Mamba219

Dragon Quest is definitely an interesting type of game.

The way I would describe it in the JRPG space to a newcomer is that, while Final Fantasy games are movies with (often) very clear antagonists and each event having something to do with stopping that antagonist, Dragon Quest is a monster-of-the-week TV series, where you are meant to deal with a small subset of problems then move on to the next. You then repeat this formula until your party is strong enough to get at the root cause of most of these problems, which is usually some rather nebulous central antagonist.

Only Dragon Quest VIII has a "central antagonist" relative to the rest of the games in the franchise, and even that game's structure is still meted out in this monster-of-the-week, episodic format.

For some people, it's a very relaxing sort of experience. You don't feel rushed, you don't feel pressured, you're just enjoying your time adventuring and accomplishing tasks at your own pace. For those who prefer binging their games, they come off as slow. Personally, I can't sit for long periods of times and give games my undivided attention, which is why I prefer games like Dragon Quest to Final Fantasy. If you were to play Dragon Quest for 5 hours straight, I could totally understand why a person would think it has bad pacing. These games are meant to be played here and there, now and then. That's why the church asks you explicitly if you're done adventuring for the day when you save.

I think both are valid takes on the genre that cater to different tastes.

Think about the context of the internet these days. There is an avalanche of free stuff out there which didn't exist in 2008 or even as late as 2013. I'm not saying they should "give anything away" but the stuff they're asking for in Premium has been free in a lot of other places for a long time.

My biggest issue with the shows is that I don't understand what they are from the names, and can't find any good descriptors of them. My time is valuable and I generally like GiantBomb's stuff, but I don't have any connection to what they're doing right now, so I've chosen other avenues to explore.

I think they should do a better job of explaining what these shows are to their audiences. I looked at the Show Schedule Jeff Bakalar posted awhile back and had absolutely no idea what anything was.

I don't really play video games that much anymore, so no.

It's the video game version of Social Media. Best for your own happiness to unplug. Good decision, man.

Does Michael Jackson count as a music genre? He's all I listen to.

I loved the Original Era, and it got my vote. To this day the Persona 4 Endurance Run is my favorite video series on the internet, and so many of the best Quick Looks are also from this era (the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince one is my personal favorite). The Wiki was also in full swing, and you can tell it's fallen into disrepair since then, as many, many articles need updating.

That said, late Whiskey Media era/early CBS with Drew/Patrick, early Ryckert, Austin at GBEast, and late-Ryckert GBEast gave us some good stuff too. I really enjoyed Metal Gear Scanlon, Beast in the East, Kerbal Space Program, Breaking Brad, Steal My Sunshine, Mario Party Party, and these sorts of long-form videos with wacky, weird and interesting games and/or rules.

I still appear occasionally on GB but I almost never watch anything they put out anymore, and haven't for quite awhile.

It seems cool and I hope people enjoy it, but it also seems like utterly not my thing.

This, as well as Pac-Man World, if that counts.

Sounds good. Like a few people are saying, though, 7 is unbelievably long. It's legitimately one of the longest RPGs ever made - right up there with the likes of Persona 5. Good game, but know what you're up against.