Yoshi’s Island: When Optional Content Determines A Game’s Fun (Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 048)

Game/Life Balance U.S.

Can optional content determine the playability and fun factor of a video game? Cody discusses how this happened as he and Jon review Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island for the SNES Classic, arguably the best platformer ever made.
Show Notes:
* Cody explains that he has upgraded to “gigabyte internet” but has no idea what that actually means (and plugs the Portal WiFi Router, basically the best router in the history of the world ever)
* Jon explains why he thinks Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island might be the best platformer of all time, and he and Cody discuss the importance of optional content in video games. How do you “handle” optional content? When is there too much, when is there not enough, and what happens when a game’s difficulty is more attuned to completionists than it is to casual players who simply want to beat a game?
* To wrap up the episode, Cody talks about why he’s more or less done playing Dissidia Final Fantasy NT on his PlayStation 4, a fighting game with action role-playing elements developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja and published by Square Enix
* Jon gives an update on his quest to play through every Final Fantasy game this year, having just completed FFII and FFIII for the first time
* To nominate an SNES Classic game for them to review on their next episode, email [e-mail] or tweet at Cody @ProducerCody and/or Jon @eatplaygame
* Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
* Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
* Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com