Let's Play TheStrawhatNO!

I promised myself when I started this project I would talk about all of my favorite LPs regardless of nerdy and cringe content. TheStrawhatNO! definitely falls under that summary.

TSHN! is a mixture of 4 to 5 creators that, when they LP games, reminds me of playing video games in the dorms my freshman year of college. Cheesy jokes and bits, fresh off the noggin, spat out to make the 4 other people in the room laugh. It’s cringe, but it’s our cringe.

I came across the Agent Under Fire LP when it was recommended on the old NeoGaf forum. While watching I was taken back to playing Goldeneye 64, buzzed off warm Ol’ English malt liquor and eating terrible cafeteria pizza. Needless to say I became and instant fan.

Not only are their LPs chaotic, they are also very prolific. I usually equate quantity being a sign of a channel’s quantity but due to having multiple members of their crew, they are able to be very active while still delivering informative and meticulous LPs. They’ve LP’d almost every main-line Zelda game, each one helmed by a different player, so they feel distinctive.

In their Legend of Grimrock 2 LP, they assigned each commentator to a different character in the game, creating a chaotic, hilarious and narrative experience.

Over the years members have come and gone, (often introducing me to other LPers) but they have still been creating great content. Recently completing the entire Doom series, up through Eternal and every-single Bomberman ever released. Do you like farming RPGs? Because they have farming RPGs.

My absolute favorite LP of theirs is the excellent, in-depth LP of an oft-underrated RPG: Skies of Arcadia: Legends.

Skies of Arcadia, originally released on Sega’s albatross console the Dreamcast, it was eventually released on GameCube as Skies of Arcadia: Legends; Two consoles I never owned¹ so my familiarity with Skies was next to zero.

This LP has that magic mix of game I’ve never played before, goofy commentary, in-depth gameplay and a host who absolutely loves the game they are LPing. A long LP of a long game, but it never feels like a slog with the LP’s quick editing.

Truth is, for me, couch co-op, all-nighter game sessions are not my lifestyle today. I can feel that raucous energy in TSHN!. I’m grateful for the medium of LPs came to exist so I can live vicariously through them.

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¹ Not entirely true. I did end-up briefly inheriting a Dreamcast in 2003, along with a CD binder full of pirated games. I hope the statute of limitations has passed on my part in destroying the Sega’s last console.