I'm almost done listening to Friend Code and honestly, this is a really weak episode. I know Damiani lost an episode but for us, this is the second episode in a row where the normal format has been abandoned and while I can understand that for a Nintendo Direct episode (even a Mini Direct) because those are very special cases that can sometimes demand for you to break it, this week just seems like a bizarre move. It's not like there was a huge Square Enix release on Switch this week, so why not use the normal format and fit the top 5 Square Enix games on Nintendo systems discussion into it? Then you could maybe cut down the discussion length by only bringing up the actual contenders instead of drawing things out over two entire hours. I like Damiani and think he's a good host but I feel like he doesn't get that a regular podcast demands some consistency.
Another thing is the production values are bad. Audio only podcasts are fine, I don't care there's no gameplay footage and I can deal with the occasional Skype podcast but hearing Damiani type on his keyboard and one of them fidget by tapping on their desk is awful to listen to.