Tales from the Backlog David Jackson

Xenogears, by Square, is one of the big RPGs of this era that I wanted to check off. As a fan of the Xenoblade Chronicles games and JRPGs in general, going back to the root of the series felt like an interesting trip back through history. A few things had initially put me off, like all of the talk about an unfinished second disc and heavy use of religious and philosophical material that I would have to research outside of the game. And I'm happy to report that both worries were unfounded- the second disc is great, and I actually did feel compelled to go learn things outside of the game! This is a fantastic, flawed game, and it was a joy to record about it.


Joining me to discuss Xenogears is Michael Berger, co-host of Bits of Time. You can check out Bits of Time on their podcast and their YouTube channel! You can also check out Michael's books, Ayla: A Science Fiction Novella and The Consumed.


TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 2:06
Story Setup 14:29
Story Pacing/Characters/Religious & Philosophical Themes 27:56
Visuals/Music 42:07
Gameplay/Combat 53:32
Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 1:07:04
SPOILER WALL 1:16:53


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

Sometimes I try to write clever little descriptions about the games on the show, but this week's game doesn't feel like it needs it.** Baldur's Gate 3*, by **Larian Studios, excels in just about everything it sets out to do. It has impressive writing, almost unparalleled choice-based storytelling, memorable characters, a deep and engaging combat system, and tons of immersive sim elements that make each playthrough really feel like your own. It's one of the best games I've ever played, and I was joined by returning guests **Jim Rodeman* and Chris Rettig to discuss it!


TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 2:47
Story Setup/Characters 19:57
Choice-Based Storytelling/Quest Design 44:22
Visuals/Presentation/Music 59:05
Gameplay/Combat 1:12:41
Closing Thoughts/Recommendations 1:57:40
SPOILER SECTION IS IN ITS OWN EPISODE THIS TIME


Charity Streaming Event: We are doing a charity streaming event from April 20th-28th 2024 to benefit Suicide Awareness Voices of Education in honor of a friend we lost. Please check out the stream schedule HERE and consider donating HERE.


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

Our Baldur's Gate 3 recording ran so long, I had to split it up into two episodes. This is the full-spoiler discussion, where we talk about the decisions we made, how we solved our quests, how things turned out in our games, and much more. In particular, Jim's evil and Dark Urge playthroughs brought about some wild results that you'll love to hear about! You can find the non-spoiler portion of this episode in Episode 114!


TIMESTAMPS
Act 1 2:48
Act 2 26:22
Act 3 46:55
Late Game Bosses/Endings 1:14:43


Charity Streaming Event: We are doing a charity streaming event from April 20th-28th 2024 to benefit Suicide Awareness Voices of Education in honor of a friend we lost. Please check out the stream schedule HERE and consider donating HERE.


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

During the first few months after Baldur's Gate 3 released, I heard a similar refrain coming from my friends and people on social media- people would say something like "I normally don't play RPGs like this, but I love Baldur's Gate 3! Flash forward 6 months and now Baldur's Gate 3 has swept the major award shows and broken into the top 10 most-played list on Steam. How did a game from such a niche genre break into the mainstream?


In order to answer this, I invited CRPG historian and writer/editor for The CRPG Book, Felipe Pepe, on to the show to talk about all of this. Topics discussed include:



How he got into RPGs and why we love the genre
The state and role of CRPGs through history, including discussions about Fallout, Ultima, Wizardry, Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, Morrowind, Arx Fatalis, Skyrim, Disco Elysium, Wasteland, The Gold Box Series, Shadowrun, Dragon Age, and many more games.
Why Baldur's Gate 3 broke out in such a big way
Recommendations for other CRPGs through history for new fans of the genre
The CRPG Book project


You can follow Felipe on Twitter, check out the free PDF version of The CRPG Book, or purchase a wonderful hardcover edition from Bitmap Books (all author's proceeds to go charity)!


Check out Dave's guest appearance on the "Fun" and Games podcast, where we did an Xbox 360 retrospective!


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

From the first time I saw a screenshot of The Case of the Golden Idol, by Color Gray Games, I was struck by these caricaturish portraits and knew I'd have to follow up on it someday. Then the comparisons to a favorite of mine, Return of the Obra Dinn, started rolling in and I knew I would have to play it sooner rather than later. And a big shoutout to community member Soccr for buying this for me in our Discord server Secret Santa! Yay!


Joining me to discuss The Case of the Golden Idol is NinaStruggles, a streamer and YouTuber who plays all manner of games but has a particular love of puzzle and detective games! You can check her out by following this link!


TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:51
Story Setup 9:51
Music/Visuals 18:15
Gameplay/Puzzles 28:25
Final Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 51:26
SPOILER WALL 57:50


Check out Dave's guest appearances on Left Behind Game Club and The Gaming Duo!


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

Sunset Overdrive feels like a game that's been lost to time, doomed to a life of only being mentioned when a new game comes out that reminds people of it, despite being made by one of the industry's heavyweights (Insomniac Games) in the not so distant past. It's got a goofy tone, a bangin punk rock soundtrack, and an exquisite movement system that never gets old, but its mission design starts to wear thin long before the credits roll. Joining me to discuss Sunset Overdrive is streamer and YouTuber Goohi, and you can check out everything she is making by following this link!


TIMESTAMPS
Intro/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:37
Story Setup/Humor/Soundtrack 13:53
Gameplay/Movement 30:58
Gameplay/Combat 44:01
Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Plugs 1:12:12
NO SPOILER SECTION


Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages


Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!