17-Bit’s Jake Kazdal joins us to talk Phantasy Star Online 2, Shinji Mikami’s return to survival horror, Dragon’s Dogma, Dragon’s Crown, Dragon’s Dragon, Tokyo Jungle, Soul Sacrifice, yay or nay on CoD: Black Ops 2, and what it’s like to start and run your own indie game studio.

Running time: 2:36:53

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Time – Topic Discussed:
11:32 – Games: Phantasy Star Online 2, Dragon’s Dogma
51:50 – What it’s like to be indie
1:21:00 – News: Nintendo Direct/Investor Briefing, CoD: Black Ops 2, Shinji Mikami’s Zwei, Dragon’s Crown, Tokyo Jungle
2:29:00 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 4/20/2012: S2E01
Intro: Giant Bomb Special Theme
Ending: Powerman 5000 – Worlds Collide (DJ SPRSK Mix)

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

Imported from the exotic orient (no region lock): Talk about Fire Emblem: Awakening, Dark Souls PC, Fez, Wii U cost and price, Valve and Apple, and a new Ocarina of Time world record.

Running time: 1:19:48

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Time – Topic Discussed:
9:20 – Fire Emblem: Awakening
23:33 – Fez
34:30 – News: Dark Souls for Windows, The Cost of Wii U, Valve + Apple, Zelda Speedruns, Used Games
1:13:00 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 4/06/2012: KICKSTART MY HEART
Intro: Kazunaka Yamane – Title Theme (Double Dragon)
Ending: Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

We offer the following rewards to people who help listen to our podcast: PLEDGE 20 MINUTES OR MORE: Talk about creating characters in Phantasy Star Online 2, more Kid Icarus and Lumines, and the WiiU’s (supposed) capabilities 40 MINUTES: Kickstarter game projects, good and bad 60 MINUTES: Notch’s ambitious sci-fi crazy-name game, 0x10c 70 MINUTES: Sega’s money problems and retro re-releases, Vita updates, and bronze-colored finger puppets of the cast.* (*Actually, no.)

Running time: 1:51:50

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Time – Topic Discussed:
7:05 – Kid Icarus: Uprising, Lumines: Electronic Symphony Final Thoughts
20:00 – PSO2 Character Creator
23:42 – Dairy Queen
27:26 – News: Kickstarters, 0x10c, Double Dragon: Neon, Vita Update, Ryan Payton’s New Game, Killer is Dead, Pax East
1:48:00 – Closing Comments

Also, here is Hiroko’s “amazing” drawing of Frodo from her Draw Something game with John:

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 3/23/2012: SICK R US
Intro: Yasunori Mitsuda – Twinbellows Boss Battle Theme (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
Ending: Yuzo Koshiro – Magnus (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

With Gaming Jesus bedridden from an evil GDC pox and both JJ and Hiroko fighting off the flu, we thought about taking the week off. But then, like an angel from Heaven above, our intern showed up at the door with three pre-release copies of Kid Icarus: Uprising, and all the pain and suffering went away. Listen to a half hour’s worth of spoiler-free discussion on the 3DS’s first major release of 2012, along with follow-up thoughts on Journey (also spoiler-free!), quick impressions of PixelJunk 4AM and Lollipop Chainsaw, some scattershot news and GDC thoughts, and more talk from Hiroko than you’ve heard in the last 10 episodes combined.

Running time: 1:25:39

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Time – Topic Discussed:
4:54 – 8-4 at GDC 2012
13:20 – World Game Project Fes Vol 2: Lollipop Chainsaw, Pixeljunk 4am
23:39 – Kid Icarus: Uprising
53:00 – Journey
1:05:11 – News: Mass Effect Ending, Dark Souls PC, Nomura on Versus XIII, Giant Bomb Joins Gamespot
1:21:17 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 3/9/2012: JOURNEY TO VITA HEAVEN
Intro: Dvorak – Symphony no. 9 Allegro con Fuoco
Break: Austin Wintory – Journey Music Trailer
Ending: Sega Sound Team – Phantasy Star Online 2 Trailer music

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

Internet sensation David “CheapyD” Abrams returns to the show for a truly rare event: we actually played some games! Tune in to the first segment for impressions of Journey, Asura’s Wrath, Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, and Level-5′s Girls RPG, plus thoughts on the new iPad, Valve’s rumored (and then debunked) “SteamBox” console, Phil Fish and Keiji Inafune’s feelings about Japanese games, and more. Then stick around for the second segment for a quick burst of fresh-from-YouTube commentary on Sony’s “PS Vita Game Heaven” video barrage! (One word: PSO2!)

Running time: 1:50:10

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Time – Topic Discussed:
5:35 – Games: Journey, Asura’s Wrath, Mass Effect 3, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Theatrhythm, Girls RPG
52:51 – News: New iPad, Phil Fish comments, Steam Box, GDC Awards, Joustin’ Beaver
1:45:21 – Closing Comments

Here some are pics of the stuff we got during the podcast:

Club Nintendo Super Mario Pillow (2011 Platinum prize)

Rad Wind-up Knight Art from Robot Invader (thanks, guys!)

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 2/24/2012: BLOCK DROPPIN’ BEATS
Intro: Hip Tanaka – Underworld Theme (Kid Icarus)
Break 1: Deep dish with Everything but the Girl – Future of the Future (Stay Gold)
Break 2: Kaskade – 4 AM
Ending: Coolio – Fantastic Voyage

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

Join us for a little boom-tiss-boom, as James “Milkman” Mielke of Q Entertainment visits 8-4 Towers to go deep (so deep) into the creation of PS Vita launch title Lumines: Electronic Symphony. But first, a game-by-game dissection of the U.S. and Japanese Nintendo Direct conferences, and updates on PS3 faves The Last Guardian and (most importantly) Tokyo Jungle, all in news. Wrap it all up with fresh hands-on Gravity Daze/Rush impressions and you got yourself a show, mister!

Running time: 2:27:48

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Time – Topic Discussed:
8:33 – Nintendo Direct
52:51 – News: Seaman on 3DS, Last Guardian Development Problems, Tokyo Jungle Release Date
1:15:00 – Lumines: Electronic Symphony Talk
2:16:00 – Gravity Daze/Rush
2:21:00 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 2/10/2012: ROCK, PAPER, VITA
Intro: Aerosmith – I don’t Wanna Miss a Thing (JJ Tone Def-Mix)
Ending: DJ $tewMac and JJ4real – Junk Man’s Theme

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

It’s crunch-time at 8-4 Towers, so there’s no time for your fancy podcast prep work! Listen for even offer-the-cuff-than-usual chit-chat on Vita’s U.S. launch lineup (and our Vita giveaway contest winner), the new Suikoden game for PSP, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, Denpa Ningen RPG for 3DS, Double Fine’s adventure game kickstarter, and…uh….#$%^ it, we’ll do it live!

Running time: 1:21:00

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Time – Topic Discussed:
11:37 – Games: Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki, Denpa Ningen RPG, Beat Hazard
54:00 – News: Double Fine Kickstarter, AIAS awards
1:06:42 – Vita Contest and Closing Comments.

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 1/27/2012: INDUSTRY SOURCES
Intro: Kota Suzuki – Title Screen (Resident Evil: Revelations)
Break: DJ Fresh ft Sian Evans – ‘Louder’ (Drumsound & Bassline Smith Remix) (Wipeout 2048)
Ending: Masahiko Osaka – Katamari on the Rocks (Touch My Katamari)

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

THRILL! As the 8-4 crew gets caught up in a rad bromance with the new Resident Evil 6 trailer, and make hands-on revelaitons re: the latest RE on 3DS. LISTEN! To chatter of new Wii U features, rumors of the neXtBox, and other tender newsy morsels. EXCITE! To more Vita game impressions, as well as the details of our amazing giveaway contest <<<**LOOK**FREE PLAYSTATION VITA CLICK NOW!!**<<<

Running time: 2:39:20

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Time – Topic Discussed:
8:44 – Games: Touch My Katamari, Disgaea 3 Vita, Armored Core V
33:50 – Resident Evil: 6 Trailer and Revelations Impressions
1:32:24: – News: Nintendo Investor Meeting, NeXtBox Rumors, Diablo 3
2:30:52 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 1/13/2012: ALL THAT J*ZZ
Intro: Hip Tanaka – Game A (Gyromite)
Ending: The Max Rebo Band – Lapti Nek (Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi)

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!

You may remember our big New Years card post from last year (*ahem*) where we posted a bunch of “nengajou,” or New Years cards (see explanation below), from various Japanese gaming companies. Well now it’s 2012, which means we’ve got a whole new batch of cards for you to peruse!

If you’re absolutely clueless as to what this whole nengajou business is all about, here’s the background spiel we gave last year:

Each year on the first day of January, these post cards (or nengajō” 年賀状 in Japanese) are sent to friends, acquaintances, and business partners as a way of expressing gratitude and keeping in touch going into the new year, much like Christmas and holiday cards are in the West. One side of a nengajō has a picture or artwork, usually containing the Chinese Zodiac animal of the upcoming year (the dragon, in the case of 2012), and a short message celebrating the previous year and commemorating the coming of the next. The other side is just for the address and name of the recipient. Below we have
our 8-4 nengajō for this year, as well as some of the cards we received from various companies and friends in the Japanese gaming industry for 2012 (or Heisei 24 平成24年 in the traditional Japanese year counting system). You dig?

Special thanks go out to Phil Fish of Polytron Corporation for designing our card this year. Also, be sure to let us know which card is your favorite down in the comments below. (We know, it’s ours.)

8-4, Ltd.

From Software	Tango Gameworks

Basiscape	Access Games	Creatures	Namco Bandai Games

Capcom	Land Ho!

Epic Games Japan	Level-5	tri-Ace	Q-Games

Grasshopper Manufacture	The King of Games

GREE	Falcom	Meteor	Koei Tecmo

Square Enix	Nude Maker

Inti Creates	Valhalla	Inis	Cave

Sega	Digital Sonic Design

Dog Ear Records	Climax Entertainment	Yoko Taro (director of Nier)	Gem Impact

Procyon Studio	Prope

Sony Computer Entertainment

Platinum Games

Why try out games and form your own opinions when you can sit back and let the 8-4-some do it for you? This episode the newly-reunited gang takes on the (Press up!) new Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Asura’s Wrath demos (Right, RIGHT!), sparking a lively debate on quicktime (Tap ‘A’ repea—ALRIGHT ENOUGH!) events that pops up outta nowhere like…you know what. Speaking of outta nowhere: Wut up with that 3DS stand that comes included with Kid Icarus: Uprising? Plus the Independent Games Festival finalists, Yu Suzuki, avatar tattoos, and speculation on redesigned 3DS hardware and next-gen timing for Sony and Microsoft. (Hit ‘Download’!)

Running time: 1:27:42

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Time – Topic Discussed:
9:00 – Games: Asura’s Wrath, Final Fantasy XIII-2
26:10 – Kid Icarus Stand, 3DS Lite
43:23 – News: Falcom Music on iTunes, President Kaz, E3 Next-Gen No-Shows, Xbox Tattoos, Diablo 3, IGF Awards, Evo2k12
1:11:20 – Mixed Discussion: Super Crate Box, Microsoft CES, Gaikai Predicts the Future
1:21:49 – Closing Comments

And now…a list of music used in our previous episode!

8-4 Play 12/30/2011: HAPPY NEWS YEAR SPECIAL
Intro: Nobuo Uematsu – Decisive Battle (Final Fantasy VI)
Ending: Village People – YMCA

As always, you can leave comments for us at the “Leave a Comment” link below or via Twitter at @84play. And if you’re new to the show, you can subscribe to 8-4 Play on iTunes right here. Subscribe today!

Thanks for listening!