The MinnMax Awards 2024 - The MinnMax Show

[@minnmax]

Patreon.com/minnmax - Directly support MinnMax and unlock our Game of the Year debates weeks ahead of the public by joining the Backstage Pass tier.

[@niinakari3208]

Have you recorded them already?

[@niinakari3208]

Sorry nevermind you mentioned at the end, sorry!

[@JacobGeller]

NOT LONG ENOUGH

[@FBuilding]

Jaclongb Geller

[@popltree2]

👀

[@ryandlv]

honestly, lol

[@jordandallford]

Here here 🍻

[@marcosm1223]

Size matters for Geller!

[@joshuaelfering8402]

Kelsey's story about losing a pet hit me so hard that I'll probably never forget it. Definitely my MinnMax moment of the year.

[@KelseyLewin]

[@ARIXANDRE]

The absolute best awards discussion in games! ❤

[@minnmax]

Thank you! Please tell a friend or share it online.

[@morank3]

Dear god Kelsey's best moment story... so sorry you lost your dog

[@kacman11]

BEST POD OF THE YEAR ALERT, TWO TENNS SEASONN

[@meowmeowthegamercat7074]

You guys are great and i’m super glad you’re around- Thanks!!!

[@lightsandlights6983]

I cannot state enough how much I love, love, love MinnMax's end of the year discussions.

[@FBuilding]

13:20 i love that right after Janet says "size doesn't matter" Leo takes a swig of a mini tiny drink can.

[@lukemoonwalker8444]

And JeffM from a massive juice jug? Lol

[@FBuilding]

Perfect.

[@kulturvultur5036]

The awards show i've been waiting for since december 1982!

[@mister_brownie6416]

another best thing in Dragons Dogma was yeeting goblins and lizards across the map with the mystic spearhand vocation

[@ryanmasneri3972]

I missed so much this year. I enjoy these to jot down games I need to visit. Minnmax is great at highlighting small treasures.

[@JoeBauers]

Driving for 2 days across country for Xmas... Listening to this made it much easier. Good crew 🎉

[@reed1645]

It was awesome seeing dragon's dogma 2 get a shoutout in best moment. I was really enjoying the exploration, the emergent game design and the combat but the story and characters did feel lacklustre. Then when I got to that I was pretty blown away and it became one of my favorites of the year.

[@Kmaitland89]

It's weird because that moment is really good however, it doesn't excuse the 40 hours of shit story and characters, no matter how much you want to prove a point.

[@reed1645]

@Kmaitland89 the uninteresting story didn't bother me in the slightest. It doesn't feel like the main focus. It's not like there's a ton of dialogue or a bunch of cutscenes. The focus felt very much to be on the gameplay.

[@bluekryptonite1121]

Been refreshing my feed in antici….pation. So excited!

[@Dukefazon]

2:25:58 - holy hell, Kelsey! That's some hard hitting stuff and a memory to remember for life! I too teared up by that story, that's wild!

[@lukemoonwalker8444]

For those unaware, the Japanese live action shots in 1000X Resist are most likely a homage to Neon Genesis Evangelion, where they ran out of money during production (at least that's what I heard) so they gradually added live action environment shots to the Anime, making the final episodes of the show more and more cryptic and symbolic.

[@jamesvega]

I think it’d be cool if MinnMax invited someone to be a guest who loves fighting games, or have the cohorts do something fighting game related to delve deeper in the genre bc this is crazy!!

[@Weighty68]

They sometimes get old GameInformer cohort Suriel Vasquez on the show to cover fighting games! He's not a consistent guest, but when he's on he definitely tries to give it his all for the genre.

[@PsyduckMantis]

@@Weighty68 Not just GI alumni, one of the original MinnMax cohorts! Suriel is great, always a joy when he's able to get back on

[@alter-echoes]

Was going to ask why there wasn’t a Best Character category then took one look at the length of the video. Always a highlight of the year from MinnMax!

[@kersingi]

This is the Maximum Best Awards

[@HendekaXI]

I've always been curious as to why ranked choice voting isn't implemented when trying to figure out what the general top 3 options should be out of 5 or 6 options, and then discussing the results and if it's agreed upon. Give everyone two votes, and let the math do the work

[@tolfpeck]

Timecoding the spoiler sections in the youtube player ♥♥♥♥

[@minnmax]

Thank you, tell a friend about MinnMax!

[@IchibanKasuga-6969]

Little Mix were huge in the UK, pleasantly surprised to hear Leo shout out Jade's music video!

[@Aging_Poorly]

Not sure if i've ever been hit by bricks listening to a podcast as hard as was at the nomination starting at 2:25:46. Thanks for sharing, Kelsey! (careful for Infinite Wealth spoilers)

[@Greenmembr]

For greatest work of art I would add the ending of Anora, the escalation of The Substance, and the ending of Challengers.

[@Wsouther]

Quick suggestion. It would be fun if in future awards episodes, you did a quick run down of what’s won in the past as you go through the categories. Just some fun context.

[@OMGLX]

You can tell these wonderful folks were at the end of a marathon recording session because absolutely nobody bat an eyelash at Ben yelling, "Shout out to Diiiiiick!!" 😆😆

[@JJWeatherman]

Great show, everyone. Thanks! Can’t wait for the two tens.

[@MKCGreatKungLao]

Utterly shocked that Cloud and Tifa finally kissing on screen didn't make it as best FF7Rebirth moment.

[@Kmaitland89]

There’s a best moment in that game? Almost no forward movement happens in the plot of that game.

[@braulio09]

What's up with the cut around 49:06 ??? Did Jacob and Janet get into a screaming match?

[@OrangeLightning]

Yeah that was weirdly confrontational.

[@thewhitewolf4968]

we need the raw uncut version haha

[@notweirder]

It was 5 seconds of a slightly awkward response from both, you didn't miss that much

[@Parmetheus]

@@spectre-8 🙄

[@imeanleafeon]

​@thewhitewolf4968 backstage pass tier, its a whole extra hour! And it was just like 5 seconds of awkward "you go first", really. Ben trimming 5hrs+ as much he can

[@Dukefazon]

With Clover coming back as Clovers, I'd love them to make a new God Hand game while they're at it!

[@seducet3389]

Loved Indika, definitely had the best moment of the year, for me! - Thanks MinnMax The chemistry and bond between the two main characters and his behaviour in the end in particular was so guttural and real. I also found even though it's traumatic the representation of a Romani person is great to see, given how little games show authentic representation. - Beautiful work of art.

[@OrangeLightning]

Amazed that the AI cat game at The Game Awards didn't get nominated for Dumbest Thing.

[@Uhcip]

The devs released a "gameplay" trailer to prove that its a game. Still looks sus but idk.

[@ryanschindler923]

they also came out and said it's not using AI

[@godribbon]

Has Ben legitimately not heard Not Like Us?

[@minnmax]

I listened after this episode. I liked that.

[@sincerlyeric6585]

Well, not like us. (This is a joke where you liked it, but not like us) ​@@minnmax

[@CrimsonKale]

I wasn’t expecting Not Like Us to be mentioned here, but I’m so glad it was

[@madbanditgaming8788]

Great content, love the discussion!

[@shintucky]

I love hearing these discussions. The opening pledge just tells me Hanson is terrified of Rebirth getting destroyed

[@ultima7865]

Sad. Nothing more ambitious and heartfelt than FF7Rebirth this year (this gen?)

[@MrPokefan124]

Nah they do that every year (although I’m so scared for the shredding Rebirth is going to get next week)

[@rinaldus4512]

@@MrPokefan124 Already got ample preview with two separate cohorts throwing out the "Let's put all of FFVII Rebirth in for Dumbest Thing" joke.

[@tatenaibenbusi]

It was a tough and chaotic year..very sad moments, but also very happy moments, all over the place. At the end of November, our grandpa passed away. Thanks for brightening my mood a bit!!

[@jonathananderson5135]

The appearance of a second Ben around the two hour mark was possibly the scariest moment of the year.

[@ogto]

Two More Best Moments: 1000xRESIST - the halfway point of the game. 1000xRESIST - the final ascent of the game, with the audio montage. that shit hit HARD. Hell, should've just had a 1000xRESIST Best Moment Category.

[@archonrex5600]

HAHA love you guys, starting with Best Thing and it already got nerd-INTENSE! Best discussions, can't wait for the Two Tens!!

[@roachboy2488]

Thank Goodness "Closed for Smacky Bum Bum". Small moment but it sent me rolling laughing.

[@thewhitewolf4968]

Hot take, i think some of these categories need to change since it seems some people are not interested.

[@elementInfinitium]

I appreciate all the LaD: Infinite Wealth recognition. The whole Best Moment segment is so good

[@shutuppabs323]

I can’t believe you guys didn’t talk about “lost in the past” fieldwork in Indiana jones

[@creepingandhealing]

Is that the "dream" sequence?

[@charliekelly8095]

shocked at the exclusion of queen's blood in best thing!

[@SpecialK_94]

TRAILS MENTIONED!!! Trails Through Daybreak is a perfectly fine place to hop in and see if you like the series! Emio also was fantastic!

[@WackoWambo]

Biggest news of 2024 was definitely Xbox going multiplat

[@idakev]

It is crazy. I have both a PS5 and a Series X. Prefer playing PS5 overall but SX has some nice features like Quick Resume. Exclusives are actually important though. Otherwise, I only need one. My SX's main purpose going forward will be backwards compatibility. Kinda sad because of memories of the OG Xbox and the 360 but it will most likely be my last Xbox.

[@WackoWambo]

@@idakev yeah, i love my series x for the quick resume, but will be buying all games on ps5 going forward

[@NeoncloudFF]

As I’m listening to this I’m doing some end game grind in Metaphor. Max cozy vibes. Thanks for all you do MinnMax!!!

[@MrCristoflanga]

Great show! My best moment this year was Emerich Voss revealing he is a master of the lethal Japanese art of KARA-TE

[@Uhcip]

Lots of "best things" for me -FF7 Rebirth: The bald club, red13 queens blood etc. Lots of wacky scenes. -Nine Sols parrying -Neva (Neva) -The Shadow Keep from Elden Ring as level design (Messmer is also a great boss) -The shell system in Another Crabs treasure -SH2 Remake Mannequins Personally never used the Prince of Persia screenshot thing and would rather suggest the implementation of the rewind mechanic from that game.

[@PsyduckMantis]

Ben I also cried at the end of Astro Bot - you are, in fact, not nuts. (I literally just finished it and came back to this video to watch the section I skipped before, my eyes are still red. RED!)

[@frezeal33]

Wish someone would’ve asked Leo what hour-long analysis of 1000xRESIST he listened to. I just finished the game and am DYING to hear people talk about it!

[@Zeouterlimits]

Gaelic -> There's Irish Gaelic too (and a few other forms) - Irish Gaelic has the highest total number of people who can speak it worldwide.

[@thomazalexandrecoelho7094]

Concords news was so big it made me buy a physical copy of Concord

[@cloverraven]

Full cast!

[@ItMeDwaeji]

One 4 hour long video?? As world renowned cool guy Ben Hanson would say, "Yowser Wowsers!"

[@GreatistheWorld]

I went blind into Hundreds of Beavers after seeing the tagline: *Possibly Thousands* See it with a crowd. Had an all-ages audience in a tiny theater on a Wednesday afternoon go absolutely bonkers

[@NMac30]

My favorite time of year for the show!

[@TAHK0]

1:05:45 YES I had to find this out the hard way and have never woken up so fast to turn off my alarm in my life

[@Maxbeedo2]

Another amazing awards show! Special thanks to Kelsey for sharing her pet story. Some shoutouts: Best Moment/Thing - All of the Life Links in Infinite Wealth, hard to pick just one for a "moment". Maybe the best fan service/series summary of all-time. Game No One Played: I've been enjoying Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden quite a bit, as a God of War/Witcher style action RPG with moral dilemmas. Dumbest Thing: NetEase shutting down Ouka Studios on the release day of Visions of Mana, not caring about how much it sold or didn't.

[@Greekanese31]

Love the discussion as always, it remains the end of the year discussion I look forward to the most! I selfishly wish Emio ended up staying the winner for Best Game We Didn't Play, that game really deserves its flowers not just on its own merits (right up there with 1000xRESIST as my favorite narrative this year!) but also for letting a storied creator like Yoshio Sakamoto return to a long abandoned series to tell a new story because of how well its remasters did! That being said, Caves of Qud sounds rad so that's definitely going on my wishlist

[@notjustsad]

thanks Leo for recommending The Elephant Graveyard it's amazing!

[@ronsil6815]

You guys are my only friends

[@idakev]

We gotta change that.

[@cptclown2110]

We can be friends!

[@seanbirch]

They don't know you.

[@CCoreXB]

I hope you don’t mean that. Parasocial relationships are not healthy.

[@alexmott507]

3:38:21 I took a screencap of the big head moment to use as my desktop wallpaper, Big Ron for life

[@ArchHippy]

11:30 Memory hole play?

[@GamingInTheWild]

The vibes were strong in this one. The MinnMax crew is such a good-natured bunch.

[@smoothslide]

ngl, this is my second time listening and behind on other podcast. idk man, I just enjoy listening to it while I'm doing chores..

[@shintucky]

34:02 Haley with the dropkick on Hanson from top turnbuckle

[@Cntrebasse]

34:27 Haley this was beautiful :'D

[@tolfpeck]

Y'all need a field reporter you can cut to to give opinions on fighting games matters!

[@tatenaibenbusi]

Bakeru is great and has the Nintendo polish :) Will surely buy it next year

[@MikeOnDrums]

Surprised Shogun wasnt mentioned for Greatest Work of Art.

[@Joodonkadonk]

The real greatest work is the opening song to the anime Dan Da Dan

[@Chicken008]

Wasn't MLB the Show the first Sony published game on Switch?

[@David-uc6sg]

I imported the Bakeru physical because I'm a Geomon fan but never got around to it and then they announced a localized release 😂

[@NMac30]

Unfortunately I had to skip through so much of the best moment because I just haven’t gotten around to playing those yet.

[@Profecy02]

1:10:02 I forgot how much that robed guy pushing sequence sucked

[@Rev0920]

Ah the Gamescent, the object that almost killed Giant Bombs own Dan Rykert and Jeff Grubb in one fell swoop

[@umbral_eidolon]

imagine not putting the Gojira part of the olympic opening ceremony as greatest artwork

[@guyunderwood2297]

No wrasslin fans on the panel. The word they were looking for when discussing the fan behavior with Helldivers 2 is "kayfabe." It's the unspoken agreement between performers (or in this case developers) and fans to treat all narrative events as genuine.

[@the9thinning1]

yayy best gaming podcast bar none

[@ChichiNaka]

I hate that Im learning about so many cool games that have 5000 cool moments and none of them make it to any section of traditional game awards

[@TokeFyhn]

1:15:30 also the slitterhead cutscenes, every VO just Grunts, except for the British character who just says Roight.

[@Julio3324]

Seems like, as someone living in a country with a history of protests (Venezuela), I should play 1000xResist.

[@MellowFelloh]

I couldnt really get invested in Saechan and Ichibans love story because in the previous game if you max out Saechans friendship meter, you have a scene where Ichiban falls asleep and Saechan kisses him in his sleep and when he wakes up he asks her if something happened and not only says no but like acts dramatic or something/blaming him. So yeah i cant get into their love story lol I like seeing Ichiban be happy though

[@JayPeaFenn]

3:15:16 UFO 4 is an under-appreciated joke, good work Kyle

[@KyleHilliard]

Hey thanks!

[@guitaraobscura8802]

I'm with Ben, Bakeru looks amazing.

[@JakeLovesLemons]

Sorry Janet, Euphoria was the better kendrick song 🗣️🗣️

[@miguelb5661]

HOLD UP!!! I literally just beat Dragons Dogma 2 and complained on a forum how lame and unsatisfying the ending is and apparently there's more to the game by using the sword on yourself?? Honestly, forget being spoiled, I was literally never gonna play this game again and now I gotta check ouy what's left to do. Might even change my mind about how underwhelming this game felt

[@usedfuzzbox]

Thank God, because the Game Awards 2024 was far too short of course...... :D

[@TheAggroKreg]

It's amazing how much attention they gave the cafe at the Nintendo Museum but I went and got a burger a few weeks ago and it was one of the most hideous looking things I've ever been served at a restaurant. (Taste was just alright at best)

[@MassiveScore]

I thought I could play Indiana Jones on Gamepass. Loaded up Series X, told me I had to upgrade to Gamepass Unlimited to play that. I'm gonna sell it when the subscription is up. I don't know how I missed day one releases not being day one anymore.

[@KB92]

Ether by nas is and forever will be the best diss track of all time.

[@smellywaffels1967]

Hit em up 2pac but Ether is great too.

[@KB92]

@ so valid

[@guyunderwood2297]

I'm with Jacob. More prerendered cutscenes. Hate the "everything in engine" trend.

[@sonicstage1]

Missed opportunity to call the post show pissy zone "Max Piss"

[@TheGamePiece]

Ah Kelsey, I'm really sorry to hear about your dog.

[@tarutso]

Way too short

[@smoothslide]

Minnmax: mmeasured by passionn

[@cptclown2110]

Where is the biggest dork or best character awards??????