're even thinking.
Okay, something you would definitely get the reference of druggery.
Just give it to me because I'm gonna be mad no matter what.
Yeah, yeah, I thought this was very cool when I was fourteen, came up with this. It's a combination of Tolkien and Mia Moto.
Every time we tell somebody.
This person is surrounded by funny people. I don't know, because it's so cool, right, that's the.
Coolest thing ever. No, yeah, that's bring up on a date.
Yeah, I been what he got to that.
Everybody else like gets rid of their handles once they start doing these shows. I'm like, please don't call me Tolkoto.
It's a lot of those.
I think you could be the fan that would actually break the real Miamoto if you told you I'm not doing this anymore.
I'm going back to my garden, my band. I never want to see you again.
I've heard too many stories of like fans disappointing. I don't know if I could bear that.
All right, I think it's time to talk about some video games. Let's do that, all right? Uh, who's been playing something? And what god do you want to talk about that we can talk about. I've been playing a game and turn me onto. I can't mention yet, which is all I can think about. Keep tearching it for everybody.
Well, I guess'll tease a little bit.
Are you uh?
Are you enjoying it?
I'm frigging in love.
With you right now.
This is killing I'll just tell you right now. I know I'm sorry. I really do hate the tea, but it's just all I can think about. So I'm a bad person trying to kick.
Us coming out.
It's embargoed for another like wild Is there a portmanteau of it you could do?
That would be yeah? The Tolkien and hawk Hogan actually.
Okay, yes, not bad coin. Yeah, sure it sounds like a sounds like to Boggin, But yeah, ET, I beat Et the Extraterrestrial from the Attorney twenty six hundred. Oh weird, what it sucks. I watched you play it. I knew what to do. It still took me longer than you. Oh my god. It's yeah.
You were giving me ship when I was playing it, and it was it was cathartic to watch you play it. So Drukker, the three of us we do a show called blight Club where we play two completion the worst games of all time. Yeah, and uh, we just did a blightening round, which is we did shorter games and so Grub played Blues Brothers two thousand for the sixty four Minati beat Fester's Quest in uh three hours.
I think three hours.
Yeah, and I beat Et on Wednesday in about an hour and a half. Have you played Et?
I have, but I've never beat it.
Did you understand like the mechanics or.
Anything, not even a little not even a little bit.
Yeah, So my understanding was that, like I guess, Gub, what was the deal with the instructions? Like nobody back then actually read the instructions.
Yes, so so you know, games came with manuals, but no one read them because all Atari games were so simple. It's a control stick, it's a one button. So all kids back then, for the most part, were accustomed just putting the game in and you make the plane go up and down, or you move the tank around and shoot. It was so self explanatory that people were not used
to reading the manual. And et is the one game where it's like, no, there are like five six, seven icon and context specific buttons that will change and it's really to one button, but it'll change de pitting where you're standing on the map, and so figuring that out, like is what the real reason so many people hated that game was. But also then it's just a bad game underneath as well.
Yeah, even once you understand what you're doing, it is absolute dogshit, right.
The whole joke about how most of the game is you just falling and getting out of holes is one million percent correct, and it feels so terrible every time it happens.
I did, I did, like what kind of like look into the game a little bit more since you guys both finished it and I played the easy version there's actually three difficulty modes. It defaults to the most difficult one. So I've only been on level one, which does not have the enemies like walking around, like coming to take you away. But there's still this common sentiment among like people are like, no, this is not as bad as people said it was, Dan, Mike, how do you respond to that wrong?
Well, the thing, the thing I see people use to defend it is that like, oh, the guy had five weeks to make it, And I'm like, yeah, I get that's not a great spot to be in, but that doesn't mean the game is any better it is. It is significantly worse than I think I had expected from reputation because I thought it was just a thing where it's like, oh, everybody bought it because it was et and it was licensed and it was just kind of boring or no. No, it's just confounding and makes you
feel awful as you play it. So yeah, I would say it's significantly worse the next one.
Look, we're not saying that the guys should go to jail.
Or something, right, Fine, we're not mad at them, but the game is not good.
I do not like playing it.
I think the guys should go to jail. And that's what I'm for.
I like it exta.
I did play a Half Life two RTX. You guys get a chance to look at this. It's the RTX update for Half Life two.
How is that I want? I want to set that up? I mean I keep I always want to set up these RTX and these like new demos, and I never do on games I've already beat and I need to do that.
So yeah, I think this is definitely one where it's worth it because it's, uh, it's right in that sweet zone of it's Yeah, it's a simple game. Geometrically speaking, there's not like a million polygons, so they can get this running and do like the full path tracing for
people who don't know. Basically, it's just the computer calculating how light will bounce around a room so they can make the light look the lighting look very realistic and so then but then on top of that, it's like still got really good art and the way that they
do put everything together looks really just nice. And so the actual visual effect of a fire being around a corner and the light from that bouncing around off the off the wall, and then refracting around the corner and creating a shadow, and then the light from that wall that's reflecting there down on top of that shadow, so there's a little bit of a layer of light on top of that is enchanting. It looks so good now.
It is a kind of a community made it. The community made this as like a mod on top of Half Life too, so people have to own Half Life too, which I think everyone does. But it's a little crashy, like it was crashing on me pretty frequently. I think a lot of people are experiencing this as well. So don't maybe go into this thinking this is the way I'm going to play Half Life two. But if you want to like see Half Life two in a new way,
you can go in there do that. It gives you the full RTX sort of module on top, so you can turn off all the features individually, so you can kind of go back to see what it used to look like, turn on just some of the archaects features, or turn it all on. And yeah, it's worked really well for me. Now, I was running on a fifty eighty and so it was running pretty well for me. People were like on thirty sixties were saying this is
just like, I could not play this game anymore. It's twenty frames per second, so maybe you have to we might have to have some pretty beefy hardware to take advantage of it. But I think it's worth it to like just see what this technology can do. And at the same time, I'm not like going around and be like, oh, this is the future, because it is still pretty tough for most or most PCs to run this stuff.
Yeah, I'm plugging in your computer tonight. So you know, I love Half Life two. Half Like two is still one of my favorite games, so it definitely would like to at least see what this looks like. So it might be one of the first things I install on the thing.
Yeah, and then I, oh, do you have a question? Dan there?
Oh no, we're moving on. I was gonna miss another game.
Yeah, go ahead please.
Yeah, you were talking about PC stuff and it's like, man, I'm doing that. We saw connect Plus for Assassin's Creen Shadows, and it is like, you know, even on the five Pro, you know, it runs fine, it's got the different modes and everything you can do on Assassin's Creed. But boy, I switched over to the PC and that Ubisoft Connect stuff works really really well. Immediately there's my last save, and it does look just a million times better on
the PC. But as I play that, it's like, I think, I said this on the BombCast earlier this week, that like, you.
Know what, I'm enjoying it.
Fine, I'm enjoying it more than I've usually enjoyed Assassin's Creed games. But I knew that once I came across something else they grabbed my attention, i'd probably bounce off pretty hard. And mystery game that Greb and I are playing, I started playing that, and it's like, well, okay, I have not touched Assassin's Creed.
Since I started playing that.
And it's also a hard one to imagine myself going back to because even like a better Assassin's Creed and one that I've enjoyed more than the.
Past, is still pretty dry to me. Yeah, and the fact that like just the story and it's just it's it's so wait you talked about.
It's a revenge story. Those are your favorite and only stories you like.
But I like it when it's with like fun characters and stuff, and like everyone's boring an Assassin's Creed and they always have.
Characters are the enemies that you kill basically as you find them, right, So it's like I thought that there'd be a lot more of the like the cool Murderers Row that they showed off at the beginning of the game, being like, Okay, they're going to be like interacting in the story, and I'll intersect with them over and over and it's like, no, you just track them down, and when you do, you kill them, So you don't get much more of the of the fun stuff of them
looking really neat with their cool masks and stuff like that. So I'm thinking I'm in a pretty similar boat. I'm enjoying it still, but you're right, it's going to be pretty easy to peel me away from it now, you know. Not that that doesn't mean it's not a good game. It's still pretty good.
Yep, yep.
I also got the Ambernik, the RG thirty four whatever it was that that game it's the game Boy Advance one that it is not the sp and been playing that more and more. And I mentioned last night on another show that I really don't like the face buttons because because it's so dedicated to looking like a game
Boy Advance. What it does is it has the A and B button as full size you know, gray buttons right there, and then it puts X and Y equivalents above those, but directly above them, not in the diamond format. So just imagine no imagine playing like Tony Hawk, right this is this isn't for me. If you're controller maybe this is like kind of an obsessive thing, but I love Tony Hawk. If you can't play Tony Hawk with the with the face buttons, I think you've messed up.
And it's not very good. It's very similar to the setup of the face buttons on a duke controller, but actually kind of worse because they're even more mushed together and the top the buttons are a little bit smaller, so it all just feels wrong under your thumb. I'm kind of at a point where it's like, I think I might only be able to play game Boy Advance games with this, really and maybe like game Boy games another two button controller games now for that it's really good.
Well even like GBA, would you ever take it over?
Like you know, we've got the the trem Ui brick and then you've got the sp one from Ambernick. Like if you're gonna play like an Advanced Wars or something like, wouldn't you pick one of those first?
Or even I mean, you know it's it's uh, I mean analog pocket. Yes, probably, Yeah, you're right, but I still like the form factor of it being, you know, the long candy bar version of the Game Boy Advance. There. I still have a nostalgia for that, even if I did love the sp more. But yeah, I don't know.
In this moment, I'm playing Mother three on there. It does the really good filter of making the LCD screen look like a Game Boy Advance LCD screen with like, you know, the lines between the pixels, like the very h you know, segmented look of that screen. And so it's like, I'm feeling good about this in this moment.
But if I like put them all in a drawer in and I had to like, Okay, I'm gonna go play a game Boy Advance game and I have to pick one to do that with, You're right, this probably would not be the first pick.
It's interesting how they all because you know, we have the same sickness, and I'm sure it's the way with you certain games you just decide like, Okay, So if it's something you're really like, you know, I'm playing through these Warrior Land games now, and those are ones that I want to sit down and actually really play. The Analog is what I'm doing, you know, because it's like that is going to be the best form factor. It's
going to look great and everything. And then like the trim Ui brick is now my go to for like fits in a pocket easily. It's when I can throw in a bag and not worry about it because it's a little cheaper and I put a glass protector on
the screen everything, so that's fine. So it's either like the SP or the trim Ui is the good Like on the go, it's fine, it's you know, it's not gonna get I wouldn't want to put an Analog in a bag that's gonna get you know, thrown around on a trip or something like that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then the SP is the one that I bought a few of when they were on sale and just cloned my card with all the RUMs so like I can give out on like you know, birthdays and stuff like that, because I think that's such an easy one. Like everyone loves that form factor of the SP And those were like fifty bucks or something from Ambernick at least when they were on sale.
And I really need to get one of these clamshell ones, I think, because one I want to play Mother three and it seems a good way to do it too. You know, I was at I had a theme park experience recently, right, and I was in lines one time. I was actually just in this like hour long line by myself. And I mean, you know, back in the day when I still have a three DS on me all the time, that was fine, and that was nothing.
But these days, you know, like the Switch is my main portable system, and I can't really put the switch in my pocket to really bring it around with me in a theme park. So I do miss having my actual pocket handheld for situations like that.
You know what I loaded up on the analog this week since I was reading the Drukker's book is I was obsessed with Mortal Kombat as a kid, but I was you know, the Arcade and then the Genesis version, so Mortal Monday it was just the Genesis version. And then eventually I got the game gear because I wanted to be able to play Mortal Kombat on the go, and that was a pretty shitty version, but I never.
Played the game Boy version. Oh hearing Drucker describe it, and.
Oh my god, you're talking about the first one is terrible and the second one's pretty good, and the third one went back to terrible.
And I played him like, oh, you were dead on with that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's it's bizarre that like when you play Mortal Kombat two in the game where you're like, oh, yeah, this is like a reminder that fighting games could be on the Game Boy and be pretty good, but one in three are like it. It feels like they're making fun of you. Man, especially three, after two is pretty good, like the first one, you're like, okay, they improved. Number two is better. They did their job, and then three
is just such a kick in the nuts. It is the worst game, and it's and it's not like Ultimate Mortal Kombat three, So it's Mortal Kombat three with even fewer fighters than are in Mortal Kombat three.
I planned the first one.
I've planned it on the analog, and I was like, I don't know if like I know, this game is supposed to be bad, but I don't even know if this is running properly, because this is like it's not just oh I can't do sub zero freeze. It's like it's not registering my kick.
Yeah, it'll do like a punch at like when I say, after you press the button almost like it's almost like when it lags on a real emulator, when you're like, oh, this punch is happening after I'm punching. But that's just the way. No, it's running correctly. Like, it is running correctly, like I have, you know, I have one of those you know, mod retros, and I have an analog and it runs terribly on everything.
Oh yeah, it was.
It was worse than I expected, for sure, I remember. But the g our Mortal Kombat Advance was also terrible. Ye, yes, you think they would have figured it out at that point and that was just also a travesty. But boy, all those deal Geo Pocket Color fighting games, those were those amazing.
They were so good.
Those are amazing. I think that that the the Neo Geo Pocket Color Cap Converse s MK to me is the best of the fighting game series, of that fighting game series, it's the best one good.
Yeah, I played so much of that while I was dragged to high school basketball games or something. Just doing the arcade mode with Terry and Ken over and over again felt so good.
Oh, Mike, can I spoil an anecdote from uh? Okay?
Can I let you the way you disappointed your father while accidentally accomplishing his dream at a sports game?
So I would uh back as a kid like my dad would. My dad really wanted me to like sports. He didn't really care if I played sports or not. So he wasn't like a dad who's like, my son's going to play football. It was more like my dad was only interested in sports. So the only thing he could understand that I could be interested in with sports, And so he would force me to go to Miami Dolphins games. Back then it was called the Florida Marlins,
called the Miami Marlins now. And one time we were at this Florida Marlins game and my death throat his whole life. Had always brought a baseball glove to baseball games. Had always talked about wanting to catch, whether it be a foul ball or a home run or just a you know, player throwing the ball because he felt bad for you and he'd never done it. He always wanted to do it. And I would bring a game boy
to these games because they didn't care back then. And one time I was playing like I was playing, and I heard like a big commotion behind me, and I was like, Okay, something's going on. And what had happened was someone had hit the ball and it had like gone near my section, and while I was not paying attention, it basically went like through layers of people trying to
catch it before it landed right in my chair. Like I was bent over playing and my back sort of was away from the chair and the ball landed in that Oh my god. And then I sort of shot back up because I understood what was happening by this point, I shot back up, kind of hit the ball and waited for the commotion to die down, because you know, if you've been to a sporting if you've been to a baseball game, like people are really trying to get
that ball. And once everyone gave up, I turned to my dad and I was like, hey, Dad, I caught the ball. And he was so so disappointed, like so and he wasn't like mad. It was almost like it was almost like I had sarcastically lived his dream.
This is what you've been waiting out your whole life for this shit sucks.
At Have you tried like bringing War of the Worlds to a baseball game and reading.
That I can't like it?
Landing right there between your back and the Seaton is the funniest place he could have gone by far. Yeah, man, what were you playing on your game Boy? Do you remember?
I have no. I don't member at all. I don't I mean knowing knowing me. It was probably something like for some reason, I was really in the lock and Chase. I don't know why that sure, I don't know it was.
You know.
It was also around the age when like you would get one or two game Boy games a year, and so it was like you're either playing Alleyway or you're playing nothing. And I think it was sort of like that time.
My mind were ones that I never had a game Boy pocket or anything until my mom. She was a waitress at Macaroni Grill at this point, and it was like lost and found, like stuff would stay there for like a year and then we got to clear this out, and so it's like, oh shit, I got a green game Boy pocket and bugs Bunny Crazy Castle and bus Bunny Crazy Castle, God.
Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. Bugs. Bunny Crazy Castle is like the game Boy equivalent of like a Night's Tale, where everyone had that on DVD for some reason, like it just insisted everywhere.
We're talking about with a Fester's Quest. Everybody, yes.
But my my weird game Boy game that I had was it was a weird version of in f felt football, where like when you would punt it over, the other teams are like, oh, that's a turnover. It's like, oh, the people that made this game did not understand this story at all. I played that so much. Uh yeah, go ahead, Mike.
I had Simpsons like bart Escape from Camp Deadly something like that. It was just that was a camp krusty. It was called Camp Deadly in the game. We had nothing to do with that. It was just all those Simpsons games were pretty bad back then. This one was rough, and I remember desperately trying every game Genie code hoping that one of them would make the game fun.
So it's never.
Punishments for if we ever quit a Blake Club game, which has not happened yet. We all have too much pride in beating these terrible games. But one of the punishments is you have to just play Bart versus the Space Mutants to completion. All of us have that thing of like, we all rented it because it was a Simpsons game on any as, and no one's ever gotten past that first level.
I don't think I have. I've definitely played it and could not tell you what happens after that first level.
Yeah, it's impossible, complete nonsense. My my sports game Boy story is my I was like okay with sports, but I definitely preferred video games. My dad wanted to take me on like some father's son. We're gonna go to the Sweet sixteen for the March Madness, and it was in Saint Louis, another city, and it was like this whole thing, and he got us like a helicopter tour around Saint Louis and stuff like that, and that was
really cool. But the thing I was most excited, but he's like, we're gonna get a game Boy game, and I got Kirby's dream Land and I was playing that the whole trip. And then I assumed that he like didn't really notice what game like he got me. So a few months later when I was like, okay, I haven't had a new game of quite some time, and I've played through Kirby. I'm not going to play that again.
I'm like, hey, Dack, can we go to this. They're doing this new thing where you could trade in games and get new games, and I could trade in this and this Kirby game. He's like, isn't that the one I got you in Saint Louis? And I saw how sad he was and I felt bad. So I still have that copy of Kirby's Dreamland to this day. That's how I disappointed him. Actually I did not respect the fact that he got me a gift.
That's actually sad.
I felt terrible, and I still have carried that trauma this whole time.
I'm like, I was, I shouldn't even tell I have a similar, similar traumatizing story about kind of it was worse. I was a brat because there's some kind of like birthday thing and I said I wanted Super Mario Land three Warland, and my mom got me Mario Land two instead, which I already had, So of course I was like, oh, mom, I had this one, and she was I could immediately see how sad she was. I was like, why did I just not pretend I didn't did I do, what's wrong with me?
Why am I a bad person?
I went to Earthworm Gym two for Genesis, and my grandma got me Earthworm Gym one, and it was like I didn't want to, Like I was like, oh, yay, you know at the thing.
But then we got home and I was like, Mom, what do I do about this? Like I this is not the one I need.
I'm gonna make a note right now, call mom again because I am am still motif.
I was such a dumbass.
And when it came to Christmas games, because like I thought that like for some reason, the quality of the game would increase the odds of me getting it as a gift, when like my grandma didn't give a shit,
she didn't know what any of this stuff was. But like I remember specifically wanning Star Fox for Super Nintendo because I remember every Christmas I could ask for one game and my grandma would get it to me and I would like try to sell her on it, and like again I could say anything and she'd been fine, that's the game. This year, I faxed her an EGM review of Star star Fox. Like everyone on the review
crew liked it. I'm like circling it and like fax the Star Fox review to my grandma and like, yeah, I'm sure that put her over the edge.
Of you had a fax machine in the home.
We had a fax machine the home.
And I would also when I wanted to see movies that my friends weren't super interested in. I remember the Kansas City Star gave like a three and a half star out of four review for Sergeant Bilko remake with Steve Martin, faxing my friend Jeff the Sergeant Bilco review be like, see you, we gotta see this.
That was my move.
Did it work? Did you see Sergeant Bilko?
Which you had to seeing it solo? I don't.
The other bad time with the gift was I got a Vice Project Doom like way after I was like, oh, I want Super Nintendo games now, and that was an NS game. And a friend came my birthday party, someone I don't even like remember inviting, so they brought me up. They bought me a video game, brought it to me. I did it was not like you need to bring me a present. They were like, no, we're doing this because we want to. And I was just like, oh great, any S game and I'm like I did not sell
it as the way I needed to. And I also carried that this whole time and apologized kids sucked. Yeah, I just we're all just little shits.
Just reminded me of me being a shit thing. I don't know if you guys have heard this one.
I wanted the Dreamcasts so fucking bad when it was coming out, but I definitely did not have the money for it, because I think I just traded in everything to get like the sixty four or like a year or two prior.
And it was like a few weeks before.
The Dreamcast came out ninety nine, and it was preseason football, and I remember my mom was upstairs, like getting ready or something. She wanted to watch the Chiefs preseason game. And I'm downstairs in the living room. I've got it on. I've got the pre show on. And she's like, what channel is the is the game on? I want to put it on up here while I get ready, And I was like, Oh, it's on CBS, and she's like, no,
can't be on CBS. It's it's not on CBS football doesn't it's I say, Mom, I'm looking at it's got the eye logo. It's you know, I'm fourteen, at this point where I'm like, yeah, it's on CBS, because Dan, there's no way it's on CBS. I said, do you want to bet me? And she goes yeah. I said, all right, if I'm wrong, I will do all my chores for free for the week or for the month or something if I'm right. She was so confident that
she was right. I said, then you you have to get me a dreamcast when it comes out in a few weeks. She's like, fine, Okay, I know I'm right, and I was right, and I was like, ah, I was just celebrating up and down the halls in stead of screaming and stuff.
And I remember my stepdad later that day pulling me aside and being like, Danny, I know you won that bet, but like that's two hundred dollars and I don't know that's going to be a lot right now. So if you could just kind of you know, And I was like, no, I but she's buying me a dreamcast. She bought me. I would not back down. Wow, I won Barren Squares.
She knew the terms.
I won.
Yes, of course, football so on CBS. I wish I'd go back in time and help your mom.
Why would she so.
TV not on CBS, and it will never be on CBS.
You lose her.
I'll be deep in the cold cold.
The Chiefs preseason game is on CP.
Just deserve to have that two hundred dollars. I should have it.
I have no son.
Uh you know that's a little shitty.
Damn.
Dreamcast is pretty good bet to bet?
Do it today to my mom?
Yeah, it be somehow better today. Would also be more expensive today.
Oh yeah, I'm looking for our Dreamcast.
Yes, absolutely, because there was a time there where just new Dreamcast, like they marked them down to fifty bucks or something because they couldn't, you know, they couldn't sell them. I was like, man, I wish I just bought like four dream Cats and just to have them.
God, what a time.
All right, here's what we'll do. Now, we'll take a quick break. We'll come right back for live viewers, and we'll get into our mount rushmore of video game first levels, which we'll dis we'll discuss exactly what that means right after this. All right, we are back, and I so, okay, whose idea was? Damn? Was this your idea? Mike? Your idea?
Who Who's like, Hey, it was probably minor yours and we immediately forgot grubbed. That sounds I'm sure of that, so it's one of ours. We'll just say it was mine.
Okay, fair enough, the works for me. Uh, this is gonna be like first levels, but also maybe like first introductory areas, right, what do we want to like cut off?
I think we will as we if there's a question about it, we'll we'll decide on.
People should be pretty strict about I don't know, level, like if you're trying to tell me like oh, getting up in metal gear Sola and you're walking our around those first blocks or something.
By the wise a level or something like.
I don't think this is gonna be on there by any means, but like a Glass Joe fight, you know, does that count?
Maybe maybe that's a yeah, Glass Joe, Yeah, it's What about something like a Mega Man where it's like, well, everyone does Metal Man first, Like I don't think that I can pick. I think that's the beauty of Mega Man is that there isn't a first level. So what about it's just not Mega but Mega.
Man has the first level because Mega mans introductor.
Yes that is true.
Okay, So like the village from Resident Evil four. Is that a first level?
That's a great.
Question I'm asking, Yeah, like what of an opening sequence? I think games eventually at opening Swiss sequences pretty often.
You can't saying. You can't say the Tanker of Metal, your solid two, you know, like right.
Yeah, okay, So but we go through someth we think about ones that are definitely first levels.
Then we see if we need to be so wiggle roomy with it anyways.
Right, Okay, there's gonna be a Mario, right, well, I mean it's gonna be one one, right.
Yeah, yeah, one one's yeah, one One's great.
I think the other Mario one that would maybe compete with it is bomb bomb Battlefield.
Oh yeah, bomb Battlefield.
Mostly Mario on this list, if I'm being honest, All.
Right, yeah, but bomb Battlefield and one one are good choices.
Yeah, yeah, Like what one one is the first level? Right, it's the George Washington, Right, you say first little video game even even has all those ones in it. If you say, there's lots of games that actually have a level called one one. But if you say one one, I'm gonna think about Mario. I'm gonna think about those first blocks and that first goomba you jump over, and then you get that mushroom, the secret pipe of course, uh first u Piranha plant. Just so many things they're
just setting up. What not just Mario, but video games are gonna be for a while.
Yeah, it's interesting that three despite being like one of the best Mario games, Like, you know, the first level is a good level, but it's not like this iconic thing, you.
Know, right, yeah right, and then yeah, even world like the first of all is really good. That one's weird because I think one where there was actually the second level you can yeah yeah, yeah, so with.
A weird little Yoshi hut the first level.
Yeah, but then god ba bomb Battlefield is just so great because it does it has that kind of critical path that you should follow, but it encourages you immediately to go off in these different directions and that becomes
very important for finding other stars. And then just the way it remixes that level for different goals, like the race of Koopa the Quick but you know, the first time just scaling that mountain and actually going up and fighting King Babomb and immediately finding little secrets like the little shortcut when you're going up there or just you know how you could be a little sneaker and grab the ledge a bit early to get to the top instead of running all the way around.
Feels so good and very first level ends with this memorable boss.
Light right yeah.
Yeah.
Oh the music is a huge part of it because yeah, both of those right uh? Jan in the chat does mention Warehouse Tony Hawk won.
Oh I like that?
Yeah, Yeah, that's a good Tony Hawk has a lot.
I think the first three Tony games all have amazing ones with the warehouse hanger and then found the Yeah, Warehouse might be the most iconic of all of them. Still, Yeah, because even when I played Tony Hawk one again is a part it's like man where euse is the best level? Still maybe all the levels just be a bit smaller like that. I love how sort of tight and compact it is. You know, all the goals are so close to each other. It almost feels like you could do it all in one run.
Boy.
Yeah, I think about the Warehouse a lot.
All right, I'm still writing these down on this list for everybody so that the chack can watch along. So far, we have Super Mario Brothers, one Dash, one Super Mario sixty four, Bob the battlefield, and then where are we gonna go with Warehouse?
I think, yeah, yeah, Warehouse on there.
I think first level of Sonic Green Hill Zone, Yeah, yeah, I love Green Hill Zone.
I mean the first time you do the loop and stuff like, that's that's huge. Yeah, you go in the tunnel.
Gosh, that there's another one of good music and that was that was so vibrant and colorful right on the Genesis. I still love the way that Greenhills Zone looks. I mean it's so good that Sea honestly brings it back way too often. It's like in every Sonic game sometimes yeah, one way or another.
That's one whenever I'm setting up like a new emulation device, like I will like to test, like, oh, I'm just gonna load up Sonic and check it out, like it looks awesome.
Still is the escape sequence from Super Metroid or like the setup of Castlevania simply and night are those introductory sequences?
Those are more like sequences, And I mean, I'm honestly for Castlevania, I was thinking of just the first level of Castlevania one totally okay right there with them, you have that intro going from the castle. Then you have Vampire Killer, which is an all time a great song. You're outside for a bit, then you're in the castle, you're you know, you get the mermaid Man encounter ends with you fighting.
That giant bat. Uh. Yeah, I think about that first level all the time.
And here's uh, here's another one great deco tree.
Oh okay for the first dungeons count for level. I think that's fair fucking good. Yeah, that makes sense.
Because, like I think the opening of the game is like we're saying an opening sequence, like there's tasks, but you can't really fail them per se. But the great decutree, I feel like, is the first time you're like, oh, this is a I'm playing and I can fail. I am outside of just like talking to people trying to block me from leaving this exit.
Yeah, it's not the tutorial anymore. It's like you're actually playing the game.
Yeah.
I think that Mike had a pretty good point earlier of Mega Man x.
Uh.
That Highway intro level is really cool, especially because you know the Megman games at that point were all, hey, pick your first level, and here you did have this intro sequence and it's a perfectly set up to teach you some of the new mechanics here with the dashing, especially the wall jumping. You have those memorable fights with those giant b robots. You're dodging the cars, you can even ride on them, get the introduction of vile, and then zero.
It's a perfect little intro love it.
Oh yeah, I see what you're typing.
One M one. Yes. Yeah, that's kind of like doom man. Yeah you kind of just yes doom exactly. You kind of just this is a canonical first level in my brain. When I think of first levels, I go to doom E one M one.
That's one of those levels.
E one M exclamation mark because you yeah, there we go fixed it.
That's like a level of played so much in my life that I feel like I could complete it with my eyes closed. And I'm not the person who could do that easily with something, but like I can imagine the entire map just hearing E one M one.
Yep, I've built a mental map of that absolutely, And you're right. I'm the same way where it's like I don't do that with most levels, but that one. It's just like I know that turn, I know where to get that thing and then yep, absolutely all the secrets walk back at the shotgun.
Yeah, I know, I'm usually a bit of a hater on this one. Wasn't what you all think of of God, I'm forgetting damn. I forgot the word for damn for a second and gold.
I was considering that, but then I was thinking, like, I kind of like as far as the first little like facility, I think is better than DAN. So I was thinking out of those games Perfect Dark, the the like Skyscraper because that's you got the kind of played runner cars going by and everything. You know, you're running your way down the elevator, and like that Perfect Darks first level is better than Golden Eyes.
Yeah, I mean I do like Dan, but yes, I agree with you that Perfect Darks is better. What's it called facility?
Uh no, no, no don't. I don't know the name Perfect Darks. That Golden Eye was the facility was the second level, but that that's not.
I'll find out for you, Jeff, Thank you.
Than I gotta get a keyboard that isn't so loud, Jesus Christ. Uh okay, let's.
Uh a collection central calling defection data dyning, Central calling defection are dying.
In the chat.
That's what this thing is called data Dine. It's it's the first the day of Dina's lowercase. Importantly, I'm gonna get this uppercase.
All right, camel cap, no regular cap.
There you go. There's no colon yet, there's no yet.
Sorry for the errant colon.
Colon uh defection. There it is.
Okay, we got it.
Everybody killed it there, buddy, thank you. Chad mentions contrast stage one.
Oh that's that's good.
Yes, yeah, the one we've done a billion times and then died, you know.
Yeah.
Someone in the Chad also mentioned Shadows of the Empire hath level, which I.
Actually think absolutely fantastic because I mean that is especially good for this because that's like the part everyone played in light of that game.
Yes, that was what inspired like eight other games after that was more like they just want haf.
I mean like a whole genre of like those kinds of like Arcadie flight sim games from especially from Factor five, Like we're just gonna keep making that stuff based on what they did over there with that.
Yes, that is it too similar to do the uh attack on the death Star opening from a Rogue Leader, because boy was.
That an amazing. Hot is I think hot.
It's just like here's the movie and then you do the trench run and it basically just looks like the movie.
I guess, yeah.
I mean I literally can turn this TV on right now, we could play that. So yes, I feel very similar about that level. But I think it's off between those two and we probably just have one of them. That's yeah, let's see how I had one. What was it? Oh, Star Fox sixty.
Four, Cornarian sixty four, especially secret change you can do.
Yes, yeah, that boss fight's fun.
Half of the dialogue is iconic, and it's just like twenty lines.
Yeah, Che's is crazy taxing, but like that's just the level, right.
Yeah, yeah, it's a little bit against the spirit. I guess the first level.
I guess.
I don't know if there are enough there's a level of Tetris Tetris. I don't know if there's enough other piz here, but one and two a very good first levels.
Yeah, great chat suggestion, Metal of Honor, front Line Normandy Beach. I remember of Saults also was like Salt Console Boys, so I remember Frontline, but like I spoiled PC Bratt, I desperately wanted to play alight of Sult I remember was.
Very I mean I think it's in the demo. Maybe I don't.
I can't remember if I actually owned the game. I just played the demo over and over again.
All right, what about Final Fantasy seven bombing of the Maco Reactor?
Is that a level? Excuse me.
If you if you tell me about this level and a j RPG, My first instances like, what is you talking about level and a j RPG?
Again, I think that's more of an intro to me, that intro sequence.
Right, and and honest, I think maybe we could return to this with best intro sequence because like you know, BioShock, Welcome to Rapture things like that, that's and that was not first levels. They are something else.
Chap Bering is a pillar of Autumn. Halo.
Yeah, I was wondering if you I was gonna ask you guys about Halo if that's uh cool?
But there, Yeah, there's so many better levels in that, and that one's just so kind of like claustrophobic.
I mean sets the tone very well, it's gonna make it. I don't think it quite hangs.
Yeah, all right, oh yeah, I was gonna say like similar, like better levels a portal, its first test chamber, which does establish a lot of cool stuff, but as that builds on.
Top of itself, I mean, you know, I wouldn't have the first world gun yet, right yeah, yes, yeah, Like both Halfway games have amazing intros, but I really want to call them the first levels.
Right, Yes, Half Life's intro is a different thing, yes, yeah.
For sure. I don't uh, I don't think it's going to make it, but I think the first level of the First Crowd Bandicoot is probably the most I haven't enjoyed that series. You know.
Sure it's got all the grush stuff there and it's not obnoxious, but I don't think it's gonna make it.
Uh, Jeff, what about the first level shoots screached too?
Oh?
Sorry, sorry, Mike, I mean no.
No, no, please go with that. But then I'm gonna say Papa the Rapper. Oh yeah, it's a dojo.
That's the one everyone remembered. It's the best level in the whole series.
Yeah, that's a great and it's it is a full level, it's not just a sequence.
Yep.
I think I think the best video I've ever seen on the internet. Still, if somebody like made that mod Parapa, the Rapper level where it's Batman and PaRappa and like.
This is where I watched my parents die. This is where you watch. Yeah, they can't they can't get it up.
It all right. The first level Parapa is called chop Chop Master onions wrap.
All right, there we go, Oh yeah, are we counting the village? No? If too much stuff to think about. Anyways, it's a.
It's a it's an intro sequence, I guess. Yeah. I mean it's got like a beginning and end to it, like it like ends, but like it's a transition into the rest of the game. So yeah, I'm okay with calling it a sequence.
It's like my question if you went to somebody and said, what's your favorite level in resume before and they're like, what do you mean level?
Yeah, it's weird.
Do you mean area because like that's yeah, and that's just is a different thing.
I guess, like Devil mccry has levels. I don't think Resident Evil necessarily does, you know?
Right?
Okay, chapters and it's different too, it's weird.
Do we want to read what we have so far and then see if we have any other last thoughts?
Sure? Sure, all right, by the way, the first level, Oh thank you? All right, on me add that real quick, saying that the discount link to the past. I mean, what would that would that be? Just going to the castle and getting out with the first or the first Yeah, Palace.
I mean, it's it's really good. I mean, that's like my favorite game ever. But I don't know if I called the castle. I mean, that's just kind of setting the tone.
All right.
Here's what we have so far for the Mount rushmore of first levels, Super Mario Brothers one to one, Super Mario sixty four's Bobam Battlefield Warehouse, Antniok's pro Skater, Green Hill Zone from Sonic, the first level from Castlevania, Great Decu Tree from Ocarina of Time, the Highway Stage from Mega man X E one M one from Doom Data, Dine Central Defection from Perfect Dark, Stage one from Contra Hath from Star Wars, Shadows of the Empire, Cornaria from
Star Fox sixty four, Normandy Beach from Metal Vanner Frontline, and also World War Two Streets of Rage two Downtown, and Perappa the Rappa Chop Chop Master Onion. There's a lot here that I'm like, oh, I could go for any of these on this list. This might be tough to little down.
Yeah, soup Adam hit Man. The first level isn't really ye, Paris, it's like that sort of intro stuff.
Yeah, god man, if we could count Paris though, Paris is one of the best ones.
Yeah, but no, I think it's that Boat one is enough of an actual level.
You know, it's tutorial mission, but it is a level.
You're right, let's to take stuff off. I think I don't think Medal of Honor is gonna hang. It was no, but there's too many heavy hitters here. The first level of Sonic Adventure with the Whale.
He look, I thought about it. People are gonna help me.
But that level was actually the best Sonic has maybe ever felt in It's the most exciting I've ever been about Sonic. Yeah, yeah, that was pretty good. Mm hmm that level. What's Sonic at one level?
Dude?
I mean everybody remembers that killer Whale of course. Yeah, that's like an iconic video game moment.
God.
I mean, I like, I could just like throw out my four and then you guys could tell me where I'm wrong.
It's called Emerald cuss By the way. I don't even know.
I think I would go with Bob on Battlefield, hath E one M one, and then god maybe Chop Chop Master Onion.
I know one.
I think think I'm gonna go you guys, I was listening to your conversation. I mean, listen, one one should probably be on there, but yeah, I don't know. I'm trying to finish, like a weird part of me that that's like one one and be there because so important. There's so many good but there's only four slots, and it seems crazy don't to do two for.
Mario, but they're also so fucking good. Yeah, let's assume we put both of them on there. Let's if you only had to let two other ones in there, which two would it be?
I like Warehouse a lot.
Yeah, Wareouse. Actually, I'm looking at that more and more. That would be fantastic.
Actually, I would.
Say Warehouse, perfect Dark, one and one yeah for keeping, for keeping, Yeah.
That's a contender.
Yeah, I think I think one and one like clears some of the other Shooter ones here, like yeah, definitely Metal of Honor, definitely Perfect Dark.
I don't think I do like Casylvania first level I don't know if the Caslvani first level is gonna happen. Don a quiet hang.
It's very good, doesn't quite hang, And maybe Contra has a little bit of the same problem.
I would say, yeah, yeah, I like it a lot.
Yeah, I mean, God, I think if we're a big part of all these first levels, is also really good, like Songs and Contra and Streets Rage two Both and Star and Casylvania and.
Green Hill Zone and.
Well of course Tony Hawk. Yeah, yeah, goss.
It's really good. I think out of Tony Hawk might be my next one. Yeah, I think Tony I think Whereholse might have to be a lock. I don't. There's no way I would be okay with it not being there.
I could, I could, I could agree with that, Okay.
So I mean, right now we have one one Bob on Battlefield Warehouse and one m one leaving God. I don't leaveing off Hawk is tough.
That's such a first level. It's tough.
But like the only thing I would be one to get rid of is one of the Marios, and it's just, yeah, God, leaving both of those off seems like a lot. What what's the I will say the one that I would get rid of the most out of these left, maybe Decautry, just because there is so much game before there's very hour probably Yeah that's fair.
Yeah, jeez, I doom. The thing is I the music is I remember more than actually the level. I mean, I think it's it's cool. I'm really blown up.
The barrels and stuff was cool, but like I'm not like Drunker in that, like I can't picture, like I've beaten that level a million times, but I think something about the actual playing with Maybe it's because I played Wolfenstein, you know before the act, I wasn't already shocked by like.
Oh wow, you know, like I don't. I mean it might have been the case with you too, Mike, but.
No, no, no, it's fair.
I have a pretty photographic memory level, like yeah, especially that part where there's like the zig zaggy path and is the guy on the top left up there and down Yeah, yeah.
The little because over the top there.
We always like play do on everything right, and sometimes you're not going to get very far in it, but you're always going to play that first level.
Sombo in the chat says there's like five minutes before Decutrie. Yeah, the sword in the shield and the rupees and everything it's gonna be. There's a lot of cut scene and stuff there too.
It's a lot.
Yeah. I think the Decu tree talks for five minutes when you eat it.
Like, let's yah, I guess let's keep cutting actually, so we can at least talk about some of these other ones, Mega man X and Sonic where What are you feel about that?
I would get a Magma before Sonics, but it hates to I think that's I agree, it's good, I really do you know.
I think that Mega Next Level is so good at introducing mechanics stuff. It's great. If it was a top ten, it would be in there for sure.
Yeah.
This it is four. It is just four, and that's rough.
I will say. Someone in the chat made a good point of do we have any games that are from after two thousand and five?
Well, I think is that, like, you know, the idea of games having levels were like that was like almost every game back then. Now you still have them, but it's not as much broken into levels, you know, right, even the games that do have levels, it does almost feel like, you know, some of it is that we are much better about easy people into games.
Maybe that the first levels can often feel maybe a bit tried and forgettable these even in.
A lot of the retro ones.
True, and it's and like, when I do think of like a modern first level, I'm like, well, Shovel Night's pretty good and an old game too, and it's at art or whatever, so yeah, my bad. Yeah. And then turble Shot says nobody knows what the fuck Parpa is and that's just cultural malpractice there, but rude that maybe doesn't actually make it.
Yeah, that's fair, it makes it not my personal list, but not on the world.
I love how different it is than these other ones too, though you know, it's a I know, I agree.
But Tony Hawk's pretty different too, you know. Yeah, times pretty different.
Okay, so here's what we have left right now. It was some bolded but nothing's finalized. One one Bob on Battlefield, Warehouse E one M one, Green hill Zone, and hath Okay, and actually I could take any four of those as long as ye yeah, there's no I don't really think it needs to be on there. I don't think Green hill Zone does either, but I would rather see it on there than that. I'm pretty good with the four bolded honestly.
Yeah, I will say every one of them, but HATH I have gone back to and played numerous times within the last year.
You know, I've done that with HATH, So yeah, but for me, like the I guess the argument of HATH would be, it really was that thing where that came out and it was like, oh my god, this is what we can do with three D and it was so like inspirational to so many developers immediately, like more so than a lot of other things happening at that the exact same time.
Yeah, I would not I would not make a strong argument about it, but I feel like HAF is better than the warehouse for the list. But I am not going to put up a battle about this. I'm not going to fight anybody. That's just my personal opinion.
Here's here's a thought. I think it's funny. Would it be if we replaced one one with green Hill Zone crazy stuff like that.
Yeah, listen, I'll fla and lease most things with you, but not that one.
But true, I try.
I mean god, I would I would actually swap out one m one for HAF, even.
I wouldn't personally, But what if we could do one or HOFF vote with the panel with that and with the knowledge that all of these are great.
At this time, Yeah, yes, these are, like, but we're struggling because I want to put all of these.
Would maybe do a call for votes on HAWF versus even Okay?
So am I doing in the chatter? Are you asking or here? Okay? Okay? Well yeah, could like I just figure we just did it because Dan said he was okay with that and okay, and then I would replace one one with ha. So, Mike Drucker, how are you feeling about?
Oh, that's a tough choice. That is a tough choice. Uh, you know what, I'm going to stick to my gut and say E one m one stays on the list as my vote. But I'm okay if I'm.
Overridden, right, Okay, well I'll vote for hath yes on that accomplished nothing speaking part time though.
There's a tough vote. It's a tough choice.
Yeah, it really is. I mean we could put it to chat now if we.
Want no, ye, okay, So then HAWF instead of Warehouse is not good? Is that not gonna get anywhere?
I'm taking Warehouse ten times out of ten.
I would take I would take HAF on that one.
I would take off on that one too, but I.
Make no o, no way. I'm definitely Warehouse.
Okay, all right, I think I think haw has had its chance, and I think even though you know it tied, sure, but I think really we didn't bowlt it first for a reason. Okay, So uh that I think that means both Sonic and hawth go over to the right. Then.
Yeah, I think what we got is good. I think this is pretty good. That's good.
Yeah, all right. Well then in that case, Mike Minatti, why don't you go ahead and read our Mount Rushmore of First Levels.
Mount Rushmore of First Levels. The George Washington Super Mario Brothers one one, the Abraham Lincoln doom E.
One M one that's what everyone always says.
Yep, yep uh.
The Thomas Jefferson that's Super Mario sixty four BAM Battlefield, and that young upstart there Teddy Roosevelt Tonyhawk's pre Skater Warehouse.
Is that the most recent one on the list?
Yeah?
City O game on there for wow, guys. So no, that's good.
We're right right, We're right, We're not all right, and.
This is just it. Go start carving the mountain all right, Well, uh, that was that was good work there. We'll get that posted so people can yell at us on social media for a change. You all have anything else we should bring up. I think that's a show. I think we could just get out of here again. Yes, one more time, Mike Drucker. What's the name of the book? Where can people find it? When's it coming out?
It's called Good Game No Rematch. You can find it anywhere books are sold Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Bookshop dot Org, or any independent bookstore available hardcover, audio and digital. And I read the audio. If you happen to like the voice that you're hearing.
Well, thanks for coming on the show Mike again, I am I cannot wait to read this book.
I'm everyone in chat accusing us being boomers. And oh okay, what post twenty ten first level would you put on here?
I bet it's my great Roadblocks? Where's versions? You're John at?
Both Minecraft and Roadblocks are more than sixteen years old.
That was new reference?
Yeah, those are your new references.
Whe's the first one.
With the last of us were watched? My daughter gets shot?
Also super notes, Uh, Mike ni Dan are all cut seeds, all both so much i'm gonna hit I'm gonna think I'm gonna hit the button.
We'll just play the music to get us out here. Actually, I got to turn the audio on for you all again. There we go, all right, Thanks for watching everybody. Until next time, I have a good one, take care of yourself, and goodbye.