#Bandai Namco Is Garbage

[taikonaut-songhai]

[kdinjenzen]

🔥 Your favorite video game (or one of them if you have multiple)

Pokémon lost a lot of personality in the characters, designs, and details when it shifted to 3D models over pixel art.

GameFreak has suffered because of this change because the 3D stuff was never really in their development pipeline and expecting this company who often developed for mobile games or made smaller experiences to be able to pick up and run with a new 3D development pipeline was and still is a ridiculous concept.

The vast amount of people in the credits for the Pokémon games don’t work at GameFreak and are actually hired out as contract through other studios (Like Bandai Namco) through Nintendo to actually assist and work more directly on those 3D pipelines.

That said the 3D games are great and most people who trash on them as being “GOD AWFUL GARBAGE” have no idea how hard game dev is and have no concept of the industry struggles.

“Gotta Catch Em All” was easy for Gen 1 and 2, but once 3 and onward happened most folks didn’t give two fucks about catching them all and just focused on their favorites. So the hateful explosion of “FUCK THE DEVS FOR REMOVING POKÉMON” is bullshit and most folks likely never complete a Pokédex anyway even with the smaller dexes.

Everyone who said “Palworld is Pokémon But Better” is an asshole and either doesn’t care or ignores the fact that designs were stolen and the company loves generative Ai.

GameFreak needs to be able to make a game every 3 years instead of every single year/year and a half.

Nintendo should be supporting GameFreak with more side games to support a release schedule for the series instead of pushing for mainline games.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Controllers

Dear game developers:

I would like to flag up with the increasingly problematic issue of PC ports. Or rather, you being somewhat shit at them.

Now, please understand. I am not giving console players shit here. I think that “console gamer vs PC gamer” bullshit is ... well, just that; bullshit. People have ways they prefer to play. It’s just that a lot of people who play video games (or at least those of them who make playing video games a shorthand for their personality) have taken so much shit that they need to feel superior somewhere, and that’s the hill they’ve chosen to die on. Now, I don’t like that part of it very much, for one simple reason:

I CANNOT USE A CONSOLE.

Now, part of this is about money. I mean, given the economic mess we’re living in, fair enough. I have a perfectly good PC; why should I spend that much money on another method of playing games? Especially ones that won’t let me have chat from friends or an episode of something on the second monitor. I love my Gilmore, as I loved Morrigan, Leandra, Frankenbox, all the way down to Crudpuppy twenty or so years ago. Why would I want or need anything else?

Thing is ... it’s not just about money. If it was, I would have worked around it, because I really want to play Horizon: Forbidden West and Guerilla is notoriously slow at PC ports for those games. Still, if it means as good a PC port as Horizon: Zero Dawn was, I’ll happily wait. Because that’s the other reason why I cannot use a console instead of will not:

I. AM. FUCKING. DISABLED.

Console controllers are heavier than they were when I was younger. Rumble packs and so many buttons and thumb-sticks and I don’t even know half the time. They are heavy, and they require a certain two-hand grip to hold. Because I have fibromyalgia, I cannot maintain that two-handed grip for long, especially when I am having to hold something that weighs much of anything. I’d probably struggle with the old lightweight NES controllers that came with my first and only console (yes, I am that old). The new ones? Not a chance in hell.

You know what this also means? It means that, if you throw out a PC port and say you ‘recommend’ using a controller because you haven’t really bothered working out a K&M configuration that works to any great degree, I cannot play it. Because it’s not the console itself; it’s that I physically cannot use the controller.

Do you know how many games I picked up the demos to and had to uninstall without touching because they recommended a controller and I tried to use keyboard and mouse anyway and it was a fucking nightmare? I own a copy of CODE VEIN thanks to my bestie and I can’t play it because BANDAI NAMCO fucked up the PC port to the point where no matter what you do with your keybinds, you need to use right-shift for one particular element of combat. Which is ridiculous because the whole point of console gaming that combat-heavy is left hand on keyboard (mostly for WASD) and right hand for mouse, and how the fuck are you supposed to take your hands off either of those to press right-shift mid-combat? Left hand? Even if it didn’t take your hands of the movement keys in the middle of combat, it’s not just right-shift you’re pressing; it’s right-shift plus a thing on the left side of the keyboard. Right hand? It’s left mouse key to attack; taking your hands off the mouse mid combat is just as bad as the alternative.

I know some games are built for controllers. I mean, I don’t like it, but if you want to lose the PC market, that’s your business. I can respect a company saying, “We tried a PC port for this but could not get it right so it’s console only”. (It’s better than being trapped in console exclusivity by Sony or Microsoft wanting money, anyway.) However, what I do not have any time for are games that throw half-assed PC ports at people and go, “Well, it’s fine if you use a controller”. Some of us can’t. So ignoring the K&M option on your PC port is garbage.

Please do better, or stop teasing people like me and then torturing us with a janky, unintuitive nonsense of a PC port where the keyboard and mouse are concerned. Or at least think for five seconds before you hard-lock an entirely unintuitive keybind.

Regards,

A disabled PC gamer who just had to uninstall the Lost In Play demo because fuck that noise, frankly

[the2dstagesfg]

So I heard the re-release of the Jojo fighting game is a complete shit show. Single player content removed and the online is abhorrent. It's a Bandai Namco game, of course the online is garbage.

[scolek]

Decrypted aistars game can be found on romsfun! some dodgy popups for the link but otherwise the file is fine. they have the cia but it's encrytped or broken or something, and refuses to decrypt (least I can't get it to)

It's definitely not as impressive as my no. 1 stage, only about -20 songs with the full dlc. It does have 1000 coords give or take one, but most of them are brandless recolours for the arcade game's glitter customization feature

I guess they re-released it with a dlc update and a slightly different title? like the welcome amiibo version of acnl lol

thank you again for the dlc!! getting my booster shot today and Ik I'll feel like garbage so I'm just going to play this all day lmao

Yeah. I've been playing it a bit and I've noticed it lacking. Luckily, I'm on board for the whole glitter system, and getting coords is already way more fun.

I guess the difference is no1stage is adapting 4 seasons of an arcade game, whereas special appeal is only doing 1, and

my special appeal was released in late 2016, and the switch came out in march 2017, so i assume while they might have planned to make a more definitive aistars port, the change in console may have changed their plans.

in fact, i think the whole first appeal-my special appeal thing might might might maybe reflect some knowledge of a new system that a large company like bandai namco would possess, causing them to like. make my special appeal when they did instead of holding off and waiting for hoshi no tsubasa to happen.

speaking of the whole weird aistars content situation, it appears i have sucessfully herded another cow. this one was behind like, 10 fewer malicious links than the last one, for some reason.

[idril-la-wiccan]

PMATGA Comics - The short stories of tome 2

The following pictures and stories belong to Delcourt Jeunesse Editions and Namco Bandai. I have no rights over anything but the translations and the summaries.

The second tome of the comics, titled "Tous à la mer !" - literally “Everyone to the sea !” - has ten short stories. I will show and summarise them in their order of appearance.

“A great invention”

Sir Comference has brought Pac to his lab to show him his newest invention, that he deemed to be revolutionary. But the thing is, it’s not…

I think that poor Sir C needs some sleep…

“To tame the metal”

I’ll show the whole page for this one.

Also, I genuinely think something like this could easily have happened in the show.

“Tastes and colors”

Out of curiosity, Cyli asks Pacster what ghosts taste like. The Yellow boy says it depends on their color : the red ones are spicy, the green ones taste like lime, the blue ones are somewhat salty, and-

-And the alarm sounds, so they have to go chase down the ghosts without knowing the rest of the colors. (I think this is rather… uninteresting presented the way this was anyway… But that’s only my thought.)

And so, during the attack, this happens :

I love how the other ghosts are indignant.

“The Pac-Solution”

I’d say Pac put himself in a rather typical situation for him. But this time, he managed to fix the problem he caused

Also what is written on the banner is absolute nonsensical garbage.

“Craving”

Fluffy is really, REALLY angry… And to calm him down, Pinky, Blinky and Inky (mostly the latter actually) are trying to get something from a… an atrociously gooey place…

They somehow manage to extirpate it from there…

Yeah, they pulled out this joke again.

“Duel of geniuses”

Spiral rushes to tell Pac and Cylindria that Dr. Buttocks challenged Sir Comference. They go as fast as they can to get to the scientists before any of the worst scenarios they can imagine (including death rays, interdimensional portals and/or giant robots) actually happens.

Hopefully, what was really happening was… fairly harmless.

4 and 6 ? What I see are a C and a B ! What ???

“A desire to slide”

Ghost attack ! And our friends are just squashing them. But suddenly, Betrayus orders to open a portal just above the city, and an erupting volcano is coming out of it !

Pac immediately handles it.

Oh, ok...

“Go to sleep…”

I guess we can qualify this as a “Dragon appreciation” page.

“Overwhelming enthusiasm”

The young Pac-worlders are passing a math test. Spiral visibly struggles.

And all of the sudden, the ghost invasion alarm sounds.

While Pacster is barely preparing to counter-attack, Spiral is already jumping into action, with a big grin on his face !

I call that the cyclops is the same from the short “The challenge” in the previous tome.

“The gift”

Tomorrow is Cyli’s birthday… And Pac completely forgot about it… So he passes almost the entire day figuring out what could please her.

He was so absorbed by his thoughts that he didn’t even notice that a few ghosts were going to ambush him.

Hopefully, he got saved, and by none other than Cylindria.

Really Skeebo ? Chocolate ? That’s cute, but you know you’re never gonna get her back to you, you know ? Not after what you’ve done…

And this was the last of the stories. The comics only had two tomes.

I hope you enjoyed these posts. I might do a few other things with the scans I have, but for the most part, I’m unsure.

Now, I’m just going back to my headcanons and stuff.

See you later !

Cordially, Idril.

[nightcoremoon]

everyone sucks dark souls' dick over how it's triumph over hardships and whatthefuckever

asylum demon is a little bitch.

taurus demon is a little bitch.

moonlight butterfly is a little bitch.

titanite demon is a little bitch.

capra demon is a little bitch.

havel the rock is a little bitch.

stray demon is a little bitch.

bell gargoyles are cheating little fuckers.

these fights aren't hard. they're not difficult. they're painfully easy. those first seven I beat without breaking a sweat, most of them on the first or second try. would've been the first for some but the game just loves artificial difficulty. what's that, you want strategy and tactics and reaction time? too bad, fuck you, have random ass bullshit, skewed numbers (enemies have fuckhuge hp and damage and you have wet paper), extra enemies on the side who fuckin teleport and ignore physics (oh right it's havok physics so fuck it who cares let's all teleport), oh yeah and your framerate is cut to ribbons because the game tries to render THE ENTIRE WORLD AT ONCE and when your framerate is low guess what YOURE LITERALLY NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO PLAY because it kicks you to the main title. oh and the bonewheels? yeah I made jokes about them before but jesus christ who fucking OK'd these? was there any QA at all? oh you rested at that bonfire, fuck you you're here forever now because you move at half speed and they move at double speed and they can pivot midair a full 360 and they instantly break your poise and do a hundred damage each hit oh yeah and they can all hit you at the same fucking time. there's a literal zero frame window whatsoever to roll out of the way. all you can do is pray to the RNG gods that it'll let you play. and that's bullshit.

this game

is fucking

TERRIBLE

every single complaint I've seen about the prequel- WHICH I LOVE- and the sequel- WHICH I USED TO HATE BUT NOW LOVE BECAUSE ITS SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN THE TRASH HEAP OF THE FIRST GAME- can be levied tenfold against this game.

fuck this berserk fanfiction trash that namco bandai threw money at for the art department and level design crew. they got all the budget, leaving nothing for the fuckin nonexistent ai.

the bosses all suck too. yeah ds2 had shitty bosses and reskins too, but IT HAD TWICE AS MANY AS DS1 DID. it's allowed a couple of trash bosses. and it has some absolute gems. the last giant is a perfect first boss that will decimate you if you don't know what you're doing but if you understand it you can plow through it easily, but can't be complacent with.

flexile sentry is a cool design and has two different moveset to content with, AND a level timer. skeleton lords? good boss. executioner chariot? good boss. mytha? eh, decent boss. smelter demon? fucking amazing boss. old iron king? cheating bastard but hey just don't fall in the lava idiot. git gud. fume knight? *chef's kiss* sir allonne? *chef's kiss* rat vanguard? incredible puzzle. the rotten? it's ok I guess but it's still better than half the ds1 bosses. najka? quelaag reskin but still ok. rat authority? sif and capra had a baby. prowling magus? ...ok that one is just embarrassing, I'll give you that. freja? great. pursuer? he'll crush you if you don't know what you're doing but all of his attacks are unique and avoidable and he looks fucking cool. ruin sentinels? tough as hell and worth the struggle in learning them. gargoyles? it's not a reskin, it's the ds1 gargoyle fight but not a completely horrible steaming pile of shit that's just a worse version of maneaterds in the prequel. lost sinner? good boss. mirror knight? good boss. demon of song? good boss. velstadt? good boss. vendrick? holy shit is he the best character in the series or what? and his boss fight... everyone says lord gwyn is the saddest because of sakuraba-sama's amazing talents at musical composition (so uh tales of symphonia is the best video game soundtrack ever made hands down don't @ me I'm sorry metroid prime but you have too much ambient noise) and PLIN PLIN PLON but I guarantee you that PLIN PLIN PLON would work well against vendrick too. oh yeah then you have the fake dragons (ok), throne duo (mediocre version of ornstein & smough), nashandra (meh), and aldia (meh), and also the bosses of shulva (meh) and the dogs of eleum loyce (meh) and the burnt ivory king. who is the best boss in the series hands don't don't @ me I'm sorry soul of cinder but you rely too much on nostalgia.

dark souls 2 is a fucking masterpiece with a few hiccups that are all holdovers from the first game. standing alone, this is probably the best action rpg ever made, and what everything else should build itself off of.

ds1 has a bunch of copypasted enemies with the word "boss" slapped on them, shitty mechanics, and even shittier stages.

quelaag is good. four kings is good. nito is good. seathe is good. sif is good. o&s are good. the dlc bosses are good. every single other boss is fucking stupid or fucking terrible and either can be cheesed or REQUIRE cheese.

what I mentioned before are jokes. ceaseless is just a pathetic version of dragon god who was vastly improved when he became old iron king. centipede demon is fucking garbage. bed of chaos is worse than garbage. priscilla is a meme. gwyndolin is a hallway. demon firesage is a reskin. gaping dragon is a waste of a cool design. iron golem is a joke who can be 1v1'd by tarkus. pinwheel? shut the fuck up about the prowling magus and congregation, pinwheel is not a real boss. lord of cinder? he's the reason why I don't parry, because parrying is cheese and it's fully dependent on having a $1000 graphics card and a brain that's wired to look at 60 frames per second. "but the human eye can only see 26" yeah exactly. man that's a short list of shitty bosses though. you're right? it's because I've listed all the dark souls bosses. and I haven't even listed all of the ds2 bosses.

I'm with hbomberguy here. ds2 gets more hate than it deserves. but I'll take it a step further.

dark souls 1 sucks.

it's not fun. it's not cool. it has a story ripped from a manga. its level design is a gimmick. the animations are shit. the hitboxes are shit. the physics are shit. the lighting and textures are still shit AFTER A REMASTER. the weapons and moveset variety is shit. the enemy design is shit. the locations all look exactly the same. the NPCs are boring and forgettable- I don't even know their fucking NAMES besides andre and gough (and gwyndolin but she's as real as her tits). it's built from salt and cyanide and broken glass rather than love for its roots. the music is the only part I can salvage without any buts. I can't even say that actually because THERE IS NONE EXCEPT DURING BOSSES WHEN YOU CANT LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT THINKS THAT DIFFICULTY IS SPEED AND SHEER NUMBERS.

it's a bad game.

you can like it. you can play it. you can love it.

but holy shit, shut the fuck about about it. I get it. I understand. I know. okay. got it. shut up.

I'll stop talking shit about your baby when you stop bitching and moaning and whining over how much you won't let yourself enjoy 2.

[drinkingisgoodforyou]

Apparently Steam is doing a sale on a whole bunch of Bandai/Namco games. That includes a huge amount of random Naruto games.... @un-garbage

[freedom2fight]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  

Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time [PS4]

It’s an OK game. Brimming with potential.

I freakin’ love the LWA anime. The story of a person with no natural aptitude or skill trying to achieve their dreams resonates strongly with me. (Honestly, I can’t unpack everything I feel about the show in this post.) The game itself is like one of the show’s episodes. And for that I really like the game... to a certain point.

The visuals are gorgeous, though the animation is a bit laggy. Though it must be a stylistic choice, personally I like it. However, I cannot deny it is a bit jarring to see. Some of it looks rough around the edges but certainly visually faithful to the look of the show. That means its freakin’ gorgeous despite its flaws.

The gameplay is beat-em-up mixed with RPG mechanics. Which I really dig. Though I cannot deny that I’m having some issues with it. It’s sluggish to control and that could get a bit tedious and sometimes very confusing. 

The game - it’s not perfect but it is not garbage as many would like to say. 

The greatest boss of the game is the price tag. You might need to Expelliarmus that one a few times. Or get it on sale.  

All in all the game’s presentation is on the mark. It captures the show perfectly.  

In conclusion - It’s an ok game. Brimming with potential. 

So I give Bandai Namco a score of [ blocking an entire game from being recorded over censored opening song.]

[doubleddenden]

So tumblr ate my previous posts apparently. I missed a bit of e3 and caught a bit of Microsoft and Bethesda.

Microsoft

Did I hear correctly? Fuckin Lego forza? Shit yes finally an interesting car game

Also Lego Star wars with all 9 main movies. Hell yeah I love charades and grunts to convey plot

Tales of Rising, aka one of the few things my weeb ass wanted and it looks great

Dragon Ball Kakarot. I mean it looks pretty but it's just another dbz game that rehashes what we already have seen countless times. Xenoverse 3, Fusions 2, FighterZ 2, come on Toe and Bandai Namco.

The new Star Wars reminds me a lot of the Forced Unleashed games from the good ol days. Please don't let it be like 2. This looks fun and original tho. Robot is my fav as always.

Phantasy Star Online 2 finally comes to the west on PC and xboner and is free to play, unfortunately AFTER I no longer have access to the internet.

Project Scarlet, basically the Xbox 4. 120 FPS, 4 times stronger than the xbox one x apparently, lower load times, solid state drive, now watch it be overpriced and shitty at launch

Halo Infinite. Poor man wants to see his family. Probably will die. Nice graphics tho

Probably missed some but not bad.

Bethesda

We're people!!!!

Todd Howard is aware that Fallout 76 is a septic tank fire. They made a post apocalyptic world where you have to survive by any means necessary and instead people are nice and wave at each other, even leave food for new players.

So they ruin it by adding a battle royale mode. The guy yells FUCK YEAH on live stream. You're at an 11 for an easy 3/10 bub

Elder Scrolls 6 is in progress

Elder scrolls blades is still garbage

Ghostwire Tokyo, aka the game that made me realize Beth Esda knew Japan was a thing. The lady that presented it was such a spazzy bubbly dork and I love her. I felt my heart flutter for something other than medical reasons for the first time in forever. The game as a concept looks very interesting and I am always down for Tokyo ghost hunting.

Only caught the rear end of Wolfenstein but FUCK YEAH fuck nazis

Doom Eternal, aka we heard y'all like to kill shit, so now you can kill hell, kill heaven, kill planets, kill other dimensions, get killed by the guy behind the denny's at 2:30 am on a Saturday night, just go crazy you filthy animals

Yes we are still people!!!

Did I miss anything important?

[bad0mens]

Title: Soup of the Day - Pt. 2

Pairings: Fluri

Warnings: Cafe AU. Superhero AU. Silliness.

Description: Flynn is having trouble accepting Yuri’s secondary occupation as a superhero in the city of Zaphias and that dangers that it brings. He decides to take matters into his own hands to try and keep him safe just as a new adversary appears on the scene.

Authors’ Notes: I FUCKIING completely forgot to mention that this was a direct follow up to Blue Plate Special!! So reading that one first is important.

Disclaimer: Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

When Sodia said more reports in regards to the graffiti of 'HAVOC', she hadn't been lying. All over town, the word have been plastered on many buildings, along with a slew of crude drawings. May buildings had their alarms go off in the night, bit none had been broken into and nothing was missing. The only thing they had to one was 'HAVOC' and something about it left a bad taste in Flynn's mouth.

Another thing that had him trouble was the sheer amount of trouble he encountered on his beat. He and Sodia were sent to investigate and document nearly half of the almost one hundred reports of vandalism that appeared over night. Between that and regular incidents like a few drunk and disorderly, a smattering of car accidents, and the like, the work was running him ragged. He hardly realized that until later though.

The next day, even more strange happenings occurred. the graffiti was gone, clean walls and windows left instead. The day after that, it was back in full force, the word 'HAVOC' in red paint this time, scrawled over buildings and overpasses and on every police cruiser. More alarms had been set off over night. People all over town complained of strange noises and bizarre sights of strange lights and figures in the streets. It was a full on crime wave.

But nothing terribly serious was happening. Graffiti and setting off alarms without actually breaking and entering were misdemeanors at best. But the patterns seemed to be worsening. It wasn't going to be long before a felony was committed and Flynn wasn't about to let it come to that.

He looked over his desk. it was normally so tidy, everything in its place, but no longer. The dark, laminated surface was marred with streaks of red spray paint and the contents of his in box upended all over the place. Even with all the chaos and the tell tale marks of 'Havoc' all over the desk, there were two items that stood out, as if carefully placed. The big red arrows of paint pointing to them were pretty obvious, too. Someone was trying to leave him a message.

He sat and opened the filed. They were full, papers neatly stacked of phone records, bank transactions, complete biographies, finger prints, and the histories of two of the city's wealthiest citizens: Regaey, the CEO of R Gate Corp, and Barbos, President of Alliance Industries.

Flynn shuffled through the files, pictures and records and newspaper clippings. One of the clippings on Regaey in particular on caught his eye and he found himself fumbling for his reading glasses.

'R Gate Corp CEO opens private collection to public.'

The article was dated almost a year before and detailed the exhibit of Regaey's normally private art and artifact collection. It went on to detail some of the priceless painting and sculptures, but the most interesting item mentioned was a large gem that was featured.

"Amid the famous pieces, there's one particularly curious clear diamond with and strange and sordid history. Known as 'The Star of Aselia'...."

He fumbled for the second file, rifling through the articles and photos. He had a hunch and when he found the articles, he had a feeling he was right. It was a less impressive story, an interior article unlike R Gate Corps front page.

'World famous Calegia Diamond purchased in auction by President of Alliance Industries.'

There were still pieces of the puzzle missing, but he kept milling through the files. There had to be something he was overlooking. He wasn't sure how many time he examined the contents of the folders before frustration took over and he snapped them closed. There was no good reason why they had been left on his desk in the first place. He tossed them unceremoniously into his inbox and started to collect the rest of the contents that had been there only a day before.

He shuffled a stack of form, tapping their edges even, when a slip slid out of the bottom. A photograph to be specific, and Flynn knew very well the person in the photograph. Yeager of Leviathan's Claw was the most notorious black market arms dealer in Zaphias. Flynn had been involved in the incident of his arrest a few months prior, and now, taking a second look at the man, he was curious. He flipped open one of the files again and was stunned.

Flynn should have realized it before. Someone should have realized it before, but it gave him an idea.

The R Gate Corp building was all glass and steel, a monument to capitalism, shining even in the darkness of the night. The neon sign at the top washed the sky in a warm red glow and save for a few solitary office and the dimness of backup lights, the building was dark and empty. It hadn't been spared the graffiti onslaught, the word 'Havoc' scrawled on every floor alongside the pictographs. Compared to others, this one seemed particularly singled out for the mess.

Flynn kept crouched behind a row of garbage dumpsters, the glass and gilded entrance within his sight. He had already been here an hour and a half, watching the employees file out and waiting and watching for any clue of his hunch.

He had worked stakeouts before, long and silent ones, but something about being here in his White Knight armor made this particularly thrilling. This was different and he could see what Yuri liked about this. But after an hour and a half of this, his legs were starting to hurt, a dull ache creeping up into his core. He didn't dare shift and give away his position, just in case someone would be lurking nearby.

It was another half hour before the ache was unbearable and he shifted just an inch. Settling back in, he heard the rattle of a can across pavement behind him.

Frozen fast a second, waiting for any further indication of movement, he held his breath. The can rattled again, as if kicked this time and rolled past him, footsteps following. Flynn finally turned his head just enough to peek out between the dumpsters.

Slinking down the street were a pair of Red Eyes, walking as casually as you please. The first kicked the can again.

"Man, cut it out. The Boss'll be pissed if you make too much noise."

"Are you telling me to 'can' it?"

The second hit the first with an elbow to his stomach.

"Where the hell are the others?"

"I dunno, but this gig is easy. This boss doesn't ask too much of us. Man, I hope Zagi doesn't get out any time soon. I sorta like working for Havoc."

"I know what you mean, dude. Not getting beaten up all the time, etc. Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

"I'm sure they're hanging around."

"I swear to god--"

A sudden, sharp sound cut the otherwise silent streets, and both Red Eyes stopped, raising their eyes. A split second later, they were rushing off down the street, swift and silent.

The R Gate building seemed to be their target. They deftly opened the door and scurried inside. Flynn wanted to go after them, but as two more descended from seemingly no where, he was left outnumbered and reminded himself that he had only come with the intention of watching. He needed to think all this through and observe before acting rashly. Besides, he still had no idea who was behind the scenes. The Red Eyes weren't working of their own accord and Zagi was definitely still in prison.

But he crept closer, quietly, to get a better look. The new pair went to work on the exterior of the building, scaling the walls and adding layers of paint. While they were at work, the other two returned, arms heavy laden with boxes. They stopped, staring up at the roof of the building that Flynn was crouched in the shadow of.

"This it, Boss?"

There was only silence. Flynn moved forward, squirming between the brick walls and the dumpster. If their leader was here, he wanted to chance a look at them. Even the slightest hint at their identity could be enough to tip the scales in his favor, and that would make all the difference. He couldn't rush into this.

He finally managed to get a view of the edge of the building between two dumpsters. The moon was just starting to come over the roof of the building, casting the figure that stood there in silhouette. The moon left an edge, glittering white around the figure otherwise clad in layers of darkness. The form was tall and lean, soft curves and sharp edges, but not feminine. One pale hand swept out, lines and the jagged edge of a sleeve illuminated by moonlight. At its slightest movements, the Red Eyes were on the move once more, but Flynn did not see them go. His sight was fixed on the dark mastermind, eyes groping through the darkness for the barest edge or defining shape that would give him the slightest clue about this person's identity.

The figure turned slightly, baring the edge of a cheek, the glimmer of dark eyes through the slits of a white mask, eyes that were just as fixed on him as he was on them. The line of a pair of lips, drawn into a tight, thin smirk, and those eyes told him that he had been spotted.

Flynn fumbled for his sword. Either this person, or the Red Eyes, would be on him any moment, but as he drew the blade and looked back, the figure was gone and Flynn was left alone and highly unnerved.

When nothing further happened, he firmly decided that his reconnaissance was done for the night.

"What the absolute fuck is going on there?" Yuri's voice buzzed through the speaker of Flynn's cellphone. His tone was much calmer than his words intended, but the tone was what caught him. Flynn was still shaken from the events the night before, and the pair of eyes in the dark that were fixed on him.

"It looks like the Red Eyes are still up to no good, but it's all been minor offenses at this point. The police will handle it." It wasn't a complete lie, but he couldn't tell Yuri what he had been doing.

Yuri groaned, a sound that Flynn barely heard over the facet pouring water into his sink. The sound, although displeased, surged in Flynn's nerves and he was coldly reminded of the distance between them.

"Man, those freaks even got the Comet. Judy said they pray painted 'Havoc' on a bunch of stuff and raided the pantry. One more mess to clean up when I get back."

"Wait." Flynn hadn't gotten a report regarding the Comet and that was the one he should have. It was part of his regular beat. "Even the Comet?"

"Yeah. Zagi and I had a sort of standing truce that we wouldn't attack each others places, but it looks like who ever the Red Eyes are working for now doesn't care so much for decorum like that."

"So how's your trip going?" He had to change the subject before he burst out with what he knew, that he had seen' Havoc' or at least who he suspected was the person, and had seen the Red Eyes in the act and was still keeping at what he sure Yuri was still upset about.

"You wouldn't  believe what they're asking for the machine I want. It's ridiculous."

"How much?"

"Way more than I brought with me."

"Do you need--” "No. I'm taking a look at a going out of business sale tomorrow. If that doesn't work out, I've got a little more in savings that I can pull if I have to."

Flynn sighed a little, hoping the speaker didn't catch it. Yuri refused his help all the time, so it should come as no surprise to him, but that didn't mean that it wasn't frustrating. "Okay. Please call me if you need anything."

"Don't worry so much."

"I miss you."

"Yeah yeah. I'll be back the day after tomorrow."

"Stay safe okay?"

"Flynn." The seriousness in Yuri's voice shocked him into nearly dropping the plate he had been washing.

"What is it?"

"Just-- it's nothing."

"What--"

"Bye."

The sharp noise that cut off the call was Yuri closing his cell phone abruptly, the way he did after arguments or while in a rush.

Flynn was left to finish the dishes without the pleasant distraction of his boyfriend's voice. Yuri had only been out of town for a few days, but it felt like a lot longer. His days off weren't the same, and his apartment felt strangely barren. It had been for a while now, whether or not Yuri was in town. The only thing that changed that feeling of hollowness was Yuri himself. Flynn had been thinking on what more could be done about that, but there was one option and he wasn't sure that they were ready for that just yet.

Yuri and Flynn had only been dating for a few months and the prospect of moving in together was sudden and jarring when the idea hit him. On top of that, Yuri had a twin sister and a younger brother that he took care of and he might not be interested in moving out. It wasn't something he wanted to worry about now. There was too much else going on.

He took a break from the chores. It was getting late and he wanted to get a nap in before going on for dinner and then on his knightly patrols.

Flynn caught himself laughing about that mental slip harder than he should have been. Listening to the Red Eyes crack puns had apparently rubbed off on him and he was left chuckling further.

He and Yuri were both 'Knights' after all, both filled with the duty to protect their city. He left further thoughts on the subject alone, lest the images in his head start to look like something out of one of his mother's romance novels that Flynn had uncomfortable memories of.

Flynn took a brief doze on the couch and woke as the sun was setting and he was left missing Yuri even more. Even still, he got up and went to the Comet for dinner. Not only was he hungry, but more importantly, he waited to check and see how Judith and Karol were doing. The cafe was quiet, but there was plenty of evidence of the misdeeds that Yuri had told him about. The windows has all be painted over with the scrawling word 'Havoc' and the pictographs from before. These were nothing new or particularly revealing however. It didn't set well with him that someone had defiled this place that he loved, that Yuri loved. It was down right sickening, and even more sickening that Flynn hadn't been able to put a stop to it yet. Maybe tonight would yield more clues.

"Good evening, Officer," Judith said with a smile. He wondered if she had any evidence on the 'Havoc' situation. He had seen her out on her own patrol a few times, but unlike Yuri, she never confronted him or openly insisted that he stop the work he was doing as 'White Knight'. Her indifference was somewhat welcome, but also worrying.

"Hello. How have things been here?" It felt a little silly asking that, as he had been here only days before. A lot of things had changed in a few days time, though.

"Quite busy. All this clean up work to do and I'm still missing a pair of hands."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, thank you. Yuri has told me about your cooking attempts and I intend to keep all of my customers alive." She smiled sharply, and Flynn could see the family resemblance.

He tried to laugh that off, but something about Judith's demeanor was unsettling, so he moved to a different subject. "Yuri told me that you've been having some trouble."

"Oh my, yes. All that pesky spray paint making our cafe look grungy and then all our food going missing. Troublesome indeed, but nothing I can't handle. You want the usual?"

"Missing?"

"I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about. I'll be back in just a moment. It looks like its time to pull the bread out of the freezer." She turned and left him at the counter.

The paint on the windows and the mess here only drove his desire to stop this crime spree harder. Evidence was piling up, but it was going slowly and Flynn's reconnaissance as White Knight was adding to that. The connections between R Gate Corp and Alliance Industries and the two strange gems and the old sword were still leads to follow, leads that he was following, and had made some realizations on. He was waiting on a call back from Rita to confirm or deny his suspicions. Finger print processing was a time consuming and delicate procedure and DNA even more so, but if they would give him the edge he needed, then forensic science was his ally.

"Oh my." Judith's calm voice exclaimed, abbreviated by the sound of glass breaking from the kitchen. "Now look what you made me do."

"Don't test me, Lady."

Flynn knew that voice, a long, low sound that pitched in odd places and he found himself rushing around the counter toward the kitchen and the voices. He cleared the kitchen's swinging door to find Judith, her hands on her hips, back to him, and in front of her, the familiar face of one of the masked Red Eyes. The blade on his arm was jutting out, sharp menacing steel.

"Judith!"

The Red Eye spotted him, grabbing Judith and holding the blade to her throat before Flynn could draw his gun. Flynn froze, stone stiff, pointing the pistol at the Red Eye who pressed ever closer to Judith, holding one of her arms behind her back and making himself a shield of her.

"Let her go."

"What are you gonna do? Shoot me?"

Flynn couldn't while she was in the line of fire and the Red Eye knew that.

"Whatever man. She's not the one I want anyway." He held her firmly still.

"What do you want?" Flynn asked.

"You're White Knight. The boss wants to meet you."

"What? Why?" He didn't loosen the grip on the gun inspire of his surprise.

"For tea or whatever. Hell if I know. All I  was told was to give you this." The Red Eye pulled a black enveloped out of his coat, holding it in the air.

"What is it?"

"I don't go reading other people's mail." That snark was getting really old really fast.

With a flick of his wrist, the Red Eye sent the envelope cutting through the air, and Flynn caught it while still keeping the gun trained on him.

"See you, suckers."

A flash of light and smoke and the Red Eye was gone, leaving only Judith and Flynn standing in the kitchen, coughing as the air cleared. He still moved forward and quickly determined that the intruder was gone.

"Are you all right?" He holstered his firearm and checked on Judith.

"Yes. His grip was rather weak. He could use some strength training." She brushed herself off and smiled like she hadn't just been assaulted in her own business. "But what's that you've got there?"

"I'm not sure." Flynn turned the envelope over in his hands, its black paper surface free of decoration or writing. He wiggled a finger under the flap and popped it open. Inside, there was a black paper card, the front decorated with a silver,scrolling border around a note. He read it aloud.

'White Knight,

If you care for the safety of True Knight and this city, you will meet me at midnight at the abandoned construction site on the corner of Palmacoasta and Flanoir. Come alone.'

-Havoc.'

"Oh my. A personal invitation from this strange 'Havoc'." She turned to him, tapping the apple of her cheek with one finger. "Do you plan on going? It could be a trap."

That thought had crossed Flynn's mind, but it was only in consideration. If that warning was to be believed, Flynn didn't have much of a choice. "It looks like it's my only option." Especially not with the prospects of Yuri and the city being in danger if he didn't.

"I see. Well, the least I can do it get you diner." She bustled back out of the kitchen and he followed her into the cafe's dining area.

Speedily, she put together the special for him and sent him on his way with a wish for good luck.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. Food hadn't helped. Bread and cheese, meat and soup all twisted up in his insides.

Flynn suited up, strapping his word to his let and his gun just below it, hidden up a plate of his armor. It was a 'just in case' precaution, right along with the handcuffs and police radio. He was going to put a stop to 'Havoc' tonight. Once he had him captured, he could call the police and that would be one less menace on the streets for them to deal with.

He took to the streets, giving himself plenty of time to traverse the back alleys to get to the location on the black card. The construction site indicated had been abandoned a year earlier, after a series of accidents that cause the project to go over budget and the building was left half finished. It loomed in the distance, a stack of black frame work against the dark blue sky.

The ring of his cell phone cut the silence of his trek which had only been filled with the wash of ambient sounds of the city that Flynn had long ago grown used to. He answered without looking at it.

"Hello?"

"I've got those test results back." Rita's voice came tiredly through the speaker.

"What are the results?"

"Finger prints and DNA both came back for both of our suspects -- Where the hell are you? There's a lot of background noise."

"I'm walking home."

"Oh. Well, your hunch was right. The finger prints and DNA for that arms dealer Yeager and the Stormblast respectively match Regeay of R Gate Corp and Barbos of Alliance Industries. And some interesting records turned up this morning." The sound that came through next was the shuffle of papers before she spoke again. "Looks like Regeay and Barbos both took out insurance policies on their gems shortly before they were stolen. In fact, they've already collected millions in insurance money."

"Aren't Yeager and Stormblast still in prison?"

"They are, but the money went into off-shore accounts linked to the companies as mock trust funds it looks like."

"Anything new from Havoc??"

"All quiet on that front. If this is supposed to be some devastating crime wave of his, he's doing it wrong. The worst offense has been destruction of property."

The robberies were still unconnected to Havoc, but Flynn had a feeling that's where the trail led. He would know soon enough.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Whatever." Rita hung up.

Flynn found himself before the fenced off construction site as he pocketed his phone. This was the moment he had been waiting for and so anxious over. He had to remind himself that this was no different from clearing a building during a raid, except that he had no way of knowing what might be waiting for him, or what could happen. But he had resolved to do this and here he was.

The gate was cracked open, unsurprising as he was expected. He cast his trained gaze over the half finished building, looking for the slightest sign of the Red Eyes or any other attacker. They were well hidden, but he pressed forward, hand on the grip of his sword and ready for the moment that he would need to draw it.

Across the dirt covered construction site ground and into the empty door way he strode, listening for the slightest sound beyond his boots against the concrete floor. The silence was endless, filling every corner of the hall and the empty rooms connected. He checked each one the way he was taught at the academy, but there was no one else. Even still, he had to be wary and ready for the trap to be sprung. He was at a disadvantage like this.

At the end of the hall was a lift and an arrow pointing up. No doubt the sign was for him, and no doubt, it was going to take him where he needed to go and probably right into the trap. He went anyway. He had no choice.

As soon as he crossed the barrier of the lift, it shuddered to a rocky start and began its ascent through the floors of steel beams and concrete floors and drywall. His sword was always just beneath his fingers as his eyes darted from one side of the open air lift to the other, watching and waiting for anyone who might try and use the element of surprise against him. But the lift stopped on the top floor without incident, opening to the floor with only a concrete floor. The roof allowed him to see the far stretches of the city, dark buildings and twinkling lights. The moon above made the concrete floor white, a soft lit plane with a single black center, the shadow of a figure and a chair.

"I see you've accepted my invitation." The voice from the figure was a velvet soft, smoky purr, enticing, but with carefully concealed claws.

"I wasn't given much of a choice," Flynn replied. "Havoc, I presume."

"Why yes. How astute of you."

With a kick of his leg, the figure spun in the chair and Flynn was able to get a very good look at the person he had only seen once before while rimmed in a moonlight glow.

Havoc was a tall, lean man, slumped in the chair with an ease and confidence, his legs crossed and pale hands steepled before him. A mask of sharp, slick white covered his face from above the line of his hair to the edge of his nose, with only thin slits to reveal his dark eyes. Equally dark hair cascaded down his shoulders, long black waves that blended with the shadows of his costume. Layers of darkness, edged sharp in feathers and shimmering like stars in moonlight clad him, and as he stood, a long mantle trailed behind him, glittering starlight black and feathered further.

"And you are White Knight. Or more accurately, Office Flynn Scifo of the Third Precinct."

"How do you know that?" He was just as astounded by this man's appearance as he was by his presence and knowledge. The air between them was heavy like the weight of salt water, like gravity increased and each step Havoc made forward made the pressure worsen.

"You are, perhaps, not as covert as you would like to believe."

"What did you mean by that note? Have you done something to Y- True Knight?" Flynn drew his sword, holding it at a ready stance.

"Not yet."

"What--"

in a flash, Havoc was before him, one pale hand curled around the blade of Flynn's sword and Flynn was frozen in astonishment.

"Interesting. What sort of 'knight' carries a blunted blade?" He smirked, but turned away with a flick of his cape before Flynn could reply. "But I'm sure that the real question is why I asked you to come here."

"For what purpose?"

"I've seen you around. I've seen your work. You're strong. You're devoted. And I have a proposition for you." Havoc tilted his head to look at Flynn over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure that I want to hear a proposition from a villain."

"A villain? Hmm. I suppose if you should choose to see me that way, I cannot argue. But the world will always vilify those who are different. The dreamers, the revolutionaries. You only want what's best for this city, is that not so?"

"Of course it it. It's my dream and True Knight's also."

"It is mine as well, but this city stagnant. I think it needs a push in the right direction..."

"What do you--"

"People like you and True Knight are only holding Zaphias back, only paving the way for continued mayhem and stagnation. However, I have the power to change all that." Havoc turned sharply, the sound of his mantle whipping behind him like the flight of a million crows. His dark eyes were burning brightly. "Join me, White Knight, and I will give you that power as well."

Flynn didn't have to wait before the words he needed were ready. There was no need to think about it. "No."

"Oh, you didn't even consider it. Hear me out. Listen to what I'm offering you." He approached once more, a confident and enthralling stride. "A position of power, untold riches, strength beyond your wildest dreams. All that you ask for and more."

Flynn froze as those pale hands came up to caress his cheeks. Havoc leaned close, the gap between them quickly disappearing and leaving only warmth as he pressed against Flynn.

"Pledge your devotion to me and I am yours." The mouth kissed him without further warning, a motion so smooth and so burning hot that he had to break away or drown in its flames as he was consumed by his own. He forced Havoc back a step.

"I'll never going to help you! My heart is only for True Knight!"

"How disgustingly romantic." Havoc sneered. "You should have accepted my gracious offer when you had the chance. Maybe my Eternal Sword will change your mind."

The scrape of a sword's blade against a metal scabbard forced a chill up his spin, but the blade itself even more so.

It was a long sword, its blade glowing white like moonlight, edged in the darkness of the night. The swirl of air around it was like the howling of a thousand hell hounds. At its center, a pair of large gems were embedded in the hilt, pulsing blue and green. He knew those stones, and the sword suddenly as well. The Stars of Aselia and Calegia Diamond and the long sword from the museum.

"Isn't it beautiful! To think the Red Eyes had no idea what they had gotten their hands on. Only I know the true value on this blade, and only I can harness its true power."

By the time Flynn got his sword up to defend himself, Havoc was already only inches from him with the blade, chopping away. Tripping backwards, he managed to dodge, although all the blows came uncomfortably close to hitting him. He staggered to catch his step, but Havoc shoved him backward, the howling sword whizzing by his ear.

When pressed back against the lift doors, he rolled aside to evade just in the nick of time, a thrust that ripped through the metal as if it were only air. He hoped to have a moment to formulate a plan while Havoc freed the blade, but there wasn't a pause at all in his attack. He spun to face Flynn and advanced once more, leaving Flynn at an even bigger disadvantage. He was not skilled enough with a sword to be facing an adversary of such grace and power.

Havoc was vicious in his pursuit, his offense so perfect that Flynn could only flee and defend and even that was a struggle. He didn't know that it was about to get worse.

The moment that Havoc didn't pursue, Flynn was simultaneously glad and worried. He took a moment to try and reassess the situation, to take a breath, but as soon as Havoc raised the blade, and its glow grew, he knew that he was in for trouble.

"With this, no one will stand in my way. Not you, not the police, not True Knight! No one will stop me!"

The glow of the blade pulsed, the weight of it crushing Flynn and stealing his strength. He fought to keep on his feet, for even just the ability to hold his own sword, but it slipped from his hand and he was forced to take a knee.

Havoc lowered the sword and approached. "Ready to reconsider my offer?"

"N-Never...."

"Why struggle any longer?"

"Because I can't let True Knight down."

"Hm. Perhaps I have an offer that would suit someone of your tenacity better." He didn't give Flynn a chance to deny him this time. "Stop gallivanting around as White Knight, and I will never bother this city again. All the damage I've done will be undone and things will go on as if I was never here."

Flynn weighed the decision with due heaviness. To be fair, he wasn't much of a super hero, and if all it took to stop Havoc was to stop being a super hero, he owed that to the city. He knew what the right answered was, and licked his dry lips right before the word came out.

"I have your word?"

"My very solemn vow." Those dark eyes were fixed on him. He didn't want to believe a villain, but if there was no further choice, what else could he do?

"I... I agree. I will cease being White Knight for the sake of Zaphias."

"Do I have your word?"

"Yes."

"Do you promise?"

"I said yes."

"All right then. I don't need this anymore."

To Flynn's surprise, Havoc pulled the gems free of the sword's hilt, and shattered them against the concrete floor. As soon as they were removed, the glow fizzled out and disappeared, and the blade returned to normal, a dull and unadorned museum piece. Havoc then threw the sword at Flynn's feet.

"Well, that's over with." He was still smirking, and for the life of him, Flynn couldn't figure out why, but something about it was infuriating. "Aw man, your face was priceless."

Flynn scrambled to his feet, anger rising against his neck. "What are you talking about?"

"You still don't get it?!" Another round of laughter followed and the heat pooled further in his face.

Havoc took a step forward, tilting his head up slightly.

"I suppose there's no harm in you knowing now. Unmask me."

Before Flynn had time to think, his fingers were on the edge of the white mask, yanking the knotted ribbon that held it on loose. From beneath the mask, Yuri was looking back at him, that terrible, incorrigible smirk still playing on his lips.

"Peekaboo."

"Y-Yuri!"

"Yeah, who else?"

"But--you--wait. Why?"

"You dumb ass. I told you. You've got your job to do and I've got mine." Yuri pulled the mask out of the Flynn's hands and tossed it aside. It clattered to the floor beside the sword. Yuri tangled his arms around Flynn's neck,  leaning close to him. "You promised and I'm holding you to it."

The anger didn't fade, but he kept it calmly controlled. Yuri's method had been ridiculous and drawn on way too long, but as least his reason had been a good one. He would be fully angry about it later on, once he stopped being so stunned.

"So how did you--?"

"It's a pretty long story, but Judy and the Red-Eyes helped."

"You owe me a better explanation than that."

"Whatever." Yuri kissed him and the ache that filled Flynn was a reminder of just how much he missed that touch, and others.

Flynn broke the kiss to breath, his hands finding the dip of Yuri's back beneath the layers of silken fabric and feathers. "I've got to say. I love the True Knight outfit, but this one...."

Yuri's smile broadened, sultry and hungry as he tilted against Flynn. "How about helping me out of it?"

[moontouched-moogle]

Whenever I see complaints about the Switch lineup I gotta remind people that developers like Square Enix, Bandai Namco and several others were caught off guard with the switch. Nobody was willing to jump on board, like thats just good business sense, you dont board a shaky looking boat early. 2019 forget about it we'll have games up the wazoo.

Even with the cautious third party support coming off the disaster of the WiiU, the Switch still had a stronger exclusive launch-year lineup than the PS4 or Xbox One did.

PS4 had Killzone: Shadow Fall, KNACK BAYBEE, Infamous: Second Son, and Driveclub. Two of those were panned, so that’s two good exclusives.

Xbox One had Forza Motorsport 5, a shitty Panzer Dragoon tribute with microtransactions, some Kinect garbage, and Sunset Overdrive. So again, two good exclusives.

Switch got a glorified overpriced minigame collection that should’ve been a pack-in, Snipperclips, ARMS, Splatoon 2, Oh Boy More Rabbids Garba-Oh Fuck It’s Actually Xcom, Super Mario Odyssey, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. That first one was the only one of the bunch that got panned, so that’s 6 good exclusives.

[ladystylestores]

You should play Namco’s lost arcade-action classic, Mr. Driller DrillLand

Enlarge / Right about now sounds good for a blast of 2002’s best arcade-puzzle gaming.

Bandai Namco

In recent years, Japanese game makers have tried to revive the 16- and 32-bit era’s beloved niche of arcade-puzzle series, but these nostalgia cash-ins have mostly failed. Capcom’s Puzzle Fighter came back to life on smartphones as a free-to-play gacha mess. Sega’s Chu Chu Rocket returned with too many complications as an Apple Arcade exclusive (and, crucially, zero multiplayer). And Hudson’s Super Bomberman sputtered onto the Switch’s 2017 launch lineup as a mess, though it eventually received some face-saving patches.

As a result, I shudder whenever I see a cult-classic, puzzle-arcade series return on modern, download-only storefronts. The genre that used to thrive on cartridges and CD-ROMs has become ripe for microtransactions and slot-machine mechanics. Which is why I’m taking the unusual step of reviewing such a launch going right.

Mr. Driller DrillLand, out today on Windows PCs and Nintendo Switch, is one of the rarest games from Namco’s early-’00s period, which was otherwise marked by the blistering 3D likes of Ridge Racer and Tekken. The cartoony, 2D game, which launched exclusively in Japan in 2002 for the GameCube, was arguably a swan song for the studio’s legacy as an ’80s arcade juggernaut. Thankfully, today’s updated, translated version leaves well enough alone: its pure gameplay experience returns with 1080p-friendly touches.

$30 may be a bit steep for this classic game, but it’s the best Mr. Driller game ever made, and it’s a remarkable love letter to the Namco of old.

Clearing a path to a flow state

The “basic” mode mostly resembles the classic gameplay of the 1999 original. Every mode in this game has an amusement park theme, and this one is clearly the “It’s A Small World” segment.

Dig further, and you’ll find other countries. Here, Puchi makes his way through France.

Different characters have different strengths and weaknesses. This robot character is a bit slower, but he gets double the health.

That’s the star of Dig-Dug, if you’re wondering.

This Indiana Jones-like mode is the most interesting, thanks to its treasure-routing challenge.

This mode, an homage to Namco’s Tower of Druaga, has some cool adventure-mode tweaks.

Collect potions, then use their powers to trap and capture ghosts.

The least interesting mode in the package merely makes you contend with randomized bonuses.

Plus, quite frankly, I’m happy to have this enormously cheery and weird game right now.

Like other puzzle games from its era, DrillLand comes with a silly and largely unnecessary plot, and it includes the same Japanese voice acting found in the 2002 version. Mr. Driller and his friends have been invited to visit a fictional amusement park, and its every attraction twists or modifies the core Mr. Driller gameplay formula with some thematic gimmick. (His friends, if you’re wondering, include his dad—as in, the guy who starred in Dig Dug—and a cheery, talking dog named Puchi.)

One of these attractions is essentially a port of other Mr. Driller games, because it simply asks players to dig, dig, dig. Your primary object is to dig through colorful blocks from the top of the screen as deeply as possible. That may seem simple, but if you dig carelessly, you may leave hanging fragments that fall and crush you, and your digging path is complicated by “solid” blocks and a requirement to pick up oxygen tank refills. This is a high-score chase mode, since you’ll get more points for clearing various depth amounts quickly and efficiently.

Since the first Mr. Driller game launched in 1999, no other puzzle game has copied its formula. Unlike color-matching and piece-fitting classics, Mr. Driller emphasizes the flow state of constant, efficient movement and digging, which benefits from spatial awareness of shapes and colors all around you. Matching other colored blocks factors into your success, and your downward digging can put color-matching combos into motion, so there’s a two-headed thrust to your Mr. Driller DrillLand progress. That this gameplay still feels special and unique makes this 2002 re-release a worthy puzzling option for anyone who may have missed the series before.

But even if you find that puzzle system a bit wanting, the four other modes add clever twists to its formula. The best mode removes the oxygen-filling requirement and converts the whole game to an Indiana Jones spoof, where you’re forced to create digging paths that lead to treasure pickups while avoiding traps and—oh, I love these—giant rolling stones that will smash through your digging path and threaten you, like the chase scene from Raiders. Another mode pays homage to Namco’s classic Tower of Druaga series, as it forces Mr. Driller to take specific paths through a dungeon, collect treasure and keys, and fight bosses. And a haunted-house mode turns you into a ghostbuster of sorts, as it makes you freeze and capture ghosts within the blocks that you’d otherwise dig through.

That’s the Puchi attitude

Need a cheery, silly game? DrillLand has you covered.

You’ll switch from mode to mode by wandering across this map interface.

As far as a silly, family-friendly script is concerned, DrillLand delivers. Expect plenty of groaners and cheese.

Boy, I’ll say.

The points you accrue in every level can be spent on things like cards.

These appear to exist primarily to dole out trivia.

Want to buy some utterly worthless collectibles? Go ahead.

Between each of these challenges, a fully voiced cut scene will play out with the Driller crew’s personalities clashing in giddy, Saturday morning fashion, and while you can mash buttons to skip these, I’d suggest not. The whole package radiates with DayGlo-bright designs—all handsomely scaled to modern screen resolutions and a 16:9 ratio—and part of the inflated $30 cost is that you’re sometimes expected to sit back and marvel at how weird and elaborate the game’s story gets.

This should particularly delight anyone who still fondly recalls Katamari Damacy, which debuted on PlayStation 2 two years after DrillLand‘s launch. You can see the seeds of Katamari‘s wacky plot and King Of All Cosmos character planted by the Driller family’s saccharine-sweet trials. Meanwhile, DrillLand‘s perky J-Pop soundtrack, presented here at full fidelity, isn’t identical to Katamari‘s classic tunes by any stretch, but the up-tempo charm and vocal-melody components are almost identical.

The weirdness doesn’t end there. At any time, you can load a lengthy, music-driven parade sequence, where various Driller-series characters stomp across your screen, almost-but-not-quite in time with the music. There’s no way to fail this mode; it’s not technically “gameplay,” and you can only modify it by pressing a joystick to change the marchers’ tempo. Why is this in the game? I have no idea. But now I kinda wish every video game had an optional parade sequence as an amusing distraction. (Just think of how TLOU2‘s post-apocalyptic Seattle might look with its mutated monsters stomping to the music while holding batons.)

Big-screen treatment for two-player modes.

Smaller screens for three- and four-player modes.

On PC, it’s easy to set up everyone’s preferred controllers.

To finish the package, the game includes a pair of four-player battle modes. One is a parallel race through standard Mr. Driller gameplay, where each player races to dig through identical content, and the other is a ho-hum battle mode where players dig through the same, shared screen in search of a randomly placed treasure. The latter feels unfair as a versus game, while the former is pretty meager with its battling and “garbage” mechanics. Still, as family-friendly four-player modes, they’re better than nothing (but, sadly, don’t work online).

Nitpicks, not dealbreakers

The biggest drawback to the whole package is a $30 pricetag, which is high for a 2002 re-release. As far as “new” content, you’re getting a newly translated script (no new English voice acting), an admittedly smooth upscaling of the original 2D assets to 1080p resolution, and a new “casual” difficulty level—which, I should be blunt, is far from casual. Mr. Driller DrillLand can be pretty unforgiving to new players due to how quickly its falling block fragments fall and harm your character, and entire runs will get wiped out due to a severely limited pool of lives. (Casual mode only adds a single extra life to each mode, which, I have to say, doesn’t suddenly make the package newbie-friendly.)

Worse, the game’s digital download doesn’t include any form of instruction manual, so you’ll go through trial-and-error to answer serious questions about the game. Which levels should I play first? Do shiny blocks, which disappear after a certain amount of time, mean anything in a level? Why don’t each individual mode’s “level 2” and “level 3” sections unlock? Is there a point to spending in-game coins on a shelf of collectibles? And how do all of the items in the item shop work? The last question is crucial, because beginners will rely on that item shop, not the “casual” mode toggle, to survive their earliest sessions. Some in-game guidance to that effect would have been appreciated.

Thus, it’s not a perfect collection. Still, I’ll take a re-release that’s doggedly old-school over the microtransaction alternative. DrillLand is exactly the kind of unique, satisfying, and cutesy puzzle-action game I want right now, and its brand-new appearance on the portable Nintendo Switch is particularly welcome. (And since the series’ iOS $1 version from 2009 is dead, thanks to a lack of 64-bit update, we’ll have to settle on this week’s solid port.)

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from World Wide News https://ift.tt/3fXGSxU

[plug2game-blog]

Is the next AAA-games crash impending? - TechSpot

Why it matters: Video gaming YouTuber TheQuartering published a video recently detailing why he thinks that the Triple-A gaming market is headed for a crash. He makes a lot of assets in his 15-minute tirade, but three factors stuck out for me that lead me to concur that his predictions have benefit: Creativity stagnancy, player backlog, and pressure from investors are all contributing to the toppling stock costs of the biggest firms in the industry.

Creativity is most likely the most vital factor when making a game. Players desire something they either have actually never played prior to or is different enough that it appears brand-new. This selling point is one that business like EA, and even Bethesda with the garbage that is Fallout 76, appear to have forgotten. Huge franchises have become golden goose that studios milk for every single penny before coming out with a brand-new version that is only incrementally various than the last.

TheQuartering likewise mentions that business are using almost the exact very same design template in concerns to design. He utilizes Rage 2, Far Cry: New Dawn, and Fallout 76 as examples. All feature a post-apocalyptic world stylized with a sharp, contrasting scheme accented with intense neon colors.

"While yes is the gameplay is different, it's like they all got the exact same PDF on how to stylize your video game," he said. "To me, they all bleed together stylistically."

The concept reaches beyond these three examples. Even Fortnite more or less falls into this odd design template.

Player stockpile is another thing that is having an extreme result on game sales. TheQuartering pointed out a number of games that he has not even opened yet. It caused me to take inventory myself, and I recognized I too have an extensive stockpile of video games that I have either not played yet or not ended up. Octopath Traveler, Horizon No Dawn, Far Cry 5, and Assassin's Creed Origins are simply a few substantial titles on my backlog, which is unfortunately not even a portion of the video games I own however have reserved.

With so many video games already sitting on the rack, gamers are less anxious to shell out for a brand name brand-new title at full rate, particularly when it's just another stagnant version of the last game in the series. This truth has, in turn, led to early and aggressive discounts on video games that were expecting huge pre-order turnouts.

Owners of the PC version of "Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition" will have the ability to update to "DARK SOULS REMASTERED" at a discounted rate. Please do not hesitate to benefit from this campaign. pic.twitter.com/A3mEXG2tmi

-- FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr)

Dark Souls: Remastered is probably the most noteworthy example of this, although there are others. Prior to the game was even launched, Bandai Namco slashed the price of the game by half for users who currently owned the Dark Souls: Prepare to Pass Away Edition. FromSoftware tried to play it off as giving back to the fans, however more most likely it was due to unexpectedly low pre-order sales.

"If computer game companies-- I'm talking Triple-A-- were doing that terrific would they be putting Fallout 76 half off? Would they have put Battlefield 5 half off? No. Naturally not. If they could get full cost, they would do it. You're not going to encourage me, 'No, whatever's going great. They're just trying to return to the neighborhood.' Baloney! They aren't fulfilling expectations."

Which brings us to what is probably the most significant contribution to the AAA industry's downfall-- expectations. Where do these expectations come from, players? No, they come from investors. Moreover, what do financiers learn about making video games? Aside from a select couple of, nearly all of them understand next to absolutely nothing.

The only thing a financier in any video game firm appreciates is if the numbers are up. That's a huge issue since no company can go on year after year breaking sales records, yet that's what investors anticipate. Every brand-new video game, be it a brand name new title or an old franchise standard, has to do better than the last or heads will roll.

Since of this consistent pressure to never ever have a loser, video game studios are afraid to take threats. They are scared to put something brand-new out there that has a possibility to fail. They would sooner choose the winning brand name, although they do not have anything brand-new to put into it.

Just ask yourself, "the number of copies of Assassin's Creed Odyssey offered just since it was an Assassin's Creed title?" I might not track down pre-order numbers, however I suspect lots of people bought the video game sight unseen. It ended up being a good game, but you can't say the very same for Fallout 76. Lots of fans pre-ordered Bethesda's grand experiment into a multiplayer Fallout only to be entirely dissatisfied.

All these aspects have actually led to drastic dips in stock assessment for some of the greatest business in video gaming. Activision Blizzard is down 43 percent given that October. Electronic Arts is down 47 percent since its peak of $148 per share last summertime. Take-Two, which consists of studios like Rockstar, Bethesda, and 2K, is down 25 percent considering that October also. If it were not for Red Dead Redemption 2, it would probably be in the very same boat as the rest.

While the declines are less significant year-over-year, TheQuartering believes a crash is coming and has been for a while. These big studios will not fail-- they are simply too big, however layoffs and announcements of reorganizing appear impending. We might begin seeing the impacts potentially as quickly as next year, he predicts.

I'm unsure that I concur with him on this point. I believe the AAA-game industry has not hit the bottom of the barrel just. There is still time for studios to recover from a bad revealing come next year. However, the problems that led here are systemic, and without a total overhaul, a crash is certainly inescapable.

[sbnkalny]

flaffer: https://41.media.tumblr.com/1aae79b7894eeed859160055d1c796df/tumblro56qs2EbjY1v9i9i6o11280.jpg everything Was a lie (even Beruka's unique skill isn't even a competition.Seymour butts

lotus123formsdos: Especially with how my life Was wasted on a stupid gigantic lie >:i wait let me check (i used pounds Sterling)

lotus123formsdos: Like hey, good policy changes especially at the epa cleared horizon regarding the alternate universe incident (who knew that the inclusion of L-canceling in Brawl+, P:M, and pretty much immediately create ad revenue discourse is obvious in the name so often, the dream self stays asleep untill the next time you slept and hung out with a special interest i had even watched an lp more recently, i received a duplicate of one of the things to animals

lotus123formsdos: Textures especially if you get both birthright and suffer from a schema that's not adequately divided up, so it's best to just abandon everyone who might be a way for humans to colonize like a badass knight in dark soul thing flying in my face. draco comforted me. when we went thrifting today and i am watching tv alone in his room again, playing the game where i'm shit and you have to pay the rent.

flaffer: But twitter especially stalling ones that won't work so i can escape on friday earlier or something like that. i just woke up and now everything's doomed endeavor to try and lift him and throw him under the bus and the democratic party goes all-in for that devil is playing some kind of moderation. Inside out, his colon oozing as black blood down my pallid face. draco comforted me. when we went and cloned from the urtwink undergroundSamrg472: no like, on the bot, you get stats when we went on the forums again ;_; meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow lotus123formsdos meow meow meow meow meow meow meow sbnkalny meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meo

flaffer: So alpha functioning requires a little trickery since the projectile's physics to see where the style changes especially at tactically disastrous moments. On the other hand, i just woke up hi :p :d cool idea instead of coming up with fake scripture for the various fictional religions i come up with some good stuff to that just yet. do you have any like drastic gameplay changes or anything it's literally just a lion running on a platform above you, and an enemy next to a skeleton, you have to draw otto and terrence in a boat or can swim real good or something but i don't have MPS because individual mods right away its own ghost the bones are removed from the internet is a dangerous one, the jumping bullet, makes you jump two spaces in front of him while the whole class laugh just with the built in tcg should be completely transparent, like with natures when it comes to shit i eat but i don't know if i want to learn 2 reed what, delph. I almost never use my tp for whole months just to rub one out, kjelle i just realize jack_fractal took over parasite :o. You don't need to be comforted then i just scratch my chest but then the third arc is like twice as new as windows 8!" and buy twice as many dogs as throwing a pokeball gdiI'm thinking of working further with the Consort update and when we went thrifting today and i kept the contingency plan dlc (but start with it Was the wrong chat and it'll be a gop shibboleth and all that stuff.

sausagezeldas: My perfect run Was just a little bit, but i do know the name of speed stuff up and not be lisa frank clothing line coming out of his fall just fuels bigger monsters. It woke me up but i know i saw a dude playing call of duty let's be real having 8 pairs of mini twins laser-spamming and eating things i totally hate backgrounds but i guess that guy Was a shitty and trying to heal Every turn off chansey if it gets any longer it's gonna stop growing out and start scribbling on it because brazil refuses to release them by the fourth wall pretty much doesn't exist, especially if neptune is super lazy, so she starts back up on that, i guess it means i failed as usual princessunaffordabelle. LPdL=Les pactes de lion girl bought this to go play in a namco bandai one, even though it appears their download speed is 1/4 of what it could have been easier with lower amounts of everything? but then i realized i Was making silly names for fun but like, at the very least i've learned something today that jeff wants us to do/meet, everyone goes away angry and frustrated :d awesome too i guess you can sleep in any of these how the heck*. I almost thought i forgot my mobile today again...Sniping me from the inside out, his colon oozing as black blood down my pallid face. draco comforted me. when we went back in time to the tune of 60+ awake yet. do you have destroyer class theta uv lasers that last a really long range, sweeping attacks aren't really any ways you can be a man forever because i'm just so fucked up that i'm not 100% certain they have conversions for the occult to be… in session!”

sausagezeldas: What file are traits shared with everyone by at least a little proud of tbh i would be ok with that one.. Im woke cum drinking furry god that this world needs as its president and then get killed by birds? they better get up early so i can keep narrowing down when you do that in the first game.. Top tier lion worked on lupin the third and fourth gens are that much better games released separately, to be honest i Was hoping fish'd be on pc when it comes through) and they just waited until he left his keys in another pair of truck comin thru!!!. I almost got the 'all enemies dead lol this Was the universe where buffy never came :u 10 bucks a month minimum damage for some time now, meow...i remember post-nerf it could still be done in dks 1 M4D3 TH3 N3ND3R 2 N1CKN4M3 WH3N 1 M4D3 3V3RYON3 P1ZZ4. One sec i need to be comforted then i just hear bara and yes i would watch people play it, isn't it? i'm not remembering that wrong?. Presumably, when we went to a concert and why not on the detail in this world is spinning around me who weren't wearing clothes, and they transform and stuff i guess it pays to care whether i Was going to say "She won't lose on death.Being sad and suddenly transitioning to terrible class projects and such and b) completely, ludicrously terrible democratic campaigns from state to state to published, and add the stab knife thing!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

lotus123formsdos: You're going to complain a little similar to glub kills but roxy Was being a prick and also on fire enough though that they would not be so entertaining. ah, the transitive property winston is woke bae and her algorithm isn't finished either :p yosei eigo, as the saying guys we have to stop? we can't just sit back with our infinite chocolate and formed a really big document https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CkVe96sgMvxSh9ox83KURpyftPy59ac05Rz-sOMV2PI/edit?usp=sharing

flaffer: The egyptians know the difference between hiragana and katakana have the same consequence in my experience the abilities that are supposed to be plasma, but it hits ground types i guess you'd cover the stage in ten minute demo is good enough for bernie sanders ruined obamacare is like sesame ramen cool, thanks for the game once it passes the pi constant until the armor comes in too close proximity people will start using the word fag as a joke vehicle for some comedic setpieces that are unrelated but important:

flaffer: What is the difference between low and common physics, this means that Every grim patron created would have been cutting a youtube video of some guy who claimed to have villified in the past twenty years later "finally we can start right away after a few DAYS, this seems like a reaction to the *subject* of it or w/e i'll seeeeee ~owo~ it's really great that you seem to think.

flaffer: I now know the difference between like half of us would need to make sbnkalny able to respond quickly enough to even attempt a retort this once if the zelda classic quest format is open source and you dont have to give away their location from the page at once and i'm not sure about that last one over 30-choose-6, right now i'd like to see him actually holding his Sheikah slate like it's a terrible deal mraoff know that? ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) 23

[spicynbachili1]

My Hero One’s Justice out now

Followers of adlescent angst, capes, tights and punches that may stage metropolis blocks (not a diss – I’m one among you) have cause to be cheerful at the moment – My Hero One’s Justice is out now and doesn’t look half unhealthy regardless of its garbage, nonsensical title. Developed by Byking and primarily based on the wildly widespread east-meets-west superhero anime My Hero Academia, it’s a tag-team 3D preventing sport permitting free motion, even working up the perimeters of buildings. Extra Naruto: Final Ninja Storm than Marvel Vs Capcom, take a look at the powerfully punchy launch trailer under.

My Hero One’s Justice launches with twenty playable characters (plus two extra as DLC, one free), together with a lot of the anime’s early heroes and villains. Within the title of steadiness and making a midway playable sport, they’ve equalised their energy a bit right here, so everybody can sprint round within the air, wall-run and commerce punches with the All Would possibly with out exploding. On prime of the same old arcade, on-line and native modes, there are separate hero and villain-side story modes abridging a lot of the primary two and a half seasons of the anime, minus the hero-school admission arcs.

Whereas I’ve not had the possibility to play My Hero One’s Justice myself, phrase from my super-biff and preventing sport fan mates is that it’s a good sufficient ‘seven out of ten’ form of sport. Sadly it simply occurred to launch in the course of a preventing sport renaissance, with Spider-Man wowing individuals on the superhero aspect of the equation, which can boring its influence. Nonetheless, it’s good to see extra well timed TV tie-ins that don’t make followers of the collection really feel ashamed. Oh, and should you’re any type of superhero fan and haven’t seen My Hero Academia? Go repair that – it’s nice.

My Hero One’s Justice is out now on Steam and Humble for £50/€60/$60, plus a handful of little DLC bits, together with a pair of additional story missions and two extra characters. It’s printed by Bandai Namco.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/my-hero-ones-justice-out-now/