What's That In Your Pocket?

In Level 11, we tackle the vaguely forgotten Super Mario Wonder and are contractually required to compare it to Astro Bot. After that, Stan goes over his continued Vita exploration, including Killzone: Mercenary and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Timestamps: 3:53 - Super Mario Wonder / Astro Bot 30:27 - Stan's still Vita'ing: Papers, Please 38:23 - Killzone: Mercenary 43:37 - Gravity Rush 2 47:58 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss 59:55 - The Hardware Corner: The ROG Xbox Ally 1:05:25 - Next week, Apple reviews, and a giveaway!

Shane nabbed a Switch 2 on release, and he's here to spit some hot takes on the biggest handheld released in years. He and Stan go through some thoughts on the size, the screen, the controls, the ergonomics, and more, then get into an overview of Mario Kart World and some Switch 1 games that got upgrades on the Switch 2. Timestamps: 3:30 - Shane got a Switch 2 9:40 - This thing is big 12:30 - It feels premium 16:00 - The screen is pretty darn good, but not great 22:38 - It's a lot like the Switch 1 23:50 - The wifi and networking don't seem great 26:58 - The sound and rumble is really good 30:00 - The eShop is actually usable now 31:06 - The battery life is... sketchy 38:10 - The ergonomics are... questionable 44:42 - A Mario Kart World overview 1:02:40 - Some brief looks at Switch 1 game upgrades 1:05:40 - Some final initial thoughts on the Switch 2 1:13:35 - Wrapping up

Stan picks up a Vita and discovers what life truly is as he gets heavy with Gravity Rush. Meanwhile, Shane is still (mostly) only playing games with a resolution of 160x144. Timestamps: 6:10 - What we've been playing 26:49 - Stan's Vita journey 43:35 - The Vita library 48:36 - Gravity Rush deep dive 1:06:22 - Some hardware hits

We're back with Level 8, and earlier than expected! We just both had so much to talk about that we couldn't wait any longer. In this episode, we get into our most recent experiences with Doom (2016), Link's Awakening, and Patapon, then spend a bunch of time dissecting just why we both hated CrossCode so much, and finish it off with Stan's thoughts about his newly acquired Odin 2. Timestamps: 0:00 - Many people are saying we won the trade war 4:21 - This week's episode 6:53 - What are we playing? 25:18 - CrossCode: We wanted to like it 28:44 - What is CrossCode (supposedly)? 35:08 - What is CrossCode (actually)? 44:18 - Writing bad 48:45 - Game design bad 1:00:30 - Stan's Odin 2 adventures 1:14:35 - What's coming up?

With life stuff causing a delay, we're back with a long episode full of the good stuff. In Level 7, we talk about our Switch 2 preorder experiences, what we've been playing, get in the weeds on Clair Obscur, game streaming, and our ongoing experiences and thoughts about Blue Prince. Finally, we actually make some time to talk about one of the latest and greatest Android handhelds in the Odin 2 Portal, and the current state of emulation on Android. Timestamps: 3:05 - Switch 2 preorder fun (with a side of Dreamcast) 11:50 - What we're playing (or not playing) 28:28 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 48:14 - Does streaming count as handheld gaming? 55:56 - Blue Prince: Revisited 1:08:10 - The hardware corner: The Odin 2 Portal 1:30:38 - What we're playing next

In this installment of WTIYP, we talk (a lot) about an early GOTY contender in Blue Prince. Is it compelling, dare we say beguiling, or can Blue Princes be wrong? Before that, we discuss the latest developments in the larger world of global macroeconomics, because of course that's what Switch 2 discourse has mostly become. Timestamps: 1:34 - Switch 2 updates 12:50 - The Blue Prince is here 17:12 - What is Blue Prince? 26:56 - Defining beguiling 30:20 - Is this game... good? 46:40 - Are comparisons fair? 52:40 - Have we reached peak Roguelite? 58:29 - What we will be playing next? Find our MTG podcast The Dive Down at https://www.thedivedown.com/

Today's the day we take What's That In Your Pocket public! Formerly a Patreon exclusive, WTIYP is hosted by Stan and Shane from the Magic: The Gathering podcast "The Dive Down." Join us every 2 weeks as we get together to talk about handheld gaming and technology. Come hang out as we explore the wild world of handhelds together! In this episode Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct announcement is finally here, and we're along for the ride with our analysis and hot hot takes regarding the upcoming system. Listen in as we talk the hardware, upcoming games, and ... the price we'll have to pay to enjoy it. Timestamps: 3:41 - Launch dates and pricing 10:25 - The hardware and some new social features 26:25 - The games! 31:10 - The cost of Switch 2 upgrades 36:31 - Mario Kart World 41:16 - Launch games and launch thoughts Find our MTG podcast The Dive Down at https://www.thedivedown.com/

We're back with Level 4 of WTIYP! In this episode, we talk about a bunch of games, and only 4 minutes on technology! Enjoy! Timestamps: 6:36 - Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist 28:25 - Pony Island 37:55 - Vibes gaming 47:40 - Mother 3 55:07 - Haste: Broken Worlds 1:00:41 - Shape of Dreams 1:03:50 - Technology Corner 1:07:50 - Wrapping up

We are back to tackle Level 3. We talk about Stan's experiences with emulation on his iPhone, SNES's classic RPG Earthbound, and Shane's latest new (old) technology purchase. Timestamps: 2:00 - Stan's adventures in iOS emulation begin 10:45 - Talkin' Earthbound 38:48 - Revisiting iOS emulation and emulators in general 47:43 - Shane got a new (old) tablet 1:07:45 - Wrapping up

For this episode, we talk about what we hope the Switch 2 can deliver, and Shane discusses his recent re-exploration of the Sony Playstation Portable.

Stan and Shane from the hit Magic: the Gathering podcast The Dive Down are finally ready to launch the first episode of their handheld video game focused podcast - What's That In Your Pocket? In Level 1, they set the table by talking about their history with video games, what they have been enjoying lately, and some of their favorite games from 2024. https://www.thedivedown.com/