Low Five Gaming

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

• Studio Low Five • Episode 40

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Alex and Luke Talk Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the puffball’s iconic 3D side-scrolling adventure for the Nintendo 64. Developed by HAL Laboratory and released in 2000, this game introduced players to the unique ability to combine powers, creating some truly wild and creative abilities for Kirby to wield as he battles the forces of Dark Matter across a beautifully colorful universe.

At the time of this recording, Kirby 64 holds a Metacritic score of 77, with its main story taking around 4 hours to complete, according to How Long to Beat. Both Alex and Luke revisited the game on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, with plenty of laughs, nostalgic moments, and minimal gripes.

Join the duo as they discuss the game’s unique charm, its place in the Kirby series, and whether or not it holds up after all these years.

This episode is unofficially brought to you in part by the burger press.

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Theme music is by AJ Norman. Design assets were created by Studio Day Job.

Low Five Gaming is a Studio Low Five Production.

Speaker 1:

yo, welcome to another episode of low five gaming. A book club style podcast where myself, alex and then co-host and brother Luke pick a video game, try and beat it and talk about our experiences. A backlog book club, if you will.

Speaker 2:

What's up, Luke? Backlog book club. What's up, man? You know I made this joke off camera, but it was just so good I have to repeat it. This joke off camera, but it was just so good I have to repeat it. You know, I just inhaled my microphone stand and absorbed its abilities, and I'm going to use my podcasting skin right now. So what's up, dude?

Speaker 1:

I can dig it. Yeah, man, suck it in microphones, suck it in abilities, just like our boy Kirby.

Speaker 2:

Our overlord, all-powerful deity Kirby, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

So why Kirby 64? Dude? This game was my pick and surprisingly so, yeah. Well, I'm a Kirby fan dude. Like I'm into Kirby. I'm always down for a nice little jaunt in Kirby land. What's Kirby land? They got like Popstar Dreamland. There we go.

Speaker 2:

Popstar is like the first planet, though like a reoccurring planet. I think that might be like his home one, maybe, I don't know, maybe dream world. This doesn't matter. Clearly we're not that deep into the lore, but we fucks with some kirby we're coming off of the legend of link, if you will and see what you did there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, right and that was uh, that was a long game. I actually did you end up beating it. Did you roll credits?

Speaker 2:

um, I recently beat the last temple, letting leading like that's like on the map. So I think there's like a final temple I have to go to, but in a nice way, I'm like slow burning it, I like nice pretty intense when we were potting for it, obviously, but since then I have not abandoned it, but I pick it up like once every few days and kind of goof around and I've leisurely enjoyed myself that's nice, dude, that's uh, I've done similar, but probably more, even more leisurely.

Speaker 1:

So, like it's been uh, every like, I mean to me, like once a week I'll pick it up and play and poke around a little bit, but that's fun, like I think it's a great game for that. And uh, to your point or I don't know if you're trying to make that point or not, but it's true, man, when doing a podcast with games it could feel like homework. So it's kind of nice to to feel like, uh, the assignment is over and now you get to fully enjoy it for for your leisure, sure, but anyways, as a longer game. And I was like, okay, just like did a longer game, not like the longest game, but uh, did a longer game. And I knew that I was going to be guesting on another podcast playing a, a game that was going to take around 30 hours. So I was like I gotta, I got two games I gotta do this month. So how am I gonna do this? Well, I wanted to pick a shorter game.

Speaker 1:

So I I came to the discord with five options doom 64, castlevania legends, kirby 64, comic zone and sonic the hedgehog 2. When I asked our community to vote and we had a three-way tie. Actually our boy, I think ryan came in after the deadline and voted for cast. Lady legends would have put it over the top. But too bad, deadline's a deadline. But so we had a three-way tie and to break that tie I took a page out of the homie uh dave from tales from the backlog. When he has a tie in his votes, he'll have a um, a CPU match between the smash bros players, right?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's actually this is great.

Speaker 1:

Um, yeah, it's good.

Speaker 2:

So I wanted to.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to kind of bite that, but you can give it a little flair. So, uh, I don't even know if I've talked about this on the pod much, but but WrestleMania 2000 should be in my GOAT games. I don't know why it's not, but I love that fucking game for the 64, dude. So I took the three-way tie, I brought him into WrestleMania 2000 for the 64 and had a three-way matchup between Kane representing Doom, gangrel representing Castlevania Legends legends and x-pac representing kirby 64. Now these make sense to me, but these are wrestlers from, like my high school, like time so do you do you understand the correlations?

Speaker 2:

not at all, and I think your high school time is generous dog.

Speaker 1:

I think this is like your middle school elementary time all these two wrestlers have like long like this do be true in this shit for a long time. But now you're right though. You're right though Probably middle school, to be honest, because if it's a generation a thousand my guy. Yeah, good, Good job being smart bro.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, nailed it.

Speaker 1:

That is a good point, man fucking getting old. But anyways. Xbox from D-Generation X. Does it suck it? You've probably seen that in the NBA from people like Anthony Edwards, joel Embiid. I thought Triple H invented the suck it. Well, he was part of D-Generation X for a while. The wrestling heads know. Yeah, they know, I look around a little bit with the wrestling, but not like I never got super into it. A lot of that shit was pay-per-view and stuff like that or I have no idea.

Speaker 2:

Indeed. The video games always slap, though, and for some reason I had some of the action figures, maybe either passed down from you or just like garage sailed up, but I had a handful that was pretty cool.

Speaker 1:

So I'm like garage sailed up but, um, I had a handful that was pretty cool, so I'm not hating.

Speaker 2:

The point is degeneration x. Suck it, kirby, get it, got it.

Speaker 1:

Yep, I'm there now, uh ganger was a vampire and kane's like this weird devil dude.

Speaker 2:

So there you go pretty much all these dudes are in smash bros, so I'm surprised you just didn't do that. But I guess you wanted to do your.

Speaker 1:

I was trying to like steal dave's thing and then like, but without like straight up stealing it.

Speaker 2:

Sure, it was fun, though Illegally distinct bit from Dave, I respect that Indeed.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, I set up that match and had three computer players, just like you know. Let the AI do its thing and after about 15 minutes we had a winner.

Speaker 2:

I hope your wife walked in and was like what's going on here, and then you explained and then you walked. She probably walked away like why do I ask? Why did I do that?

Speaker 1:

I don't think she came in during this bit, but she like, of course, like I had the game out so I was going to play it. So she came in while I was playing it. She's like, ok, ok, no, right, that's funny. So kirby wins. But that's why kirby, that's why kirby we uh, I put it up to the community to vote had a bit of a tie, so I had some fun with it and then landed us with kirby 64, which I'm not disappointed in well, you know it's funny because I mentioned like it's odd that it's a selection from you, not because you know you are a kirby fan.

Speaker 2:

We played um the 3d kir Kirby a while back and we've both played Kirby on the Game Boy a lot. But I'm the one who has a nostalgic little vibe with Kirby 64, specifically because for our younger listeners there's this wild place called Blockbuster that we all hated. But remember fondly now Dude, I love Blockbuster. What are you talking about? You hated Blockbuster, everybody did dude. No, fondly now dude I love blockbuster.

Speaker 1:

What are you talking about?

Speaker 2:

you hated blockbuster, everybody did dude no I feel like you did, but you didn't like it was tight, but your parents never wanted to go and you're always hearing about all these late fees in like what's a week?

Speaker 1:

we do, we did not I swear to god, dude like we wrote mom like once a week maybe, maybe the tail end.

Speaker 2:

Well, regardless, we got kirby 64 one time and, uh, I believe although we'll get into it later I beat it as a kid once a week, dude, because there's the late insane yeah, no, uh, as a kid I beat this.

Speaker 2:

I got it from blockbuster and, like, usually I'd play a game and I'd try to figure it out. But when you're like six, seven, eight, like your reading skills aren't always like super up top to figure out what's going on and, uh, I beat kirby, I rolled credits and I like ran I think I've told it on the pot I like ran up to boss, like mama, like I beat this game isn't that cool. And she was like good job, champ, I'm gonna go handle business over here, but tight, and that was a really big deal for me um after playing through it this time around.

Speaker 2:

I like doubt for some reason now that I actually did beat it. But you know what? Why not just remember it finally for what it was, this epic triumph in my childhood?

Speaker 1:

and the game, the game slaps you may have rolled credits, like sometimes, when I think about this kind of stuff, especially with platformers, dude, I think that in today's world we have like I hate to like lean into the add thing because everybody's like undiagnosed, add whatever, but you know, there's there's truth to it, but nonetheless, like I think that, like because we have so many games and we're like always moving in the next one, like we're less apt to spend the time to learn levels and to learn like the bosses, like patterns and stuff, whereas like because there's certain games like mario, I mean other things that, um, I mean they're tough, dude, like even as an adult, and but I was playing them as a kid and you, like, you just put in enough time and enough reps where you you probably did roll credits, probably got the false ending.

Speaker 2:

Oh, definitely got the false ending, oh, definitely got the false ending dog.

Speaker 2:

No. So I'm playing this time around and the first few levels I'm like this is cute. I remember some of this. I love the abilities. We'll get into that later. But then as I started to continue to march on to make sure I beat it because we can't pick up a short game and then not beat it, especially if it's Kirby and I beat it as a child like I have to right, and then I'm like dying all the time and getting like low-key, frustrated.

Speaker 1:

I'm like there's no abby, this is a kid well, there's a couple things, though, like you and you when you brought this up, because dude 100, I feel like the first, like two, two to three worlds are pretty easy, and then the training wheels come off and it's like whoa, wait, a wait. A second man Like this just turned into a real platformer. Yeah, but, um, but you know, it does something that you'll see in other platformers and it's you don't get it. You get a game over, but it doesn't send you back to square one. In that sense, it's not like a nice little shame moment, but it will.

Speaker 1:

it will bring you back A game over, will bring you back to the beginning of whatever stage of the level you're on.

Speaker 1:

So, if you're like and some of the levels have checkpoints, so if you get to a certain you know you will have to start over, but you have three lives again and it's actually like kind of nice because, uh, to bring up uh, celeste as a platformer, you know like it's.

Speaker 1:

It's one, I think, a great example of how easily it is to become frustrated with a platformer when you're like running into a wall and you just can't pass something, or you're like whatever Sometimes, like you know, during our last episode I talked about like setting down the controller, leaving and coming back to it and then just beating whatever it was, and I think that what Kirby does and a lot of platformers do this, but it's really I was thinking about this as playing how nice it is when you run into that like repetitive fail for them to restart you and be like, hey, get out of this thing that you're doing right now, like reposition yourself a little bit and have another go at it from square one I suppose part of my frustrations is just the fact that I'm such a like finicky dumbass, because a big thing in this game is combinable powers.

Speaker 2:

So there's the, the classic like kirby. You suck up your enemy, you eat up their ability and you get that skin or that ability for a little bit. In this game you can kind of do this you like hit the bumper and then the star comes out in the color of whatever it is and then you chuck it at a new enemy and you can combine all of your abilities right and dude. How many times did you just get wrecked by enemies because you were trying to like?

Speaker 2:

combine and figure stuff out and you weren't being careful and like you smashed into something like three times and almost died just to just to figure out if it was like oh, so this, and this is a flame sword, Got it Tight, Sure Uh dude, the level spot, level five, I think I called shiver star or whatever.

Speaker 1:

But it's an ice world, yeah, and there's a couple of the electric dudes floating around and or there's one electric tube floating around and in his little cloud, and then you've got like the cutter guy, uh, and like I was trying to get double electric because I wanted to see what it did I hadn't done it yet, or maybe I did earlier on, I don't know what the fuck I was doing but basically I would beat the electric cloud dude, steal his ability, and then if you move the screen, like if you move off and go back, the enemy repopulates. Yeah, and it's right at this ledge and with the way that he was floating, I just missed him over and over and over and I was trying to get the double ability out of it. I spent like way too long until I finally got it it's like it's funny how engrossing.

Speaker 2:

Like in today's climate I feel like that's less of an engrossing mechanic, but I can attest to the fact that like as an elementary school kid, I thought that was like so crazy. Like, growing up on like smash bros and the game boy uh, kirby games, I was just like so into the fact that I had these combined powers and I thought it was so cool.

Speaker 1:

I'm pretty sure it was the advent of like. This is the only kirby game that combined. I can't remember do you combine powers in any other new ones dude, I don't think so.

Speaker 2:

I think it's still like a fairly unique process it's a cool mechanic for sure. Yeah, and it's just as an adult, like as a kid, I found it so like fun and I was like patient, whereas as an adult I just keep dying on accident Cause. I'm just like obsessing over figuring out like what the different combos are. It was pretty funny.

Speaker 1:

There's seven copy abilities in total and then combining them in different sets, I think you get up to like 28 different variations of powers. Is what I was reading. Okay, and they're cool. Man, like I often will default to just doubling up like fire, fire, rock, rock, because they tend to be pretty powerful like snowball.

Speaker 2:

Snowball is just a ginormous snowball and you plow through your enemies and you don't think but they're all fun though.

Speaker 1:

So like where the? Where is the? Where the rock rock is like a giant rock when you just turn into a big rock, kirby, and you kind of like it's like actually but it is powerful though, and you're invincible, so that's dope, unless you're. You know there's certain things can hurt you, but uh, enemies can't hurt you. But the ice, the, the ice, uh, huge snowball is fun because instead of walking you're rolling and you like, just like a snowball and you like bring enemies in with you and you hit a wall or whatever.

Speaker 2:

They all kind of scatter there's just like little, like I did find that charming yeah, yeah, that, that's fun or the spike in the fire. You, I remember as a kid I always thought the spike in the fire was really cool, because you turn into like a bow and arrow, like a fire bow and arrow right and uh, there's one forget what it is but you have like a giant darth maul ass double bladed sword, both fire and electric.

Speaker 1:

That one's pretty sick I got that one, uh, during this playthrough and I was like this is dope, darth maul sword like what our lightsaber dude uh, but it's kind of like in practice like I was, like this is not the best ability, but it's the coolest looking one, that's for sure, or?

Speaker 2:

the bomb. You just shoot missiles out of your mouth, just honing missiles, which was like really, actually pretty dope military industrial and military industrial and fucking complex kirby, hell yeah dude, the uh spark spark.

Speaker 1:

I like too, even though, like you, uh, when you, when you hit it, like you go into that daze afterwards which you're vulnerable during, but it's pretty powerful right at the first blast. Spark spark, yeah, the two electricities. You just have this giant electric field and you're just kind of untouchable nah, man, like for a second, but then then you go into a daze or whatever and they can come. I mean you, you can still move around and stuff, but you're it's, it's not impenetrable.

Speaker 2:

The the field, no, I suppose I thought it was really cool that, like it helps you rip through the level and sometimes they're overpowered, so you kind of make the difficulty on your own by obsessing over little things.

Speaker 1:

The cutter cutter. You know that that's like the boomerang thing, where the cutter cutter is just like a huge variation of it. It goes through the floor, the wall, it just kills anything in its path.

Speaker 2:

The problem is I'm always trying to move and throw it at the same time, but you can't jump again until it comes back.

Speaker 1:

So the amount of times I died being a dumb ass is more than I'm willing, because it like separates your body, like it's a huge chunk of you and you can just wreck the mini bosses.

Speaker 2:

But what I do like is that, like they have their kind of classic platformer set piece bosses that were actually quite involved and pretty cool and not only are you encouraged to drop your ability, but sometimes the bosses. You can only get hurt by the stuff they drop.

Speaker 1:

So they like force you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they like force you to dance with them, which I thought was pretty cool.

Speaker 1:

Real quick. A little caveat you mentioned many bosses and I didn't quite notice. I just considered that mini bosses as well. But when I was reading up just a little bit on this game, it's actually strays from typical Kirby format where there are mini bosses or mid bosses and it's actually what they call room guarders, so it's just a larger version of enemies.

Speaker 2:

You've been running into that spawn little versions of themselves, so it's still a mini boss of enemies you've been running into that spawn little versions of themselves.

Speaker 1:

Uh, so it's still still. What did you call them? Uh, room guarders is what the game refers to. I mean, it's not in the game but like the lore, sure, sure, sure, sure. But they're like larger versions of the enemies, the regular enemies, with more health, and they're set up like a mini boss, so like it's still a mini boss, but that was like a thing you know you get the intense music and then you just cheese them with whatever ability you have at the time, right right, right for all those.

Speaker 1:

I pretty much just use my strong abilities to knock them down. I also noticed, too, like there's certain things, like it's funny, I don't want to like.

Speaker 1:

I actually quite enjoyed this game and it's a it's one that I've seen throughout the internet like it's ragged on a little bit, like uh, it's it's been, overall, I would say, has a positive reception, uh, even when it, when it came up, for sure, but the knocks against it are it's too easy uh, which I find humorous because both of us like ran into some choke points and some like difficulty spikes where I was like dang yeah, yeah, uh don't know what I'd be doing if I was playing some like dark souls or something.

Speaker 2:

I don't know you get to jump like. King dv is like a playable ish character. It's kind of like, um, you jump on his back and you swing some hammers it's a little set piece within a level here and there. And there's this point where you have to like run by all these like robots that are smashing their hammers down. Do you remember that? Yeah, yeah, that insta kills you yeah, it's just about.

Speaker 1:

Any large thing that like comes in, like pins you down, is going to be an insta kill, which can be really frustrating I had to save scum with the save states to get through that dude you. That's hilarious. There was a point where I was like I wish I could cheat in this game like no I forgot dude, I totally forgot that we're safe states because I did play. I played uh for a little bit on my 64 on my nintendo 64.

Speaker 1:

And then there was one night where I was like, yeah, I'm not gonna sit in my office and continue to play this entire game, like I want to play this on my bed. So I signed up the uh, it's on switch for the nso or whatever, yeah, and conveniently, like I had only plowed through like the first world um on my nintendo 64 and that's like right, where my save state was not save state but where I had saved the game last when I was playing on. So it was like I was able to pick it up there, uh, but I totally forgot about save states well, dude, I was like I clearly beat it as a little put an asterisk on your win, right?

Speaker 2:

it's not that hard of a game, right, right, so like I can do it. And it is made this one of those classic nintendo things where adults are like it's not hard enough. I'm like this kirby, that's made for the chair in dud, but also for me, bro but no, and it's like it was difficult enough, dude. I was like getting frustrated and didn't have the patience, so I was like I'm gonna use some save states here and I cheesed it and I have no regrets. Dude, it was that's funny.

Speaker 1:

There was a. That's the funny thing you like? I can't believe I didn't remember about the save states, because there was a point when I was like man, the rewind feature would be kind of nice.

Speaker 2:

Right now you don't get to use that with the n64 for some reason, like you do with like the super nintendo ones, but I missed it. There are some times I really wish I had it that like breaks games for me, like I'll be playing sports games and I'll be like oh, let me just do a rewind.

Speaker 1:

I'm like that's just, that's just for old nso games, to make them accessible not to cheat all the time and I like it, and we've talked about this a little bit before, I think. But like the, the thing is it does. It does change your experience with the game so much. But uh, but that's all right. Like I don't know, it's whatever, I'm just here.

Speaker 2:

I'm just here for the ride, dude. Yeah, I'm just here for the ride. Uh, you want to read this intense story because they're you know it was cute and they're running around, but I never paid a lick of attention. So you want to read?

Speaker 1:

all this? Uh, yes, I do, bro. So when I was digging around, I did find out that the manual for this game has a story. So you don't get the story in the game. Is there text?

Speaker 2:

Dialogue there's just little cute characters running around looking like something's important to do. I don't know what's going on.

Speaker 1:

There's a story unfolding, but it's all visual and they don't really get into it.

Speaker 2:

It's Kirby, but Kirby's going through a divorce.

Speaker 1:

He's kind of down on his dumbs dude that's gonna sprinkle in a little kirby music, for folks set the scene in a distant corner of the galaxy. Fairies lived peacefully on the planet called ripple star. But then one day a mysterious black cloud appeared and surrounded the peaceful planet. The cloud a sinister force known as Dark Matter had come in search of the fairy's secret treasure, their shining crystal. Whoa, it's always some shards and stuff man Right.

Speaker 1:

A fairy named Ribbon knew that dreadful things would come to pass if Dark Matter gained control of the powerful crystal. She grabbed the shining stone and escaped from Ripple Star just before the planet was completely engulfed. But as Ribbon fled, three dark clouds split from the mass of dark matter to chase her through space. And when they caught up with her and attacked, the fairy's crystal shattered into tiny shards which dropped like falling stars in the solar system. Still holding, one of the crystal shards fell onto the planet called pop star where, perhaps by fate, she ran smack into kirby. After hearing her desperate plight, kirby resolved to help ribbon recover all of the crystal shards that's what I was up to when I was playing the game.

Speaker 1:

For sure, dude can you tell I've been uh reading to my baby for the past year, every night.

Speaker 2:

No doubt there Dude that's funny Down in the construction site. Tough trucks work with all their might.

Speaker 1:

I always think it's fun in these older games. That's what's that one called again.

Speaker 2:

Good Night Construction Site. You'll get there. You got it. We just got that one, yeah. Yeah, that's really long for when they're younger, but we're talking about other baby stuff. Kirby, right now.

Speaker 1:

Indeed, I was loving the magnitude RIP manuals. That's all I got to say about that. It's not all I got to say about that. I love manuals, rip and I love, would like, whatever lower the game.

Speaker 2:

They're just like put it in the manual yeah, that was someone's job back in the day was just write that out and they're like, hey, I love it it's funny, like now that I played the game I look at that, I'm like, yeah, I guess that's what played out yeah, I'm like there's a painter guy that has some abstract painting abilities. That's not the person we're talking about, but that's a common kirby thing. Yeah, it's a person.

Speaker 1:

That's headline is, I believe, the name of that. So that's sure, yeah, so, but it's so, that's cool. The, uh, adeline and waddle d is another, like the dude that kind of looks like kirby, I don't know, I think, while these entire race or whatever, but the d's, I have no idea. Yeah, with the spear and the bandana, yeah, yeah, and then, uh, king ddd, who's a good guy, yeah, so those are all reoccurring characters, like from the nests game boy all the way up to super nintendo, and so it's fun to see them in here and it was also fun I can't remember it's been so long since I've done the super nintendo games like what your relation is to king ddd, but in in this he's like your main enemy and then, like in later kirby's, like they find kind of fun ways to to make them allies.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Frenemies is probably the best.

Speaker 2:

So just straight up allies.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, he's like a playable character in a lot of the new games, like straight up Yep, and so Crystal Shards the whole Dark Metal, because they take over these folks, their psyches, and they make them evil Like Echoes and Zelda, Echoes of Wisdom, dude.

Speaker 2:

Oh man, it's all coming together.

Speaker 1:

Nintendo, shit, nintendo's got a well they're like get to the well draw up four tropes so Waddle, dee, adeline and King Dedede are like the first three bosses that you have to fight, and then, when you expel the darkness from them, they all become allies again. And then it goes on to Wispy Woods, which is like the classic. I feel like it's not a Kirby game unless you're fighting a big tree yeah, that blows wind around and drops apples.

Speaker 2:

You gotta suck up and shoot at them, so check this is a necessity.

Speaker 1:

Uh, so those are some of the bosses. Uh, there are six levels in total, plus a seven final level, if you're doing the true ending, I believe.

Speaker 1:

Uh, but I would say that you know, we kind of alluded to this before, like everything's pretty easy until rob level four yeah, um fourth world is yeah, and then that boss dude, you hit me up on the discord and you're like dude, this is a cool little boss fight and it was and it also was the first time that I got a game over I probably told you I was getting wrecked by the boss fight more than I was like gassing it up.

Speaker 2:

You know I was probably like dude, what the fuck? It's a tough one, dude it's a tough one for sure. Let me see. It's not the lava guy, which one is it acro? I think maybe the lava guy was kind of tough too. I had to save. Scum is too, because a lot of them have multiple phases. So like, yeah, at least two, at least you get done with the first phase. You're like I can do this.

Speaker 1:

You're like, oh, my god, there's more I know it's uh, it's like the classic platformer thing too, where it's like okay, I learned, I learned whatever sequence I gotta learn in the first phase, and then they're like but now I'm gonna come at you with the second phase.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they're like that's just the beginning, but yeah, this whale can fucking die dude he's got his name balls dude. It is acro, but that's like a dance move or something, so I had to type in like acro 64. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was a butthole dude.

Speaker 1:

It took forever especially tough because you're in the, you're in the water, so like video games and water, although and he had some really hard to avoid I think this is the first is the first Kirby game where you can use your suck ability in the water.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's good.

Speaker 1:

A lot of times you just blow out a little water spout and you can attack people with that, but it's cool that you can actually suck under the water in this.

Speaker 2:

I occasionally used, like I looked up, some stuff Nothing too big, but it's kind of funny to use like a guide for a game this old. They are not like as accessible as you would think a lot of fandom pages or whatever. So the uh, one of the last bosses you fight too, is like a big old robot thing. That was pretty gnarly too that was a tough one.

Speaker 1:

I didn't uh, I didn't look up a guide for those some of those later bosses. But instead of like, instead, instead of sitting there and losing over and learning and taking mental notes on what the sequences were, after running the game over or two, I'd be like okay, I found there's a YouTuber that does no hit runs on all the bosses, so I was able to figure out the sequence and then go do it for myself.

Speaker 2:

Well, this one's cool, hrh, because he looks like a gundam warrior. Yeah, that one was cool. I thought that.

Speaker 1:

Thought that was kind of cool, it was creative, it's cool game all the bosses like dude are pretty dope with this and they they are difficult towards the end, like you have the. Oh yeah, I'm surprised there's so many people out there being like this game's too easy. I'm like what do you?

Speaker 2:

want.

Speaker 1:

There's like even the Maga man.

Speaker 2:

That's actually kind of funny, the Maga man, but is it just the Mag man?

Speaker 1:

Oh gross yeah, Mag man.

Speaker 2:

Mag man. The Mag Man's funny because he's the big lava guy. He has this fire move where he shoots fire and you have to get so close to him not to get hit and I was like this is a pain in the ass, dude. I was like this is a pain in the ass, dude. I was like getting salty, like how, like much he would wreck me with that one move. And I struggled with him as well. He was tough.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that one that one was definitely tough. Uh, dude, all the bosses from level four on were they're difficult yeah, that final boss, like that's one of them.

Speaker 2:

I was really shocked. I had the patience to get through as a kid but I was probably fucking hype when I beat it and I'm sure and it's like that's one of them. I was really shocked.

Speaker 1:

I had the patience to get through as a kid, but I was probably fucking hype when I beat it and I'm sure and it's like that's a, that's one of the things that I'd love. It's like kind of like one of the low-key things. I think why I like platformers so much is that they force you to learn patterns. Yeah, it's fair and like so like you have to do that to to beat that boss. And once you figure out, you know it's one of those things too with platformers where you can enter any battle, especially boss battles, and it can be so overwhelming, whether it's like whether it's metroid, whether it's uh, castlevania, whether it's whatever. Like you know it's. It's just like a trope of um or I don't know tropes, the right word but it's. It's something that happens in platformers. That's you know. But what the thing is? It's super, it's super difficult, but then once you learn what's happening, it's like cutting butter dude kind of you got to learn the dance, then you got to execute your steps.

Speaker 2:

That's kind of how I think about it metroid was a really good one where, like I was liking it, it felt smooth and good. Not that this game wasn't, but that. You know that's a new modern game on the old twist, so it's pretty polished the multiple phases and the patterns of it all and just getting wrecked and then you know what you need to do, but you still mess it up and you get so mad dude dude, that is the worst.

Speaker 1:

I mean, that's the, that's the platformer thing, though.

Speaker 2:

Yeah so I, you know the two hard things silly, uh, anyone playing this now? Like I'd be curious when your nephew gets a little older, if you like games like this because like easy, but like I wonder if like the old school graphics would like scare away kids these days. Like it's not cool. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

So like I wonder if this is just a nostalgia dive or if it still holds up to like younger gamers yeah, I don't know, man, I was gonna talk a little bit about it in side questing, but it does make sense, uh to, to bring it up here because you bring up my nephew. I was playing some games with them and I picked out all of my, my switch games that made them. He's only four and it doesn't have a lot of exposure to video games. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna try kirby star allies with him, like I know that he can play mario kart, because mario kart like plays itself. If you set it up to do so, it sure does. Um, and then, like what else did we try? Uh, yoshi and uh cruising, whatever.

Speaker 1:

The cruising usa 64 game is cruising exotica or so no, it doesn't matter. So all these like games that are, like you know, pretty easy entry, but even even so, dude, they're like overwhelming and it's a it's a lot for a four-year-old to try and try and learn. So we went back, uh, so we went downstairs into the basement, got a little hangout area down there and we started playing some sega. And, uh, we played. I found sesame street grovers I don't remember what it is, but it's sorry dog, I fart and my wife off mic has lost it.

Speaker 2:

She can't stop giggling to herself and now she's a distraction. She can't handle my farts Continue and leave it in.

Speaker 1:

I love it. Oh man, so Grover, it's a Sesame Street game. That's kind of whack, but at the same time for him he was able to grasp it. Because what you do is you go to your restaurant Grubber's, a server, you know someone comes in, sits down and it's like I want two hamburgers, three bananas, one cookie. And then you go into the kitchen and you find all those things and you put them on your like serving tray and you bring them back to the dude, and that's what you do, and it's just a cycle. And to the dude, and that's what you do, and it's just a cycle. And it gets a little harder as you go on, but like it's slow, it's like very you know it's very like low risk, you can fuck up.

Speaker 1:

But if you fuck up you just go over to uh the cookie monster and feed him your tray and you start over. But the thing is, dude is like all these other games. He's like can we switch the game, like can we do something else? And like I was like yeah, yeah, and then like but the sesame street game classic, yeah, but the sesame street game dude, he was into it.

Speaker 1:

He played for like a solid 20 minutes. Like there's like a point where you know he's just doing silly kid stuff. He's like I said he's four and like instead of holding down the d-pad, he wanted to tap it and move. And I'm like you know you can just hold that down. And he's like, yeah, he just keeps tapping it.

Speaker 1:

And then I'm like, oh yeah, like he's forward, like he's having fun, like who gives a fuck if he's doing it the way I want him to yeah right, he's like, clearly, he's like enjoying the cause and effect of seeing the tap and the move, so, but anyways, so you know, long way of saying, like I don't think the graphics is a huge deal, like I think actually bringing back some of these retro games is a it's a nice way to get kids involved with video games because they're not as they're not going to be overstimulated, you know yeah, that is cool.

Speaker 2:

Um, so, as we transition to some like overall impressions of the game, I still love it, I still respect it. I think it holds up, particularly in its creative power combining way, and it's something that, like, I'm not gonna revisit on my own, although I did. Actually, before you pick this game, I was a few worlds deep already because, like, I remembered it as a kid and I just kind of wanted to give it a rip on the nso. So it does hold up in that sense. But I think the next time this one gets dusted off is like when the boys are a little bit older and I'm just gonna keep trying to feed them this nintendo propaganda, and I think kirby will be a big part of that.

Speaker 1:

So that was pretty good. And then I made the official announcement that the nso is going to work on the uh where it can be available on the new switch.

Speaker 2:

So that was a relief, especially because I have the 64 controller that you gave me. So did you play this with that at all? Uh, yes, most of the time I did actually.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I ended up um I'd say about half, because when I wanted to play with it the controller was dead, so I ended up using the pro controller for a little bit, when I was using the pro controller, I found myself mixing up the buttons, a lot like I just go to.

Speaker 2:

I'd go to like use my ability and I'd like pick up the star to throw and combine abilities and. I'd throw it up in the air instead of forward at the enemy. So I actually was pissing myself off at the pro controller.

Speaker 1:

So in its native N64 controller works very nice, Nice nice, nice, yeah, the most, uh, biggest check of the game I played with it. It's always kind of fun to play, yeah, dude, like I think, uh, I think this is one that may I. I kind of doubt that I'll go back, because we both got the false ending. There's a. There's a true ending where if you collect all the shards which I think there's three in each stage, yes, uh, then you, you go on to like another little mini platforming section. Then you fight a, the true final boss, which we did not do, but, uh, it can be done for yourself.

Speaker 2:

No, I definitely didn't do it. There's so many times you'd like see the thing you need and there's just no obvious way to get over there and I was like this is a child's game. How am I supposed to get to that shard? And I had no idea how to get over there.

Speaker 1:

So well, in true curvy fashion, it allows you to go back into and that's just oh yeah, you know any level, yep goes, go back and poke around, so like if I didn't have literally over a thousand games, like I would probably spend more time I was back in the 90s dog, I just might right, right, right, but uh, but it's cool that it's there, dude and I think, uh, I agree, man, I think it'll be a fun one to like eventually.

Speaker 1:

You know, I think kirby is for sure like we obviously enjoy playing kirby games, uh, but it is one that it's. It's low-hanging fruit for, for sharing with, with, with the children, with the children. So, with that said great game, probably recommend it to other kirby stands. And then, you know, a nice, uh, I would say I don't want to call it like it's not meditative or anything, but it's chill, you know yeah.

Speaker 2:

It's a Kirby game, if you're looking for a nice little jaunt.

Speaker 1:

Relax a little bit, not going to be too hard until later stages, and even then it's not super hard, right, get you going with some Kirby.

Speaker 2:

I mean. Kirby is established enough where it's like's its own vibe. Like you know what you're getting into, true, true?

Speaker 1:

well, with that said, how many items out of five are you sucking in for this game?

Speaker 2:

three right now, maybe three and a half if I feel particularly nostalgic, but just objectively like three oh.

Speaker 1:

I'm gonna give it, I'm gonna do four sucking in whoa big ones, dude, big ones for curbs and big ones for curbs, and why? Why am I being so kind to it? I think one I'd like thoroughly.

Speaker 2:

I actually like I did very much enjoy this playthrough it wasn't too hard, impressed with a lot of the different thematic stuff going on in the game.

Speaker 1:

I'll give you that it hit exactly what I wanted it to. It was the length I wanted it to be. You know, like I, I it was the difficulty. It was actually more difficult than I thought it was going to be and I think that some of the that copy ability combined stuff that you could do was innovative enough where it's like. Even today I was like this is dope, like this is kind of fun. Trying to mix and match these different things had some fun flavor. There's also some fun stuff going on with the perspectives. So like, instead of just going yeah from left to right, like it will.

Speaker 1:

It'll kind of tilt, so like sometimes you don't see what's coming in front of you and you're like moving up and you're kind of angled.

Speaker 2:

It is yeah, dude it's.

Speaker 1:

I think they did a really good job with this game. Dude, that we didn't say it at the head and I'm not going to go back to do it now, but this game dropped in 2000. For this time I'm not going to say it didn't blow minds, I don't think. But I think it was doing some cool stuff with the hardware, with the N64.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, if you're a dad gamer dude and your kid's too young to play it themselves, just play it in front of them. I think it'd be a good visual spectacle for the kid to watch.

Speaker 1:

Indeed. Well, with that, you want to take a little break? Come back with our unsanctioned sponsor. Yes sir, Right on. This month's episode is unofficially brought to you in part by Cast Iron. But, but not just your typical run-of-the-mill middle-aged white man talking about his caster. Is that I'm?

Speaker 2:

talking. Is that a? Thing?

Speaker 1:

yeah, yeah yeah, dudes, dudes and cast iron is like for sure a thing all right, my bad, my bad but? But I'm specifically talking about a burger press. Bro, you have a burger press yeah, when did you get a? Burger press. I got it from the father of a couple christmases back. It doesn't get enough use, but recently I did put it to use and I made the best goddamn burgers I've ever made in my entire life.

Speaker 2:

Is this like how you make like proper smash burgers? Yes, sir, so I'm talking.

Speaker 1:

I'm talking the lodge cast iron burger press 6.25 inches, maybe seven or eight, I don't remember.

Speaker 1:

We're talking about my penis seven that's what's a little generous let's get back to the burger press dude, but the burger press, bro. So I use this thing for time to time and it is dope like one. Like yeah, I know, us dudes, we love our fucking cast iron, but the, you want to bring that up a level. Boys and ladies I'm trying to say that ladies can't be making shit with the burger press uh, because you can, you know, and it's dope, you can also like flatten bacon with it. I don't really do that, but that's a thing people do.

Speaker 2:

I was looking at the images and it looked like it'd be excellent for a bacon weight as well. I hate when my bacon curls up uh, weird, I mean sometimes dude. I hate it because I get weird textures and I it's more unified first time I saw your bacon that's a nice way to avoid that too, I have, because the bacon I received from the father-in-law's pigs was produced so thick that it was like impossible I had to render so much fat down that I had really slaps, basically dude.

Speaker 1:

It was insane. It's delicious, but it was like impossible.

Speaker 2:

I had to render so much fat down that I had really slams, basically dude. It was insane.

Speaker 1:

It's delicious, but it was insane, so I had to bake it so yes, the bob's burgers he has like has a yeah he gets really excited so I was baking weight actually the smash burgers that I did like. Honestly, it's my favorite kind of burger smash, smash burger. A hundred percent, I think, the smash burger revolution has been good for society.

Speaker 2:

Um, because, uh, the bake it like burgers. I don't want them thicker, I don't like. The good part of the burger is like the outer brown texture, not the gooey innards. So right, thin, thin, larger burgers is better than thick ones.

Speaker 1:

Right. So I'm saying, if you get a, so you get yourself impressed. Do about a pound, a pound of hamburger right Straight up beef.

Speaker 2:

I feel like this is just turning to Alex's cooking corner. I'm not mad about it, it's just either Luke's fat ass rants about McDonald's or Alex's like, let me get you the recipe, okay. This is what I do. I got, I got niche sponsorships, man like this is true this is true, unspeakable sponsorships.

Speaker 1:

But get yourself a pound of hamburger, dude, I'm whatever that, the like 85, 15 or whatever the ratio is pretty good for this. Uh, you break that into just four meatballs, so you've got about a quarter pound burger, right, and then all you do, dude, is you take that, you get, you get your cast iron going real nice and hot, and then what I did is I I old it up with a little bit of that truffle oil that you got me. So that did probably elevate my experience a little bit, to be honest. But I also had some brioche buns, dude. Brioche also very like, very nice, very important for this, for this beautiful burger that I made sure. Uh, you butter those, you get those on the cast iron, give them a little toasting, then you take them off. You're like all right, it's burger time.

Speaker 2:

It's about to say how many cast irons do you have going two?

Speaker 1:

I actually use. Uh, whatever you call that flat thing. I didn't even use my cast iron pan, like I have a cast iron like griddle or whatever. Sure, hell, yeah, yeah, get two burners going. Get that thing fucking going oh dude cast iron paradise. Open my house yeah, wow cast iron warrior up here.

Speaker 1:

So toast, toast those buns, get those off to the side. You got a real hot griddle going or your pan, whatever the fuck and then you take that quarter pound bird and you put it on there. And then you smash that shit and you want to do like, just like a quarter of an inch, you want to press it down to that and you want to sear it there for about 12 seconds, right, then you pull that up, let it rock for about two minutes, flip that shit over, do another two minutes. The only thing you're throwing in this burger you're not pre-seasoning or anything. When you put it on there, you're putting some salt and pepper on there. When you flip it over, you throw the salt and pepper again, throw the cheese on there. Let it do its thing for another two minutes, maybe just a little bit over, if you're worried about some pink in there. Uh, and that's it, bro. And then you put it on your deal, your bun, your toasted bun, and you put it in your mouth and it's delicious you put it in your mouth, dude.

Speaker 2:

I was frying up uh, I was making black and chicken mexican style for for dinner tonight. My cast iron and my neighbor knocked on my door because our dumb ass has left our garage door open. He's like I don't know if you did that on purpose and I was like I did not thank you for saving me from my own stupidity. And my whole house smelled like it. And he's like also your house smells nice, nice, because I was just ripping that cast iron dog.

Speaker 1:

You said get out of here, boy, you can't have any of my food.

Speaker 2:

I thought about bringing up some tacos.

Speaker 1:

honestly, that's great, yeah, I'll also use it, for sometimes I'll use it as like a panini press or like you know, like if you're making like a grilled cheese or some sort of sandwich Sounds like I need to buy this little tool.

Speaker 2:

dude, Dude, they're like 15 bucks, that's nothing.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to find out how to do an affiliate link and throw it into the deal and you go and buy yourself a cast iron burger press.

Speaker 2:

You could do that shit right now. That's the cloud. Well, that's it. That's the clown.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's it. We're coming to you straight from Burger Town, dude. Straight from Bob Burger's Ass, Siren, fucking Burger Town. Straight from fucking Burger.

Speaker 2:

Town dude. Let's go Right on, I'm eager for it. Wait, will you hear that sizzle? My that's. Uh. That's time to come back to the side quest. We've pressed it enough, pressed it and flipped it. What's up, my dude, what are you? What are you doing? Alex's ever expansive side quest? What do we got?

Speaker 1:

yeah, bro, I've been side questing. I also made a fucking outline. This time around. I gotta, whenever I an outline, I should know better to put them on there, because I always blow my side quest load and you're always giving me a hard time. Yeah but, I do some side quests.

Speaker 2:

I'm just a bad hang. Anyway, I'm just like meh too many side quests Wrap it up.

Speaker 1:

Well, we played a shorter game, dude, so of course I was going gonna get into some side quests this month. So I I mentioned it earlier, but I'm guesting on pixel project radio to talk about the talos principle, which is a super cool uh, I can't remember it's. I mean, it's a devolver joint, I can't remember who I actually developed it, but, um, but it's fun past your, uh, your emotions.

Speaker 2:

I did I did.

Speaker 1:

when I first picked it up it was. I didn't know if I was gonna be able to do it, man, because I got sick. It's like a known thing with this game because it's in the settings there's motion sickness settings and everything but it's a puzzle game, it's a 3D puzzler and it ends up being really cool. Dude, I will encourage folks to go check out what Rick and I have to say about it on Pixel Project Radio. Check it out, cool-ass game. Check it out. Uh, cool ass game.

Speaker 1:

Great puzzler ended up being a lot of fun and it has a lot of great. It really got me thinking about consciousness and, yeah, because that's what it's like, that's the underlying like theme of this game is consciousness and like what it is to be human, right, yeah, so like there's the game, there's a puzzle part and then there's this like huge, like underlying story that kind of unfolds very subtly throughout and it's basically having you grapple with what it is to be, what it is to be human, what it is to be conscious, uh, which is a, which is an interesting thought that it turns out, no one has an answer for yeah, I suppose not uh, so the talus principle super cool.

Speaker 1:

check it out on pixel Project Radio. You know I've been playing NBA 2K. This is like an NBA 2K Alex Pod every time.

Speaker 2:

But the thing is Should we just ban you from talking about 2K and me from talking about Mac or NCAA? We should, but not this month. But not this month.

Speaker 1:

I just real quick want to say I haven't been playing it a bunch, but you know it's my, it's my comfort food. I go back to that game when.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, I just feel like you know zone out to that.

Speaker 1:

But you know, this time of year, a couple of months ago, the new one came out to K-25 or whatever. Right, right, right, which I don't have yet, because I always wait until Black Friday to get it for half off.

Speaker 1:

Because you know I don't need to, I don't need season yeah, dude, for for sure, but I figured out how to do like. I've never done this before, but you can do community rosters and someone out there has like an up-to-date roster that I just downloaded and I've been playing with the updated timberwolves and I also up the difficulty level. So for two reasons I'm getting spanked by a computer. One, I'm playing in a harder setting and two, I'm not just like in real life, dude, I'm just not meshing with my new players as well uh, so that's like that's another one, what I've been doing for a ton of time.

Speaker 1:

And then, uh, the other day, dude, I had I have to throw this in there, because it was just, I was just feeling like we had finished kirby, I finished talus principle, and I was like, hey, I have like the freedom to play whatever I want. Right, mom can't tell me what to do. No, dude. And uh, so I was just, like you know, just sifting through games I'm like gog and some other, like platforms that I have or whatever launchers that I have on my computer, and I ended up playing probably the 20, 30 minutes of railroad tycoon 2. You remember that one?

Speaker 2:

you know, I know, I know of it, but I never remember us having it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so we had it back in the day on the family pc. I bought it on gog for hella cheap and every once in a while I fired up and it's uh, I would. It's, I mean, it's a sim, so I I definitely have to learn it, because I just get spanked like I end up running out of money right away.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's fair, immediately overextend exactly, um, so I got to figure that out, but it's, it was fun to go back and it's also a little nostalgia play for me, and then very similar. I decided I'd fire up warcraft 2, which is.

Speaker 1:

I played maybe three or four of the levels of the first campaign and that's just like I don't have any intention of going through and tearing through that whole game, but kind of similar to railroad tycoon 2. This is kind of fun to to jump in and dabble with some of those older games, just to kind of you know, remember, remember playing them back in the day. But then also just like seeing how far we've come, like it's crazy, especially in those types of like an rts like, uh, like warcraft 2 dude, just like how shitty the controls are.

Speaker 1:

It's like man the news some of the new stuff we can do is, we're blessed.

Speaker 2:

I, like used to love watching you play warcraft and I remember you switched over to age of empires and I was so fucking mad because like as a little kid, I saw the little fucking war wargs or whatever they are orcs and then like to see the little. It's funny because I became super obsessed with age of empires eventually, but in the beginning I was so mad, so it's kind of fun I mean even the jump in controls to edge of empires.

Speaker 1:

One is still better than warcraft, but uh, edge of empires two like yeah even that game has, like the, the quality of life controls is what does it even be called? It is like added things you can do, but, um, hot keys, yeah, so those are. Those are the video game side quests, but I got some big real life side quest, whoa, yeah, yeah, went to two shows well, which was cool. I used to go a lot of music shows, used to be able to, you know, get out, and that was like man, I did that a bunch. So it was like kind of crazy that I went to two shows this past month got to see jack white at first avenue. That was really cool. He's on his, uh, he's out promoting his new record called no name, but he's doing this small room tour where he doesn't announce it until just a couple days prior.

Speaker 2:

It's not a huge venue for him.

Speaker 1:

I'm sure he could have which is wild, as first avenue is the biggest, it's like one of the biggest venues that he's played for this particular tour. He's like purposely playing small rooms so he made like a. He made like a funny joke. It wasn't that funny, to be honest, but like he made a joke about it, like during the show where he was like it's so great to play like a stadium, uh, because, like compared to the other rooms he's been doing in this tour, like you say, per se it's kind of like a stadium, but uh, to be able to see, like dude, like I've.

Speaker 1:

I've seen jack white I think this is number three or four uh, so one. To see him in a, in a room like first avenue, just an iconic room like that, uh, and in a smaller room because he would normally play a stadium uh, these days like it's very, it's like a bigger either.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean like maybe not the target center, but like you could fill the target center, I guarantee it yeah, okay yeah, regardless, dude, it was just like, it was really cool and it's like I haven't seen like.

Speaker 1:

He's like one of the last true rock and rollers, in my opinion. You know, like he, his mastery of the guitar is, it's amazing. And then also he doesn't play with a set list, so his entire band that he plays with is just like at. He's just like out there doing the whole marionette thing where he's going around basically gives cues to his and they have to, they have to transition into whatever he wants to do next. Uh, so he's just masterly like working not only his guitars because he's switching guitars like every other song but then also his band and it's just.

Speaker 1:

It's just really fun to see and I haven't seen a musician like have that much control of the stage and play so well since I had the opportunity to see prince at paisley park a few like years back. Um, so that was just like really cool and really like it's really hard ticket to get one of my buddies shout out to pete uh, hit me up and was like hey, man, I was able to snake tickets. Uh, you want to come. I was like hell, yeah, I want to come. That's was like hell, yeah, I want to come.

Speaker 2:

That's cool.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, dude, also, the second show I went to recently went to Pretty Lights one of my favorite artists of all time, derek Vincent Smith. His Pretty Lights project has evolved. He's got a full band. It's a full electronic band. I'm not even going to try to explain how that works, dude, but it is mind-blowing to watch because he's up there, uh, kind of similar to jack white, in the sense that he is like masterfully, like in control this whole stage and set. But it's not like your traditional band, like you do have someone on the keys and you do have a dj and you do have a uh, you know, someone playing the drums and you got some sound machines and shit. But like you also have your like analog, like sound boards and stuff. But there you also have your like analog, like sound boards and stuff. But there's so much stuff going on and I don't I don't really know what they're doing. I want to watch. I want to watch like some sort of youtube video that tells me exactly how this shit works, because for me.

Speaker 2:

I'm just like probably close to like 10 times.

Speaker 1:

So like you've probably seen a lot of change over the years no, I mean he used to display like uh, he traditionally like way back in the day he would have a, he'd have his drummer, so percussion. Then he was just doing like the dj stuff and that's evolved into this whole like live digital set it's it's cool man it was.

Speaker 2:

It was really cool it's not just up there pushing buttons, as they would say he pushes some buttons.

Speaker 1:

But yes, no, it's not a press play type situation, I'm just trolling. Nah, for sure, but those are. Those are the major side.

Speaker 2:

You know how people were when edm blew up I do indeed, I do indeed.

Speaker 1:

How about you, man, what you've been?

Speaker 2:

you know, I just be smoking crack over here. Do not go and look and then do not consequently expose my NCAA 25 hours. But they're gross, oh dang.

Speaker 2:

Nice, I finally coach Dukes the third. Now this is my third dynasty run. I started as an assistant coach at a big time program and then, you know, I, to this point I have avoided the university of Minnesota. But they fired their coach two years in a row and tried to hire me two years in a row and I was like all right guys, save your coach, dukes, I'll save these hoes.

Speaker 2:

And God, this is so dorky dog. But, like, when you go to recruiting which, as we mentioned in our pod, is a huge piece of the game and a huge piece of the lizard brain itch you can filter where your recruits are coming from and they have, like, recruits populated from every state. So like I in my head, like go, and I like got to get the best recruits out of Minnesota, and then I go to Wisconsin, cause I want to destroy Wisconsin and I want Wisconsin not to be any good, so I get the top Wisconsin recruits too, and then, uh, it's weird too, cause it tells you their little hometowns. So like the dude will be like from Minnesota or like or obviously he'll be fair, or something.

Speaker 2:

He'll be no, literally my running backs from Eden Prairie, sure, and it's like he was a three-star but he's actually kind of a stud and like I teach in a district and some of the one of the cities in my district showed up so I was like, well, I got to get this guy, he could have went to my school so I thought that was kind of cute. So that's stupid, don't need to bring that up. I further ban any talk of football or basketball simulations on this year podcast until they're new At least. Another super goofy one is I did a dude's weekend as a bit of a delayed bachelor party slash current diaper party and I was under the influence of many a beers and I was ripping my steam deck and I downloaded a game, ace boiling, bought for a while back. Man eater, are you familiar? Is that the shark one?

Speaker 2:

yeah dude, if you're just dicking around, I don't think there's a better game to rip on your steam deck than just you're just an angry little shark. Uh, narrated by, uh, chris parnell oh funny yeah, yeah, so that's. I was just laughing at myself when I was playing it in bed before before bed last night, because poor trisha's like reading a book's. I was just laughing at myself when I was playing it in bed before before bed last night, because poor trisha's like reading a book next I was gonna say with a sound on you fucking.

Speaker 2:

I'm just a shark just fucking up other fish and I'm like did you buy those google buds too? You got earbuds out of your career wild yeah, it's just doing a whole lot for a 10 minute sesh. You know 10, 50 a minute sesh, but I've put don't give me that fucking face, dog like respect your wife, bro.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I do. She was fine with it.

Speaker 2:

Uh, they were downstairs dog, I was warm, but yeah, dude. Uh, so big, big cosign on man eater I think who knows how deep I'll get into it, but I'll grip it and rip it from time to time and it's got me back on my Steam Deck for a little bit. So I haven't made any official decisions, but I'm thinking that the next month's game is going to have to be Steam Deck compatible.

Speaker 1:

I'm here for it, dude. It's funny Like the way that I mean I love being able to do the handheld gaming. You know this, I'm not. I'm not shy about handheld gaming, yeah, uh, but it's funny like I have like these stints where it's like I'll just be pure steam, steamy d and I'll be like man, I kind of miss my switch and then we'll get, we'll like do a couple switch games. I'll be like, oh, I kind of miss the steamy d it's weird.

Speaker 2:

It made me nostalgic for, like, the last time I was playing my steamy d, which was either trying to think of the last game I was really going after in there, but it like reminded me like a like a seasonal time of the year and I was like whoa dude, oh, interesting that's true, yeah, I played.

Speaker 2:

I played a good chunk of the talus principle on it, so it's uh so I had a little bit more recently, but but nonetheless, well, yeah, dog, for our listeners, you know, um, I've gotta suck up my football helmet to create my abilities and then I gotta go win the big 10 championship tonight, dog, so gotta bring these golfers to glory dude, oh dang yeah, thanks everybody for listening.

Speaker 1:

If you made it this far, you know what to do. Give us another five star rating. That's right. Find the platform to get on to this is another right that's right, get yourself a fucking cast iron press and get that cast iron present our affiliate link, which I guarantee I will not but I promise you I've forgotten already, but but nonetheless, much love to you all.

Speaker 1:

So thanks for coming through. Check us out. Low5gamingcom. There's some merch out there you can get for yourself. There's some cool arcade athletic gear that I've been wearing, dude. There's some pixel protagonist gear out there as well. You can get that shit. If your name's Tyler, you can get yourself a jersey, which I think you should be arriving at his house any day now.

Speaker 2:

If your name is not tyler, you can still get the tyler special, so that's true, that's true. Anybody can get the tyler special but it was made specifically for tyler join the discord and ask questions uh, for mailbag stuff and make requests for games.

Speaker 1:

Yes, there's a text link in the show notes so you can actually hit us up, uh, via that way. Like luke said, hit that discord, talk to us there. You can badger me about making specific merch for you and I'll get to it in about a year we're playing portal 2, which kind of slapped.

Speaker 2:

So fair. Fair enough, dude, there's one for you, one for us yeah, true, true, true, true.

Speaker 1:

Alright, man, much love, peace, peace, peace.

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Alex

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Luke

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