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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review · Critical Error

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Metroid Prime 4 Beyond review. A prime
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cut of classic Metroid flavor.
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>> Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Review. Bed Bath,
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Arm Cannon, and Beyond.
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>> These are fake.
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>> A critical error is an error which the
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OS cannot reasonably ignore. Jake
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Steinberg is a streamer, writer, and
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certified yapper. Complimentary. Peter
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Hunt
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tech is a YouTuber, journalist, and
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certified yapper. Derogatory. These are
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the things they cannot reasonably
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ignore.
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>> Metroid Prime 4 Beyond arrives after a
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long 8-year wait, and the first thing it
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does is remind you exactly what kind of
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game it wants to be. Retro Studios has
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built a title almost defiantly faithful
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to the original trilogy. A game that
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stops just shy of holding up a sign that
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says, "Remember this?" But the
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confidence beyond behind that choice is
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evident immediately. The pacing, the
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structure, the cadence of discovery, all
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of it feels like a reaffirmation of why
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this series mattered in the first place.
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Anyone expecting a dramatic reinvention
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may be surprised by how traditional the
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design is, but the execution makes a
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strong argument for why this formula
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still works today.
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Veros spans several distinct regions,
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each with its own visual identity and
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comfortable rhythm of scanning,
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shooting, and doubling back. First, Fury
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Green sets the tone with dense
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vegetation and tight corridors, while a
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snowy region uses reflective surfaces
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and slowmoving environmental hazards to
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keep your pace measured. The desert area
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then opens into long, straight arenas
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that feel explicitly designed for the
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motorcycle that you eventually acquire.
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All of these zones are shaped like
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classic Prime maps, linear on paper, but
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full of little loops and offshoots that
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reward players who pay attention. This
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is not a modern open world, and retro
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does not pretend otherwise. Instead, the
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studio invests in atmosphere, texture,
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and strong silhouettes. On Switch 2,
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performance mode hits 120 frames per
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second, and quality mode holds a crisp
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60 frames. Both run smoothly, which is
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not shocking given the controlled scope,
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but it does help the world feel
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remarkably cohesive.
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Combat in Prime 4 is again a direct line
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to an earlier era of firstperson design.
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Enemies are tanky, projectiles travel at
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readably slow speeds, and the movement
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is all about deliberate repositioning
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rather than twitchy reflexes. A lock-on
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system remains the backbone of combat,
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and even with that optional mouse style
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free aim mode, it is clear that retro
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built encounters around spacing and
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timing rather than raw accuracy. This is
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a game where Samus still feels like a
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tank with jet boosters strapped on,
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heavy and powerful, never floaty. The
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firefights have a chunky, deliberate
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tempo that stands in contrast to most
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modern shooter shooters. It is a pace
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that may feel slow to newcomers, but
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series veterans will likely appreciate
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how confidently retro sticks to its
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roots. Samus' new psychic abilities slot
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into the classic root loop seamlessly.
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The psychic glove allows her to pull
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moes from the environment, route energy
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through conduits, and yank obstacles off
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their hinges. The psychic visor overlays
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additional information onto the scan
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interface, creating a second layer of
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environmental cues that feel like a
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natural expansion of Prime's
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investigative tone. These tools enhance
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puzzle solving and traversal in ways
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that feel additive but not disruptive.
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They're not system shaking overhauls
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that some fans might have expected, but
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they're integrated well enough that by
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the end of the game, I could not imagine
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Samus without these powers. Now, what
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may surprise longtime fans is how much
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more story forward Prime 4 is compared
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to earlier entries. Retro weaves in a
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surprising number of mid-m mission
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cutscenes, dramatic close-ups, and
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character-driven beats that give Samos
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and the world around her emotional
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shading. These moments are brief and
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restrained. This is not Prime reinvented
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as a quipheavy action game, as many
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might have been worried, but they add
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welcome clarity and propulsion to the
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narrative. Rather than relying solely on
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environmental in inference, the game now
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punctuates key discoveries with short
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cinematic beats.
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A handful of Galactic Fed Galactic
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Federation companions will show up
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throughout the story, and their presence
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is handled with a surprising amount of
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restraint. Miles, the early game
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standout, offers just enough context and
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emotional framing before gracefully
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stepping aside. Others appear briefly to
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deliver small bursts of personality.
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This is very much still Samus'
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adventure. The companions give the world
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human texture without disrupting the
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solitude and environmental storytelling
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that defined the earlier games. They're
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fine. They are here. They say their
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lines, add a bit of world flavor, and
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let Samus get back to what she's best
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at, brooding in the dark. Now, you're
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probably wondering about that
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motorcycle. And yes, most of the time
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you're using it will be to cross wide,
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mostly empty desert spaces filled with
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the occasional crashed probe, abandoned
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structure, or lonely scanning
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opportunity. It is a high-speed
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traversal mechanic and more of a way to
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keep these long stretches from feeling
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like loading screens. The sparse terrain
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feels intentional. These big and quiet
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spaces are dotted with just enough
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interactable objects to keep your visor
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active. We're not pretending that Prime
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has gone open world. It hasn't. It's
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just more of a gentle pallet swap
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between these classic dungeons that the
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series is known for. But the motorcycle,
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though it might get a little boring
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around the midsection of the game,
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absolutely earns its keep in the finale.
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Without getting into spoilers, Retro
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suddenly builds an entire setpiece
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around it, complete with sweeping camera
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pools and the kind of high-speed
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escalation you would expect from a fully
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cinematic action game. It is one of the
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boldest moments in Prime 4, and it gives
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the bike just enough payoff to make it
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feel purposeful. Now, the game's
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heightened storytelling finally
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crystallizes in the finale, where
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emotional stakes and mechanical
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spectacle rise in tandem. It is the
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closest that the series has come to an
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honest to god action movie and it
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suggests a confident path forward if
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Retro wants to keep expanding the scope
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of the series storytelling.
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Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is a confident,
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meticulously crafted return to the core
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principles of the series. Veros delivers
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varied but focused environments. The
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psychic abilities expand Samus' tool kit
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in elegant, practical ways. and the
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motorcycle is a weird idea that works.
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The third act will swing harder than any
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fan will expect. This is not a
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reinvention of a franchise, but it's not
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trying to be. Instead, this is a
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wellexecuted reaffirmation of what make
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makes Prime distinct and a reminder that
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this style of firsterson adventuring
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still has plenty of room to grow. Eight
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out of 10.
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Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is a video game.
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I mean that in the most literal terms.
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There are hidden floating power-ups to
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find, enemies with giant glowing weak
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spots, and a few leaps in logic that
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don't completely make sense. Like, why
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are some doors only able to be opened
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with rockets that Samus alone shoots
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from her arm cannon? Well, because it's
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a video game. That said, I was blown
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away by Metroid Prime 4's ability to
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define and redefine itself and the
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Metroid Vania genre as a whole. The
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story for Metroid Prime 4 picks up
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several years after the events of
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Metroid Prime 3 as Psyux, known for his
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appearances in Metroid Prime Hunters,
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Metroid Prime 3, and the often al
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maligned Metroid Prime Federation Force,
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that's actually pretty good if you give
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it a chance, attacks the Galactic
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Federation. Samus is separated from the
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group and ends up crash landing on the
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alien planet of Vos, a new location for
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the franchise. As is the usual Metroid
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affair, Samus loses all of her suits
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most helpful abilities as she streaks
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through Vos's atmosphere. She lands, the
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hatch opens, she performs her sign
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signature 900 back flips as the camera
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circles her, and then you're off to find
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your stuff and stop Psyux from
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destroying the Galactic Federation. The
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introductory sequence is excellent and
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features some moments that feel felt
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like they might be right out of a
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possible Metroid Prime movie. That is if
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Nintendo ever gets around to making one.
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In fact, Metroid Prime 4 has a newfound
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emphasis on its story that isn't present
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in any of the rest of the games in the
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series. It's certainly the most chatty
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Metroid game we've ever seen, which is
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kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, it's
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nice having a character give you a
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little bit of help when you're
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struggling to find where to go next
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after you've hit a dead end with a new
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powerup in it, but sometimes I just want
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to figure things out on my own. Miles
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McKenzie was introduced to gamers in the
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final batch of previews for Metroid
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Prime 4, and I was pretty worried that
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the dweeb would ruin the experience of
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soaking in the immaculate vibes that
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Metroid that the Metroid Prime series is
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known for serving up. I didn't find him
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too annoying, but each person is going
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to have their own limit for how many
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times they can hear a big giant nerd
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scream, "Help me, Samis." in a single
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combat encounter. Speaking of combat,
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Metroid Prime 4 features some of the
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most diverse set of tools available for
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Samos to use to blast her way through
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all kinds of alien bugs and Psyux's
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army. The combat feels good and fluid
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and not too challenging, but also
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introduces new challenges as the game
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goes that never let me feel confident uh
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too confident for too long. I especially
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like the way Nintendo revamped the
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rocket power up. As far as Metroid as
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far as the Metroid Vania exploration
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goes, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is a true
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return for the series. As I mentioned
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above, I was worried that Miles McKenzie
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would give away too much of the game's
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puzzle solving, but I thought the
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balance was good. Samus' telekinesis
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ability was also a little contentious
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when it was first shown off in trailers
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since Nintendo didn't do a great job of
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explaining what sort of things Samus
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would be able to do with it outside of
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opening doors and moving small objects.
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While it's a far cry away from Link's
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telekinetic abilities in The Legend of
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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it's an
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essential tool for exploration that
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breaks the game wide open as soon as you
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get it.
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In addition to the telekinesis abilities
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Samus gets that completely revolutionize
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the way the player interfaces with the
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world, she also gets her hands or maybe
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hand since one of them is inside her arm
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cannon on the ancient Choso motorcycle.
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Despite the naysayers online after the
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cycle was first shown off in trailers, I
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found the expansive desert areas between
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the main exploration sections to be
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riveting. Although there isn't much in
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them aside from a handful of puzzles and
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some new enemies to scan, the addition
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of the motorcycle makes Vro feel like a
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huge place that has centuries of history
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to it. History that the game only
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scratches the surface of Metroid Prime 4
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Beyond might be the best game I've
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played this year, maybe this decade.
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There's a palpable energy to it that's
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almost impossible to describe unless
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you're the one with the controller in
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your hand. After nearly 20 years of
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waiting, Nintendo and Retro Studios were
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able to deliver an experience that I
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won't be forgetting until long after
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I've put the controller down. Yes,
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McKenzie can be annoying, and there were
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plenty of moments where I was cursing
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the ancient choso for seemingly
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designing a labyrinth instead of a city,
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and the combat was sometimes a little
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too easy. However, I'm willing to look
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past all of those things because Metroid
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Prime 4 Beyond delivers on the promise
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that Nintendo made back in 2017 that
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Metroid Prime was going to continue and
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continue it has gloriously triumphantly
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9 out of 10. This article may contain
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affiliate links. This site has make
12:01
might make commission based on purchases
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made using the link. However, has no
12:04
affiliation with the companies discussed
12:05
in this review.
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>> Nine out of 10.
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>> Yeah,
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>> Peter. out of 10. Why did we do this?
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>> As we said at the intro, these are fake.
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>> These are fake.
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>> These are fake. Uh we have not played
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the game.
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>> No,
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>> we don't we don't we don't have the
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game. We're not We've not played the
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game.
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>> No. Um, I think what we are trying to do
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here and what we're going to discuss in
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this episode is the ways that a lot of
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uh, writing can sometimes feel like it
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is completely removed from the actual
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existence of a game and that you can
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make a lot of assumptions and um,
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statements about a game without actually
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having played it. And I want to say this
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upfront, too. This is not meant to fuel
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the narrative that a lot of people
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online sometimes run with that like, oh,
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game reviewers don't play the game.
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That's not what this is about. That's
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just not true. Um,
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it's just not true. But what this is
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meant to do um and what we're going to
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get into here is the way that like when
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we talk about games sometimes it feels
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like we're reusing a lot of phrases that
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just apply broadly to a lot of video
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games and uh don't specifically get into
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the actual mechanics, the actual
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systems, the actual whatever of the game
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that's actually in front of us.
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>> Yeah, definitely. It's there is almost
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this sense of upholding a specific way
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that you have to talk about games like
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uh like and and what a lot of shorthand
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means that I think um it was funny. I I
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you actually had a lot of in your review
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a lot of stuff came through that I did
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not include in mine. So I I was
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surprised that I was like oh my god
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you're right that that is so there were
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so many things that I hope when
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listening to these reviews that people
13:47
were like oh that is familiar. This does
13:49
sound like a review. This is something
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I've seen before. And um I don't know.
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I've got a bunch of notes here next to
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me about kind of like what I was trying
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to do in this. So that's the other thing
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too. I uh when we sort of sat down to do
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this, I was texting you about it and I
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was like I am struggling because like I
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want to make sure that I'm like hitting
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on things and being clear and not just
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writing a bad review, but maybe like
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writing something as an example. And so
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I notes like what I was trying to
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accomplish by writing it or
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so I'd love to break both of those.
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>> Yeah, I think so. First the the and I
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think we can kind of just go part by
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part in these reviews because I think I
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think your review had a different aim
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than mine. Mine was really focused on
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nostalgia. Mine was really focused on
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the uh something we've talked about
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before, this kind of like return to form
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arc.
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>> Yeah. And I think like it's almost this
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really overused sequel framing that that
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for what I was trying to achieve is
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poking at this idea of the game holding
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up a sign that says you remember this.
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You're familiar with this and that
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meaning that it's good. Like we don't we
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don't question whether or not that
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original thing works in a contemporary
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timeline as much as we are like is it
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that thing you remember that you've
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already decided is good
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>> and if there is enough there then then
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that means you already know and I think
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there's this um
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>> almost deliberate reaffirmation in my
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review at the very beginning of like
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don't worry real fans the the people who
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are reading this review don't worry like
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like I am I am one of you and I am
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talking to you and there is this thing I
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keep coming back to that I set up in
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that first paragraph that is like this
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um anyone expecting a reinvention and
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it's like that's not the person we're
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talking to here you know it's like it's
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like that's this review isn't for you.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Um if I may so so uh something I had
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written down as well is so like I have
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uh when I'm talking about the story I
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talk about this character Psyux which by
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the way I don't know that much about
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Metroid. I have played some of them. Uh
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I did I name dropped the choso, a word
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that I remember from Metroid Dread. I
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have no idea. Like
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>> I have no idea if that's what is in
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Metroid Prime 3 or if that's even in the
16:09
Metroid Prime stuff. I don't know. Um
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but I did some looking at the the bad
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guy Psyux, the antagonist, because he's
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um I know that he was in Metroid Prime
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Hunters. I know, but I I didn't know he
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was in other stuff. So I did some
16:21
looking at it. And so, um, the thing
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that I did in my review is I say like,
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um, Psyux, known for his appearances in
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Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime 3,
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and the often maligned, Metroid Prime
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Federation Force, it's actually pretty
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good if you have a chance. Attacks
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Galactic Federation. None of that means
16:36
anything. It doesn't matter, right? Like
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it it's just kind of lip service saying
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like, I know what this guy is. And I
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don't think it's necessary. You know
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what I mean? Like I think maybe you can
16:45
just say like, I don't know. To me, what
16:48
I'm saying is is like I think a lot of
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the times a review that is being
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positioned as being written by someone
16:53
who is a big fan of something um
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>> Oh, sure.
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>> doesn't actually take it a step further.
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This is actually something we we touched
17:00
on a little bit more um in our bonus
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episode for Patreon subscribers for the
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Critical Air Nation. Uh
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patreon.com/critical.
17:08
um where like sometimes there will be
17:09
like fandom creators, people who are
17:11
just like big fans of stuff and they'll
17:13
like make oh game review and analysis
17:15
and it'll be like an hour and a half
17:16
long and then you click on it, it's just
17:18
a summary. And it's frustrating because
17:19
a lot of the times the people who do
17:21
have that like more like wiki knowledge
17:23
like who have a lot of like series
17:25
knowledge don't use it to actually take
17:27
anything a step further and they only
17:29
use it as a way of just like hey this I
17:31
I just know that Psyux was in these
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three games you know and doesn't connect
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it doesn't make any like broader
17:37
connections or or anything like like
17:38
that. Does that make sense?
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>> Oh yeah. No, 100%. And I think what it
17:42
what it most demonstrated to me is I
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think the why we kind of did this
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practice because it is something that um
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what you wrote there no matter what the
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game you played did would not change,
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>> right?
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>> That that intro is pre is canned.
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>> Yeah.
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>> And you haven't gotten to talking about
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the game yet.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Um and Yeah. And I I think this year
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we've seen a lot of reviews do that.
18:08
this kind of like this. I liked how you
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did this because this I think a trend
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this year has been the bringing in of
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other games when you're reviewing a
18:15
game.
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>> And I just don't know if I have really
18:19
seen that deployed in a
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>> uh inspired way yet personally.
18:27
>> I agree cuz I think I think there's a
18:28
way to do it. I haven't seen anyone do
18:30
it in a more traditional like review
18:32
format. You know what I mean? I think
18:33
like um maybe in like longer form stuff
18:35
like on YouTube or whatever like people
18:37
definitely do that. Um but in in the
18:40
more traditional like published review
18:42
from a publication I just haven't seen
18:43
much of that. Um I'll also say too like
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my intro like I was talking like uh
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Metroid Prime is a video game. I I wrote
18:49
about I I like highlighted this and said
18:51
like it's a meaningless hook. So often I
18:54
I feel like I I read reviews where they
18:56
have a hook and like I'm willing to go
18:59
there with it, but then like it just
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doesn't it doesn't connect. It doesn't
19:03
like land really. It's just more of
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>> aesthetic. It's like a style.
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>> Yeah. Um
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I also because I initially had down also
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like uh uh here's here's a little
19:14
writing tip. Um and I have certainly
19:16
fallen victim to this. um starting a
19:18
review with uh game is a game where you
19:21
blah blah blah and like it's it's a
19:23
really quick e it's a really easy way to
19:25
like get into talking about something
19:26
but it is kind of an overused sort of
19:29
structure and format. Um and and I was
19:32
like how like what's the most like
19:34
>> what was your what was your first what
19:36
was your first sentence?
19:37
>> Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is a video game.
19:39
>> Yeah. I just condensed it even further
19:40
about like like why even say like we're
19:42
you blah blah blah which is like bring
19:44
it in. Um,
19:45
>> yeah, I think we went for similar
19:46
strategies here. I said Metroid Prime 4
19:48
Beyond arrives after a long eight-year
19:50
wait and the first thing it does is
19:52
remind you exactly what kind of game it
19:54
wants to be,
19:54
>> right? Which says it just says it's just
19:58
a game. It's just this game. Yeah,
19:59
>> I think maybe every game reminds you
20:01
what game it wants to be.
20:02
>> I I think so.
20:04
>> I think so.
20:05
>> I think so. So,
20:07
>> yeah. Um, my second section was about
20:10
the biomes. Okay.
20:12
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I liked I liked this a
20:13
lot. This is something I didn't really
20:14
touch on. So, I have been having like a
20:18
crisis lately when we talk about video
20:20
game biomes because it's something that
20:21
I think has come up a lot this past
20:23
year. And um there was a lot of
20:26
discourse in Pokemon Legends ZA around
20:28
it just being placed in a city.
20:31
And sometimes I'm like really curious
20:34
about if people are literally talking
20:36
about wanting an aesthetic quality even
20:40
if it is just textures. Even if it is
20:43
literally just everything about the game
20:45
is exactly the same but you are in a
20:48
snowy area and that gives you
20:50
satisfaction because it's different from
20:52
the desert area. Um, so I think what I
20:57
tried to do in this section is to follow
20:59
this kind of standard region by region
21:01
breakdown. Even though every single
21:03
person playing a video game knows like
21:06
what a snow level is. Like you don't
21:08
need a sentence of me describing snow.
21:11
Uh, same with like the desert level and
21:13
same with like the jungle. And I think
21:16
um game reviews often kind of pad
21:18
themselves with these environmental
21:20
tours even though they're not super
21:22
relevant to a kind of critical take
21:25
about them.
21:26
>> So I did something similar uh where like
21:28
I I tried I just listed like here are
21:30
the features of the game.
21:32
>> Yes. You know what I mean? And sort of
21:33
like a little section about each of
21:34
them. And uh to your point of what
21:36
you're saying here is I think that a lot
21:37
of game reviews tend to fall into the
21:39
trap of like being descriptive rather
21:41
than being like reflective at all where
21:44
um you know they just like exactly what
21:46
you said like snow biome, desert biome,
21:48
jungle and I was like okay sure that was
21:50
in the trailer like like I saw it in the
21:52
trailer and and I it was more
21:55
interesting there because I could
21:56
actually see it you know as opposed to
21:57
>> you formed a judgment on it immediately
21:59
upon seeing it. So you don't need
22:01
somebody to form a kind of passing
22:05
surface level judgment on it. You need
22:06
the next level because that's what you
22:08
don't have.
22:08
>> Yeah.
22:09
>> So yeah. Um I now in this section I also
22:12
did something. Did this ever come up in
22:13
yours? Your Did you ever bring up the
22:16
120 60 frames?
22:17
>> No. I when you were talking about I was
22:19
like oh I forgot that people talk about
22:20
this.
22:20
>> I was like you have to you have to.
22:22
>> Yeah. Because it's switch too. Yep.
22:23
You're right. You're right.
22:23
>> Version. Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny, my
22:25
my bringing this up was literally just
22:27
to say the performance mode at 120
22:30
frames is good. The quality mode at 60
22:32
frames is also good. So, I have a
22:35
question for you about this. So, cuz I I
22:37
I
22:39
>> don't necessarily mind when that sort of
22:41
stuff is brought up in a review,
22:43
especially because Switch hardware is so
22:47
uh
22:47
>> curious about it.
22:48
>> Yeah. Yeah. And with the Switch 2, like
22:50
hearing, oh no, the game runs really
22:52
well. That is actually something that
22:53
I'm curious about in a review. So, I
22:55
don't necessarily mind when someone
22:56
touches on it even if it is something
22:58
quick because it is something that is
23:00
can be you can just get to it is
23:02
informative and you just move on, right?
23:04
Like um because I think it's difficult
23:06
to sort of like sometimes like talk
23:08
about a negative, right? Like to prove a
23:09
negative of like oh if if the
23:11
performance is good then there's nothing
23:12
to write about. You know what I mean? So
23:15
it doesn't Yeah. So I I usually
23:16
appreciate that. Yeah. So, I don't
23:17
necessarily think that's something that
23:18
should be like excluded from reviews,
23:20
but I want to hear what you think.
23:21
>> I think what I want is I want somebody
23:24
to inject themselves a little bit. So, I
23:26
think that like the performance is an
23:28
objective quality and then you need to
23:30
have a subjective stance on the
23:34
objective quality, right? So, just like
23:36
saying the performance and how it does
23:38
is step one. Step two is I would like
23:40
the reviewer just as like a as like a
23:42
blanket rule. Um I want you to tell me
23:45
which mode you liked more and why.
23:47
>> Pick one.
23:48
>> So play the game on. Yeah.
23:50
>> Got it. Okay. Okay. So I was going to
23:51
say this too because I'm not someone who
23:53
like I'm I'm not the guy to talk about
23:55
technical specs of stuff. I'm just not
23:57
right. Um so do you think that I should
24:01
test that out or like for me so like if
24:04
I'm going to write about it, should I
24:05
have tested it out and talk about it or
24:07
is it the sort of thing where Yeah.
24:08
Yeah. You know what I mean?
24:09
>> Yeah. I think you should I think you
24:10
should literally go into the menu, click
24:12
onto the other one. You will experience
24:14
something perspective on
24:16
>> and then after you do that, you will
24:18
either decide to stay on the one you
24:20
switched to or you will go back to the
24:21
other one. And there is a reason for
24:23
that. And I think whatever that is, if
24:25
you're going to bring up the performance
24:26
in your review, then I need I need that
24:29
as well. I need that.
24:30
>> Okay, that makes sense.
24:31
>> Yeah. OR OR JUST DON'T BRING IT UP. OR
24:33
JUST DON'T BRING IT UP AND say that you
24:34
liked the performance and it was and you
24:35
know what I mean and it was
24:37
>> you you never felt compelled to change
24:39
it.
24:39
>> Yeah. Because I'm I'm someone who I just
24:41
don't touch it because I'm like why
24:42
would you ever listen to me about those
24:44
young
24:45
>> because obviously experience it for
24:46
yourself and just pick the one that you
24:48
like. But I think like if if I think
24:50
it's also a take to say you never moved
24:53
off of the default mode because
24:56
>> in the same way that I think um it's
24:58
important to find like a reviewer like
24:59
whose like critical opinions you like
25:02
really respect and and like align
25:03
yourself with. Um I I think it's good to
25:06
find someone who does the same thing for
25:08
you like mechanically if that's
25:09
something you care about. Like for
25:10
example like I know a lot of people talk
25:11
about like digital foundra whatever. I
25:13
think uh Skill Up on YouTube, I think he
25:15
does a fantastic job of like breaking
25:17
down specs and stuff. Um he usually I to
25:20
my understanding he plays most things he
25:21
can on PC and he tests them on different
25:24
rigs and stuff and we'll talk about that
25:26
in his reviews which I find to be like
25:28
>> yeah uh cuz it's not something I care
25:30
about because it's not what I go to like
25:31
I don't play games on PC really but like
25:34
I think he does a to my understanding he
25:36
does a good job at at breaking that sort
25:38
of stuff down. Um, yeah. Interesting
25:40
perspective you have on on um writing
25:42
about performance because I it didn't
25:43
even come up in my mind because I
25:44
literally just never write about it
25:45
unless it's egregiously bad.
25:47
>> It's I think the um I think part of my
25:50
implicit reason for why I included it is
25:52
because I think that Nintendo has
25:56
kind of said this is something you need
25:58
to talk about
26:00
>> because because it's in their
26:01
advertising. So it's now I think part of
26:05
the discussion that a lot of the times
26:07
PR is able to say like
26:10
>> this is part of the conversation. This
26:11
is that establishes what is on the table
26:13
to be discussed. So I so I do think it
26:15
is a talking point and I do think it
26:16
will be a large part of reviews. Um but
26:18
kind of going into my next section is
26:20
that I think a good comparison is I
26:21
bring up the mouse mode controls and
26:23
>> Oh yeah, I didn't even touch on that. I
26:25
should have but yeah.
26:26
>> So I so I did play Metroid Prime 4 at my
26:29
Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on event. Okay.
26:31
Uh, and I tried the mouse controls. And
26:33
something that I
26:36
think is kind of funny about
26:40
these controls is that I don't think
26:42
they make sense in this game at all.
26:45
Like,
26:46
>> it's interesting cuz um, Metroid is not
26:49
like a it is a first person shooter in
26:51
that you are in first person and
26:53
shooting things, but it's not like a
26:54
first-person shooter where you like need
26:56
quick like aiming, right? like
26:59
>> is that kind of what you mean?
27:01
>> I Yeah. So, I think what it comes down
27:03
to to me is um the game
27:09
>> using the mouse controls for the more
27:11
specific aiming I think will
27:13
categorically make you worse at aiming
27:16
than just using the lock on tool that
27:18
the game provides you with.
27:19
>> Yeah. um because a larger degree of
27:22
control means that there's a larger
27:25
amount of like variance to mess up
27:27
whereas whereas the lock on I just press
27:30
and I was immediately on whatever I
27:31
needed to be on which and I think that
27:34
um
27:35
>> for me it has to do with what who you
27:37
want players to be when they are
27:39
inhabiting Samus. How good should Samos
27:42
be at shooting? And in my head, in my
27:44
head, Samus is really
27:45
>> is like top dog. Is like part of playing
27:48
as Samus is that you are playing the
27:50
reason why the lock on is there is
27:52
because Samus is better than who you're
27:55
typically playing as in first-person
27:57
shooter games. That why it's there.
27:58
They're trying to get you to be like,
28:00
"No, aiming is not part of the
28:01
conversation for Samus. That's not Yeah,
28:03
she is so good. You don't have to do
28:04
that." So, I almost think that the
28:06
>> the mouse controls are this thing where
28:09
it's like you're reviewing something off
28:10
to the side. You're like, "The mouse
28:12
controls are really competent in the
28:13
same way that they would be competent in
28:15
any other use on this system." Like, we
28:17
don't we don't talk about how competent
28:19
the control sticks are. We don't talk
28:20
about how competent the buttons are. We
28:23
Yes. But like here, you're going to see
28:25
reviews that talk about how good the
28:27
mouse controls are. And I find that to
28:28
be so so like goofy almost because
28:31
imagine imagine a PC game. Imagine a PC
28:34
game and you're like, "The mouse
28:35
controls are really strong."
28:37
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I know what you're
28:39
saying, but I would also like
28:40
potentially push back on that because
28:41
this is
28:43
>> uh a new piece of hardware, right? And
28:45
so this is a this is a hardware gimmick,
28:47
for lack of a better term, right? And so
28:49
I don't and and because this is one that
28:50
Nintendo specifically to your point
28:52
about like the the frame rate stuff,
28:53
like Nintendo has specifically said like
28:55
and check out mouse mode on Metroid
28:56
Prime 4. So I do think that there is
28:58
merit to be talking about it here. Um
29:00
especially because this is a game that
29:02
in my opinion it makes most sense to try
29:04
out mouse mode on.
29:06
>> Let me reframe. Let me reframe. I think
29:08
I think it doesn't work because I think
29:10
when people talk about how competent
29:12
mouse mode is, they're not talking about
29:13
how it is deployed for the sake of the
29:15
video game. They're talking about how it
29:17
is uh technically proficient.
29:19
>> So then I think I think that's what it
29:20
is, right? Where it's like talk talk
29:23
about it. You can like I think with with
29:24
all of these things in these like sort
29:26
of goofy reviews like uh uh you can talk
29:30
about these things. The way that we talk
29:32
about them has to be to to it actually
29:36
service of the game cuz can you remind
29:37
me what you wrote about the mouse
29:38
controls? I can um
29:42
so so
29:45
the lock- on system remains the backbone
29:47
of combat and even with the optional
29:49
mouse style free aim mode it is clear
29:51
that retro built encounters around
29:53
spacing and timing rather than raw
29:55
accuracy.
29:57
So that was all I said about it.
29:59
>> Yeah. But don't you I think that's
30:00
actually a good piece of criticism.
30:02
>> Thank you.
30:03
>> So do you know what I'm saying? So like
30:04
like I actually think that like if that
30:05
was in a in a review I'd be like that's
30:07
pretty good.
30:07
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I think like I think
30:09
people will pick up on this because I
30:11
because genuinely I think the experience
30:13
of playing this game having played a
30:15
little bit of it myself is that everyone
30:17
is going to try the mouse mode, notice
30:20
that it's proficient and then realize
30:22
that they don't want to play the game
30:23
that way.
30:24
>> And I and I think everybody's going to
30:26
say that it's good because it is
30:28
technically sound
30:29
>> technically works but for this game
30:30
specifically.
30:31
>> I don't think that it's good. I actually
30:32
think that it's like wrong. And so so I
30:36
just wonder if anybody will go go that
30:39
next that next step. You know what I
30:41
mean? Because I because I almost think
30:42
that what the mouse mode is giving you
30:45
is running counter to how the game wants
30:48
you to feel. That's just my subjective
30:49
take.
30:50
>> But um I think that the mouse mode is
30:53
there almost as an advertisement for the
30:55
Switch 2 more than it is for the game.
30:58
>> Yeah. Yeah. 100%. In the same way that
31:01
like like every time they do a new
31:02
hardware new hardware there's like a
31:04
game that's kind of like this is just
31:06
the you know proof of concept
31:09
>> at my at my hands on Switch 2 event.
31:11
>> Yeah.
31:11
>> Metroid Prime 4 was there not so you
31:13
could play Metroid Prime 4 but
31:14
>> to show off this one thing. Yeah. Yeah.
31:16
>> Yeah. Yeah. Uh the other part that I
31:18
thought was kind of funny about my
31:19
combat section was my goal in writing it
31:21
was I wanted to make the combat sound
31:23
bad
31:24
>> without saying it was bad and then just
31:26
and then at the end just go it's good.
31:29
So that's something that I kind of
31:30
looked into as well. Um where I wrote
31:33
let me let's see here format tools word
31:36
count. I wrote 70 words out of 913 about
31:39
the combat in the game. And now combat I
31:41
would not say is the like um focus of
31:44
the Metroid Prime or just Metroid in
31:46
general, right? But it is something that
31:47
is
31:49
>> a big part of it, right? Like there you
31:51
are doing it a fair amount.
31:52
>> This game you're going to be doing it a
31:54
lot.
31:55
>> If I had to guess, I would agree. Yeah.
31:57
Um, but uh uh I also did not write much
32:00
about it. I said the combat feels good
32:02
and fluid and not too challenging, but
32:03
also introduces new challenges as the
32:05
game goes that never may let me feel too
32:07
confident for too long.
32:10
>> That's nothing.
32:11
>> Wait, wait, let me hit you with mine.
32:12
Let me hit you with mine.
32:12
>> Yeah. Yeah.
32:14
>> It's a pace that may feel slow to
32:15
newcomers, but series veterans will
32:17
appreciate how confidently retro sticks
32:19
to its roots.
32:20
>> Yeah, exactly. we're it just like kind
32:23
of is it doesn't say much at all about
32:25
what this game's combat is. Um which you
32:28
know and and if if the game is not
32:32
adding anything to the conversation of
32:34
combat, I think that's worth noting, but
32:37
I don't think it's worth just saying
32:38
like, yeah, it's like like what you said
32:40
where it's kind of just fluff for for
32:42
the sake of fluff. And I think that
32:44
reviewers have this habit of defending
32:47
like clunkiness or things that are bad
32:49
because they internalize the choice as
32:52
deliberate and it being on purpose means
32:55
that it's good. It's like, oh, they're
32:57
they're trying to be this kind of game
32:59
deliberately so that I get that which
33:02
makes it good. But I'm like, no, no, no.
33:04
That's if you put a different title on
33:07
this game, all of a sudden you would not
33:08
have intuited that deliberate choice and
33:10
you would have just said this combat is
33:12
slow and bad.
33:14
>> Yeah. I you know it's interesting like I
33:16
I think that what you said is that whole
33:19
falls so so much in line with that whole
33:21
idea of of the context surrounding a
33:24
game matters to some people a lot in
33:26
terms of like what came before it and
33:28
what it is. Um, not necessarily this,
33:32
but I found this a lot with like Final
33:34
Fantasy 16, which is a game that is a
33:36
pretty big uh step away from a lot of
33:38
the more traditional Final Fantasy
33:40
stuff. Um, but it was interesting that I
33:42
saw a lot of people um
33:48
I I guess to just to what you're saying
33:50
where it's like if this game was called
33:52
something else, I think people would
33:53
talk about this a different way. Um,
33:56
just because it just doesn't have that
33:58
same legacy. Um, something else I
33:59
mentioned here though too about Metro
34:01
Prime uh is I wrote just wrote I
34:03
especially like the way Nintendo
34:04
revamped the Rocket Power up. Um, that
34:07
should be Retro Studios, but whatever. I
34:10
where it just says I liked this. Yeah.
34:11
>> And then just never it doesn't go any
34:13
deeper and it's this thing that I find a
34:14
lot that happens where mentioning one
34:16
specific thing is not the same as
34:18
expanding on it and using it as a
34:20
genuine example for criticism. It like
34:22
it was just a call out, right? It's just
34:23
like, oh, this is cool. This works.
34:26
Okay. That is very similar to in the
34:28
next section I focus on the psychic
34:29
abilities.
34:30
>> Yeah. So I that me too. Um yeah, go
34:32
ahead.
34:33
>> My um it's kind of my like what's new
34:36
this time thing. Uh and I do a lot of
34:39
just kind of like listing things that
34:41
you can do. Um the psychic glove allows
34:43
her to pull this route energy, yank
34:45
obstacles, this the visor, this this and
34:48
I'm just kind of listing these things.
34:49
And I discovered in my preparation of
34:52
this review a phrase that I found to be
34:54
quite popular and I was like, "Oh, fun."
34:57
>> And tried to deploy it here, which was
35:00
um
35:01
>> additive but not disruptive.
35:05
>> Oh, people wrote that in like I think is
35:08
so like
35:10
what do we do, dude? Additive but not
35:12
disruptive.
35:14
>> Additive but yeah, it's kind of bit of a
35:17
burger, huh? I I think to me what that
35:19
is is um it's something that comes up in
35:23
sequels. It's something that people are
35:25
like
35:25
>> Oh, interesting. Yeah. Where it it's on
35:27
top of what you knew before, but it
35:29
doesn't get in the way of any of that
35:30
stuff. It's just more That's
35:31
interesting. So, what's interesting is I
35:33
I wrote about it um by saying like, you
35:36
know, people were uh worried about this
35:39
>> because the trailers didn't do a great
35:40
job of being like, oh, like what can you
35:42
actually do other than like open doors?
35:43
Oh, wow. Right. Um, and so I mentioned
35:46
that, but then I also say it's a far cry
35:49
from Link's telekinetic abilities.
35:52
>> I loved that part of this actually that
35:55
I when you brought that up, I was like,
35:56
"Oh, what a great pool." I can totally
35:58
see that happening in reviews people,
35:59
>> right? Because it's it's like a point of
36:01
comparison cuz if I had to guess, it is
36:02
not as sort of free flow and whatever. I
36:07
think is very contextual. Um, but I
36:09
wrote but it's an essential tool for
36:10
exploration that breaks the game wide
36:11
open as soon as you get it. no further
36:13
elaboration, right? And so sometimes
36:16
this this sort of thing happens I found
36:17
with with a lot of reviews where uh
36:19
someone will write something like this
36:20
that is saying like, "Oh my gosh, this
36:22
changes everything."
36:24
>> Yep.
36:24
>> And I don't think you need to explain
36:26
entirely. I don't think you need to do a
36:28
full breakdown of everything it changes,
36:30
right? But I do think it is important to
36:31
qualify that and discuss like in what
36:33
way and how and like is that good and
36:36
and what does it add? As opposed to just
36:38
saying, "Yeah, it changes everything."
36:39
So, my take on this was that I think
36:42
reviews for sequels have a tendency to
36:44
present what I would say are incremental
36:48
add-ons as deeply meaningful when they
36:51
are actually just kind of like a slight
36:53
tweak
36:54
>> of what the game originally was. I think
36:56
that I think I I feel like I see this
36:58
all the time. And it's funny like in the
37:00
trailers we see those psychic abilities
37:02
and the psychic abilities are just
37:04
things you've been able to do before
37:07
presented differently.
37:08
>> Mhm. Like there is nothing. I mean I
37:11
even wonder if psychic is the right
37:13
word.
37:15
>> Uh I had telekinetic but
37:17
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because but they use I
37:19
believe they use psychic in the
37:20
>> Oh yeah, I believe so. And it's and it's
37:22
funny because the psychic glove is a
37:24
thing. So um
37:26
>> you mentioned that and I was curious if
37:27
that sounded specific. Yeah.
37:28
>> Yeah. Yeah. And because um you know I
37:31
just keep coming back to that missile
37:33
that they shoot
37:34
>> and it's like you control the missile
37:36
with your psychic powers. Yeah. And to
37:38
me that is insane because we have had
37:41
like remote controlled missiles that you
37:43
guide in a million games.
37:46
>> It's in um Skyward Sword.
37:49
>> I think a lot about Batman Arkham the
37:51
remote control.
37:51
>> Oh yeah. With the battering. Yeah.
37:52
>> Yeah. Yeah. And it's just funny to be
37:54
like no no no this one is psychic. And
37:56
then
37:57
>> because it's just an aesthetic thing,
37:58
right? And and and all that.
38:00
>> And do you feel I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Do
38:02
you feel that the the even the existence
38:04
of something called a psychic glove is a
38:07
little bit of an uh a contradiction in
38:10
>> psychic is in your brain and not like an
38:11
item?
38:12
>> I really don't like that. I really it's
38:13
really causing me a lot of distress. The
38:15
psychic glove
38:17
>> I wonder I really do wonder how that is
38:19
going to be talked about and I hope it's
38:20
talked about in a way that is is deeper
38:22
than what we have here, right? about
38:24
about just like so often games uh when
38:27
they're from longrunning sequels or
38:29
series or whatever. Um and then that new
38:32
thing is added, it's just a surface
38:34
level thing, right? Um cuz you're right.
38:36
I mean, and and this is the criticism
38:38
we've seen. I sort of address it in the
38:40
thing where it's like, yeah, you just
38:41
like open doors, guide some missiles,
38:44
you know, just pull some platforms out,
38:46
whatever. And it's like, yeah, but it
38:47
doesn't really like
38:49
it's not that diff like it's really not
38:51
that different from and if and if it
38:54
wasn't an upgrade and you just shot a
38:57
button that opened the thing,
38:59
>> would we even be writing about it, you
39:01
know, and the answer is probably not,
39:02
>> right?
39:03
>> So, I'll be curious to see how people
39:04
people talk about that.
39:05
>> Y
39:06
>> um can we talk about the motorcycle?
39:08
>> Oh my god. Yeah, please. I would love
39:09
to.
39:10
>> Um I liked what you wrote about it. Um I
39:12
I think we wrote kind of similar things
39:14
about like
39:15
>> that you know there's these there's
39:16
these like discrete like main sort of
39:19
like temple locations or whatever you
39:20
want to call them like exploration
39:22
sections that are uh pieced together by
39:25
these desert motorcycle sections and I
39:27
think you wrote like although it is a
39:29
bit boring right you wrote something
39:30
about that.
39:31
>> Yeah
39:31
>> I also wrote something like that and
39:33
this you know this is just like based on
39:34
what I saw in trailers where I'm like
39:35
there isn't much in these like desert
39:37
sections but aside from like bugs to
39:39
shoot and like some things to scan. Uh,
39:42
but you know, that does add to the
39:45
overall like vibe of this planet and
39:48
whatever.
39:48
>> This was the most This was the section
39:50
where I made the most stuff up.
39:52
>> I I Yeah, I really had no idea what the
39:55
I like looked over the trailers and I
39:56
was like, man, I genuinely I said this
39:58
to you before recording. I genuinely
39:59
have no idea what their plan is for this
40:01
motorcycle. So, I like I in in my
40:03
review, I like kind of made up a couple
40:04
of things that you do with it just as a
40:06
guess. But then I also uh took a little
40:07
bit of a swing here and I said, "I bet
40:09
you they use that motorcycle in the
40:11
finale in a big way that will leave
40:14
everybody that will leave everybody
40:15
feeling like it was really cool and
40:17
purposeful." And I think that's why it's
40:19
there. Do you think there's a big boss
40:21
fight? I think that's why it's there.
40:23
>> Can I can I be cynical for just a
40:24
moment? This is me stepping away from
40:26
the the idea of these reviews. I think
40:27
the reason this motorcycle is there is
40:29
so Samus can do an Akira slide in all
40:31
the trailers.
40:34
I think I think someone did Sam was
40:36
doing the Akira slide and went, "Fuck,
40:37
that's cool." And then they were like,
40:39
"Well, we got to put a motorcycle in
40:41
here." Huh.
40:41
>> We will see.
40:43
>> We will see. She does. It's in the
40:44
trailers.
40:45
>> Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess
40:46
we'll see if if it turns into to
40:48
anything more. Um, yeah. It's funny. I
40:51
think I was like into this idea of it
40:54
just kind of standing in as a loading
40:56
screen in some ways, and I was like I
40:58
was like, "Oh, okay. Nintendo had a or
41:00
retro had this like they wanted to put
41:03
something in between these dungeons and
41:05
they were like okay we have to do
41:06
something let's at least make it fun and
41:08
interesting and then kind of what
41:09
emerges is not that special because at
41:12
the end of the day it is a standin for a
41:13
loading screen but maybe to them it at
41:16
least adds to the feeling of
41:19
>> you know what I mean? Yeah.
41:19
>> Yeah. So here's a question for you about
41:21
like writing criticism because this is
41:22
this is sort of where I fall with that.
41:24
Like I in my thing in my mind I was like
41:28
okay these sections are bad and so I'm
41:29
going to write about them being bad but
41:30
I'm not going to say that they're bad.
41:32
I'm just going to say that like you know
41:33
there isn't much in them aside from
41:34
these things but it does also make it
41:36
feel like it's a big cohesive world.
41:37
>> Yeah.
41:38
>> And so that is I actually don't
41:40
necessarily think that's the wrong thing
41:41
to write if you are unbothered by these
41:44
sections.
41:45
>> Yeah.
41:45
>> Right. So like for me it like in my mind
41:47
if I play this game and these sections
41:49
are exactly what I'm expecting them to
41:50
be like I don't think they'll bother me.
41:53
I think there will just be another thing
41:54
in between the the things that I want to
41:56
actually be doing.
41:57
>> Yeah. It's low impact.
41:58
>> Yeah. Right. Low impact is is and so
42:01
like I don't think it's necessarily
42:02
wrong to not say like these are bad.
42:04
Would you agree?
42:06
>> No. No. Yeah. I don't think so either. I
42:07
think it's one of those things where
42:08
it's like
42:09
>> maybe when you play the game the game
42:11
does not emphasize them as much as like
42:13
the trailers have. Yeah. And it ends up
42:16
just being this, oh, I just spent hours
42:18
in a dungeon. And then you have this
42:20
little like reprieve where you're on
42:22
this driving around.
42:23
>> Yeah. Maybe maybe the way it functions
42:25
in the game is not for you to like
42:27
really get up close and personal with it
42:29
and really think about what it's doing
42:31
because what it's doing is just like
42:33
giving you a second to not be so focused
42:36
on what you're doing.
42:37
>> Yeah. 100%. And and I don't necessarily
42:39
think it's wrong then to to say this
42:42
sort of thing as long as it is um in my
42:45
opinion quick. Yes.
42:46
>> Right. cuz cuz if it's low impact for
42:48
you, then it should be low impact in the
42:50
review as well.
42:51
>> I agree. And I think that's something
42:52
that I was very purposefully doing in
42:56
this review is that I kind of um siloed
42:58
all of my my review into sections as if
43:02
these things are not related to each
43:03
other.
43:04
>> Yeah.
43:04
>> And like I think if you look at the
43:06
motorcycle section as not how it kind of
43:09
fits into the whole experience and as
43:11
its own thing, there's kind of like a
43:12
little bit of a mistake at play even
43:14
there. So I actually this is something
43:16
that I did as well. Um and sometimes
43:18
this is difficult, right? And I'm
43:19
certainly guilty of doing this sort of
43:21
thing.
43:21
>> So guilty because it's difficult. Um
43:24
>> I will continue to be guilty of this.
43:26
>> Yes, of course. It's it's hard. It's
43:27
hard to not just say like speaking of
43:30
the combat,
43:32
speaking of the exploration where you
43:34
just take these like hard pivots. This
43:35
is something that I think is actually
43:36
very very difficult to get right. And
43:37
like I said, it's not something I do
43:39
perfectly all the time. Um, but what I
43:42
think is is a good a really really
43:44
well-written review is able to have
43:46
these things flow into each other a
43:48
little bit more as opposed to just like
43:50
taking hard pivots of like now we're
43:51
talking about the combat, now we're
43:52
talking about the story, now we're
43:53
talking about this. Um, but I I do see
43:56
um a lot of reviews
43:58
do those hard pivots and in places where
44:02
I'm like, I think you probably could
44:03
have melded this together a little bit
44:05
stronger. M m.
44:06
>> And in a game like this, like Metroid
44:08
Prime 4, I'd assume. Um, but if you
44:11
know, like the rest of the series is
44:12
anything to go for, these elements are
44:14
actually all really really intertwined
44:16
with each other. The combat and this
44:17
exploration and the world and you know
44:19
what I mean? Like all these things are
44:20
are usually like pretty close together,
44:23
which
44:24
>> it makes it much much easier to not have
44:27
to just say like
44:28
>> uh uh cool. In Uncharted, you're running
44:31
around, you're doing all these cut
44:32
scenes, and then you pick up a gun and
44:34
now it's stealth and it's like those are
44:35
like disconnected, right? Whereas like
44:37
in Metroid, like a lot of that is like
44:38
sort of synthesized. Well,
44:39
>> it's funny, speaking of that, I think
44:40
you and I both went into these reviews
44:42
with the take that this is a more story
44:45
focused game.
44:46
>> Jake, I wrote about story for three
44:47
paragraphs. More than onethird of my
44:49
review is story.
44:50
>> Yeah, I think um we both got that read
44:52
for some reason. And I think like the
44:56
thing that I was trying to kind of put
44:58
on the table for this discussion is that
45:00
I wanted to present the story as kind
45:02
and how we talk about it as this like
45:06
prestigification.
45:08
The cinematic presentation is is
45:12
automatically seen as a more
45:14
sophisticated level of storytelling.
45:17
even though maybe the storytelling in
45:21
those less cinematic Metroid Prime games
45:23
was really effective and really
45:26
powerful.
45:26
>> And that's what I think people like
45:28
about them, right? That you're scanning
45:29
all of the enemies and you're scanning
45:31
all these artifacts and stuff like that
45:32
and like learning about this world
45:34
through um ambiance and through through
45:37
actually like inhabiting the world as
45:39
opposed to being told about the world. I
45:42
too touched on this
45:44
>> by saying it feels like it's right out
45:46
of a possible Metroid Prime movie.
45:48
>> I also said movie a couple.
45:50
>> I knew you were gonna say it because
45:51
it's this thing where like I think that
45:53
for a lot of people the idea that a
45:56
video game is like a movie is the
45:57
highest compliment it can be given. And
46:00
yeah, what you're saying is prestigious,
46:01
right? And it's like, oh no, like now
46:03
it's valid and now my fandom is like
46:06
it's like there's validity to it. And
46:08
it's like it doesn't need it because
46:09
Metroid Prime, what what people like
46:11
about Metroid Prime, at least one. I I
46:13
know um one of the members of the
46:15
Nation, Abram, made a video sort of
46:16
breaking down Metroid the Metroid Prime
46:18
4 trailer and talking about how it's
46:20
actually not more like Metroid Prime 1,
46:21
the one that people are most familiar
46:23
with, but it's more like these other
46:24
ones in the series that I thought was
46:26
kind of interesting. Um, but like to my
46:28
understanding, the thing that people
46:29
really like about the Metroid Prime
46:31
games is the way that they are not a
46:32
movie and and these uh uh more
46:36
games that are more interested in in
46:38
like vibe and ambiance.
46:40
>> I almost feel like if you approach from
46:43
that angle of this is a more story
46:45
focused Metroid game, I almost wonder if
46:49
that immediately I'm like, so so are you
46:52
saying the past Metroid games were not?
46:54
You see what I'm saying? It's like I
46:55
think I think you're trying to say
46:57
something else.
46:58
>> Well, I mean it's just it's that thing
46:59
about like well like oh it's cinematic
47:01
in the way that they aren't. That said,
47:03
what's that? There was one that was that
47:04
people really didn't like read the other
47:05
end. You know what I'm talking about?
47:06
Yeah.
47:07
>> Um
47:08
>> but I but I think what that actually is
47:10
is a I and I and I kind of a part of me
47:12
wishes that this is how it was
47:13
contextualized in reviews is a more
47:16
conservative approach to storytelling
47:18
than the franchise has participated in
47:21
in the past.
47:22
>> Yeah. because it's it's like, well, what
47:24
if we just take the, you know, language
47:26
of cinema and we try it try our hand at
47:28
it. Whereas, I think what is cool about
47:30
Metroid
47:31
Prime is that it takes the language of
47:34
games.
47:34
>> Yeah.
47:34
>> And and tells an interesting story using
47:36
that and and not one that is is like
47:39
plot heavy, but is is like
47:43
uh worldheavy, right? And and told
47:46
through through that sort of stuff. Um,
47:49
can I just say,
47:50
>> yeah,
47:50
>> I thought it was silly that I wrote she
47:52
performs her signature 900 back flips.
47:55
>> See what I'm talking about? When she
47:56
exits the the ship.
47:58
>> Yeah, of course.
47:59
>> I just think it's funny that that is her
48:00
signature, isn't it? 900 back flips on a
48:02
>> I didn't I really regret not having a
48:04
single mention of the morph ball.
48:07
>> I also Oh, I did in my original one and
48:09
I changed it.
48:10
>> Yeah, me too. I think
48:12
>> Yeah, there's probably something about
48:13
the morph ball segments that you know,
48:16
whatever.
48:17
you
48:18
>> something you have to talk about. Yeah.
48:19
>> Um Oh, okay. Wait, the last thing I I I
48:21
wanted to make sure to mention was um my
48:24
I had a paragraph at the end that was
48:25
literally just about how cool the third
48:27
act was, how cool the finale was.
48:29
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
48:30
>> And which is a a trend I've kind of
48:31
noticed, particularly with Nintendo
48:33
games, uh in the past couple of years,
48:35
>> and I feel that these sections always
48:38
read the same. In my notes, I wrote down
48:40
uh third act paragraph, no spoilers, but
48:43
oh my gosh,
48:44
>> but trust me. Yeah.
48:47
I won't spoil I won't spoil it.
48:49
>> Yeah.
48:50
>> But it's big and I think it's like um
48:54
the the the the
48:56
man. Okay. I think what's coloring my
48:58
interpretation of this too is that every
49:00
single time I've gotten to the finales
49:02
of these games that reviews have
49:03
promised me are big and awesome and
49:06
cool. I have had the same reaction every
49:08
single time where I go, "Oh, it was just
49:11
it was just the loudest moment.
49:13
>> It wasn't Yeah. you know, it was just
49:16
kind of the end of a Marvel movie where
49:17
it's like, "All right, time to scream
49:18
and beam."
49:19
>> Or or it'll be stuff where it's just
49:21
like, "Oh, well, I guess it just looked
49:23
at the camera and said like, you're a
49:25
fan of Donkey Kong, right?"
49:27
>> You know,
49:27
>> can we speak plainly? Can we speak
49:28
plainly?
49:29
>> You're always welcome to.
49:30
>> All right. So, I'm of course thinking of
49:32
the Donkey Kong Bonanza finale, which
49:35
which
49:36
>> spoilers, I guess. spoilers, I guess,
49:38
which I'm not even going to say anything
49:39
specific, but I think um lacked an
49:44
escalation in what that game was maybe
49:48
most interested in and instead invested
49:50
in an escalation in a kind of like
49:54
imagined fan way, like a meta way. So,
49:57
when I think about the finale to Super
49:59
Mario Odyssey, I think about being
50:01
Bowser, and I'm like, yes, that is the
50:04
correct escalation. That is yes, that is
50:07
what we should be doing at the end of
50:08
this game. And I don't think Bonanza did
50:11
the did the same thing. And I felt the
50:12
same way about I feel like the way that
50:15
people talk about the ending spoilers
50:18
for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the
50:20
Kingdom with the Dragon sequence.
50:24
>> You didn't like that?
50:25
>> No, I thought it was goofy. I I because
50:27
to me like the quoteunquote story and
50:30
the experience of playing these modern
50:32
Zelda games is not the most important
50:34
thing is not the plot. And I think
50:38
people talked about the ending of that
50:40
game in a way that like, oh, this as a
50:44
plot is like really cool and satisfying.
50:46
But for
50:46
>> Yeah. Yeah.
50:47
>> The the issue with it is that
50:50
>> the dragon and everything surrounding
50:52
that moment is just as cool in a vacuum,
50:55
completely devoid of every other part of
50:58
the video game around it, completely out
51:00
of context. It is just as cool out of
51:03
context as it is in. Nothing in the game
51:06
really like built up to that moment in a
51:09
way that I was like, "Oh, this is a
51:10
catharsis of what this game is about and
51:12
interested in what they've been training
51:14
me to do. This is me like crescendoing
51:17
in instead it's cool for the exact
51:20
reasons that you would have thought it
51:21
was cool at the very beginning of the
51:23
game."
51:24
>> Yeah, I would I would maybe need to have
51:26
this conversation closer to having
51:27
played it because I don't remember the
51:29
specifics of it. I did I did like the uh
51:33
the way that like I'm forgetting what
51:36
what were the the like little
51:38
>> things that they got called
51:40
>> the little things that they got the
51:41
tears the little um the the the stones
51:44
the special stones the something
51:46
>> I remember what they were all about
51:47
>> sacred stones the sacred stones
51:49
>> yeah certainly I'm sure they were sacred
51:51
of some kind but when when G like Ganon
51:53
gets his hands on one eventually after
51:55
you beat him in a sword fight
51:58
>> stones the secret they were They were
51:59
called the secret stones.
52:00
>> And then he plops that [ __ ] in
52:02
his mouth.
52:02
>> Yeah.
52:03
>> And then he becomes the dragon. And I
52:04
thought that was cool. And I thought it
52:06
was an interesting like
52:09
>> in the way that Zelda is also the
52:11
dragon. It's like, "Oh, here we go. Here
52:13
we go. Everyone's dragons now."
52:14
>> To me, there was a logic to it that was
52:17
um I I describe this sometimes as um
52:20
Matalib's storytelling. It's like you
52:22
could have done anything and they just
52:24
chose dragon. Like it wasn't there
52:26
wasn't a narrative inevitability.
52:29
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I never Yeah. Yeah.
52:31
And I wanted to build in a way where I
52:33
go, "Oh my god, I never saw that coming,
52:35
but it was right in front of my face the
52:37
whole time."
52:37
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Cuz it's what
52:39
you're saying and and it's not that it's
52:41
bad to do it in that way necessarily,
52:44
but it is stronger to have had it all
52:47
lead to one one thing.
52:48
>> Yeah. And especially since like the game
52:50
has all these cool powers in it where
52:52
it's like you're building stuff, you're
52:53
lifting stuff, you're going through and
52:55
then it's like dragon. It's like I'm
52:58
like no. I'm like no, that's not that's
53:00
not what's cool about this. Actually,
53:01
that's not what's cool about this.
53:02
>> Cuz I think and not not to make this
53:03
about just Tears of the Kingdom, but I
53:05
think that section that a lot of people
53:06
didn't like. I actually did like where
53:07
you're on the big mech suit and you're
53:10
like getting in a boss fight and you
53:11
have to like attach things to its like
53:13
arms. Do you know what I'm talking
53:14
about?
53:14
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, that's took one of the
53:16
best parts.
53:16
>> And I thought it was cool because that
53:17
is an escalation of the things you've
53:20
been doing.
53:21
>> Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly.
53:22
Exactly. Exactly. Yes.
53:23
>> Yeah. Anyway, but with with Metroid
53:25
Prime 4, um
53:26
>> our fake Metroid Prime 4 reviews.
53:28
>> Correct. Correct. Correct. Um one of the
53:29
things that I did is I wrote about it
53:31
for three paragraphs. It's over 300
53:33
words of a 900word review. Um because
53:37
people tend to like even if this game
53:40
does have a heavier emphasis on its
53:42
story, I doubt I still think that at its
53:45
core this game will have a uh will be
53:50
Metroid Prime where you are it is it is
53:52
mostly focused on exploring these
53:54
environments and whatever, right? I
53:56
could be wrong, but that's the the bet
53:57
I'm making here. And so if that is the
53:59
case, I think it is a mistake then to
54:02
spend so much time and emphasis on the
54:05
story when that's not what the game
54:06
actually is. That can be interesting,
54:09
but if you are going to hit on it with
54:11
that much time and whatever, you need to
54:13
give other things that are also the main
54:15
crux of the game even more time in
54:18
exploration then. I think you know what
54:20
I mean?
54:20
>> I do. I do. So I'm wondering so having
54:23
having gone through this entire
54:24
practice,
54:26
what do you think is going to be kind of
54:28
the
54:30
the the the large the narrative
54:33
surrounding this game, the takeaway
54:34
surrounding this game? You know, we we
54:36
are I feel like almost every time a
54:38
Nintendo game comes out, there is this
54:40
like grand sweeping statement made about
54:42
either the state of Nintendo or the
54:43
state of the franchise. It's like, so
54:46
what are the what is going to be the
54:48
narrative surrounding Metroid Prime as a
54:50
franchise after Metroid Prime 4 Beyond
54:52
releases?
54:53
>> I think it'll be like like, "Hey, I
54:55
can't believe it's been 20 years. These
54:57
are great. They should be making these
54:58
all the time."
55:00
>> I feel that there's such a alignment
55:02
between Metroid Prime 4 and uh Hollow
55:05
Night Silk Song in a way.
55:07
>> Oh, sure. And I and I almost think that
55:09
there's like this this like build of
55:10
wanting to play this game and like
55:12
waiting for it and the anticipation for
55:13
it, but Hollow Night Silkong like I
55:15
think Metroid Prime 4 is this game that
55:17
once you start playing it, it's not like
55:19
this bombastic, oh my god, we're in it.
55:22
It like is a little
55:24
>> understated. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
55:25
Yeah. So I' So both times now with with
55:28
Silkong and with Metroid Prime 4, I I
55:31
have been kind of being like, what is
55:32
the narrative that's going to emerge?
55:34
and Silk Song. I think the narrative
55:36
that emerged was kind of boring. It was
55:38
uh I think largely difficulty discourse.
55:40
>> I couldn't believe that that's what we
55:41
were back to.
55:42
>> I know. I know.
55:43
>> I couldn't believe it. Yeah.
55:44
>> And then so I've I've kind of been
55:46
thinking about this one. I'm like, "Oh,
55:47
I think the discourse is going to be
55:48
less interesting than I think. And I
55:50
think that the discourse is going to be
55:51
two things. One, oh boy, are they
55:54
getting ready to make a Metroid Prime
55:56
movie. Sure. two,
56:00
this is not the Metroid Prime game that
56:03
everybody wants, but the next one will
56:06
be.
56:08
>> This is This is laying the foundation. A
56:11
thing I don't know what people mean when
56:14
they say, but lay this is laying the
56:16
foundation for the future of the
56:18
franchise. I think that that is going to
56:20
be what people say at the end of a lot
56:21
of their reviews. This one's not
56:23
perfect, but the next one probably will
56:25
be. Because you know what's so
56:26
interesting about saying that though is
56:27
like you could say that about Breath of
56:28
the Wild, but you wouldn't because that
56:30
game has enough going on for it to be
56:32
able to be like, "No, no, there is so
56:34
much here to dissect, right?"
56:35
>> That's funny. Yeah.
56:36
>> You know what I'm saying? Like that is a
56:37
game that redefined its series and
56:39
definitely did lay the foundation of
56:41
what's to come for Zelda, of course, but
56:42
like uh uh you I don't think you would
56:45
say that because there's just you talk
56:48
about the game instead,
56:48
>> right?
56:49
>> You know, instead of instead of sort of
56:50
like writing fanfiction about what you
56:52
think comes next. Um, I will say one
56:54
thing that I did write in my sort of
56:56
closing bit here was um
56:59
about saying like it's perfect, it's
57:01
amazing, it's amazing. And then here are
57:02
these annoyances with these other
57:04
elements of the game that I didn't like
57:06
I did bring I talked about each of those
57:07
elements, but I did not talk about the
57:09
annoyances or like the problems I had
57:11
with them until right now the very last
57:13
second and they're completely removed
57:15
from context. Do you know what I'm
57:16
saying? I feel like reviews do that a
57:18
lot where like at the end they'll be
57:19
like, you know, it's not perfect. You
57:21
know, it it has this, it has this, it
57:22
has this, but ultimately it's really
57:24
really good. But those like individual
57:25
things are like things you should have
57:26
brought up in the review. I think, you
57:28
know,
57:29
>> yeah, mine mine took a little bit of a
57:31
different approach where I was just kind
57:32
of like, okay, end paragraph, time to
57:34
restate everything I just said in kind
57:35
of like a bullet form way. Yeah.
57:37
>> And I gave it the I gave it the eight
57:39
out of 10. You gave it a nine out of 10.
57:41
Um, mine was I think more
57:45
the kind of
57:48
I I I don't know like less bold I think
57:50
is what I was looking for. Just
57:52
something that's like it's good but not
57:55
great. And I think what I wanted at the
57:57
end was really to just kind of hit that
57:59
refrain of
58:01
but I'm giving you the sense that if you
58:03
are a classic Metroid Prime fan,
58:05
>> you will like this.
58:06
>> Yeah.
58:06
>> A lot more than this eight out of 10
58:08
score represents. Yeah. Yeah,
58:10
>> I don't see this I don't see this game
58:12
getting a lot of nines if I'm being
58:13
honest. I can't it's hard for me to see.
58:16
>> Oh, I don't know. It comes from such a
58:18
such a such a
58:20
storied series that people are just
58:21
rabid for. And it's got the story,
58:23
right, of like
58:25
>> oh man, this game was announced in 2017
58:27
and here we are eight years later,
58:28
right, 20 almost 20 years after Metroid
58:31
Prime 3 came out,
58:33
which
58:34
>> is crazy.
58:34
>> Yeah, I know. There's just something
58:35
about it. There's something about it
58:36
that I'm like I I think that there are
58:39
going to be enough standout chinks in
58:42
the armor. Enough enough enough moments
58:44
in the game, enough features that are
58:46
like I know I know reviews don't work
58:48
this way score-wise, but this kind of
58:50
thing that's like it is going to appear
58:52
as a negative on the negative column.
58:55
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I I know what you
58:56
mean. Yeah.
58:57
>> Yeah. So, I think there'll be enough of
58:58
those that I I just don't see it getting
59:00
the the coveted nine.
59:02
>> Yeah. I know what you mean. I know what
59:04
you mean.
59:04
>> Yeah. Um, we'll see. I have no idea when
59:06
reviews for this drop. We have not
59:08
played this. Well, you played a preview
59:09
that preview, but I
59:11
>> five minutes.
59:11
>> Yeah.
59:13
>> I think that was instrumental to you
59:14
making this review, Jake.
59:16
>> Thank you.
59:16
>> Yeah.
59:17
>> Um, thank you. And thank you, Nintendo.
59:19
Of course.
59:20
>> Thank you. Yes. Thank you for the code.
59:21
>> Thank you, Nintendo. Thank you for the
59:22
code.
59:22
>> Did you like my thing about affiliate
59:23
links? I thought that was funny.
59:24
>> Yes. That was awesome. I was like, damn,
59:25
I wish I did that. No, it was good. It
59:27
was good.
59:27
>> Thank you. Thank you. Uh,
59:29
>> Peter, how does um how does uh how does
59:31
this whole show um who who who do we
59:34
really have to thank at the end of the
59:35
day for allowing us to spend far too
59:39
long writing reviews for games we have
59:40
not played?
59:41
>> Why, Jake, it's easy. Yeah,
59:44
>> we have the Critical Error Nation thing.
59:46
>> It's their fault.
59:47
>> It is their fault for encouraging us.
59:49
This, by the way, uh this episode was
59:51
something that when we sat down to make
59:53
this podcast, Jake was like, "I've
59:54
always wanted to do something like
59:55
this." And I was like, "We should
59:56
absolutely do that. I think it would be
59:57
kind of a fun like exercise and
59:59
interesting like look into review
1:00:01
writing and stuff like that. Um so yeah,
1:00:04
thank you to the Critical Error Nation
1:00:05
um our Patreon supporters uh at
1:00:08
patreon.com/critical
1:00:09
error. If you want to join them, you
1:00:11
certainly can. Um there's all sorts of
1:00:13
bonus content every single week. We we
1:00:14
do um a lengthy bonus episode today.
1:00:19
Like I said, we were talking a little
1:00:20
bit about the idea of like fandom
1:00:21
creators sometimes just don't take that
1:00:23
extra step into being something that is
1:00:24
like really really like excellent. Um,
1:00:26
even though what they're making is
1:00:27
already pretty good. Yeah.
1:00:28
>> Um,
1:00:29
>> a lot of lot of lot of feeling talk,
1:00:31
which I like.
1:00:32
>> Oh my god. A lot of feeling talk. We
1:00:34
>> talking about like video games and
1:00:35
feelings.
1:00:35
>> Yeah, video games and feelings. Oh god,
1:00:37
got some stuff off my chest today on the
1:00:39
bonus episode.
1:00:39
>> Me too. Me too. It feels good. It feels
1:00:41
good when we do them. Um, but I would
1:00:43
like to give a special shout out to the
1:00:45
people who are part of the Jake and
1:00:46
Peter tier. Um, that is Evan Pon and
1:00:49
Anel Trait. Uh these people are
1:00:50
supporting us with the in the most uh uh
1:00:53
uh monetary sense and we really
1:00:55
appreciate them. They are keeping the
1:00:56
lights on with us. In addition, Jake,
1:00:59
>> yeah,
1:01:00
>> every week.
1:01:02
>> Sound.
1:01:02
>> Hell yeah.
1:01:03
>> Last week you called me out in the sound
1:01:05
being like, "Peter doesn't listen to
1:01:06
these." I listen I listen every week. I
1:01:08
listen to them every single week.
1:01:10
>> We got caught. I don't know for sure
1:01:11
that somebody didn't tell you though. So
1:01:13
>> they they did not.
1:01:14
>> All right.
1:01:15
>> They did not. I don't have anyone on the
1:01:16
inside.
1:01:16
>> All right. Let's see. Let's see what the
1:01:17
sound is this week. Thank you all.
1:01:19
Samus, Samus, Samis. Look, I found an
1:01:22
entire family of Choso. Let me introduce
1:01:24
you to them. We've got Evan Pon and Anel
1:01:26
Trait in the front. Connor True Loves
1:01:29
right there next to Andrew Bulkar, Danny
1:01:30
Disaster, Sam Cedar, and James Pierre
1:01:32
Reed. Then if you look at that back row,
1:01:34
that's Jacob Richter, Jared Kuseno, and
1:01:38
Sam Woods. And then there's Oh no. Oh
1:01:40
no. Where is Cole, guys? Where is Cole?
1:01:42
Where is the Choso Cole?
1:01:42
>> Yeah. So, thank you very much to the
1:01:43
critical error royalty. Um, that's it.
1:01:46
We usually end by doing a a written
1:01:47
piece uh for the show, but because we
1:01:50
both did some this is kind of a writing
1:01:51
heavy episode uh from both of us. So, we
1:01:54
kind of said like, "Hey, let's maybe
1:01:55
skip it this time." And instead,
1:01:58
>> um
1:02:00
>> Jake, I have a question for you that I I
1:02:03
just want to ask. I think it's kind of a
1:02:04
fun like getting to know you question a
1:02:06
little bit that I think is is kind of
1:02:08
relevant. I know you have something
1:02:09
similar for me. If I may, um, can you,
1:02:12
Jake,
1:02:13
>> what makes the character of Spongebob
1:02:16
Squarepants so appealing to you
1:02:18
specifically?
1:02:20
>> Oh,
1:02:22
who lives in a pineapple? Okay. No.
1:02:24
Okay, let's talk. Um, Spongebob
1:02:25
Squarepants is
1:02:28
so I you know, I love Spongebob.
1:02:30
>> I know you love him. I just want to know
1:02:32
like what about him and what about
1:02:34
Spongebob coded characters? Clap trap
1:02:37
for example, what is it that you like
1:02:39
that that speaks to you so much about
1:02:42
this kind of character?
1:02:43
>> Okay. I think at the heart of it there
1:02:45
is this quality of what are they going
1:02:47
to say?
1:02:48
>> What are they going to say?
1:02:50
>> And I Yeah. And it's and it's to me like
1:02:52
Spongebob is one of the greatest
1:02:54
comedians of all time.
1:02:57
>> Interesting.
1:02:58
>> Yes. I see I see Spongebob as a comedian
1:03:00
and I am like at the edge of my seat
1:03:05
dying to know how he is going to respond
1:03:07
to every situation because Spongebob is
1:03:10
a character that can manifest a
1:03:13
punchline whenever he wants. Yeah,
1:03:17
>> there is there is something about his
1:03:19
position in the world that is like so
1:03:22
fascinating to me where you never know
1:03:25
when it's going to be like a
1:03:27
nonsequittor or just like a particular
1:03:29
response to a question that just like
1:03:32
>> oh man it's like it's like breaking a
1:03:34
script almost. And it's crazy because
1:03:36
Spongebob is such like a such like an
1:03:38
old cartoon character that you'd think
1:03:39
we would almost have this sense of his
1:03:41
script, but there's almost a um like for
1:03:44
the office fans like a Michael Scott
1:03:46
quality in Spongebob. I think it's
1:03:48
there's there's something similar at
1:03:50
play there. Um that just like gives way
1:03:54
to these to these moments that are so
1:03:56
like instantly iconic and memorable. Um,
1:03:59
I don't think it is a coincidence that
1:04:01
both like Michael Scott and Spongebob
1:04:03
are extremely prevalent in gifts.
1:04:06
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
1:04:08
>> Yeah. So, there's something about that.
1:04:09
But I also think Spongebob, if I could
1:04:11
if I could get like a little
1:04:12
philosophical, is
1:04:13
>> sure
1:04:14
>> is like
1:04:16
a non-toxic male.
1:04:19
>> Yeah.
1:04:20
>> Working class.
1:04:22
>> Yeah.
1:04:23
>> And happy.
1:04:26
>> Yeah.
1:04:28
How how how aspirational, huh?
1:04:31
>> Spongebob like loves his job.
1:04:33
>> And he like wants to be there every day.
1:04:35
>> Oh god, I'm getting like emotional even
1:04:36
thinking. I'm actually getting
1:04:38
emotional. And like Spongebob like loves
1:04:39
his friends.
1:04:41
>> He Spongebob above all else loves his
1:04:42
friends. And in a And he loves people
1:04:46
for who they are, which I like.
1:04:48
>> Uh uh like his relationship with
1:04:50
Squidward I quite like because Squidward
1:04:52
doesn't like Spongebob or like like
1:04:54
pretends to not like Spongebob a lot.
1:04:56
like kind of postures that way. But the
1:04:58
thing about it is that um
1:05:02
Spongebob kind of it's not that he
1:05:04
doesn't know that, but I think he knows
1:05:06
that Squidward is just kind of a grump
1:05:08
and he likes him anyway.
1:05:09
>> Yeah. Yeah. 100%. He's like, "Oh,
1:05:11
classic Squidward."
1:05:12
>> Yeah. Squidward's out here, you know,
1:05:15
being a naysayer.
1:05:16
>> I think Spongebob has a relationship
1:05:19
with Gary the snail that reminds me of
1:05:21
my relationship with Chip the dog.
1:05:23
>> Oh, for sure. I can I say this? Uh, I
1:05:25
think Critical Error has a has a
1:05:28
shocking amount of uh a shocking lack
1:05:31
rather of of Chip content.
1:05:33
>> Yeah, you're right. Got to How do we get
1:05:36
Chip involved,
1:05:37
>> dude? We got to get Chip on the pod.
1:05:38
>> I think next I think bonus episode next
1:05:40
week. Big Chip episode.
1:05:42
>> Big Okay, look forward to that.
1:05:44
critical.com or patreon.com.
1:05:46
>> But yeah, I don't know. There's just
1:05:47
there's just like a lot about Spongebob
1:05:49
that I think like really is like really
1:05:53
um I'm going to use the word safe and
1:05:56
not like safe as in like not taking any
1:05:58
risks, but just like a a presence that
1:06:00
I'm like this is
1:06:04
just not toxic in like a really
1:06:07
meaningful way.
1:06:08
>> Yeah.
1:06:09
>> And I Yeah. I don't know, man. It's it's
1:06:11
it's there's a lot. There's a there
1:06:12
Spongebob just like brings me a lot of
1:06:14
joy. Anytime I'm in the car with Sarah
1:06:17
and we're parallel parking and one of us
1:06:19
starts going, "You're good. You're
1:06:21
good." I'm just like, "Damn, dude." It's
1:06:23
just I don't know. There's There's a
1:06:24
presence there that I that I find to be
1:06:27
>> really nice. Yeah. I don't know. Does
1:06:28
this is this is this helping? Is this is
1:06:30
this
1:06:30
>> Oh, 100% 100%. Absolutely. Um
1:06:32
>> Yeah. I don't even really know I don't
1:06:34
even know how much better I could answer
1:06:36
this question. I just I Spongebob like
1:06:37
really comforts me.
1:06:38
>> No, I I love that. I love that so much.
1:06:40
God. Okay. Um, my question for you,
1:06:44
>> Yes, please.
1:06:45
>> was I wanted to know if there was
1:06:51
I I want to know I want you to tell me
1:06:53
about an experience you had this year in
1:06:56
which you had a reaction that surprised
1:06:58
yourself.
1:07:01
Oh, that's not the reaction I thought I
1:07:02
was going to have. Oh, I learned a
1:07:04
little something that that Oh, I didn't
1:07:06
think I was going to like this, but I
1:07:07
do. But I think, you know, something I'm
1:07:09
looking for something where you were
1:07:10
like, "Oh man, I you know, I've had a
1:07:14
lot of uh played a lot of games this
1:07:16
year that like sequels to games that
1:07:17
that I was looking forward to that kind
1:07:19
of like let me down." And I was trying
1:07:21
to think. I was like, "Did I what what
1:07:23
happened to me this year that made me
1:07:24
go, "Oh, I think I actually am not who I
1:07:27
thought I was." Or maybe I'm a little
1:07:29
different than what I thought. And it
1:07:31
doesn't have to be with a game. It could
1:07:32
be like with your music. It could be
1:07:33
with hearing somebody talk about like a
1:07:36
video you made. I'm just wondering if
1:07:38
Yeah. What what comes to mind?
1:07:39
>> So So
1:07:43
what what I find difficult about this
1:07:45
question is I am largely an open-minded
1:07:47
person.
1:07:47
>> Yeah.
1:07:48
>> I'm I'm I'm uh I would say
1:07:51
non-judgmental almost to a fault.
1:07:54
>> Um and that I'm willing to just like let
1:07:56
it I want to try it. I want to try it
1:07:58
and I'm open to it.
1:07:59
>> Um
1:08:01
can So can you can you repeat exactly
1:08:02
how you phrased it again?
1:08:04
>> Yeah. I just want to know if there was a
1:08:05
a moment this year where you surprised
1:08:07
yourself where you had a reaction to
1:08:09
something that like if I would have
1:08:10
asked you how you were going to react to
1:08:12
that or or maybe something just came out
1:08:14
of you and you were like, "Oh, that's
1:08:17
maybe not who I thought I was."
1:08:20
>> I think Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, I went to
1:08:24
the uh
1:08:27
I went to the Philippines um in February
1:08:30
for two weeks, which was very cool. Um,
1:08:33
and I it was largely it was largely a
1:08:36
great experience.
1:08:38
>> And um, what that did for me was there
1:08:41
was a confirmation of um,
1:08:44
>> I used to be a pretty adventurous kind
1:08:46
of guy and then the pandemic kind of hit
1:08:48
and I settled into a lot of like normal
1:08:50
routine and stuff like that. And that
1:08:54
made me maybe ask myself like, oh, maybe
1:08:56
I'm not adventure man. Do you know what
1:08:57
I mean? maybe like I'm actually not like
1:08:59
about this life anymore and like I'm I'm
1:09:02
sort of over it. Um but going to the
1:09:03
Philippines was was really surprising
1:09:04
because I discovered that no, I'm still
1:09:06
that person. Um and and I still actually
1:09:09
love this sort of thing and I'm like
1:09:10
trying to figure out like ways to sort
1:09:12
of like express that and like do that
1:09:14
again. Not just necessarily going to the
1:09:16
Philippines, but like I think about um
1:09:17
there were two specific things that sort
1:09:19
of surprised me. Um, the first thing is
1:09:21
we were walking through um we were
1:09:24
walking through this market and they
1:09:25
were selling um uh uh
1:09:30
it was it was like a fish market and
1:09:32
whatever and um there was a guy who had
1:09:34
just caught like a giant octopus and
1:09:36
they were about to chop it up and
1:09:38
whatever and the people I was with were
1:09:39
like, "Oh my gosh, Peter, do you want a
1:09:40
picture with the octopus?" And I was
1:09:41
like, "Yeah, that'd be great." And I go
1:09:42
to sort of like pose next to the octopus
1:09:44
and they're like, "No, no, no. Do you
1:09:46
want to like hold it in your hands?" And
1:09:48
I was like, "That's quite all right.
1:09:50
That's okay." And the guy I don't really
1:09:52
know what octopus are like. I don't like
1:09:55
I don't know what the different body
1:09:56
parts of the octopus, but he kind of
1:09:57
like
1:09:59
scoops it by its like head piece and
1:10:01
it's got his sort of his hand inside of
1:10:02
it and he's like, "You just put your
1:10:04
hand inside this." And I'm like, "That's
1:10:06
all right. I'm okay." But then I had
1:10:09
this moment where I was like, I guess
1:10:10
I'm never going to have the opportunity
1:10:11
to put my hand or I guess I don't know
1:10:12
when if I ever will have the opportunity
1:10:14
to put my head hand inside the head of
1:10:15
an octopus again. So I just did that.
1:10:19
There's a picture there's a picture of
1:10:20
me on the beach. I'm holding this
1:10:21
octopus. I'm like looking at like oh
1:10:22
yeah this is like one of those things
1:10:24
where I was like oh I think this is
1:10:25
going to be gross. I think this is going
1:10:26
to be weird. I think this is going to be
1:10:27
bad. But like I touch it and I'm like
1:10:28
this isn't so bad. This is actually
1:10:30
quite normal. And the fact that everyone
1:10:31
else here is like oh this is like pretty
1:10:33
normal thing. It isn't like oh gross
1:10:34
whatever. Like oh this is pretty this is
1:10:36
pretty cool. Um,
1:10:38
>> and a similar experience too, um, eating
1:10:39
belute, which if you're not familiar
1:10:41
with, it's it's kind of gross,
1:10:46
conceptually, it's it's basically like a
1:10:47
a chicken embryo. It's like a or it's a
1:10:50
duck embryo and just eat it inside the
1:10:52
egg. Um, and it's one of those things
1:10:53
that people like put on lists of like
1:10:55
the top 10 nastiest foods in the whole
1:10:57
world. And I'm like I was expecting to
1:10:59
really really not like it. Um, and I had
1:11:01
two of them. Uh, and and I would say
1:11:05
they were pretty good despite what I
1:11:07
would call the marketing. And by that I
1:11:09
mean what it looks like. What it looks
1:11:10
like is pretty foul. But like what it
1:11:11
ended up tasting like I I was pretty
1:11:12
surprised that I was like, "Oh yeah, you
1:11:14
know what? Honestly, like I'm not going
1:11:15
to have another one of these." But like
1:11:17
if I came back to the Philippines, I
1:11:18
would try again. If that makes sense.
1:11:20
>> Yeah, definitely. It's like I think I
1:11:21
think what you got was a little shot of
1:11:22
energy that was like, "Oh, this this
1:11:25
could motivate me to maybe do some
1:11:28
things that I otherwise would have just
1:11:30
kind of sat in my comfort."
1:11:32
>> Yeah. I I think it's about like say yes.
1:11:34
Just say yes. Remember that you should
1:11:35
just say yes. Um because even if you
1:11:37
don't like something, you at least you
1:11:38
did it. And I think that's fun.
1:11:39
>> Yeah.
1:11:40
>> I don't know if that was a good answer
1:11:41
or not, but but that's sort of where I'm
1:11:42
coming from for it.
1:11:43
>> I think so. To me to me, you were giving
1:11:45
a response that reminded me of like
1:11:47
hanging out with an old friend that you
1:11:49
haven't seen in years and you're like,
1:11:50
am I still are we still
1:11:52
>> cool? And then you're like, oh yeah, we
1:11:53
are.
1:11:53
>> Like I kind of changed a lot. You
1:11:55
probably changed a lot. And then you
1:11:56
hang out and you're like, oh no, this is
1:11:57
good actually.
1:11:58
>> Yeah. Yeah.
1:12:00
>> That's great. Uh, hey, Philippines,
1:12:01
wonderful place to visit. Lovely place
1:12:03
to visit.
1:12:04
>> All sorts of great food, all sort sorts
1:12:05
of great people.
1:12:06
>> It's great.
1:12:07
>> Anything else for the the viewers that
1:12:08
made it to the end of the pod?
1:12:10
>> If you like us talking about our lives
1:12:12
and our feelings, patreon.com/critical
1:12:14
error. Join the nation.
1:12:16
>> Do you think this Metroid fake review
1:12:18
experiment went well?
1:12:20
>> I do. I hope no one's mad at us. I don't
1:12:22
think anyone like like it's one of those
1:12:23
things where sometimes we make videos
1:12:24
and I'm like, "Oh, everyone's mad." Not
1:12:26
mad, but like that's like too strong a
1:12:27
word, but like people are like irked by
1:12:29
this. I'm like, "Oh, I thought it was
1:12:30
like kind We were trying to be
1:12:31
thoughtful, actually."
1:12:32
>> I Yeah. Yeah. Now that I'm I'm starting
1:12:33
to reflect on it, and I think what this
1:12:35
really allowed us to do was kind of like
1:12:37
push in on a review without really like
1:12:40
first name, last naming anybody.
1:12:42
>> Yeah. Yeah. Cuz I think when we have
1:12:44
done that, when we have done that, I in
1:12:46
my opinion, I think we've been
1:12:47
respectful.
1:12:48
>> I think so, too.
1:12:50
>> Like I think about that that uh like
1:12:51
when we talked about like in the
1:12:52
negative, like we've talked about that
1:12:53
um Hyrule Warriors Warriors review.
1:12:55
>> Yeah. And even though I think we were
1:12:57
being negative, I I do feel that we were
1:12:58
being uh thoughtful and kind um and not
1:13:02
saying, you know, it didn't feel like a
1:13:04
dunk. Um, and so I agree with you where
1:13:07
like this like this way we get to look
1:13:08
at these things and like discuss the
1:13:10
common pitfalls that a lot of reviews
1:13:12
fall into and also showcase like
1:13:14
sometimes people write stuff and the
1:13:16
review like the game it hardly matters
1:13:19
that they even played the game.
1:13:20
>> You know, not that they didn't cuz of
1:13:22
course people do, but sometimes it
1:13:25
doesn't actually provide that much for
1:13:27
what they're actually trying to get at.
1:13:29
>> Do you think anybody is listening to
1:13:31
this podcast?
1:13:32
>> No. and looking over
1:13:34
>> and looking looking over their Metroid
1:13:36
Prime 4 review in a panic because they
1:13:39
in fact wrote down a prime cut of
1:13:42
classic Metroid flavor.
1:13:44
>> No, I think they're what it is is
1:13:46
they're they're uh going in the CMS uh
1:13:49
everyone's off on Thanksgiving break or
1:13:51
whatever and they're saying no no I
1:13:53
actually have to change it. I can't
1:13:54
write bed bath arm cannon and beyond.
1:13:57
>> That was good. I'm sorry I didn't I
1:13:58
forgot that was that that made me
1:14:00
giggle. That was that was goddamn dirty.
1:14:02
>> And what I like too uh little behind the
1:14:05
scenes uh neither of us had revealed
1:14:07
neither of us had read any of this to
1:14:09
each other, but that that uh subtitle
1:14:12
was was like we wrote I wrote that like
1:14:14
right when we started and I was like no
1:14:16
I'm not telling you anything.
1:14:17
>> Yeah.
1:14:18
>> Thanks for listening everybody. Thanks
1:14:19
for being here. We will see you next
1:14:22
week.
1:14:22
>> Happy holidays.