Fire Emblem Three Houses released this week and we're (almost) all playing it - but there's a bit of controversy afoot. Pascal talks about poor choices he's made in other games. And the news section is all twisty, tumbly, and turvy. Now back to our respective waifus, husbandos, and depressing games...sos.

Johnathan, Nathan, and Chris try to figure out the code running behind Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Yokai Watch is coming out again. China has a bunch of cool RPGs. And Persona 5 Royal leaks some more details!

We hope you’re not sick of Fire Emblem: Three Houses from last week, because we’ve got even more this episode. We discuss strategies for raising professor rank and recruiting, in case you need some tips. We also cover a variety of games and their official release dates. Finally, our briefs are more like long underwear this week.

Remember your lost days of innocence? Neither do we. Peter, Kelley, Josh, Matt, Chris, and Anna Marie all prove they shouldn't be trusted with a podcast this week. Then we investigate whether...oh no, look out! Fraulein!

While Fire Emblem: Three Houses seems to finally be put aside by most folks, a few are still learning the dangerous pitfalls of gift giving. As usual, cats and Robin Williams are discussed. Then someone pre-orders Pantsu Hunter and someone else tries to shove CDs into an iPhone to get monsters.

We're back from PAX and have forty impressions to share with you. We got a cat, Peter's getting a baby, Kelley's getting a vacation, Alice got a ring, and Alex got Musou-ed.

What’s old is new again as we deep dive into WoW Classic and how the heck did we even get onto this topic again? News from TGS, what games you’re playing in September, and even more releases coming in the second half of the month, please pity our reviewers.

HONK! This week’s RPGCast has almost everyone playing a different game. HONK! We also discuss plenty of news and your feedback. HONK!

While Chris destroys Anna Marie's right joycon (press R to pay respects), the rest of the cast discusses their now playing, the news of the week, and there are still far too many games releasing every week. Please save us.

Not much news, but there are many games out this week. We won't play any of them though. Alice is on about Space Station 13, Kelley re-upped World of Warcraft, Anna Marie is playing Dragon Quest III, and Chris is still playing Final Fantasy IV.

This week, Alex and Anna Marie can talk about their embargoed games, Peter finishes a game, and Chris worries about his cats. Kelley’s question of the week leads us down rabbit holes we probably shouldn’t have explored, but we’re doing it live and that’s how we roll.

Jonathan crashes the RPGCast this week because he heard that Chris, Anna Marie, Kelley, Peter, and Nathan were dissing on Tactics Ogre. We also discuss child care our Now Playing. But don't worry, while the news is slim, it's also pleasantly robust.

This week, Anna Marie is so excited about Blizzcon that she totally forgets the order of the show! Chris, Kelley, Peter, and Josh somehow still cover what we're playing, news, and new releases...eventually, anyways.

We figured it would be a short show because there's not a lot of news this time of year. Turns out Alex, Kelley, Peter, Chris, and Anna Marie still had plenty to discuss with their now playing, your feedback, and the upcoming releases including Pokémon.

Alright folks, it's out so it's time to feel out if the Dexit folks were right or wrong. We also hear about Path of Exile 2 and more RPG news than you'd expect at this time of year. But let's be honest, we just want to go back to leveling up our starters.

We're all Pokécrazy this week, with Alex, Anna Marie, Chris, Kelley and Peter all discussing their Pokétales and where the series could go moving forward. Josh is the odd man out, but he's got interesting demos to share instead, so it's cool. Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a short show?!

Alex, Johnathan, and Chris run through the past two weeks of news, bemoan the lack of time to play games, and then commit to not trying to play anything new. Ring Fit Adventure wins RPG of the year. But seriously, why isn't Shining Force II on that thing?

It's the final podcast of the decade! Alex, Anna Marie, Chris, Kelley and Peter end the year with a bang...and maybe a whimper too. News, your lists of top DS games, and what we're going to play to ring in the new year. See you in 2020!

We're back and better* than ever! On this special episode of the RPGCast we do a deeper dive into what we've been playing and discuss our holiday hauls. *Note: RPG Cast 526 may not actually be better than any other previous RPG Cast.

It's Alice's first appearance of the decade! Ther crew is rounded out by Alex, Anna Marie, Chris, Kelley and Peter who are back to discuss your treasured memories of the last decade, as well as the news, reviews, and releases from the last few weeks. Wasn't there supposed to be a break from releases...?

Whether it be about spanking sounds or male pasties, RPGamer has a long history of being an authoritative source of information. That said, we're still trying to figure out what version of EarthBound Kelley is playing.

Woop woop! Explicit alert! This get a bit unclean as we try to figure out our Game of the Year picks for 2019. We find out just what you can get done with slave labor. We learn the true martial power of haircuts. And we finally realize Anna Marie shouldn't be allowed to keep animals.

Today we learned that Pokémon Home may rival Kingdom Hearts for difficult to understand stories. The Switch is finally getting some Outer Worlds love. And Anna Marie passes a kidney stone. Well not live on the show or anything. I'm just really tired of waiting for this stupid stoooooh...we're still recording? Um...enjoy the show everyone!

While you're going to gaming jail, you'll want to listen to our show so you know what games to bring with you. Fallout 76 has a new update, perhaps it'll be a good choice for you. Phantasy Star Online 2 had a wonderful beta, maybe it's the way to go. Unfortunately, Metal Max Xeno: Reborn was delayed so you'll have to wait a bit for that one.

Anna Marie is finally back (and a little loopy on painkillers). There’s ample fawning for Mass Effect in our Now Playing, as Kelley chooses an unusual romantic encounter! Arguments break out over March and April’s packed release schedule, but a truce is eventually reached.

This RPG Cast was recorded in the dark before a dead studio audience. Josh fails at Fire Emblem. Jonathan becomes a rock star. Kelley pines for Garrus. Chris gets spooked. And Anna Marie harvests squid poop. Yeah it's a weird show.

We missed you all last week, but we’re back with a bunch of hot topics, including the FF7R demo, Dragon Quest of the Stars, and which alien Kelley got busy with in Mass Effect. Anna Marie gets really confused about review scores, and we can’t really decide when a Millennial starts and a Gen-X ends. Of course, none of that matters because Animal Crossing is almost here!

We’re all cooped up, but that doesn’t mean the video game news stops! Well, it actually was a little slimmer this week, but Anna Marie, Chris, Jonathan, Kelley, and Peter still have plenty of games to discuss. We also have an impromptu hand-washing sing-along?

Guest star Sam Watcher joins us, and that means this week's podcast is officially explicit! Between the occasion cuss bomb, we discuss Animal Crossing and Chris' poor decision making, Alex's dive into Persona 5 Royal, and exactly why Kelley needs to finish FF7: Crisis Core in the near future. Anna Marie and Peter round out the 'cast crew this week as we dive into the weekly headlines along with your feedback.

Peter, Kelley, Chris, and Anna Marie are joined by Alice this week; while she didn’t deliver any missiles, large robots may be a part of the podcast in unexpected ways! We discuss cheating on the stalk market, the news of the week, and your feedback. Now to wait for our copies of Persona 5 Royal to arrive...hurry up already!

We've let the boys sleep in this week! Alice, Anna Marie and Kelley rock the LadyCast this week, discussing their creepy Animal Crossing denizens, April Fool's, which industry CEO is a giant jerk, and the big release of the month.

Alex, Kelley, Nathan, and Peter have all descended into the slums of Midgar, so the Final Fantasy VII Remake dominates our Now Playing, but Anna Marie still manages to answer a question left over from last week about Persona 5 Royal. Our listeners recount their memories of the original FF7 and we even manage to squeak in some news of the week too.

Alex, Josh, Kelley, and Peter join hosts Chris and Anna Marie for a lively show, but be warned: CONTAINS PERSONA 5 ROYAL AND FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE SPOILERS in the Now Playing section. Beyond that, the panel discusses news of the day, including the bizarre Cooking Mama drama. Hey, that rhymes!

We’re back with a juicy show to kick off May. Alex, Chris, Josh, and Kelley join host Anna Marie for a catch-up segment of what we’ve all been playing for the last two weeks. News of the last two weeks gets a little weird as games are being delayed left and right, yet Indivisible somehow gets released early? What a weird world we live in.

PEOPLE who are not positive for Covid-19 could be told to isolate from their families before test results are issued as a precaution, Scotland’s national clinical director has warned.

From tiny sunglasses to leather coats, the film’s costume designer Kym Barrett writes about why the film’s look feels so relevant in our uncertain world

• Read more from the spring/summer 2020 edition of The Fashion, our biannual style supplement

I never thought The Matrix would have the impact it has had on fashion. But from long leather coats to so-called “Matrix-style” sunglasses, the costumes I designed in the 90s continue to have influence to this day.

Part of the reason they are still in the ether is because they were so iconic. The silhouettes, for instance, had to be instantly recognisable so that viewers could tell who each character was, even in the dark. All of the costumes are fairly immune to period, which is what makes them relatable, even now.

From haute gardening hats, to nettles dresses and sexy necklines, here are the trends that are coming for you for this spring/summer

• Read more from the spring/summer 2020 edition of The Fashion, our biannual style supplement

Afraid of looking like a dunce when it comes to your fashion knowledge? We’ve created a cheat sheet for the new season.

Never has one man in inexpensive rumpled suits been so loved by the style set - but Sanders’ clothes signal an authenticity other politicians can only dream of

Of all the things we’ll miss about Bernie Sanders, now that he has dropped out of the Democratic race, his style should be the least of it. Not only because his politics are so right on – this is the man who believes in free education and Medicare for all and who has had many Americans, who until recently felt disenfranchised by mainstream politics, feeling activated by it. But also because his clothes are so seemingly unremarkable.

He wears crumpled suits that look borrowed from a slightly larger man and creased shirts with straight-lace striped ties. The inconspicuousness of his geography teacher shoes are matched only by his inoffensive navy round-neck jumpers.

This is a shade to see you through summer

Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding the structure of a key genetic molecule, called RNA, and revealing for the first time how these changes impact RNA's function. The research team developed a bioinformatics technique to resolve separate structures of RNA rather than viewing them as a 'blur' that averaged multiple structures. This underpinned their discovery that the structure of RNA can influence how cells function.

People who attended religious services at least once a week were significantly less likely to die from 'deaths of despair,' including deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning, according to new research.

Your house number could be the key to the safe relaxation of COVID-19-related restrictions if governments follow a new exit strategy, which proposes the use of an 'odds-and-evens' approach to allowing people to head back to work and enjoy other activities after weeks of lockdown.

Focused ultrasound, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer's to epilepsy to brain tumors -- and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.

Adding yoga to your regularly prescribed migraine treatment may be better than medication alone, according to a new study. The new research suggests yoga may help people with migraines have headaches that happen less often, don't last as long and are less painful.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on societies worldwide, given the pandemic's rapid, often deadly spread. In health care, the pandemic has raised the pressing question of how society should allocate scarce resources during a crisis.

Jihadists burst into the gold mine where Moussa Tambura worked in Burkina Faso, forbidding everyone from smoking and drinking. “They attacked the site, killed people and burned houses,” said Tambura, 29, clenching his fists. Jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization have been overrunning gold mines like Tambura’s one by one as they try to gain control of Burkina Faso’s most lucrative industry.

JOHANNESBURG -- The dealer had a stash, but the young woman wasn't getting through the door without an introduction. That's where her friend, already a trusted customer, came in. And even then there were complications.The woman wanted Stuyvesants. The dealer had Courtleighs. But in a South Africa where the sale of cigarettes is newly illegal, quibblers risk nicotine fits.She took the Courtleighs and high-tailed it out of there."I feel like I'm buying cocaine," said the woman, 29, who asked not to be named for fear of being fined or arrested.In late March, in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, the South African government banned the sale of tobacco and alcohol as part of a broad lockdown -- one of the strictest anywhere. But even as the government has begun rolling back the lockdown, the bans remain in effect.A government minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, cited "COVID-19 reasons" for maintaining the ban.Dlamini-Zuma, a doctor who served as health minister in the 1990s and is now cooperative governance minister, said that "besides the effects itself on the person's lungs," there were concerns that smoking could promote coronavirus infection."The way sometimes tobacco is shared does not allow for social distancing," she said, "but actually encourages the spread of the virus."Defending the ban of alcohol sales amid cries of protest from the liquor industry, President Cyril Ramaphosa said alcohol was "a hindrance to the fight against coronavirus.""There are proven links between the sale and consumption of alcohol and violent crime, motor vehicle accidents and other medical emergencies at a time when all public and private resources should be preparing to receive and treat vast numbers of COVID-19 patients," the president said in a statement.The government has also cited the risk of domestic violence in households where families are isolated at home.Perhaps not surprisingly, an underground market in both cigarettes and alcohol quickly sprung up.Like bootleg markets everywhere, it relies on word-of-mouth, as the 29-year-old woman who settled for the Courtleighs soon learned.She made her purchase in a suburb of Vereeniging, a city south of Johannesburg, where dealers are said to sell only to buyers referred by someone they know. And they sell only from their homes to avoid driving around with large quantities of cigarettes, since if they were to be caught at one of the dozens of police roadblocks set up around the country, they could be arrested on the spot.Instead, the smoker carries the risk -- and the cost. A pack of 20 cigarettes now goes for upward of 150 rand (about $8), three times the old legal price. Underground alcohol prices have also skyrocketed. A bottle of low-end vodka that usually sells for 120 rand ($6) now sells for at least 400 rand ($21).South Africa lifted its nationwide lockdown on May 1 but is continuing to implement strict social distancing and face mask rules. Already under siege from HIV, the country has around 8,200 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and has reported about 160 deaths.The country had implemented one of the world's most stringent lockdowns after recording its first coronavirus-related death in March. In addition to banning the sale of cigarettes and alcohol, the regulations banned jogging and dog-walking, and shuttered parks.Before the lockdown, with a ban looming, some smokers stocked up on cartons of cigarettes. But when the ban on cigarettes was extended beyond May 1, things for smokers began to grow tense.Now it's a matter of who you know. The cafe owner willing to slip a box under a container of milk, perhaps, or a supermarket cashier willing to steal and resell cigarettes languishing in the storeroom.In one Pretoria township where everyone knows everyone -- including the police -- few dare sell cigarettes from their homes. Instead, dealers hide among young men milling around on the neighborhood corner.A 23-year-old smoker said that when he saw a group of four men sharing a cigarette, he approached them to find out where they had found the contraband. They just so happened to be selling, they told him.Desperate after a failed attempt to quit smoking, he said, he paid 160 rand for his favorite brand and "ran home," where he took a photograph of the sealed pack, planning to share it on WhatsApp with envious fellow smokers.But when he opened the pack, a cloud of sawdust choked him. There was not a cigarette to be found.Smokers say they are finding fake cigarettes in sealed boxes that look exactly like legitimate brands. And those who are desperate enough are buying unknown brands that have appeared during the lockdown, with names like Pineapple and Chestel, and are notorious for inducing immediate coughing.The tobacco industry has not taken kindly to the government's new policy.The ban has fueled an underground cigarette trade that was thriving even before the lockdown. By some estimates, it made up more than 30% of the market, depriving the above-ground tobacco industry of profit and the government of tax revenue.Now both industry and government are losing even more.The country's largest cigarette manufacturer, British American Tobacco South Africa, at one point threatened legal action if the government did not drop its ban, but Wednesday changed course. "We have taken the decision not to pursue legal action at this stage," it said in a statement, "but, instead, to pursue further discussions with government."The company said, "We are convinced that by working together we can find a better solution that works for all South Africans and removes the threat of criminal sanction from 11 million tobacco consumers in the country."The ban on cigarettes and alcohol has set off a debate on civil liberties in a country with one of the world's most liberal constitutions. While South Africa was an early adopter of public smoking regulations, many see the bans as a symbol of government overreach.Though its coronavirus policies may have succeeded in keeping the outbreak in check, some are calling the government hypocritical. Junk food remains readily available. And officials strictly limited outdoor exercise during the lockdown.In a country increasingly struggling with diabetes and obesity, such inconsistencies undercut the government's argument that it is guarding the public's health, said one South African constitutional law expert, Pierre De Vos."In the long term, if the government overreaches and it wants to continue imposing these limits when the threat has subsided, I think the courts will invalidate this," he said.Still, the ban may have yielded at least one former smoker: the man who bought the box of sawdust."I cannot just go around losing money like that," he said. "I just said to myself, 'Nah, man, it's not worth it. I'll stay home and eat sweets, as that's what's legal now.'"This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

He’s played a revolutionary hero, a horny teen – now Gael García Bernal is a reptilian choreographer in Ema, and locked down in Mexico city. Just don’t ask him to move to LA when all this is over

At the start of the century, the director Alfonso Cuarón was casting Y Tu Mamá También, the bawdy but plangent road movie he had written with his brother Carlos about two oversexed Mexican teenagers, the wealthy Tenoch and his poorer, grungier friend Julio. “Alfonso called me very excitedly,” recalls Carlos Cuarón. “He said: ‘I know who’s going to play Julio! I’ve seen him in Alejandro’s movie.’” Alejandro González Iñárritu, that is, whose ferocious dog-fighting drama Amores Perros was about to be released. “I said: ‘No, no, I’ve found Julio; I saw the perfect actor in this short film, De Tripas, Corazón. He’s incredible: his eyes, the way he manages silence ...’”

Eventually, the brothers realised they were talking about the same person: Gael García Bernal, who was then just 21. The son of theatre actors, he had become a star in his early teens on the Mexican soap opera El Abuelo y Yo (Grandpa and I) before decamping to London to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Iñárritu plucked him out mid-term for Amores Perros and he stole that movie as the twitchy-hipped tearaway who was every bit as feral as his champion rottweiler. His mutable features could switch from cherubic to lupine to gravely smouldering; his nerve endings felt exposed like frayed electrical wires.

Despite having made 130 more films – including six Tarantinos – Jackson trails king of the curse word Hill. But then he wasn’t in The Wolf of Wall Street …

With the movie industry shut down due to coronavirus, now is a valuable time for us to look back and properly examine the attraction that we have to certain figures. Are we drawn to Tom Hanks because he exudes a sense of benevolent paternalism that we tend to find subconsciously appealing? Do we flock to Marvel films because we seek the clarity of a good-v-evil dynamic in a world where those are becoming increasingly opaque?

And why do people go and see Jonah Hill films? Seriously, why?