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golshi's wheel of cube

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official horses ranking now that i've played through all the ones i have (I don't have Spe but I did watch the anime so I think I have a good enough feeling for her)

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So some time ago, I went and drew up a short comic to contribute to the @sopfanbook fan zine for Stranger of Paradise, and I kept neglecting to share my submission after we were all given clearance for it! :3 I originally wanted to draw something more focused on Jack and Astos, but during my most recent playthrough of Stranger of Paradise, I kept dying to one of the early encounters with Tonberries, and it also came together more easily than any other ideas. OwO

But man, look at that. UwU A full color comic...

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this trailer from 2:47 on is my favorite AMV

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JACKSTOS 1987 ON WPLACE IS REAL

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Today's Card Is: Snom

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If i dont [experience pathologically concerning sex act] within the next [arbitrary time period] im going to [federal agency watchphrase]

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hello america please explain use of foreign product "peanut butter" to me

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Playing horse game in public/in the presence of family is like

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Going to create a world where you CAN pick your friends' nose

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Being an HD-2D hater is living life on hard mode

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I Beat Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

"I wanna be a yoyo man!" he cried. "Make me a yoyo man!" But the yoyo master did not answer; he just kept on yoing.

This definitely was not a game I was planning on playing, nor was it a game I had even Heard of at the start of the year. But after watching my good friend MegaFreak400 play it, I was interested. I needed a smaller game after playing through Morrowind, and this fit the bill.

Pipistrello is a game resurrecting the soul of the GBA in look, sound, gameplay, and... I don't know what else. I was like 7 when I had a GBA. Don't expect me to remember things.

Also it's another indie game; will I ever beat this many ever again? I'm gonna keep commenting on this every post

Prose (The bit I'm doing here is P words instead of the actual words but I'm not gonna lie I think this joke sucks)

I got some serious stuff to talk about regarding this game, but I wanted to start with my favorite parts.

I LOVE the writing in this game, it's absolutely hilarious. The various NPCs you see just being absolutely unhinged, screaming about burgers or consistently confusing you for someone else; betting their house away on sports, whatever. It's great and I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout.

Beyond the humor, the game's story has a definitely not heavy handed take on how capitalism and rich people bad which is something that I can ALWAYS get behind.

People

To get a bit more specific on writing, let me bring back one of my favorite sections that I feel like I haven't gotten to do in a while!

Pippit - Our main character, initially presented as a worthless mooch who wastes all his family's money on yoyos (which might Somewhat be the case), I really liked how he was actually shown to be competent, brave enough to speak out when something was kinda bullshit, and generally have a much better head on his shoulders than anyone would expect. He's a surprisingly interesting character, and I'm a sucker for someone who loves more than anyone else.

Madame Pipistrello - Not really nearly as interesting as Pippit, but still a great character to bounce off of him and guide you through the game. She's definitely got that "evil controlling business owner" from pretty much the start, making the final boss fight not super out of left field, yet there is also clearly the fact that she does love Pippit, making her redemption ALSO not out of left field.

Don Mauretti - Honestly expected him to be a larger player? He seemed like he was the head of the group at the start, but he just turned out to be just as worth as the rest. I liked his boss fight's vibes though. Many guns.

Slime Tycoon - I think he was the least interesting of the entire bad guy group, but he had a good boss fight.

Toxy - A very fun design, with the Absolute Worst Boss Fight In The Game. Oh my god it was annoying. But I liked her area quite a bit.

Carrera - The best of the 4 villains; a creative boss fight (that wasn't even a boss fight), a good gimmick and design; I quite enjoyed him. I wish there was more of him.

Pepita and Pippo - Pretty nothing menu characters for the whole game, but I will admit that their betrayal at the end got me. It was hinted at with them in the battery room, but I think it was played in a way to be a surprise but not a poorly written one.

That's... everyone? There's not really a super large cast in this game. There's not a lot to them, but enough to be enjoyable. Except in Pippit's case; I do really think he was a standout.

Pieces (of Music)

I love GBA soundfont, man. Some people don't, but I really do, and this game gave it to me in spades. There weren't too many standout tracks, but the boss theme and the final Pipistrello Manor theme were my favorites I think. Also, Yoko Shimomura made a guest track it it! That's cool as fuck!

Play (Game)

Ok. This is gonna be the biggest section.

Pipistrello's gameplay is super solid. The combat revolving around yoyo tricks; bouncing it around, spinning, rolling, etc; as well as all the movement makes for really engaging mechanics. All of the enemies are super unique with their own attacks which lead to some cool combination fights. Kinda reminds me of some fights in FFXIV where it teaches you individual abilities before stacking them. Beyond that, the map is full of puzzles and secrets that really make you think about your whole moveset to find the proper solution. I think this game is really well put together, and I'd LOVE to see a speedrun of it.

That being said... it didn't capture me. I'm really unsure why of the exact reason, but I just didn't feel a spark playing through. There wasn't that really intense feeling of having fun, having the game just click; and it sucks!

I think I felt... annoyed. During a lot of the game. Annoyed about map traversal, or enemy layouts, or whatever. Towards the end, my greatest irritation was the upgrade system. The upgrade system, at first, I found very interesting. Taking half your money towards a debt to permanently unlock it, while you deal with a drawback of some kind. That's really cool! But as you progress in the tree, the money needed increases, and the drawbacks get harder. I don't feel like I'm making MORE money, so I'm just dealing with some bullshit for even longer, getting in the way of my gameplay without giving me much in return. It's theoretically awesome, but I don't think it landed.

Another core feature that just didn't link with me was the badge system, little collectables that change up your gameplay. But I was in my 4th area when I realized I barely had any. After talking with friends, it was chalked up to me just not exploring the map much, but it kinda sucks that I missed out on such a key feature of the game simply cause I was focused on the story. It's hard to say what's at fault in a situation like this. Is it my fault that I didn't play the game the way it was meant to be played? Or is it the game's fault for not guiding me to the correct path enough? I still don't have the answer to this question, though I am leaning towards the former.

But as I reached the end of the game, I believe I settled on the core problem here. I'm just not the target audience for a game like this. Not every game fits in the hand of every player. It's possible that at a different point in life, I would be; but right now, this just isn't what I needed in life; and that's ok! I refuse to call the game bad or flawed (well, everything's flawed, and there is flawed, but I mean in the extreme sense) just cause I didn't vibe right. It's not (entirely) the game's fault. I do really think there's a great gameplay loop here, genuinely. It's a really well crafted experience.

P-I cannot think of a finale word that begins with P

Oops. Did my concluding paragraph in the last section. Oh well, it happens. That's what I get for writing these on the fly for the rawest post game emotions possible (I might take an English class soon, maybe that'll improve my writing).

But yeah. I think Pipistrello's a great game. It's put together really well, it's got a charming cast of characters, and a really cool inspiration in the GBA. It didn't mix well with me for right now, and I'm not upset at it. I did enjoy my time, but I am glad to be done.

Usually when I do these, my final ranking is like, an experience ranking. I will NEVER say that I'm giving something a definitive, factual ranking. Reviewers and critics are too full of themselves. Who do you think you are? That said; I'm gonna be an immediate hypocrite and say that I think Pipistrello is a 9/10 game. But, for my ranking of my experience:

7/10. A very well-crafted game, but with some annoyances in its design and my own brain, a time that didn't spark as much joy as I would have hoped.

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for @sopfanbook

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Bunished Bulk Bogan

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Did some playtesting and had to make a nerf, but I also made a Secret Lair style commander for using them all at once :)

I made custom Magic cards for all my World of Warcraft characters cause I'm a big nerd

I'm really proud of them I did the art with Narcissus in game and think I made very interesting effects (plus I liked making the titles they're very fun)