PixlBit

A memory of exotic lands in a world known as...Vana'Diel.

Welcome back to Digital Mystery Tour. With the recent release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, it seemed like a perfect time to look back at some of my favorite songs from the previous online Fantasy: XI. I'm a little under the weather, so I let the music do the talking for me, and close things out with a couple tracks from A Realm Reborn. If you have fond memories of FF XI, you may want to check out the Nerds Without Special I did earlier in the year, which features a ton more of the game's soundtrack, as well as some fun and touching stories. Enjoy, and I realize the bagpipes in the San d'Oria theme can be a tad grating on the ears, but what can I say? It's home to me.

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Yeah, Julian probably needs therapy...

Wow, Nerds Without Pants turns 30! Funny, the show doesn't seem a day over 22. Aging is the topic of the day this time around, as Julian wonders what changes are in store for the modern geek. Before that, it's Consumption Junction time once again.

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Hey, PixlBits! You pick good music.

Well, we asked for some battle themes from the PixlBit community, and they responded with some amazing selections! Enjoy these ten scorching tracks that come from a myriad of different types of games, from cinematic action to RPG to platforming. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this eclectic mix tape, and for making Battle Themes Month a huge success!

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We also talk about *gulp* gender issues...

Yeah, that's right, we went there. It's hard not to, really, what with the current drama unfolding around Dragon's Crown, the Tropes Vs. Women videos, and what's in Lightning's bra. We handled it as well as 3 dudes on a video game podcast could, I think, but it would be fantastic if we could get some civil discussion going in the comments. We could have a great follow up when we get to our conclusion episode.

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A murder of crows most fowl.

I’ve kind of become the de facto horror guy around PixlBit, and that suits me just fine. For the longest time, I felt that the key to a great horror video game was graphical fidelity. Resident Evil was chilling for me when I was sixteen, but the original release doesn’t do it for me anymore. Surely, it takes bleeding edge graphics to terrify, right? Well, not necessarily. I learned that with Corpse Party, a game that chilled me to the bone on multiple occasions. That game looked like it came from the 16-bit era, and it was very effective at making bedtime a dicey proposition. So what would happen if someone made a horror game that used an art style from even earlier? Would it be scary at all? In the case of The Last Door from Spanish developer The Game Kitchen, you get a macabre and haunting horror title that gets in your head and stays there.

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