Nerds Without Pants

Welcome to another excellent edition of Nerds Without Pants! This week we are joined by Bill Tucker of the podcast A Gamer Looks at 40. We’ll learn all about him as we discuss podcasting, gaming, and bringing back dead franchises! 00:00 – 11:40 Trash 11:51 – 2:13:51 STAGE SELECT: Name three “Missing in Action” series you want to see return 2:14:03 – 3:23:49 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Bill Tucker’s gaming origins, starting a podcast, Old World, Cook, Serve, Delicious 3, Urbek City Builder, Trails of Cold Steel, Horizon: Forbidden West, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope 3:24:28 – 3:46:37 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: TAG BATTLE! The Old Republic (Star Wars KotOR 1&2 vs Massive Effect (Mass Effect 1&2) 3:46:46 – 3:55:57 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are some of your favorite “guest spots” in video games? VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Syphon Filter vs Driver 2 SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 7:30 CENTRAL ON 7/29 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Check out A Gamer Lo

 Ten years. Ten. YEARS. It’s hard to believe that Nerds Without Pants has been around for an entire decade, but here we are. NWP co-founder Rob Ottone joins us for a trip down memory lane that makes ever so many pit stops along the way. There isn’t a lot of gaming talk here, as we focus on the humble beginnings of Nerds Without Pants, the history of the show, and how Justin came to be here. We also spend a goodly amount of time talking about Rob’s writing career, various YouTube stuff, and the mess we all live in now. We do manage to get a little gaming in, of course, with some Overwatch talk, the cost of video games, falling out of gaming (and hopping back in), and lots of other things. And Street Sharks, for some reason.   Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the Maxx” and “Moody Grooves” are written and performed by Megan McDuffee.  

Hey folks, welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! Julian is on vacation, so these show notes are gonna be super basic. Xavier Kreiger joins us again to talk about our favorite summons in video games, and lots of other things. Also, Justin got a soundboard. Be afraid. Be very afraid. STAGE SELECT: Favorite video game summons CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Trails of Cold Steel, Fire Emblem Three Hopes, Ms Marvel, AI: Somnium Files VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Fatal Fury vs Evil Zone NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are 3 “missing in action” franchises that you would like to see come back? (They should be series that didn’t get a game in the PS4 generation and have not had anything announced for this generation) VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: OUR FIRST TAG TEAM MATCH! Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1&2 vs Mass Effect 1&2 SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 7/15 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the

Welcome to another lengthy episode of Nerds Without Pants! Come let us keep you company for half the workday as we talk about bad video game endings, “Not E3”, and witness a Tetsuya Nomura mirror match! 00:00 – 09-06 Fish 09:14 – 2:15:27 STAGE SELECT: Top 3 Least Favorite Game Endings 2:15:38 – 3:33:48 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Saints Row character creation, Astria Ascending, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Not E3 3:34:27 – 3:52:45 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Final Fantasy VII Remake vs Kingdom Hearts 3 3:52:54 – 4:01:57 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are your three favorite summons in video games? VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Fatal Fury vs Evil Zone SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 7/1 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the Maxx” and “Moody Grooves” are written and performed by Megan McDuffee.  

Welcome to the first music edition of Nerds Without Pants of the year! It’s been a long time, so we are here to rock your face off. We also have a lot to say about something topical for once. Enjoy! 00:00 – 09:43 Animal style 09:55 – 2:21:54 STAGE SELECT: Music that ROCKS 2:22:07 – 3:51:44 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Trails of Cold Steel, AI: Somnium Files, Sony’s Summer State of Play 3:52:22 – 4:09:21 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Okage: Shadow King vs Unlimited SaGa 4:09:32 – 4:16:17 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are your three least favorite video game endings? VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Kingdom Hearts 3 vs Final Fantasy VII Remake SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 6/17 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the Maxx” and “Moody Grooves” are written and performed by Megan McDuffee.  

Welcome to the return of Stage Select on Nerds Without Pants! After the dust has settled on the Video Game Cage Match Championship Tournament it’s time to get back to the old show format with a new focus on our lovely listeners. To that end we are joined by long time listener, first time guest Xavier Kreiger to talk about all sorts of dumb stuff. Let’s go! 00:00 – 05:24 Inventions 05:40 – 3:07:42 STAGE SELECT: Listener AMA 3:07:54 – 4:36:34 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Trails of Cold Steel, Kirby and the Forgotten World, Something is Killing the Children, Danganronpa 2, AI: The Somnium Files, Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising, Citizen Sleeper 4:37:14 – 4:50:48 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Quest 64 (challenger) Chrono Cross (champion) 4:50:57 – 4:57:53 Outro and outtakes   NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: Tell us a piece of video game music that ROCKS (bonus if you can headbang to it). Note: You can submit more than one song, but we’ll only be playing the first on

THE TIME HAS COME AT LAST! Chex Quest. Chrono Cross. A 16-foot-tall steel cage. Who will emerge as the first ever Nerds Without Pants Video Game Cage Match champion? The listeners decided. Now you need to listen to find out. We’re joined by Mike Fallek and John Gholson in their first ever meeting on NWP to help with the proceedings! 00:00 – 4:16:12 Intro: Are you the cops? CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Chinatown Detective Agency, The Batman, Cyberpunk 2077, Judgment, Mass Effect 2, problems with Gamepass, and much, much more! 4:16:48 – 5:03:45 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH TITLE BOUT: Chex Quest vs Chrono Cross 5:03:53 – 5:17:22 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT RETURNS WITH A LISTENER AMA! Please answer the following questions: How are you doing?  What are some YouTube recommendations?  In a fight to the death with someone your size and build you have the choice of a 6 inch knife or an aluminum bat. Which weapon do you choose, knowing that the one you don’t pick goes to your opponent?

Welcome back to a really fun episode of Nerds Without Pants! We have lots of games to talk about, terrible jokes, smooth segue ways,  and find out the games that will square off in our first Video Game Cage Match championship match next episode! 00:00 – 11:22 There’s a storm comin’ 11:22 – 28:39 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT MATCH: Chrono Cross vs Super Mario Odyssey 30:26 – 59:23 Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa 59:55 – 1:47:24 Justin finished Elden Ring! 1:47:24 – 2:01:18 Norco 2:04:09 – 2:13:16 Chinatown Detective Agency 2:13:16 – 2:31:24 Final Fantasy XIV’s new PvP 2:31:24 – 2:46:56 NWPerdy (I don’t have a better name for this) 2:47:08 – 2:55:35 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT MATCH: Tetris vs Chex Quest 2:59:21 – 3:15:30 When Justin was a boy, outro   NEXT EPISODE: IT’S THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH BETWEEN {REDACTED} AND {CLASSIFIED} (listen to the episode) Who wins? YOU DECIDE! SUB

Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! We’re coming in a bit late this, time, because Julian got real dang sick after we recorded. Thankfully you won’t notice that in the episode, and it’s a pretty good one, even if we didn’t have much new to say this week. No time for the usual show notes, but we complete the semifinals of the Nerds Without Pants Video Game Cage Match championship tournament, get some more Elden Ring, talk some new games in Norco and A Memoir Blue, and then we talk some SOPFFO (Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin). If you want to hear even more on that, check out Julian on the latest episode of the Mage Cast! NEXT EPISODE: THE VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT FINALS COMMENCE! Opening match: Chrono Cross vs Super Mario Odyssey Closing match: Tetris vs Chex Quest SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 4/22 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Mage Cast episode 76: Ted Sephiroth: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/mage-cast-715050/episodes/076-ted-sephiroth-stranger-of-

Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! We don’t have anything new to talk about when it comes to what we’ve played, but Justin rises to the challenge by debuting not one, but two new segments. We also begin the semi-finals of the Video Game Cage Match championship tournament. Spread it on! 00:00 – 11:54 The McDonald’s moon man 11:54 – 20:36 Video Game Cage Match Tournament Bout: Chrono Cross vs Dead Space 2 20:36 – 42:51 Elden Ring 42:51 – 1:01:33 WWE 2K22 1:01:33 – 1:14:05 NWPerdy (I don’t have a good name for this) 1:14:05 – 1:51:27 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, what even is an RPG?, what FF VII Remake 2 SHOULD be 1:51:27 – 1:57:53 Julian recommends Neebs Gaming Subnautica series, watching let’s plays 1:57:53 – 2:25:48 Video games are too damn long, Horizon: Forbidden West 2:25:48 – 2:32:37 When Justin was a young boy 2:33:17 – 2:41:21 Video Game Cage Match Tournament Bout: Area 51 vs Super Mario Odyssey 2:

Well howdy, partner! Nerds Without Pants is back, and Mike Fallek as back. So you know what that means: a massively meandering show that loses control almost immediately. Enjoy! Also, why did I start this by typing “howdy, partner”? 00:00 – 11:25 Stamps 12:04 – 53:21 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH TOURNAMENT BOUT: Super Mario Bros. vs Crusader: No Remorse 59:33 – 1:35:59 Horizon: Forbidden West, modern sci-fi 1:35:59 – 2:32:11 Cyberpunk 2077, Justin is a Time Lord confirmed, the pros and cons of early console adoption 2:32:43 – 3:08:27 Elden Ring 3:08:27 – 3:43:10 WWE 2K22, wrestlers are the worst actors, or are they the BEST actors? 3:43:55 – 4:10:01 The pitfalls of current day collecting and “always online” games when they go offline 4:10:01 – 4:51:11 Mike Fallek has some…opinions on Mass Effect 2 4:51:47 – 5:00:57 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH TOURNAMENT BOUT: Chex Quest vs Castlevania 64 5:01:05 – 5:11:15 Outro and outtakes NEXT EPI

Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! This week, we hop onto our Email Banana Boat and read your emails! We also talk a lot about games! It’s…you know…a podcast. 00:00 – 12:47  Birthstone Talk, with NBA all-star Carmelo Anthony 15:04 – 32:38 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT: Area 51 vs Dragon Quest XI 35:39 – 2:31:27 EMAIL BANANA BOAT: We answer your emails! 2:31:53 -   3:59:00 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Closing thoughts on Persona 5 Royal, worries about Triangle Strategy, Sifu, Horizon: Forbidden West, Cyberpunk 2077, Phantom Train! 3:59:36 – 4:09:05 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT: Primal Rage vs Super Mario Odyssey 4:14:21 – 4:47:25 SPOILER CHAT: Persona 5 Royal NEXT EPISODE: The NWP Video Game Cage Match Championship Tournament continues: Opening match: Super Mario Bros. vs Crusader: No Remorse Closing match: Chex Quest vs Castlevania 64 SUBMIT YOUR CAGE MATCH PICKS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 3/11 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NW

Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! Hiatus is behind us, and we’ve revealed our favorite games of last year. Now, it’s time to catch up and see just what we got up to during the break. This episode covers a lot, while baring it all! 00:00 – 15:47 Scuba 15:47 – 20:04 Announcements 20:04 – 22:18 Black Friday deals, Persona 5 Royal’s last dungeon sucks 22:18 – 39:19 Death Stranding: Director’s Cut 39:19 – 55:13 Magic the Gathering: Arena, our bleak NFT future, Justin’s pyrrhic victory 55:46 – 1:25:07 Sifu, our muted enthusiasm for Horizon: Forbidden West 1:27:07 – 1:42:25 Deathloop *SPOILERS AT 1:39:03* 1:42:25 – 1:55:39 Justin is defeated by a character creation screen, Pathfinder 1:55:39 – 2:05:10 Cloud gaming on Xbox, Nobody Saves the World 2:05:10 – 2:20:47 Idol Manager (?!) 2:21:18 – 2:45:06 Buying Final Fantasy Tactics is even harder than playing Final Fantasy Tactics, Triangle Strategy 2:45:06 – 3:19:05

It’s the first episode of Nerds Without Pants recorded in the new year, and that only means one thing: Game of the Year, baby! We shake things up just a bit this year, listing our top ten games that we played in 2021, as opposed to the usual top five. There are some big surprises in there, for sure! 00:00 - 10:24 Sarah Michelle Gellar 10:24- 41:42 Game of the Year 2021: the bottom 5 42:13 – 1:57:03 Our top 5 games of the year, up to 2 1:57:03 – 2:21:51 Honorable mentions 2:21:58 – 2:49:48 Our number 1 games of the year 2:49:48 – 3:02:59 Our next big game, outro, outtakes   NEXT EPISODE: WE KICK OFF THE NWP VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT! Chrono Cross vs Devil May Cry 2: Who wins? You decide! Submit your comments by 8:30 Central on 2/11/22!

No, I didn’t forget that we have this last part of the Nerds Without Pants PS2 list special to release! I’m just…really lazy, y’all. But here it is! Not sure if we’ll ever do another one of these, but there’s something kinda fun about just going through an entire console library, so never say never.   Also, the PS2 had some weird, cool games.

Well hello there! Are you missing the Nerds Without Pants? Well…we miss you. Why you gotta waste our flavor? Damn! Aaaanyway, it’s our annual music special, so feast your ears, and we’ll be back with live episodes soon! TRACK LIST: V3- Masafumi Takada (Danganronpa V3), A Long Fall- Masayoshi Soken (Final Fantasy XIV), Niez- Motoi Sakuraba (Tales of Arise), CPU Plaza- Kenneth CM Young (Astro’s Playroom),  Shadowlord- Keiichi Okabe (Nier Replicant), Cold Blooded- Hidenori Shoji (Yakuza: Like a Dragon), Counterstrike- Shoji Meguro (Persona 5: Strikers), Zero to Hero- “Starlord” (Guardians of the Galaxy), Love the Subhuman Self- Daisuke Ishiwatari (Guilty Gear Strive), Rasen- jon-YAKITORY feat. Ado (Lost Judgment), Disaster of Passion- Daisuke Ishiwatari (Guilty Gear Strive), Footfalls- Masayoshi Soken (Final Fantasy XIV) Reminder that we are asking for emails and voice memos for a possible mailbag episode!   Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme

The last Nerds Without Pants of the year is our annual State of the Generation episode, and we have a lot to say about the new consoles, where they may be going, and also highlight a ton of the biggest stories in gaming from 2021. Check the timestamps to skip ahead if we are covering a story you don’t care about. We’ll see you in 2022! 09:41 Being early console adopters 29:43 Unreal 5 and the Matrix experience 45:55 Should you buy a PS5 or Xbox Series console right now? 52:36 The terrible interfaces on both consoles 58:08 News of the year: Covid delays 1:11:16 The supply chain issues and the effect on this generation 1:17:04 No one cares about the Switch OLED version 1:21:08 A surprisingly long VR discussion 1:35:26 The continued fall of Activision Blizzard 1:52:27 The rise of Final Fantasy XIV 2:05:39 The NFTs are coming! The NFTs are coming! 2:18:49 Character likeness rights and the future of games 2:34:07 The art of creating remastered games 2:47:06 The games we’re looking forward to in 2

  Well hello there! This is the final standard format episode of Nerds Without Pants of 2021, so we decided to bring Mike Fallek on and recorded an episode so long that you won’t finish it until 2022. Yep, totally meant to do that. Wasn’t an off-the-rails affair from minute one. Nope. 00:00 – 14:41 Time ghosts 15:00 – 3:04:18 STAGE SELECT: The games that relax us. Sort of. 3:04:25 – 4:37:29 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Xbox Gamepass, The Evil Within, Call of the Sea, Wild Guns, Subnautica, Ace Attorney Trilogy, L.A. Noire, Hades, Forza Horizon 5, Overboard!, Guardians of the Galaxy 4:38:06 – 5:05:46 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Super Metroid vs Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 5:05:54 – 5:12:46 Outro NEXT EPISODE: THE FINAL EPISODE OF NWP FOR 2021! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the Maxx” and “Moody Grooves” are written and performed by Megan McDuffee.    

This episode is late and I’m in so much pain writing this that I can’t think straight. You know the drill: we talked about stuff. For a long time. About video games. 00:00 – 14:17 Doves 14:25 – 01:40:52 STAGE SELECT: What video game worlds would you like to live in? 01:41:01 – 03:00:45 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Unpacking, Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, Gears of War 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider 03:01:22 – 03:20:21 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Final Fantasy XV vs Dragon Quest XI 03:20:30 – 03:26:43 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are the games that relax you the most? VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Super Metroid vs Castlevania: Symphony of the Night SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON DECEMBER 3 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast@gmail.com Our theme song “Relax” and interstitial tracks “To the Maxx” and “Moody Grooves” are written and performed by Megan McDuffee.  

Welcome to another banger of an episode of Nerds Without Pants! We hope this episode pushes all of your buttons, because that’s the topic of the day: BUTTONS! It will make sense when you listen to it, we promise. We also cover a handful of recent releases, and Serious Sam steps into the cage with Turok Evolution! 00:00 - 07:06 Introduction 07:16 – 01:25:13 STAGE SELECT: What are some of your favorite buttons in gaming? 01:25:22 - 03:08:32 CONSUMPTION JUNCTION: Tales of Arise, Inscryption, Wilder Myth, Alan Wake Remastered, Corpse Party (PS4), Guardians of the Galaxy, Julian’s Persona 5 Royal check-in 03:09:08 – 03:26:08 VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Serious Sam vs Turok Evolution 03:26:17 – 03:37:59 Outro NEXT EPISODE: STAGE SELECT: What are the video game worlds you would like to live in the most, and where would your home be? VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Final Fantasy XV vs Dragon Quest XI SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 8:30 CENTRAL ON 11/19 TO BE ON THE SHOW! Twitter: @NWPcast Email: NWPcast