Use Your Items!

The Snatcher That Stole Christmas

Jason accuses a Snatcher of stealing Fran's body and impersonating him to access our excessive and gross podcast revenue. This time, we discuss the Kojima cult classic, Snatcher! Played on the Sega CD; we get into the details of cyberpunk, Snatcher's role in that genre, and some meta-narrative discussion of the game at large.
Spoiler-Free: 0-1:04
Spoilers: 1:05-End
 
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
https://linktr.ee/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilled-drizzler.bsky.social
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
Follow us at: useyouritems.bsky.social
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Art and Research by Francisco Martin
Editing by Jason Weiss
Theme music by William O'Rourke

The Many Lies and Lives of INDIKA

CW: War, Sexual Abuse
Jason and Fran talk religion, crime, and ethical perogatives when checking out INDIKA, indie masterpiece from 2024. Between bad, good, evil, sin, and virtue what is left to decide for ourselves? What does it mean to experience true nostalgia and absent fondness? What happens when we impose ourselves unto others?
0-46m Spoiler Free
46-End Spoiler
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
https://linktr.ee/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilled-drizzler.bsky.social
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
Follow us at: useyouritems.bsky.social
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

ENDING [KH]: Nier Automata Final Ending

Fran and Jason cannot upload their data to the bunker. There is a problem with the uplink. ERROR-ERROR-ERROR-ERROR-ERROR-ERROR-ERROR
 
Spoiler Free for about an hour
Works Cited:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/28/17173244/nier-automata-yoko-taro-interview-gdc-2018
Yoko Taro Predicts Metaphor
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
https://linktr.ee/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilled-drizzler.bsky.social
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
Follow us at: useyouritems.bsky.social
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

ENDING [A]: Nier Automata

Fran and Jason upload their data to the Bunker talking about Nier Automata!
 
Spoiler Free for about an hour
Works Cited:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/28/17173244/nier-automata-yoko-taro-interview-gdc-2018
Yoko Taro Predicts Metaphor
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
https://linktr.ee/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilled-drizzler.bsky.social
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
Follow us at: useyouritems.bsky.social
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

This is a Box; not a retrospective of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

We, uh, played a game called Metal Gear Solid 2. Or maybe it played us, jump in to find out.
CW: 9/11 at 50m
0-1:05 Spoiler Free/History
1:06-End Spoilers and verdicts
Works Cited:
Metal Gear Solid 2 Grand Game Plan - Kojima (ping us for a copy)
The Final Hours of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Super Bunnyhop MGS2 video
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
https://linktr.ee/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilleddrizzler on twitter
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

The Gang Goes Scanning Again - Metroid Prime Remastered

Metroid Prime Remastered is a miraculous masterpiece and not enough can be said about it. We dive in to explore the history of the genre, the development, and the pacing of Tallon IV.
0-1:46 Spoiler Free/History
1:46-End Spoilers and verdicts
Works Cited:
DGC Ep 355: Metroid Prime Bonus Interview with Jack Mathews! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dgc-ep-355-metroid-prime-bonus-interview-with-jack-mathews/id1090136163?i=1000621631102
The rocky story of Retro Studios before Metroid Prime:https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/29/17386066/the-rocky-story-of-retro-studios-before-metroid-prime
https://web.archive.org/web/20071129191427/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16389
https://web.archive.org/web/20120928094007/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/29/a-space-bounty-hunter-in-texas?page=4
 
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord, it's free!
Email us at: useyouritems@gmail.com
Read us at: useyouritems.substack.com
Chat us at: twitch.tv/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @skilleddrizzler on twitter
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

Porridge is a tool and so is Pavol - Felvidek

Exploring the weird, wonderful world of the Slavic JPRG Felvidek. We will drink, pray, and slash our way through 15th century Slovakia.
Spoiler free for the first 60 minutes or so.
Felvidek OST
Felivdek on Steam
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a scholarly, literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord
Email us at: useyouritems@gmail.com
Read us at: useyouritems.substack.com
Chat us at: twitch.tv/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @dancingfroggame on twitter
Follow Fran at: frantastico | Instagram | Linktree 
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

Can You Dig It? Bombrush Cyber Funk and the Power of the Grind

We grind and wall-ride our way through Team Reptile's Bombrush Cyber Funk--the spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio. It wasn't our favorite, but we discuss music, the potential, and graffiti.
Spoiler free for the first 60 minutes or so.
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a scholarly, literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord
Email us at: useyouritems@gmail.com
Read us at: useyouritems.substack.com
Chat us at: twitch.tv/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @dancingfroggame on twitter
Follow Fran at: @el_frantastico on threads
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

Is This Real Life or Is This Structure Gel: On Soma

This time we go over Frictional Games Horror masterpiece, Soma. We explore the nature of horror, the design of this popular studio, and some heavy philosophical discussions.
CW: euthanasia
Spoiler free for the first 50 minutes or so
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a scholarly, literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord
Email us at: useyouritems@gmail.com
Read us at: useyouritems.substack.com
Chat us at: twitch.tv/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @dancingfroggame on twitter
Follow Fran at: @el_frantastico on threads
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke

Item Bag Found - Fantasy RPGs

We launch a possible new segment called Item Bags! Where we gather ideas for various ideas we have regarding the industry, genre, and freeform discussion. Less research and more chatter. Let us know what you think on our discord! Link below:
Skill Up interview with Yoshi P
Games Discussed:
Dark Cloud (more mentioned tbh)
Dragon's Dogma 2 (and 1 technically)
Cyberpunk
Rogue
Nethack
Skyrim
FF1, 2, 7, 16
CoD MW2
Francisco is a game designer and engineer, while Jason brings a scholarly, literary background to each game analysis as they piece together the why and how of our favorite games. If you'd like to support the show please join us on Discord or leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts-we've love to chat!
----------------------------
Join the conversation on Discord
Email us at: useyouritems@gmail.com
Read us at: useyouritems.substack.com
Chat us at: twitch.tv/useyouritems
Follow Jason at: @dancingfroggame on twitter
Follow Fran at: @el_frantastico on threads
----------------------------
Art by Francisco Martin
Theme music by William O'Rourke