Retro Wildlands #55 - Top 10 Video Game Weapons

[00:00:20] Greetings fellow travelers, vagrin, six floors, wildlanders, and welcome to episode 55 of The Retro Wildlands.

[00:00:30] My name is Nomad, and this is my gaming podcast, or I'd like to share my thoughts and experiences with a video game that I've discovered or readiscovered while roaming the gaming wildlands.

[00:00:41] Thank you very much for tuning into the show today.

[00:00:45] Expeditions into the wildlands are always an adventure, but they're infinitely better when you join us for the ride.

[00:00:51] If you've been with us before, very glad to have you back.

[00:00:55] Your usual seat by the campfire is ready to go, so whenever you get yourself situated, make yourself comfy.

[00:01:01] If this is your first time with us, welcome!

[00:01:05] Normally on The Retro Wildlands we'll talk about a specific video game, and I'll share with you my thoughts and experiences while taking you through parts of the game,

[00:01:14] so you can either experience it for the first time and get an idea of what the game is all about, or if you just want to float on a river of nostalgia, you can do that if you've played the game before.

[00:01:25] On today's episode, however, we're doing something a little different.

[00:01:30] After our last episode where we talked all about Gunstar Heroes on The Sega Genesis, slash Mega Drive,

[00:01:37] I started thinking about all the cool weapons and weapon systems I've used over the course of my gaming career.

[00:01:44] The weapons we, as gamers, have used over the years, can serve some pretty mundane purposes, or they can be the tool required to literally save the world.

[00:01:56] While weapons are generally just tools used to accomplish a larger goal, I find how they are used as well as what they can sometimes represent

[00:02:06] to be fascinating.

[00:02:08] Some weapons can be a direct representation of a specific character, or they can serve as a representation of the journey and personal development the character went through during the course of the game.

[00:02:20] And what's interesting to me is that sometimes can rub off on us as the player as well.

[00:02:26] Or weapons can just sometimes be downright devastating to your opposition and serve no greater purpose other than to line the parts and pieces of your enemies at your feet.

[00:02:37] Thinking back on all the video games I've played, both retro and modern, I've been fortunate enough to wield some incredible weapons.

[00:02:46] And today on The Retro Wildlands, I thought it would be fun to count down my top 10 favorites and talk a bit about them.

[00:02:55] It's the perfect campfire topic, so once everyone settled in, we'll get to it.

[00:03:01] DD, our Canine expedition leader and his brothers from another dog mother dexter have stocked us up on wood for fire and some good drink for our stomach, so when you see our boys making the rounds give them a good scratch behind the years, will ya?

[00:03:17] Now before I recorded the audio for the show, I put a call out for comments on our social media platforms in order to give you listening a chance to chime in about your favorite video game weapons.

[00:03:28] I'll be sprinkling those comments we received throughout the show and giving the wildlands community a chance to share their stories around the campfire today.

[00:03:38] If that's something that you might want to partake in in one of our upcoming episodes, be sure to follow us on social media.

[00:03:45] We have a presence over on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, slash x, threads and blue sky, so feel free to follow us on your favorite platform.

[00:03:55] Or you can check out our link tree at link TR.e.e.

[00:03:59] Forward slash retro wildlands to see all of our socials in one place.

[00:04:05] And even if you don't want to submit comments and you just want to add a little retro spice to your timelines and feeds, head on over and throw us a follow.

[00:04:14] Now if you've listened to the show before, you know that I'd normally like to start our episodes off by giving everyone a peek behind the scenes here in the retro wildlands in a little segment that I like to call campfire catch up.

[00:04:27] However, that segment is generally reserved for our main episodes where I discuss a specific game.

[00:04:33] In our top 10 episodes, we are all business, so we're going to skip that this time around and get right into the thick of it.

[00:04:41] So with that, let me set the scene a little and then we'll dive right in.

[00:04:46] First and foremost, this is my personal list of favorite video game weapons and it contains my personal opinions and nothing more.

[00:04:55] You'll probably have your own list of favorite video game weapons, and that is awesome.

[00:05:01] Which is one of the reasons I cannot wait to get to some of our community comments.

[00:05:06] Second, I'm only including weapons from video games that I have personally played up to this point.

[00:05:13] While I have some thoughts on several gaming weapons that I am mildly aware of, I like to speak to my own experiences so I didn't want to include a weapon that I didn't personally wield on the field of battle.

[00:05:27] That said, if you think there should have been a weapon on this list that was not, there's probably a good chance I just never played the game that it was featured in.

[00:05:36] And lastly, I ranked my favorite weapons off the following criteria.

[00:05:41] Usefulness, visual appeal, fun factor, and what I like to think of as staying power.

[00:05:49] What I mean by that is it's easy to rank a list based on how iconic a weapon is, but sometimes a weapon can mean different things to different people.

[00:05:58] Staying power to me is something that persists even after the credits roll.

[00:06:04] Was the significance of the weapon something great?

[00:06:07] Will tales of its use be told to generations to come?

[00:06:11] Did I personally connect with a game through its weapon?

[00:06:16] Something along those lines, if that even makes sense.

[00:06:20] Oh, and also there was some element of bad assery in my ranking as well.

[00:06:26] If a weapon just rocked my world and the world of my enemies in a fun and creative way, it probably had a good chance of making the list.

[00:06:36] Alright, and with that I think we have all of our bases covered.

[00:06:40] It's time to get into this thing.

[00:06:43] And time has come for us to look upon the legendary weapons that have made heroes rise and our enemies fall.

[00:06:50] Weapons that empower us to never give up the fight.

[00:06:54] Weapons that cement our legacy through the ages, and weapons that slice, dice, burn or otherwise mayhem our enemies in glorious fashion.

[00:07:06] So grab your favorite weapon wildlanders.

[00:07:09] It is time to count down my top 10 favorite video game weapons.

[00:07:15] Number 10.

[00:07:25] Number 10 on my list of favorite video game weapons is the metal blade from Mega Man 2.

[00:07:40] For those of you who defeated Metal Man and gotten the chance to sling some metal blades around in this game,

[00:07:47] I think you'd agree with me that this weapon is one of the best in the game, and even one of the funnest to use.

[00:07:54] Mega Man's standard issue Mega Buster only shoots in front of him, and while you can jump and shoot at the same time, it's really all there is to it.

[00:08:03] This makes the Mega Buster a little cumbersome to use sometimes, especially for enemies flying around the screen, but the metal blade makes fighting Dr. Wiley's robots much easier.

[00:08:15] For starters, it barely uses any energy when you use them costing you only one energy for every four blades thrown.

[00:08:23] Second, the blades can pass through enemies, so if you line up your shot just right, you can take out multiple baddies in one strike.

[00:08:32] Third, you can shoot metal blades in all eight directions, making it very easy to hit almost anything flying or hopping around.

[00:08:42] And lastly, metal blades can fly through walls. Yes, add all of that up and you have an overpowered weapon that's both versatile and devastating.

[00:08:55] Oh, and three of the games robot masters are weak to the metal blade.

[00:09:01] But really what makes the metal blade one of my favorite gaming weapons is how fun it is to use.

[00:09:09] Mega Man 2 is not an easy game, at least not when you first start playing as.

[00:09:14] Diffuting each robot master and getting their powers is a fun challenge, but when you have the metal blades, things aren't just a bit easier, things can get a little bit more enjoyable too.

[00:09:26] At least that's how I felt.

[00:09:28] The metal blade doesn't all of a sudden make Mega Man 2 an easy experience or anything, but being able to shoot in all directions and through walls certainly changes up how you play.

[00:09:39] Plus there is just something extremely satisfying about whipping out metal blades with reckless abandon.

[00:09:45] Oh yeah, if you know, you know.

[00:09:54] Curtis who threw out a comment on his favorite weapon over on our Facebook page said this.

[00:10:00] Mega Man's Mega Buster is one of my favorites.

[00:10:05] With the ability to absorb and use all the bosses powers, it's one of the coolest weapons out there.

[00:10:12] I 100% agree Curtis and the Mega Buster was actually very close to being put on this list.

[00:10:19] The sheer concept of the Mega Buster or Rock Buster has our friends in Japan call it is incredible and it created one of the best game mechanics of all time.

[00:10:30] Bosses exist in games mainly to challenge the player and provide a sort of test when it comes to your abilities and how you've taken into the game's mechanics and controls up to that point.

[00:10:40] In a moment, while that idea exists, the reason to fight the boss is flipped on its head.

[00:10:46] You're not fighting the robot masters at the end of each stage just to progress.

[00:10:51] You're doing it to gain more abilities and open up new ways to play and win.

[00:10:56] To me, that's what makes the Mega Buster so awesome.

[00:11:00] And the fact that a shoot's little energy balls doesn't hurt the whole concept of Duhether.

[00:11:05] I actually enjoyed playing Mega Man 2 and trying to only use the Mega Buster.

[00:11:10] It was difficult, but fun to use and offered up a great challenge.

[00:11:15] It's just that once I got those metal blades, seeing humongous saw blades coming out of the Buster made me smile in such a way that the Mega Buster as a standard weapon could not.

[00:11:34] Number 9

[00:11:36] The number 9 slot goes to the plasma cutter from Dead Space.

[00:12:33] A lot of times in video games, a character starter weapon is just that.

[00:12:39] It's what you start off with and generally you're going to find something better, more powerful or more useful, and you'll set your starter weapon aside.

[00:12:47] But that is not the case with the plasma cutter.

[00:12:51] Not only is it a solid weapon throughout the entire game, the ability to upgrade it as you progress allows the plasma cutter to keep pace with the most powerful necromorfs who are out to try and murder you.

[00:13:04] As I'm sure most of us may know, combat and dead space is quite unique, and that the enemies you'll face won't go down easy if you just shoot them repeatedly.

[00:13:14] Even headshots aren't the end all be all.

[00:13:17] No, in order to destroy an acromorf you need to dismember them by shooting off their limbs.

[00:13:24] The plasma cutter, which really is an engineering tool more than anything else, seems to have been designed specifically for this purpose.

[00:13:33] Plasma bolts fire to travel forward and cut the enemy horizontally.

[00:13:38] You can also make the plasma cutter fire its bolts vertically as well.

[00:13:43] Why does this matter?

[00:13:45] Well, depending on how you're slinging bolts, you can maximize your damage output depending on the appendage you're looking to sever.

[00:13:52] Horrors on all bolts are great for taking off heads or dismembering legs.

[00:13:57] Vertical fire is great for arms.

[00:14:00] The plasma cutter really is a precision tool and in the hands of a calm and collected player, you can easily keep a horde of necromorfs at bay.

[00:14:09] Especially if you're using the stasis module and slowing your enemies down.

[00:14:15] The developers of Dead Space openly encourage the player to use and upgrade the start weapon.

[00:14:21] One of my favorite PlayStation trophies I have on my profile is the one gun trophy where I completed this game using only the plasma cutter,

[00:14:31] and it was probably my favorite way to play the game if I'm being honest.

[00:14:35] The plasma cutter is a great weapon, but at the end of the day it does fire slowly and can be a little clunky against some of the bigger faster enemies.

[00:14:44] You need to take your time and playing your shots, and above all else find a way to remain cool under pressure when the enemy is throwing everything it has at you.

[00:14:53] But really, the plasma cutter is one of my favorites because of its versatility, how fun it is to use, and how much of a badass you feel like when you're taking out enemies one after another with it.

[00:15:06] It's easy to let panic set in in Dead Space and in order to be able to use a tool like the plasma cutter, you have to be able to keep your cool,

[00:15:14] and I love that the game rewards you for adapting that mindset.

[00:15:19] But remember, that's gonna be the key. You absolutely have to keep your cool with the plasma cutter.

[00:15:26] Panicking in front of a necromorfs is just a quick way to get yourself killed.

[00:15:31] Number eight.

[00:16:21] Goddamn, I love that music.

[00:16:24] Number eight on my list of favorite video game weapons is Alistair, the Thunder Sword from the first instalments of Devil Make Fry on the PlayStation 2.

[00:16:35] I honestly cannot remember how I came into a copy of Devil Make Fry, but I still have the original one on myself.

[00:16:42] Right over there.

[00:16:45] I would play this game constantly, and while I was never good enough to string together exceptionally long combos or anything,

[00:16:52] I loved tearing apart demons with Alistair.

[00:16:56] I've had a love for swords since I was younger, and you can guarantee you there will be more swords on this list,

[00:17:02] but Alistair was one of my very first absolute favorites.

[00:17:07] In Devil Make Fry, you play as Dante, a sarcastic smartass demon hunter.

[00:17:13] In the game, you find yourself fighting all sorts of demonic creatures on your quest to stop the return of the evil demon emperor Moondus,

[00:17:21] who just so happens to have murdered Dante's family.

[00:17:24] If that's not a motivator for revenge, I don't know what is.

[00:17:28] Now as I'm sure most of you listening though, Devil Make Fry is known for its fast-paced combat where players use swords, guns,

[00:17:36] and hand-hand combat to slice, dice, shoot, bash, and juggle enemies until they crumble before you.

[00:17:43] The combat is very quick and very stylish, and really that's the name of the game.

[00:17:49] When you first start out, you have a pretty unremarkable sword to start with.

[00:17:54] But eventually you come across Alistair.

[00:17:58] The design of the sword is something that I've always liked.

[00:18:02] The handle is more or less the head of a dragon.

[00:18:05] It's open mouth as where the long blade comes out, and the dragon wings that come out at either side act as the sword's guard near the handle.

[00:18:14] When you find Alistair, it's embedded in a statue, a woman bent over an agony.

[00:18:21] The sword then speaks to Dante saying,

[00:18:24] I am Alistair, the weak shall give their heart and swear their eternal loyalty to me.

[00:18:34] At this point the sword surrounded by lightning flies out and entails Dante pinning him to the ground and seemingly killing him.

[00:18:43] But Dante isn't weak, and he's not going to submit to whatever this thing is.

[00:18:50] He awakens, and in one of the coolest scenes I've seen in a video game, Dante raises himself up and pulls himself to his feet.

[00:19:00] All of the while the sword still embedded in the ground.

[00:19:04] Yes, he literally pulls himself up, and the blade handle and all passes right through him.

[00:19:11] It's bloody, it's glory, and it's completely badass.

[00:19:15] Then Dante grabs the sword and takes it as his own.

[00:19:20] I don't know why I like this scene so much, maybe I'm some sort of sicko, but it was incredible to me as a kid.

[00:19:28] Once you have Alistair, you have an expanded move set as well as access to Dante's devil trigger ability.

[00:19:37] Channeling Alistair's lightning power, you can gain incredible speed and even transform into a winged demon and shower your enemies with Emperor Palpatine's to hell lightning bolts.

[00:19:48] It is awesome.

[00:19:50] But while Alistair has an incredible design and made one hell of an entrance, I really fell in love with this weapon because I found so much fun in playing devil-made cry back in the day.

[00:20:02] I love chaining combos together, slicing enemies into the air, using Dante's dual pistols to juggle them and then bringing Alistair's slithing upwards into them before batting them down to the ground again.

[00:20:15] This experience honestly reminded me of those times that I would find the perfect stick in the woods or got my hands on those long wrapping paper tubes.

[00:20:26] I loved swinging around for 10 swords when I was little, and Alistair was the very first fantasy sword that helped me relive that magic, and it just made it so much fun to be a devil hunter.

[00:20:42] Speaking of swords, Aaron from the Super Pod saga podcast chimed in over on our twitter slash xpage and said,

[00:20:51] Brotherhood from Final Fantasy X is one of my all time of faves. Nothing beats the hook at the end, and it's made out of water, I think.

[00:21:02] This is a good one, Aaron. I love the Brotherhood, and it was pretty high up on my own list for a little while too.

[00:21:10] Given to Titus by Waka Hurley in the game, this blade is probably one of the most recognizable, especially the Final Fantasy fans.

[00:21:19] Just like Aaron said, this blade looks like it's made of water, and visually it looks absolutely stunning.

[00:21:26] The hook on the end looks like it could cause some massive damage too.

[00:21:30] I don't remember Titus ever having a stab animation with any of his abilities or anything, but it would be awesome to see him stab something with that sword and then rip it out, causing massive damage with that hook.

[00:21:41] That would fuck up some fiends, no question.

[00:21:45] Brotherhood gains access to the water strike ability about halfway through the game if I remember right, and then bubbles will start to permeate from it in battle.

[00:21:54] It's an awesome sword. One that I honestly wish was real.

[00:21:59] Number 7

[00:22:05] We all did by multiple members of the Belmont clan and responsible for the deaths of countless demons, ghouls, vampires, the vampire killer from the Castlevania series is number 7 on my list of favorite video game weapons.

[00:22:37] In her demons, the Ghost Rider podcast commented on our Twitter page and some of this weapon up perfectly.

[00:22:44] They said, how about the vampire killer whip from Castlevania?

[00:22:49] Helped by at least a dozen clan members throughout history, it's an iconic yet inigmatic weapon of immense power passed from generation to generation for the soul purpose of protecting the world from evil monsters.

[00:23:05] Well said, my friend.

[00:23:07] Castlevania was one of those games series that I was aware of but it wasn't until I started this podcast that I started playing some of the Castlevania games.

[00:23:16] In the original Castlevania on the original Nintendo, players took control of Simon Belmont and using the vampire killer whip,

[00:23:24] Simon vanquished evil up and down Dracula's castle before ultimately slaying Dracula himself.

[00:23:31] He would go on to do it again in Castlevania 2, Simon's Quest.

[00:23:36] But the vampire killer would be found in the hands of other Belmonts.

[00:23:41] Richter Belmont who wielded the vampire killer in Rondo of Blood, the Dracula X Chronicles and even in Symphony of the Night.

[00:23:50] Trevor Belmont would take up the vampire killer whip in Castlevania 3, Dracula's curse and in a few other games as well.

[00:23:59] I find the history of the whip to be fascinating.

[00:24:02] According to the series' lure, the vampire killer was originally made through Alchemy and it actually wasn't that strong of a weapon against vampires initially.

[00:24:12] It wasn't until Sarah who was betrothed to Leon Belmont, bound her soul to the whip after being bitten by a vampire, did the whip become whole and capable of defeating demons like we know it to do today.

[00:24:27] When I first played Castlevania, I was immediately drawn to the whip as a weapon.

[00:24:32] It was snappy and packed one hell of a punch.

[00:24:36] In a game like Castlevania, I would expect you to carry something more like a sword but a whip just made sense and it fit into the world beautifully.

[00:24:46] It was easy to master as well and as the Castlevania franchise evolved, so did the gameplay usage of the whip.

[00:24:56] In the beginning, you could grab power-ups to improve the length and damage output of the whip.

[00:25:01] And instead of only being able to thrust the whip out in front of you, you could eventually whip in multiple directions and future iterations of a series.

[00:25:10] The whip always felt witty to me and I never got tired of using it.

[00:25:15] When I played Symphony of the Night for the very first time, I was genuinely disappointed that Alchard, the games main character, didn't use a whip

[00:25:24] and instead used a sword.

[00:25:26] And this is coming from me, Akai who loves swords.

[00:25:30] Castlevania is quickly becoming one of my favorite game franchises even though I've only have a few games under my belt.

[00:25:38] And a huge reason for that is the vampire killer, a whip that destroys all that is associated with the dark creatures of the night.

[00:25:47] Number 6

[00:25:53] Resident Evil 4

[00:26:18] I love the Resident Evil franchise and just like many of you, I'm sure Resident Evil 4 is a game you love as well.

[00:26:28] The remake we got last year was just as if not more so incredible and will go down in history as one of the most iconic games of all time.

[00:26:39] I used to play the original so much that I maxed out how much money the game would let you hold on to.

[00:26:45] I love it that much.

[00:26:48] There's plenty of weapons to be had in this game and the sheer variety adds a lot to the gameplay.

[00:26:53] But of all the weapons available for the player to find or purchase, there was one that never ever left my inventory.

[00:27:03] And it's the weapon you start out with.

[00:27:07] My number 6 favorite video game weapon is Leon S. Kennedy's Silver Ghost Handgun.

[00:27:16] I know there's arguments for how amazing weapons like the Red Niner or how they're more powerful, but the Silver Ghost is just so fun to use and I love how it looks and even how it sounds.

[00:27:31] For all of you gun nuts out there, the Silver Ghost was inspired by the Smith and West in Sigma as well as the H&K USB.

[00:27:40] If you've ever played Metal Gear Solid 2, the USB is the handgun snake finds and uses during the tanker mission.

[00:27:48] According to some Resident Evil lore, the Silver Ghost was a completely custom build specific for Leon by Joseph Kendo, everyone's favorite Gunsmith.

[00:28:00] In game, it's a fairly basic experience. It deals okay damage, has an okay rate of fire and is pretty okay reliable.

[00:28:10] But Resident Evil 4 allows the player to spend acquired money to upgrade your weapons, and as you slowly improve the Silver Ghost, damage output goes up, fire it gets faster and reloading is quicker.

[00:28:26] But when you upgrade a weapon to its absolute max, you can sometimes unlock an exclusive upgrade.

[00:28:33] And for the Silver Ghost, unlocking the exclusive upgrade increases your chances of performing a critical headshot by five times.

[00:28:42] Not only does this give you a chance to conserve ammo, it is absolutely satisfying taking on a horde of Ganado with only your handgun and watch as they start to fall one by one as their heads pop.

[00:28:56] It is just an awesome weapon. So much so that I just love how this weapon sounds, specifically when you're reloading a new magazine into this gun.

[00:29:07] Here, take a quick listen.

[00:29:09] Oh yeah, there's just something about sliding a new magazine into your weapon and hearing that satisfying click.

[00:29:19] Is that weird? It's probably weird.

[00:29:22] But outside the plasma cutter in Dead Space, the Silver Ghost is one of the few starter weapons in a video game that I will not swap out for anything else.

[00:29:32] And no matter what you say about any of the other guns in this game, you cannot make me.

[00:29:38] Stranger Stranger!

[00:29:41] Now that's a weapon.

[00:29:44] Speaking of guns, inner demons, the Ghost Rider podcast also dropped an honorable mention that I wanted to toss in here.

[00:29:52] They called out Agent 47's Silver Baller Pistols.

[00:29:58] I need to play more of the Hitman series and the only one I've actually played from start to finish was Absolution and I loved every minute of it.

[00:30:07] The Silver Ballers are more or less modeled after the Colt-1911 handgun and it fires 45 caliber bullets with enough stopping power to put down any target Agent 47 is after.

[00:30:19] Coupled with a slick black grip and usually coming with a noise suppressor, the Silver Ballers are great for any assassin to keep in their arsenal.

[00:30:28] Nice, nice pull on this one.

[00:30:32] Captain N sounded off about another iconic gun over on our Twitter page.

[00:30:37] He said, Gravity Gun, Half Life 2, enough said.

[00:30:42] Ha ha, great pull Captain.

[00:30:45] I've yet to play Half Life 2 but I am pretty familiar with this beast.

[00:30:50] The Zero Point Energy Field manipulator, which is not a toy I'm told, is an incredibly fun weapon.

[00:30:59] Not sure exactly how the science works on this one, but you can punt items around using your primary fire button which acts almost like cracking a whip at things or you can use your secondary fire to pick up objects which you can then whip at your enemies.

[00:31:15] Or you can play fetch with dog, Alex Vance's Pet Robot.

[00:31:20] I love weapons like this that allow you to manipulate objects in the world and use them to your benefit like this, especially for combat.

[00:31:29] Right away, the Gravity Gun makes me think of dead space and how your character can use a canesis module to pick up and toss items.

[00:31:39] I like ripping off the claw of a necrmoor if and then impaling one of its pals with it using canesis.

[00:31:45] The Gravity Gun from Half Life 2 isn't just a cool concept which allows you to beat the crap out of your enemies with anything you can get your hands on.

[00:31:52] It's a weapon that can really spice up gameplay and give the players some real freedom when tackling the game.

[00:31:59] How do I know this without ever having played Half Life 2, you might be wondering?

[00:32:04] Just go check out a YouTube video of this thing in action.

[00:32:07] That's what I did and I was completely sold on the entire idea.

[00:32:12] Number 5

[00:32:18] My number 5 weapon is one that helped me win countless races and allowed me to punish and humiliate my cousin Eric in battle mode.

[00:32:48] It is the Red Shell, specifically from Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo.

[00:32:55] I love this weapon and I'd venture most of you listening are probably familiar with it.

[00:33:01] I can't remember when we got Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo but I played it a decent amount and I played it a lot when my cousins came to visit.

[00:33:09] While I'm sure the Red Shell is different than other iterations of Mario Kart, the Red Shell in Super Mario Kart kept it simple.

[00:33:17] Having this item on you during a race immediately gave you an advantage.

[00:33:22] When you throw out a Red Shell, it will home in on a driver ahead of you and when it connects with them, it'll cause that driver to spin out and lose some coins in the process.

[00:33:32] It is a very stupid comparison but the Red Shell always brought me back to my favorite movie Top Gun.

[00:33:40] It was just like locking onto an enemy meag and blowing them out of the sky after you get a mislock.

[00:33:46] Not, you just can't beat it.

[00:33:49] Sure you can make an argument that the blue shell and newer Mario Kart games as far superior with how it takes out whoever is in first place,

[00:33:56] but there's just something about the Red Shell that puts you in control of the destruction that you want to disshow.

[00:34:03] And you get to see that destruction happen right in front of you.

[00:34:07] There are some caveats to the Red Shell though.

[00:34:10] You can't shoot it backwards and if it somehow hits an obstacle or wall, the shell gets destroyed with no payoff.

[00:34:18] But if you launch one, there's no real way for your opponent to dodge it unless you fire around a corner or something and hit the side of the track.

[00:34:27] I also noticed that in Grand Cream mode, computer control drivers don't pick up Red Shells, at least I don't ever remember getting clobbered by one.

[00:34:36] But while the Red Shell is a force to be reckoned with, then it's my go-to weapon of choice and super Mario Kart if I can get my hands on it,

[00:34:44] I mainly like the Red Shell because it reminds me of all the times my cousin, Eric and I would play Battle Mode over and over again when we were kids.

[00:34:53] In Battle Mode, each racer has three balloons around their cart which act like three lives.

[00:35:00] If you get hit with something you lose a balloon, lose them all and then you lose the match.

[00:35:06] Eric and I would play for hours and honestly I am not even sure why he kept wanting to play with me.

[00:35:14] While I did lose the occasional match here and there, I constantly beat that poor boy's ass.

[00:35:20] I don't think I ever gloded or anything but deep inside, I was pretty smugg about it.

[00:35:26] Eric, I know you're listening to this so I just want to say this.

[00:35:30] I absolutely treasure the memory that we have playing this game so much together.

[00:35:36] It makes me smile just thinking about it and remembering all the times that I beat your face in makes me smile as well.

[00:35:43] Seriously, though, bro.

[00:35:45] Playing Super Mario Kart with you is one of my favorite childhood memories and they will be ones that I absolutely cherish for the rest of my life.

[00:35:55] One of you out there had another Super Mario S. Gweapon as one of your favorites and this seemed like a good place to call that one out.

[00:36:04] The retro rehab podcast on the off on our Twitter slash xpage and said,

[00:36:11] Bowser's Chomp Chain from Super Mario RPG is always so satisfying to use.

[00:36:17] Plus, and this is in all caps, it's a chain shop for a weapon.

[00:36:24] Haha, hell yeah, my friends. Super Mario RPG has no shortage of weapons.

[00:36:30] From hammers to Koopa shells to umbrellas and claws, there is something for every taste.

[00:36:37] But having Bowser use a Chomp Chain for a weapon is just top tier.

[00:36:42] When you use it, Bowser swings the Chomp on a chain and then whips it at an enemy.

[00:36:48] Best part is, if you can time your button press just right when the Chomp lands, it chows down on your enemy and spectacular fashion.

[00:36:58] With a great big-

[00:37:01] Come some excellent damage.

[00:37:04] Great call with this one.

[00:37:06] For me, this weapon is second only two Bowser's Hurley Glove in Super Mario RPG, which allows him to literally pick up Mario and throw him as a weapon.

[00:37:19] Between this and the Chomp Chain, do we really have to wonder why Bowser is as awesome as he is?

[00:37:25] Number four.

[00:37:49] When you need to spice up close quarters combat, there's only one thing that can add the flavor that you're looking for.

[00:37:56] And that is a chain saw.

[00:37:59] But wouldn't it be awesome if you had a chain saw on the end of your assault rifle?

[00:38:06] Well that is exactly what the Lancer from Gears of War brings to the table.

[00:38:11] Number four on my list of favorite video game weapons, the Lancer is just incredibly fun to use.

[00:38:19] I've talked about the Lancer and some other episodes of the show, so I'm not going to drone on here, but seriously this weapon is just awesome.

[00:38:27] Not only does the chain saw on the end of the rifle look badass, it is incredibly satisfying, sliding the blade down the front of a locus

[00:38:34] and watching their bits and pieces fall to your feet.

[00:38:38] It is almost therapeutic, now I think about it.

[00:38:42] But in all seriousness, one of the bigger reasons I like this weapon so much is that it does spice up the third person combat a bit.

[00:38:51] Mailaia attacks in general, and shooters can be a mixed bag.

[00:38:57] They can either be unreliably weak and hard to pull off to ridiculously overpowered and balanced breaking.

[00:39:05] The Lancer is slightly overpowered in that little kill most rank and file enemies in one glorious kill animation,

[00:39:12] but there's a bit of a wind up where you have to power on the saw, and you don't move all that fast when you're moving towards your potential prey.

[00:39:20] Plus, in a game that absolutely demands that you use cover in combat as much as possible, the chain saw attachment requires you to be vulnerable to enemy fires, so you need to decide when best to use this beast.

[00:39:33] Usually I use the chain saw attachment on the last enemy in battle.

[00:39:38] Nothing solidifies a hard-fought victory against the locus, then with a chainsaw.

[00:39:44] Isn't that right, Cole?

[00:39:46] Damn!

[00:39:48] You see that? Don't need no cause hairs!

[00:40:00] Oh shit, I got some on me!

[00:40:02] Speaking of some crazy weapons, Chris Coplean from the Retro Hangover podcast dropped one on us over on our Retro Wildlands Twitter slash X-page that...

[00:40:13] I have no fucking idea what to do with.

[00:40:19] Chris said, Suzuki Escuto Pikes Edition from Gran Turismo. Yes, Gran Turismo is an RPG. No, I will not be taking questions.

[00:40:31] Yeah, so the Suzuki Escuto, if I'm even pronouncing that correctly, is apparently a pretty iconic car in the Gran Turismo games.

[00:40:41] I had to do some reading up on this thing, and the first thing I noticed was the way it looks.

[00:40:46] The spoiler on the back of this thing is absolutely ridiculous.

[00:40:51] It almost looks like a full-sized picnic table.

[00:40:55] And as far as the specs go, this baby easily pumps out around 1,000 horsepower.

[00:41:02] I think this vehicle debuted in Gran Turismo 2, and apparently it was an extremely good vehicle to use, almost game-breaking.

[00:41:10] Pikes Peak is a real-world location in Colorado, and the Pikes Peak International Hill climb is an annual hill climb event where racers race a course that's strictly uphill.

[00:41:21] The Suzuki Escuto was built with the sole purpose of running this course.

[00:41:28] In its own way, it is a powerful weapon that will surely leave your opponents in the dust.

[00:41:33] So, you know what?

[00:41:35] Fuck it! The Suzuki Escuto Pikes Peak Edition is a weapon, a 1000 horsepower weapon on wheels.

[00:41:44] Number 3

[00:42:17] After replaying the original Doom for an earlier episode of the show, I got a chance to pick up a weapon that I hadn't wielded since I was a kid.

[00:42:26] And as soon as I heard the sound of loading around into the chamber, I smiled to myself.

[00:42:34] While Doom has some awesome weapons like the Plasma Rifle, Rocket Launcher and the BFG9000, there is nothing more badass than the OG Shotgun.

[00:42:46] Shotguns and most games are pretty standard.

[00:42:50] They fire slow, take forever to reload, but they can certainly pack a punch.

[00:42:55] The Shotgun in Doom though is pretty special.

[00:42:59] It could be pretty effective against a lot of different enemy types, which makes it a very versatile weapon.

[00:43:05] The Brown Imps, those bastards that can throw fireballs at you, take a decent amount of regular bullets to put down, but for some reason,

[00:43:13] a good shot to the chest at close range with a shotgun can sometimes be enough to put an imp flat on its ass.

[00:43:20] Also, for some other reason, the Shotgun is decently effective at long ranges too.

[00:43:27] As long as you have a shotgun, you stand a decent chance against most anything that Hellcan throw at you.

[00:43:34] Plus, for a game as old as Doom, the sound design that went into a shotgun is still top notch today.

[00:43:42] To pulling back the sliding action, the load around and the chamber to pulling the trigger,

[00:43:47] Doom's original Shotgun always takes me back to a time in my life when I had absolutely no worldly cares.

[00:43:55] It was just me on my parents' computer and an army of demons that needed to be put down.

[00:44:01] So long as I had my trusty Shotgun, nothing could stop me.

[00:44:06] And above all else, it was just so damn cool.

[00:44:13] Speaking of cool, so hey, oh, over on our Twitter slash x-page, chimed in about a weapon they thought was super cool.

[00:44:21] They said, the Manado for sure. It's just so cool.

[00:44:28] Red sword that isn't really functional by itself, but it opens up in this cool beam of light.

[00:44:35] So while I have yet to play any of the Xenoblaid Chronicles, once I looked up what the Manado was, I immediately recognized it.

[00:44:44] I can't remember specifically which game it was, but I saw one of the Xenoblaid Chronicles games in the wild and the Manado was front and center.

[00:44:53] As a lover of swords and various bladed weapons, I do like the design of the Manado.

[00:44:59] The blue beam that protrudes out the top looks awesome, and from what I've read, there's a lot of backstory to this weapon that I'm sure any of you that have played Xenoblaid before understand.

[00:45:11] Me on the other hand, I have no idea how this weapon functions, but I love how it looks.

[00:45:17] One of these days, I would like to jump into Xenoblaid and understand what all the hub up is about, but until then, I'll admire it from a distance, and that includes the Crimson Red Manado.

[00:45:29] Randy Barrage tossed out a couple of their favorite weapons over on our Instagram page.

[00:45:35] Randy said, links hookshot and creedoses Leviathan Axe.

[00:45:42] If I had to make a list of my favorite items from the Legend of Zelda series specifically, the hookshot would be number one on that list.

[00:45:51] I love how useful the hookshot is, and anytime I play a link to the past, the hookshot, as soon as I pick it up, immediately becomes my secondary weapon, and I rarely change it out for anything else unless I need to use something else for a puzzle or something stupid.

[00:46:06] In a link to the past specifically, it can slightly damage enemies, freeze some other enemies in their tracks, pulls you across gaps if you can hook onto something across the way, and it'll grab items and bring them to you if you don't want to walk over to them yourself.

[00:46:21] There's not a lot the hookshot can't do, so I think this is a great choice.

[00:46:26] Credoses Leviathan Axe is another awesome weapon.

[00:46:31] I think the one thing I like most about it is its simple design.

[00:46:35] Plus, it's a much more appropriate weapon for Credos and the newer games compared to his blades of chaos.

[00:46:41] Don't get me wrong, the blades of chaos are awesome and they almost made this list, but the versatility and overall bad assery of the Leviathan Axe make it an amazing weapon.

[00:46:51] My favorite thing about it is the ability to have you recall it's like Thor in the Marvel Universe recalls his hammer.

[00:46:59] I think it's the fully upgraded version of the Axe that has it decorated with an ornate gold design on the blade and the handle, and it looks absolutely stunning when it gets to that point.

[00:47:10] But most of all, the Axe absolutely ruins the day of anything that gets in its way and makes a perfect weapon for the God of War.

[00:47:20] Number 2

[00:47:26] My second favorite video game weapon of all time is the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda.

[00:48:02] As far as retro games go, the hell that who games in general really, the Master Sword is easily one of the most recognizable and one I'm sure many gamers hold near and dear in their hearts.

[00:48:16] Having only completed a couple of games in the series I almost felt as though I didn't deserve to have this magnificent weapon on my list at all,

[00:48:23] but the few times I have wielded this weapon have been special to me and I love what this sort represents, at least according to my personal interpretation.

[00:48:33] While I've only wielded the Master Sword in a link to the past and breath of a wild, I found myself having a similar feeling when getting my hands on the sword for the first time in using it.

[00:48:44] When I was playing a link to the past for the first time, I found myself in love with the idea that as I played through the game, I found myself slowly becoming the hero.

[00:48:54] As players, we start out with nothing other than a call to action.

[00:49:00] In a link to the past you hear a voice calling for help.

[00:49:04] Answering it, you find yourself making your way to Hyrule Castle in the pouring rain.

[00:49:10] The events that transpire from there take link on a journey to defeat the evil that has befall in the land.

[00:49:17] And one crucial part of your is handling's journey is obtaining the Master Sword, a legendary blade hidden away in the lost woods.

[00:49:26] But the Master Sword isn't just some item for you to find and collect and boost your stats.

[00:49:32] You have to earn the Master Sword by proving your worth and showing you what the sword for the right reasons.

[00:49:40] In a link to the past you need to defeat three dungeons in order to receive three pendants that signify your ability to think, fight, adapt and above all else, persevere.

[00:49:52] In Breath of the Wild the initial location of the sword is unknown to link in the player and you'll need to learn on your own by talking to people and exploring the world.

[00:50:03] Once you do find it, you'll need to be strong enough to obtain the sword, which is a testament to how much you've grown over the course of the game.

[00:50:11] It proves your want and desire to do the right thing and be the hero, but once you obtain it, now you need to embody those ideas through further acts of bravery and selflessness.

[00:50:23] The Sword is a symbol, but it's your actions that will leave a mark on your story.

[00:50:30] And I think that's why the Master Sword is one of my favorite video game weapons.

[00:50:35] I'm eager to play other Zelda titles and see the Master Sword represented in other ways.

[00:50:41] But of the few times I've earned the privilege to wield it, I've always felt like the one thing I was destined to be.

[00:50:49] A hero.

[00:50:51] Our last two community comments happen to be about another iconic blade that is pretty recognizable as well.

[00:51:00] Eric Gess, host of the unlockables podcast, shared his favorite weapon with us over on our Twitter slash x-page.

[00:51:08] He said,

[00:51:10] Minds pretty obvious, it's the key blade.

[00:51:14] A versatile weapon that makes anyone who wields it a force to be reckoned with.

[00:51:19] Definitely one of the most iconic weapons of all time.

[00:51:24] I knew you were going to bring up the key blade Eric and I'm very glad that you did.

[00:51:30] Kingdom Hearts is a game series I've always wanted to take the time to get into, but I talked myself out of it constantly.

[00:51:38] For the uninitiated, I think of the series as Final Fantasy meets Disney, but I'm sure there is much, much more going on than that.

[00:51:48] Keyblades are swords that visually look like keys, specifically skeleton keys when looking at some of their base designs,

[00:51:56] but there are a ton of different versions of them and quite frankly, some of their designs are pretty off the wall.

[00:52:02] For what I remember, and I might be misremembering so apologies to you, Eric, if I miss any details here,

[00:52:09] Keyblades aren't forged by human hands or created by beating down on some metal.

[00:52:15] Keyblades are formed from the hearts of the characters that have the ability to wield them, or something like that.

[00:52:23] The key, quote unquote, being that potential wielder needs to be incredibly strong of heart.

[00:52:30] Now I'm pretty sure those of both good and evil intent can wield them, but that one prerequisite still matters.

[00:52:38] Your heart needs to be as strong as you will.

[00:52:42] The keyblades aren't just a good guy weapon though, mostly those with good intentions seem to wield those blades the most.

[00:52:51] I'm sure the keyblade that belongs to Sora is the most recognizable.

[00:52:56] That right there is about the extent of my Keyblade knowledge, so hopefully I didn't just butcher what I think I know.

[00:53:03] I do find the concept of the Keyblade and Kingdom Hearts as a series absolutely fascinating.

[00:53:10] We also had Dominique Day Mariah over on our Instagram page, call out the Oathkeeper Keyblade specifically.

[00:53:20] I'm sorry to say, I don't know anything about the specific Keyblade other than it seems to be symbolic of Sora's memories of Kyrie from what I read about it and seems to be the opposite of another Keyblade called Oblivion.

[00:53:34] I'm sure if that's not right or other things I've said are off-base, I'll be corrected by your Kingdom Hearts fans out there.

[00:53:40] Just be gentle with me if that's the case, please.

[00:53:44] The design of the Oathkeeper Blade is pretty cool looking with two angelic-looking wings near the handle and a heart near the top.

[00:53:52] The business end of the blade, as I like to call it, is in the shape of a Japanese congee that stands for light.

[00:54:00] Keyblades in general are awesome for the symbolism and the Oathkeeper is certainly no different, so I think this is an awesome call out.

[00:54:08] And for those of you, Kingdom Hearts fans out there that want to hear a podcast that not only knows what they're talking about regarding the series because by sure is held out,

[00:54:18] check out Eric's podcast Beyond Lockables.

[00:54:22] Eric has a lot of Kingdom Hearts content on his shows and he's working through all of the games in the franchise in a series that he's calling guiding keys.

[00:54:32] The commentarius fantastic and even as someone who hasn't played a single game in the series and may not ever, I find these episodes fascinating so go check them out.

[00:54:42] Alright, and with the Master Sword at my number two slot, what's going to be my all-time favorite?

[00:54:52] I can almost guarantee my number one weapon won't be number one on everyone's list and my number one pick is probably going to generate a few eye rolls.

[00:55:00] And some of you who've been around the podcast for a little while may already know, but I can't help what I love and I make no excuses for it.

[00:55:10] Let's take this episode home by talking about one more iconic video game weapon.

[00:55:16] No, the one.

[00:55:22] My absolute favorite video game weapon is the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII.

[00:56:10] Now, I know, I know I can hear some booze out there. There are a lot of iconic and useful weapons in the Final Fantasy universe that you can argue are more useful, powerful, or impactful.

[00:56:26] There's Stiner's Excalibur from FF9.

[00:56:29] Titus' Brotherhood from 10, Squalls Gunblade from 8, Odin's Xantat's Skukin.

[00:56:37] But for me, the Buster Sword surpasses all of these weapons and appearance, power and ultimately what it represents.

[00:56:47] I think I've told the story a few times now, but a big reason why Final Fantasy VII is my favorite video game of all time is mainly due to nostalgia.

[00:56:56] My stepdad rented this game not really knowing what it was and when he played it, he was immediately turned off by the combat system.

[00:57:05] I played as much as I could during the two-day rental period and immediately fell in love with this game.

[00:57:12] At the time, I had a job delivering newspapers and I saved every penny I could and eventually bought the game for myself.

[00:57:20] If you think a $60 game is expensive today, it was painful raising that much money back in the 90s.

[00:57:28] One of the proudest moments of my life was saving up to buy this game myself and it meant that much more to me when I finally did and went on to enjoy the game for hundreds of hours that I would eventually put into it.

[00:57:42] Everything about the game was new and interesting to me.

[00:57:46] The Battle System, the leveling system, using material to make your character specialize in what you wanted them to.

[00:57:54] More than that, while the story in Final Fantasy VII isn't the most profound or thought-provoking, it was one of the few games I had that had semi-decent and interesting characters.

[00:58:07] Who was Cloud's strife, really? What secrets did he hold so close?

[00:58:13] Who was this mysterious flower girl that I couldn't help but want to be around?

[00:58:18] How did Barrett become so passionate about protecting the planet?

[00:58:22] Why does Tifa seem like she's keeping secrets over her own?

[00:58:27] As a kid, it all fascinated me, but above all else, I was enamored with Cloud's sword.

[00:58:35] It wasn't until later iterations of Final Fantasy VII that the sword became more detailed in both appearance and lore, but it captivated me and I thought it was the coolest thing.

[00:58:45] I was genuinely bummed out when I had to change it out for a stronger weapon during the course of the game.

[00:58:51] In Final Fantasy VII remake, I actually made it a point to exclusively use the Buster Sword from the beginning to the very end and I only switched it out in order to master an ability.

[00:59:03] But why? Why the attachment?

[00:59:08] I don't know if I can really explain in such a way that makes sense, but let me give it a shot.

[00:59:15] From the perspective of the game, the Buster Sword is a symbol, and that symbol can mean different things to the various people that have wielded the Buster Sword in the past.

[00:59:27] We learned that in Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, the prequel to the series, the Buster Sword was made exclusively for Angel Healy by his father and it was a symbol of their family's honor.

[00:59:41] Honor was something Angel felt strongly about and tried to pass the idea of honor and embracing one's dreams to those he mentored.

[00:59:50] Zach Fair, who would later inherit the Buster Sword from Angel, was tasked with continuing that mindset.

[00:59:57] But the passing of the Buster Sword wasn't just about maintaining one's honor.

[01:00:02] This was the first time for me that I really thought about the idea of a person's legacy and the concept of either passing that onto someone else or leaving it behind to be remembered.

[01:00:15] For those that know the details of how the Buster Sword came into cloud's possession, you know that the cycle continued again, though the details and circumstances aren't made clear until much later in the game.

[01:00:28] As a kid, when I learned why Cloud had the Buster Sword in his possession, it resonated with me.

[01:00:35] Cloud was trying to embody someone who he idolized, looked up to and ultimately wanted to be like.

[01:00:42] Was it all for the right reasons, though, and was his mind ultimately whole by the time we as the player got a hold of Cloud?

[01:00:49] No, not really, but for the sake of the argument, let's table that notion.

[01:00:55] I looked up to and idolize some of my closest friends in school, and the concept just hit home for me.

[01:01:03] Granted, even though Cloud's circumstances are a little extreme and he had some crazy things surrounding him, I really looked up to some of my closest friends and they helped push me in ways that they'll never even realize.

[01:01:18] Even though I had a fantastic group of friends, I always felt like an outsider, always just one step behind when it came to grades, books, smarts and street smarts.

[01:01:28] And even though I never had any siblings or anything to push me at home, and my parents mainly just focused on keeping me fed and what had in life,

[01:01:36] I found ways to push myself when I was younger in order to keep pace.

[01:01:41] And a lot of what kept me going was how much I admired my peers and the things that they had accomplished.

[01:01:48] This mentality even persists in my adult life today, and even my work career.

[01:01:54] It's probably a dumb way to tie all of this together, but when I look at the buster sword, I think about the person I was, the person that I am and the person that I want to be.

[01:02:07] To me, the buster sword is symbolic of the idea that a person can truly be who or what they want.

[01:02:14] Whether it's a fierce warrior, a charismatic friend, an honorable person, or even a kindhearted mentor.

[01:02:22] The long, chef's knife of a blade may look simple by design, but it means a lot to me.

[01:02:29] And maybe I'm just pulling things out of context, another of this truly relates to the intentions that develop or had behind the actual swords conception.

[01:02:38] This is what I choose to have it mean for me.

[01:02:42] The buster sword makes me think of where I've come from, where I've been and where I'm hoping to go next.

[01:02:48] And it makes me think of the sort of person I want to be when I get there.

[01:03:25] And that brings us to the end of another episode, my friends.

[01:03:29] This has been episode 55 of the Retro Wildlands, a countdown of my top 10 favorite video game weapons.

[01:03:39] Thank you very much for tuning in to the show today.

[01:03:43] I really enjoy these top 10 episodes, and I hope you had a good time listening today.

[01:03:49] I've always loved people's personal lists and reasons behind why they like something, and I hope you do too.

[01:03:56] I'm very eager to hear your thoughts on this list, so if you think of it, reach out to me over on social media and let me know.

[01:04:04] Video game weapons can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but I think we can all agree that there are some pretty bad ass ones out there,

[01:04:11] and it's awesome we can use such creative tools to slay our enemies and save the world.

[01:04:17] If you liked the show today, and you want to show it and myself some support, please consider subscribing to the Retro Wildlands podcast on your preferred podcasting platform.

[01:04:28] This show is strictly a hobby for me, and while I do dream of one day making it big, quitting my day job and never looking back,

[01:04:36] I can only make these shows whenever I have the time, so I don't have a dedicated release schedule right now.

[01:04:43] Subscribing will notify you instantly anytime I drop a new episode, so feel free to do that if you don't want to miss out.

[01:04:51] Now, if you really like the show and you love what I'm doing here, I would love it if you could spare a few minutes and leave us a good review on your pod platform if it allows you to.

[01:05:03] You can leave a star rating on Spotify or a written review over on pod chaser, good pods, iTunes and pod bean, the site I host the show out of.

[01:05:14] Good reviews help circulate the podcast, of course, but really, I would love to know that you like what it is that I'm doing.

[01:05:22] Not to brag or anything really, but I do put a lot of time into these shows, the scripts, the sounds and the editing, and I think we produce a good quality show.

[01:05:33] I would love for you to tell the world that I did good because just like D.D. sometimes I just want to hear that I'm a good boy and I do good things.

[01:05:44] But as always, you are under no obligation to do so. Just the fact that you're listening to my words right now is much more than I could ever ask for, so above all else, thank you for being here.

[01:05:59] So what's coming up next?

[01:06:02] Well, my friends, I am officially at a crossroads. Last episode I talked about how I was almost done with Final Fantasy 9.

[01:06:12] I have finally finished the game for the very first time in my life, and Holy Shit did hit rock my world.

[01:06:20] The game's narrative is pretty deep, depending on how you look at it, and I mentioned it on a few shows now that I don't think I'll cover this on the podcast because quite frankly,

[01:06:30] I don't think I'm smart enough to speak to all the overall themes and there's plenty of others that have already spoken to Final Fantasy 9, and they've done it very well.

[01:06:39] But on the other hand, I want to tell the world about this game and share my experience with it.

[01:06:47] So with that said, I have decided to cover Final Fantasy 9 on the podcast. The question now becomes when?

[01:06:58] Will it be our next episode? Yeah, I'm not entirely sure.

[01:07:03] I have a few ideas on how I want to do this one, and I have to imagine if I put a call out for listener comments, I'm going to get more comments than normal.

[01:07:12] I mean, I posted about beating Final Fantasy 9 on our Threads page, and for some reason, 86 people like that post, and that post has 20 comments on it.

[01:07:24] It was incredibly well received. We are not that popular in social media, so to me, that is very astounding.

[01:07:33] So my thought process is if I do cover Final Fantasy 9 on the show, it is going to be a big episode, and thus it's going to be very time consuming to put together.

[01:07:45] Or I may decide to work on this one in pieces while I'm working on another game. We'll just have to wait and see.

[01:07:52] I know I've been good about ending the show with the next thing that we're going to cover, but this time my friends, I am going to have to leave you all hanging, and I am very sorry about that.

[01:08:02] If you want, follow us on social media, and as soon as I decide on our direction, you will be the first to know.

[01:08:10] Either way, thank you again for hanging out by the campfire today. You are always welcome in our expedition, and I hope to see you again soon.

[01:08:22] Until then, my friends, my name is Nomad and you can find me.

[01:08:28] Roming the Retro Wildlands.