Community Showcase Submissions - April 2018

They make the showcase submission post public right before the stream begins so everybody can read and see the submissions outside of the stream.

Phazonmasher

I am writing this as a $5 patreon I think you may of made a mistake and opened it up to everyone. Just letting you know!

Jesse.P

(PLEASE READ ON STREAM FIRST! This post was the lost post from last month's Showcase unaltered. PLEASE READ ON STREAM FIRST!) Good afternoon again Jones, Ian, and chat. Unfortunately I don't have a big update on games this week due to work and a joyous week hanging with the allies so I will be brief. Super Mario Odyssey: Now at a 640 Moon Count. Monster Hunter World: still have not touch it since last Month but I have interest in allies I met at the Concert that they will get me back into it. Yakuza 0: Starting Chapter 6: 55hrs (I don't know if Concert stuff will be admitted but if it is this is my entry) I made a commitment to myself that when I met the Allies this year after the Year 1 Concert I was not going to be an idling wallflower and get over my anxiety of engaging in conversation with crowds. Chatting with Damiani about our first-time interpritations of the LaBrea tar pits via the movies we watched (Me: Volcano, Him: Last Action Hero) to sharing my first-time experience with Tsujita with Ben to making connections with many of the Community members such as Noah Rayne, Spencer, Steven C.T., Kit Snow, Tokyo Slim, Tristen, Sophia Hariz, Even, & Mango, to crossing it off my bucket list and finally getting to pet Sophie, and getting the impromptu idea to purchase faux roses for the audience to throw on stage to congratulate Kyle for Box Peek. I am glad to report that it was a complete success. The Concert was a blast and meeting every one of the Allies again was so grand (Jones, Ian and Noah Rayne killed it on stage). So thank every one of you for memories and new friends I will cherish forever. P.S.: When Year 3 comes I will make sure to not break all the rides at Disneyland for Jones and make sure to tell Ian not to schedual the post-meetup luncheon anywhere not named Fatburger. P.P.S. this got a laugh from Jones last month so I shall elaberat: HIPPED: The state of knowing what something means before you're even given this information. Person 1: Aye did you know Huber reviewed Yakuza 6 already? Person 2: I'm already hipped.

XWF Outlaw

Nooo, this isn't time to save. It's time to write!

César Villa

Hello! I wasn't planning to do another one of these update videos, but I thought Kyle would like to see this firsthand. I won't do anymore of these unless you like them every 12 weeks or so. <a href="https://youtu.be/IRv2RUCl_lo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/IRv2RUCl_lo</a>

Super3dcow

saving my post

Hi Brandon and Kyle, for April I’ve been playing mostly two games, Monster Hunter: World and Far Cry 5. This was unusual for me as I rarely play multiplayer focused games or first person shooters and both of these games were picked up mostly on a whim. Aside from the occasional Splatoon2 match and a couple MMOs I hop into once or twice a year, I avoid multiplayer games. The experience for me tends to be more stressful than fun, especially in cooperative games where I feel that other people’s success and enjoyment are partially dependent on my own competency. I wasn’t planning on getting Monster Hunter but I have a friend who talked about it pretty often and playing with someone I know and their friends is less problematic for me than playing with strangers so I gave it a shot. My schedule to play with them usually only lines up once a week and since I started playing later than them I’ve found myself playing catch-up and going through hunts alone. I’ve found that this game is much different alone than in groups. When hunting in a group the focus is on finding your specific role and performing that role as best as possible, it’s all about being part of a machine. When hunting alone everything is on you. Facing a flying monster and are using melee weapons? Figure out how to ground it. Getting charged at? Better get good at dodging. The hunt reminds me of a souls boss, a struggle to survive and a test of perseverance and creativity. While I can send out an SOS and get help, I kind of like how my personal weirdness has created a handicap that changes the style of the game. My reason for getting Far Cry 5 comes from needing something of a palette cleansing. I had been following news of the game pre-launch because a story centered around an extremist cult in an isolated section of America looked intriguing. My interest was fading though after seeing previews depicting a game that didn’t seem to be about radicalism and nationalism, but about creating a sandbox of pure, chaotic fun. However I then played Celeste and whiled I loved it, I found myself wanting something light on emotional investment and heavy on random explosions. I can say that Far Cry 5 definitely delivered on that. The characters are shallow and the plot is essentially a confusing series of radio calls and kidnappings, but the game is just so much fun that I don’t even mind. After spending a good amount of time rampaging around Montana with a bow on my back and a grizzly bear at my side I decided to check out the map maker, which has also been a great time if a little tricky to manage due to having to use a Playstation 4 controller instead of a mouse and keyboard. I don’t have any maps finished yet, maybe by next month I’ll have one finished.

Hopefully saving my comment! :D

Liz Castro

¡Buenas tardes Brandon y Kyle! I'm so happy the "Before E3" fundraiser was such a success and I look forward to what you all end up purchasing and integrating into your coverage. <p> This month, at the age of 33, I can finally comfortably call myself a gamer. </p> <p> Let me explain: growing up, I wasn't really allowed to play video games because they were "for boys only" - although I did sometimes get to sneak a go at Super Mario. Fast forward to the mid 90's when we moved next door to my (male) cousin and suddenly there was a Playstation in our lives! I watched him play FF7, Primal Rage, and some racing games that I don't quite recall. Then, after much pleading, our parents bought my brother an N64 and finally we had a console at home. And I was allowed to play it! I played so much Mario Kart and Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings and SW: Rogue Squadron and Shadows of the Empire .... But I still wasn't a gamer, because it was not "lady-like" to be a gamer at that time. Over the years, I played some fighting games, mostly with boyfriends or male friends, briefly forming a "Rock Band" band with a few friends. But I didn't own a console or watched a Let's Play until I met my now husband. One of the first gifts he gave me was a PC for gaming, along with Skyrim and Oblivion. I cannot tell you how trans-formative this event was for me. And now, this April, for the first time ever, I was able to get through a platformer, something that I had never been able to accomplish. (I must say that the prior attempt at learning to platform was with Super Mario for the WiiU and I got to the stage where Luigi showed me how to play....) </p> <p> And so, now, after finishing a VERY hard platforming level in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, I am comfortable and happy in calling myself a gamer. Also, I started Yakuza 0 and I'm kicking so much ass! I'm looking forward to summer break to finish 0, then start 6. Ah, the teacher life! </p> <p> Much love and respect to you both. And thank you for being welcoming of a shy, awkward, nerdy lady. &lt;3 </p>

Liz Castro

It has been a great spring for myself, but I can't think of anything I want to comment about this month. I had a few ideas, but in the end I couldn't think of anything. I am personally video game wise looking forward to this summer and playing new gundam breaker, and other random minor games like the new Nobunaga game. As well as E3 of course. Love and Respect

Mr.V

Ahoy Brandon and Kyle! This month, as teased at the end of last month, I'm going to be talking about Mass Effect Andromeda and South Park: The Fractured But Whole. To begin, I have been putting Andromeda off for quite a while. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan, with the original series being one of my absolute favorites of all time. I even have the Paragon and Renegade symbols tattooed on the insides of my wrists. With that said, everything about Andromeda felt weird to me, which made it easy to put off. After some poking and prodding, a friend finally convinced me to give it a shot. I put in about 12 hours before taking a break, but I do think the patches helped a lot. Female Ryder is a great step forward, giving her more character than Shepard, who was a bit of a blank slate. However, there's something about the story that isn't grabbing me. I'm going back to it soon, but it definitely feels off. South Park has been very fun, but similar to Andromeda, I had to take a break from it after about 10 hours. I enjoy the battle system for the most part, and I was kind of surprised by the representation it provides for gender and sexuality, even if it is in the form of jokes it’s much more inclusive than any other game I’ve played. I’m going back to this one first since I don’t think I have too much left. Now you may be wondering what took my attention away from these two games, both of which I’ve enjoyed but didn’t get fully hooked by. Well, it was something unexpected, because I did not think I’d be starting this series this soon. After finding it on sale, I took the plunge with Yakuza Kiwami. Now that is a game that hooks you and doesn’t let go. I have never played a game that only had Japanese VO before, but man it gets you so immersed in the world you’re running around in. I spent way too much time bowling, but I’m close to getting a 300 (last night I got a 289!) All at once, Kiwami is relaxing and stressful, with something happening around every corner. I am absolutely invested in the story and can’t wait for Kiwami 2. But the biggest thing for me was a chance to play an action game in a modern setting that didn’t force you to use guns. I’ve totally lost my taste for gun-based games for the most part, so being able to go through the whole game without using one felt good. An absolute joy from start to finish. What will be the next on the battle against the backlog? I’m not sure. Probably going to spend some time going back to what is unfinished, but then? Maybe Tropical Freeze but we will see where the month takes me. Love and Respect.

Kate Bishop

Greetings Jones and Kyle! I believe this month's art piece is self explanatory. Hope you like it! Love &amp; Respect <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/186zlhegEapwq5ig4solAfd7L1gZeJyqy/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/186zlhegEapwq5ig4solAfd7L1gZeJyqy/view?usp=sharing</a>

Sara Knite

Boop!

Brittany Fuller

Hey Brandon and Kyle! I'm one of those Patrons who consistently forgets to make a post for Community Showcase, except this time. Last month I finally got around to playing The Banner Saga. I enjoyed the game a lot but what was really interesting for me was how it made me combat my anxiety. It is a game full of stressful choices and every time I would feel like I chose wrong, not to mention the times where I very obviously made a bad decision. I just had to keep reminding myself not to fixate so much on the options and just keep going. I think it payed off because by the end, when faced with the toughest decision in the game, the decision still had the appropriate weight but I wasn't stressing over it. I think I'm even ready to own all my mistakes and take that save into Banner Saga 2. Replaying to get some things I missed and keep characters alive is still an option, but I don't feel it is something I have to do or even ideal way to continue on. I think what made this experience even more interesting was playing it on the heels of VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, a game full of extremely low impact choices. You're just deciding what drinks to serve based off the requests of clients and maybe upping the potency to get them drunk. I have to wonder if the laid-back vibes of making choices in that game helped prepare me to relax. Either way, two very different but equally excellent games involving choices. That's all I got this month. Thanks for fostering such a great community! Love &amp; Respect Brit / logic__error

Brittany Fuller

Such a good story. Love it!

Alex Castellanos

Ps. Kyle, please give us an update if your parents have stuck to playing anymore games!

umryan

Hello Brandon and Kyle! My brother and I are avid, long-time fans and we wanted to express our gratitude to Kyle for one particular thing that he's contributed with EZA. This is, of course, the saga of handing off his used PS4 to his traditionally non-gaming parents, and showing his mother the gift of a game that is The Witness. Like many others, my brother and I were raised in a household where playing video games was generally frowned upon- especially when done in excess. During holidays, special occasions, and after much clamoring, however, games would still be provided to us, if not somewhat reluctantly. Now in our early 30s, hearing Kyle's periodic updates across several Frame Trap episodes and Q&amp;As of his mother slowly progressing through The Witness and chipping away at its puzzles was like a fantasy come true; a beacon of hope. It suggested that perhaps one day we too could share our passion for gaming with our parents, which has almost always been lost on them. To this end, during a recent trip they took to visit us in our current locale of the Pacific Northwest, I took inspiration from Kyle's story and suggested we play a game. Knowing my parents' predilection for artistry, and my mother's particular fondness for sudoku and crossword puzzles, the game of choice here was naturally... The Witness. As it loaded, I prefaced the experience by simply requesting they try to briefly suspend any stigma or cynicism they might still be holding with video games. At first, of course, our mother's handling of the controller looked as unnatural as Tony Soprano playing Mario Kart 64, but after some pointers and direction, thumb-stick coordination and button familiarity started to become noticeably adept. Exploring the island and cruising around it in the little boat, contemplating and solving each successive grid puzzle, discovering many of the discreetly hidden environmental secrets; it was clear that they became quickly engrossed with this video game, and in such a way that I like to think even surprised themselves. And the one game we will hopefully use to follow up with this experience? Naturally...will be Bloodborne. Thank you for all that you do! -Ryan and Billy

umryan

Hello Allies! April 20th marked the most important event of the year: My birthday! (Also I heard some game was released that day, Dad of Boy, I think? Can't imagine it was that good) As such I took some time and reflected on the video games I've played through the 23 years of my life, and compiled a list of the ten games I consider my favourites. Some of these games were vital in shaping my perception of video games as an art form, some of them changed my outlook on life and even me as a person, and some of them are just damn good video games. Not content with just writing a list, though, I worked them all into a neat little video, because showing is better than telling, right? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c78ktQR8iQ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c78ktQR8iQ</a> I tested the video extensively, and it doesn't set off any copyright claims, so I can only assume it's safe to play on-stream, but a text version of the list can be found in the video description if you want to read it out instead (though I'm not gonna lie, I'll be a bit upset if you do, I worked hard on that video). Love and Respect, Small Leviathan

Small Leviathan

came up with something yet? you are running out of time...

César Villa

just the usual noise to prevent deletion. Let's see if it works.

César Villa

Hello Allies! Again, April was a slow month for my gaming, and since there were no megatons like THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU (is back!) from January, and I just told a long story from my gaming memories in February; I'd like to try something different. If you believe this is not suiting for the stream, I'll understand. I've spent the last 11 years of my life working as a software developer for different companies. Before that I spent 5 years in college getting a degree as an Engineer in computer systems. Because of that I feel comfortable identifying myself as a programmer. I learned to play the guitar 20 years ago, when I was 15. I'm far for good and I could never call myself a musician, but I do think guitar player suits me well. When I was 6 years old, back in 1988, I recorded from the TV what is still to this day my favorite movie: Back to the Future. I don't think I really understood what was happening in the screen at that time, I just liked the car and the lightning effects when time traveling; but I can say that my love for cinema started there, that night when I stayed up way past my bedtime just so I could “own” that movie for the first time. During all of my childhood I taped more movies from the TV than I can remember. This stopped with DVDs. All my BETA &amp; VHS tapes are long gone, I now I have a cabinet full of DVDs and Blu-rays. I always watch everything the discs contains, commentaries, outtakes, you name it. I love the craft, and while I have no formal preparation in the subject, I do call myself a cinema lover. There is another title that I carry proudly. I don't know which was my first video game, because I was around 3 years old when I picked up a controller for the first time. We used to own an Atari 2600, and I know I liked to play Pole Position and Millipede a lot. Story says that I used to ask my mom to read my scores to me, because I was so young that I couldn't make up the numbers, until one faithful day I screamed from my room “Mom, guess what? I made five hundred and sixty thousand four hundred and fifty points!”. My mom was amused that the number I randomly shouted appeared to make sense, but when she came to the bedroom she was shocked when the number displayed was 560,450. I had learned to read quantities because of video games. My childhood was shaped with the famicom and SNES. I believe that if someone sequences my DNA, they would find a cartridge shape or a Nintendo Logo hidden there somewhere. Hi, my name is César. I'm a software developer, guitar player and movie lover. But first and foremost, I'm a gamer. Nice to meet you all. Love &amp; Respect.

César Villa

<a href="https://twitter.com/noahrayne/status/988560613587566592" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/noahrayne/status/988560613587566592</a> &amp; <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbgSOA0VAAAfqGd.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbgSOA0VAAAfqGd.jpg</a> if the links aren't working

navyblueprince

Hello Brandon and Kyle! Last Lego post I promise! Just wanted to make a quick animation since a lot of allies were calling out for something to be done with the set, turns out it is really fun to animate in the style of the Lego Movie. Also I just wanted to thank you for doing the Lego stream at a time I was able to watch. It was great to be involved in chat and is probably one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had! Also also, thanks for the Souls retro, I'd platinumed Bloodborne but had no idea at was going on in that game until I watched that video! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCfdhjWH1RM&amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCfdhjWH1RM&amp;feature=youtu.be</a> Love &amp; Respect Dave Cleland PS. Because Kyle is on the couch I just had to include that line from the build at the end

Hi Allies! I've been pretty pedal-to-the-metal this month on a lot of stuff, most of it original music, including some really insightful workshops on co-writing and the music industry (which has been as enlightening as it is depressing). Unfortunately I don't have anything tangible to show of that (yet), so I thought for this month's showcase I'd highlight a community event that's finally been concretely planned! The Vancouver-based EZA community is small but mighty, with friendships mostly forged in chat and on social media. We've always wanted to get together, but apart from the couple times I've personally gotten to hang out with folks, we've never actually all congregated as a group. So we're finally doing it once and for all on May 12th, at a Fatburger, no less! Details are in this Twitter post: <a href="https://twitter.com/noahrayne/status/988560613587566592!" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/noahrayne/status/988560613587566592!</a> (Raw image here: <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbgSOA0VAAAfqGd.jpg)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbgSOA0VAAAfqGd.jpg)</a> I'm so excited to finally meet people I've been talking to since the early Bosman v Wozniak chat days; meeting members of the community is the best part of being involved in it! I hope that people in the area can make it! &lt;3

Noah Weinstein

Near the end of 2015, I got the ridiculous idea to start working on a tribute to Kyle Bosman. Then in early 2016 I received the news that Gametrailers was being shut down from a response Kyle himself made to a YouTube comment about how his show helped another viewer get through some really tough times. At that moment, I was heartbroken but also immediately inspired to double down my efforts to actually make this tribute to remind the world why so many people find Kyle and Gametrailers as a whole so special. Then I saw the March 21st 2016 date being tweeted by former Gametrailers employees and I tried so hard to finish the tribute before then to help celebrate whatever this news would bring and inspire others to support such wonderful people, but sadly life got in the way and I was late, but the response to the tribute was positive none-the-less. Once again, life has gotten in the way and I wasn't able to finish my next tribute before today's Community Showcase with Kyle, but I really wanted to show something so here is a very, VERY rough edit of my progress. I really wish what you're about to see is starting from the beginning of the video, which is much more polished, but the first half features non-videogame music and I don't want the stream to get muted, so here is a 3 minute long work in progress of the second section, featuring videogame music. Again, keep in mind it's most likely very out of order and cuts off abruptly, but this is where I'm at and what I can share. I can't wait until E3, Joe <a href="https://youtu.be/CYj7X9psCl0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/CYj7X9psCl0</a>

Joseph Caruso

All of this art is gorgeous but it's the Psychic Samoyeds that have me all the way in

DaleBastion

3rd time's the charm

Trung Nguyen

Finished Ni no Kuni 2 and it was delightful. It had it's serious moments but clearly focus was to have a jolly time for new and old to the genre. Sure there were negative or mixed feeling with it being too easy or weird cuts like having or not having sound during dialogue(budget issues?) but the gameplay and building you own kingdom was really fun. A solid 7 game. I had only played Yakuza 0 and Kiwami but instead of waiting for Kiwami 2, I decided to play Yakuza 6: The Song of Life(such a good name). Structure was pretty weird since I never even got that Kalamari trophy thing but the story was solid. Since I watched a bit J-drama/movies, I recognized bunch of actors in it. Even that non-japanese guy that I won't spoil for you. I still prefer Yakuza 0 but Yakuza 6 is worth playing even if it spoils previous game(obviously). Played through it in 3 days and finished it at the beginning of the fundraising stream. I could have jump straight into God of War after it but needed a break after it. Watched A Silent Voice -anime movie. It touches a theme that is relatable to me: bullying. I do recommend reading the manga though even if Kyoto Animation did a pretty good job with it. Also nice to see Yen Press publishing Silver Spoon. It's a manga about agriculture made by Hiromu Arakawa of "Full Metal Alchemist" fame but it's a slice-of-life instead of fantasy genre. She hasn't finished it yet since she has been on hiatus for a while but the series is near the end is what I heard of it. There is 2 seasons of anime of it but you get much more from manga. And of course I watched The Avengers: Infinity War Great month on Monster Hunter World. We just got Deviljho(pickle) last month(tempered hits like a truck) and now we got a new one that is siege type of quest(limited time) where everyone in a session can join to fight it. Kulve Taroth was a nice addition if you have sank 250h in it like me. Too grindy though if you want the whole armor set unless you're lucky. Really enjoyed the Spring Festival and I hope they have other seasons in mind since it was a good time to do those limited hunts people missed and that MegaMan armor for palico(cat). Also got Dante's DMC1 gear which is a really good one for changes but I'm out of material to unlock the limit for upgrades. Next up: SFV Sakura. Feel free to join me in MHW. I'm not a good player but I can help. Damiani/Kyle bomb defusing was the higlight of April. Also Amanda/Brandon reaction to DBZ recap by Damiani. L&amp;R -TearjuEngi Art for this month: <a href="https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/991247042759577600" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/991247042759577600</a>

Trung Nguyen

Reply, to make sure its not deleted

Samo Rozman

Aloha Brandon and Kyle, I've recently been catching up on a bunch of your content I missed due to my medical condition diagnosed last summer to fall. In April, this progressed to the Gundam build streams that I previously wasn't able to watch, with Brandon's latest Lego Castle stream being a large impetus for this decision. So with Brandon's stream and 2 (of 4) Gundam streams finally caught up, I am submitting all my Lego and Bandai builds that I have created in the last year and few months, since the Gundam and Lego streams started. Hope you enjoy the pictures, I had a blast making them. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/4lviOuB" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/4lviOuB</a> Also if you want, please include pictures I took from my trip to Osaka, Japan a few months ago. I visited Univeral Studios Japan, so there are some pictures from the park as well, along with some of the unique park food we had. Was a jolly time all around. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/cVNvG" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/cVNvG</a> <a href="https://imgur.com/a/C60jv" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/C60jv</a> <a href="https://imgur.com/a/dh1My" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/dh1My</a> Mahalo nui loa, L &amp; R, Samo Rozman @namzor

Samo Rozman

Putting a comment in case I edit to make sure the whole thing doesn't vanish. I cut this down to a third of what I originally wrote, so the structure is probably atrocious.

Jason A. Sackel

The time has come to dive in to the SNES mini thingy that I have had since launch. I never owned a SNES, so I pondered what I should play. Well, I really love the Legend of Zelda series, so I thought I would start with A Link to the Past. Holy ugly hell those sprites are insufferable to look at. Part of the fun of video games is the visual presentation. This was far from pleasing. So it was back to square one. Then, I finally made my decision. Final Fantasy VI. That opening was simply fantastic and a great hook. The overall directing was top notch. I was impressed with how well the designers were able to animate characters with the limitations of the graphics at the time. Also, having an unique laugh for Kefka was a really nice touch. The writing, however, left a lot to be desired. An example was Celes explaining being infused with magic and the very next line is Terra asking Celes if she has ever loved. No real transition or anything. I don't know if it was just due to a bad translation though because after coming across "Fenix down," I had my suspicions that the localization might not have been the best ever. I mean, c'mon guys, they even show feathers when using the item. The characters might have been the weakest aspect of the game for me. Most of them were just idiots. I really enjoyed Setzer though. His backstory added a depth to his character in a not so obvious fashion. I'm sucker for a façade of happiness to hide tragedy. The world itself was neat and I dug some of the steampunk aesthetic, but I had trouble remembering which town was where because they all looked the same. The second half of the game didn't help. The Pheonix Cave was neat, where you had two teams that had to advance different paths to press buttons so the other could continue. I think two teams was the right amount. When I got to the final location, three was spread out too thin because, well, I didn't really use half the characters because they annoyed the hell out of me and I didn't want to see their dumb faces. Also, the town of Thamasa annoyed me. I went there before I was supposed to and everyone would just say "...Right." or something abrupt since they didn't know me. When the story brought me there, them still not knowing who I was, they spoke to me with full sentences. The inconsistency gave me flashbacks of Horizon: Zero Dawn. In the end, it was leagues better than VII, but that isn't that much of an accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the game overall. It is just easier, albeit more fun, to write about negatives than the positives. Final Fantasy IX is still my favorite, but VI at least made me curious to try more that I haven't played yet.

Jason A. Sackel

Hi Brandon &amp; Kyle! This is my first community showcase submission, and I’m really excited! I do a lot of creative writing (that’s what I’m in school for) and I wrote this shortly after coming home from the Year 2 meetup, where I saw the Pacific and met a lot of my friends that I met through EZA for the first time. Thank you to Easy Allies for being such a positive force in my life and for letting me meet so many amazing people. I do prose writing commissions as well, and if anyone is interested they can view my rules and contact me on my twitter @spoolesofthread! Thanks for reading, L&amp;R &lt;3 Spencer link to the piece: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/19orwo4RAgDijg7FTQ4T_FhEsJdd4D45AKkueTs0IcsA/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/19orwo4RAgDijg7FTQ4T_FhEsJdd4D45AKkueTs0IcsA/edit?usp=sharing</a>

Hello Brandon and Kyle! I am a new fan of the Allies and a new Patron! This is my first community showcase and I’m so excited to show you what I’ve been working on! I am a writer currently working on a webcomic to be released this Fall called Nights at Beacon Grocery. It’s a drama/comedy taking place at the Beacon Grocery, a store nestled in a town vaguely located along the Eastern Coast named Port Sheldon(don’t worry there are no BBT spoilers, Kyle). Beacon serves as a place for paranormal and supernatural entities to do their day to day grocery shopping. In this setting and through its characters we examine the everyday through a lens of monstrosity. Subjects such as: love, revenge and intramural basketball are covered and we hope that you love our characters as much as we loved creating them! Nights at Beacon Grocery is inspired by my own late nights. I’m currently employed as a overnight cashier at a parking garage and find myself out and about during the midnight hours quite a bit. The world has a different feeling late at night that I wanted to encapsulate in our comic. I’ve linked to a thread of some of our best character concept sketches! These were all drawn by my lovely artist and partner in crime Sarah: <a href="https://twitter.com/lybworks/status/990624143451226113" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/lybworks/status/990624143451226113</a> Image 1: Our main character, Addie, the lone human cashier at Beacon and her Ghostly Paramour, Liam Image 2 and 3: concept sketches of Twin Witches, Oran (2) and Nina(3), who work in the pharmacy. Image 4: concept sketch of a health nut Zombie name Zoe who is a regular at Beacon (Did you know that brains are an excellent source of protein?) Image 5: preview art of Cabby, one of the rare human customers at Beacon who has a podcast where he tries to convince his boyfriend, Chad that the paranormal entities are “so totally real, dude! I saw Moth Man in the Snack Dragon parking lot, babe!” Image 6: preview art of the Dog Psychics, Samoyed dogs who hand out fortunes and plot exposition at any given time Image 7: more concept sketches of Addie’s facial expressions! Thanks so much for doing these showcases! We’re really proud of Nights at Beacon Grocery and we’re super excited to share with all of you! Beacon’s first pages will not be released til the fall but you can my follow my writing twitter, @lybworks and sarah’s art twitter @MoonieWhat for updates and concepts! You can also interact w/ me on my personal twitter @dopelore where I answer questions and do EZA related posting! Thank y’all for everything! Love and Respect Lore

Keeping the post alive! :)

Eric Mitchell

WOW

Alex Castellanos

Looks awesome!

Alex Castellanos

Here here!!

Alex Castellanos

Bonjour Brandon et Kyle ! I've got some music for you (link below), but first let me say a few words on your Better Stuff Before E3 stream. It was an absolute joy to witness your collective disbelief at the generosity of this most beautiful of communities. I'm glad I could be a part of this smashing success, despite my limited financial resources. On a more selfish note, I got particularly giddy with excitement when, during the homestretch to 30k, my second modest donation landed and BRANDON JONES ACTUALLY MENTIONED MY NAME !!! ("nivektellig": that was me!) Just before Edsdestroyer delivered the final blow. Being in France, I don't really get to interact with a lot of streams, especially group streams, and I never really bothered to, apart from the beginning of my patronage during E3 2017, one year after I discovered you and you became a part of my daily life. But this time I stayed up all night through the stream, and you noticing me filled me with feelings as warm and lovely as Sophie. I will try to be less of a lurker in the future, if the time difference is not too rough or I alternatively find a way to reduce the width of the Atlantic Ocean and bring you closer to Europe. Maybe put that up as the ultimate Patreon goal, bringing the continents back together to minimize time differences ? Just an idea. Anyway, cut to the song ! During Tabletop Escapades Season 2 Episode 3, at 27:28, just before a fight, Huber started to uncontrollably (is « huberly » not a word yet?) sing a sort of RPG Battle Theme intro. I heard this, and my music-making mind could not help but run with it. I paused the episode and started working on this. It turned out a bit more medley-esque than I had anticipated but here it is. I give you : Tabletop Escapades Battle Theme ! Containing, in order of appearance, the aforementioned Huber intro, the Tabletop Escapades Theme, the Love &amp; Respect Theme, the Allies Assemble/Brandon Plays Pokémon Theme, the Easy Allies Theme and the Love &amp; Respect Theme once more. It loops, video-game-music style, so you can cut off after 1:40. Thanks for listening, keep doing amazing stuff, looking forward to Box Peek and E3! Original Huber intro for reference : <a href="https://youtu.be/LEyNtBL51uI?t=27m28s" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/LEyNtBL51uI?t=27m28s</a> My Tabletop Escapades Battle Theme : <a href="https://youtu.be/I3_hQEqZfrQ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/I3_hQEqZfrQ</a>

Kévin Gillet

WOW! Thanks so much. (Question: Why not put this on YouTube? I'm sure that it'd make the rounds around to every Ally and even some non-Allies. Food for thought maybe?)

Alex Castellanos

Brandon &amp; Kyle, You are two of my favorite internet people and I really have enjoyed all that you have done for both this community and for games journalism / entertainment. Your hard-work, efforts, and dedication to EZA doesn't go unnoticed. I love you guys! Now, that I've kissed up to you both sufficiently, I have a request for each of you that I'd love for you to hear out. Brandon - Your series 'Brandon Plays Pokémon' was so great. It might still be my favorite thing that you have done since EZA began. Well, Pokémon Gold, Silver, &amp; Crystal are out now on 3DS and I want you to try to play it at some point this Spring / Summer while you still have some spare time. This could be while you're on the toilet, or maybe waiting for one of you edits to process, or whatever. I can practically promise that once you get going in Johto, you will be delighted to be back in that world again. (I know that you played Sun as well, but the community needs you to connect the dots of RED &amp; BLUE here...) Kyle - You may have been a little to quick to dismiss Pokémon Ultra Sun &amp; Ultra Moon, but I can forgive you. What I'd like to request of you is simply this: Please try to not be so disappointed when Pokémon Switch isn't quite as innovative as you hope it will be, that you 'drop it' part-way through. It will probably not break that much new ground aside from visual fidelity, and when that happens, please just finish this game anyway and give us Pokémon fans a chance to talk to you about the full game. That's all that most of us really want anyway. Thanks in advance for considering these requests and thanks again for my favorite EZA show, "Brandon Plays Pokémon" (also "Brandon Sun, Kyle Moon"). Much Love &amp; Respect, Alex C.

Alex Castellanos

Save

Hey guys, You know, it would be fun to talk about God of War. That game is so fantastic, and I'm sure this month will have a lot of love for it. So I'll leave it up to the other allies to heap praise on it. Instead, I'll continue updating everybody on my strange journey to own and play every JRPG on the PSone/PS2. After beating Xenoblade 2 last year, I decided that I would finally get into Monolith Soft's ambitious Xenosaga trilogy. It turned out better than I expected considering the circumstances of the trilogy's development. The series is super interesting because it was first envisioned as a six game series and the first game reflects this as the plot doesn't reveal a lot. It only sets up the main cast and reveals the very tip of the conflict in what was going to be a massive space opera. With the Xenosaga Episode II, Monolith restructured itself allowing the younger staff members to take over. This meant the planned six games were cut down to three and they put a greater focus on cross media properties including mobile games and an anime. With the second game, they decided to focus on the conflict between two side characters while a mobile game fleshed out the events that were happening concurrently. It's an interesting game, and one that I liked. I totally get why fans hate it though. It does, however, have the absolute best soundtrack out of the three games. Give it a listen. With Episode III, they crammed in a lot of cut narrative content from Episode II alongside the conclusion of the main character's arc. Due to this, it felt like an overstuffed game with a lot of different plots and ideas being thrown around. It's a little inconsistent, but it's largely the best game in the series thanks to a refinement of its mechanics and far better narrative pacing. They did leave the ending open enough to continue if fan demand was there, but it obviously wasn't. But yeah, would I recommend the Xenosaga trilogy? Probably not. Episode III is a really fun game, but the first two are rough to play, especially the second with a gameplay mechanic that ensures random battles at minimum take about five minutes to complete. There are rumors of a trilogy remaster hitting Swich and Namco recently trademarked Episode III's subtitle so here's hope all three games get the remaster they deserve. I think Xenoblade fans would absolutely adore the ambition on display especially for the PS2.

Phazonmasher

Hey Brandon and Kyle! I'm usually a patron at the $1 tier, but this month I decided to up my pledge to $10 specifically to take part in the April community showcase. I'll explain! :) For a few years now, my fiance Stephanie has given me some of the best birthday and Christmas gifts in the form of different styles of video game related artwork. I'm always impressed by her talents and what she's able to come up with. The thing is, I don't feel like her artwork has had the opportunity to be seen be very many people. So with April being her birthday month now, I felt like there was no better community to share some of her work with then the Easy Allies. You guys have been with me upward of a decade now, and Steph's grown attached to your content over the years as well. I know she'll really appreciate hearing both of your thoughts. Thank you, and Love and Respect! This is a painting of the classic 8-bit Link <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhFJKHoXu/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhFJKHoXu/?hl=en</a> This is a painting of Link and Ravio from Link Between Worlds (*Spoilers lol) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhH0sHHJe/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhH0sHHJe/?hl=en</a> This is a painting of Link and Navi from Ocarina of Time <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhJrunO6K/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhJrunO6K/?hl=en</a> This is a Perler Bead 8-bit link receiveing the Sword form the Old Man <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhMaEnqjW/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhMaEnqjW/?hl=en</a> This is a painted NES Cartridge frame background of Super Mario Bros 3. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhcf3nzUz/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhcf3nzUz/?hl=en</a> This is a painted NES Cartridge frame background of The Legend of Zelda <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhWdEnwJ6/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhWdEnwJ6/?hl=en</a> This is a painted plate of a Poliwag <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMpFLEnjwF/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMpFLEnjwF/?hl=en</a> This is a painted plate of a Ditto transformed into a Charizard *Although he will turn back into a Ditto when caught, I promise Jones ;) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMpDqMHf4q/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMpDqMHf4q/?hl=en</a> For any Doctor Who fans, this is a digital painting of me fighting off the Daleks <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhgu2nF_E/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMhgu2nF_E/?hl=en</a>

Eric Mitchell

Hey Brandon and Kyle, This month I want to talk about a hidden-gem-game that was hiding in my backlog for almost three years: “Convoy”. At its core, Convoy is a tactical roguelike with squad based tactical combat in a game-play-loop that reminds me of FTL. The story and the setting are heavily inspired by Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic movies: you cross a desert wasteland with your convoy of vehicles in search of parts for your broken spaceship. The game has pixel-art-style, which gives the future post-apocalyptic setting a unique look. To describe the game a little bit more in detail: you start in a map view and have acquire four items. While traversing the map to get those items or to fulfill side-objectives, battle encounters will start. In those battles you look at you convoy from a bird's point of view. Your main vehicle - the mcv - is positioned in the middle, you cannot control its movement and attacking enemy vehicles will try to target it. Once it is destroyed, it’s game over. However, you have up to four smaller vehicles, which you can command. You can position them in order to defend the mcv and give attack orders. The game can be paused at any time. One intriguing aspect is the variety of weapons. There are lasers, rockets, miniguns, plasma cannons, minelayers, railguns and buzzsaws for ramming - each of which is efficient against either health, armor or shields. Since vehicles can mostly equip only 1-2 weapons, it is crucial to find the right balance and to move your vehicles around in order to get most of the weapons equipped. However, if you remember my past community comment entries: I really dislike rogue-likes! So the obvious question here should be: Why is Thim playing games that he will probably not enjoy? Well, first: I like to challenge myself every occasionally. And Second: I was completely oblivious to the fact that the game was a rogue-like until I experienced my first death in the final boss battle (to be honest: I was playing on the easiest difficulty) . While it was certainly frustrating to play the complete game from the beginning, the gameplay itself hooked me enough to take a more precautious and planned approach. Battle encounters are mostly short and get challenging over time. Completing an encounter without taking much damage is thrilling. Slowly collecting scrap materials in order to buy better guns or to upgrade your cars is inherently fulfilling. Moreover, the ever-dropping gasoline gauge keeps a constant pressure to always keep a settlement with a gas station in range. The game also has potential for multiple playthroughs. Each of the four main objectives are achievable in multiple ways. The map, events and side quests are randomly generated. Finally, you can get new starting vehicles by achieving various goals. I don't want to oversell this game, but if you are into post-apocalyptic stories, enjoy tactical combat and don't mind grinding, Convoy is a perfect Saturday evening game.

Hi Brandon and Kyle! I recently finished playing through Horizon, and felt inspired by the amazing art direction in the game to try designing my own tribe that fits with the futuristic meets primitive theme. For these I wanted to make some characters that are skilled at taming wild animals. Hope you enjoy! If anyone's interested, more of my work can be found at artstation.com/ianbarker <a href="https://imgur.com/a/SvIz96t" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/SvIz96t</a> - Ian Barker

Ian Barker

Hello Brandon and Kyle. First of congrats on the successful fundraiser. I watched the whole thing live, and with me living in Denmark does make that quite a feat. Giving the time difference, your streams are often a night experience, and this was no exception. But after that CRAZY first hour I just couldn’t stop watching. I immediately raised my pledge, and this is actually my first time ever writing anything of any kind to you guys :) My question is: I recently acquired a PS VR with motion controllers included. Bought Super Hot immediately, cause I remember jones recommending it. It was great. Knowing that you like VR and Kyle have played a lot of different PS vr games, what would you guys recommend me getting next? No horror :) Best regards Jonas Sekula

Good luck Eli!

DaleBastion

Hey Brandon! Hey Kyle! I had long intended to move to the ten dollar tier as a celebration of E3 and begin making what would hopefully be thoughtful and well written contributions to the Community Showcase from that point on. When I realized, however, that I'd missed the opportunity to donate to the fundraiser, I decided on a whim to up my pledge early instead. So now I am able to contribute but have nothing with which to do so, other than the scattered thoughts currently running from my brain into my fingers. I'm afraid that if I don't write something now, the temptation to disappear back to my natural lurker habitat will prove too strong and I'll never get around to explaining my personal history with GameTrailers and Easy Allies and how much you all mean to me. I very nearly deleted this entire comment just now so that I could do just that, so I'm going to post it as a way of committing myself to the idea and next month I'll be back with my intended first comment. Sorry about the incoherent ramblings, I'll do better next time, probably. Just to be clear: this isn't a placeholder. I want you to read this comment, as pointless as it is, so I'll have no excuse to not keep going. Thanks for everything you do, and thanks for inspiring me to step so far out of my comfort zone.

Yea, cause Battle Royal isn't all that great. It is all very repetitive.

Mikehook1

Save. I'm really curious to see Brandon read this one. I'm hoping for a performance but no pressure needed.

Mikehook1

Greetings Brandon and Kyle! This is my first community showcase post, and first time posting on Patreon in general, though I've been a long time fan and supporter of all of you even going back to the GT days. As a minor warning this is a major breach of the 500 word limit. What I have for both you and the Allies is a little bit of lost EZA history! Last year in May of 2017, Kyle, Ben, Brad, and Damiani took a trip up to Northern California up to San Jose’s Fanimecon to give a panel on the Final Fantasy VII Remake! It clocks in at about an hour and forty so it’s about the length of one of the various podcasts which is definitely out of the question for broadcasting within the community submissions video. Additionally this is an excellent compliment to the most recent episode of Frame Trap, (episode 54) when Kyle, Damiani, and Ben speak briefly on FFVII. I don’t really have a platform as of yet to post this on, and honestly I’d be incredibly honored if you were willing to put it out on the EZA channel, it was always both my and fellow EZA patron Miguel “ShadowMarrba” Rivas’ goal to give all this footage to you all for you get it up online in the first place, and it is my hope that upon review you’ll all find it satisfactory. I personally think it’s one of the Allies’ best, with good discussion points and hilarious jokes being ripped out left and right by all the allies despite a delirium inducing drive up from LA that same morning! In the immediate aftermath of the Panel, Miguel and me happily surrendered our footage to Damiani who had his laptop on hand. I would later find out that Damiani’s laptop had died. I never knew whether Damiani managed to deliver the footage to Brandon, Don, or Ian for an edit, whether it was put on the backburner, or whether it simply too messy and too low of a quality to be worth putting in the additional time to try and untangle and re-construct. What I have here is the end product of much wrestling and wrangling and pain staking edits. What follows is a somewhat technical story of how this single panel video was put together; It’s a minor tale of technical woes and follies, filled with the jubilant highs and sophomoric lows that can come with trying to edit a project of this size in a fashion to a standard that would be considered “acceptable”. Following the panel as 2017 went on I intermittently found time to work on the project here and there using the resources available to me, I eventually found the time to edit it myself in starts and stops. It was in these starts and stops the painful technical lessons of filming gear emerged: The panel was filmed with a pair of consumer DSLRs and a smartphone. Having hastily set up my camera, I failed to check all the settings and had it in Manual mode. Worse, the LCD monitor wasn’t giving me an accurate idea of the exposure and as a result one of the camera’s footage was terribly underexposed and had the white balance set incorrectly, the other is camera was well placed and is set to Auto which meant there’s a decent amount of digital ISO noise but it otherwise has a much more accurate color information. Fortunately, I know a thing or two about color correction and I set out to try my best to get things straightened out between the various footages. Sadly with both under and over exposed footage from little prosumer cameras, there isn’t quite as much lattitude to adjust or play around with in post-production. I tried my best and pushed the footage about as far as it could go. The smartphone footage came with problems too, slowly as time went on my audio and video were getting out of synch and I was at a loss for why! As it turns out many phones record at what’s called a “variable frame rate” which some editing programs like adobe premiere don’t handle well because the smallest unit of time in premier is a frame as opposed to a second! I now had an edit that was totally screwed up where on one camera’s footage the mouth flaps no longer aligned and on the other it was badly exposed! Worse still, an inherent flaw of consumer cameras that are not camcorders is that they frequently have a 20-30 minute footage cap, which means that you need to continually reset the recording. This inevitably created small gaps in the footage where a few crucial seconds would be missed multiple times! I eventually tracked down Miguel on Twitter and got his permission to use his footage which I got back from Damiani who recovered it from his now dead laptop. With all 3 sources of video and audio on hand it was time for another cut of the event which now thankfully only has one minor gap in the footage. After re-wrestling the cut and trying to match the footage, find dynamic shots and massaging the audio as best as I could, I was finally ready to export a finished copy. For reference telling a computer to crunch an export of that length and size with lots of small special tweaks is a tall order, and now my personal PC with it’s slightly weak processor would overload and crash some time after I started the export queue! After more than a few days of trying, I eventually snuck the project in on a slow day at work on one of the office workstations that had premiere to get this file out and ready for all of you. It’s still not quite perfect, and with more time and energy I might be able to iron out one or two more kinks, but I think it’s solid as it stands. Additionally apologies to Damiani, as his twitter handle had changed after I got this puppy exported so it still has old handle. Doing this was a definitely a learning experience for me, and it’s my hope that everyone can finally see this little EZA gem. <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qsavznuHA8_6NJNjZ-jZ575IqdlS4nmr" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qsavznuHA8_6NJNjZ-jZ575IqdlS4nmr</a> Best, HeySudowoodo

Ni No Kuni 1 is so much better... and if you haven't ever played the Suikoden games, I think they still hold up much better than Ni No Kuni 2...

Ian Alexander

I've been playing Ni No Kuni 2 and... I'm really not feeling it. There's nothing terribly wrong with it per se, but as a sequel it really pales in comparison to it's predecessor. The presentation is downright bad. The voice acting is spotty in delivery as well as occurrence. Epic boss battles end abruptly and the characters react with less emotion than my girlfriend and I hunting down a mosquito. The fast travel system is so convenient that its actually kind of immersion breaking. For most side-quests you can get to each objective by just fast traveling 5 feet away from whatever it is you need to do; saves time sure, but there's no feeling of going on a journey and it just reminds you you're playing a game every time you bring up the menus. The characters lack personality and their designs are all much more blatantly copied from existing Miyazaki movies. Oh look, a guy with a Princess Mononoke mask standing next to a cat person from The Cat Returns and a sky pirate from Laputa Castle in the Sky... Higgledies are just Kodama forest spirits... there's even a place called Nazcaa... It's just way too 'on the nose.' The music isn't as creative as the first game with the main theme repeating way too much and themes like Goldpaw's sounding a bit discordant with Chinese melodies mixing with jazz baselines. Everything just feels like a mixed up hodge-podge of inspirations that don't really work together. Combat is too easy and usually pretty boring. Although I actually enjoy the skirmish-battles, they too require very little effort. Ni No Kuni 2 has been a huge disappointment for me... but I am still playing through hoping it will improve. At least its pretty to look at, but I am not sure that's enough for me to see it through to the end. L&amp;R Ian, @alexander_arts

Ian Alexander

Easy allies is great. Keep making stuff and doing all the things. Thanks!

This month has been pretty crazy for me. I've paid off my student loans, I'm getting ready to move out on my own and I'm really digging into my own creative projects. Life is good. I don't have any games to talk about really, but just wanted to say congrats on the overwhelming success of the fundraiser. Sidenote, My Hero Academia season 3 episode 4, blown away by how good this anime is. Extra sidenote, A young Tom Hanks would make for a great live action Goku. Love and Respect POKEY CLYDE.

POKEY CLYDE

.

500 word limit!!!

Steven Beaumont

Hi Allies, april have been a great month, first yakuza 6, then god of war, and last but dont least Nintendo labo. All great games and experians. God of war is the GOTY but labo have been great to build with my son. He is 9 and not much for building och creatine but he thinks labor is the best. It's just fun and great to do together. L&amp;R //Repus Edud

Hey Kyle and Jones, Last month I started playing The Witcher 3 from scratch to learn to love the game. So instead of Ni no Kuni 2, Far Cry 5 or God of War, I have been steadfastly chewing through this game. My original intent was 'All Story and All Witcher Quests'. Alas the draw of Places of Power and Witcher gear was too strong and hey I had time, might as well give Gwent a go this time. Well on the 29th of May I have finally finished The Witcher 3 and the first expansion 'Hearts of Stone'. Back in 2015 I thought I had almost finished the game when I had arrived in Skellige and bored myself to tears with the rediculously slow boats, hunting sunken treasures ad nauseum. I am so glad to have journeyed back because I completed the Gwent Quest, which was fun, saved everyone I cared about and had a happy ending. This time when I got to Skellige I focused on the quests and barely ventured into the water saving my tortured soul. It was about this time too that I decided to purchase the expansion pass and after the battle of K.M I started the 'Hearts' expansion. I LOVED this expansion. 3 actual boss fights, one reminiscent of Shadow Ganon from 'Ocarina' and a fairly compelling story. The main reason I started playing again was Huber's pledge for H.O.G. and here is my problem. This game has required reading. This game does not do a good job of recapping the last, which keeps you out of step with the relationships, unlike Mass Effect 2 which, I think, does a great recap. 3 big game design takeaways: great intro map, quest writing falls off in the mid-game, very good story finale. Here is my final score using my own metric. Cast: 10 - Geralt gets a pass, grows on you Activities: 9 -  Sidequests pale to Yakuza 0 Gameplay: 8 - fighting is good, character control is like a ps2 3D platformer. Horses are bad as is swimming and boats, signpost fast travel (game breaking when you get stuck behind something) Economy: 7 - Price discrepencies: witcher mission reward 50 coins, cordial 100 coins. Immersion: 10 - didn't want to bring economy into immersion. Although no sleeping is weird. Graphics: 9 hair. Graphical bugs during cutscenes. Kids faces Music: 9 - I Dont like skellige theme. (roughly 20% of the game) Story: 9 - find Ciri, wild hunt bad, middle-end good. X-Factor: 10 - witcher lore, being batman Value for Money: 10 Overrall: 9.1 Game Design Tip: Don't make 'Steal/Igni/Talk/Interact' the same input, especially when you put a torch next to a signpost. P.S. I would like to attempt to go through MGS1 before you play through at easy livin': I remember getting stuck at Revolver Ocelot, so a bit of school yard advice (I dont want to use a walkthrough) what's the strat? I will start fresh but I remember he shoots you from across the room but you can't see him. Love and Respect.

Steven Beaumont

Hello Gentlemen. I was hoping to make some crazy E3 EZA intro but I am going on vacation tomorrow and blood said no, he was really polite about it and I totally understand. I saw a cup of Jones where you mentioned people submit stuff all the time and don't always get selected. So I was working on a bunch of fun stuff regardless. I almost finished this skittles intro/outro maybe for when Ian gets gifted a little too much skittles. I just don't have time to get the video done for May 3rd so here is a still image. <a href="https://s14.postimg.cc/qn0avkmgh/EZA_S.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://s14.postimg.cc/qn0avkmgh/EZA_S.png</a>

The more visionary an idea, the more people it leaves behind. <a href="https://youtu.be/iv7rxMgGylI" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/iv7rxMgGylI</a>

DaleBastion

Hey guys hope you are well. Congratulations on the great fundraiser stream and a fantastic year 2. I was a big fan of Gametrailers and visited the website everyday. When I found out it was over I was gutted. But... now I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I'm kind of glad now. The reason for that is Easy Allies. I feel like you all have really grown and I enjoy the more personal feel. I love the community you have created and that has grown due to your great fans. Some of the things fans create are amazing. Basically this is just a pat on the back for bringing me hours of joy and introducing me into such a great community. P.S Kyle the Harry Potter streams were so funny. Also thanks to everyone for sending in the fan art for your streams, its awesome! And finally.... Dear Dear!

Elliot Childs

(For Time Restrictions i am limiting my post to few short comments about a handful of games this month.) To begin I want to congratulate The Allies on a very successful fundraiser "For Better Stuff for E3". Initially due to work-related duties I thought i would miss out on the 9-hour mega stream. However after contracting pinkeye the day before (all better btw) i took it upon myself to take a rare, well-deserved sick day and catch the stream throughout. Highlights for me was the Jackie Chan Stuntmaster segment, the Dark Souls Jolly Co-op, and the epic Damiani DBZ recap rant. And to make this day off count, while during the stream, I made sure to use it for good of others: I Became a Twitch subscriber, raised my Patreon pledge to $50 and donated to the drive with the money i was planning on using for God of War. Also Thank you Kyle for dethroning Bloodworth's "Eating Right Sometimes" as the most "stuck-in-my-brain-on-loop" EZA song with "Roommate's Cat" and looking forward to the latest installments of "Box Peek: coming this summer. So on to the games. Super Mario Odyssey: Quest for 999. Currently at 725 moons and on Snow Kingdom. I fear that i will have to do the infamous jump rope 100 challenge last to obtain the last moon as i did not claim it before the latest patch of the game wiped out the cheese glitch. Yakuza 0: reached the midway point, still a fascinating game. So now i come to God of War, witch I am happy to announce that my brother bought a copy of the game and he has let me borrow it after his full playthrough. All i will say is that i am LOVING what i have played so. Thanks again for everything the Allies do and looking forward to the shiny new E3 coverage and beyond. Meow, meow, meow, meow. - (L&amp;R - ((Translated from Cat-speak)) (Thanks Jones for taking my 2nd comment and hope that this one updates in time for the stream.)

XWF Outlaw

Hello Bosman and Jones, Allow me to beginning by thanking and congratulating you guys for this two years, I rarely send comments or participate in chat but I’ve been a patreon since day 1, and I look forward to more EZA in the future. Every month you mention how there’s always someone posting a comment about Persona 5, and this month I can’t allow it to be the exception, certainly not in the anniversary month in what to my mind is without a doubt the best JRPG ever made and my favorite game of all time. Despite having beaten the game three times I still find myself compelled to jump back into it from time to time and it still manages to astound me, and aside from that I’ve started making a habit of finding streamers in Twitch doing blind playthroughs and seeing how they enjoy the different aspects of the game and how the react to the impactful moments has given me a whole different way of enjoying the game that fills me with joy in seeing how others enjoy something that is so dear to me. This month we also saw the release of the Persona 5 anime, which sadly the less we say about it the better, and thinking how it could serve as an entry point for some people into the franchise scares me a little as it is astounding how poorly they have captured the important aspects of the game, and despite the show not being terrible in every aspect it has made me appreciate even more much care was put into the game to make it the standout experience it is. And having said all this I actually have a question for Jones related to the series which I have meant to ask for a very long time. Persona has been my favorite franchise since I played Persona 3 way back in 2007, and the main reason why I did it, was because of the GT review, since that time I have played everything the series has too offer and it has been a big part of me for all the time, helping me through tough times and I’m positive that it is the main reasons why I love video games as much as I do to this day, so who I wonder is the marvelous person I need to thank for writing that review that has had such an impact in my life? I realize that was a long time ago and you may not remember but if you do I would very much like to know. Love and Respect from Costa Rica

<a href="https://youtu.be/0KrssiQ7Ris" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/0KrssiQ7Ris</a> let me know what you think

Ibrahim Sozer

Hey Brandon and Kyle! God of War is out and as awesome, if not more awesome, than we all hoped and with its recent success, how about we listen to some metal about the Norse Gods? Many years ago I was in a metal band where Norse mythology was a heavy influence for us. I'm on drums, my brother is on rhythm guitar and our friend who was the vocalist/lead guitarist unfortunately passed away several years ago. He was a big gamer and loved music, so I always like sharing our music whenever I can. I know yall aren't exactly the biggest metal heads of all the allies, but I figured this would be the most appropriate time to share it with everyone and I hope it isn't too painful an experience. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtRe8tsf-B8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtRe8tsf-B8</a> NOTES FOR BRANDON: Song is definitely longer than 3 minutes (5 minutes, 51 seconds), so for cutting-down purposes feel free to do either the first or last half of the song though I'd recommend the first half as it has most of the relevant lyrics. Also, no profanity in the song but it is the screaming/growling type just to forewarn.

Will Schmuck

Hi Allies! Since some of you were disappointed at not making it out to PAX East, I made a little tour of some things I saw at the show for you. (Unfortunately my footage suffered a horrible exporting accident, so apologies for the quality. I have learned some things from this experience. Also, captioned because I’m a budget operation without a mic and ambient noise is a thing.) Hope to see an EZA panel there some other year! <a href="https://youtu.be/lUKxFYkL_pc" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/lUKxFYkL_pc</a>

Ray Aldiar

(P.P.S. Just a reply to save my comment from deletion :D)

Greetings Allies! First off I would like to congratulate you on the successful fundraiser. It's heartwarming to see the level of support that you receive, all of which I feel has been rightly earned. I'm sure you're sick of hearing this but you guys are truly the best in the biz and your jolly vibes provide a refreshing outlook on the industry when so many are overly cynical. Looking forward to spending E3 with you guys and your (sure to be) slick new setup. Strap in, buckle up and bring the hype! Anyway onto my submission. Normally I like to give my take on something that I’ve been playing this month but I’ve only had the chance to play Far Cry 5. Whilst I think it’s a very solid game there’s not much to say other than that so instead I decided to approach this month differently. Growing up I’ve always enjoyed editing videos and whilst I don’t have much spare time to invest into it these days sometimes I goof around and create small little clips of games. Usually I post these to Facebook just for fun but I figured I’d be fun to post one here for this months showcase. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9LcDj-g12E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9LcDj-g12E</a> The following video is just a small compilation of me messing around in Dead Rising set to the iconic mall music of the game. I tried my best to sync most of the actions on screen to the music to help emulate a trailer-like vibe but in the end this was just a small project that I worked on for fun. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! (P.S. Apologies in advance for the blurry image quality, Youtube seems to have messed it up during the upload). L&amp;R Jack Price

At the beginning of every April, I re-watch the previous year’s E3 conferences, coverage, and the E3 2015 GameTrailers Sony reactions. I love this yearly tradition as it helps me remember the hype, the disappointment, and helps me begin to form five predictions for the six presentations (Look for one of each in next month’s submission!). I also like being reminded that right now, vertical slices are being made, presentation order is being set, and stages are being designed and built. I mean who can forget how A Way Out was the highlight of EA’s conference and Battlefront II was heavily pitched with only one vague allusion to microtransactions? And So. Much. Talking. It’s awful when you hear the statement “Now, the world premiere gameplay, but FIRST…” four. Different. Times. Does anyone remember Crackdown 3’s release date of November 7th to launch alongside the One X during Xbox’s presentation? And where is that game again? Or how about Bethesda being a Nintendo Direct with an unnecessary stage? Hopefully it will be more than a video, as there is so much unknown. I’m excited for Bethesda once again for hopefully bringing a lot of the unexpected. Yet, what made E3 memorable for me last year was the human element we rarely see, as Ubisoft had not one, but TWO game directors tear up, overwhelmed to have their games shown to the world. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Shegeru Miyamoto and Yves Guillemot shared the stage. Sony brought a lot of the expected, and I can only hope for surprise, more new games, and updates on the major titles. And of course, Nintendo; holding more excitement in half the time most of the other E3 conferences were last year. Re-watching these shows provide more than just announcement reminders however. For example, last year, I provided a Love &amp; Respect game called “Who said it?” with quotes made funny with the power of hindsight. And yes, I’ve compiled another I will post for the first E3 related podcast that, if Mr. Bosman takes it again, I hope will be as entertaining as last year. The panel seemed to really enjoy it, and that made my month. But outside of all of my E3 prep, there has been one thing I’ve been playing: God. Of. War. Without spoiling anything, this game has cracked my top 20 games of all time. From combat to story, upgrades and setting, and just the feel of the game, not to mention other engaging mechanics, I did everything possible, as soon as possible, so I can prolong my playtime. Now, onto Spoiler Mode! Finally, I want to conclude by saying the Better Stuff for E3 nine-hour mega-stream made me feel overwhelming happiness for EZA. One final time, Congratulations on the overwhelming success. As you can tell, E3 is THE highlight of my year, and now, the Easy Allies fanbase has already made this year even better.

Brandon K Gann

Hey Brandon and Kyle! I thought I’d share something of a work-in-progress with you and the community. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/EUjqmVU" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/EUjqmVU</a> At the beginning of the month I went to PAX East and after seeing everyone’s amazing games and costumes I was inspired to start making stuff. I modeled and 3D printed the Master Sword from Breath of the Wild over the past couple of weeks. There are a few things I’d change if I were to make another one but I’m pretty happy with it. Now I just have to find time to sand and paint it to call it a finished project. Also congrats on the getting more stuff stream! You guys do amazing work and I cannot wait to see what you do with all the new stuff! L&amp;R, T-Spawn

Hi Brandon and Kyle! Congratulations on an extremely successful fundraiser! as a GT fan since middle school, I could not have been more proud watching the numbers go up. I pitched in all that I could in addition to my newly upped Patreon pledge. You are all truly the best in the biz. With work and video games, life has been way too hectic to consistently contribute to the Community Showcase (I posted a 'jazz orchestra' piece on the first showcase!), but here is my attempt to start making an effort! I am currently creating a scoring portfolio for film and video games, and hope that I can share some stuff with some of the Allies! Today I would like to share with you a piece I wrote for a short film called "Pick A Politician". My brother, Matthew Victoria played drums on this track and is a huge supporter of your work as well. Thank you for all that you do, and enjoy! <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mason-victoria-638433876/pick-a-politician-theme-song" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/mason-victoria-638433876/pick-a-politician-theme-song</a> (the piece is 1 minute 34 seconds) L&amp;R! Mason Victoria

Mason Victoria

saving my post from possible deletion

Karl Williams

I recently found out that a Round 1 Entertainment was located in my state. It had officially opened a few months ago and it was located at a place I had been to several time (Great Lakes Crossing in Michigan in case anyone was wondering). This greatly pleased me as there was only one game they had I wanted to play: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival. I'm a big fan of the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy games and All-Star Carnival was something I've been dying to play. So far, I've been to Round 1 three times and All-Star Carnival has been a blast. There's so many things I like with this edition. I love the covers they have for each song. For example, one of the songs in the game is a remix of Locke's Theme from FF6 and the song cover is Locke joyfully dancing to his own song with other FF6 characters dancing in the background as well. I also love the introduction of an album stage, where you can play five songs in total. The songs are edited down for time obviously, but the transitions between each song works. And of course, I can't forget to talk about the song selection. They included songs from Final Fantasy 14 and 15, as well as small FF titles like Mobius, Record Keeper and World of Final Fantasy. I got a real kick out of playing the FF14 songs cause I'm still playing that and know the songs by heart. They even added songs from other Square Enix titles like Nier Automata. The game's dualpad-like controls are a welcoming change from having to use a stylus for extensive periods in the 3DS games. My hand would get shaky and sweaty from constant playing with the stylus. I would like to think that Curtain Call mentally broke me so All-Star Carnival is a nice refresher to get back into the groove of things. On my recent Round 1 visit, I bought a Nesica card which I could use when playing the game. That gave me more access to the game's features, such as playing online with others, unlocking songs and characters and getting bonuses for playing. I'm not quite sure when I'll visit Round 1 again. I'm thinking a trip once a month would suffice since I'm there for usually over an hour. Whenever I do return, you can bet I'll be there playing All-Star Carnival and having the time of my life. Would be nice to have a version of the game to appear on consoles, most notably the Switch with the use of the dual Joy-cons, but I'm not holding my breath. Let's make it happen Square and Nintendo. One last note: Nintendo, if your gonna keep supporting the 3DS, would it kill you to work with Square Enix to bring Theatrhythm Dragon Quest to the West? I just want the chance to play that game without importing dammit!

Karl Williams

Yayers

Just a minor game dev update. I forgot to mention it in the video, but congrats on your fundraiser! Can't wait for ya'll's E3 coverage! <a href="https://youtu.be/4hJgqhSC1Ng" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/4hJgqhSC1Ng</a>

Michelle Jackson

Hello Brandon and Kyle, I'm one of the people at this tier that doesn't comment, but I just wanted to say that the last episode of Dragon ball Super is a 10.

I was hoping for the 10th Anniversary of "Grand Theft Auto IV" to be the game ported to current gen systems using GTA V's enhanced version of the Rage Engine... Or at least the Liberty City map imported into "GTA Online"... Instead they have removed songs from all digital copies of the game and replaced songs only on Vladivostok FM, which was left with only one original song. But thankfully, it appears the disc copies of GTA IV did not get a patch that would block the songs from being played as was first reported. Otherwise this comment would've gone nuclear. And yet despite the bad blood, I'm still hoping Rockstar does something else for GTA IV's anniversary.

Robert I.

First of all, let me congratulate you with the success of "Better stuff before E3" stream. I hope that your next fundraiser "Better neighbors for Kyle" will be even more successful. And now to the main topic. In past three Community Showcases I’ve said that I don’t like Nier: Automata, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and Nintendo Switch, which pretty much killed my gaming reputation. So today we’re going to seal the coffin. Back in March I’ve decided to play Fortnite Battle Royale. I had a lot of fun at first but after several days it became too repetitive and routine. If you have no idea how Battle Royale game can become repetitive so quickly, here’s a time lapse of my average match. <a href="https://youtu.be/8NiMlepJC9E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/8NiMlepJC9E</a>

Alexander Zyryanov

Hold

Desquick

Hey Brandon and Kyle, this month I have been working on older titles that I started and never finished. I finished up Gauntlet: Slayer Edition and LEGO City Undercover for the platinum trophies. I am now working on Final Fantasy X which involves grinding out spheres to upgrade and then take on all the hard bosses the game has to offer. I have also being going in and out of Stardew Valley for some relaxing farming. With my name change from Kornfan2007, the question that keeps coming back is, "did I stop liking Korn?". To answer there, I would like to present a picture of my back tattoo which I got around 10 years ago. The picture was taken the day I got it finished which is why it looks so fresh <a href="http://i.imgur.com/LF129SM.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://i.imgur.com/LF129SM.jpg</a> Love and respect, BeardedScotsman86

BeardedScotsman86

Greeting Allies, first of all, congratulations for the tremendously successful fundraiser in preparation for the impending E3. I was thankfully not only able to donate on the day of, but also took the opportunity to up my pledge back up to this tier. My intention was to use this as an opportunity to create Allies-based illustrations/art and share them with the community, but the timing is such that I’ll have to wait til next month to do so. No, instead I’ll take this opportunity to speak about what feels an oft overlooked piece of Allies culture. The Easy Allies theme song. What is so wonderful to me about the aesthetic of that song is from day 1 it ascribed a vibe ever-present within the Allies. It evokes a great sense nostalgia while at the same time maintaining a jolly, forward focusing perspective. In no short way does it help set the mood for things to follow whether it be the podcast or each and every stream, and nothing gets me quite as hyped as hearing those lovely notes right before the camera goes live. Well, maybe a little Jackie Chan. Thank you Allies for all that you do, for all that you give, and inspiring me to give back. L&amp;R -Eric Jackson

Eric Jackson

Hi Brandon, Hi Kyle, I love Podcasts. I love them so very much. I currently subscribe to about 30. I have a lengthy commute and having a plethora of great personalities talking through my car's speakers help to make my commute an entertaining one. About half of the podcasts I subscribe to are about video games. It does get repetitive hearing the same video game news discussed over and over again but I usually don't mind as I usually will get multiple perspectives and by the following week we are on to new stuff. Recently, I heard talk about God Of War, Shenmue 1&amp;2's announcement, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider's Announcement being repeated about a dozen times. As an industry we will be moving on and talking about something different. EXCEPT for two things that just keeps surfacing over and OVER AGAIN! I am so done with Battle Royal and Loot Boxes taking up so much valuable podcast time each and every week. We have been talking about these things ad nauseam for what feels like years. It's not just Podcasts. Every website I visit, LOOT BOXES! Every popular streamer, BATTLE ROYAL! I'm living in a nightmare world. Am I the only one that is indifferent? Not only are these subjects popular but every personality seems genuinely enthusiastic about them. Like they just can't GET ENOUGH! They keep eating THIS... STUFF... UP... AND THEY ARE STILL NOT FULL! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!! EAT YOU LITTLE PIGGIES, EAT THOSE LOOT BOXES! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!! ......................................................................puff.... puff.... puff.... puff..... 😱loot boxes, battle royal😱loot boxes, battle royal😱loot boxes, battle royal...

Mikehook1