School of Movies

Baldur's Gate III (Part 1)

[School of Everything Else 2025]

One of the most ambitious projects for our podcast to date, this commission required the purchase of a PlayStation 5 and presents myself, Sharon and our teenager Willow with a massive and exceptionally dense and rich 80-hour tabletop-style RPG to battle through... each on our own individual quests.

To that end, this is the first of three shows covering the celebrated 2023 game by Larian Studios. The second is a session the three of us recorded the day after this one, covering more of our extensive notes and experiences, and the third is yet to be recorded at the time of release, but will entail bringing in many guests to talk about their personal adventures and the endgame.

These initial two cover mostly the first act of three, as it makes sense to give us all a big chunky meal to chew over, but save dessert for last. It is relatively spoiler-free, as Sharon and I have no idea what's going to happen in the future and Willow, who has actually completed the game and raced up behind us in a second playthrough, is considerate enough to hold off on blabbing about big impending shifts in character arcs.

To that end you can listen to these first two, having never played the game, and familiarise yourself with the often-daunting range of possibilities that this quite extraordinary game holds. Many thanks to backer Sarah Montgomery, without whom there is no way this trio of shows would have been made.

Final Fantasy VII: Remake

[School of Everything Else 2025]

It was a long time coming. The remake itself has been mooted as far back as the early 2000s, and the wait for it was half of my life. But then, when this astonishing game finally landed in 2020, a time when we all needed to escape to other worlds, I found myself paralysed with indecision within the game, unable to move for metatextual reasons.

Finally returning to it in 2025 I was able to play through and savour the experience with Sharon and Willow watching along. It is magnificently chaotic and chaotically magnificent. How could a remake which goes so much further than the simple graphical and musical polish we were all hoping for still manage to knock it out of the park, despite the inherent need to drag old players out of their comfort zones and somehow impress upon new players, the meaning and significance imbued into every moment and character?

On this show, following on from our 2023 episode on the 1997 original, Sharon and I do our best to elaborate on these mountainous strengths. Even if you've never played any version, this may help you appreciate why the game is so beloved. This episode also contains a segment submitted by Hanna Peregrine.

1000xRESIST

[School of Everything Else 2025]

Chances are you have neither played nor even heard of this 2024 sci-fi indie game. We hadn't, and as we proceeded through a tale of a dystopia where everyone is cloned from the same person, yet has their own distinct name, outfit and personality, we couldn't see exactly why Hollywoo actress Maya Souris commissioned it...

And then we got to Act 3.

The prospect of watching this as a Let's Play went out the window. I have never seen a video game justify its medium so hard and confidently, and I recommend listening to this whole show, regardless of your intention to play.

Secret of Mana

[School of Everything Else 2025]

One of the most beloved 90s RPGs, and one of the few on Super Nintendo that was released in the UK. So, while I envied Americans for getting Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and VI, Earthbound and Breath of Fire, THIS ONE was my first actual big console RPG.

And it has problems; real playability issues that make it hard to recommend for everyone in the 20s. You'll find Mana fans who say that these don't matter, but they absolutely do. A fine comparison I came upon while mulling this one over was Breath of the Wild. Absolutely gorgeous, engrossing you in a luscious world dominated by fertile nature, but Link's swords breaking after half a dozen battles are not going to make the game more fun and engaging for everyone.

And yet, there IS that immersion, there is the overwhelming emotional response that Mana fans have to the music and art style, and there's the undeniably satisfying THWACK of the combat. So, come on a journey with us and the three intrepid adventuring kids, Primm, Popoi and Randi, and decide whether playing Secret of Mana is right for you.

A Space for the Unbound

[School of Everything Else 2025]

A charming 16-bit style indie adventure game, set in suburban Indonesia in the 1990s. This begins cosy, deliberately evoking the familiar, and swiftly becomes strange and mysterious with a story of loss and grief and loneliness at its core; an ache longing to be relieved.

The gameplay involves exploring the town and getting to know the locals, jumping inside their minds to find out what their abiding internal conflicts are and help them deal with these. There is an impressive, melodramatic sweep to this whole thing and we are gratified and edified to have played the whole story as a commission for Tylor.

Crow Country

[School of Everything Else 2025]

A marvellously authentic and creepy modern Survival Horror in the convincing style of a PlayStation One title from the mid-90s conversely featuring inflections of more contemporary scary games. This one is available on Steam and Switch and PS4 and Xbox Series X.

There is an abandoned theme park to explore and mysteries to uncover, as we structure this episode into three sections. GREEN FINE: Means you can hear about the basic setup and still go in completely fresh if you want to know none of the surprises. YELLOW CAUTION: Makes up the majority of the show as we discuss how it goes about itself and what the experience is like. RED DANGER: Is all the juicy endgame material, where we get to fully draw back the curtain.

This was a commissioned show from Maya Santandrea and Selfproclaimed, and we are so glad they chose to set it before us. You will be too.

Resident Evil 4

[School of Everything Else 2025]

One of the most beloved, instantly-transformative, replayed, re-released, and critically acclaimed games of all time... and would you believe until preparing for this show, that I wasn't massively fussed about it?

But this year I have been replaying all of the original games sequentially, and after the first era of fixed-camera tank controls transitioned into the action-spectacle of 4 I was blindsided by how many fresh aspects of the gameplay and world that I appreciated. The 2005 GameCube hit is, as it turns out deserving of the historical adulation that has been heaped upon it. Moreover, going back to the 2023 remake, it seems Capcom somehow accomplished the impossible, improving upon (almost) every aspect.

Here now is a hyper-focused discussion with three other lovers of this game. The discussion ran long and meandered, and I elected to divide this show into two, with the second part; 'Blue Medallions' being released on the Patreon bonus feed where you can also find an After School Club on Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica.

Jason Slate is holding a three-day charity stream in support of Trans Lifeline, from March 21-23 2025 Noon to Midnight each day Eastern Time at Twitch.tv/themanapool There are over a thousand Steam games to give away from his backlog and every $10 donation to this worthy cause gets you a game. Go watch Chewie play and give generously.

Guests:

Jason "Chewie" Slate of The Mana Pool

James Perkins @Mijmeister

Derrick Ritchie @thenewdelboy

Undertale

[School of Everything Else 2024]

This is one we have been planning and looking forward to for a long, long, LONG time. One of the most significant indie video games of all time, and for our child, maybe their favourite forever (up against Minecraft and Stardew Valley).

In a gaming marketplace overflowing with charming retro-styled games with a dark, absurd sense of humour veiling heart-breaking stories about coping through pain, loneliness and grief, this one shines out as an inspirational beacon. With Earthbound on the SNES as his chief influence, creator Toby Fox set out to make a game that confounded, mocked and disapproved of RPG tropes, but in doing so, made an adventure where you could kill every enemy you meet... or make friends with them. And doing the latter results in profound and deeply memorable connections.

If you've not played it by now, you probably won't. So, throw the notion of spoilers aside and let's get into the juicy skeleton meat on this one, together.

Guests:

Hollywoo Actress Maya Souris @Mayasantandrea

Professional Underteller Willow Shaw

Final Fantasy VII

[School of Everything Else 2023]

The first global blockbuster hit in this long-running series from Squaresoft. As we noted before, the excellent Final Fantasies IV, V and VI were not released in Europe (neither were I, II or III) until long after this one, and it was utilising the power of the PlayStation, so this really was the introduction to what a modern-day cinematic RPG video game could be, for an entire generation in 1997.

Playing it today, there are a number of drawbacks, some of which (annoying random battles, slow-progression) are mitigated by Quality of Life additions in  recent remastered versions (the Switch version that Sharon played all the way through this adventure for the first time). However, the blocky, awkward character models and static backgrounds do warrant the glossy Remake that we are still only halfway through, and will not be taking about until it's over... in 2028.

None of these drawbacks of the PS1 original can taint the fact that this really is beloved for plenty of great reasons. We talk at length here about the story and characters, meaning and the manner of how this tale is imparted to us. Powerful bitter-sweetness is a feature, not a bug.

Next Week: Wakanda Forever

Final Fantasy VI

[School of Everything Else 2023]

There are many reasons why this 1994 instalment in the long-running Square franchise winds up high on lists of the very best RPGs of all time. It is an ensemble piece with an immediately engrossing story and endearing, growing party of misfits, oddballs and freaks. 

The concept of an oppressive, evil empire messing with powerful magic to secure its dominance isn't new at all, but rarely does a single self-contained game tell such a world-spanning tale with no one character standing out as the obvious leader. They are all heroes in their own stories. This, along with Chrono Trigger and Earthbound was the high bar on character-based RPGs that followed in the 90s, and notably during the return to retro style that followed the MMORPG goldrush of the 2000s. Astonishing music from the legendary Nobuo Uematsu gave so many of these memorable characters their own themes, while the superficially simple pixel art and modest map pushed the Super Nintendo to its limits with rich, hidden depths and texture. 

Sharon had to sit this episode out, though she did play and complete the whole game after finishing Final Fantasy IV and then VII, both of which are past and future podcasts for this show. In her place is Maya Souris; smart, dazzling stunt-lady, scuba diver and total nerd. And since this was my first proper play-through and being one of her favourite games of all time, she guided me along the way, and we wound up with a truly engrossing and enthusiastic discussion. So, whether you've played this masterpiece yet or not, you are in for a treat.