200.5: Observing the Forms

Sam. Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Backlog Breakdown. This is a video game podcast where we are trying to encourage and equip the church to engage the medium of video games wisely and responsibly. I'm one of your hosts, Josh, and with me today is my co host, my brother in Christ, Nate. How you doing?

I'm. I'm okay. I've got, like, a weird glare on my glasses, and I thought it might be a hair. Ah, it is a hair.

Okay. Hair glare. You know, that's what happens.

No, I'm pretty. I'm pretty.

Neither here.

I mean, all things considered, you know, full disclosure, I am absolutely shot.

Okay.

We are deep. Yeah. Holes all through me. All right, that was stupid and terrible, and I hate that I said that. No, we're in.

But you've had quite a day.

I'm tired. Yeah, yeah, it's a. That's been a day. I was relaying the details of today in particular, and, you know, it. The. And I won't go into the details of this exchange, but it was like, when I was telling you the story about, like, there was somebody who is, you know, trying to be, like, moderately helpful, maybe a little condescending, but, like, moderately helpful. And, like, I just wanted to look at them and be like, shut up. Just shut up. Just shut your stupid mouth. I know that you're probably thinking that you're being kind. You're trying to be kind or helpful, but you're not. You're just being annoying, so shut up. I didn't say those things I wanted to.

Okay. Yeah, it's probably better you don't.

Yeah.

All right.

It's like. And it is. It just kind of reminds me of, like, you know, you have that. The occasional experience. It doesn't happen all the time or even that often. It's like somebody's like, they've got something, and you can tell that they're trying to be helpful, but you're just like. You're not. You're not being helpful. You're just being annoying. Like, I just need you to be quiet. That's what I need you to do. Be quiet. Just be quiet. Anyways, I wonder if that's how people feel about me. Just.

Just be quiet.

Just be quiet. You're done. Just be quiet. Please. Can you just, I don't know, stop talking?

I. I doubt that anyone listening is feeling that way because they have the power to actually have that come true. But that's true. You know, maybe we're here and we've Actually, we've been here for a while. You know, you. You've had kind of a. Well, you've had a full day full of. Not necessarily things that you would want to go through.

You know what, Josh? I kind of opened up and I kind of, like, hijacked everything and just was like. I kind of like. Like. But, like, I. I would really like to know. You know, I think you were kind of, like, teeing this up, and I'm just gonna save you the effort. But, like, I think I'd really like to know how it's been. It's been with you since we last spoke, because it has been, at this point in time, it's been a few weeks. It's been more than two. It's been more than two weeks.

Yeah.

It's been an undisclosed amount of time since I last spoke to you.

Yes. Yeah, we don't necessarily have to disclose that. You know, I had some weird interactions earlier today. Just, you know, you said that it's been rough for you. You know, it's getting cold here. Well, that's. That's part of how it's been. Okay. I took a nice trip back to Texas with family for the past couple weeks. So that's why recording. Recording schedules have been off. We were able to kind of backfill some episodes. So it was great. Worked out really well. You guys couldn't even tell, could you? Ha ha ha. But I was able to spend Thanksgiving with family. It was a great time, and it afforded me some time to play some video games as well. So we will talk about video games in just a little bit. But we come back to Iowa, and there's a good, like, I don't know, 8, 9, 10 inches of snow on the ground. So winter. Winter has certainly hit. Even though I know it' not technically winter. We're getting some of that winter weather. And, you know, sometimes you're going about your day and you see someone, and especially with the weather like it is outside, you. You just want to come alongside and help them out. But you. I'll just say you can run into some odd. Some strange characters. I thought. I thought this guy that I was trying to help out, I thought that maybe he just had, like, snow in his hair because he'd been outside for a while. But it was. It was just. It was white and wiry and puffy, and he just kept. It was hard to tell what. What he was saying, but I know it seemed urgent and it seemed important, and it has to do with this. This USB stick that he Gave me. But we'll get to that in just a little bit. So before we get to that, we do need. We have some forms that we have to observe. We've been here, guys. We've been here 200 episodes. Today marks episode 200, and it is, you know, we have some things to share. We've got a lot, you know, weather experiences, whatever. So I. Forgive me for being a little scatterbrained. Our plans have changed a little bit from what we're going to do because it just seems like based on some odd interactions that I've had today, we might be going another direction with this. But before that, we do have to observe the forms. This is just part.

Forms must be observed.

So that's how I've been. I've been great. I've been great. Today's been weird, but. But the past couple weeks been fantastic. Spending lots of time with family, a good amount of time with friends, prepping for Christmas. Love. This time of year is great. I know obviously it's kind of difficult for you at work, but.

Yeah, you know, I. I did want to say, though, like, I was kind of thinking about this, like, yeah, peak sucks. It's like, it's kind of like. But it is, like, flying by. I think, though, what's been kind of cool is that Byron's three and so, like, this is the first Christmas that, like, he's like, like vibing.

He's like, okay.

Like, something's going on.

Yeah.

Like, this is kind of. This is kind of like, what's going on? And he calls him prizes.

Nice.

But like, we got a bunch of, like, Amazon boxes. He's like, prizes. Like, yeah. He was like. And then Megan. Megan told him they were daddy's prizes. Daddy's presents.

He's like, dada.

Prizes for you, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

That's exciting. So that's gonna be fun, man. That's gonna be fun. Yeah.

I'm, you know, I. I did want to ask, like. And just as, like, you know, we don't have to spend too much time on this. Like, what do you, like? Obviously, like, we. We kind of. Megan and I have been talking about it and we're trying to sort of get at least within the, like, us. Like, we can't. Like, we can tell people, like, don't buy buyer and stuff, but they're going to do it anyway. So it's like, it's not even, like.

Sure, yeah.

But we've decided that we're going to kind of adopt this. Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.

Bottle.

So it's like, oh, I like that kind of like. And even for just us, like, we're trying to, like, kind of scale back because, like, Byron has, like, a bajillion toys, and, like, we got him a bunch of, like, train stuff for his birthday. And, like. Yeah. So we're. We're like, you know, we're kind of like, we are minimizing, like, our. This Christmas stuff. But, like, so, like, obviously, like, I guess, like, the question is about, like, gift buy a policy, because, like.

Sure.

With my family, and I'm assuming that you guys were down in Texas. You probably did some. Did you do Christmas stuff with your family?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, we did. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Cause, like, here in this. Actually this coming weekend, like, of the week of recording this. This coming weekend. Well, not like tomorrow weekend anyway, but the. The. In the coming weekend, I'm gonna. We're gonna. It's, you know, we're gonna go out to my folks and we're gonna do, like, Christmas stuff with that side. But like, we. We. For a while it was like, you just got the kids presents, right? Like, so the nieces and nephews got presents from everybody. And then we would do a gift exchange for the adults or, like, and. And then it got to be like, gift exchange for the adults and then gift exchange for the kids. And now it's like, for the adults, the. The kids do a gift exchange, but the adults, basically, we do like, like a white elephant thing.

Okay, cool.

And so this year I got some stuff, like, and this year the theme was like, buy, bring some of like, your favorite. Like, and we have like, a limit, but, like, bring some of your favorite things. And so, like, I picked out some things and I thought about, like, giving cigars an ipod, but I. What's that?

An ipod. You bring up white elephant and you have to say an ipod. Right?

Yeah, yeah, actually an ipod. I wish I had an ipod. That worked still. That'd be kind of cool.

It's a thing. It's a thing. People. People refurbish them anyways. Yeah.

Keep going. Yeah.

Yeah.

But, yeah, so what is like the. Like, obviously, like, you know, you get. You do things for, like, your kids, your spouse, whatever. Right. What's your policy, though, for like, like, the family, like, the extended family gift giving, like, or, like, is this just maybe even something that you haven't spent a lot of time thinking about? Because, like, I was listening to somebody else talk about it, like, on a different podcast, and they were just like, they're like, they were kind of like ranting about how just like, you know, the adults giving people, other adults Christmas presents is just like. He was like, it's unnecessary. We just need to stop doing it. And I was like, but then. And it's like, I. And as general rule, I agree with the sentiment. Like, I'm not buying my sisters and my brother and my brother. You know, I'm not buying presents for other adults because, like, we're all adults. If you need something, you will, or you want something, you will more than likely buy it yourself. But I do like the idea of like this sort of like you have sort of like, like a white elephant gift exchange kind of thing where it's like you, you buy, you have like a theme or whatever and you buy stuff and you bring it in and then like, you kind of do like, yeah, I, I think that's fun and that's fine.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So in general, like, where we're at right now, it's not too crazy with like, my nieces and nephews. I've got five of them on my, on my side of the family. And so we'll, we'll usually get, you know, presents, present or two for each of them for sure. When it comes to the adults, what we've done, I don't think we did it last year. I think we just said, no, we're not, we're not going to. Since the move up here, it's been much more about like, hey, so long as we can get together. Like, it's much more meaningful that we just spend some time together than it is actually getting each other gifts. But for years previous to that and this year as well, we just do a secret sibling, which is where you throw all the names in a hat and you, you know, you pick someone. I, as a male, I agree with you that generally anything that I want, I'd probably just buy. So I'm. I'm somewhat difficult to get gifts for because I'm kind of just like, eh, I've got everything. You know, I could load up, you know, six or seven video games in a wish list and send that. But no, I'm not gonna do that. I put one on my wish list of. And actually I came up with more stuff than I thought. I think I had like four or five things that I sent on an Amazon wishlist. Frankly, I think in general, it's much more fun to give than to receive because I'm not like, you know, I'm not like a kid where I have my eye on one or two things that I really want for Christmas. Like, no. I'm kind of, like, kicking myself to try and find ideas of stuff that people can. Can get me. But I do like the idea of giving another sibling a gift, so. And I say sibling. Obviously, siblings, spouses are in that as well. So it's just kind of like our side of the family, what we do. We generally try and pitch. Pitch in to get my parents something as well. So we'll figure that out, but that's how we do it. So. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, no, I just, like, Yeah, I was like. Because, like, I was just. I. I guess kind of in listening to the. The. The other podcast, I was kind of a little shocked that, like, this person was like a grown adult and still had, like. And still had family members who were like, no, we're buying each other presents. I was. Okay. I'd, like, I would have. I would have just like a long time ago been like, you. Do you. I'm not. I'm not doing this.

Yeah. Like, yeah, I know that there are certain types of people that really enjoy giving gifts and that are really good at it.

Yeah, I know that. I know that for some people. Yeah, that's like, That's. That's almost like their love language or whatever. Like.

Right.

Like, I'm, you know, I'm. But I'm just like, yeah, I. Yeah, I. And I. I think like this year, like, like I said, the theme. The theme for the white elephant, I think this is going. What's. What is stuff that you. It makes it really easy. It's like, this is stuff that I'm into. Like, this is like the stuff that I've been into, you know, this year. You know what I'm saying? It's like, yeah, but you also want to get sort of like the more generalized things. Like, it's like, I could be like, oh, here's. Here's a video game. But it's like, I got some other stuff. Like, here's some. Here's a book that I've enjoyed or found useful over the last year or last part of the last year. Yeah. So. Yeah.

Cool. Awesome. Well, I mean, that's.

I don't think any of my family listens to the podcast. Well, I know my nephew does. He did. He might still. I don't know. I'll have to check in with him. But yeah. Anyways. Yeah. Yeah.

So. Nice. Nice. Well, you know, now that I guess we have already shared some experiences, but we have more that. That we need to share as well.

I love that one. It sounds like an AI. Belch your favorites. Let the pixels glow. We're leveling up. Turn the page. Crank it up.

Yeah, that's pretty goofy.

Pretty goofy.

But we like to share some experiences of things before we get into video games, of other forms of media that we've just been enjoying lately. I've got a couple things to bring to the table. Do you want to kick us off or do you want me to jump in?

It doesn't. Doesn't matter. I can go either or.

Okay, well, I've only got a couple things. Okay. First thing is that because we have not been able to mooch off my parents Netflix account while we were there in Texas, we were able to do so. And my parents actually turned me onto a show that I had heard about before. But my wife and I have been watching a show called Kim's Convenience, which is. It's a sitcom about a Korean family in Canada who owns a convenience store. And it is very, it's just very like, I guess, down to earth, if that makes any sense. It is intentionally. At least it feels intentional. Maybe that's just because it's 2025 and it's like 10 years old, but it, it is not politically correct. It is very much like, hey, this is the experience of, of. So within a few episodes you get the. I don't know the proper term, but certainly the stereotyping of the Japanese because apparently the Koreans don't like the Japanese into like just the, just a distaste of, of the, the patriarch of the family for the Japanese people and things like that.

I mean, I would imagine the fact that like, it's a foreign nation that has tried to invade and conquer your country several times.

Yeah, causes some animosity. But nowadays, I mean, you know, In a post 2020 world or whatever, it seems like if you acknowledge any of that, that, that apparently you might, you might be under a certain German regime. You know, I'm trying to skirt around words that I don't know, YouTube wouldn't like me saying. In a word, I think everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Like, would somebody maybe accuse you of being a brown shirt.

Maybe? I actually haven't heard that reference before. I just think of red shirts from Star Trek. But anyways, so I do like the show. It's funny, it is a sitcom and so it has its moments of inappropriate things and themes from time to time. So it is not a squeaky clean show, but it is endearing because it's not just a Korean family. Like, there's an Indian family that runs a restaurant down the street that'll come in and talk with like. It is very. It is actually pretty multicultural in, you know, the things that it does. But I like it quite a bit. I believe it was canceled, but it has like five seasons. So we're having a fun time going through Kim's convenience. Something a little bit more. Well, definitely more important, but I was going to say a little more. Why am I. I'm totally blanking on the word that I was looking for. Serious is the word that I was looking for. But while I was in Texas, my dad had actually told me about this. It is an informal discussion. It was a night. It was not necessarily a debate, though it was somewhat formatted like a debate with. With just opening statements and then Q and A after that. But it was held at a sister church to the one that my older brother goes to, the. The OPC church that he goes to, but one that my. In another part of town. So it was their pastor and then another pastor in town at the church that my parents now attend. And it was a discussion on baptism. So you have the Presbyterian pastor presenting about why he believes in paedobaptism, and then the Baptist pastor why he believes in credo baptism. And me and my dad were able to go to that. And it was a great time. I really enjoyed it. And so as I'm thinking about, you know, just experiences that I would like to share, they actually recorded it. And so there's video recording. And I'll drop a link for that in the. In the description or notes or whatever. Wherever you're listening to this, if you want to check it out. It was a good time to hear from both sides. It was. It was done. Like, these pastors are friends, you know, they acknowledge at the. At the top of the night, like, hey, this is a secondary issue. It's not a primary issue, but it is one that. That we hold that we have strong convictions for. And here's why. Like, you get to hear why and then you get to ask questions. So it was a great time. And there's a link for that as well, if you want to check it out. So. Cool. Those are things I want to share. Cool.

Sounds pretty cool. I was googling things I needed to double check. So as far as just like media goes, I've been. There's a token book and I'm just gonna look this up that I bought a while ago. It's got an essay on fairy stories. It's got mythopia Mythopia. I don't know how you say that one. It's got Leaf by Niggle, which is like, you know, it's like even saying that out loud, I'm like, oh, that one makes me a little uncomfortable. But I think it's called Tree and Leaf.

Okay.

Leaf by Tolkien. Yeah, it's Tree and Leaf. It's a collection.

Nice.

And I picked that up mostly because it has. On fairy stories. And I wanted to. I wanted to have a copy of that and wanted to go. So I've been kind of like, dabbling like. Kind of like, Like, I opened it up and I was reading some of it with the intent to maybe be a little bit further. But. Yeah, so that's because it's like. Yeah, it can't be all grim, dark and, you know, fantasy and stuff all the time. Sometimes we have to read, like, real, real things that make us think or make us feel. So there's that. Yeah, I do come Megan and I. So it's funny, in hindsight, I kind of wish that we had just. When we got married, we did write our own vows. And the key parts were very much based off traditional vows to love, honor, cherish and uphold and all that. You know, it's like. But we did kind of write our own vows. And one of the things Megan had vowed to do when we got married was at least once a year, watch. Because I. I like sci fi and I like anime and I like fantasy and I don't make her watch these things very often. But it is. It is in our marital covenant, she vowed before our friends and family and God.

Right.

That at least once a year I could invoke the right and make her watch anime or some sci fi or.

Wow.

Or fantasy. And we were actually having a discussion. And in the 13 years of marriage. Well, 12, but going on 13, I have only invoked this, like, five times.

Okay.

And that's fine. You know, it's like, I'm not. But I actually, like, I came to the conclusion that. And you and I had a bit of a conversation about this. Your lie in April. It's that slice of life sort of like, it's. I love that anime. Like, it is. It might be like, top five for me. The intro, like, you pointed this out and actually Megan pointed this out. And I like, since it's sort of being made aware of it, the intro to that, like, the intro sequence does have, like, them doing, like, the magical girl transformation dance thing kind of like. And so, like, they're. They're not naked but they're not. Not naked. Like.

Yeah, it's like silhouetted.

Yeah, it's silhouetted. And it's weird. And it's like. Especially since these kids are like, middle schoolers. Yeah, I was like. I was like, what? What? Like, you pointed. You were like, yeah. Isn't there like a weird, like. Like naked thing? And then Megan, like. And then Megan and I were watching and she's like, why is that girl naked? And I was like, what are you talking about? And I. Because I'm. I don't pay attention to open sequences. And also.

Right, right.

Like, it's anime, so it's like, I've seen a bajillion magical girl transformations. Like, you know, where it's like I get naked, but not really. It's like magical light sparkle change time. Like, you know, anyways, you just.

It's done in silhouette. It's not actual. Yeah.

And it's. Is it weird and unnecessary? Absolutely. But they do it because the Japanese people are weird and they do unnecessary things anyways. Like, Weebs are weird. How about that? Not Japanese people are weird. Mangaka. And I don't know what anime artists like, you know, I think about Miyazaki's anime was a mistake.

Was a mistake. Yep. Huh.

Often. But your lie in April is fantastic. It's. It's very sad. Okay.

Like.

And just full disclosure. Like, I'm not trying to spoil anything. I'm not gonna. But it. It's kind of a heartbreaker. And that's kind of. That's probably why it's a little dangerous for me. Because I. I like that. Like, I kind of. I'm a sucker for, like that melancholy in that. That particular vein. But anyways, I did just look at her and I was like, I really. This is like one of my favorite anime and I think we need to watch it. And it's kind of tough because my wife does that thing where it's like she asks questions and I'm just like, just watch the show. Just watch the show. Like, it's okay.

Just.

Just watch the show. And. But she's like, why did this happen? Blah, blah, blah. You know? And like, she's like. And then she does, like, the commentary. Like, like, girl, like, stop being stupid. Like, you know, kind of like that. Like, oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

And I'm just like, can you just. Just watch it. And I did look at her at one point in time. I said, this isn't going to get you out of this. I was like, you realize that, like, all your commentary and everything Else you still have to watch all of this. Like, I've invoked my Right. So we're watching that together, and it's. We've. We've watched like three or four episodes together so far, and I just. I really do. There are a couple things in there, I think. Like, one, the art style in your lion April is. Is pretty significantly different. It doesn't. Okay. Have, like. It actually kind of. There's something about the character designs and the silhouettes and everything else, like, that actually kind of reminds me of, like, the art, like, the key art from the Persona games. I can't remember the individual responsible for that right now. There's something about it that they kind of, like, hit me the same way. Not quite interesting. There's something like they sort of vibe the same way in my head, but. So we've been doing that, but that's not new. But I have to. Okay, so I'm. We. We both like Bakugan, right? We both think, like. We both like the fact that it's kind of like a subversion or like, it's not even a subversion, but it's a. It's a shonen anime without being shonen. Like, it's a shonen anime.

Yes.

Bakuman. Bakugan's about the monsters. Whatever. Whatever.

Yeah.

Bakuman.

Yes.

Bakugan is about, like. It's like. It's like we have Digimon at home, which is even further down the line from, like, we have Pokemon at home at this point in time. It's like the great value burn. Anyways, Bakuman, We. We. We both like that, right? Like, we're both like, this is really cool. It's like a. It's. It's kind of a little slice of lifey, but it's. It's really just a shonen anime in the context of like. But using, like, mangaka and that whole, like, that framework, Right?

Yeah.

Parker, he and I were talking and we. He kind of like. He brought out like, a little bit of Weeb stuff, and he's like, have you watched Rising Impact? And I was like, no. He's like, okay. He's like, it's a golf anime. And I was like, he's like, hold on, hear me out. He's like, the reason I think that you would like this is because it's like one. It, like, it's. It's almost kind of like. Like playing with Arthurian legend. So, like, there's a character named Gawain. There's a character named Lancelot. Like, okay, okay.

Interesting.

It's also A Shonen, but it's set in Golf. Like, and it's, it's brilliant and it's charming and it's like the art direction isn't my favorite. Like, I think like, there's some really good key character designs that are really, really good. But it also is like the, the rest, like, like the non essential characters are like, kind of like eh, they're whatever. Like, I love this. Like, it is funny, it is wholesome, it is charming. It's just like. And it's really engaging. It's like one of like, I'm just like, I love this Nice Rising Impact on Netflix. It's fantastic. And again, it's not like the, the best art in the world, but I just like, I'm like, yeah, I, I, I kind of like it. And it actually, it kind of reminds me of like, you remember Golf Story and how like, like Golf Story is like a great game and I can play Golf Story and I know that it's not like real golf, but like, I'm watching Rising Impact and when I play Golf Story, like, I have these moments where it's like, do I like golf? Like, do I like golf? I don't. I've never really played golf. I've, like, I've gone to the driving range and smashed a bucket of balls, you know, but I've never played golf. And I was like, am I just like, am I like a closeted golfer or something? Like, anyways, Rising Impact is a ton of fun and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Nice.

So, yeah, like, that's really like the non. It's like, it's quickly. It's probably working itself into like, at least like top 25, like for me. Yeah.

Okay. Okay. Yeah.

I mean, it might even be top 10 because it's, it's pretty brilliant. It's like, it's really, it's just really sweet. It's really charming and it's like, yeah. Yeah.

So dang. You do like golf.

I do like golf. I like golf. Who knew? I didn't because I've never played it. But like, I guess I just love golf. No, it's, it's weird. But yeah, Rising Impact, if you get a chance to watch it, I think it's, it's like, it's really. But yeah, you guys don't mooch off your parents Netflix anymore, so it's, it's.

Been working for Kim's convenience. I probably shouldn't say that out loud, but I did.

Oh.

But every time, every time we go to, to watch it, we're like, is it actually going to work? Is it actually going to work? Surprisingly, it has been so far.

Well, anyways, if you want to like after you're done with Kim's convenience, if you want to risk it, check out Rising Impact. It's really fun and like it's something that like the kids could probably watch with you and. It's fun.

Okay, nice.

Yeah, it's sweet. Yeah. Gawain is. Gawain is like the, the main character and he's a small child who has like an incredibly powerful drive.

Okay.

Like, yeah, sweet. Yeah.

Nice. Nice. Are those the experiences?

Those are the. Well, I was just gonna say his foil. His. And it's like obviously minor. The minor, most minor of spoils because I think it happens by like the third episode. But like he becomes rivals and friends with Lancelot who is like, who has like a, like an unbeatable putting game.

Okay.

Lancelot just like crushes his putts every time. Like, and they have like their techniques and stuff like their secret powers. So it's like. Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, it's. Dude, it's a shonen set in golf with a bunch of Arthurian legend. And I'm just like, yo. I'm like like let's freaking go. And it's.

Does he like pull a driver out of a river or something like that?

No, no. They are like part of the arc that they're in right now though. There's this tournament where they get like these, these basically clubs of the round table where like the winner gets like this like like mythical club kind of thing. And, and yeah, and it's, it's funny because like going anyways, Gawain is a driver so like he always uses like the driver like he.

Sure.

And he, he. And then like Lancelot. And so there's like another character that they, they introduce at some point in time who's like he's. He's a mid range character and it's like. But now you have like the three like these are the three like legends that like. Yeah, yeah. Anyways, it's fun. It's fun and it's really sweet. And it's like. Yeah, there's two seasons on Netflix and I, I'm pretty sure there's a third in the works. So.

Cool.

Yeah, it's pretty cool. But yeah, that's all the, the non video game related media that I have to, to talk about.

Cool.

So. Yeah.

Nice. Well then let's go ahead and move on to these video games because we are a video game Podcast we do like to play video games and sometimes we like to acquire video games and add them to our backlogs. Even though we like to break down our backlogs, we like to beat down our backlogs. Sometimes we we add more to the pile. And in my case I have added quite a bit to the pile for a couple different reasons. One is that finishing up my so we have this meta the the beatdown that we run all year and I finished up my locked and Loaded list that I set at the beginning of the year. So I got a bunch of extra points that allowed me to hey, be a little bit more free with my pickups. And since it's towards the end of the year, I can look towards next year to play some of these games. In addition to that, hey, it was Black Friday, so there were lots of games that were on sale. So I started my little buying spree by purchasing the Marvel vs. Capcom collection. Because I had a $10 gift card to Best Buy and it was on sale for $20 I believe. So that was $10 out of pocket for me to pick up this collection that has like seven or eight different fighting games on it, including Marvel vs. Capcom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. So I, I was itching to play the games, but I did not because I also own some other fighting games that I haven't put a lot of time into. But we'll get to that in just a second. That is the way that I assuaged my, my, my temptation to to immediately kind of rip open the game and start playing it. Which there's nothing wrong with that. But because I want to focus on my backlog, I decided not to do that. So Marvel vs. Capcom Collection is the first game that I picked up. And then, you know, like I said, I was just kind of free with stuff because since I was on a fighting game kick the Capcom fighting collection number two, which is another like seven or eight fighting games including Street Fighter versus SNK2 Marco of the Millennium I believe is that one is what that one's called. Or maybe that was the first one. Anyways, both of them are on there. It also includes this is why I picked it up early. It also includes Power Stone and Power Stone 2 and so on Switch you can have just some four player mayhem with that. So that's going to be a lot of fun. But again, did not open it up, didn't play it. But I own that now with the collection to Unicorn Overlord went on sale. It was only 25 bucks on switch, so I Went ahead and picked up that one. And then finally on through Woot, they were discounting a bunch of games of official Nintendo games. So I also picked up Legend of Zelda, Echoes of Wisdom. I believe it was $30 with an extra 20% off of that. So you know, I paid like 20 or something.

The Zelda one?

Yes, the one where you actually play Zelda. Yeah, that was just. I believe it just came out last year or something like that. So these are games that I'm looking forward to diving into in the new year after it, you know that after it's officially moves to my backlog at that point according to the game that we play all year to focus on our backlog. So I'm pretty stoked with. Because I've had a few other pickups this year. Prince of Persia, Lost Crown, Live Alive, Sea of Stars, you know, a few games. So it's gonna be, it's gonna be a good year next year. 2026. So that adds four games to my, my beat down score. So that's a plus four there. So in order to try and level that out a little bit, like I said, I was having an itch to play these Marvel versus Capcom games. But you know what, I have the Street Fighter 30th anniversary collection on Switch and I have not put a lot of time into that. So I started putting some time into it and really kind of digging into Street Fighter in general. I enjoy fighting games, but I'm not good at them at all. And I'll just say I learned a lot about fighting games in general, Street Fighter in specific over this, this time that I was able to hang out at my parents house and hang out with family and friends and all that. And I would have, you know, like YouTube videos on and just listen to them in the background learning things and you know, occasionally kind of referencing things. So I started with Street Fighter Alpha that's on this collection and started playing that because I really like the Street Fighter Alpha series. I really do. And I had never played the first one. I was much more familiar with the second and some of the third as well. So I played the first one and I'll be honest, going back to it, it does feel a little bare bones. I get it. It's kind of like it's. It's sort of the sequel to Street Fighter 2. After, you know, that came out with a dozen different editions. Then it was Street Fighter Alpha, which is a prequel in terms of, in terms of the story. Because actually the original Street Fighter arcade was the first one is called Street Fighter and then Street Fighter 2 is the second one. So Street Fighter Alpha happens in between Street Fighter and Street Fighter 2. Anyways, I, I was, I was playing some Street Fighter Alpha and because it's a fighting game, obviously you don't have to do too much in order to, to beat the game in order to roll credits and you know, and these are arcade ports of these games. So I did beat Street Fighter Alpha with a few different characters. Most I obviously was Ryu and Ken. I mean those were the first ones that I was able to beat it with. I don't remember all of the characters that I beat it with. I maybe beat it three or four times with different characters. But I said to myself that before I move on to another game, I want to at least put in some time with all of the characters. At least play with all the characters so I can kind of feel, understand what they feel like to play as. Because I play as the, the Ryu Ken kind of characters because I'm basic and that's just what I know. And so that's what I decided is to, to finish the fighting game I have to finish at least an arcade run. But then I also want to play it with all of the different characters. And for the original Street Fighter Alpha, that's not that many characters. So I did that and, and so I get a negative one because I beat that game off of my backlog and then I moved on to the original Street Fighter. And let me tell you, there is a reason why not very many people have heard of the original Street Fighter and everyone has heard of Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter 2 blew up as one of the very first fighting games. Huge in the arcades back in the 90s. Okay. The original Street Fighter is basically. It's a garbage game. It's not good. You can't, you can only play as Ryu. You can do some special moves, but the special moves are completely broken because on the one hand they do an insane amount of damage. At least a third of the enemy's life bar. But also they are inconsistent. It's not just the inputs that you put in, but sometimes they just decide not to work. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. In addition to that, as you continue to play through the game and you, you know, defeat all the enemies, the very last enemy, Sagat, that you fight can quite literally beat you in a single hit. Now it's technically like a two hit combo, but it can be over just in, in the absolute blink of an eye. It is, it is unbalanced to all. Heck, it is. It does not play well. It is very. What's the word that I'm looking for? Stilted is the word that I'm looking for. It's not a good game at all. But using save states, I was able to make my way through and beat all of the characters. And so that's another one that is now off of the backlog. So finished the original Street Fighter and then I went to street fighter Alpha 2 and this is the one that I am the most familiar with, let me tell you, going back to street fighter Alpha 2, like, yes, it is. It is what I remember. It is as good as I remember. I enjoy it as much as I used to enjoy it. Again, I'm not good at it, but I had a great time with it. A lot more characters than the original Street Fighter Alpha and some of the stuff that you can do, the different kinds of supers that you can do, the Alpha counters that you can do, it opens up and it just feels a lot better. So I like street fighter Alpha 2 a lot and I'm glad that it's on our top 100 list there. And I did go ahead and beat it with maybe five or six different characters. Found some ones that I like, some ones that I don't. Oh yeah, Dulcim. That was one that I beat. I think I beat Alpha with Dhalsim. I'm pretty sure I did as well. But anyways, that's neither here nor there. Yes. Yeah.

Yoga Flame.

Yes. That guy. Yoga.

Yoga. Yoga.

It's annoying, so. Oh my goodness. And. But what's most annoying is. Is the computer spamming Sagat's Sonic or. No, no, no. Sonic booms are.

Are.

What's his name? But what is Dragon? Is it Tiger? Tiger. Tiger.

Tiger. Tiger.

So annoying. So annoying. Anyways, yeah, the arcades are absolute. The difficulty in the arcades is it's more difficult than the home versions. So I had to turn the difficulty down on all the games in order to finish it. There's no difficulty switch for the original Street Fighter. Doesn't matter, neither here nor there. I did the same thing with Street Fighter Alpha. Played all the characters and beat it with five or six different characters. So I'm going to go ahead and take the point on that. So that is a negative 3 purchase 4 games. Finished 3 games. I'm still playing Pokemon Heart Gold, still playing a little bit of Halo 4. Hope to finish that one out with my son Ollie by the end of the year, but more on that in the next Episode. So, with four games purchased, three games finished, my current total for the year for the beatdown is negative 22.

Wow. Look at you. Look at you. Yeah, I. Well, I mean, and we talked about, like, my acquisition spree, you know, a couple weeks ago or a couple episodes ago. Yeah, I haven't really. So I kind of like, there for. There was a couple, like, weeks, because it's. There was like, a week or so where I didn't really do much at all. I have, like, I. I'm not trying to jinx myself, but I do think I've kind of hit like. Like a stopping point with. With Snap. Like, I'm kind of like, okay, I've been kind of trying to, like. I don't want to say wean myself off, but after last season, I really. I had a pretty great time last season. And I'm not saying that I won't play ever again or that I won't play anymore at all, but I just. I do feel like it's kind of like the current season is good. I like the cards. It's interesting. But I'm also kind of like, I've had my fill. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's. It's kind of to the point where it's like, I'm like, oh, yeah, okay. Like, I feel like this is like, okay. Like, I have gotten everything I wanted out of Moral Snap. Like, so, I don't know, like. Like I said, I. It's not that I won't play it at all anymore, but I do think, like, I'm just kind of like, I'm okay. Like, you know, a new season started, actually, a couple weeks ago at this point in time, and I barely played at all just because, like, I'm not. There was a mode that was introduced that I did play some of that, and I was like, okay, like, this is fun, but, like, yeah, I'm just not. Yeah, I think I'm just like. At the very least, I'm gonna probably take a pretty significant break, but. Okay, it's like, I'm. I'm done. But, you know, it's like, I might. I might. Like, I'm gonna keep it installed on my computer and I might play occasionally, but I don't think it's gonna be like, oh, hey, like, it's Marvel Snap. I've gotta get the Infinite and I've got. You know, it's like all that stuff. Like, I'm kind of done. And apparently just in time because I had a friend who bought a PS5. And he's like, what games do you like on PS5? And I said, I play a bunch of stuff. And I said, but you like shooters. I said, it's really hard for me to recommend this one. I said, because it's kind of weird. It's kind of incoherent. I said, it's awesome. I said, it's an excellent shooter. It's probably one of the best shooters I've ever played, but it's kind of hard to get into. And I said, It's Destiny 2. And so, like, he checked out the vanilla version, and then we started playing together. And then that. That basically, I'm. I'm kind of back in Destiny land. I just like, okay. And I. It's not. I'm not nearly as, like, sweaty as about it as I have been in the past, but it's like. It's just. It's a great game. It's like, great vibes. Actually, I don't know if I should count it or not. Like, I picked up the new content. I don't know. Like, it was deeply discounted, and I had, like, a bunch of store credit. I don't know. Like, I guess I could count it because, like, you know, whatever. So I picked up Edge of Fate and Renegades, which is like, the new content. And it's like, I only. I paid, like, $5 of my own money. Like, I had. I had a bunch of PSN credit, and I just. I picked them up and I've kind of been playing those, you know, and just like, there's. There's a lot of stuff. Like, I think Destiny is really great. Like, Renegades is funny because it is literally, Star wars is like, okay. I mean, it's not. But it's like, oops, I got Star wars in my Destiny 2. And it's like they introduced this thing called Apraxic Blade, and it's a lightsaber. Also, like, some of the cosmetic skins are literally like. Like, one of them is literally Darth Vader. One of them is literally General Grievous. One of them is literally Boba Fett. Like, the. Like, these are like, cosmetic armors like. Like that you can get. So it's like there was. There was some sort of licensing thing. But yeah, Renegades has a very. Like, it's super Star wars coded, I think, on purpose. I'm sure Disney got some sort of, like, fat check out of them for that. So. Yeah, but it's. It's been pretty good. Like, Destiny is fine. It's not fine. It's fun and it's great and it's like, it's comfort food, but it's also like, it is a really competent and well made shooter. It's like. And there's been a lot of quality of life stuff.

They.

They've changed some things like the armor systems and how that works and everything else. And I just. It's kind of in a really great place as far as just like gameplay wise, user experience. I mean, there are problems still. Like, just because, like, yeah, like, Bungie is a. Is a train wreck, you know.

Okay.

Of a studio, but that's neither here nor there. Like, the game. The game is good and so it's like. And my buddy's playing it, so it's like, yeah, it's kind of like it's a game that we can hop in together and, and play now. So. Yeah. So I've been playing that and I guess. I guess, I guess. Well, the other thing is I did beat Pokemon Arceus. I sort of.

Okay.

I. And I rolled credits on it, so I beat it the first time. And you were telling me there's apparently like three different completion phases or whatever. And I'm like, right, yeah, I got. I kind of. I got all the Pokemon, like all the Alphas that I wanted to for the most part. And I just kind of hit a point where it's like after I beat the first phase, I was like, I'm good. And so like, that's. That's just going away for now. I. I might come back to it someday because I, you know, I don't know. It. There is like sort of an oddly satisfying loop with all the Pokemon and everything else, but as if you.

You gotta catch them all.

Right, I don't gotta, but I might want to.

Yeah.

Like, yeah, I. I don't know. Like, like I said, I'm. I'm definitely that kind of like. But that got put away and so I'm sort of done for that. But I sat down and it was like, there. There have been a number of games. Like, you know, I've not been super good at like, knocking things off my locked and loaded list, but I have started a number of games that I just like, I do this kind of thing where I start games and I just don't finish them. And I was like, I don't want to do that. So I went back to something that I've kind of been dabbling. Anyways. I picked up Dragon Quest Builders like eons ago at this point, and I've kind of been like playing through it and slow rolling through it. And I finally rolled credits on that. And boy howdy, what a delightful game. Like, just. It's like one of those games because it's like, it's kind of understated in a sense that, like, it's not a game that, like, jumps up and screams for my attention or like, has anything. Like, there's. But it's like, I just love playing it and kind of like coursing around and building stuff and like, yeah, I think it's a ton of fun and I love that game. And like, that's probably in, like, that would probably be on my personal top 100 somewhere. Okay. I think it's really pretty great. It's like, it's kind of understated because it's like, yeah, it doesn't like, it's not like, pay attention to me. I'm important. It's like, hey, dude, you want to hang out in, like, Dragon Quest land and kill things and build stuff? And I'm like, yeah, yes, yes, I do.

I want to do that thing.

Yeah. The answer to that is a resounding yes. That sounds delightful. So, yeah. Yeah, it's kind of just like, it's pretty great. And yeah. So. So yeah, I. I did beat that. But that. On how long to be there? I think they have the. The. The. The main story playtime at 37 hours. So I would get the long game bonus, but since I bought Star wars or, I mean, Destiny 2 content. Yeah, it kind of like comes out in the Was. So. So. Yeah, yeah. So. And that's. And then I. I have been. I haven't beaten them yet, but I did sort of. I've kind of been looking at things that I can go back to and sort of like wrap up before the end of the year. I had started Vanquish a while ago, and so I've kind of been picking that back up and playing that again. And it's like that game is like, it is just late 90s, early aughts action slop. And I love it. Like, it's big, dumb fun with some cusses, but just like, kind of like cool guns, cool action. It's just fun. It's just a cool game. Yeah. And so I've been playing through that. I'll probably. By the time we record next episode, there's a chance I could be done with it. Okay. Also, another game that I've kind of just been like, this is actually a game that Parker and I were talking about earlier, and it was like, I bought. I Bought Link's awakening, like, a while ago, and at one point in time, like, he had expressed an interest in playing. It was like, hey, you know, I'll just, like, finish up my playthrough and I'll just send you my copy. And then, like, I just kind of hit. I was like, I hit a wall with, like, the. It's the. It's the. The Eagle Tower temple or whatever, and I just kind of hit a wall and I bounced off the game. So anyways, that does have an upgrade, I think, for Switch two or it.

Ooh, nice.

And. And I'm like, I'm just going to. I'm just gonna, like, get it, like, pull up a YouTube, like, walkthrough video, and I'm just gonna go, like, step by step sort of like, with this walkthrough video, and I'm just gonna beat this tower. And I'm like, I just want to be done with the game. And it's not like, it's not like, oh, I hate this game. I just want to be done with it. It's like. Like, I'm just stuck at this part, and I, like, I'm not going to hammer. Like, I'm not going to beat myself up trying to get this all sussed out and figured out. Like, I'm just, like. I'm at a point where it's like, listen, I need some help just to get, like, I just want to get past this. I want to get back into the game. I want to finish it before the end of the year. So, like, that's kind of. I thought about putting Zenoblade, like, just picking up Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and just, like, jumping right into that. But I was like, before, that's. That's big. And it's like, that's going to be like a long, like, sort of a long walk in one direction. And it's like, I want. I want something like. Like, I don't want to, like, I have, like, a bunch of, like, hanging chad kind of, like, games, and I just want to, like, clear some of them out before I commit to. To that. So.

Yeah, that. So, yeah, that makes sense. And that. That was something. If you don't mind me kind of butting in for just a second.

Yeah. Yeah.

That was something that I found interesting as I was getting into these fighting games, too, because they're much more quick hits and they're more intense. So, like, I had expressed interest in, like, hey, cozy games, you know, like, I'm playing Pokemon Heart Gold, and that's Much more. It's. It's much more slow paced and, and cozy. And then you go to. Not necessarily the extreme end, but I mean in terms of like dopamine release, like you're, you're in it with a fighting game. And so, yeah, it was fun to get caught up in that for a while and now to go back to something more cozy and it's just, it's just fun to go back and forth. Yeah. But I surprised myself wanting to play these fighting games for that reason.

Yeah, that's. That is kind of like, you know, Dragon Quest builders and Destiny 2, like, they're, they're kind of like Dragon Quest Builders. It's like cozy. It's just like you kind of plot along and you kind of like, whatever. And then it's like. But like, Destiny 2 is like, nah, man. Yeah, we are shooting all the aliens, all the bad guys, like. And. Yeah, so it's, it's just kind of fun. But yeah, so yeah, that's. I mean, that's really all I've been playing. So it's just like. Hasn't really been a ton. You know, like I said, I haven't, you know, surprising. Like I said it was, it was sort of surprising because like, I did not like, honestly, like getting back into Destiny 2 in any sort of. More like, it's. I'm not like fully down that hole. Right. But I'm a little more invested than I anticipated being where it's like, oh, no, I actually just do like playing this game and I'm not just like only playing when my friends or my brother is on or whatever. It's like I do find myself sort of just like queuing up some solo stuff and running around and kind of doing that for a while.

Yeah.

So Destiny. Yeah, that was just not on my bingo card where I was like, I didn't see that one coming. It's like, right. I'm not, I'm not mad. It's not like, oh, I'm mad about it. I actually, it's kind of one of those things where I'm like, I'm kind of glad to be back into it and enjoying it and playing it again, but also like just like dodging like the sweaty. You know what I'm saying? Like, they're like, oh, hey, like, anyways, yeah, it's cool. Destiny is a great game. I actually need to get a hold of a friend of the show. He had somebody on. Friend of the show. Mark. Mark Quick. Mark. Mark Erickson from Quick Play. He had somebody on A while ago at this point in time, who was playing? Who's like, like, my game of the Decade is Destiny 2. And I was like, oh, that is. I don't hate that take. I really like that. That's like a really like, I, I kind of vibe with that. Like, I like Destiny 2 a lot. It's been like one of my favorite things that I've been exposed to in the last several years. And. Yeah, so I was gonna. Yeah, I need to get a hold of Mark so that I can find that dude and be like, hey, how often do you play and do you have a fire team and if you have any vacancies or you want to like jam, like, I don't get super sweaty, but I play a good bit and I'm not terrible at it, so.

Nice.

Yeah, that might be fun. Might be fun.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, that's, that's all I've been playing. Like I said. No, no real headway. Like, you know, it's kind of like, because it is, you know, it is December, it is peak. Like, I, I'm really just kind of like in. Well, that was like the other thing. It's like, do I want to be trying to like chew on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 when I'm just like battling like basically exhaustion? No.

Right.

No, I do not.

Right.

Yeah, I wanna, I wanna, like when I, when I get into that game, I want there to be like energy to burn on it, like, you know.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome, man.

Yeah. But you know. Yeah, so, yeah, kind of like keeping things kind of ticking along here. Yeah, my beat down score is at negative six because I picked up what is it called? Edge of Fate and Renegades on Destiny 2. And then. But I also beat Dragon Quest Builders, so with a long game bonus, I got a negative two for that. So that kind of evens out. So I'm still at negative six.

Cool.

And if people are like, hey, what is this backlog beat down score thing that the. Why are these guys talking about numbers in a video game podcast? Well, one, making numbers go up or down is basically what video games are about, period. Make numbers go up, make numbers go down, somewhere it falls. That's essentially like, you boil it down, it's like make the good numbers go up, make the bad numbers go down kind of thing. But we have a metagame that we run and I think you, you sort of mentioned it or alluded to it earlier a little bit, but it's like we have the meta, we run it all year long. If people are interested we in those rules. Now we are moving into 2026, so there will be a new addition of the rules. I don't know that anything's going to change, but, like, we haven't really sat down with Jono, who is the commissioner, he's the commission. So he's the guy who sort of helps us put this all together and makes rulings on our behalf or on the game's behalf for the players in our Discord server. If you're interested in what those rules look like, they are available in our backlog beatdown 2025 channel. They're pinned to the top there. You can reach out to Josh or me and we can get you a copy. Anyways, it's a metagame to help you encourage playing the things that you already own and sort of like it's there to act as a little bit of a break or kind of a, you know, just give friction to. To acquisition.

Yep.

Yeah. So it's just we've found it to be useful fun. There are other people in the community who sort of play along. Yeah, it's cool. And if it sounds like you're like, hey, that sounds kind of cool, I might want to do that. Like, reach out to us, let us know, join us in Discord, you know, all those things. In addition to that, if you like what we're doing here on this show. Right. For as little as a buck a month, or as much as you want to give us a month, we have a Patreon. You can look at it as a tip jar or you can look at it as a way to maybe partner with us as we sort of, again, sort of build this thing out. Look, you know, trying to encourage and equip the church to engage with video games wisely and well. Right. And it comes with perks. So all of our patrons get early access to each and every episode. There's a Patreon exclusive podcast called the Bro Hang. Tends to be a little more, I don't know, free form, sort of like stream of consciousness kind of thing. Like, it's, it's not always vid video game related. Sometimes it is, but yeah, it tends to be just a little more like rambly and kind of like. Yeah, it's, it's, it's a. It's a mixed bag. It's kind of like Mexican candy. There's some complex flavors going on in there. Yeah. But yeah, if you, you know, you like the banter that Josh And I do. Or if you don't like, but you're just looking for something else, like it's there. They also get. All of our patrons get access to our recording schedule so they can see how planned topics are and they can contribute and they also get voting rights. Every year our patrons pick a number of games. This year, this coming year, we have sort of changed how that works. It used to be just be like patrons would get to nominate games and then we would try to play them. In the coming year we're going, there's going to be, we're kind of like there's going to be a limited number of games for our patrons to, to pick on, to pick and vote on. Like they're all going to be able to make nomin and vote on and everything else, but just for our sanity and you know, you know, kind of, you know, giving us the opportunity to actually like prioritize other things and explore our own backlogs a little bit more and yeah, anyways, yeah, it's. Anyways we're changing that up. But if, you know they have voting rights there and they get a little bit more access to me and Josh, they have exclusive, there's an exclusive channel and the Discord server, they, they have a role there and access through the, the Patreon as well. So if any of that sounds even mildly interesting and like I said, and you love what we're doing here or you even like what we're doing here and you want to look for a way to go above and beyond. You've done the sharing and the carrying. You've done the rating and the reviewing and if you haven't done those things, please do that would be really helpful and really cool of you. But if you're looking for a way to go above and beyond for again, for as little as a buck a month or for as much as you want to give us a month, it is an option. So yeah, there's that. Lastly, but certainly, certainly I can't talk right. It's, it's. Oh, this is going to be going to be real good here. But certainly not leastly, we are proud members of the Playwell network alongside our friends Paul Lytle, the techno funk boy, Wesley Ray, the Henchy dad himself, and Nicholas Poarch, AKA Porcho the Wonder from Down Under. These guys all make content that explore the ideas of playing well, you know, sort of just some of its video games, it's actual play podcasts like Porcho has sort of. He's been doing a lot of interviews lately and sort of like talking to people and asking questions and being a little silly and weird and it's fun, it's a good time. But anyways, that being said, we love these guys. We love what they're about and here's a word from one of them.

Hey there, I'm Wes and I run the Henshin Dab podcast. If you don't know what that is, well it's a one man show where I talk about all the things that you need to know about the tokusatsu genre from Japan. If you've seen shows like Power Rangers and Ultraman, then you've seen tokusatsu and I just happen to think those types of shows are pretty cool. So come on over over and take a listen as I discuss all the current and retro happenings in the genre. You can find it over at Anchor FM Henchandad. I'll see you there. And don't forget Henchin a Gogo baby.