Scanline Talks

Novel Not New – Fate/stay Night Remastered

Scanline Media — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:08:32 +0000

Previously exclusive to the Scanline Media Patrons, our friend Boo ran into some financial issues and needs your help! Please check her on @boocanan.bsky.social for more information. In the mean time, enjoy a gargantuan deep dive into the Fate/stay Night Remaster! Click the link for the Patreon and a look at the host's character tier lists.

Fate/stay night is one of the most significant visual novels around: with three lengthy routes and an unforgettable cast of characters, what started as adult entertainment blossomed into an unstoppable cultural behemoth. A game this significant called for a significant shake-up in the way Novel Not New approaches things, so we brought out the big guns: with our special guest and Fate aficionado boocanan, we spent six whole months recording one big mega-podcast! Please enjoy.

Opening Segment Hollow Knight SpikeOut Tengoku Struggle Strayside Wanderstop On Your Tail HASTE: Broken Worlds

Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Content Warning 0:00:16 - Intro 0:26:56 - Fate 2:02:52 - Unlimited Blade Works 3:30:08 - Heaven's Feel 4:41:44 - Questions 5:30:48 - Outro

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Game of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:12:23 +0000

Here we are- Game of the Year. The big finale. We've had quite enough preamble- let's get to it.

The Nominees Are:

Aotenjo: Infinite Hands of the Devil (Episodes I + II) Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake Dynasty Warriors: Origins Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Fields of Mistria The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment The Legend of Sword & Fairy Pinfeather Rise of the Ronin Skate Story Sonic x Shadow Generations Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition Unbeatable Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O -World Stage-

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Anime/Manga of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 23:56:30 +0000

With multiple anime and manga podcasts, it's clear we love this medium a lot. And in 2025 we saw so many cool things. In this penultimate category, we celebrate our favorite anime and manga of the year.

The Nominees Are:

Apocalypse Hotel The Apothecary Dairies City the Animation Daemons of the Shadow Realm Gosick Knight in One Frame Medalist Red Ranger Isekai Super Dragon Ball Heroes They Were Eleven Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era A Wild Last Boss Appeared! Witch Watch The Wonderful World of Puss 'n' Boots

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:43:19 +0000

Time concerns (that proved a bit unnecessary) forced us to compress Minor Character and Major character into one pod, so Minor Character gets a little "one winner no runners up" before the main event!

The Best Minor Character Nominees Are:

Emma Rockford (of the Devil) Serra (of the Devil) Shiho Kubota (Futari wa Pretty Cure) Darumi Amemiya (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) Kyoshika Magadori (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) Yugamu Omokage (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) Capricorn Undead/"Party Boy John Lennon" (Kamen Rider Blade) Ryoka "Mittens" Miketa (Medalist) Treble (Unbeatable)

The Best Major Character Nominees Are:

Yachiyo (Apocalypse Hotel) JC Denton (Deus Ex) Morgan (of the Devil) Peronel (Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake) Ringo Ishikawa (The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa) Takumi Sumino (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) Kazuma Kenzaki/Kamen Rider Blade (Kamen Rider Blade) Lin Yueru (The Legend of Sword & Fairy) Inori Yuitsuka (Medalist) Senichi "Sen" Enari (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger) Jungle Pocket (Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era) Beat (Unbeatable) Quaver (Unbeatable) Nico Wakatsuki (Witch Watch)

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Narrative Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 22:00:00 +0000

In contrast to Emergent Moment, you don't have to do anything special to experience these. These scripted moments are part of the media below that everyone can see, but that doesn't make them any less special. These moments made us laugh, tear up, and reflect in 2025, and we want to share them with you. Note: Since some of our naming of the moments themselves could be considered a spoiler, listed below are all the works we discuss during the pod.

The Nominees Are:

Apocalypse Hotel CITY the Animation of the Devil The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa Heavy Metal L-GAIM The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Medalist Story of Seasons: The Grand Bazaar Super Robot Wars Y They Were Eleven Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era Unbeatable Witch Watch With You In The Rain

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Emergent Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:10:26 +0000

The phrasing on this category was tricky. What is an Emergent Moment? Basically, it's to distinguish from a Narrative Moment- our category tomorrow. Rather than scripted, hand-tailored moments, these are moments that occur, or occurred, naturally as a result of the way things have been set up- either in a game or in the world.

The Nominees Are:

Baby's First Death Trap (Android: Netrunner) Tile Hog (Aotenjo: Infinite Hands) Virtua Fighter 5 Grand Finals (Combo Breaker 2025) Your First Monorail-only Delivery (Death Stranding 2: On the Beach) Sit Back and Let the Points Roll In (Demonic Mahjong) Reading a book (The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa) Perfecting a Wave (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) "I Don't Play This Game." (Combo Breaker 2025) Switch Games Feeling Playable Again (Switch 2) Ten Heads In A Row (Unfair Flips) Picross Fever (Picross) Accidentally Eracing Yourself (Shadow of Memories) Infinite Chaos Control (Shadow the Hedgehog)

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky. That's last year's art, we'll have new art for this year soon, so please look forward to that!

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Song Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 03:43:51 +0000

We used to call this category "That's My Jam" which is a long forgotten in-joke from our personal Discord server, but unfortunately it was just a little out of step of the way we name these categories now. But rest assured, these songs are JAMS. We had lots of music to choose from this year and it was harder for some to narrow it down.

The Nominees Are:

"BIRDBRAIN" w/ OK Glass Feat Kasane Teto by Jaime Paige "Bow and Arrow" by Kenshi Yonezu (Medalist) "EMPTYLANDS" by Blood Cultures (Skate Story) "The Girl on a Space Colony" by Yoshimasa Terui (Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX) "KOERU" by Alexandros (Umamusume Cinderella Gray) "L-GAIM: Time for L-Gaim" by Kyohei Tsutsumi (Heavy Metal L-Gaim) "Loner" by peak divide (Unbeatable) "Waiting" by peak divide (Unbeatable) "Maximum Kizuna Kaizer Explodes" by Akira Kushida (The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World) "Scarlet Draw" by Lena Raine (of the Devil) "Zero Summary" by Lena Raine (of the Devil) "Skirt" by AIKO (Apocalypse Hotel) Theme of Lu Bu DW Origins Mix (Dynasty Warriors Origins) "Universe Mission Theme Song" by DRAGON SOUL (Super Dragon Ball Heroes) "Watch Me!" by Yoasobi (Witch Watch)

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Surprise Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:36:14 +0000

There are bad surprises in this world. A lot of them. We are not celebrating those! They don't get their own category, at least this year. Let's talk GOOD surprises.

The Nominees Are:

Apocalypse Hotel of the Devil Donkey Kong Bananza High School Musical 2 Hollow Knight Silksong Kasane to Subaru Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's Mini Healer Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire The Red Ranger Becomes An Adventurer in Another World Sonic x Shadow Generations They Were Eleven Umamusume: Beginning of a New Era A Wild Last Boss Appeared! Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Toolkit Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:30:00 +0000

We may have had to combine Best Action Toolkit and Best Fighting Toolkit this year out of time concerns, but that just means a staggering roster of characters that are fun and interesting to play. Behold!

The Nominees Are:

Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Bananza) Largo (Dota 2) Yammy Yugi (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Ziluan (Dynasty Warriors: Origins) Revenant (Elden Ring Nightreign) Meg (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Wilnas (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Sister Blades, Lim and Oros (Hades II) Hornet (Hollow Knight: Silksong) King Rauru (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment) Skyraider (Mecha Break) Priest (Mini Healer) Starting Pitcher (MLB The Show 25) Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden 2 Black) Pawmot (Pokémon Unite) Mai (Street Fighter 6) Clea (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition) Juri (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition) Nero (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition) Robbie Reyes (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition)

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2025 – Best Mechanic Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 04:54:13 +0000

Systems are such a special part of games. Sets of rules and features that turn into engines to produce unique outcomes as they crash together. And the mechanics that make up these systems can stand out as truly remarkable. Here are our favorites from the last year.

The Nominees Are:

Weather (Death Stranding 2: On the Beach) Highroller (of the Devil) Media Literacy Quizzes (of the Devil) Smashing Everything (Donkey Kong Bananza) Duels (Dynasty Warriors: Origins) Voltage / Last Resort (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) Team Up Specials (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment) Live Combat (Pokémon Legends Z-A) Weapon Schools (Rise of the Ronin) Back-to-basics Skating (Skate Story) The Grand Bazaar (Story of Seasons: The Grand Bazaar) Reloading Rules (Suit for Hire)

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.

Novel Not New – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Scanline Media — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 19:57:53 +0000

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, we have a real treat. Originally for the $5 Patrons, we have unlocked one of our longest and most in depth episodes of Novel Not New, and it's available just in time for the spooky season. We hope you enjoy.

Ahhh, Majora's Mask. A real odd duck in the Zelda series. There are weirder ones, sure: that Tingle DS game is pretty strange. In its own mundane way, Link's Crossbow Training is quite bizarre. But those are mere spinoffs. Majora's Mask adopts its own weird persona while managing to be a full Zelda game. The first Zelda led by Eiji Aonuma. The one that was gonna be for the 64DD. And for my money, one of the best. Let's see what lies behind the mask.

Click here when indicated if you want to watch the 100% No Major Glitches World Record speedrun alongside this podcast for some reason!

This Month's Games! The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

This Month's Guest! Kyrie Page (@kyrie.scanlinemedia.com)

Next Month's Game! Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Next Month's Guest! Allen Ibrahim (@chatzpod.bsky.social)

Opening Segment Void Stranger Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless Fate/Samurai Remnant

Sunday Henshin Time S1E3 – Rest In Pissard

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 04:01:33 +0000

EPISODES COVERED: Futari wa Pretty Cure 5-6, Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger 5-6, Kamen Rider Blade 5-6

Pretty Cure has a new villain for us. Dekaranger has things to say about capitalism's hunger for oil. Blade has decided to just acknowledge what's going on, and not insult our intelligence. All-in-all, a solid week here on Sunday Henshin Time, where three lineups of transforming heroes face the problems of the week, and rise above. Mostly. Garren does get his butt kicked pretty often.

The incredible artwork for Sunday Henshin Time was provided by Cas!

To start out, SHT is going up on the Scanline Talks feed, but now it has its own! Here's a link!

Our intro music is Scene47 蒼空～aoi～ by Kaneko Kazuki, with gratitude.

Sunday Henshin Time S1E2 – I Know That Quarry

Scanline Media — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:21:15 +0000

EPISODES COVERED: Futari wa Pretty Cure 3-4, Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger 3-4, Kamen Rider Blade 3-4

Big explosive openings are out of the way, now is time to settle into some grooves. Futari wa is out here building the train while it's already on the tracks, but that's where they like to be. Dekaranger is trying to expand it's characters and setting, and Blade is diving right into some impressively escalated stakes. What will these shows morph into? Something colorful, I am certain.

The incredible artwork for Sunday Henshin Time was provided by Cas!

To start out, SHT is going up on the Scanline Talks feed, but now it has its own! Here's a link!

Our intro music is Scene47 蒼空～aoi～ by Kaneko Kazuki, with gratitude.

Sunday Henshin Time S1E1 – Look, That’s His Name

Scanline Media — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 08:17:59 +0000

EPISODES COVERED: Futari wa Pretty Cure 1-2, Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger 1-2, Kamen Rider Blade 1-2

Here comes a new story. Or three, to be more precise. With our Journey to the Worst in the bag, Kyrie and I leave Dragon Ball behind for the moment, and head to new territory. But what could we possibly cover where we'd have that same magic combination of undercovered work that we can act as experts about, and that we're very passionate about? It's a short list, I think. But you know? Pretty Cure, Super Sentai, and Kamen Rider? Yeah, I think that makes the cut.

We're starting Sunday Henshin Time with the first two episodes of Futari wa Pretty Cure, Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, and Kamen Rider Blade. And we're riding this baby all the way. I suspect we'll die before we fully catch up XD but enjoy the ride until then!

The incredible artwork for Sunday Henshin Time was provided by Cas!

To start out, SHT is going up on the Scanline Talks feed, but now it has its own! Here's a link!

Our intro music is Scene47 蒼空～aoi～ by Kaneko Kazuki, with gratitude.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Game of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:52:41 +0000

Here we are, folks. Game of the Year- the capper to the Gimmick Awards. We've said a lot over the course of this month, so no big preamble: I'll let the conversation speak for itself.

The Nominees Are: 1000xRESIST Chants of Sennaar Children of the Sun Crow Country Dragon Quest III HD-2D Dragon's Dogma 2 Dungeons of Hinterberg Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Helldivers 2 I Am Your Beast Kerbal Space Program 2 Lorelei and the Laser Eyes Metaphor: ReFantazio Mouthwashing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery Riven (2024) The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom UFO 50 Unicorn Overlord

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Mechanic Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 01:18:30 +0000

Games. Turns out, you tend to play them. In years past, we have often tried to talk about the elegance of particular systems and mechanics before, but we never had a category exclusive to that. Debuting this year, we wanted to award our favorite mechanics from 2024.

The Nominees Are:

Mind Chess (Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit) Learning Languages (Chants of Sennaar) Bullet Guidance (Children of the Sun) Lane Rails (Deadlock) Memories (Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake) Pawns (Dragons Dogma 2) Bravery Points (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Stratagems (Helldivers 2) Bond (Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom) Team Up (Marvel Rivals) The Car (Pacific Drive) The Starry Expanse (Riven [2024]) Fast Talk (Star Wars Outlaws) Possession (Slitterhead) Rewind (Tetrachroma) Guard Thrust (Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]) Tactics (Unicorn Overlord) Special Training Plan (Zenless Zone Zero)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 01:17:01 +0000

Sometimes, a singular moment shines through and is so bright, you can't help but take notice. This may be the last year this category takes the form it does, so let's send it off with some of our favorite moments from games and anime.

Please note, this podcast will spoil many moments from all the games and anime we list, so if you wanna go in without knowing, you may wanna steer clear of this pod. But regardless, here are the nominees!

The Nominees Are: Propaganda Theater (1000xRESIST) Eustace Steps Up (Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit) Tearful Reunion (BanG Dream: It's My GO!!!!!) Arriving in the Warriors Floor (Chants of Sennaar) Feint Kamehameha (Dragon Ball GT) Goku Going Super Saiyan 4 (Dragon Ball GT) You Dropped Your Crown (Dragon Quest III HD-2D) Get Out of the Car (Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club) Nier Denied (EVO 2024) Shikikan Reunites with Kalin(a) (Girls Frontline 2) Spot Dodging a Raging Blow (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Hectic Extraction (Helldivers 2) Debugged Consoles (Lorelei and the Laser Eyes) Sleeping by the door (The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today) "I Lived, Bitch" (Metaphor: ReFantazio) Collapsing Bridge (Riven [2024]) Peanut Butter's Home Run (Summer Games Done Quick 2024) A Quiet Commitment (Unicorn Overlord) Primm Saves the World (Unicorn Overlord) Suo Teaches Humility (Wind Breaker)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Anime/Manga Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 02:05:20 +0000

You know, despite our ambitions of being a gaming coverage site, we talk about a lot of anime. Our most frequent and consistent shows are about anime and manga, so of course we had to dedicate a category to it. In one of our more prestigious awards, we discuss our favorite anime and manga of the year from 2024.

The Nominees Are: BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!! (Anime) Delicious in Dungeon (Anime) Dragon Ball (Manga) Dragon Ball GT (Anime) The Elusive Samurai (Anime) Heterogenia Linguistico (Manga) Martian Successor Nadesico (Anime) Our Dreams At Dusk (Manga) Overman King Gainer (Anime) Ranma 1/2 (2024) (Anime) Turn A Gundam (Anime) Wind Breaker (Anime) Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Manga) Yotsuba& (Manga)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Instrumental Song Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 04:39:48 +0000

...And here are the Instrumental songs, which is to say, the ones that aren't lyrically focused- the human voice is still allowed as an instrument!

The Nominees Are: Objection! 2011 (Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit) Pit of Peril (Astro Bot) Maybe Everything Will Be Ok… (Crow Country) Go Home, Little Stamp aka Bow Wow Wow (Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth) Pride [Beatrix's Theme] - Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Extraction Suite - Helldivers 2 Zero's Theme (Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite and Beyond) Captain America's Theme (Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite and Beyond) Warriors in Arms (Metaphor: ReFantazio) Main Theme (Mouthwashing) Gehn's Theme (Riven (2024)) The Youkai Trail Trio* (Touhou Mystia's Izakaya) Calm Before Tomorrow's Storm (Touhou Mystia's Izakaya) Fighting Off The Powerful (Unicorn Overlord) Heir to the Dragon Lords (Unicorn Overlord) Roger that (Zenless Zone Zero)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

*A Hushed Night Begins/In High Spirits/Come One, Come All

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Vocal Song Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 04:36:23 +0000

Music is a weird category for us, or rather pair of categories thanks to it being split in twain. We aren't music crits, and we don't cover the music industry or its releases. Instead, we discuss music via its presence in other things we cover- games and anime. Anime openings and closings, themes in games, that sort of thing. We'll leave the record industry to the experts.

The Nominees Are: Haruhikage by MyGO!!!!!! (BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!!) Hitoshizuku by MyGO!!!!!! (BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!!) seisyun complex by kessoku band (Bocchi the Rock!) Otonoke by Creepy Nuts (Dandadan) Jaka Jaan by Zedd feat. C&K (Dragon Ball Daima) Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku by Field of View (Dragon Ball GT) Plan A by dish// (The Elusive Samurai) VERSUSIA [Versusia's Theme] by Tsutomu Narita (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Welcome to the PARADE! [Vikala's Theme] (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Radiant Dawn [Queen Dizzy's Theme] by AISHA (Guilty Gear -Strive-) Symphony [A.B.A.'s Theme] by Naoki Hashimoto (Guilty Gear -Strive-) King Gainer Over! by Yoshiki Fukuyama (Overman King Gainer) It's Going Down Now by (Persona 3 Reload) Iinazukkyun by ano (Ranma 1/2 2024) Beneath the Purple Cherry Blossoms Once Again by 二色幽紫蝶 (Touhou Mystia's Izakaya) Turn A Turn by Hideki Saijo (Turn A Gundam)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky. Hironobu Kageyama

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Surprise Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 20:00:00 +0000

2024 was full of surprises. Not all of them good! 2024 was a rough year, y'all. But sometimes surprises can be wonderful, and in this category we explore the things that caught us off guard in a good way. All sorts of things can be involved in this category, be it patches, games, DLC, or in one case, an entire restructuring of games distribution.

These are the Best Surprises of 2024.

The Nominees Are: Castlevania: Dominus Collection Celeste 64 Dragon Ball FighterZ Patch 1.38 Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club The Jackbox Survey Scramble Killer Instinct 10th Anniversary Update Kinki Spiritual Affairs Bureau Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Steam Family Sharing Update Terry Bogard in Street Fighter 6 Tetrachroma UFO 50 Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. Webfishing

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Side Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000

From Best Character, two phantoms were born. The spotlight-haver and the supporting act shouldn't be fighting with each other. It's not right. But I'll let the supporting acts brawl amongst themselves, that's just entertainment.

The Nominees Are: Eustace Winner (Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosector's Gambit) Larry Butz (Ace Attorney Movie) The Para Para Brothers (Dragon Ball GT) Genba (The Elusive Samurai) Tsubasa Fukuyama (Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club) Nemesis (Hades II) Maria Campanella (The House in Fata Morgana) Byron (I Am Your Beast) Eislein Burchelli Meijal Hulkenberg (Metaphor: ReFantazio) Lacey (Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: The Teal Mask) Straight Cougar (s-CRY-ed) Nix (Star Wars Outlaws) Profi (Stella of the End) Knights of the Rose (Unicorn Overlord) Hayato Suō (Windbreaker) Billy (Zenless Zone Zero) Lucy (Zenless Zone Zero)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky. The rules summary music for this category is City of Reason by Alkemie from Pentiment, whose character Andreas won Best Game Character in the Gimmick Awards 2022.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Major Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000

This was a category separation we felt very good about when it occurred to us: why are we having leading characters going up against background characters? Why don't we separate this into Best Major Character and Best Side Character, so it's not "this character is cool but they aren't very important to the plot so they're cut?" I like this much better, and I hope y'all do too.

The Nominees Are: Bang Bang Fire (1000xRESIST) Anon Chihaya (BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!!) Tomori Takamatsu (BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!!) Mara Forest (Crow Country) Baby (Dragon Ball GT) Lord Tokiyuki (The Elusive Samurai) Shikikan (Girls Frontline 2) Michel (The House in Fata Morgana) Morgana (The House in Fata Morgana) Jeeves (Jeeves and Wooster) Saku Fukuzawa (The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today) Yukichi (The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today) Heismay Noctule (Metaphor: ReFantazio) Alain (Unicorn Overlord) Belle/Rin (Zenless Zone Zero)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky. The rules summary music for this category is flanged drum by rj lake from EL PASO, ELSEWHERE, whose main character James Savage won our Best Character category in the Gimmick Awards 2023.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Action Toolkit Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000

"Action Toolkit" is the best phrasing we could come up with, but it's like... you know when you play a game, and you push buttons, and it feels good? Yeah. That. A nice wall jump, a cool counter, a great set of tools that come together to form a playstyle and concept that feel good and engage your brain. Not everything on here is an action game. It does kinda exclude turn-based games, however.

The Nominees Are: Madeline (Celeste 64) Globule (Decline's Drops) Kez (Dota 2) Thief (Dragon's Dogma 2) Witch's Staff (Hades 2) Doctor Strange (Marvel Rivals) Jeff the Land Shark (Marvel Rivals) Luna Snow (Marvel Rivals) Peni Parker (Marvel Rivals) Engage Gundam Booster (Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation 2) Yi (Nine Sols) Pepper (Pepper Grinder) Darkrai (Pokemon Unite) Ho-Oh (Pokemon Unite) Psyduck (Pokemon Unite) Sargon (Prince of Persia The Lost Crown) Night Owl (Slitterhead) Burnice White (Zenless Zone Zero) Miyabi Hoshimi (Zenless Zone Zero) Tsukishiro Yanagi (Zenless Zone Zero

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky. The rules summary music for this category is Pizza Deluxe! from Pizza Tower, whose main playable character Peppino won our Best Action Toolkit category in the Gimmick Awards 2023.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Most Misguided Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000

It would be wonderful if all that was necessary to make a great work of art was a good idea. Unfortunately, this isn't so, and the road to making an idea into real art is full of pitfalls, and chances for things to go astray. Or perhaps not astray- perhaps these artists made exactly what they meant to, and it's on us for seeing a different, better possibility in them.

Whatever the case, these are good ideas gone wrong. These are the Most Misguided of 2024.

The Nominees Are: Dragon Ball GT Dragon Ball PROJECT:Multi Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Jackbox Naughty Pack Long Gone Days Marvel Rivals The McRib Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Palworld Princess Peach: Showtime! Rabbit & Steel Solo Leveling Tactical Breach Wizards Tekken 8 Tetris Forever

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky. The rules summary music for this category is Faith to Face from AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, our Biggest Disappointment "winner" from the Gimmick Awards 2022.

Gimmick Awards 2024 – Best Fighting Toolkit Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000

We're starting the Gimmick Awards with one of our most passionate, intensely discussed categories every year: Best Fighting Toolkit. We love fighting games around here, and we love to talk about character designs and movesets. God bless Jen, who is very patient with Kyrie and I every year in this category.

The Nominees Are: Monk (DNF Duel) Nen Master (DNF Duel) DIO (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Mr. Satan (Dragon Ball Sparking Zero) 2B (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Beatrix (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Versusia (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Vikala (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) A.B.A (Guilty Gear Strive) Queen Dizzy (Guilty Gear Strive) Slayer (Guilty Gear Strive) Asura (Modded Marvel 3) Cyclops (Modded Marvel 3) DMC5 Vergil (Modded Marvel 3) Hinata (Modded Marvel 3) Akuma (Street Fighter 6) Ed (Street Fighter 6) Terry Bogard (Street Fighter 6) Reina (Tekken 8) Tsurugi (Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes) Kaguya (Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Afternoon After the Rain by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.

Novel Not New Sampler – Library of Ruina

Scanline Media — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:10:21 +0000

This is the latest sampler for Novel Not New, our patron-only show! Want more like this? For just $5/month over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia, you can get access to monthly episodes of the show, as well as over 50 backlog episodes. All sorts of different games, a wild variety of guests, a bounty of tones and atmospheres. All yours: so check it out!

After months of internal discussion, we finally sat down to play the visual novel deckbuilder epic Library of Ruina. This tale of just the one City begins as it is simply the worst of times, with a society divided by class but united by the common language of systemic and personal violence. Into this mix we insert the Library: a supernatural place where a iron-hearted woman invites guests to their deaths, turning them into books to enrich her knowledge and draw her ever closer to her goal of becoming human.

This is simply our starting point- because oh baby, beLIEVE me we are off to the races from here. If we didn't have an expert joining us in the form of kb, I shudder to think how lost we'd be.

Our Guest! kb

This Month's Game! Library of Ruina

Next Month's Game! Private Eye Dol

Opening Segment Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Misericorde: Volume One Depersonalization Volcano Princess Star Wars: Jedi Survivor That Which Gave Chase The Decagon House Murders

Oops More Anime – Gundam Requiem for Vengeance

Scanline Media — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 05:31:53 +0000

And yet? The Netflix Gundam is still gonna be better than the Legendary Gundam. ...Ah, I really dug myself a hole with this one. I am not talking about the ZGMF-X666S Legend Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny. Nor am I talking about the machine known as "The Legendary Gundam" from a Mobile Suit Gundam AGE spinoff. I am talking about the live action Gundam movie that the movie publisher Legendary is supposedly working on.

That movie, will be bad. Requiem for Vengeance, is also bad. But I bet that movie will be worse.

Warcraft Boot Camp: MoP, WoD, Legion, BfA, SL, DF

Scanline Media — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 21:51:49 +0000

And so we come to the close, at least for now. Six expansions in one go?! Yeah... there isn't much to say about most of them, from a lore perspective. Our journey heads to Panda monks, to time-travelling orcs, to legendary weapons, to breaking those magical weapons or Tinker Bell will die, to hell and back, and then to... dragons. What a long, strange journey it's been. And will continue to be going forward, I suspect.

The Scanline Media Discord can be found here!

Warcraft Boot Camp: TBC, WotLK, Cata

Scanline Media — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:39:19 +0000

Our journey into WoW Lore continues! With Vanilla behind us, Six and Allen guide Jen on to the early expansions: The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Cataclysm. Six forget Cataclysm existed until the middle of the recording? Yes! Does it mess things up? ...No not really! Jen cracks the riddle of The Premise of Every WoW Plot, and we can all go home. Buuuut, we're not going to. We'll see you next ep with more Lore.

The Scanline Media Discord can be found here!

Warcraft Boot Camp: WoW Vanilla

Scanline Media — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 04:50:13 +0000

The latest expansion to World of Warcraft, titled The War Within, is getting rave reviews with critics and fans alike. And yet, in some ways there has never been a worse time to start WoW. Certainly, the game is the most confusing and newbie-unfriendly it's been in ages. They won't even tell you the story of the game, and they actively try to stop you from playing it! We can't imagine what on earth they're thinking. But we can try to help.

Join Six, Allen, and Jen as we unpack the story of World of Warcraft, and its lore.

Otakon 2024 – Interview with Qubic Pictures

Scanline Media — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:30:00 +0000

At Otakon 2024, I spoke with Justin Leach, Katrina Minett, and Christophe Ferreira of Qubic Pictures. We spoke about work in animation and production, perspectives, and bumping into the language barrier.

Otakon 2024 – Interview with Studio Orange

Scanline Media — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:15:00 +0000

At Otakon 2024, I sat down with Akihiko Orikasa and Kensuke Yamamoto of Studio Orange. We spoke about the uniqueness, challenges, and misconceptions of 3D anime.

Otakon 2024 – Interview with Uki Satake

Scanline Media — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

At Otakon 2024, I had the opportunity to speak with Uki Satake. We spoke about her role in crafting anime openings, interest in voice acting, and how to best take care of one's voice.

Journey to the Worst – Dragon Ball GT Episodes 9-12

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 23:13:23 +0000

Well, we always knew this was possible... last week was a disappointing downbeat, with a series of pretty rough episodes. We all knew GT had its reputation as "the worst" for a reason, and with episodes 9 through 12, it... wait. Wait no, this is AWESOME! I mean, you know, ups and downs, but the Para Para Brothers are ALL TIME characters! This RULES!

The beat definitely has us with this batch of GT episodes, as we mark 75% of the way through the Black Star Dragon Balls Saga. Can the show keep this pace up? I guess we're going to be asking that for the entire run of GT... maybe we should just enjoy the highlights while they're here. And they're definitely here.

Thank you so much to @Merik_MERIMO for our awesome new podcast art!

Journey to the Worst – Dragon Ball GT Episodes 4-8

Scanline Media — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 16:30:00 +0000

It's not all sunshine and rainbows for our viewing. Quite early in, in spite of some refreshing episodes, we have hit our first bump in the road. Pan, Goku, and Trunks fight their way out of Imecka and land in a planet of giants, then deal with marriage obsessed catfishes. We are keeping the faith, but it will be seen if we are rewarded for it.

Journey to the Worst – Dragon Ball GT Episodes 1-3

Scanline Media — Sat, 25 May 2024 05:22:10 +0000

Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise is one of the most beloved in the world. Three great shows, a lot of video games of varying quality but with a huge fanbase all the same, and... then a black sheep. Even in a series where the missteps are treasured, there is one thing the community rejects: Dragon Ball GT. Aired immediately after the end of Z, GT was made by the animation team for the anime, without Toriyama there to write the scripts. In a sense, you could think of it as a whole anime as filler. Or perhaps it's better to think of it as the filler seizing the reins of its own destiny.

Either way, it's the WORST. Just a terrible show, with no redeeming qualities. Or... so Kyrie and Six have been told. But after a certain point, an excess of condemnation backfires. What really is GT? Can it actually be that bad?

The hell with it. Let's watch the whole thing.

For the time being, this will be on the Scanline Talks podcast feed, but once everything is established, we'll fully give it its own feed. We're working on podcast art too!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 7 (Chapters 13-14)

Scanline Media — Fri, 17 May 2024 06:32:07 +0000

The unknown journey ends, and reveals that there wasn't much mystery there at all, really. Jen, Kyrie, and Six slump in their chairs and marvel at how hard this game has flopped, and to what degree it's poisoned what came before, for them. Is Rufus the hero of this game? Do you ever see a dog and decide it must mean you're in a different dimension? Why is Zack on the cover of this game when literally nothing he does matters even slightly? We have answers to some of these, and some we don't. What we know is, we're done.

And thank god for that.

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 6 (Chapters 11-12)

Scanline Media — Thu, 09 May 2024 19:45:24 +0000

The penultimate episode is here, and things just keep turning for the worse for our hosts. We deal with some very contrived plots, ponder over the nature of meta-narratives and it's failings, and gripe about the side missions. It's almost over, so it can't get much worse... right?

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 5 (Chapter 10)

Scanline Media — Thu, 02 May 2024 20:56:39 +0000

After a slight upturn in quality at Gongaga, Chapter 10 breaks everyone's spirits as the gang makes their way into Cosmo Canyon. It also happens to be the most racist chapter in the whole game! Fun!!

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 4 (Chapter 9)

Scanline Media — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:25:19 +0000

We tackle only one chapter in this episode, but boy is it a DOOZY. We travel to Gongaga, encounter too many bosses, and Tifa finds herself in the belly of the whale. Not like metaphorically like in the Hero's Journey, like a big damn whale monster. This chapter is weird.

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 3 (Chapters 6-8)

Scanline Media — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 23:16:32 +0000

Our podcasters finally arrive in chapter 6. Jen and Six call for some time off for some fun in the sun. Kyrie disapproves, but is outvoted. A lot of minigames later, a boss fight happens. Chapter 7 happens. Our podcasters arrive in chapter 8. Jen and Six call for some time fun in the Gold Saucer. Kyrie disapproves, but is outvoted. A lot of minigames later, a bo-

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 2 (Chapters 3-5)

Scanline Media — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:14:38 +0000

After defeating a giant snake, the gang finds themselves deep in some mines, spilling out into the Junon area. We face off with some Turks, explore the world, and get into one big confusing parade. This game is certainly making... choices.

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

The Goku Number 2

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 18:59:00 +0000

Six and Kyrie are back to settle it. One number was never enough, so we have come back to scour the Dragonball Xenoverse 2 cast to try and stump the mighty dragon Shenron. Things get a little silly.

Recorded in honor of Akira Toriyama's 69th birthday.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilercast – Episode 1 (Chapters 1-2)

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 04:09:42 +0000

One of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth cast a long shadow over the release schedule. Not only that, but our coverage plans, too: with press getting early copies, dropping reviews day-and-date with the launch, what merit was there to us crunching and rushing to release a podcast about it a week later (and making ourselves miserable in the process)? But we definitely wanted to cover it! So what was the solution?

Well, you're looking at it: a seven-part in-depth discussion of the game as we play through it, far more granular than a single spoilercast could hope to be, capturing the ups and downs as we fall in and out of love with this game. Where we're end on it, we still don't know. Just like we still don't know Sephiroth. Join us.

A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!

Oops More Anime – Gundam SEED Freedom Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 21:02:55 +0000

Six took some time to go to the movies! Attending the LA Premiere, Six was able to see the US release of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom! Kyrie and Six hash it out about what is, all told, a pretty strange and fascinating movie. We talk about cool robots, bad wars, and the experience of attending the premiere.

This was supported by our patrons over on the Scanline Media Patreon! Be sure to check that out to support our work!

Refresh Rate 3/21/24

Scanline Media — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 06:28:15 +0000

Take a breath, y'all! Dragon's Dogma 2 released a few hours ago, so we're good! No more big video game releases for 2024, we can all go home! And hey, while you're at home, chillin, why don't you listen to what we've been up to? Kyrie has been digging Vanillaware's latest, the strategy RPG Unicorn Overlord. Jen has answered the siren call of prestige TV with Shogun. Six has been nostalgizing with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot after the loss of Akira Toriyama. And though nobody here has touched Skull & Bones, we've still been getting way into pi- hmm maybe I shouldn't finish that joke! But old games sure are cool!

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, Overworld Day by Mitsuhiro Kaneda from Unicorn Overlord, the opening credits music from Shogun composed by Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Nick Chuba, The Adventure Begins! by Yasushi Asada, Noriko Murakami, Keisuke Ito, and Eisei Kudo from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, a medley I mixed of the Gameboy, GBA, GameCube, PS1, PS2, PSP, and Sega Saturn console bootup music, and finally the Wii U console bootup music to close the episode.

You can find us on Cohost and Twitter at @jen-and-aster and @jbu3 for Jen respectively, @KyriePage and @KyrieAPage for Kyrie respectively, and @sixdettmar for Six on both.

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Game Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

It all comes down to this: Best Game. Game of the Year. Call it what you like. We play a lot of games, and every year we make ourselves pick an overall winner. And people keep telling me 2023 was an incredible year for games, so surely this is gonna be a really hard list to cut down!

The Nominees Are: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Street Fighter 6 Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Pizza Tower Lunacid Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Wildfrost Armored Core VI The Making of Karateka El Paso, Elsewhere Alan Wake II Void Stranger Pokemon Unite Super Mario RPG Gravity Circuit

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Anime or Manga Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 01:59:19 +0000

When Scanline Media started, we wanted to focus on games. But over the years, from doing weekly anime podcasts and where our general interests as a site went, anime and manga became so much of our coverage. Here are the anime and manga that stood out to us as some of the best of the year.

The Nominees Are: Gunbuster Tenchi Universe Trigun Record of Lodoss War Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (manga) Teppu Vinland Saga Oshi no Ko Space Adventure Cobra Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Pluto Hikaru no Go

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Vocal Song Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 01:48:26 +0000

In our longest category, we decided to let 2023 sing it's heart out. These tracks, be them anime OP or standalone songs, struck a chord with us.

The Nominees Are: Iron Lotus (Library of Ruina) Anger's Remorse (Alan Wake II) Yoton Yo (Alan Wake II) Dark Ocean Summoning (Alan Wake II) This Road (Alan Wake II) Herald of Darkness (Alan Wake II) Togenkyo Alien (Gintama) Mukanjyo (Vinland Saga) Paradox (Vinland Saga) Idol (Oshi no Ko) Mephisto (Oshi no Ko) You Won't See Me Coming (Gankutsuou) Active Heart (Gunbuster) Toppo wo nerae! ~FLY HIGH~ (Gunbuster) Zenryoku King (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger) Try and Fight! (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger) The Circle [Bedman? Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) Just Lean [Johnny Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) RAIN CODE (Master Detective Archives: Rain Code) I Will Remember You (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) bloom (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Instrumental Song Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 01:31:11 +0000

Instrumental tracks have often gotten the short end of the stick in our Gimmick Awards, and it's high time we changed that. These tracks backed some unforgettable moments or created an unmistakable atmosphere in 2023, and the following stood out to us.

The Nominees Are: H.T. (Trigun) It's Pizza Time! (Pizza Tower) Theme of Kai (Gravity Circuit) Mystery Labyrinth (Master Detective Archives: Rain Code) The Storyteller (Paranormasight) Stand Your Ground (Final Fantasy XV) Hammerhead Theme (Final Fantasy XV) And My Name's Booster (Super Mario RPG) Fight Against Culex (Super Mario RPG) Yet Another Winter Again (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) God Only Knows (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) Rocky Planet Descent (Kerbal Space Program 2) Jool Atmosphere (Kerbal Space Program 2)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Fighting Game Toolkit Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 04:39:43 +0000

Every year, we fight over fighting games. We're enthusiastic about the genre (that's an understatement) and it's a delight to see the new ideas and spins on characters that surface as new games and DLC release. Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference: a few tweaks to a classic character to reinvent them. Sometimes it's an entirely new concept. Let's talk about the candidates for Best Fighting Game Toolkit this year.

The Nominees Are: Suisei Hoshimachi (Idol Showdown) Juri (Street Fighter 6) Jamie (Street Fighter 6) Marisa (Street Fighter 6) Ryu (Street Fighter 6) Brawler (DNF Duel) Spectre (DNF Duel) Hinako Shijo (KoF XV) Anila (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Siegfried (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising) Asuka R# (Guilty Gear Strive) Bedman? (Guilty Gear Strive) Johnny (Guilty Gear Strive) Kimberly (Street Fighter 6)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best New Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 04:10:20 +0000

Most fictional writing runs on characters, and it is to these characters that fandoms attach themselves. It's these personalities, and often their visual designs as well, that people find so magnetic. Well, we're not looking for the most magnetic person here: some of these folks are not exactly easy to stan! That's fine. We're here for broken people. We just wanna pick the character we find the most compelling.

The Nominees Are: Xiao (Library of Ruina) Luke (Street Fighter 6) Halara Nightmare (Rain Code) Temenos Mistral (Octopath Traveler 2) Ayre (Armored Core 6) V.IV Rusty (Armored Core 6) Karlach (Baldur's Gate 3) James Savage (El Paso, Elsewhere) Noriko Takaya (Gunbuster) Jung Freud (Gunbuster) Jeramie Brasieri (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger) Rita Kaniska (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger) Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) Saga Anderson (Alan Wake II) The Koskela Brothers (Alan Wake II) Alex Casey (Alan Wake II) Askeladd (Vinland Saga) Saber (Fate/Samurai Remnant) Peche Montagne (Mobile Suit Gundam UC Engage) Female Fanatic Zealot (Warhammer 40,000: Darktide)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Action Game Toolkit Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 01:40:22 +0000

I am open to other perspectives, but a lot of the love of games to me is down to how it feels to hit a button. When the jump feels bad, the game is bad. When the jump feels good, the game is good. That's oversimplifying, intentionally. But so many games ARE just a collection of button presses, and how good they feel to hit. Platformers, action games, shooters, MOBAs, all of these are represented on our nominees. Whose buttons feel the best to hit? Let's decide that.

The Nominees Are: Peppino (Pizza Tower) Chai (Hi-Fi Rush) Kai (Gravity Circuit) Spark (Spark the Electric Jester 3) Blaster Stance (Star Wars: Jedi Survivor) Wild Dancer (Like a Dragon: Ishin) Sybil (Pseudoregalia) Xeku Zwei (Gundam Battle Operation 2) GM [Gatherroad Type] (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Alex [CA] (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Sisquiede (Gundam Battle Operation 2) MSN-04FF Sazabi (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Woundwort (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Mega Mewtwo X (Pokemon Unite) Mario Mario (Mario Wonder)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 22:27:53 +0000

While we have catagories for entire games and shows, it's important to hightlight the moments too. Sometimes the entire work isn't a winner, but that's what can make a moment more remarkable. These moments from games, shows, and real life stood out in 2023.

The Nominees Are: "We Sing" (Alan Wake II) The volume slider/"Always remember me" (Paranormasight) Battle an Unruly Princess (Void Stranger) Drive Rush Countering (Street Fighter 6) AngryBird Winning EVO (Street Fighter 6) Drunk History (Like a Dragon: Ishin) Yotan Yo (the movie) (Alan Wake II) The Dam, Take 2 (Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon) Being the Problem (STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator) Aranea Drops In (Final Fantasy XV) Sailing the Coast (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) Proper Shield Surfing (Modded Breath of the Wild) First Sortie (Gunbuster) The Final Campsite (Final Fantasy XV) Aqua Decides to Try (Oshi no Ko) Karaoke Success (Disco Elysium) Finding the Bullet (Disco Elysium) Exploring the Depths (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @yonsoncb on Twitter!

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Best Surprise Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:09:42 +0000

I don't mean to shock anyone, but I, Six, am a bit of a jaded exhausted 30-something. Depending on who you are, you might consider that a redundant descriptor. Regardless, a lot of my experience these days is seeing a game or anime release, and knowing pretty quickly whether or not I will care. And, frankly, usually being right! Not that this is an achievement, a lot of us feel this way. The media landscape is just more predictable than it once was.

This makes surprises all the more meaningful. Sometimes you're ambushed by something cool you've never heard of before. Sometimes you think you know what you're in for, and you are wildly wrong. Whatever the case, we have to cherish the moments our expectations are pleasantly defied. We don't get as many as we used to.

The Nominees Are: Street Fighter 6 The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog Call of the Night Hi-Fi Rush Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Disgaea 7 F1 23 Lies Of P Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Yggdra Union Wild Hearts Oshi no Ko Suika Game

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2023 – Community Effort Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 06:46:38 +0000

2023 was... listen. We're here to celebrate. To have fun. But it wasn't a great year, all in all. There was a lot of dark shit. And when talking about it, even in a fun "year end podcast" situation, it's easy to get grim and depressed about everything. It's not that that's wrong. It's worth dwelling on the world's ills.

But the Gimmick Awards aren't about that, and we didn't want to have a bunch of downer awards. We don't do Worst Game for a reason. So as part of an effort to change the vibe around the (metaphorical) office, we decided to do the Community Effort award- a celebration of all the cool stuff fandoms did in 2023.

The Nominees Are: Steam Deck users go above & beyond Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 translation Kurohyou translations Palette Swap The Off Season 2 - LEGALIZE MUTE CITY Fan Wikis telling Fandom to shove it PPSSPP making games better than the PSP Boukenger perfectly preserved Giant Bomb Premium: Now on Internet Archive Pokeclicker CoH Homecoming Dustloop Site Overhaul

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

The Granblue Number (Part 2)

Scanline Media — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 01:41:44 +0000

Ok. So we know what characters we're looking for from the gacha. We know what characters we can't get from the gacha. And we know about some truly spectacular dresses, though that's not particularly helpful. There's nothing left but to roll the gacha. Again. And again. And again. ...Hey Kyrie did we want to set like a MAX, or-

This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

The Granblue Number (Part 1)

Scanline Media — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:52:58 +0000

Granblue Fantasy hits its tenth anniversary this year. For the mega-popular gacha game, what better celebration than a bunch of other products to hook in those who aren't into the gacha? This has inspired Granblue the Animation, the action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink, and yes, Granblue Fantasy Versus, and its sequel Rising. As you might expect, these games shine a spotlight on some of the most popular characters in the game, selling you on their appeal.

But, speaking of selling... what if someone were to pick up Granblue today and try to get all the characters included in their copy of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising? Would it be expensive? Would it even be possible? Well, let's find out. ...Right now? No no no no. This is going to take a whole podcast just to set up all the specifics of the QUESTION. On Part 2 we'll answer it. Or... try to. Let's just say there were some challenges in the process.

This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

Oops More Anime – Scott Pilgrim Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:15:14 +0000

Scott Pilgrim, huh? I dunno what anyone sees in this guy. Regardless this new Netflix anime follows a new story in the Scott Pilgrim series, commenting on the series impact on culture, reflections on the characters, and a lot of video game and anime references. We bring on Jackie of Ultimate Despair Reprise to gush about this new anime. Spoilers ahead, we watched the whole series for this episode!

Editor's Note: This was supposed to be a request episode (which we will still do!) but some life stuff came up. We hope you enjoy this episode in it's stead. We also accidentally call this Oops All Anime, but hey. You know the drill.

Refresh Rate 11/21/23

Scanline Media — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 23:31:03 +0000

As the holiday season ramps up, we here at Scanline are prepared for a yearly ritual: playing all the games that we feel like we should have an opinion on before we record the Gimmick Awards, our yearly Game of the Year (and more than game) awards. That makes this the last stop of us just chatting normal games before we dizzy ourselves with our obligations as critics. To that end, Jen has been mourning the loss of a rival in F1 2023, Six has been modding Metal Gears on Steam Deck, and Kyrie wanted to see what's so remade about the Super Mario RPG Remake. Plus, we've all got thoughts on the 25th Anniversary Update for Half-Life.

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, The 23 Enigma by Ian & Ethan Livingstone featuring Julie Seechuk from F1 23, the Steam Deck startup sound, Nuclear by Mike Oldfield from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Calling to the Night by Natasha Farrow with lyrics by Nobuko Toda, composed by Akihiro Honda, and arranged by Norihiko Hibino from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, In The Garden by Yoko Shimamura from Super Mario RPG Remake, Hazardous Environments by Kelly Bailey from Half-Life, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Cohost and Twitter at @jen-and-aster and @jbu3 for Jen respectively, @KyriePage and @KyrieAPage for Kyrie respectively, and @sixdettmar for Six on both.

Game Of The Generation – 5th Gen

Scanline Media — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 02:31:54 +0000

The Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, and Saturn were a pivotal moments for video games. 3D video games had arrived in full force, and the industry has never turned back. But Jennifer, Kyrie, and Six turned back the clock to dive into nearly 50 games that defined the generation, and we decided to sort the best of the best.

The Winning Number

Scanline Media — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 04:57:20 +0000

Fighting game tournaments are great, and a LOT of work to run. Shoutouts to the tournament organizers, the streamers, the casters, and more that make these tournaments run. But think about this for a moment: if a King of Fighters XV tournament is hard to run, how difficult is it in-universe to get these lunatics with magic powers and demonic possession and GUN ARMS to not only play nice to run a fighting tournament, but also to actually make it a good experience to watch? Seed it for good matches, build around TV primetime, and more?

Probably really easy, right? So Kyrie and Six are gonna just do it.

This is the latest in the "Numbers" podcast series, where we use math to joke about fighting games.

Starfield Roundtable

Scanline Media — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 22:05:38 +0000

Around here, Bethesda's games are pretty divisive. We can all agree they're deeply flawed games, but to what extent their unique charms prevail against those weaknesses varies person to person. Jen still holds some affection for Skyrim, Six can't stand it, and neither have anything but disdain for Fallout 4. So what's the vibe with Starfield, their latest and most ambitious work? It's... charming. Though neither Jen nor Six has spent a ton of time yet- both around a dozen hours at time of recording- there's enough to want to get together and talk about the experience. And why not have mics on while we're at it.

You can find our hosts on various socials: on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar. On Cohost, Jen is @jen-and-aster, and Six is once again @sixdettmar.

Refresh Rate 8/3/23

Scanline Media — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 07:30:01 +0000

Life moves pretty fast. Despite that, we all found times for a few games that we weren't playing for other podcasts this month, and time enough to sit down to talk about them. This year has seen Jen finally coming to appreciate baseball, and by extension baseball video games in MLB The Show 23. Kyrie has fallen for familiar comforts under friendly names by plugging her friends into Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth. And Six has been playing Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker and frowning at it... and reading the announcement for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, and SCREAMING at it.

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, The Real Thing from MLB The Show 19 by Cook Classics featuring Outasight, Shooting Stars by Bag Raiders, The Handed Down Name from Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth by Yuzo Koshiro, Prelude - Tales from Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker by Masayoshi Soken, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage for Kyrie, and @sixdettmar for Six.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Finale

Scanline Media — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 21:21:51 +0000

They really did get our trust back only to throw it away, huh? After a messy first cours, G-Witch came back strong with the first three episodes of cours 2, and our early check-in was quite positive. It continued strong for a while, but of course, the same production troubles were bubbling beneath the surface, and that strong start began to collapse under the weight of all its problems. Now we come to you to talk about a show that just... didn't do it.

Refresh Rate – Not-E3 2023 Roundup

Scanline Media — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:06:41 +0000

It's Not E3! Barring some stupid revival, it will never be E3 again! And yet game companies are still rushing to show us the Reason for the Season. Summer Games Fest, Future Games Show, PC Gaming Show, Wholesome Direct, Ubisoft Forward, Xbox Games Showcase, PlayStation Showcase, the list goes on... and on... and what does it all mean? Jen, Kyrie and Six sat down to talk about the announcements, the trailers, and the temperature of the industry in the middle of 2023.

Refresh Rate – Talk of the Kingdom

Scanline Media — Fri, 19 May 2023 21:57:48 +0000

SPOILER WARNING for early- to mid-game of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Six years have passed since the release of Breath of the Wild. Six years, then, since our podcast about Breath of the Wild, which was the first time we had Kyrie on a pod. And hey, also, my name is Six! Dang, this is starting to feel pretty important. I guess we should podcast about Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild, huh? It's a game jam-packed with stuff, bordering on Assassin's Creed levels of content- though I'd never accuse it of that level of clumsy implementation. I wouldn't say it was ZERO clumsy, though....

Oops More Anime – Kaguya-sama: The First Kiss That Never Ends

Scanline Media — Wed, 10 May 2023 06:41:58 +0000

I have never much liked theaters, even from a young age. So it takes a lot to get me to go see a movie in theater. Adding extra hurdles like it being a limited release, during a pandemic, only makes it less likely. But when it finally hit home streaming, I, Allen, and Harri were eager to check out the Kaguya-sama: Love Is War movie, The First Kiss That Never Ends. Well, I think Harri was mostly eager to talk about it, since it's all stuff he's already read in the anime. But we appreciate him for that.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Cour 2 Check-in

Scanline Media — Wed, 03 May 2023 03:59:44 +0000

At the end of the last cour, Allen and I (Six) talked about whether we wanted to come back and cover the second cour episode by episode, like we did the first. Our conclusion was "probably not, but who knows?" Now that we're decently into it, we're here to say... no. Definitely not. But, we felt the need to make that official, and we might as well discuss the first three eps while we're here, right? Because they're definitely interesting.

Refresh Rate 4/26/23

Scanline Media — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 01:37:23 +0000

You know with all the podcasts we put out, it's amazing we find time to do much else. But luckily we find time to relax occasionally. Six took some time with Resident Evil 4 Remake while on travel, finding the experience a little lacking. Meanwhile Jennifer paddled her raft to the middle of a spooky lake, finding herself charmed by the world Dredge thrust her into. Lastly, Kyrie continues her revisit through Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters and finds lots to love despite a messy release of a beloved series.

Editor's Note: This episode got lost in the shuffle, and we recorded this one about three weeks ago. Please enjoy, regardless.

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, the Save Room Theme from Resident Evil 4 Remake by Kota Suzuki, the Main Theme from Dredge by David Mason, Fight It Out!! from Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters by Masatoshi Ono, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage for Kyrie, and @sixdettmar for Six.

The Belt Number

Scanline Media — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 05:50:32 +0000

Belts, as you know, are the most important meal of the day. You get up every morning, and say, "I love my pants, but I just wish I had control over how tight they were!" This is because you are naive, innocent of the world. Guilty Gear is here to tell you, belts for pants? Sure, I guess. But what about belts for gloves. For sleeves! For tightening around the base of your arm to make your bicep look bigger? Daisuke Ishiwatari has a belt affinity, and it spread through all of his designs. And so we ask ourselves: just how many belts ARE there in Guilty Gear Strive?

Let's count.

Racing Line Season 5 Episode 1 – Will Buxton PsyOp

Scanline Media — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 21:26:30 +0000

It's a new season of Racing Line, and the gang is back at it with our look at the latest season of Drive to Survive! Allen, Rose, and Danny hash it out- trying their best to keep it together through Max Verstappen's Discord rants, Guenther's vacation in North Carolina, and the future of F1.

You can find Allen at Chatz: A Television Podcast with great coverage of television, Rose at the The Safe Room at the Abnormal Mapping Network, and Danny over on Skrimmage, his sports Mastodon server! Album art provided by Jackie Platinum over on Twitter, who can also be heard on Ultimate Despair Reprise on this very network!

Refresh Rate 3/10/23

Scanline Media — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 06:51:06 +0000

You'd think after everything, we'd be free of games by now. But no- games returned, despite everything. Jen takes point with Metroid Prime Remastered, which finally got her to spend more time with the certified all-timer. Then Six explains their befuddlement at the strange tone and choices of Like a Dragon Ishin!, where historical fiction meets... weird ideas of treating people. Finally, Kyrie's wrist has been steadily improving, and she's been celebrating by playing a classic with Six- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, the File Select Theme from Metroid Prime by Kenji Yamamoto and Kouichi Kyuma, Collisions of Our Souls from Like a Dragon Ishin! by Chihiro Aoki and Hidenori Shoji, the Character Select Theme from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 by Hideyuki Fukasawa, a track whose name I couldn't find from Reigns Three Kingdoms by Roc Chen, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage for Kyrie, and @sixdettmar for Six.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Game of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:10:00 +0000

It all comes down to this. No more left, it's time we declared Scanline Media's Game of the Year!

The Nominees Are: Drainus Elden Ring Gran Turismo 7 Immortality Kirby and the Forgotten Lands Live A Live Pentiment Pokèmon Legends: Arceus Potionomics Signalis Splatoon 3 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin The Quarry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Witch on the Holy Night

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Creature Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 19:10:00 +0000

Critters. Monsters. Creatures. Little guys. Whatever you call them, games employ wonderful artists to imagine what sort of beings might reside in their worlds. This one's for all the friends out there. Join Jen, Kyrie, Six, and guest Allen as we find out the Best Creature of 2022.

The Nominees Are: Kleavor (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Typhlosion (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Zoroark (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Huisian Goodra (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Hisuian Decidueye (Pokemon Legends: Arceus) Sprigatito (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Nacli (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Miraidon (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Ceruledge (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Farigiraf (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Paldean Wooper (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Tinkaton (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) Frye's Eel Deal (Splatoon 3) Shiver's Master Mega (Splatoon 3) Lichdragon Fortissax (Elden Ring) Living Jar (Elden Ring) Jellyfish (Elden Ring) Malzeno (MH:R - SB) Regal Ancestor Spirit (Elden Ring)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:19:44 +0000

There's always the moments, right? The ones you tell your friends about, the ones you clip, the ones you tweet about. The ones you tweet AROUND because they're too cool to spoil. Every year generates a lot of them, and 2022 was no exception. It's nice to sit around and celebrate things. But in any meeting of minds, there must be a loser.

The Nominees Are: Quelling Noble Pokémon (Pokèmon Legends: Arceus) The Walk Into Exile (Pokémon Legends: Arceus) Nailing a combo recipe from the Combo Maker (GGST) Razzo Sends A Message @ CEO 2022 (GGST) Prison Breakout Flashback (The Quarry) Pros Shattering the Score Ceiling with Rolling (NES Tetris) Ending The Mammalian Plot (Splatoon 3) Haggling To Maximum Profits (Potionamics) MOUTHFUL MODE (Kirby and The Forgotten Lands) Act 2 to Act 3 Transition (Pentiment) Font Reveal (Pentiment) AmSa Brings Down The Big House (SSBM) Batman says ACAB (Batman: Arkham Origins) Kicksy Land, the Kingdom of Flat Snark (Witch on the Holy Night) Alice Goes Penguin Mode (Witch on the Holy Night) The Ageless Run (Sifu) Shoot The Table (Lifeline) Microwaving A Fork (Call of Duty Modern Warfare II) Reaching the Tide Pool (Spelunky 2) The Level 83 Trial (FFXIV Endwalker) Cracking It Open (Immortality) "You see…? You forgot…." (Stranger of Paradise) Go Faster/6-10 Race Platinum (Neon White)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Game Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 20:25:00 +0000

You've heard the Best Anime Character (or you should have, go listen!), and so you probably guessed from that name that there's a Best Game Character. Well guess what- you're right. And we're gonna decide who wins it right now.

The Nominees Are: Iron Fist Alexander (Elden Ring) Livingway (Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker) Shez/Arval (Fire Emblem Three Hopes) Bridget (Guilty Gear Strive) Testament (Guilty Gear Strive) Roomerang Host (Jackbox Party Pack 9) Sundown Kid (Live A Live) Andreas (Pentiment) Magdalene (Pentiment) Cyllene (Pokémon Legends: Arceus) Quinn (Potionomics) Deep Cut (Splatoon 3) Jack (Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin) Tewi Inaba (Touhou Mystia's Izakaya) Alice Kuonji (Witch on the Holy Night) Lost Robin Rondo (Witch on the Holy Night)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Game of a Decade Ago Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 03:47:15 +0000

Time brings wisdom and perspective. Or, that's the theory anyway. My Game of the Year for 2012 was Tokyo Jungle. At the time, I was writing for a site called Press X or Die. Jen wrote for that site too, and while the articles part of that site died years ago, its forums at least are still kicking. (She didn't write a GotY for 2012, though her 2011 was Dead Space 2). And you know, it was only months later that Jen and I were like "we're leaving to make something for ourselves." That's how Scanline started.

We've done a lot of growing since then, as people, as critics, as entertainers. And I guess what I'm saying is, if Tokyo Jungle wins again I probably failed to confront my past self honestly =P

The Nominees Are: Analogue: A Hate Story Asura's Wrath Dishonored Gravity Rush Journey Long Live the Queen Mark of the Ninja McPixel Persona 4 Arena Skullgirls Sleeping Dogs Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed Spelunky HD Thirty Flights of Loving Tokyo Jungle XCOM: Enemy Unknown Xenoblade Chronicles ZombiiU

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Anime of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 20:00:00 +0000

We still think of ourselves as game critics first and foremost here. That's weird, isn't it? We cover anime every week without fail. We've got more than 300 episodes of anime coverage! And yet, the passion that started this site still defines us, if only two ourselves. It has been a gradual process of accepting that we're anime critics, too. And that's important to who we are.

Let's talk about the best anime we saw this year.

The Nominees Are: Bubblegum Crisis Cyberpunk Edgerunners Darkstalkers OVA Gunsmith Cats Komi Can't Communicate My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks MSG: Victory ODDTAXI Red Hood Redline Spy x Family Super Dimension Fortress Macross Ten: Teno-dori no Kaidanji Witch Hat Atelier Ya Boy Kongming! Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Iris In Audio Award Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 20:59:29 +0000

One of the big projects of 2022 was giving Iris In Audio more love and attention. This has been Kyrie's push to be sure- she's writing up the Winners post for this category, too! For me (Six), it honestly still doesn't come as naturally. Film has never been an important thing to me. I have some movies I like, as does anyone, but I never invested time or effort in the medium. Coming to it later in life, I feel a bit gun-shy. It isn't easy to learn the language of film crit in real time on a podcast. But I couldn't have better friends to do it with.

Now let's listen to a podcast where I tell them the movies they like suck.

The Nominees Are: Death Note (2017) Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler Le Samouraï North by Northwest One Cut of the Dead Romeo + Juliet Thief The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Anime Song of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 06:09:49 +0000

Anime has tunes too, you know! I don't know why I'm saying this accusatorily- I'm sure YOU knew that. It's us who had to change the category this year because we realized all the things we were leaving out of That's My Jam. And a jam these are indeed. Let's talk anime music.

The Nominees Are: BAD CANDY (Girls Frontline) Chikichiki Banban (Ya Boy Kongming!) Kibun Jōjō ↑↑ (Ya Boy Kongming!) Daten (Call of the Night) Fukkatsu no Ideon (Space Runaway Ideon) I Really Wanna Stay At Your House (Cyberpunk Edgerunners) Konya wa Hurricane (Bubblegum Crisis) Mixed Nuts (Spy x Family) Souvenir (Spy x Family) Rainbow Rocks (My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks) Sassouto Hashiru Tonegawa-Kun (Middle Management Blues Tonegawa) Shukufuku (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury) Super Driver (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) Ugoku Ugoku (Girl's Last Tour) Venus Line (Birdie Wing)

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – That’s My Jam Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 03:17:55 +0000

The rhythm is going to get you. It's only a matter of time. We had some serious bops in 2022, but which is the boppiest? Jen, Kyrie and I (Six) are here to tell you what makes music good. Boy, I hardly feel qualified to do this.

The Nominees Are: Mirror of the World (Baiken's Theme) - Guilty Gear Strive Like A Weed, Naturally, As A Matter Of Course (Testament's Theme) - Guilty Gear Strive The Town Inside Me (Brisket's Theme) - GGST Anarchy Rainbow (Splatfest Main Theme) - Splatoon 3 Till Depth Do Us Part - Splatoon 3 Calimari Inkantation 3MIX - Splatoon 3 Miracle Works (Ktisis Hyperboreia) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Carrots of Happiness (Smileton) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker The Nautilus Knoweth (Old Sharlayan Night) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Roomerang Final Round - Jackbox Party Pack 9 Megalomania - Live A Live GO! GO! BURIKI-DAIOH! - Live A Live Shenlin Park - Freedom Planet 2 Battle! vs Origin Palkia/Dialga - Pokémon Legends: Arceus Determination -STAGE 1- - Drainus Great Cat's Villiage R (NecoArc's Theme) - Melty Blood Type Lumina Linking (Character Select Theme) - DNF Duel Brawl of Hendon Myre (Tavern Theme) - DNF Duel Immortal Imperium - Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Anime Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:30:00 +0000

We watch a lot of anime, every year. At the time of this writing, we've covered 280 anime so far in Oops All Anime's history. Naturally we've also watched a lot of anime on our own time. Add all that together, and we have some THOUGHTS. We also have a huge database to compare new anime characters against. But, y'know? Sometimes a good tsundere just works. Let's decide the Best Anime Character of 2022.

The Nominees Are: Anya Forger (Spy x Family) Cucuruz Doan (Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island) Gamma 1+2 (Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero) Pan (Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero) Inari Fushimi (Inari Kon Kon) Kongming (Ya Boy Kongming!) Miorine Rembran (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) Suletta Mercury (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) Nazuna Nanakusa (Call of the Night) Priscilla Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) Rebecca (Cyberpunk Edgerunners) Sorawo Kamikoshi (Otherside Picnic) Sunset Shimmer (My Little Pony: Equestria Girls) Wolf Bete (Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department)

"Six, this list is chaotic, how did you even organize this?" Well it's alphabetical by character name except when two characters are from the same show/movie, in that case they jump the line. It's also alphabetical by first name because some characters only have one name. Deal with it (sunglasses)

Coming up next, we have my (Six's) personal Game of the Year list hitting Tuesday, then That's Our Jam as our next podcast on Wednesday. But oh, what's this? There are TWO music podcasts this year? Well, I guess Friday will be fun too, won't it.

Here's our write-up for the winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Biggest Disappointment Recount

Scanline Media — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Stop the presses- we got one wrong. This is unprecedented, but we have to change a category's winner. We wouldn't go back because we played more and felt differently, or because we rolled the arguments around in our heads and decided we made the wrong call. No, we're going back because a friend pointed out that in the Biggest Disappointment category, we were arguing based on incorrect information. And that doesn't feel quite fair. So here we are.

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Movelist Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 05:00:02 +0000

One of our traditions over here at the Gimmick Awards is this category, in its various incarnations. The name might confuse, but it's a straightforward idea: in any variety of action game, moves and tools are given to specific characters. Which character has the most interesting and fun overall toolset? When this category started, our focus was purely on fighting games, but over the years we've broadened it to character action games, shooters, MOBAs, and more. And with so many of these being live service games, a lot of effort is made to lovingly add new friends to their respective game's roster, with an associated movelist.

The Nominees Are: Pale Rider (Gundam Evolution) Sazabi (Gundam Evolution) Unicorn (Gundam Evolution) Dozle Zaku (Gundam Evolution) Omega Rugal (The King of Fighters XV) Athena (The King of Fighters XV) Shez (Fire Emblem: Three Hopes) NecoArc (Melty Blood Type Lumina) Edmund Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo (Melty Blood Type Lumina) Lab Coat 21 (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Baiken (Guilty Gear Strive) Testament (Guilty Gear Strive) Bridget (Guilty Gear Strive) Sin Kiske (Guilty Gear Strive) Splatana (Splatoon 3) Tri-Stringer (Splatoon 3) Striker (DNF Duel) Inquisitor (DNF Duel) Hitman (DNF Duel) Schuzrum Galluss (Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2) The Three RX-0s (Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2)

That's it for this week! We'll see you next week with more Gimmick Awards, starting Monday!

Here's the write-up for our winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Biggest Disappointment Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 01:00:01 +0000

Games are really hard to make. Simply getting one out the door is always an achievement, something to be proud of. And these awards started as a celebration purely of games, though they've elevated to being one of more types of media. But we can't be all smiles. Sometimes choices are made with games that are just... disappointing, you know? We get our hopes up, and seeing them be destroyed stings. And so despite everything, we need to talk about the Biggest Disappointment of 2022.

The Nominees Are: AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative Bayonetta 3/Babylon's Fall The Callisto Protocol CrossfireX Danganronpa S DNF Duel Gundam Evolution JJBA All Star Battle R Marvel Snap Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2 PC Beta Pokèmon Scarlet/Violet Shenmue 3 Shadows of Rose DLC SQEX/SEGA Blockchain Initiatives Wordle World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic

Our last award for the week is Friday, with Best Movelist- a category celebrating the sets of options various action games give their characters. It's a little hard to describe, but it's one of our favorites to record every year. After that, we'll be back next Monday for another week of Awards!

Here's the write-up for our winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Gimmick Awards 2022 – Best Surprise Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:40:45 +0000

Welcome to the start of Scanline Media's game of the year celebration, our Gimmick Awards 2022! Over the course of four weeks, we'll be publishing thirteen categories, each its own podcast and paired write-up on the site for winners.

We're opening the year on a staple- Best Surprise! At the ripe old age of 33, I am harder to surprise than I used to be, but the delight of the unexpected still hits you sometimes. Please enjoy Jen, Kyrie, and Six (that's me) debating and deciding the Best Surprise of 2022.

The Nominees Are: Anno: Mutationem The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story Chained Echoes Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition DNF Duel Drainus Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Gran Turismo 7 Live A Live Need for Speed Unbound Pentiment Pokèmon Legends: Arceus Potionomics Signalis Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Touhou Mystia's Izakaya

Coming up on Wednesday, we'll be doing the dark mirror of Best Surprise- Biggest Disappointment. It's our only negative category, because making games is hard as hell, and it's not fun to just dunk on people and their efforts... but some things are just too much to bear, and we have to vent in Award format. Please look forward to the discussion!

Don't forget to check out the write-up for our winners!

Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2022 is Street Food by FASSounds, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 12

Scanline Media — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 02:03:18 +0000

And that's a season (nee cours)! After 12 episodes, The Witch from Mercury is going on break until the next season, and so are we... if we come back at all? Join Allen and Six as we talk about the season as it's been, and how 12 turns a lot of that on its head, for good or for ill. Though, I don't need to be too coy- as you will discover quickly, we're mostly of the opinion "for ill."

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 11

Scanline Media — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 07:13:19 +0000

The second-to-last episode of the cours! Shaddiq holds his breath, Suletta catches her breath, Vim curses under his breath, and Delling doesn't waste his breath. Step aside, Type-Moon, there are TWO witches on this holy night. And is that an Aerial upgrade I spy? Damn, gang- this episode's good, so was the last, and I think the next will be great as well. I'm just hoping the break between cours doesn't kill this momentum.

Refresh Rate 12/21/22

Scanline Media — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:24:32 +0000

We're all hustling and bustling as the year winds down, but you KNOW we're never too busy for you! Sit down with us as we talk games- Jen says the Callisto Protocol is as much Punch-Out!! as it is Dead Space, Six has come around on Spelunky 2 after initial crushing disappointment, and Kyrie has sold out... her potion stock in Potionomics.

In chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, The Callisto Protocol Main Theme by Finishing Move Inc. (Brian Trifon and Brian Lee White), Dwelling by Eirik Suhrke from Spelunky 2, the Potionomics Main Theme by Greg Nicolett, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage for Kyrie, and @sixdettmar for Six.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 10

Scanline Media — Sat, 17 Dec 2022 06:11:19 +0000

Oh boy, we sure are winding up for a mid-season, end-of-cours finale. Can you feel it? Schemes, misunderstandings, unfortunate coincidences… and into all of it, we're gonna toss a few new witches and their gundams and see what happens. I uh… I have a guess. I think it's gonna end badly for our pals.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 9

Scanline Media — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 10:20:42 +0000

On this episode, a turning point, as Allen listens with polite bemusement as Six lays out a theory as to what exactly is going on in this show. We get our first team duel, we see the triumph of the GUND format over the technology that almost killed it, and Miorine has already forgotten she's trying to start a medical company. Three episodes left, gang. It's about to start poppin', for real. And Six's theory will be put to the test right quick.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 8

Scanline Media — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 08:26:59 +0000

G-Witch. Listen. Listen listen listen. You gotta stop writing checks. Do you HAVE a bank account? These are going to bounce! No one can cash these! Settle down, build a foundation, follow through. THEN write checks. But stop touching a dozen interesting issues with no commitment to truly engaging with them, and a clumsy handling of what little you try! Please. I'm begging you.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 7

Scanline Media — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 20:10:02 +0000

It's time for a talkie episode. I like talkie episodes, Allen is less a fan, but either way, the thing about talkie eps is, you have to talk a lot. And G-Witch? Not great at the talking. So, here we are, an episode that's a blessing and a curse, but might free the show from the Curse of Gundam, in more ways than one. Even if it's sloppy, if this fixes the trap they built for themselves in the plot, I'm all for it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 22:38:32 +0000

They put out another Call of Duty. Its politics suck. Some things never change. But they might be worse in this one than you think... and yet, the campaign is also probably more interesting than you think? They made another Modern Warfare, and they couldn't decide if they wanted it to be a tribute to MW2 or a pointed note about everything wrong with that game. It's a mess, and it's (sigh) really fun.

You can find Six on Twitter at @sixdettmar. You cannot find Harri. He's unknowable. The intro and outro music are the Main Menu and Ending Credits from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II by Sarah Schachner.

Refresh Rate 11/15/22

Scanline Media — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 22:11:06 +0000

Refresh Rate returns with another episode of Jen, Kyrie and Six recounting standout media and experiences from the past month. After bouncing off Sonic Frontiers hard, Six has fallen into Freedom Planet and its sequel, finding there what they couldn't in the series that inspired it. Jen is braving the season of death in Harvestella, and finding there's less harvesting than you'd expect given the name? And Kyrie is here to report back from a year where she finally felt safe returning to conventions, and the experience of doing so as press for the first time.

This link is a folder of images we reference during the pod, in chronological order.

Also in chronological order, our music is 8bit23 by Koichi Morita, the Freedom Planet Main Theme by Woofle and Strife from Freedom Planet, Those Who Resist Destiny from Harvestella by Go Shiina, Saria's Song from Ocarina of Time by Gamer of the Winds (@GameroftheWinds) and Mary of the Maryland Accordion Club (Facebook) live at Otakon 2022, and then a reprise of 8bit23 by Koichi Morita.

You can find us on Twitter at @jbu3 for Jen, @KyrieAPage for Kyrie, and @sixdettmar for Six.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 6

Scanline Media — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 20:05:51 +0000

A twist in the Elan Saga! Allen and Six are hanging with Lilique the Homie this week as we unravel the mystery of Why Are You Like This Starring Elan Ceres. It turns out... we now know why he's like this. To be fair, it was pretty clear from the start, it was just hard confirmation. Wonder what the next draft will be like....

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 5

Scanline Media — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 06:33:38 +0000

Both sides are claiming victory this episode, as Allen declares that clearly, the events of this ep prove that Elan is a villain, while Six declares that obviously, the events of this episode prove that Elan is a good guy. At the very least we're in agreement that this was a really good episode. Also that lasers- not beams, actual lasers- are sick as heck.

You can find Allen on @chatzpod and Six at @sixdettmar on Twitter.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 4

Scanline Media — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 19:50:36 +0000

Another week, another false cliffhanger instantly resolved. We're fully in School Drama mode this ep, as we deal with tests, retakes, bullying, and... sci fi bigotry? Oh boy. At least there's a goat! Goats rule.

You can find Allen on @chatzpod and Six at @sixdettmar on Twitter.

Anime USA 2022 – Interview with Emi Lo

Scanline Media — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:40:50 +0000

Kyrie traveled to Crystal City to attend Anime USA, and had a chance to conduct some interviews. She sat down with Emi Lo, an up-and-coming voice actor who's voiced roles in Higarashi, Genshin Impact, and the recently released Cyberpunk Edgerunners!

Be sure to follow Emi on Twitter (@KitsuneSqueak) and check out their recent roles in The Yakuza's Guide To Babysitting and Shoot! Goal to the Future!

Anime USA 2022 – Interview with Tiffany Grant

Scanline Media — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 17:40:17 +0000

Kyrie traveled to Crystal City to attend Anime USA, and had a chance to conduct some interviews. She sat down with Tiffany Grant, a voice actor and script writer with nearly 30 years of experience in the industry! Known best for her role as Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion, she wrote scripts for shows like Den-noh Coil and Parasyte!

Keep an eye out on Tiffany's website (http://www.tiffanygrant.com/) for the lastest on con appearances and much more.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 3

Scanline Media — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 19:00:00 +0000

And with this third episode, it finally feels like we have a sense of what the rhythm and structure of this first cour will be like. We see another great fight, a pretty sick mobile suit design, and more parents strangling their children with their own petty ambitions. Just because Tomino isn't working on this one doesn't mean this show doesn't think adults suck.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Ep. 2

Scanline Media — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:53:59 +0000

I know this is just weeb hours right now, but Suisei no Majou has really good mouthfeel. So does The Witch from Mercury, but it's a very different feeling! Starting smooth and ending harsh, versus starting harsh and ending with intrigue, maybe? That second one is perhaps a decent description of this episode, which both Allen and Six feel is a downbeat after the very strong first episode, but at least there's plenty to talk about.

Refresh Rate 10/11/22

Scanline Media — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 19:00:00 +0000

We're back with another month in media! Kyrie's keeping it current, and, dare I say, fresh, with Splatoon 3! Six still likes Terraria, but is perhaps better able to elaborate on why! And Jen? Jen is very mad about Yakuza 4. There are briefcases of money, and guns, and bulletproof vests, and guns, and skyscrapers, and guns involved. And mahjong? That part caught my ear.

Oops More Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Prologue & Ep. 1

Scanline Media — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 08:08:24 +0000

After three years, Allen and Six are back for more in depth Gundam crit! The launch of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury has people coming out of the woodwork to talk about how it's their new favorite ship, their new obsession, the best Gundam ever, the gayest thing in since sliced bread, the second coming of Utena. We think they all need to calm down. But it IS worth talking about. So let's do that, episode by episode as they come out.

Refresh Rate 9/9/22

Scanline Media — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 01:08:53 +0000

It's Gaming Season again! That's why there's a heat wave, you see. At least in California. Where today is Friday! Funny how that works out. We're back with media we've been enjoying lately, and for all of us it's been time to enjoy some video games! Six is here with Final Fantas- wait don't leave! They're here to talk about the new farming minigame, and Square's general approach to side activities in the MMO. Both Jen and Six have been playing Saint's Row, and they're here to tell you that the mainstream critics have this one wrong! Finally, Kyrie has discovered a new world of fighting games, and now a simple change of controller can reshape your relationship with a game.

Otakon 2022 – Interview with Tiana Camacho

Scanline Media — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 23:28:02 +0000

The last but certainly not least of Kyrie's interview series at Otakon 2022 concludes with an interview with Tiana Camacho. You can check her out in the latest season of Jojo's Bizzare Adventure as Ermes Costello, and is absolutely a talent to keep an eye out for.

Be sure to follow her on Twitter or keep up to date and buy signed prints on her Streamily page!

Otakon 2022 – Interview with Toshio Furukawa and Shino Kakinuma

Scanline Media — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 15:39:49 +0000

Kyrie's interview series continues with her talk with Toshio Furukawa and Shino Kakinuma! Having countless roles over their combined decades of experience, it was an honor to sit down with two legends of the Japanese voice acting world.

Be sure to follow Toshio Furukawa on Twitter!

Live A Live Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:40:38 +0000

After twenty-eight years, one of the most influential JRPGs of all time finally has an official English release. With seven heroes on seven journeys, it was (and is) incredibly narratively and mechanically ambitious, while also surprisingly restrained in scope. We never played it ourselves, but with the remake out, Jen and Six have finally filled this gap in their knowledge. And folks? Its reputation is well deserved.

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar. There is too much music to list, but it's all from the Live A Live 2022 remake OST by Yoko Shimamura.

Otakon 2022 – Interview with Kaoru Wada and Yuki Hayashi

Scanline Media — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:31:59 +0000

Kyrie's interview series from Otakon 2022 continues! She got a chance to speak with composers Kaoru Wada and Yuki Hayashi! They discuss inspirations, challenges, and much more. Huge thank you to Mr. George Endo for providing translation!

You can find out more about Kaoru Wada on his Twitter and website and same for Yuki Hayashi on his Twitter and website.

Stay tuned for more interviews later this month!

Otakon 2022 – Interview with Kaho Shibuya

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 16:55:23 +0000

This is the start of Kyrie's interview series based on the people she got a chance to speak with at Otakon 2022!

First, Kyrie spoke with Kaho Shibuya, the multitalented streamer, model, and singer! She sat down with me to talk about her current and upcoming projects. If you would like to follow her, be sure to check out her Twitter, Twitch, and Instagram! Or, you can always check out her website for more details.

Refresh Rate 8/2/22

Scanline Media — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 06:31:58 +0000

With Kyrie still away, we turn to friend and capital G Gamer Lotte to fill in our third chair! that's unkind. don't call Lotte a Gamer. that's mean. Jen has brought Who's Lila?, an unsettling point and click about trying to convey emotions. Lotte has been watching Birdie Wing, and "boy is it Girls." And Six has brought a Three Kingdoms double (triple?) feature, and none of the works involved are particularly stellar.

If there is a strange silence in your track around the discussion of River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, please delete and redownload your track! There is a version 2!

Refresh Rate 7/1/22

Scanline Media — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 05:58:07 +0000

Welcome to the renamed Playlist Podcast! That name? Not very good. This one? Better. And what better way to inaugurate the new name than by expanding our scope as well? We have our games coverage- Six is talking Neon White, as is a lot of the internet lately, while Jen has brought Card Shark, a game by the developers of Reigns that has our cast a bit divided. But we're not just doing games anymore, as Kyrie has brought the Indian action film RRR to the table as well.

Our intro music is 8bit 23 from Demon Souls, a Japanese royalty free music site.

Playlist Podcast – 5/27/22

Scanline Media — Fri, 27 May 2022 23:41:45 +0000

It's another month, and we're back to talk about more of what we've been playing lately! Jen is indulging in her FMV love with The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, a Japanese mystery game from the writer of 428: Shibuya Scramble. It's less wacky comedy than Shibuya, however, focused more on Japanese history and classic mysteries. Kyrie is happy to revisit Chrono Cross, one of the games from her youth that left a big impression. It isn't the world's greatest port, but it's still a reminder of this strange and special game. And Six? They brought... Total War: Three Kingdoms again. This time they're upset at it. That's novel, I guess.

Our intro music is 8bit 23 from Demon Souls, a Japanese royalty free music site.

Ochitsubaki Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Wed, 25 May 2022 00:18:39 +0000

CONTENT WARNING: Non-graphic but emotionally charged discussion of fictional violence, abuse between partners, sexual abuse, and familial abuse, as well as trauma that stems from the above.

At a patron's request, we checked out a visual novel neither of us had ever heard of, called Ochitsubaki. It's a quick playthrough, clocking in at 60 to 90 minutes based on your reading speed. We couldn't have anticipated the strength of its writing, and how hard it would hit us.

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar. Our intro music is Yuugaoshiro, and our outro music is Tsuki ga Daroshima. Both are by FEYXUAN, and are from the Ochitsubaki OST. You can find more of FEYXUAN's music here, their itchi.io page here, and the page for their artist collective oneiro here.

Playlist Podcast 4/9/22

Scanline Media — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 06:59:44 +0000

March is behind us, and thus, the really busy season of game releases also relents. It's that end of fiscal quarter that's so killer, isn't it? Six is here to talk about the often-misunderstood Sifu, Kyrie is ready to talk about the new Kirby, and Jen has found things to love in Ghostwire: Tokyo where other critics haven't.

Our intro music is 8bit 23 from Demon Souls, a Japanese royalty free music site.

Gran Turismo 7 Roundtable

Scanline Media — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 22:34:23 +0000

Do you like... my car? Forza Horizon 5 left Jen and Six feeling surprisingly lukewarm, and most of the time that would be the story of racing games for the time being. After all, Need For Speed has been a mess for years, and while Jen likes more serious racing games like DiRT, they're beyond Six's ken. But what is this? The elusive Polyphony Digital have put out their first fully featured Gran Turismo in almost a decade? Well we GOTTA talk about that.

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar.

Playlist Podcast 3/4/22

Scanline Media — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 23:27:40 +0000

It's time for the new monthly Playlist Podcast! I mean, the podcast isn't new. It's just that we're doing it monthly now. Kyrie dove back into The Wolf Among Us, Six tried the newest expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Jen is playing more of the new Sherlock Holmes, and there's plenty to say about Elden RIng of course!

Our intro music is 8bit 23 from Demon Souls, a Japanese royalty free music site.

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Best Game Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:14:32 +0000

Here we are: Best Game, aka Game of the Year. You know what this one's about. Let's get into it.

The Nominees Are: Hitman 3 Deathloop Monster Hunter Rise Metroid Dread Melty Blood Type Lumina Resident Evil: Village NEO The World Ends With You Psychonauts 2 The Forgotten City Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Guardians of the Galaxy Inscryption Shin Megami Tensei V

That's it! Thank you everyone for joining us for a look at 2021, and all the marvels in it. And bad stuff too. And everything. Thank god that's all behind us.

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Best Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:00:57 +0000

Whether touching, hilarious, sick af or what have you, games have always been good at creating moments you just have to tell others about. Let's talk about those moments.

The Nominees Are: Taking on Arena fights with friends (Monster Hunter Rise) Turf Wars (Monster Hunter Rise) Monster riding (Monster Hunter Rise) The sense of bewilderment of rankings of pointless things in Poll Mine (Jackbox Party Pack 8) Shield Rallies (Melty Blood Type Lumina) The Baby Sequence (Resident Evil Village) Giving Lady Dimetrescu a Hand (Resident Evil Village) That Super Cool Suit (Metroid Dread) Samus Sez We’re Done Here (Metroid Dread) Titania, Queen of Fairies (Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2: Code Fairy) Berlin (Hitman 3) Getting Your Affairs In Order (Adios) Replacing Your Eye (Inscryption) Crewing a Tank (Hell Let Loose) Going back and addressing the story (NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139…) Wait, that was new?! (NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139…) Oh look, dolphins (Overboard!)

And now our last category is to follow: Best Game. Let's settle this.

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – That’s Our Jam Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 07:53:29 +0000

Is this where I make a "ya like jazz" joke? That's Our Jam is our music category, and we want a song that isn't just good to listen to, it's also good in game, and just generally a bop.

The Nominees Are: Disaster of Passion [May Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) Trigger [Giovanna Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) Armor-Clad Faith [Potemkin Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) Smell of the Game [Main Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive) Magnamalo Theme (Monster Hunter Rise) Rainy Moon [Red Arceuid Theme] (Melty Blood Type Lumina) 4 Challenges [Photon Maiden] (D4DJ) Watch Me Shine [Star-Lord] (Guardians of the Galaxy) Pursuit (The Great Ace Attorney) Da'at [Battle Theme] (Shin Megami Tensei V) Your Ocean (NEO The World Ends With You) Artaria II (Metroid Dread) On the Edge (Mahjong Soul) Charge (Mahjong Soul) Rasen (Lost Judgment)

Next up is the Best Moment category, with some great individual parts of games that were truly amazing!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Welcome Back Podcast

Scanline Media — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 07:31:19 +0000

Remasters. Remakes. Whatever you want to call them, they are here to stay. The PS3/360 generation poked its foot in the door with these, and now they live here. I have pretty mixed feelings about them, to be honest. But definitely some of them are worth celebrating, and we'd like to talk about those.

The Nominees Are: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Death Stranding: Director’s Cut The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Ninja Gaiden Collection Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game - Complete Edition Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millenium (NEO GEO Pocket) Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind + The Missing Heir Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown No More Heroes Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Castlevania Advance Collection Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Shadow Man Remastered Judgment (XBX and PS5 version) Control: Ultimate Edition Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Miitopia Alan Wake Remastered Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139… Quake Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl

We're posting four awards in short order here, for the last four categories! Next up is That's Our Jam, the most editing-heavy category and the reason all the others are late! Stay tuned!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Backlog Star Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:26:35 +0000

You could also call this Best Old Game, if you hated being pithy and also wanted to insult these games. But in any year, MOST of the games we play aren't from that year. They're from years previous, sometimes many years previous. Of these, which ones defined our 2021?

The Nominees Are: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late [cl-r] Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution Dragon Quest Builders 2 Disco Elysium Dragon Ball FighterZ Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Halo: The Master Chief Collection Metroid Fusion Tekken 7 Kidou Gekidan Haro Ichiza: Gundam Mahjong + Z: Sara ni Deki Ruyouni Nattana!

And that's a wrap for today's Gimmick Awards! Please come back tomorrow for two more, and then two more the day after that!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Yaku of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:14:12 +0000

The difference between Chinese and Japanese, aka "Riichi" mahjong, is the concept of the Yaku. Basically, it's a bunch of special forms your hand can take that allow you to call a win, and give you extra points. As a bunch of newbies to the scene, we have strong feelings about which ones are best. So Nick is gonna join us to figure it out.

The Nominees Are: Chiitoitsu Toitoihou Riichi Iipeiko Rinshan Kaihou Sanshouku Doujun Ryuuiisou Pinfu Kokushi Musou Nanboku Sensou The Groose is Loose Open Riichi

One category down for the day, one to go! Next we've got Backlog Star, featuring all the old games we loved in 2021!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Best DLC/Add-on Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:25:16 +0000

There are a lot of bad things about the way technology has allowed games to be changed. Gacha mechanics. Live service hellscapes. Free to play torture. Patching out things that are fun because they're not what the devs "intended." But also? There's DLC, or other add-ons. And sometimes those add-ons really freakin good. Let's celebrate the ones that are.

The Nominees Are: Patch 1.28 (DragonBall FighterZ) Washizu Mahjong/Darkness Mahjong (Mahjong Soul) Title Updates (Monster Hunter Rise) FEATURING DANTE FROM DEVIL MAY CRY (SMT Nocturne HD) Waves 1 and 2 (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity) 2.0 Update (Animal Crossing New Horizons) Happy Home DLC (Animal Crossing New Horizons) Switch Online Plus Online Update (Super Mario Party) Arena Mode (Apex Legends) Intergrade (FFVII Remake) Level Editor Update (Baba is You) Final Cut (Disco Elysium) Season 4 (Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid) Fates Divided (Total War: Three Kingdoms) Luxury Flipper (House Flipper) Make Them Unique (Total War: Three Kingdoms)

That's it for today's Gimmick Awards! Tune back in tomorrow for more, and I hope you've enjoyed what you've heard so far!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Best New Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:22:40 +0000

We're pretty heavily invested in good writing in games around here. This also leads to a love of a well-written and rendered character. But we're also kinda queer dopes, so sometimes we just love a handsome boy. Listen, people be containing multitudes.

The Nominees Are: Cole (Deathloop) Julianna (Deathloop) Veronica Villensey (Overboard!) Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village) Nagi Usui (NEO The World Ends With You) Nahobino (Shin Megami Tensei V) Rivet (Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart) Herlock Sholmes (The Great Ace Attorney) Marci (Dota 2) Nagoriyuki (Guilty Gear Strive) Yomogi the Chef (Monster Hunter Rise) Galerius (The Forgotten City) Lidia (Tekken 7) Lucian Galade (Suzerain) χ Key/Chi (The Caligula Effect 2) The Pig Farmer (Adios)

One more category for the day, and it's Best DLC/Add-on! We had a lot of great ones this year, and it led to a great conversation, so I hope you enjoy it.

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Gunpla of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:18:43 +0000

Even when a Gundam show is bad, you often get good model kits out of it. That's the blessing of this hobby: even when you lose, you can win. Plenty of good Gundam plastic model kits, or gunpla for short, came out this year. Let's decide the best ones.

The Nominees Are: MG Eclipse Gundam RG Hi-Nu Gundam MG Ginn RG Zeong HG Xi Gundam Full Mechanics Calamity Gundam HGBB Gundam Barbataurus HGBB Gundam Command 00 Qan[T] HGBB Gundam Perfect Strike Freedom HGUC Nightingale

That's our first category for today! Next up, we're going to be talking the Best New Character!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Movelist of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 06:49:09 +0000

This is the longest list of nominees for any category, and there's a reason for that. Around here, we love action and fighting games. And out of all the playstyles created for them this year, which was the best? Let's see.

The Nominees Are: Giovanna (Guilty Gear Strive) Nagoriyuki (Guilty Gear Strive) Goldlewis (Guilty Gear Strive) Happy Chaos (Guilty Gear Strive) Marci (Dota 2) Longsword (Monster Hunter Rise) Sword and Shield (Monster Hunter Rise) Saber (Melty Blood Type Lumina) Noel (Melty Blood Type Lumina) Korra (Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl) Spongebob (Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl) Pyra/Mythra (Super Smash Brothers Ultimate) Sora (Super Smash Brothers Ultimate) Kazuya Mishima (Super Smash Brothers Ultimate) Shanty (Them's Fightin' Herds) Akira (Street Fighter V) Black Ninja Ranger (Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid) Ryu Ranger (Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid) Rita Repulsa (Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid) Red Rider (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Quess’s Jagd Doga (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Tao (Gunfire Reborn) Super Baby 2 (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Titania (Gundam Battle Operation 2: Code Fairy) Cham Cham (Samurai Shodown) Lidia Sobiska (Tekken 7)

That's all for today's awards, but we'll have plenty more for you tomorrow! And the day after that, and the day after that. So please stay tuned!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Biggest Disappointment Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 06:41:17 +0000

As much as we love surprises, it can swing very hard the other way. Sometimes you are all primed to love a game and it just whiffs, hard. It is therapeutic to vent your frustration, anger, and sadness, but at the end of the day, it just sucks to feel like this. These are the Biggest Disappointments of 2021.

The Nominees Are: Disgaea 6 Disgaea RPG Pac-Man 99 The Medium New Pokemon Snap Mario Golf: Super Rush Twelve Minutes Balan Wonderworld Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl MLB The Show 21 Myst Remake Guilty Gear Strive GTA Trilogy Remaster Collection Get in the Car, Loser!

That was a downer, but our last award category for the day is Movelist of the Year! You'll get to hear us talk our passion for action and fighting games, it'll be great!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Best Surprise Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 06:22:33 +0000

Who doesn't love a good surprise? It's nice to look forward to games, and have them come out and be everything you want. But what about things you didn't know you wanted, or didn't imagine you could ever get? These games are the Best Surprises of 2021.

The Nominees Are: Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier Super Robot Wars 30 Bowser's Fury GBO2: Code Fairy Guardians of the Galaxy Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid - Super Edition Gnosia Inscryption Overboard! Petal Crash Touhou Luna Nights

We've got two more awards for you today, so don't miss them! Next up is Biggest Disappointment! Oh... that's a bummer one, actually. The ONLY bummer one.

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Stream Friend Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 06:26:34 +0000

When you start streaming, you quickly learn that there is a difference between a game that's good and a game that's good to stream. Certainly, lots of good games also stream well. But when you try streaming one of your favs and realize it's no fun to watch, that's an eye-opening moment. The games on this list are not going to be nominated for any other category, but when we streamed them in 2021, we had a hell of a good time.

The Nominees Are: Lifeline Drakengard Hardspace: Shipbreaker Breakdown Firefighter F.D. 18 NBA Street Vol. 2 Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem Killer Instinct Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

That's it for today's Gimmick Awards, but come back for three more awards for the next four days, a total of twelve more categories! Plenty to look forward to.

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Social Game of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 06:14:06 +0000

The Nominees Are: Mario Party Superstars Jackbox Party Pack 8 Melty Blood Type Lumina Hell Let Loose Mahjong Soul Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Mario Golf: Super Rush Pokemon Unite Gundam Battle Operation 2 Knockout City Halo Infinite Final Fantasy XIV Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier Forza Horizon 5

One category left for today: Stream Friend, where we talk about the games we streamed in 2021! I hope you'll enjoy it!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Gimmick Awards 2021 – Anime/Manga of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 05:59:09 +0000

Welcome to Scanline Media's 2021 Gimmick Awards! We're starting off with a favorite of ours. We're paid anime critics (every time I say it it's surreal, but it's true!), and as you might expect that leads us to having strong opinions on anime. But of all the anime and manga we covered in 2021, what was the best?

The Nominees Are: Akagi: The Genius That Descended Into Darkness Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time Moriarty The Patriot Yu-Gi-Oh! Serial Experiments Lain Dirty Pair March Comes In Like a Lion Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway Den-noh Coil Godzilla: Singular Point Delicious in Dungeon

We have two more award categories today, I hope you'll enjoy them! Next up is Social Game of the Year!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2021 is Piano 29 from Demon’s Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

Code Fairy Volume 3 Roundtable

Scanline Media — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 03:17:48 +0000

Now we bring things to a close. The curtains fall on the first single player Gundam game in years, with a conclusion that leaves us feeling a little mixed. Without a doubt, Code Fairy as a whole has been a great experience, and a game we'd both recommend. But it doesn't TOTALLY stick the landing, in ways that are a bit confusing.

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar.

Code Fairy Volume 2 Roundtable

Scanline Media — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 09:24:51 +0000

As it turns out, Volume 2 was so much of a banger that we wanted to make this a three parter after all. Alma's absence is our gain as this second part starts with a bang, giving us new mission types, new perspectives, and new mobile suits, only to reunite us with the lucky redheaded newtype for a thrilling conclusion. We'll be back for Volume 3, which I'm sure will end perfectly happily and nothing bad will happen.

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar.

Code Fairy Volume 1 Roundtable

Scanline Media — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 07:47:16 +0000

Jen and Six both have caught the fae fever! In the wake of Volume 1 of the episodic Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation Code Fairy, a single player Gundam story about an all-girls squad in the One Year War, the two simply had to convene to talk about. Whether we'll come back to talk about Volume 2, or just wait til the end to record again is unclear at this time, but we definitely want to talk more Code Fairy!

If you want to find us on Twitter, Jen is @jbu3 and Six is @sixdettmar.

Metroid Dread Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 04:31:23 +0000

After nearly two decades, Metroid Dread has arrived. Once little more than a rumor and an easter egg in a Metroid Prime scan, not only is it here, but we've had time to beat it, ponder it, and now assemble to talk about it. Six is joined by friend of the site Lee to discuss the latest Metroid game.

You can find Lee on Twitter at @UnstableArk, and Six at @sixdettmar.

The Sword Number

Scanline Media — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 07:21:06 +0000

This is all Marth's fault. Smash used to be a good, wholesome game of classic Nintendo characters. Now it's all, waifu, sempai, uwu, nakama, airdash, triangle jump, fuzzy guard, yaoi paddle, BL, glomping... it's lost. It's all because of how many swords are in the game. ...Wait. How many swords are in the game? Let's figure that out.

The Goku Number

Scanline Media — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 06:16:15 +0000

A lot of text has been typed about how many Gokus are in Dragon Ball FighterZ. It's a lot, of that we can be certain. But there are different numbers generated, with different logic and methodology. Six and Kyrie are here to tell you the REAL skinny on "The Goku Number."

Recorded live in person, so it's a LITTLE echo-y, but it's otherwise good sound quality.

Playlist Podcast 9/18/21

Scanline Media — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 06:21:53 +0000

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of a fictional incestual relationship, non-graphic purely the relationship. Also we spoil Twelve Minutes.

The Playlist podcast returns with a guest in tow! Our usual crew of Jen, Kyrie, and Six are joined by friend of the site Ryan on this bright evening. Ryan is VERY mad at Twelve Minutes, with good reason, but they and Jen have really been enjoying Psychonauts 2. Six and Kyrie both have been playing a lot of Under Night, then went their separate ways as Six has been cramming Metroid games in the runup to Dread, while Kyrie plays more Monster Hunter.

Thank you so much to Ryan (@BluestRose430) for joining us!

Playlist Podcast 5/27/21

Scanline Media — Fri, 28 May 2021 06:18:54 +0000

Just because it's a relatively quiet period doesn't mean there aren't new releases to talk about! Jen, Kyrie, and Six are here to talk about the classic mystery solving of Famicom Detective Club, Atlus's overpriced Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne rerelease, and the baffling nature of Miitopia.

Nier Replicant Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Sun, 23 May 2021 22:27:44 +0000

Experts of the Taroverse, assemble! Six was originally booked to host this podcast, but as discussions proceeded in the buildup to recording, it became obvious that they were just not up to the task. Instead, friend of the site Ryan has graciously taken the wheel to guide a podcast on the Drakengard Legacy with Jen and Kat. Buckle in, they're going DEEP.

If you want to find our hosts on Twitter, you can find Ryan at @bluestrose430, Jen at @jbu3, and Kat at @SimulationKat. Kat is also a streamer, you can find their work at twitch.tv/simulationkat.

Draft Game – Defunct Series

Scanline Media — Fri, 21 May 2021 05:11:49 +0000

Sony has announced it has 25 new IP in development! This after they killed off their single most creative studio for CREATING new IP (Japan Studio), and we dread to think what they will release. So the heck with Sony. Let's draft our OWN game console lineups, using exclusively dead or defunct series. Draft game time!

The Monster Hunter Rise Roundtable

Scanline Media — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 18:08:18 +0000

Like a lot of Switch gamers, Jen, Kyrie, and Six have found themselves engrossed in the latest release from the popular but infamously unwelcoming Monster Hunter. They say Rise is "the easiest to get into yet." That's true! But that's actually a fairly meaningless statement, as the series has always been terrible to get into. How much better is this one, actually?

Kamen Ground Episode 3 – Kamen Rider Gaim Ep. 1-3

Scanline Media — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 06:39:04 +0000

We decided to watch some Gaim! May the Fruits be with you as we delve into Urobuchi's try at tokusatsu. Dance tropes, fruit armor, and some very bizarre takes on what a "job" is. Welcome back to Kamen Ground, folks.

Playlist Podcast 2/16/21

Scanline Media — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:05:45 +0000

It's been a while since we just talked about what we've been playing: let's do that! Jen and Six talk about Super Mario 3D World, Bowser's Fury, Slime Rancher, The Medium, Suzerain, and a whole host of Steam demos. Join us!

Our intro music is the Title Theme from Super Mario 3D World, and our outro music is Glass Desert from Slime Rancher.

That’s a ShenMood – Shenmue 2

Scanline Media — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 04:10:13 +0000

With the first episode of That's a ShenMood, we claimed we'd play through the Shenmue series and talk about it throughout 2020. But, much like Ryo Hazuki, we quickly learned that the task we'd taken on was harder than we could have ever imagined. We also learned that Six has a powerful procrastinator streak. But finally, we return. Jen, Kyrie, and Six discuss Shenmue 2.

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Game of the Year Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 05:23:26 +0000

It all comes down to this... Game of the Year. We've played a lot of games, we have all sorts of feelings about them. But who will be crowned Scanline Media's Game of the Year 2020? Jen, Kyrie, and Six decide. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Paradise Killer Beam Saber Final Fantasy VII Remake If Found... Umurangi Generation Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Gimmick Awards 2020 – That’s Our Jam Podcast

Scanline Media — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 05:17:25 +0000

Fun fact, this award category takes its name from a channel on our Discord devoted to the discussion of music, #thatsmyjam. Honestly, every year this is one of the hardest categories, as I find myself remembering music I should have nominated later and kicking myself. Jen, Kyrie, and Six assemble for the That's Our Jam discussion. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

In The Blood (Hades) Paradise (Stay Forever) (Paradise Killer) Bury the Light (Devil May Cry V) Cool Z/J Theme (Shenmue 2) Animal Crossing Title Theme (Animal Crossing: New Horizons) Menu Music (Them's Fightin Herds) Take Over (Persona 5 Royal) Red Streamer Battle (Paper Mario Origami King) J.E.N.O.V.A. Quickening (Final Fantasy VII Remake) It’s Dangerous to Go Alone (Cook Serve Delicious 3) Stand Up (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best New Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 19:42:49 +0000

Writing is essential to our enjoyment of games around here. Hell, there are games we think are BAD GAMES that we still have lots of affection for because of their cast of characters. That's why every year, we take time to celebrate the Best New Character. Join Jen, Kyrie, and Six to hash out our winner. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Whisk (Cook Serve Delicious 3) Sakuna (Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin) Daniel McKee Jackson (Empire of Sin) Lea (CrossCode) Raymond (Animal Crossing: New Horizons) Crimson Acid (Paradise Killer) Pauline Bonaparte (Banner of the Maid) Baron Bunny (Genshin Impact) Arakawa (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) Lady Zhurong (Total War: Three Kingdoms - The Furious Wilds) Henry Division (Paradise Killer) Flick (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Hottest Mess Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 03:13:15 +0000

We got waaaay more than our yearly dose of Yikes in gaming's 2020. And that's putting it lightly, honestly: some really awful shit happened in the gaming world. Obviously outside of it was hellish, but we're not really qualified to talk about the pandemic and politics and all that mess? We're gonna keep it a little more light-hearted, though still not super fun. Jen, Kyrie, and Six decide the Hottest Mess in games of 2020. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 and XSX/XSS Launch Cooking Mama Cookstar Fortnite’s Removal from the App Store and Play Store (AKA Epic Games v. Apple) Ubisoft scandals Avengers Stadia Developer Talking Shit About LPers Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Re-Release Animal Crossing multiplayer Mario 35th Celebration (3D All-Stars, Mario 35) Twitch meltdown Poggers Racism Man

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best Moment Podcast

Scanline Media — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 02:57:47 +0000

You can't do game awards without talking about the individual moments that blew your mind. Jen, Kyrie, and Six assemble to talk about the Best Moment in a game of 2020. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Weak Point Smashes (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity) Getting Revenge (Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War) The Jenova fight (Final Fantasy VII Remake) Those Damn Stairs (Final Fantasy VII Remake) Breaking the Timeline (Final Fantasy VII Remake) The Trial (Paradise Killer) The Loyalty Card (Hades) Theseus’s Tantrum (Hades) Firing a General to Fight Them (Total War: Three Kingdoms - A World Betrayed) Uniting the Nanman (Total War: Three Kingdoms - The Furious Wilds) The First Night Level (Umurangi Generation) Skinning a Ship (Hardspace: Shipbreakers) Deleting the Game (Girls Frontline)

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best Vtuber Podcast

Scanline Media — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 23:34:49 +0000

2020 was really the coming out party for Virtual Youtubers, or "Vtubers." Obviously thanks to characters like Super Sonico and Kizuna Ai the concept predates 2020, but this was the year that it really hit big. Allen, Jen, and Kyrie are big into the vtuber scene. Six knows a little, and isn't much help here. Together, they will decide the Best Vtuber of 2020. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Gawr Gura Pikamee Amano Amelia Watson Ina'nis Ninomae Korone Inugami Kiara Takanashi Pekora Usada Calliope Mori

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Three Kingdoms Spirit Award Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Three Kingdoms was definitely the book of the year around these parts. Hell, we had a whole podcast about it! And in honor of that, we've decided to pick the character from the book who best embodies its spirit of chaos and heroism. Jen and Six decide who gets the Three Kingdoms Spirit Award. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Mi Heng Lu Bu Cao Cao Sima Yi Zhang Fei Guan Yu Hua Tuo Zhao Zilong

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best Add-on Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Shoutouts to the add-ons. Base games are good, but with these games, additions made them even better. Jen, Kyrie, and Six discuss the best game add-ons of the year. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Crown Tundra (Pokémon Sword and Shield) Hades 1.0 Journey’s End (Terraria) Furious Wilds (Total War: Three Kingdoms) A World Betrayed (Total War: Three Kingdoms) The Mistwoods Update (Dota 2) Vergil (Devil May Cry V) World Maker Update (Super Mario Maker 2) Rollback Netcode (Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R)

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Game of the Decade Podcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:00:00 +0000

This category is not what it seems. This isn't about 2011-2020. This is about the decade of 2020. Because oh my GOD 2020 was a year that felt like a DECADE. So let's not decide the best game of the year right now, let's talk about the games that kept us sane over the course of a waaaaay too long year. Jen, Kyrie, and Six discuss a handful of games with true staying power. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Apex Legends Hades Animal Crossing New Horizons Total War Three Kingdoms Skate 3 Final Fantasy XIV Gundam Breaker 3 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Jackbox Party Pack 7

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Oops! Best Anime Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:00:00 +0000

It's time for one of the classic categories: Best Anime! Of all the anime we watched on Oops All Anime this year, what were the best? Jen, Kyrie, and Six decide. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Dorohedoro Baccano! Armored Trooper VOTOMS Beastars Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Akudama Drive Yashahime My Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best Discovery Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 18:00:00 +0000

What is Best Discovery? Well, sometimes there are games you have expectations for, and they're defied. But sometimes there are games you aren't even AWARE of to have expectations for! A game just comes out and you go "wait what? I've never HEARD of this!" And then it rules! Jen, Kyrie, and Six assemble to talk about 2020's Best Discovery. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Paradise Killer Umurangi Generation Banner of the Maid Hardspace: Shipbreaker If Found... Takeshi & Hiroshi Ikenfell Signs of the Sojourner Noita Art of Rally

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best New Pokémon Podcast

Scanline Media — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Day Two of our Gimmick Awards opens with a special guest! Allen joins Jen, Kyrie, and Six to talk about the Best New Pokémon from 2020! We only got DLC this year as far as new critters, in the form of the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra, so our options are fewer than years with new generations of 'mons. Still, these monsters are worth fighting for. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Galarian Zapdos Kubfu Spectrier Gigantamax Cinderace Galarian Articuno Regidrago Zarude

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Backlog Star Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:37:25 +0000

A new name for an old category, our last Gimmick Award for Monday is Backlog Star! What games from previous years meant a lot to us in 2020? Jen, Kyrie, and Six decide a winner and the runners-up. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Shenmue Shenmue 2 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R Resident Evil 2 Remake Yakuza Kiwami 2 Ninja Gaiden 2 No More Heroes Dark Souls 2

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Best New Action Character Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:04:33 +0000

Our Gimmick Awards roll on with another new category for this year. Gone is Best New Fighting Game Character. Introducing... Best New Action Character! Join Jen, Kyrie, and Six as we figure out some winners from a stacked list of nominees. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

Belial (Granblue Fantasy Versus) Kefla (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Revenant (Apex Legends) Arizona (Them’s Fightin Herds) Pom (Them's Fightin Herds) Setsuka (Soulcalibur VI) Yuel (Granblue Fantasy Versus) Vergil (Devil May Cry V) Young Impa (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity) Sephiroth (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) Hoodwink (Dota 2) Steve/Alex (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

Gimmick Awards 2020 – Worst Direction Podcast

Scanline Media — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:04:19 +0000

The Gimmick Awards 2020 are upon us! Scanline Media's multi-category awards discussion begins. Join Jen, Kyrie, and Six as we start off by trying to determine the Worst Direction in games this year. Don't forget to check out the Write-Up for the winner and runners-up on the site!

Our intro music for the Gimmick Awards 2020 is 8bit22 from Demon's Souls, a Japanese royalty-free music site. A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!

The Nominees are:

The Last of Us Part II Cyberpunk 2077 Watch Dogs Legion Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Receiver 2 Cooking Mama Cookstar

Playlist Podcast 11/5/20

Scanline Media — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 22:19:53 +0000

Oh no, we kinda start having to think about Game of the Year stuff! Kyrie's played Ikenfell, and that might make the list! Six has messed with Watch Dogs Legion, and that... might make some kind of list! Jen's been playing No More Heroes... that's too old to make a list! Maybe we're not very good at this.

Playlist Podcast 10/13/20

Scanline Media — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 05:54:17 +0000

As the end of 2020 finally, finally, FINALLY seems possible, Six, Jen, and Kyrie assemble to talk about what they've been up to in games. Everybody's been playing some Hades, there's been some Spelunky 2, Jen's gotten into Star Wars Squadrons, Six has been playing Democratic Socialism Simulator, and more. At least we've been keeping busy!

The Tony Hawk Roundtable

Scanline Media — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 22:39:39 +0000

We're attempting the ULTIMATE skateboarding trick: getting a veteran Tony Hawk player and a series newcomer into the same room, and having a conversation. Also a heelflip or something. Jen has been playing this games practically her whole life, while Six has, after years of holding back, decided to dive in with the 1+2 remaster. How has the game treated them?

The intro to this podcast is Superman by Goldfinger.

Playlist Podcast – Farming Games

Scanline Media — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 04:55:35 +0000

Seeking a respite from a relentless year, Six and Jen retreated into the world of farming games. A newcomer to the field, Jen opted for Ooblets, and found a variety of choices that left her feeling a bit cold. Six is more of a longtime fan of farming titles, and opted for a return to an old home with Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. In the end, it turns to a discussion of the odd conservative instincts of a friendly genre.

Ghost of Tsushima Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 03:17:16 +0000

Sucker Punch, a studio that is at least in our circles infamous (ha!) for bad representation and thoughtless portrayals of minorities, has made a game about Japan! Oh boy. Well, it's not as bad as you might think...? From a gameplay and art perspective, it's great! From a writing and cultural context perspective, it's a bit more messy. Six and Jen played all the way through, and now sit down to spoil and discuss it together.

The intro music for this episode is the title theme from Ghost of Tsushima.

Snackline Media Jenny’s Chow 1 – Best Appetizer

Scanline Media — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 04:49:08 +0000

We've decided to give a formal name to this recurring Snackline Media feature where we talk about the best of a given food: Jenny's Chow! On this episode, Jen, Six, and Nick discuss the best appetizer!

Playlist Podcast 6/6/20

Scanline Media — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 21:50:15 +0000

Six and Jen return with some gaming updates! Desperados 3, Terraria, Dishonored 2, and more! Join us!

Kamen Ground – Episode 2

Scanline Media — Wed, 27 May 2020 06:06:41 +0000

The internet's favorite queer toku podcast (unverified claim) returns! Returners from episode 01 Six and Crass are joined by Abnormal Mapping's Em for a conversation on why tokusatsu should be your Sometimes entertainment. Making your hobbies your work is bad, actually!

If you want to find us on Twitter, Em is @em_being, Crass is @crasspants, and Six is @sixdettmar.

The Alternate Dimension E3 Draft

Scanline Media — Fri, 15 May 2020 23:53:14 +0000

E3 has been canceled. We all know this. And even if it hadn't been, it would have been a disaster. This too is known. But what if we lived in a different reality? One where E3 was amazing... not because of Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, but because three other companies stepped up? Join Ryan (Sega), Activision (Jen), and Capcom (Six) for an all new fantasy draft for an alternate dimension console war. Do you think you can survive?

Playlist Podcast 5/5/20

Scanline Media — Wed, 06 May 2020 05:38:10 +0000

We're still here, we're still queer, neither Jen nor I drink beer! I can't say I've ever asked Kyrie. What I have asked her about is VIDEO GAMES! And Jen too. Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XV, Persona 5 Royal, Cloudpunk, X-COM: Chimera Squad, Gears of War Tactics... we been gettin into stuff! Let's talk about it.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 04:17:41 +0000

They done did it now. The Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually out. They finished it. And then, subsequently, we (Six and Jen) finished it. And with both their and our tasks complete, we assemble. One of the most beloved games of all time, with an ambitious and wild new angle? Oh hell yeah, let's spoil the shit outta this thing.

If you haven't, we highly recommend listening to the Abnormal Mapping Final Fantasy VII Remake episode over at abnormalmapping.com!

Snackline Media: Best Sandwich

Scanline Media — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 03:43:37 +0000

What is the BEST SANDWICH? Six, Jen, and Nick sat down with a long list, and a little ways into the podcast are joined by Kyrie, to whittle that roster down to an ordered list, 10 to 1, of the 10 best sandwiches in. the. world. Join us.

Our intro and outro music is Cooking Race by mathgrant from the Free Music Archive (link).

Playlist Podcast 3/18/20

Scanline Media — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:26:24 +0000

Hope y'all are doing well in this hellish modern wasteland! Us? Oh, we're gettin by. We've been playing a bunch of stuff, actually! So Six, Jen, and Kyrie are here with recommendations for things to play during your time indoors. Enjoy!

Kamen Ground – Episode 01

Scanline Media — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 05:43:10 +0000

it's cuz you be strugglin in that database. Over the last handful of months, Six was converted to the gospel of Kamen Rider through watching Kamen Rider Build. Now, they're watching Kamen Rider Zero-One, the currently airing entry in the series. Since this is actually current content, this seemed like a GREAT excuse for a meeting of minds. Olivia from Novel Not New and Crasspants from Shitposting meet with Six here, on Kamen Ground, to discuss the show, the series, and talking toys. Join us.

If you want to find folks on Twitter, Crass is @crasspants, Olivia is @greatgrebe, and Six is @sixdettmar. We hope you enjoyed the ep, and we very well might do this again sometime!

That’s a ShenMood – Shenmue 1

Scanline Media — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 08:41:07 +0000

Welcome to That's a ShenMood! Throughout 2020, the Scanline crew is going through the Shenmue games, and assembling to talk about them! This is our first episode, as we're hot on the heels of beating Shenmue 1! Join Jen, Six, and Kyrie as they talk about Yu Suzuki's epic tale of revenge and waiting for stores to open!

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Game of the Year

Scanline Media — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 23:25:29 +0000

Here it is: the final award category of the 2019 Gimmick Awards. What game will take home the title of Scanline Media's Game of the Year? Six, Jen, and Kyrie sit down to decide. The nominees are:

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Control Dragon Quest Builders 2 Devil May Cry V Anodyne 2 Judgment Hades A Short Hike Outer Wilds Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Best Old Game

Scanline Media — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 18:10:58 +0000

For all we celebrate the new releases of 2019, it's just as important to look at the games that weren't new to the year, but still influenced the 2019 we had. Six, Jen, and Kyrie sit down to talk about the Best Old Game of 2019. Here are the nominees!

Kerbal Space Program Shenmue Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee .hack://G.U. Last Recode Street Fighter V The Sims 4 Fable 2 Prey Pyre Portopia Serial Murder Case The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Umineko: When They Cry

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Best Moment

Scanline Media — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 06:28:23 +0000

It's kind of obvious to say that interactivity is what makes games special. No shit, right? That interactivity leads to an additional level of investment, makes things feel more personal. And that makes for incredible moments, where you connect with the game in a way that you won't forget. Six and Jen are here to decide 2019's Best Moment. Here are the nominees.

Skipping a cutscene (Death Stranding) Making Dong Zhuo beg (Total War: Three Kingdoms) The Ashtray Maze (Control) Calling your mom (A Short Hike) The Quantum Moon (Outer Wilds) Figuring out what’s wrong (Outer Wilds) Mikiri Counter (Sekiro) Dropping on the train (Apex Legends) That Fucking Cane Guy (Judgment) Having a Good Group Cry (Kingdom Hearts III) Reading poetry in a fight (DMCV)

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Best New Character

Scanline Media — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 05:24:30 +0000

Here at Scanline Media, there isn't much we enjoy more than some good writing. As such, we always make it a point to celebrate well written characters. Here are the best new characters from video games in 2019, according to Six and Jen! Your nominees are:

Polaris (Control) Emily Pope (Control) Veronica (Dragon Quest XI) Parvati (The Outer Worlds) V (Devil May Cry V) Bernadetta (Fire Emblem Three Houses) Felix (Fire Emblem Three Houses) Edelgard (Fire Emblem Three Houses) Kaito (Judgment) Baba (Baba Is You) The Goose (Untitled Goose Game) Aiba (AI: The Somnium Files) Bede (Pokemon Sword/Shield) The Mayor (Wattam) Zagreus (Hades)

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Is It Anime of the Year?

Scanline Media — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:39:15 +0000

We watch a lot of anime around here at Scanline Media. A lot of it, we watch for Oops All Anime, our patron-only anime podcast! Because of that we watch anime every single week, and of course often multiple times a week recreationally. That gives us a lot of anime opinions. Here is a list of nominees for Is It Anime of the Year?: anime that were either new to 2019, or that neither Six nor Jen had seen before this year.

Dr. Stone Promare given Fruits Basket Demon Slayer Boogiepop and Others Kaguya-sama: Love is War One Punch Man (Season 2) Kamen Rider Build Chihayafuru Bodacious Space Pirates Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Ping Pong the Animation Dragon Ball Super Broly Thunderbolt Fantasy

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Best Craft

Scanline Media — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:31:43 +0000

You know what we love? Buildin shit. It's cool to make things! If you disagree, uh... I mean I won't say you're WRONG but it's a fundamental element of humanity so maybe you should give it another shot! Jen and Six are joined by their friend Kat to discuss creations in 2019 games! Here are our nominees!

Pyramid (DQB2) Curry (Pokemon Swish) Road (Death Stranding) Levels (Super Mario Maker 2) Gold Bar (DQB2) Best game that’s an actual craft (Nintendo Labo) Mario 3D World levels (Super Mario Maker 2) Inverse Rocket (Kerbal Space Program) Camera (Assemble with Care) HGUC Leo (Gunpla)

But we also have a few non-minees!

Worst Crafting Overall (Pocket Camp) Missed opportunities (My Time at Portia) Not actually about crafting (Yoshi’s Crafted World )

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Best New Fighting Game Character

Scanline Media — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 03:33:10 +0000

The 2019 Gimmick Awards continue! Here at Scanline Media, we're all about fighting games, so every year we try to honor excellence in fighting game design. What was the best new fighting game character this year? Jen, Six, and Kyrie assemble to discuss these nominees.

Gogeta Blue (Dragon Ball FighterZ) Neo Politan (BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle) Yumi (BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle) Robo Azuma (Ultra Fight Da Kyanta 2) Darli Dagger (Samurai Shodown) Velvet (Them’s Fightin Herds) Zenos (Dissidia Final Fantasy NT) Ren (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) Charlotta (Granblue Fantasy Versus) Ferry (Granblue Fantasy Versus) Super Broly (Dragon Ball FighterZ)

Our intro music is Noble Execution from Granblue Fantasy Versus.

Gimmick Awards 2019 – Hot and Cold

Scanline Media — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 05:21:38 +0000

Welcome to the 2019 Gimmick Awards! It's time to talk the year that was 2019, in games and anime. Jen and Six are starting off with Hot and Cold: what are the three games that were the most split between their high highs and low lows? The nominees are:

Death Stranding The Outer Worlds Disco Elysium Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Kingdom Hearts 3 Pokemon Sword/Shield A Plague Tale: Innocence MLB The Show 19 River City Girls

Our intro music is Dearly Beloved from Kingdom Hearts 3.

Game of the Generation – Game Boy Advance

Scanline Media — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 19:08:49 +0000

I continue to regret naming this feature "Game of the Generation" as we continue to discuss one system at a time rather than full generations! Idk maybe I can think of a plot twist to make this make sense down the line. Harri, Jen, Kyrie, and Six assemble to discuss the best games of the GBA, and form an ordered top ten list out of them!

Playlist Podcast 11/27/19

Scanline Media — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 06:15:42 +0000

The video game season is in full effect, and we're ready to give thanks for its bounty. Kyrie is counter-programming Pokemon by playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth, while Six and Jen have Sword and Shield thoughts. Jen's been checking out Guildlings on Apple Arcade, and Six is exploring anime girls with PTSD via Girls Frontline.

The Shotokan Cast

Scanline Media — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:20:40 +0000

When it comes to fighting games, the shoto character type is the glue that holds them together. A flexible, easily understood toolset, a simple but deep presence. What makes a great shoto? Six and Kyrie assemble to talk about the great shotos of the genre.

Investigation Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:42:13 +0000

This year has seen quite a few games framed around investigations. Among them are Judgment, AI: The Somnium Files, and Astral Chain. Six and Jen sit down to talk about these games in-depth, and about investigation mechanics in 2019 games. Spoiler levels vary: fairly non-specific spoilers for AI, structural/plot pacing spoilers for Judgment, and fairly thorough spoilers for Astral Chain. Oh! And Evangelion. We sorta spoil Evangelion XD I think our conversation wouldn't take your enjoyment of any of these games or the show away, but please be warned.

The Destiny Check-In – Episode 0

Scanline Media — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 08:04:10 +0000

With the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep and Destiny: First Light, the pendulum of Bungie's sci fi magic shooter has swung back into Good Times. Not that Forsaken was bad, but... well, nevermind. The point is, there's never been a better time to get involved with Destiny, and get way into it. Six has had an on-again, off-again relationship with ages, but this is the most positive ve's felt about it since The Taken King.

To talk out those feelings, Six is joined by Niall, Destiny lord extraordinaire and softspoken Irish wunderkind. Whether you are a lapsed light, a returning Guardian, have never touched the game, or never left, this is just two friends talking about where Destiny's at, and where it's going.

Game of the Generation – Nintendo DS

Scanline Media — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 06:27:33 +0000

Yeah, I know the Nintendo DS isn't a generation unto itself >.< What can I do? The feature has historically been called Game of the Generation, and I do so love consistency, so the name sticks. Jen, Six, and Allen assemble to find the ordered top ten DS games of all time.

The GachaPod Episode 4 – Pokemon Masters

Scanline Media — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 02:34:43 +0000

The chain of bad gacha games in 2019 continues! On this episode, it's Pokemon Masters, the latest collaboration between DeNA and Nintendo. Allen and Lotte join Six to talk about the failures of economics, gameplay, and core conceit in this disaster of a gacha.

Playlist Podcast 10/2/19

Scanline Media — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 07:21:37 +0000

The Playlist podcast returns once again, with a new cohost! Six, Jen, and Kyrie assemble to talk what they've been playing lately in video games. Kyrie has chosen to confront her nostalgia with the newly remastered Final Fantasy VIII, Jen's got the rhythm with Sayonara Wild Hearts, Six has a hot report from the field about SSGSS Gogeta, and more!

Where Do We Go(toku) From Here

Scanline Media — Sat, 07 Sep 2019 07:18:16 +0000

Yakuza 7's been announced, and it's a turn-based RPG. Judgment is out, and might be getting a sequel, so now there's a detective spinoff series. They're even talking about bringing the feudal Japan Yakuza games to the States. Ryu Ga Gotoku studio is busy, and this feels like a key moment for them, and especially their future in the West. How do Six and Jen feel about the direction their games have taken, and what do they expect to see going forward?

The GachaPod Episode 3 – Gundam Battle: Gunpla Warfare

Scanline Media — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 05:25:29 +0000

We've officially cast aside the unofficial name: now it's just the GachaPod. Allen was right, that other name isn't a good idea. It's a great idea, but it's not a good idea. But we are still here to talk about gacha games, what makes them tick, how much they do or don't respect your money... and a lot more.

On this episode, Six is joined by Briar Sovereign (@weregazelle) and Dylan (@LowPolyRobot) are joined in their love of Gundam to talk about how much they... don't love Gundam Battle: Gunpla Warfare, the new Mobile Suit Gundam gachapon game on phones. We have good reasons for not liking it- this game is a real mess, y'all. Gundam deserves better. But you can paint a Bearguy the colors of a Zaku, so who can say what's good and bad really????

(We can, this game is bad.)

The Fire Emblem Three Houses Roundtable, Summer School

Scanline Media — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 05:48:20 +0000

Members of the Best House, assemble! Six is joined by fellow Black Eagle Ryan to revel in Edelgard's victory, and talk more deeply about the Empire experience. Bernadetta forever, the politics of the revolution, conflicting character motivations, and much more are on the docket as the two delve far into the world of the Black Eagles.

The Fire Emblem Three Houses Roundtable, 2nd Semester

Scanline Media — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 06:58:33 +0000

You know that there are two semesters in a school year, don'tcha? So naturally, that means Six of the Eagles, Jen of the Lions, and Kyrie of the Deer are back for the second half of their Fire Emblem talk. This time, though, all bets are off in regards to spoilers: how do the three routes play out, and what do our panelists make of them? It's all on the table now.

Also, please make sure Jen never forgets about her choice of words re: Caspar's cat.

Playlist Podcast – 8/21/19

Scanline Media — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 06:40:45 +0000

The Playlist of recent games returns! Six and Jen have sampled of gaming's bounty, and bring back fresh reports from the field! First, Six lays out the case for Remnant: From the Ashes, a little-covered but fascinating new Soulslike for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Were you disappointed by the implementation of guns in Bloodbourne? Great news, my friend. Then, Jen attempts to break the dreamlike world of Anodyne 2 into a format your brain can process. Perhaps easier said than done. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw made a very strong first impression on Six, but the further in ve gets, the more ve feels let down by it. Finally, Jen took a chance on Dicey Dungeons, and seems to be coming out on top. The house always wins, but sometimes you can win as well.

The Fire Emblem Three Houses Roundtable, 1st Semester

Scanline Media — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 06:57:11 +0000

The school bell's ringing! Six of the Black Eagles, Jen of the Blue Lions, and Kyrie of the Golden Deer assemble for a spoiler-lite conversation about the pre-timeskip period of Fire Emblem Three Houses, and general gameplay impressions. With different levels of Fire Emblem experience represented, how does Three Houses serve veterans and newcomers alike? What's this I hear about them removing the weapon triangle? Stop by, hear our thoughts!

There will be a 2nd Semester covering post-timeskip material in the not too distant future, fear not!

Ill-Gotten Games Episode 3 – Epic Games Store

Scanline Media — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 06:50:09 +0000

Well, here we go again, eh? Before you go too much further, please understand the conceit of this episode: while the Epic Games Store has its problems as a service, the bigger problem lies with the reaction of fanatical gamer abusers who use their dislike of it along with racism and xenophobia as a justification for vile and toxic acts. We don't love the Epic Games Store here at Scanline, but we sure as shit don't hate it, and we find ourselves in the unusual position of defending it because the people who do hate it are such irredeemable dirtbags. Their anger, ultimately, is a manifestation of the malice and power-hungry nature of capitalism, and so we're here to fight it.

We're really not sure when there will be another one of these episodes: if we get mad at video game capitalism again, we'll be back!

The intro music for this episode is the song Shared Dig from Unreal Gold by Epic Games. It was composed by Alexander Brandon.

Playlist Podcast – 7/24/19

Scanline Media — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 05:28:04 +0000

When Scanline was first starting out, Jen and I did regular articles where we talked about the media we'd been consuming recently, and called them "Playlists." Well, we've decided to bring them back... in podcast form! On this episode of Playlist, Jen talks about Judgment, a detective brawler by the team behind Yakuza, and Sonic Team Racing- a kart racer with special team-based gameplay mechanics. Meanwhile, Six is getting into Dragon Quest Builders 2 and its charming world of construction, but still has time to talk about excitement and frustration with FFXIV's latest expansion, Shadowbringers.

Spoilercast: A Plague Tale Innocence

Scanline Media — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:20:58 +0000

So you're thinkin you're in the market for an indie game. Maybe a horror one, but not like a horror horror one. Just one with horror atmosphere as it tells a melancholic story. Hey, folks? Plague Tale ain't it. Six asks the questions and Jen answers, laying out the full story of A Plague Tale: Innocence, and wow that game goes off the rails.

Oops All Anime Sampler 4 – Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Scanline Media — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 22:33:20 +0000

Are robots people? Christ. What a boring question. What are you, David Cage? Let's ask more interesting questions. You like cyborgs? Nier Automata? Twin Peaks? Cool. Join Six, Jen, and friend of the site Ryan as they discuss Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, an incredible movie about transhumanism, philosophy, and identity.

This is the latest sampler for Oops All Anime, our patron-only show! Want more like this? For just $1/month over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia, you can get access to weekly episodes of the show, as well as nearly 100 backlog episodes. All sorts of different shows, a wild variety of guests, a bounty of tones and atmospheres. All yours: so check it out!

Scanline Talks – Interview with Erik Johnson

Scanline Media — Wed, 01 May 2019 17:30:41 +0000

It's always valuable to sit down with game developers and hear their perspective on the industry, how it's changing, and how it hasn't. Erik Johnson of The Indie Bros. and Vertigo Gaming has certainly done his time in the trenches of development, and can speak to that experience. But even more rare than hearing about development is hearing about games marketing and promotion.

Please enjoy this meaty interview as Six asks Erik questions about the PR side of games that is so rarely covered. Whether you're a curious player or a developer worried about promotion of their own work, this is a great opportunity to learn about the less glamorous, but incredibly important side of getting your game to sell.

You can find Erik Johnson on Twitter at @gameconnoisseur, and the website of The Indie Bros. here.

The Sekiro Roundtable

Scanline Media — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 00:11:57 +0000

After much consideration, Six and Jen sit down to hash out their thoughts on the latest From Software release, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Maybe when people argue about difficulty, they aren't REALLY arguing about difficulty... they're arguing about fairness, and being respected as a player.

Or maybe they are just arguing about difficulty XD Don't worry, we talk about plenty more than just the Easy Mode debate.

The intro music is the main menu theme from Sekiro, and the outro music is Emma's theme.

Gimmick Awards 2018 – Jacky’s Chow Retrospective

Scanline Media — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 06:42:07 +0000

And so the Gimmick Awards draw to a close. We're ready to look to 2019, and face its new challenges and successes, but before we do, let's take one last look at 2018. Nick and Six take stare their culinary pasts in the face for a conversation about the food of 2018 in this special edition of Jacky's Chow.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 8 – Best Side Activity

Scanline Media — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 05:13:53 +0000

It's time for our last Gimmick Awards category. It's easy to focus on the core gameplay and mechanics of a game, but what about the minigames and side stuffs that games often pack in? Fireside Friend Ryan joins Six and Jen to talk about the best side activities of 2018: because sometimes the distractions are even better than what they're distracting from.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 7 – That’s Our Jam

Scanline Media — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 04:05:24 +0000

Our Gimmick Awards for 2018 continue with the big question on everyone's mind: what about them tunes, though? Allen, star of the Gimmick Award's opening music podcast, joins Six and Jen to discover which song is Our Jam this year, and which works are worthy of being spoken in the same hushed tones. Or loud tones: sometimes it's good to play music loud.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 6 – Facepalm of the Year

Scanline Media — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 06:47:35 +0000

We've talked about 2018's most disappointing game, but the games industry is more than just the games that make it up. There's also the people, culture, and events SURROUNDING the games. And those... can let us down pretty hard as well. Harri joins Six and Jen once again to figure out the Facepalm of the Year.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 5 – Best Old Game

Scanline Media — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 06:08:08 +0000

Sometimes, it's not enough to just look at the present, or even what's on the horizon. Sometimes you need to reach into the past, and grab relics thereof to bring forward and appreciate anew. That's the thinking behind our Best Old Game category, where returning guest Nick joins Jen and Six to talk about non-2018 games that they, nonetheless, played in 2018.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 4 – Best New Fighting Game Character

Scanline Media — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 06:03:46 +0000

Here at Scanline Media, we're big fans of fighting games. As it turns out, our feelings on them are so strong, one GotY category isn't enough! Kyrie Page joins us on this pod for a discussion about the best new challenger to arrive in a fighting game in 2018.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 3 – Most Disappointing

Scanline Media — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 02:42:53 +0000

Nick joins Jen and Six for a discussion of the Most Disappointing Games of 2018 in this episode of the Gimmick Awards. There are some very strong nominees, everyone has their personal favorites, but in the end, there can only be one winner, and two runners up! Who will win the ?gold?

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 2 – Anime of the Year

Scanline Media — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 06:36:12 +0000

The 2018 Gimmick Awards continue, and for our first year ever, we're talking about more than just games! Oops All Anime was a huge part of Scanline Media in 2018, so it seems only fitting that we pick an Anime of the Year! Six, Jen, and Allen sit down to hash out a winner and two nominees.

Gimmick Awards 2018 Part 1 – Best Fighting Game

Scanline Media — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 01:37:35 +0000

The 2018 Gimmick Awards have begun! We kicked off with Ryan and Allen's year in music, and now we're here with the awards themselves! Six, Jen, and Harri assemble for category one: the Best Fighting Game of 2018!

Gimmick Awards 2018 – Ryan and Allen’s Music Corner

Scanline Media — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 01:25:24 +0000

Our Game of the Year podcasts for 2018, the Gimmick Awards, begin now! We're opening with a guest podcast by friends Ryan and Allen!

Ryan and Allen take a trip down memory lane to discuss their favorite music of 2018. From hip hop to K-Pop and everything in between, this episode is one giant music appreciation post in podcast form!

Spoilercast: Red Dead Redemption 2

Scanline Media — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 06:53:55 +0000

Six and Jen have played a lot of Red Dead Redemption. 1, 2, and online. And frankly? They can't play another minute without recording some thoughts about the experience, because these games are a lot. Boy howdy, Rockstar games usually are, huh? This podcast is full of SPOILERS so consider yourself warned.

The GachaPod Episode 2 – Dragalia Lost

Scanline Media — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 04:10:45 +0000

The title up there says this is The GachaPod. Listen... that's not the real name. That's the name we can say and use on services like iTunes without a stern talking to. You'll hear the real name of this show at the start of the podcast. We'll have a rotating cast across this sporadically updated podcast where we talk about gacha games and why we play them.

On this episode, Six, Allen, and Molly come together to discuss Dragalia Lost, Nintendo's second foray into the world of gacha as made by Cygames, the makers of the massive Granblue Fantasy. How much Granblue is in Dragalia, and what does it have to make it stand apart from its cousin? Join us as we take a look.

Ill-Gotten Games Episode 2 – Telltale’s Collapse

Scanline Media — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 03:47:20 +0000

Welcome back to Ill-Gotten Games: I'm sorry that we had to have you back. It's not that we're not glad to see you, it's that if we're on this show, it means capitalism's at it again, being shitty to folks in the video game industry. This time, it's Telltale Games, or more specifically, its management, misusing and abusing its over two hundred employees in disgusting fashion. Join us as we break down just how cruelly that studio was run.

We're really not sure when there will be another one of these episodes: if we get mad at video game capitalism again, we'll be back!

The intro music for this episode is the main menu music from The Wolf Among Us by Telltale Games. The music is written and performed by Jared Emerson-Johnson.

Webcast Insomniac’s Spider-Man

Scanline Media — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 23:47:26 +0000

CW: Spoilers!

Can he swing From a web Yes he can Press R2

For a long time now, folks have been craving a followup to the PS2 classic Spider-Man 2 that treated the traversal with the same spirit of joy and motion. Leave it to Insomniac Games, makers of Sunset Overdrive, to take up that particular torch with their 2018 release of Marvel's Spider-Man. And hey: the movement options are really good in this game. But, uh... the rest of the game is a thing too. How does it handle issues like law enforcement, fascism, environmentalism, homelessness, and... oh gosh. This is a lot of heavy stuff. They are gonna fumble the ball, huh? Well... yeah. Yeah, they are.

Join Jen and Six on this spoilercast as they tackle what the game gets right... and what it gets really uncomfortably wrong.

Oops All Anime Gaiden Episode 5 – RWBY Spoilercast

Scanline Media — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 18:05:24 +0000

Much like our last podcast was a roundabout discussion of RWBY Volume 1, this episode is a roundabout sort of spoilercast. We actually try not to spoil very much? Six and Olivia talk in general terms about the five seasons of RWBY, their themes, and the progression of the development team as they find their legs making a story serially. We aim to preserve as much mystery as we can: we only spoil enough to entice, and to pitch the show generally. Or unpitch it? Gosh. It's not all champagne and caviar, I tell ya.

If you want to contact us, Olivia is @OliviaZircon on Twitter, and Six is @sixdettmar. Oops All Anime Gaiden is experimenting with a weekly schedule now, so hopefully, we'll have more for you next Thursday! We're not sure what we're covering yet, but we'll figure it out.

If you liked this show, consider watching the podcast it's a spinoff of, Oops All Anime! It's available to patrons over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia!

Oops All Anime Gaiden Episode 4 – RWBY Volume 1

Scanline Media — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 06:36:26 +0000

Let's go back to the beginning of the fairy tale. Neither Olivia nor Six are new to RWBY, the western CG anime about girls at a monster hunting school, but it's been such a long time since it started. What's it like to revisit the beginning of a show that started pretty... rough? Honestly, it's more interesting than we expected. This episode: RWBY Volume 1!

If you want to contact us, Olivia is @OliviaZircon on Twitter, and Six is @sixdettmar. Oops All Anime Gaiden does not have a regular schedule, but we'll be back with more at some point in the near future! Next time, the full on RWBY spoilercast!

If you liked this show, consider watching the podcast it's a spinoff of, Oops All Anime! It's available to patrons over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia!

Oops All Anime Gaiden Episode 3 – Lupin the Third Part V Ep. 3-5

Scanline Media — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 04:59:09 +0000

You can't leave a job half-finished. Six and Olivia are back to finish the caper with episodes 3, 4 and 5 of Lupin the Third Part V. Ami's backstory is revealed, Zenigata and Lupin team up, Lupin... dies? And then the show keeps GOING? Boy, this is a grip of episodes, my friends.

If you liked this show, consider watching the podcast it's a spinoff of, Oops All Anime! It's available to patrons over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia!

The GachaPod Episode 1 – Girls Frontline

Scanline Media — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 05:55:50 +0000

For this first episode, Six, Tai, Nick, and Harri discuss Girls Frontline, a gacha game focused on firearms anthropomorphized as anime girls. ...Wait, come back! It's been out in China for years, but only recently got a US release! We're gonna go deep on features, systems, events, and so much more, as we explore the spirit of true gacha.

Oops All Anime Sampler 3 – Code Geass Ep. 1-5

Scanline Media — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 20:09:44 +0000

It's time for another Oops All Anime Sampler! The show has trucked on with weekly episodes and a ton of exciting guests! Want to know what you're missing? Here's the latest episode, released for free to everyone! After years of exile, the day has finally come. Six is ready to introduce Jen to a show that was once very important in ver life, and ve's now kind of embarrassed about. But ve can't do it alone. Abnormal Mapping's Jackson Tyler tags in for the assist as we talk Code Geass: Lelouch of the Revolution, and its first five episodes. The revolution will be televised... by Pizza Hut. It's so great to finally have Jackson on: it's been a long time in the planning! Thank you to them for guesting, make sure to check out the Abnormal Mapping podcast network and Jackson's personal twitter. Thanks also to our patrons: this was an episode we've really wanted to do, and it's only through your support that we were able to. Next week: Jackson and Six talk about the rest of Code Geass in a spoiler-packed extravaganza! Be sure to visit our Patreon and support us so you don't miss that episode!

Ill-Gotten Games Episode 1 – Steam Store Curation

Scanline Media — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 06:15:12 +0000

As much as we love video games, the business practices around them can be repugnant. The ugly nature of capitalism is often in full effect, and normal people bear the weight of the greed and selfishness of corporations. This is Ill-Gotten Games, a podcast where we talk about the worst ways capitalism can poison our passion. Join Six Dettmar and Jennifer Unkle on this first episode as we talk about the Steam Store curation debacle of the last few months, and Valve's careless approach to running a marketplace.

We're really not sure if there will be another one of these episodes: if we get mad at video game capitalism again, we'll be back!

The intro music for this episode is "Roaring Flames" by Ryunacore from the soundtrack of Reject Demon Toko, a game by Lupiesoft.

Oops All Anime Gaiden Episode 2 – Lupin the Third Part V Ep. 1 & 2

Scanline Media — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:17:05 +0000

Crime doesn’t pay… unless you accept bitcoin. A new era means a new adventure for the world’s greatest thief, Lupin the Third. This time, he and his gang have set their sights on the Deep Web, and are out to rob the blackest of markets. Join Six and Joy as a Lupin vet and a first-timer (respectively) as they dive into the latest Lupin show.

If you want to contact us, Joy is @JoyConWitch on Twitter, and Six is @sixdettmar. Oops All Anime Gaiden does not have a regular schedule, but we’ll be back with more at some point in the near future! We’ll be covering episodes 3, 4, and 5 next time!

If you liked this show, consider watching the podcast it’s a spinoff of, Oops All Anime! It’s available to patrons over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia!

Oops All Anime Gaiden Episode 1 – Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family

Scanline Media — Thu, 03 May 2018 19:00:26 +0000

Oops All Anime is getting into FRANCHISING! Introducing Oops All Anime Gaiden, the spinoff show starring Joy Zircon and Six Dettmar! We’re going in depth with shows that Oops All Anime prime won’t touch… and we’re not patron-exclusive! This show free to the public! This week, we’re tackling the first three episodes of the Fate series spinoff, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family! Get cooking with your favorite (???) Fate characters as you learn Shirou’s tricks of the kitchen! The show’s episodes are only 12 minutes, so join us in this recipe for success!

If you liked this show, consider watching the podcast it’s a spinoff of, Oops All Anime! It’s available to patrons over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia!

Oops All Anime Sampler 2 – Recovery of an MMO Junkie Ep. 2 & 3

Scanline Media — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:57:15 +0000

The sampler of anime discussion continues! This is the second of two podcasts covering Recovery of an MMO Junkie, an anime about MMO gaming and the ways we express ourselves through games. In case you’re seeing this before the other episode: you should really listen to this podcast first, as the one you’re on now is a followup to that one! With this, our discussion of Recovery of an MMO Junkie is done, as is this little sampler.

If you like what you’ve heard: there is more! Over on our Patreon, you can find more episodes of Oops All Anime, debuting every Monday! We’ve tackled Ancient Magus Bride, Little Witch Academia, and more, with new shows and exciting new guests and friends joining us all the time! For a dollar a month, you can get in on the action. Please consider supporting us, and helping us build more things! And even if you decide not to, thanks for at least giving it a listen =)

Oops All Anime Sampler 1 – Recovery of an MMO Junkie Ep. 1

Scanline Media — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:47:36 +0000

Hello out there all you free souls, clamoring for adventure! You know what’s the greatest adventure of all? Anime.

…Wow, can I start over. God. Uhm, so, we have a Patreon! Hopefully you knew that. That Patreon mostly is just like a tip jar, to help us expand our coverage… but there is one piece of exclusive content. It’s our weekly anime tryout podcast, Oops All Anime! We talk about the first few episodes of various anime, usually with a guest, and our thoughts! It’s really fun, we’re having a great time with it. Anyway, this is a little sampler of that show: one of two podcasts we recorded with friend Andy discussing Recovery of an MMO Junkie.

Both of those podcast episodes are free: if you like this, there’s a lot more like it on our Patreon! For just $1 a month you can get access to that feed. Chew on that idea, while you listen to this preview of what the show is all about.

The Yakuza Roundtable

Scanline Media — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 03:39:07 +0000

Jen’s finally gotten around to Yakuza Zero right as Six digs into Yakuza Kiwami, so the two sit down with mics to talk about the Yakuza series! Six is a series vet, Jen’s a newcomer, but both have strong thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the open-world crime drama games.

You can find Six on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Jen at @jbu3

Reviewcast: Night in the Woods

Scanline Media — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 04:29:12 +0000

The name may invoke a forest full of fear, but young adult anxiety is the true terror here! Jen and Six dive deep on Night in the Woods, a narrative game from developer Infinite Fall. Dare you enter Possum Springs, and learn its dark secrets- like why I am trying to make this sound like a scary campfire story? You don't stand a ghost of a chance of figuring it out, because it's really not super germane to the game that we really liked quite a lot!

OoooOoOoooOoooOo!

Chatting About Breath of the Wild

Scanline Media — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 06:19:45 +0000

Jen and Colin teamed up with special guest Andy to discuss The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! Sharkboys, rainstorms, criminally underdeveloped society, and mecha elephants! Would the game be better with no dungeons at all, and just shrines? Why can’t we just talk to the monsters? We don’t really discuss that last one but listen anyway!

Gimmick Awards 2016 – Game of the Year

Scanline Media — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 03:39:15 +0000

It all comes down to this! After three days of side awards, Jen and Six sit down to decide the GAME OF THE YEAR, and its nine runners up! One must stand! Many must fall! Nine must kinda like sit down or something! Let’s DO THIS!

Gimmicks Awards 2016: Part Three

Scanline Media — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:26:30 +0000

Day three of our GotY podcasts is the last of our Gimmick Awards, and this time Six and Jen are joined by guest Emily, one of the hosts of Bottle Crow!

Most Story 0:53 Most Sempai 14:16 Best Outfit (Presented by Romantic Diary) 26:18 Robot of the Year 47:49 Best Old Character 1:00:39

Gimmick Awards 2016: Part 2

Scanline Media — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:36:00 +0000

Our 2016 Gimmick Awards continue as Six and Jen roll into day 2! Today’s categories are Best Hitman Level, Crime of the Year, Most Hungry Game, and Most Thirsty Game. This one’s a doozy, I promise.

Best Hitman Level 0:50 Crime of the Year 16:32 Most Hungry Game 40:17 Most Thirsty Game 55:26

Gimmick Awards 2016: Part 1

Scanline Media — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 04:42:47 +0000

Our 2016 Game of the Year podcasts begin with our Gimmick Awards! In this first of three parts, we give special awards to games based on… well, some gimmicks. Day one’s awards are Best Watchers, Most Disappointing Game, Less is More, Least Disappointing Game, and Best Moment. Who will win? Tune in to find out!

Pokémon Sun and Moon

Scanline Media — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 15:20:54 +0000

Big releases scatter the months of 2016, and we’re running out of time to play them all before game of the year… but in the background, slowly but surely, Six and Jen are chipping their way through Pokémon Sun and Moon. From a longtime fan and a relapsed enthusiast, what does Alola hold? How is life without any gyms, and who in god’s name thought this online system was a good idea? Give it a listen.

Investigation Team: Persona 4, Part 2

Scanline Media — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 07:57:42 +0000

The Investigation Team digs deeper into Persona 4! On part 2 of our podcast on the PS2/Vita JRPG, Six and Jen talk about the cast of characters, from party members to villains to side characters. In a game all about connections between people, there’s a lot to say about the ones it asks you to connect with.

Investigation Team: Persona 4, Part 1

Scanline Media — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 18:04:32 +0000

A new podcast feed dawns, and with it, the launch of our new podcast! Welcome to Investigation Team, where Six and Jen dive deep into games well known and loved, taking a long look at what makes them tick. In our first episode, we begin our investigation of Persona 4, the PS2 JRPG that took the world by storm. Part 1 investigates the themes, setting, and general mechanics. Join us!

Scanline Status – Episode 8

Scanline Media — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 01:37:09 +0000

This podcast comes in three flavors: Bond, Bourne, or Bauer. If you got that joke, congratulations, and I’m sorry. Six has been playing Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice and Alpha Protocol, Jennifer’s been playing all sorts of games about AI and loneliness, and in the middle of it all we discuss the legacy of Chris Metzen, why so few games treat human relationships with any real depth, and how bad Six is at intros.

Scanline Status – Episode 7

Scanline Media — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 17:00:18 +0000

On this episode of Scanline Status, we celebrate the anniversary of the Dreamcast, and discuss the legacy it left for our industry. Then we keep the old games train running as we discuss Terraria, Shadow Complex, X-Men: Mutant Apocalpyse, and WoW (again). What is it like when you revisit an old game, and you feel differently. Sometimes, the game's been patched or expanded, but usually, you're the one who's changed.

Scanline Status – Episode 6

Scanline Media — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 05:48:02 +0000

Sorry. Forgot to knock. Jennifer has been checking back in with 2010’s hottest Bond game, Goldeneye Reloaded, while Six’s been a super ineffectual mayor in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. We still find time for modern releases, though- the newest Myst followup Obduction and the latest with the Metal Gear Solid series are hot on our minds. We’re still figuring out the structure of this now-weekly cast, so send any ideas to @SixTwoSixFour on Twitter, and thanks for listening!

Scanline Status – Episode 5

Scanline Media — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 04:19:01 +0000

The world of Azeroth never left you- you left it. And you were right to leave, and it's sorry, but baby, it's changed. Baby, come back. Fight the Legion. Try out our new class revamps. Or maybe you'd prefer a nice mobile game about hacking people's personal accounts? Maybe what you really need is just a good natural disaster to reign chaos down on your carefully constructed city. All this and more on this week's Scanline Status, with Six and Jennifer.

Scanline Status – Episode 4

Scanline Media — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:20:39 +0000

Come in, try a nice puzzle. We've seen some movies, we've played some games, we've got thoughts about eSports. The Overwatch World Cup, Professor Layton, Suicide Squad, Mr. Robot, and the last gasp of our collective patience with Warner Bros's vision of DC comics. We can't pour you a cup of tea, obviously- this is an audio medium. But just imagine we are. A cup of tea, just for you. Sip it, and enjoy this episode of Scanline Status.

Scanline Status – Episode 3

Scanline Media — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:57:53 +0000

You know what my favorite thing about Pokemon Go is? The number of my friends who have come back to the handheld games because of it. Seriously, I've heard so many people say "I stopped playing at around generation 3" who are now grabbing X or Y and remembering what they liked about Pokemon. Evolve is... still a mess, a year and a half later. Jennifer's been playing The Warriors, apropos of (almost) nothing. It's another Scanline Status, and we don't have junk food news this time. Sad face.

Zero Patience Dilemma

Scanline Media — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 16:13:54 +0000

Jennifer and Six have finished Zero Time Dilemma, and have a podcast of thoughts for you! Crashing the party is friend of the site Emily, who isn't short on opinions of her own. The Zero Escape series may finally have come to a close with this third installment, but the debate will rage on forever- are they secretly super stupid? Also, can you tell that Six is the one who wrote this description? We look at the whole series, from 999 through ZTD, and figure out where we've ended up. Join us.

Scanline Status – Episode 2

Scanline Media — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 20:51:58 +0000

With E3 in the rear view mirror, Jennifer, Six, and Johnny get together to discuss their thoughts on the show, David Cage's delusions, Paradox strategy games, World War 1, and... Burger King? This and much more on the second episode of our semi-regular podcast, Scanline Status!

Text But In Words 5: MMO Combat

Scanline Media — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 19:00:29 +0000

Johnny and Six are both veterans of many years of MMORPGs, with vastly divergent taste in the genre between them. The two get together to talk about what MMOs offer that no other game does, their unique missteps and approaches, and why DPSing is a raw deal. Encounter design, the Trinity, and mislaid plans collide in this latest Text But In Words.

Scanline Status – Episode 1

Scanline Media — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:46:30 +0000

Welcome to our new semi-regular podcast about what's been going on in games and the world beyond! Johnny, Kyrie, and Six join for a roundtable discussion about DOOM, Hitman, Fallout 4, and Taco Bell? Galak-Z is back with The Void, and we should probably read The Name of the Rose. All this and more on our inaugural episode of Scanline Status!

Reviewcast: Street Fighter V

Scanline Media — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 18:16:46 +0000

We keep it real in these streets. Capcom's biggest fighting game has been back for a few months now, and it's a real mixed bag. Johnny and Six sit down to talk through what it does right, what it does wrong, and where they clearly cut corners to save money. Can this game right the sinking Capcom ship? It's a pretty big ask, but just look at Ryu's biceps and tell me you don't think he's up to the task. Dude punches so hard he FLIES.

Reviewcast: Stardew Valley

Scanline Media — Tue, 24 May 2016 20:32:44 +0000

We've only got one Harvest Moon fan on the regular staff here, so to discuss this one, we had to bring in a friend. Six is joined by Emily of Bottle Crow to discuss the indie darling about escaping your big city life and starting new. We didn't farm this one out, it's homegrown! Sorry.

Let's be real, I'm not sorry.

Oops All Anime – Episode 3: Bring Back Baby Steps

Scanline Media — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 18:22:37 +0000

Since I do the titles and descriptions for our podcasts, I can use them however I want. HEY. Bring Baby Steps back for a third season! For this episode of Oops All Anime, Johnny and Six are joined by Harrison, a friend of theirs and fellow anime enthusiast. Durarara comes to a close, Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans kills a lot of characters, and I guess Attack on Titan is coming back or something. Let’s talk anime!

The Overcast

Scanline Media — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 21:17:57 +0000

The Overwatch stress test beta has passed us by- and for once, Six and Jennifer have gotten into a Blizzard beta! We've played all the heroes, explored the included maps, and come back with a lot of conclusions, and a handful of questions. Join us as we talk through the whirlwind 48 hours of Overwatch we experienced.

Reviewcast: Firewatch

Scanline Media — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 00:52:21 +0000

It has been several years since The Walking Dead: Season One made its big splash in the industry, and pushed developers like Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman into the spotlight. They since went on to make their own studio, Camposanto, and Firewatch is its first game. Is it fair to think of this as a spiritual successor to The Walking Dead? Or is that doing a disservice to the range of those writers? Johnny, Jennifer, and Six take a long look into the fire, and let it burn.

Slamline Media Episode 1 – Royal Rumble ’16

Scanline Media — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 21:24:53 +0000

Terrible ideas, ho! Six's been a deeply casual wrestling fan for some time, and Johnny's been a deeply skeptical eyebrow-raiser. What happens when they watch WWE's Royal Rumble 2016 together? Well, they walk away from it and record a podcast that sounds a little something like this. A wrestling newbie with a wrestling amateur, bringing you the hottest of takes. Maybe we'll do this again someday.

Oops All Anime – Episode 2: …Rararararararara…

Scanline Media — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 22:41:26 +0000

This time, Johnny and Six have actually seen some of the same shows. Lupin the 3rd Part4, GATE, Durarara… ra ra… rarara… whatever. Anime continues, and so do we! How’s that for a tag line? Terrible? Whatever, my show my rules, get outta here.

Game of the Generation: PS2 and Friends Part 3

Scanline Media — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 18:06:42 +0000

We took two massive lists, and whittled them down... and now those two lists combine, and we finally make them into one ranked list of the ten best games of the generation. PS2. Dreamcast. Xbox. GameCube. We seek the truth of the matter, and plunge deep into the hard questions, like "did you even play this game?" In the end, we settle on winners. Witness the ten best games of the sixth generation of consoles, according to Scanline Media.

Game of the Generation: PS2 and Friends Part 2

Scanline Media — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 18:04:16 +0000

The debate rolls on- what is the best game of the sixth generation of consoles? PS2 and Dreamcast have been whittled down to a list, and now it's time for Xbox and GameCube, as well as multiplatform titles. Sparks will fly! Someone will try and say Billy Hatcher wasn't a terrible game! It's gonna be eventful. Part 2, comin' atcha.

Game of the Generation: PS2 and Friends Part 1

Scanline Media — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 02:41:28 +0000

Some would say that the Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Dreamcast generation was the best console generation ever. I am probably one of them. But what is the best of the best? What games of this best of all generations rise above, and deserve the kind of discussion we're all about here? Johnny, Jen, and Six dive into the three part GotG 6 discussion, starting with only Dreamcast and PS2. Let's do it.

Text But In Words Episode 4: The Witness

Scanline Media — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 23:47:27 +0000

The debut project from Thekla, Inc. and second independent effort from Jonathan Blow, nobody's been able to shut up about The Witness lately in our industry. So much has been said, and we're wary of repeating things that are already so thoroughly stated- but Johnny, Jen, and Six got together to discuss the vibrant, meandering puzzle game with their own perspectives on it.

The Gimmick Awards 2015 – Game Of The Year Pt. 2

Scanline Media — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:00:59 +0000

This is it- the big one. Game of the Year. Johnny, Jennifer, and Six sit down to figure out the top ten games of the year, in a ranked list. There will be yelling. There will be bargaining. Six will ask "what are we even doing here?" And in the end, there will be a winner.

The Gimmick Awards 2015 – Game of the Year Pt. 1

Scanline Media — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:00:34 +0000

The Gimmick Awards 2015 – All Categories Pt. 2

Scanline Media — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:00:01 +0000

The Scanline Media 2015 Game of the Year show begins with our Gimmick Awards! Johnny, Jennifer, and Six join forces to argue about the best games in categories like Best Idea, Best Character, Best Music, and so on!

The Gimmick Awards 2015 – All Categories Pt. 1

Scanline Media — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 20:00:49 +0000

Oops All Anime! – Episode 001

Scanline Media — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 03:20:19 +0000

Why. Why did we do this. For some ungodly reason, Johnny and I decided we should record a podcast talking about anime. Our interest in anime comes and goes, and in 2015 we both had a reasonable level of interest. What did we watch? What did we hate? What does anime say about the nature of humanity, and our desire to see ourselves through a different lens? Two of these questions will be answered, dear listener.

Game of the Generation: PSP and DS

Scanline Media — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 22:10:31 +0000

All throughout our Game of the Generation 360/PS3/Wii podcast, one question kept nagging at us- what about the handhelds? And so Johnny and Six set out to do the unthinkable- figure out the best games of the PSP/DS handheld generation. …But it actually went pretty well, other than a few minor… hiccups. Check it out!

Galak-Z and the Roguelike Burden

Scanline Media — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 07:51:33 +0000

We were both eagerly anticipating the release of Galak-Z- I on PS4, and Johnny on PC. Now that we've both had time to play a great deal of it, we find ourselves really... frustrated? It's a game that constantly reaches out and touches greatness, but can never maintain contact for long. The two of us sit down to try and explain where the game goes wrong.

Game of the Generation: 7th Generation Pt. 2

Scanline Media — Sat, 21 Nov 2015 18:49:09 +0000

Our Game of the Generation discussion rages on, and eventually concludes. From our original sixty-six, we do, eventually, manage to make one winner, and nine runners up. Johnny swears, Jen sighs, Six snarls, and in the end, we are exhausted. You will be too. Enjoy the second half of our discussion.

Game of the Generation – 7th Generation Pt. 1

Scanline Media — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 21:10:57 +0000

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii are all wrapped and done. Sure, a few triple A games will still release on those platforms in addition to their more capable PS4/Xone versions, but developers and players alike are moving on. What better way to put a bow on the generation than figuring out what the best game of the generation was? Jennifer, Johnny, and Six take a list of sixty-six games, and work towards a list of one winner, and nine runners up. Here is the first half of our Game of the Generation debate for the seventh generation of consoles.

Reviewcast – 2064 Read Only Memories

Scanline Media — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 22:50:32 +0000

Generally, reviews are handled by one person around here, and they get up a written review. For the cyberpunk adventure game Read Only Memories, that was to be Jen, and her review will go up soon... but on this particular game, the whole crew ended up playing and having things to say. Jennifer, Johnny, and Six sit down for an in-depth discussion about MidBoss's anime-styled adventure. Spoilers are kept to a minimum, though conversation is lively. We can't say when, but expect more reviewcasts in the future!

The Scanline Talks feed is for our general game discussion podcasts, and it's on iTunes (here)! A review or rating would be extremely helpful, as would a recommendation to a friend! We also have a Patreon page at patreon.com/scanlinemedia, and all funds go to site expenses- hosting, new equipment, and the like. Thanks, and we'll see you guys next time we have something to present!

Destiny and the Red String of Fate

Scanline Media — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 23:37:50 +0000

When Johnny sat down to interview me about Destiny: The Taken King, I figured it would go about thirty minutes, and I’d simply explain some of the new features and content in the game. Instead, it was an hour long discussion about what makes Destiny itself, and why I can’t seem to quit it even when my frustration reaches its peak. The Taken King is the best the game has ever been. It’s as close to being what we were originally promised that it’s ever been. Is it good enough? Has it actually reached the place it should? Listen on, dear reader. Find out.

Text But In Words Episode 3: Rising Thunder

Scanline Media — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 18:48:19 +0000

Text But In Words is our on-and-off debate podcast. For our third episode we're discussing the free-to-play PC fighting game Rising Thunder, and what it means for the fighting game genre. Jennifer, Six, and Johnny throw down for a verbal best of three. I should probably apologize for that metaphor.

Text But In Words Episode 2: Crafting Games

Scanline Media — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 19:58:43 +0000

Text But In Words is our on-and-off debate podcast. In this episode, Johnny and I discuss crafting games like Minecraft, Terraria, Starbound, Don't Starve, and their ilk.

Text But In Words Episode 1: Arkham

Scanline Media — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 04:04:27 +0000

Text But In Words is our new on-and-off debate and discussion podcast. This time, we're tackling the Batman: Arkham series of games, from both a mechanics and a writing perspective. This first episode stars Scanline Media founders Six Dettmar and Jennifer Unkle, along with frequent co-conspirator Johnny Niska. Enjoy!