#& that game & watch mario thing. mayb the mario overalls as well

[hollowtones]

opinions on yoshis story? imo that game doesnt deserve to have music that good

I haven't played very much of it and I've been meaning to do something about that forever. I've played some of it and I've watched others go through most of it.

I know I've seen a little bit of modern grumbling (I don't know if this was a point of contention when the game came out because I was three at the time. OK I looked up some reviews from the era and it looks like it was also a thing people were mad about back then. LOL) over the fact that the game isn't more like "Yoshi's Island" & that it feels like it's aimed more at younger audiences. I dunno. I've never been bothered much by games with some tie to one another doing something different. (Some of the response reminds me of Transformers fans being upset over Hasbro making toys and shows for very young children sometimes; admittedly maybe I'm off the mark here.)

It's a very easy game if you want it to be. You can just eat any fruits you want forever and it's over in a blink. And it's fine. It's fine if the video game lets you beat it very fast if you want to. You can also try to collect only one single kind of fruit in a level and that makes things take longer and makes them feel like more of a scavenger hunt (especially if you're trying to get all the melons). I think that's neat. There's sort of an interesting design trajectory from "Super Mario World" to "Yoshi's Island" where the levels become a little longer, a little more meandering, a little more exploratory, sometimes (not always, and not massively, but it's still there) a little less linear. No time limit. Going for collectibles instead; making every level about getting a score of 100 (if you want to). You can see that iterated on in "Yoshi's Story"! No singular end point of the level. Bigger rooms to explore (while still keeping levels relatively short). More of a focus on puzzle solving and exploration. Collectibles simplified to one meter that you fill up, but there are multiple things that can fill it & you get rewarded for only collecting one kind. (And also the hearts that let you pick what level you go to next. There's a lot of "opening up more of the game for yourself if you want to go out and look for it" here. Are there other collectibles, actually? I don't really remember...) Secret fruits that give even more points. It makes the levels feel more like puzzle box toys that you roam around in. It's neat that they designed that for younger kids and it's neat that you can make it more difficult if that sounds fun to you. (I would have to play more of it myself to decide if going for all melons is fun for me specifically. But I like it on paper, y'know?)

The pop-up storybook theming is cute and the visual aesthetic of the game overall works really well. It feels like arts & crafts dioramas made by kids (or with kids) so they could play pretend with their toys while reading a storybook. It's got very strong toy feel overall. The music is really fun!!! It does the dynamic soundtrack thing where some parts of the track change depending on your health!!! I'm always clapping my hands like a seal with a game's music changes depending what I'm doing!!! Maybe it's a little silly of me to say this, given that it's a sentiment I've had in the past, but nowadays I scratch my head a bit at "the music in this has no right to go this hard" type comments. It goes hard because the musicians got hired to make it like that. (I'm imagining a guy who thinks the "Yoshi's Story" music is the hardest music ever created and I'm smiling serenely about it. I hope he's real & I hope he's out there somewhere.) I'm glad they let Totaka do something that feels at least a little experimental for the goofy Yoshi babies storybook super happy yay & jumping throwing game soundtrack. It's a fun contrast, isn't it? It feels very of-the-era in a way I'm having trouble externalizing outside of "well it's a little weird and multi-genre". It's neat that they all have a shared melody that they draw on.

Thanks for reading my short essay on a childrens' video game I haven't played a lot of yet. I need to go take a shower now.

[starrydaycare]

CG Nexus!!! CG Nexus!!! CG Nexus!!! CG Nexus!! Yeah yeah yeah!!

AKJAAN NEXUS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES TO WRITE FORRRR

THIS IS A FUNKY REQUEST/pos

(Also I didn't know if you were just stating something, asking for a moodboard, or asking for headcanons. Soooo I made a moodboard AND headcanons (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠))

🌌Carvegiver!Nexus Headcanons!

🌕Nexus makes for a super fun caregiver! He's good with kids between 5-12, as well as younger teens, but is willing to take care of you regardless of your age range! He's not really okay with changing diapers or potty training, so keep that in mind. He'll try if you push it, but it's reaaally not his thing.

🌌He's more of a protective, fun older brother than anything. He'll get into mischief with you, pulling pranks on Dark Sun and anyone else, teasing others with you, and so on. And when you two get caught? You'll run, and he'll run with you, giggling on the way. If he has to, he'll take the fall for the two of you.

"No, Dark Sun. It was my idea; don't blame them! They're just a kid, it's my fault."

🌕He likes having you nearby, as he doesn't want to risk you getting hurt or anything. With the stuff they deal with on a regular basis? You're staying with him. Sit down, get comfy, here's a cookie 🍪

🌌He really likes playing video games, so if you're younger he'll sit you on his lap while he does so, making sure to watch his language around you. He'll explain everything that's age appropriate to you, showing you his game happily.

🌕If you're older, then he'll play multiplayer games with you! You'd sit in a blanket fort the two of you made together, controllers in both of your hands as you play Fortnite, Minecraft, Mario Kart, whatever. Snacks nearby, of course.

"You got it! Go, go, yes! Yes, Wait–No! Da-aaang it, they got me! You can do it; you've got this!"

🌌While he's working he'll explain to you what he's doing. Regressed, you maaay not understand it all. Or maybe you're a really smart baby/kiddo! Regardless, you like listening to him talk about his latest creation, excitement and happiness in his voice <3

🌕He'll show you all of his inventions, both current and past, if you show interest. He loves talking about his creations, even if it's to his kiddo. If anything, that makes it all the better. He loves sharing this with his kiddo, bonding over it with you!

"Yes! And this is a portal. Orrr... It's supposed to be. I'm not finished with it, yet."

🌌He's always willing to get you whatever you wish for. You're spoiled rotten, given anything and everything! He loves buying you stuff, so please let him. When I say anything and everything, I mean anything and everything. French Fries? Already in your tummy. A new toy? Check your toy box! A kingdom under your name? Alllll yours. Every single dimension? Yours <3

🌕He's pretty affectionate, believe it or not. Always ruffling your hair, carrying you around, giving you bear hugs, calling you names like "Buddy" and "Kiddo", gifting you stuff, making you stuff, ect,. Of course, if any of those things make you uncomfortable, then he'll stop. Making you uncomfortable is the last thing he wants to do.

🌌He's very protective, in fact, you're one of the most protected people to exist if you ask me. No one dares to bully or tease you rudely, push you, or even do so much as glare at you in a way that's not jokingly or affectionately.

🌕Overall, he's a really good caregiver! You're lucky to have him as a CG if you do.

🌌🌕💤

[thecluelessdoctor]

whike I mentally prepare myself to make a whole damn comic, it's time I talk about the FNAf movie because fuck you I am going to write what I want

cw: spoilers for the FNAF movie!!

At base value, I loved it. I felt the pacing was a little slow, but I love it. From the little refs to the games, to the in general plot, it was just very enjoyable, even if most of the plot is just from the fact Vanessa didn't tell Mike wtf was going on.

NOW! let's talk technical!

For a pg-13, it was pretty good! I feel it matches the games really well! It's not too scary, but it can give you a startle, especially to any newbie! My mom was startled by the balloon boy lmao. Also it had blood so it's a plus.

The acting, dialogue, and overall set is really good. Scrumptious if I do say so myself.

I loved how the animatronics looked. Freddy and chica being my overall favorites. Idk they made my boy Bonnie blue so I had to take a few points. The cupcake running around was weirdly funny to me lol.

Now lemme touch on the plot!

I liked the plot! Like I said before, it was a LITTLE slow, but nothing too bad. I found it really interesting with what they did with Micheal and the whole dream thing.

And the idea that the children communicate in pictures rather than words hit me pretty hard, because that how I myself communicate. Although I can be.. pretty good with my words, drawing, and art as a whole is relatable to me, making Abby a really relatable character to me.

I really don't understand the hate for the movies bc it's not lore accurate. So what??? A lot of movies based on games don't! I mean- look at the Sonic the hedgehog movie!! Or the Mario movie! So your point is invalid. And also- I'm pretty sure this is a lot more entertaining than watching Micheal do five nights at Freddy's smhhh.

Though I'm sitting here in complete wonder bc like- WHO WAS THE 5TH KID?! WE SEE HER IN THE PICTURES!!! BUT- IS IT CASSIE?? OR CHARLIE MAYBE?! IDK

Also what happened to Derek I need to know.

Did he get turned into a animatronic what the fuck happened to him

Anyway

Let's talk about the cons of the movie.

I keep bringing this up, but the movie was slow. Not unbearably slow, but still slow.

Also, the whole aunt subplot- idk I felt it wasn't really needed except for the mat pat scene (he fucking embraced that scene it was great the theater I was in started cheering and I had to explain to my mom why everyone was so happy)

Also I felt the one major jumpscare we get, of foxy, was waisted. It looked like he was rolling into the security guard on roller blades. I would have liked it if maybe foxy like jumped at the guard or something. Idk just a me thing

I also feel the 'i always come back' line was rushed, same with shaggy's- sorry I mean WILLIAM'S death. It didn't really feel satisfying ig?

also, I felt that Vanessa was more of a plot device than a character. Because most of the plot literally is riding on the fact she doesn't tell Mike the truth.

But anyway

What would I rate this movie, and should you watch it?

I give it a 8/10. It's fun, and nostalgic for old FNaF fans, and a fun intro to new ones. Go check it out

[xtramaletf]

Swapping Device: DK

I recently got my hands on this swapping device and it has all sorts of settings and options and functionalities. Being the big nerd that I am, I’ve been testing it out (with the global-awareness set to OFF of course) to see the limits of what it could accomplish. 

My friend Kenny and I were playing some video games the other night and I got curious what would happen if I attempted to set one of the targets to a video game character. In between one round of smash bros, I decided to try it and surprisingly it registered the video game characters as valid targets. Most physical swaps were invalid so I tried some small swaps first and got to see Kenny sport Mario’s overalls, links tunic, and even peach’s dress. Then I decided to go a little crazy, finally swapping Kenny’s clothing and lifestyle with Donkey Kong!

It was quite a hoot watching him spend the rest of the night playing games and chatting in nothing but a tie. Each time he won, he’d jump up and beat his skinny chest and holler, but he was still the same goofy, nerdy guy and I’m glad I didn’t affect his personality too much. It was weird seeing DK wearing various outfits I’ve seen Kenny wear, but overall it was a fun night. 

Well the night must have been too much fun cuz I woke up the next morning on my beanbag chair with Kenny gone. I figured I’d see him soon because it was break, but when I called him, he reminded me that he was already at the airport leaving for his family’s ski trip. Then after that we both got busy and things came up, so I only got to see him again now that school’s starting up.

From our texts I knew that his family had “finally” talked him into wearing underwear and shoes, but I didn’t expect him to have gotten so buff. I did know he climbed a lot more trees, and buildings, and tried to lift things and ate a ton of bananas so it probably all summed up into a pretty good routine? Maybe I’ll keep things like this for a while, I don’t mind the show and Kenny doesn’t seem to mind showing off.

[34saveme34]

weird fun fact about me: I had a phase where I watched like a fuck ton of among us streams, like not kidding I consumed hours of content

anyways, man, the among us would be insane with these guys

so many of them would hack, Melony in this nebulous place where she would hack to have fun and if she did that in like a public she would probably get kicked or something similar and feel so so sad about it

also the arguments would be SO loud

Mario would be an excellent killer, although very risky

like you would have a fast game with him either because he killed people that fast or because he got caught fast, he's just reckless like that

the 3 and 4 arguments would go crazy, especially when neither of them are the killer but they still vehemently accuse each other. they work great as killer partners though, considering how team work is second nature to them

except if they work too well together, people start questioning and eject them, making it so they have to kind of pretend fight to get out of shit, it's- more or less successful

Meggy is probably the one that likes to keep information straight the most, always trying to figure things out. this comes to bite her in the ass when she's a killer, as she will sometimes accidentally reveal herself to be a liar- not all the time but it's not rare either. Although she tries her best for her killer partners, and would likely sometimes end up protecting them a little too much, once again drawing suspicion

Tari is lethal.... if she was a more brave killer. I actually see her being really good at it, there's also this feeling of "I'm killing my friends and they're gonna find out :(" keeps her back. However in public lobbies she is EXTRA lethal

Saiko goes crazy because killer or not, she acts very similarly, always defending herself, overall a good killer, although I don't know about her team work skills- depends on who she gets paired with. I feel like, to an extent, Tari or Meggy could follow her lead well, she would turn out weirdly good with Mario even if she's not happy about it, if it was 3, she would try to reveal him on purpose, then frames it as gaining other people's trust requiring sacrifices

Shroomy.... probably one of the best killers, he would somehow turn out to be incredibly cunning, though if he goes anti Shroomy he has to try and not let out the Evil in voice chat, especially proximity chat, that would really bite him in the ass. very good survivor though, he loves his tasks in a mind numbing way, like hey murder may be happening but at least I have my silly little tasks to distract me

Belle super good unless she pairs up with someone she doesn't like, however w Tari would go crazy, she would get competitive and try to kill more than Tari. This recklessness does bite her in the ass a lot. She would be pretty bored with tasks, only doing maybe a few but otherwise walking around, trying to see if anyone if anyone is getting murdered

Boopkins is awful at both, which people recognise. However because people recognise he's awful, sometimes he will get away with a kill or 2 because he can sometimes will himself to do things well and people just. don't believe he could've taken that kill so they drop it

Bob gets ejected all the time, somehow always looking sus, he's not even that bad of a player, he is just somehow always sus. Like Bob, why'd you bring up organ trading during an among us sesh? are you channeling your inner killer? He is forever bored with tasks

[ohfugecannada]

My idea for Daisy in a Mario movie follow up (spoilers for the Mario movie, of course)

So I finally caved and went to watch the Mario movie with my sister. It wasn’t amazing but I think it’s a pretty good adaptation of the games overall. I’d love to see a sequel or spin-off in this new universe if it’s done right. (which being realistic I highly doubt they will given Illumination’s track record with sequels but that’s another story)

It got me thinking about how other characters that didn’t appear in the film could be incorporated into sequel or spin-off movies. And I thought of one of my favourite characters; Daisy!

Click the readmore if you don’t mind spoilers for the movie.

Now, before watching the movie I liked the idea of Daisy showing up in a sequel or spin-off movie. Like some kind of princess peach solo movie/princess team up movie. Or maybe in that rumoured Luigi’s Mansion spin-off.

However, once I actually watched the movie, though, I feel like adding Daisy may prove problematic for story reasons.

Like, let’s look at Daisy and what her deal is: a princess from Sarasaland who’s a cocky, loud mouthed Tom boy who’s super into sports, has a good relationship with her dad and is super competitive.

She makes for a great addition in the Mario games since her bombastic personality shines through in the more tone down and fairly generic personalities of the rest of the cast (in the sports titles anyway).

In the context of the Mario movie though… I’m not so sure.

You can’t have her be the athletic proactive action girl princess since the movie already has that with their version Peach.

You can’t play up her cockiness and competitive nature and relationship to her dad either since you get some of that with movie Donkey Kong.

There are already two characters who fill both niches she provides, so putting her in the movie as is, with no changes, would just make her redundant and a pointless addition.

But then, I had an idea;

You know how in the movie, it’s revealed Peach wasn’t originally from the mushroom kingdom, but a human that stumbled into one of the inter dimensional warp pipes as a child and was taken in by the Toads?

Well… what if, instead of a kid coming from a human world to a fantasy world like what happened with Peach, what if was the opposite way around? What if, instead of being raised in Sarasaland, Daisy was separated from her homeland via warp pipe when she was very young and ended up in the regular human world. What if she wasn’t taken in by anyone and had to fend for herself on the streets for a good portion of her life? Perhaps with her only escape being sports? Never knowing for the longest time her true birthright as the heir to an entire kingdom?

So yeah! That’s my idea for Daisy; a princess who was born in Sarahsa Land but ended up on earth and became a scrappy tomboy loner.

To me, this idea of Daisy’s backstory being a mirror to Peach’s would be the best of both worlds; you’d still stay true to daisy as the tomboyish princess, but with a backstory and slight edge that makes her distinct and be able to bring a niche to the cast that isn’t filled by other characters. Maybe with this version of Daisy, they could play up her moxie, anger issues and attitude, since she grew up in a rougher environment. Kinda like her attitude in Super Mario strikers. Plus, her discovering she’s a princess and learning how to be a leader could make for an interesting character arc.

And yes, I know the whole “Daisy being royalty that got teleported to the regular human world from her original dimension” thing was kinda already done in the 1993 Mario Bros movie. Funny enough, I actually hadn’t realised this until I brainstormed the idea with my sister after the movie. Me thinking of such a similar idea was actually a complete coincidence. But I think my take on it was different enough from the 93 movie anyway.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

No need to apologize ppl are busy I understand ;)

1: what’s their biggest pet peeve?

2: what’s something they both can’t agree on? Best spider-man actor, best Star Wars trilogy, etc…

3: what’s their favorite & least favorite animated Christmas movies?

4: is Jon & mar’is reaction the same as the duo when they react to: somebody getting hit in the nuts both real life & movie/cartoon, toliet humor, & the whole rikishi stink face thing?

5: for the duo, what’s the best gift they got for each other? I can see Jake giving Chris a blue domino mask with white lenses.

6: are the duo fans of the game awards? If so, what game are they hoping for win game of the year?

7: not really a question but I like the little fanfic snippet of “Lava bridges & you” would love to see a full fanfiction of that, would love to help to ;)

Thanks for your patience. It’s very appreciated ;-)@gothicghost2000

1) For Chris, while getting his superhero identity confused with Dick’s Nightwing is an all too common way to annoy him a bit, a far bigger one for him would be hearing and looking at comments of all sorts that claim Superman being a ‘lame’, ‘boring’, ‘Un-relatable’ and overall ‘dull excuse’ of a superhero who should step aside in favor of any other heroes, especially Batman, just because they’re ‘cooler’ and ‘edgier’. Yeah he doesn’t take it too kindly deep down of people having those thoughts about his adopted dad. Frankly neither Jon nor him is they would be honest.

For Jake, it’s from what he can admit is a tad bit more petty on his end and he apologizes for it. That said, do not mock the original Discowing in front of him. Jake looks up to that first suit his father made with pride and he will not be taking any badmouthing against it if he can help it, No siree. Not even family members are other Titans are safe from his objections to their opinions should they make fun of Discowing

2) Best Star Wars film (Chris votes on A New Hope while Jake firmly believes it’s The Force Awakens) , Best Pizza Place (Jake will always back the local Marv and George’s while Chris favors Shakey’s) , Fairly Oddparents (Jake) vs Jimmy Neutron (Chris) but most of all and most fiercely, the Best Godzilla film ever made (besides the 1954 OG; Chris champions Godzilla vs Monster Zero while Jake touts King of the Mosnters 2019 as the best)

3) Chris

- Favorite: Elf (2005) (Not just for the obvious reason of it being funny as heck but also since it deals with themes of adoption and trying to fit in, he can relate so well with Buddy)

- Least Favorite: Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer (Mainly cause the song it’s based on just sounds too morbid for a cherry beat and tone)

Jake

- Favorite: The Muppet Christmas Carol (Alfred and him almost every single time at the family’s Christmas party do a karaoke of ‘A Thankful Heart’)

- Least Favorite: The Nutcracker 3D: The Untold Story (Those visuals all throughout the movie….he can never get them out of his head no matter how hard he tries)

4) More or less almost the same though Jon is tad bit more likely to have a small chuckle with watching a Stink Face as long as it’s short and against a true heel. Mar’i also doesn’t cringe as hard with nut shots as she had seen her Dad pull that off during Father-Daughter patrols together sometimes and the reactions from the crooks who receive are pretty funny form a distance.

5) While Jake’s best gift for Chris was that mask as described, in turn thanks to Chris, Jake was given a rare one of a kind 12-inch replica of Voltron which being a fan of, all to well bringing a big smile to Jake’s face

6) They’re a bit more casual than most when it comes to those shows as the Duo really only enjoy the games they play and Jude on their own merits. That said as for this year, Chris and Jake are hoping for Super Mario Bros Wonder to win Game of the Year as they love that one

7) You know maybe later this month I can write a small snippet to expand it. Not saying it’s a guarantee but it’s certainly an idea now that you brought it up lol

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Obituaries and panicking, everywhere... As expected and projected, Memorial Day box office was at an all-time low... What is going on? Are the movies bad? Is the younger generation not into theaters anymore? Too many other forms of entertainment competing with theaters? Is it this? Is it that?

Maybe the way box office is reported and deified above all else, oughta end. It's waaaaay overpowered the movies themselves, for sure.

I think it's simple... The movie theater experience costs too much and is often a big gamble. The chains are like malls, they could be clean or really gross, you could get an audience that you share a great communal experience with, or a completely disruptive one. $12+ per ticket, general admission, sky high snack prices... I think a lot of audiences, especially families and groups, are - in true fashion - saving for the few movies they want to see every calendar year. I know, because I've worked at a movie theater for almost 9 years at this point... I see it in action. Stats have shown over the last 10 or so years that this is the case with many Americans.

That's not to say 2024 has been a total wasteland overall, in terms of the domestic box office. DUNE: PART TWO did really, really good, as did GODZILLA X KONG and KUNG FU PANDA 4. But so far... The Top 10... It's largely recognizable IPs or movies based on well-known people, such as the Bob Marley biopic. Not exactly "original", per se. At #9, so far, is the movie CIVIL WAR, which was an original story. And below that, THE BEEKEEPER.

Last year's Top 10 was also no different. Barbie, Mario, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ariel and friends, Willy Wonka, Ant-Man and pals, John Wick, and the astro-turfed movie about some real-life fraud whose name I won't mention. The highest-charting original of last year was ELEMENTAL, at #17.

But here's the thing... Original, original...

FURIOSA is out this weekend, and it's being *raved* about in most circles, that director George Miller has done it again and it's another excellent entry in the MAD MAX world. A wild big budget movie like few others. DUNE: PART TWO was similarly very well-received and was similarly the work of an auteur.

I like a healthy mix of both, and that there's a passion or drive behind both as well. There are "original" movies, or movies based on untried properties, that kinda just show up and do little for me. Like I wasn't all that big on, say, THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING, WISH, or SALTBURN. A movie like SMILE, I borderline hated. And there are big IP movies that really impressed me. I really dug both of the Denis Villeneuve DUNE movies, GODZILLA MINUS ONE, ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, BARBIE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, you get the idea? And vice-versa.

Some of this year's "flops", like THE FALL GUY, were pretty well-reviewed and seem to be growing with audiences - even if they won't make back their astronomical budgets within the first few months of their existence.

The theater world needs to up its game, studios need to be smarter with budgets (and also more experimental, at that), and box office needs to become less of an obsession. I mean, it's to a point where the movies are just nothing more than stats, numbers, etc. Box office is a fun race for me to watch - I've been fond of it for at least 20 years at this point, seeing numbers is satisfying, and it's fun to see where the zeitgeist is at and what audiences are flocking to at the given moment - and what the movie's future will eventually be. I like seeing cool stuff succeed and make back its budget, so more cool stuff like it happens. Also what movie is the one to see and thus part of the weekly conversation... But at the same time, the movies themselves matter more.

And it sucks to see them take a back seat, more so than ever before, to this kind of hyperbole... The kind that doesn't seem to read the room.

[fandommemequeen]

my 2023.

yearly retrospective time LETZ GO!!!

last year i said 2022 sucked but uh,, 2023 was definitely worse :'o)

with the rise in queerphobic legistlation, school getting progressively harder to stay on track with, my dad dying, and just everything else that ive had to endure this year, its been difficult. but.. i somehow made it.

and you might be wondering how i got through everything. did i touch grass and magically everything was sunshine and rainbows? buy some overpriced self help book or online course that changed my life? No <3

i just,, did what i normally do. i played video games, talked with my friends, watched youtube, brainrotted over fandoms, listened to music, came up with cool outfits, somehow made it through skool, drew, wrote, cosplayed, roleplayed, made kandi and crafts, and just overall found ways to find joy in the small things, which goes a long way when youre trans in a world where your joy is an act of rebellion.

i also had some cool fandom moments this year! season 7 of siivagunner has been AWESOME, return to dream land deluxe was great even if it fricked with the lore a little, THE TOH FINALE WAS SO FRICKIN GOOD, marios madness may be my new fave fnf mod, NPMD THREW ME BACK INTO MY HATCHETFIELD FIXATION, i FINALLY got the kirby planet robobot soundtrack cd and the limited edition quiznos training game physical edition, i found ways to actually enjoy WDY again and leave behind itz toxic fandom, i got into pokepasta, tintn, gogos crazy bones, playtime with percy, inside job, tadc, i started listening to mal blum and against me and chonny jash, im currently being dragged into eggotama as we speak and im getting back into mpdsap,,

but the fandom that had the most impact for me this year was the june archive and restoration project. getting into TJA led me to discover bowlbys other works and get into one of the best fandoms ive ever been in, thanks in part to the june archive and restoration project fanserver. ive met so many cool people through that server, and getting to chat and VC with them has always been a blast. [yknow what? shoutout to all my friends that ive loved talking with all throughout 2023 yall are awesome]

back to life stuff for a moment here, i got to do a lotta cool stuff this year! i FINALLY homebrewed my 3ds [with a bit of help from jaco xd], GOT TO SEE THE HAUNTING OF NIGHT VALE LIVE, put together some awesome cosplays for gencon and halloween, im getting better at rhythm games, i got SECOND PLACE in my skoolz national cybersecurity codebreakers competition, i had an awesome bday, i went to go see barbie [my first movie in theaters since lockdown] and fnaf and both were AWESOME!! all of this despite everything thats happened in 2023!

and as for my creative projectz,, DIGIVERSE REBOOT EPISODE 3 FINALLY RELEASED BACK IN MAY!!!!!! holy frick i was SO PROUD of that,, in addition, ive been doing character reveals for gamerz epic megamix take, i created the doomed timelines awoken au, and ive strengthened my artstyle into what it is today while learning how to use my drawing tablet :3

in addition, getting into TJA and watching bowlbys animation legacy made me think about my past as a creator, and i started work on giving my old book ocs from my days in the TWOW fandom the care and attention they deserve, even if it means some slight redesigns or rewrites. speaking of TWOW, EWOW IS OUT AND IM GETTING BACK INTO TWOW AFTER YEARS!! feelz good to be back, and im hoping i can maybe properly host a minitwow at some point in 2024!

overall 2023 wasnt great, but i stayed silly and had fun despite it and i think thatz very swag of me!

now, every time i do one of these things, if i do an overconfident "bring it on" type message at the end i almost always end up regretting it, AND i am absolutely terrified about 2024 so i am not taking my chances!

so i leave u with this sentiment towards 2024 instead:

i gotta survive The Horrors anyway, might as well stay silly and do what i like while im doing it :3

[cinemageddonreviews]

Super Mario Bros Movie

So… the Super Mario Bros movie… let me first start by saying that no matter the outcome of this film, Illumination are one of the worst animation companies active today, due to their terrible animation practices and prioritizing of celebrities over voice actors.

I have no respect for them or what they do because of how intentionally cheap they make their movies along with having the most safe and marketable writing they can commission, all so they can make back their money with celebrities they put on the poster.

THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I am happy to report that not only is the Super Mario Bros movie actually good, not only did it live up to the impossible expectations I set up for it given the company involved and the predictable cast of celebrities they put on their poster.

The scariest part about all of this, is that the movie succeeds in being a good adaptation of the Mario universe, and it also works as it’s own unique creation.

This movie lives and breathes Super Mario, right down to the music which JESUS MADRE deserves all the acclaim it’s gotten. I don’t think I’ve ever been brought to tears out of happiness watching a movie before except maybe when Your Name came out, but Bryan Tyler’s incredible score does 35 plus years of Super Mario’s legacy Justice. Storywise, the film can feel pretty paper-thin, especially given that it still manages some typical “believe in yourself” and “you’re not so small” type of inspirational jibber jabber. To be honest though, the story was honestly more moving than I expected and the fact that they gave Mario an internal obstacle to overcome gave this movie more nuance than anything Illumination has ever done.

Speaking of Mario himself, let’s talk about Chris Pratt… look, we all agree they should have used voice actors and not celebrities, especially not one who’s really only known for using his own voice; That being said… I think we all collectively owe Chris Pratt an apology, because his Mario wasn’t only well voiced, he added so much dimension to the character that not even the games were able to provide.

It doesn’t hurt that he and Charlie Day have great chemistry as brothers and play wonderfully off of one another. The same can be said about the voice acting overall. Both the celebrities they cast and the voice actors involved with the rest of the picture. Everyone’s voice fits perfectly, and no spoilers, but Charles Martinet isn’t wasted.

If there is one thing that took me out of the movie on occasion, it had to be the unnecessary use of licensed songs. And before u all come at me with the whole “The Super Mario Bros Super Show did it too”, I don’t care! It’s jarring watching Mario and Luigi on their way to work and suddenly “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys starts playing. You get kinda used to it after a while, but this was completely unnecessary, no matter how good the songs actually are (I’m never one to say no to Thunderstruck by AC/DC no matter the context).

The Super Mario Bros Movie may not be perfect as a movie, but this is definitely a film that will satisfy everyone who doesn’t care too much about nitpicky bullshit enough to let it ruin their enjoyment of it. The fact that so many kids are gonna be introduced to Super Mario this way is honestly really incredible and I can’t describe the joy in their eyes seeing the movie yesterday in a packed theater with kids everywhere smiling and laughing. This movie is for them as much as it is for us. If it wasn’t obvious, I really enjoyed this movie and I encourage everyone to give it a watch, if nothing else because this movie actually does Justice to both the Super Mario Bros brand, but to Nintendo as well, even paying tribute to the late Saturo Iwata, which they didn’t have to, but I’m happy they did. ❤️

[less-than-three-3]

octopath traveler 2 - a masterclass in developing a sequel and an instant classic

I think that in games, when developing a sequel, it’s not uncommon to see a team take feedback and make changes that try to make it more widely received. Often, I feel that in that endeavor it’s easy to lose sight of what made the original game uniquely tick or feel like it did. Don’t just take my word for it (though what games I feel fall into this category can be controversial), it’s something that Sakurai has often mentioned before, for example.

Octopath Traveler II is a master class in how not to fall into that pitfall, and not just one of the best sequels (most improved award), but I think one of the best turn based RPG’s to date, at least by modern standards. I think it’s probably not a game that’s for everyone’s taste, but if you go in without expectations, I think it’s hard to ever really be let down. Likely spoilers below (especially end-game spoilers), but I’ll try to leave them to the end.

Before digging into the sequel though, I just want to briefly touch on octopath 1 in 2023. Something that I think about a lot is Scott’s retrospective on 3D World (I ain’t timestamping this one sorry), specifically, that 3D World was given a good bit of flack on release because it felt like it was “taking 3D mario into a bad direction” when, in a post-Odyssey world, we can really look back and really appreciate 3D World for what it is, and not judge it for what it isn’t (watch the whole video, it’s a great retrospective). 

All this to basically say, I think a lot of the flack that octopath 1 got was kind of in the same vein. People really wanted it to be what it wasn’t. It’s not a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, where you get a ragtag team of misfits banded together on a big journey, maybe with small individual branches along the way. It’s 8 very differently motivated individuals who just kind of pick each other up and just happen to help each other do their thing. The exp sharing and party system I can get being annoying, but I don’t think it’s really more than just a minor annoyance at worst, and I can get behind it being good to push the player to experiment with team composition (your leader gets somewhat overleveled but I really never found it that much more broken than synergies you get by mid-game). In another game that I love, Ruined King, they do have full party exp share, and while I loved experimenting and moving parts around to make different comps, I definitely felt that is very self-motivated, and the game doesn’t have too much in place to force you to move people around besides required character segments. Random encounters... I get complaining about it, but again it feels like idiot-proofing the level curve, because so often I see people in games with “walking encounters” just never ever fight them and then complain about being underleveled and having to “grind”. 

This might feel like an odd rant to go on, and yeah it is partially just me getting on my damn soapbox and saying “octopath 1 was good actually”, but it’s important as context for why I find octopath 2 to be such a brilliant game (and because octopath 2 gives a new appreciation for these elements). I love the RPGSite review because it sums up this angle really well:

“As I mentioned previously, Octopath Traveler is meant to be a structurally open game that values player freedom. The overall arrangement of eight individual characters with eight distinct storylines may not fit the more traditional and expected structure of a unified JRPG party and a unified goal, thus some concessions are made in order to fit that vision in terms of character dynamics.   Maybe it took falling in love with the SaGa games - which share some common components - for me to begin to understand what Octopath was trying to do all along, but I think this was the right direction to take the sequel in. I'd rather not see Octopath change dramatically and risk its identity in order to conform to expectations it doesn’t try to meet. If you’re looking for linear, story-driven, party-centric RPGs, there are an abundance of them.”

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying the original is perfect. I found some of the stories not that interesting (or maybe I just never gave them a chance!), and certainly the character interactions were a little sparse and unimpactful. But that’s where octopath 2 really shines beyond its origins, because I think the entire cast is absolutely wonderful, and their interactions, both in their paired quests and side-banted, ooze character. There is certainly a disparity between characters because they are all such different people, but as you get through chapters you can definitely feel them warm up to each other and get to understand each other’s perspectives. It’s such a breath of fresh air because in the original I felt like a lot of them were kind of just, one character asking the other for advice, and then they give it? And the structure of the chapters is so varied in the sequel, including how and when to use path actions (the night/day system helps a lot), when in the original it definitely felt a bit cut and paste.

I don’t even know where to start with the characters and their stories. I guess, like with Live-a-Live, I’ll just list them from my least favorite to favorite, but just know that I loved all of them.

8. Agnea - her motivations really kind of felt the most octopath 1 out of everyone, and not necessarily in the best way? I mean, she’s pretty much like Tressa, who I love don’t get me wrong, but it is just strange to me that, throughout every single chapter, it never really, like, felt like there should really be conflict? It’s a weird way to put it, but she is pretty much just going to become a star, and that sure is the journey she goes on. I don’t even really think she has many foreshadowing moments, but I might have just missed those? She’s super adorable and lovable and brings everyone cheer, and her story is very much the lighthearted one, so I suppose it fits. I don’t know, it just didn’t fully click for me. Great member of the party, I just wasn’t the most invested. Part of it may also just be that it feels like so different from Prim, who was easily one of the best characters from 1.

I think that is literally the only vaguely negative one I have, and I didn’t even really dislike her story, I just was least invested in it lmao

7. Throne (I will be leaving out the accent sorry I’m lazy) - I think the premise and split path and internal and external qualms are interesting, but I just kinda felt like it was Therion-lite. The final twist... sure is a twist of all time. I’m not in love with her story in retrospect, but it was like good enough moment to moment. Kinda like Lycoris Recoil, thinking about it.

6. I guess Osvald is 6th? These rankings past 8 are definitely pretty wishy washy. His character and story and motivation is just. anguish. Everything sucks (for Osvald). Harvey sucks. At every step you think you cannot get more upset at the situation and it just keeps on getting worse. How. Incredible.

5. Ok I fucking love Partitio but I would be remiss to rank his story too highly, because he is just god’s gift to mercantilism. He can do no wrong. There is no growth. But he’s really fucking charismatic and funny so it totally makes sense. It’s also really funny that he is the most socialist merchant ever, and he takes down the chains of capitalism and their absurd contracts and loopholes and then that final boss fight is just so awesome. I love Partitio.

4. Hikari also goes in the middle for just being A Political War Drama (I love those). He’s pretty much simba. But like, a dark, fucked up version of simba. I don’t know if I have that much else to say about it, that pretty much is everything. 

3. Castti is really really interesting. Piecing together lost memories felt a little cliche to start, but the story being put together and the final few turns of the story were absolutely gut wrenching and my god what an incredible story. She is the mom of the group, and I don’t know if she was really that much more.

2. Temenos is a really interesting cleric character, and a huge departure from Ophilia (for the better). He is pretty much just Sherlock, from Sherlock. He can really be an asshole, and it’s really interesting to see this kind of angle, and not in a “church bad” trope, but in a “church good? but we need to fix the church?”. I would probably be mobbed for not mentioning Crick. So I have. I cannot talk about Crick without massive spoilers. If you finished his story you know why. Great character, great story.

1. Ochette may not belong up here but she is by far my favorite character what a fucking idiot I love her dearly. Just too stupid to live. There are like, a maximum of two things on her mind, ever. Her arc is great. She is voiced by Yuffie Kisaragi, the best character in FF7R. I am biased. This is my write-up. What are you gonna do about it.

Speaking of Live-A-Live, I can’t help but think Team Asano working on that remake helped reinvigorate some notable improvements in this sequel. Obviously the Octopath games have a lot of flesh and blood from Live-A-Live to begin with. But the final chapter of the game felt very reminiscent of that of LAL, both in terms of literal story structure, but especially with the worldbuilding and foreshadowing dropped throughout the game. I will spare many of the details, but I really liked the way that the foreshadowing is much more apparently integrated into events, major and minor, in each character’s story. 

The combat system being pretty much the same, but with an extra new gauge, is great, because the original combat system was already really great. I truly think that if you have complaints about the break/boost system, the game probably just is not for you. I vibe with it, I get it, I love it. Latent powers just add a new extra layer to how to approach turn planning and break timing. Such a small change that adds so much.

Class rebalancing/skill changes were also very noticeable for the better. I feel like a good amount of people must have complained about access to aoe because good aoe is pretty much a premium now, unless your name is ochette (and even then you really have to look for it) or osvald (scholar privilege, ig). Support skills shifting around makes for different dynamics in approaching battles, and I especially love the new hidden classes, specifically Inventor, though Arcanist and Conjurer are neat too (though Arcanist gets really broken... but it’s ok because merchant is a pretty weak class otherwise?). My only real complaint is that I wish you could refund/re-allocate JP in some way, and that’s just because I love experimenting with class combinations.

The day/night system giving pretty much 2 of every “ability” per time of day makes pretty much any comp good for just roaming around town stealing getting to know the townspeople. Having time-specific passive abilities is a neat function, but I think there is definitely a good amount of room to build upon this. A very great seed planted for a future game. There will be a future game, right?

Being up to level curve was only really a struggle for one level jump, I think it was right before chapter 3, but I think they make patching up those last couple levels really easy with all of the exp boosting tools they give you, and really early (I had not equipped them because I thought it was only for the equipping character - no, they’re bonuses for the whole active party - and that’s probably why I got a little behind). Otherwise just going through chapters, traveling from one place to another, exploring the side dungeons, the natural leveling pace felt, well mostly unnoticeable, which I think is the best place for a leveling curve to be? 

Dungeon design strictly in terms of explorability is nothing mindblowing, but it more than makes it up with the visual and sound design. Even now 2DHD still looks fucking wonderful and I wish so badly for the DQ3 remake to come out and other 2DHD games to come out. And yes, the music is incredible. I feel like often people just mention the battle themes, and yes, they go hard, but with both Octopath 1 and 2 every single environment has such unique sonic character. I don’t necessarily know if the best town themes come close to my favorites from the original (Orewell my beloved), but just the sheer variety in character, instrumentation, and composition is very much still ever-present, and I wish Yasunori Nishiki many many more opportunities in the future because he is genuinely one of the greats. Even better, though, like in any good musical design, is when the sound just cuts out. There is nothing more unsettling, especially in a game with such a lush soundtrack, than silence. Every such moment is incredible. I could literally make an entire separate essay on the sound design of these games (I have), but I won’t gush on and on here. 

Octopath Traveler II is a game that really really plays into its strengths, and even while it successfully patches up most of of its original’s actual weaknesses, it is very much its strengths that continue to really shine. It is an RPG experience unlike any other out there, and if it’s one you are keen to experience, you will have a wonderful time. This is one of my favorite turn-based RPG’s, followed closely by Team Asano’s own Triangle Strategy, and I think it still has incredibly high potential to continue to iterate on its niche. I absolutely think this will be one of the more influential games of the genre for the future - a modern classic, while still feeling solidly rooted in its inspirations from the SNES golden era. 

[beellusion]

Okay i'm back after watching the mario movie...Let me get to the point since i don't have any starter words in mind...

IT WAS AMAZING.

The story is great, I thought it would be a little cringy at the beginning, But nope, the story doesn't seem cliche-ish! The jokes were good, no weird humor, i think it feels pretty fast paced or maybe it's just me lol.

The character writing was well done, (especially for Peach because she GIRLBOSSED in the movie) the same goes for the voice acting! My favorite characters in the movie was Peach, Toad, and my boy Luigi (luigikindalookscute.) And also Lumalee (the blue star siller i think that's their name) because they reminded me of Muffin from asdfmovie XD

Visuals/animation was amazing of course! I really adore the Mushroom kingdom design because god it's just so vibrant and pretty. That would be one of my favorite things from the movie.

And for Music....Oh boy, It was ASTOUNDING, the arranged tracks from the SMB games being included in the movie makes me SUPER happy and kinda nostalgic, the songs in the movie like "Take On Me" were good choices imo. The music was on top of my favorite things.

The score for this movie would be...9/10!

The movie got me as hyped as i was when i watched the Sonic Movie. But i gotta say...This compared to the sonic movie, this is just as good than the latter. The sonic movie was amazing too but, it doesn't really hit to the "amazing" kind of level,you get the idea-Though I hope the third movie would be as good as the mario movie! Overall, the SMB movie was a worth wait n watch.

That's all of my review, sorry if my review seems rushed-there's actually some things i want to address but guess it slipped in my mind lol. Go ahead if you wanna ask smn to me about the movie. Time to head out, cya!

[thatbigee]

So I watched the Mario bros movie— Twice.

I won’t put in any spoilers, maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a movie critic but I gotta say I find it really weird that despite not liking it for the first time, although seeing it twice I actually started to like it??

Yeah, Super Mario was one of the first gaming franchises I’ve ever gotten into when I was younger, so I guess it makes sense that I would’ve liked it overtime. Like most, I had my doubts when it was first announced and no regard for their other films, even as you are watching this movie you can still feel that it’s illumination, and that’s what probably didn’t sit well with me. If you’re aware of their films already, you’ll know that their audience is mostly directed towards children, which is why the popularity of this movie pissed off the critics in the first place. To cover a few things I didn’t really like about it, was the pacing, with a runtime of an hour and twenty-five minutes, it literally feels like “Lets-a-go!” It does have a cliche storyline, and the soundtrack throughout the film is basically what’d you’d expect from them. Regardless, the characters designs is still pleasing to the eye, well maybe except for one, but I’m not getting to that. They do make it very obvious they wanted to as have many Easter eggs in it as much as they could, which wasn’t the main thing I entirely cared for, but if you are like me, you’re one of the few, if not many, that crave for these characters to interact, other than what we’re used to in the usual Mario games. This movie goes above and beyond to score it in a way we’ve only seen Nintendo display a few times in their games before. In Super Mario Odyssey and Luigi's Mansion, they’re considered the best examples that gives us more depth on characters as well as Mario and Luigi. Hell- even the freaking Mario and Luigi series showed the most endearing moments we could’ve ever seen from the brothers. We’ve grown so attached to these characters over the years, they’re practically cemented into the media to the point where it no longer matters what form they take or what source they come from, always leaving us wanting more of them. Giving them the opportunity to hit the jack pot with this film, and MOST possibly leading them to make future films.

Were there certain moments that could’ve been left out? Yes. Were there certain characters that could’ve had more screen time? Absolutely. It’s far from perfect,  while the film doesn’t have anything that stands out from the ordinary, nevertheless— it’s does in fact have something enjoyable for any age.

We mocked them, we laughed at their face and cussed the hell out of them, and yet in despite of it all, we still watched it. Eventually giving the film its way to the top tier list of the most highest grossest animated movies to make it in the box office— proving us wrong once again, and now, they’re the ones laughing. But that’s just my overall, yet overstated opinion. If you really want to know what the movie is like, ignore the feedback and reviews—because in the end you can only really tell just by checking out the movie yourself.

P.S: They didn't have to make Luigi look this pure in the film.

[marxzsoul]

My honest review of the Super Mario Movie :)

Overall: very enjoyable! I was able to have a good time and appreciate everything the movie did well!

MAIN CRITIQUES OUT OF THE WAY:

Voice Acting - Mario and Peach were not my favorite. I was able to kind of look past the voice acting as the movie went on but if I started paying too much attention to it, it was a little rough. They both suffered from not capturing the energy of the characters. Peach in particular was unfortunate to me because she was missing so much of her cute and bubbly energy.

I just really thought Peach could have been done better. She was just ok. I do like that they showed her as caring for the Toads, and sees herself as a guardian to them. I wasn’t against the girlbossification bc it still lined up with games she has been playable in. There’s a scene where she completes an obstacle course and finishes with doing her special floaty dress technique and that was a fun touch. My main criticism with making Peach not as bubbly and almost ridiculously sweet as she normally is was that it would have made parts of the movie make more sense. When Mario shows up, she just kind of accepts him immediately, no questions asked. Just, ok! Sure! Let’s see what you’re made of. And I think that had she been characterized to really lean into the feeling of “I’ll help anyone because I’m just that kind and sweet!” it would have made more sense as to why she helped him so fast.

Music choices were a little??? Questionable. I like the songs chosen outside of the movie, and I think going for 80s songs was fun, but they felt a little out of place and jarring at times. Like there’s a sequence where they’re racing super fast through the Jungle Kingdom and they chose Take on Me for that? The vibes just didn’t match with what was going on and the energy of the song imo.

Things I enjoyed!

THE ART AND ANIMATION: it was so so good. This movie was so pretty to look at. The textures, the colors, the bounciness of everything!! The world was very well done and I loved the atmosphere created in each area. The various Mario species were so fun to see animated in this style. The Mushroom Kingdom looked wonderful and I loved the bustling city nature of it. Personally as a really big fan of the Mario RPG games I think it would have been nice to see citizens who weren’t Toads but that’s a minor complaint. The Jungle Kingdom was really fun too and I loved the tie in with Mario Kart especially in the kart building sequence where it mimicked the kart selection in Mario Kart 8.

The little references and throwbacks: We already saw it in the trailer but the in movie commercial for the brothers calling back to the original super show was still so good. BUT WHAT I WASNT EXPECTING WAS THE DK RAP. I lost my mind. The other main kongs were shown too which was a pleasant surprise!! There were also references to other Nintendo IPs, I noticed Kid Icarus, Star Fox, Game and Watch, and Punch-Out in particular but there was probably more! There is also a reference to the original Jump Man name in the background too. ALSO WE GOT TO SEE PAULINE!!! I was really hoping for maybe seeing Rosalina too bc of that one Luma character but that didn’t happen. I also was hoping for Daisy with maybe a reference to neighboring kingdoms but that didn’t happen either. That’s ok tho! Very minor thing.

BOWSER UGH. Bowser made this movie. So much detail in his animation and Jack Black did phenomenal in his performance. There were quite a few Bowser moments that had me laughing, they characterized him really well for this movie. It felt very classic, reminded me of his portrayal in the comics especially.

Jokes were kind of a hit kind of a miss. There were a few moments that got a big smile or laugh out of me and other moments where I just felt such a deadpan “that wasn’t funny.” But overall there weren’t too many instances I felt myself withering away bc a joke was so bad.

Musical score was very well done. The classic Mario theme songs were integrated very well throughout the movie.

THE MARIO AND LUIGI MOMENTS WERE SO GOOD. I loved the love they captured that they have for each other. Mario cares about his bro so much and Luigi looks up to him and it’s so sweet. That was captured very well in their characterization. Their reunion hug after Luigi is rescued was adorable and I also loved seeing a little flashback sequence with baby Mario and Luigi.

Overall I think the movie did a good job with capturing the energy of the baseline Mario games. Out of all the Mario movies that have been made so far, it definitely does that the best. (Great Mission to Save Princess Peach is still the best Mario movie though)

[hoagmaster]

September 8, 2024

What's this now? It's been a spell since I posted here. And no rapid-fire catchup? Well, this goes in line with that I've hinted at in past posts.

See, most of them read the same, don't they? "I went to work, things were slow, I played this game, I faced off with this existential crisis." I felt like things were rarely out of the ordinary. And I don't want to just feel like things are dull and repetitive (not when I potentially have an audience), so that's why unless something super urgent or otherwise pops up, I think I'm going to make these weekly now, likely posted on Sunday evenings. That should work better!

In any case, it was a doozy of a workweek. After the holiday it was smack into preparing for the local fair in town and my department had to set up a booth and whole presence there. Figures some staff didn't want to play ball, but I think we still set up a good booth and got a good turnout. It also gave me plenty of time to go check out the sights and eat some of the snacks on show. My feet were killing me on more than one day, but that's fine because it's one of my Apple Watch goals for the month to walk a lot. That definitely helped! The side hustle stuff was also pretty routine, so not much to report there.

So what did I play this week? Here's another area where I could switch things up. Fewer posts of Balatro going forward maybe! Well, I'd say the one that stood out was starting Pacific Drive. It's a game where you...drive in the Pacific Northwest. But because that place is just rife for mystery and intrigue, stuff starts to happen and you're stuck investigating. And you've got to tune up your car for the journey, which adds some nice management mechanics to the mix. Then the act of driving and looking around can be pretty engaging even if I am early on. I'd like to keep playing this one. Elsewhere, there was stuff for the Steam Deck like Fallout: New Vegas and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 along with scouting out sales for games I otherwise can't play (the whole reason I bought this thing). Then some Pizza Tower and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch.

Then it was a trip up north today to help with some family deals. Yeah, we skipped the first day of NFL stuff but I don't feel like I missed anything. But the college football slate yesterday was rad. #5 Notre Dame went down and messed with the rankings, which I always support. Arizona State held off a late rally. And the overall atmosphere was just more exciting and satisfying than the other sport. Baseball was a mixed bag this week, but there's more of it coming up!

It felt good to do a few things and also get supplies for someone. I'm sure there will be more chances to do so, especially with fall rapidly approaching. And I wonder how much of fall stuff I've missed in past years just wasting away in front of the TV with RedZone. I'm sure football days will still happen, but for now, maybe Sundays will be a mite more productive.

And that's all for this extended version. Hope you have a good week coming up!

[turtlemagnum]

KOTOR and KOTOR2 main cast and their relations to video games

this is a mostly jokey, headcanon-y "what if" in regards to if video games existed as they do irl in the star wars universe. try not to think about it too hard, and this is also presupposing neutral/light side for the core cast because that's how i played the games and i don't have the constitution to actively choose bad things in video games

revan: in terms of raw skill, they're virtually unmatched. doesn't matter if it's a fighting game, a puzzle game, nor a grand strategy game, there's an extremely solid chance they'll kick your ass. they also get extremely competitive, impeccable shit-talking game that'll throw off all but the most stoic; but they also get angry in a very funny way on the rare times they do lose. one of the few mortals that can comprehend 5d chess with multiverse time travel. is a tier whore, mains one of the high tier anime swordfighters in smash (i think lucina?)

carth: you know those boomer dads that absolutely wrecked shit up in arcades back in the 70s and 80s, but anything past the NES or SNES they just... don't get? that's carth, if you put him in front of a pacman or galaga cabinet, he'd wreck shit up, but if you showed him a smash brother or a mario he'd just squint

bastilla: i feel like if she were a gamer at all, she'd probably be into platformers and life simulation games, maybe the occasional 2D JRPG if she's feeling especially spicy. would probably play the shit out of stardew valley or kirby, ya feel me? when playing smash, she'd specifically choose one of the prettyboy anime fighters. not because they're high tier, she's probably never heard of a tier list in her life, she just likes how they look

mission vao: extremely good at video games, especially for her age. probably the only one on the ebon hawk who even comes close to rivaling revan in terms of raw skill aside from the droids, but droids playing video games is cheating tbh. probably pretty omnivorous in terms of game taste, but probably leaning towards anything violent/fast paced, e.g. shooters like DOOM or smash bros. is the reason why the crew regularly plays mario party, and since she's mildly luckier than revan and has almost as much skill, she fairly regularly wrecks revan's ass. is also probably around the right age to get wayyy into minecraft tbh. game and watch main

juhani: gamer god reflexes, absolute jack shit for gamesense. if a game requires mashing, precise movements and the like, she's likely golden; but she's terrible at reading her opponent/things that require extensive forethought. overall, pretty good at fighting games and the like, though frankly i feel like she wouldn't be a huge gamer

jolee: while old, this man is a gamer god. he's like, skyrim grandma type guy, can play games normally for the most part despite being ancient. also probably tends towards single player open world games and extremely dense RPGs, this man will play morrowind and planescape: torment until he's dead and rotting. despite being great at RPGs and singleplayer shit, it's mostly because he knows how to minmax all the technical shit/knows the exploits and glitches and all that, in terms of raw gameplay (and thus, in multiplayer games), he leaves something to be desired. if you manage to talk him into playing smash, he specifically chooses mii gunner with the sans outfit just to annoy revan specifically, figures it doesn't matter if he chooses a bad character if he's gonna lose, so he might as well get a laugh out of it

canderous: this man will relentlessly bully you for playing video games, but if you coaxed him well enough you could probably get him to play something violent, like DOOM or GTA. once you've got him in, he'll most likely relent, but now you have to deal with this boomer son of a bitch yelling at kids in GTA online and blaring rip and tear while everyone else is trying to sleep

HK-47 and T3M4: both are roughly about as good as one another at games, which is to say that they're both goddamn AIs who can consistently perform frame perfect tricks and make every game into a live TAS. you have better odds against them in, say, chess, or perhaps even 5D chess with multiverse time travel. of course, they're not programmed to be good at video games, so any game they play they'd start off bad, but they learn startlingly quickly and playing against them is generally unfair enough to be extremely unfun. both also shittalk relentlessly, though T3 is a lot more vulgar, it's just that most of the crew can't speak binary. HK tries to be a bit more "refined" in his insults, while T3 is peak 13 year old on xbox live, except more eloquent and creative since he's still got an adult tier of intellect. one last remark is that HK isn't as good at thinking in the longterm as T3, so T3 kicks his shit in at grand strategy games like civ and the like

zaalbar: is it bigoted for me to assume this man has never touched a video game in his life? i don't think so, i feel like chewbacca would wreck han's ass at video games, so i don't think it's because he's a wookie. i think zaalbar is basically just a boomer

the exile: honestly about as good as revan at games, it's just that they're not as much of a tryhard. despite this, they have inhuman amounts of luck. so, essentially, they're the Fearesome Monarcke of mario party in terms of how often they win, but everyone still has a good time since they're a good sport about it. the exception is that whenever atton gets into his Gamer Rage, the exile knows exactly how to press his buttons and thinks it's funny. they generally have the most fun playing multiplayer games, especially co-op, so naturally they tend towards a lot of nintendo stuff (though, occasionally they get the urge to pubstomp in TF2 or some other shooter.... may the force have mercy on the poor souls who face them, for they have none to spare...) zelda main in smash

brianna: until meeting the exile, this girl has never touched a video game in her life. though, once she's acclimated, she's surprisingly good. especially likes fighting games/games where you can punch, for what i hope are obvious reasons. also loves to play multiplayer games with the exile, and while she can get a bit heated she definitely tends towards more zen levels of play. would main captain falcon in smash

kreia: refuses to play the exile's party games on principal, though if she thinks she can get away with it she'll absolutely fuck with atton's controller with the force. if she does play games, i think she'd lean towards singleplayer RPGs with good writing, especially if it permits amoral characters, so she'd probably love fallout: new vegas. also? hardcore PC gamer, if her computer skill is anything to go by

visas: also hadn't touched a game before meeting the exile, though due to her blindness, she's incapable of playing games without some manner of accessibility aid. but even if she wasn't blind, i feel like she'd be kinda bad at video games, though she'd absolutely enjoy spending quality time with the others (even if she wouldn't like to admit it). while not video games necessarily, i feel like the exile would probably get something like one of those chess boards where the pieces are designed to all be differentiated from texture alone, and she'd really appreciate the gesture

atton: peak toxic gamer boy, shit-talks relentlessly, gets really into it. would honestly be a bit too much for some people (read: kreia), but most of the crew think it's funny, albeit to varying degrees. in terms of gameplay skill, he'd probably be about average? but with anything to do with probability, he's a savant at crunching the numbers (playing pazaak). would honestly consider cheating in online multiplayer games, the rascal. man mains pikachu in smash, he tries to write himself off as a tier whore but he secretly just thinks the little guy's cute

bao dur: this man is a god gamer at puzzle and fighting games specifically. in tetris, he'll stack em up like you wouldn't believe, could honestly be a speedrunner. in something like tekken, not only would he be absurdly good in terms of raw gameplay, this man can read your inputs like a goddamn book. gets really competitive with brianna, probably has that thing where you absentmindedly play tetris in your head. also, war games are absolutely too much for him, i feel like he'd react to the battlefront games in the same way that ww2 veterans allegedly react to CoD

mical: this man plays the sims, cheesy old PC point and click adventure games, and nothing else. he's a master at the oregon trail, but if you were to put him into anything with more reactive gameplay he'd crumble to dust. still plays mario party with the exile and everyone else, and while he has fun, it's because he's with good friends, in terms of gameplay he'd look like he was throwing to an outside observer

G0-T0: you'd imagine he'd be like the other droids, but no. he's that nerd boy who's all like, "heh, this is simple, all i have to do are these elementary calculations" only to fall flat on his face, every time. bro can't even play chess. the only person who will lose to mical

hanharr: i have the least experience with him out of any KOTOR companion, due to my aforementioned lack of desire to intentionally be evil in video games. but, i feel like this man wouldn't touch a video game with a twenty yard pole, both out of a lack of desire and a lack of ability. again, trying not to be bigoted against wookies, i just feel like the two we see in the KOTOR games would specifically, as individuals, be bad at video games

mira: shooters, stealth games, and any combination of the two. would love the stealth parts of the MGS games, would play the shit out of the thief games, boomer shooters like half life etc. slightly better than atton at the exile's goddamn party games, which she relentlessly taunts him with. mains snake in smash, plays incredibly lame and spammy