I hear he’s got the cure.
To describe Dr. Mario as a falling block puzzle game would be slightly misleading. In lieu of descending blocks, you’ll have to guide vitamin capsules raining down from that dubiously credentialed pill-popping Mario. I mean c’mon— he’s a plumber practicing medicine in the “Mushroom Kingdom”. It’s a Dateline investigation waiting to happen. Mark my words.
Just some nerds on a quest to find their waifus.
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! I’m gonna level with you, I don’t even know what the actual heck happened in this episode. Blame Justin and his dating sim shenanigans, I guess. Anyway, Friend of the Show John Gholson™ joins us for a really fun episode, so let’s jump in!
Family Matters
August of this year will mark the 20th anniversary since Dragon Quest was introduced in the US. With 10 core sequels and many spin-offs since then, you’d think an RPG fan such as myself would be well-versed in the series by now. But in reality, my Dragon Quest knowledge over the years has only been cursory at best. I got started about eight years ago when I completed Dragon Warrior (the series’ name in the US until 2005), and I’m currently nearly halfway through the massive adventure that is Dragon Quest XI. My depth of familiarity with the series pretty much ends there. Or at least it did until I recently finished Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride- a Nintendo DS remake of the beloved Super Famicom original.
This RPG is a real grind. No dragon your feet here.
If there’s one thing I absolutely adore about Dragon Warrior (aka Dragon Quest), it’s how much its subtle charms have influenced each sequel to come after it. There’s just something special about playing the latest game in the series (currently Dragon Quest XI) and still hearing the familiar sound cues of attacking an enemy, taking a hit, or the brief but satisfying victory chime and level-up fanfare. Additionally, the character designs by Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball creator and illustrator) give a visual continuity throughout each game. Without question, the Dragon Quest series has laid down some deep roots that all started here. But although it's a beloved first entry for nostalgic fans of the series, newcomers might not warm up to certain gameplay elements that would not be refined until much later.
Competent kart racing with a light dash of Nickelodeon paint.
Five minutes with Nickelodeon Kart Racers and it’s very clear that Mario Kart 8 acted as not only an inspiration to the game, but in many cases as a blueprint for its design. As it turns out, that’s not a bad thing at all and helps make this a very competent racing game with some nice features and even a few things that help set it apart. But like any facsimile, it’s not nearly as crisp, pristine, or flawless as the original.
I wish it was good to be bad.
On paper, Nefarious is such a great idea. For once, you get to assume control of a villain, and instead of saving the princess, it’s your job to capture her. The boss battles that end a level? That's your time to shine and stop the would-be hero in his tracks. In execution, Nefarious is rife with issues. Unresponsive controls, mediocre gameplay, and progress halting bugs make for a game that’s just not at all what I had hoped it’d be.
Witty comment goes here!
Welcome back to another jam-packed edition of Nerds Without Pants! Technical difficulties can’t keep us down, and we’ve got a lot of fun shenanigans all set up for you, including the introduction of the Mega Buster of Destiny ™, some of Patrick’s worst jokes ever, and more!
Figures that Julian had the most examples. What a fatty!
After a monumentally long episode of Nerds Without Pants, the Pantsless Ones bring things down to normal show length. Which is to say, still pretty damn long. Maybe Julian should host up and reign these guys in, eh?
Well excuuuuuuse meeeee, princess!
Hey, it’s a Nerds Without Pants spoiler cast! We’ve only done two of these before (for The Last of Us and Batman: Arkham Knight if you’re wondering), but The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild is certainly deserving of its own episode. So that’s what we did.
I made a terrible mistake coming here.
Welcome to our next (an likely final) special from E3 2017! Angelo steps out of the woods and hasn't heard a speck of E3 news, so the bulk of the show is Julian filling him in on everything he's missed. Enjoy the hilarity as Angelo reacts in real time to the Xbox One X, that odd Shadow of the Colossus remake, and the announcement of not one, but two new Metroid games.
