2 Player Cupboard of Shame: Ginger

Arrggh! A Video Game Podcast from The Waffling Taylors

First of all, we'd like to thank the amazing yurricanes for working with us to create the featured image for this episode. I think you'll agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and you should definitely check out their work.

We'd also like to thank Georgie (aka ChapSketch) for working with Squidge on the episode artwork for the entire New Cupboard of Shame series. Head on over to Georgie's Etsy page to commission some work from her. You really should, as she's blooming brilliant.

Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page. Don't forget to check the chapters tab in your podcatcher. This is a thing we're doing now, so keep an eye open for those.

Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.

Content Warning

Squidge was fully in charge of hosting, producing and editing this episode. As such, he decided to leave the few swears in the episode without bleeping them. This was done for comedy reasons, as we felt that there is very little in the episode which could offend most listeners.

Please listen responsibly.

Show Notes

Squidge wanted to take a shiny new look at The Cupboard of Shame. The difference being that he wanted to invite some familiar voices onto the show, one at a time, and discuss one game that they want to jettison into the Cupboard of Shame. This being the third episode in the new series, he invited Sean "Rackham The Dancing Bugbear" O'Dell to yeet something into the devious - and totally real cupboard - cupboard.

As a quick reminder, Squidge describes The Cupboard of Shame as:

The idea behind it is games that you have bought in your past, played it, but you don't know why you bought [them] but you did anyway.
Any complaints that you have about the game; why you want to stick it in the Cupboard of Shame. We'll talk about the good points and the bad points [of the game], and we'll share some fun facts about the game.
- Squidge

Previous Entries into the Cupboard of Shame

The Cupboard of Shame reboot has only seen two entries so far:

• Chief Problems decided that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim needed to be stored behind the walnut doors of destiny in episode 136
• Lulu wanted to jettison Chaos Legion to the nether realms of the electronically challenged cupboard in episode 138
• Sean wanted to yeet Risk of Rain 2 into the underbelly of the cupboard in episode 139

Prior to the Cupboard of Shame reboot, Squidge had challenged both G and himself to put some titles into the Cupboard of Shame. The titles that they chose include:

• Iron Man the Movie Video Game
• WET
• Rambo: The Video Game
• Crackdown
• Final Fantasy XIII

You can hear their discussion on these games (and a few more) in episode 47: The Cupboard of Shame - here's a link to that episode. All of the "classic" Cupboard of Shame episodes - aka before Squidge's 2022 sexy reboot - can be found here.

Ginger's Chosen Game

Wasting almost no time at all, Squidge leapt in with the all-important question: which game are we yeeting into the Cupboard of shame?

Final Fantasy X-2. Where do I even begin with this game?
...It's shameful for me to actually admit that I've never been able to beat [this game], honestly, because it made me so damned mad.
- Ginger

And, as Squidge said:

Unless you put in the time to 100% it, the payoff isn't worth it
- Squidge

We're convinced that Ginger's initial thoughts are shared by a lot of people:

When X-2 first came out, I was super excited. I was like, "hell yeah! Girl power!" There's an all female lead. I was stoked. I was super stoked.
And then I played it.
... it's a beautiful game, like you said. It comes right off of, like, when graphics were finally getting good for video games.
... and here's why I always talk $h!t about this game: why do I need [the strategy guide] to actually beat the game?
- Ginger

Squidge's detailed description of Final Fantasy X-2 (for those who haven't played it) is:

Final Fantasy X-2 is the first direct sequel in the renowned RPG series. X-2 highlights a cast of returning characters and features mission-based gameplay. An all female lead cast, unique job classes, and dynamic battle system.
It doesn't stop there, there's more.
The story takes place two years after Yuna defeats Sin in Final Fantasy X, and follows Yuna's journey to find her lost love. Scattered across the land are spheres which show visual recordings of historical events or open up different types of job classes to use in battle.
- Squidge

As Ginger points out, the game doesn't pass the Bechdel test because Yuna is looking for Tidus, and all of her conversations with other female characters revolve around Tidus.

And no discussion of Final Fantasy X-2 can be complete without Jay's description of it:

Let's play dress-up- Jay

When asked for comments, resident expert in all things Final Fantasy Lulu had the following to say:

I remember two things:
1) Final Fantasy XIII-2 is best described as "Lightning raising her wardrobe"
2) I remember final beating Final Fantasy XIII. I was sitting on the living room floor crying. Not because of the ending, but because I'd finally beaten it. And Jay told me that I should list "Beat Final Fantasy XIII" on my résumé.
- Lulu

What's So Bad About it?

Any discussion of a bad game needs to cover what’s so bad about the game. So Squidge asked, “what’s so bad about this game?” before visibly recoiling.

Unless you have the strategy guide, you're literally not going to beat it. Unless you basically have read the strategy guide and played it over and over, and know it by memory, and know exactly who you've got to talk to and that's kind of me with VII - the original one.
Like, Sephiroth is an easy boss. And III - talk about a hard game - III, once it got released here, I still beat that one. But I didn't beat X-2
- Ginger

Add to that the fact that you can't possibly 100% the game in a single playthrough, and you have a strange setup. To the point where certain parts of the game were based entirely on luck, and one guide states:

If you don't get it this time, try rebooting your console and try again
- Guides and that

And PS2s weren't fans of being rebooted constantl...