#[i have so many thoughts about nso]

[yaksha-garden]

[bf sent me a meme explaining his understanding of eden as a character]

[centrally-unplanned]

I played Needy Streamer Overload, which was a lot of fun, with an asterisk. NSO is a Lifesim Management game for a batshit up-and-coming streamer, where you as her 'boyfriend' allocate her time between streaming, resting, and content inspiration/development to hit 1 million followers. The writing is very on point for actual streams culture;the topics and comments and all that are very true-to-life, while its zany edgecore presentation is hilarious. And the UI is full kino:

Vibes - and also, spoilers, not just a cutesy aesthetic, as the player is not in fact a real person so the digital viewport is ludonarratively cohesive, +1 point.

However, it also pissed me off for specific me reasons!

So, these games tend to go into two buckets. One is the engine builder - managing the lifesim is both involved and The Point of the game. You work hard to optimize and achieve the goal. The second is narrative device - the lifesim elements are more about narrative choice than challenge, and either can't be failed or are trivially cleared. You approach playing those 2 game types differently.

NSO presents itself like the former - its mechanics are pretty involved. Managing Followers, Stress, Affection, & Mental Darkness, all on a clock, while unlocking ~10 different streaming content topic progression trees, its a lot to track. Not saying its crazy hard or anything, but its what you spend your time doing. You will be asking yourself questions like "yes I could have sex with her for the third time this week to lower stress and boost affection so I can burn that affect buildup on the Sexy Stream lvl 2 to sync my highest topic bonus with my streaming streak bonus before I need to end it for a rest cycle, but I can only play that card so many times, is day 13 too early?". That is fun, and where your focus lies. On my first playthrough I tried to hit the 1 million target, barely succeeded, but burned out Ame's stats so much I got a short, pretty-much-failed ending.

So on my second playthrough I tinkered around and stumbled on a soft infinity engine, where I could push Ame's stress to the limit in the opening days to get her follower count to the point where she would unlock "follower milestone celebration" streams that I could bank, that did not increase stress but would count towards a streaming-every-day streak bonus, and never take a rest day to get that bonus insanely high. I got several million followers with low stress, low darkness, I thought I did a good job.

And I got a short, pretty-much-failed ending.

Turns out this game has 30 endings, and the lions share of the long, involved ones are from you completely fucking up. You will get a way more interesting ending if you make Ame-chan overdose on LSD and she trips her way into breaking though the illusion of the internet. You want to raise her darkness high as hell for half of them. You can found a cult, you can induce all sorts of violence against her or others, whatever you want. But the game didn't tell me!!

It instead presented me with a solid optimization puzzle, which I spent like 10 hours doing. I shouldn't have bothered! It doesn't really tell this partially for surprise, but if we are being honest its because they expect you to google it, and they expect you to watch streamers unlock 25 of them after you do 5. Which is how modern games are made, but personally I don't love relying on that. I do think games are at their best when they self-teach a player the right way to engage with it.

But I respect that some people would see the discarded scraps of a tryhard faildaughter that is Ame-chan and immediately push her into doing conspiracy theory streams while smoking weed. I am just not someone you can plunk an engine in front of and expect me not to try to tinker with it. This is 50% on me.

[devoted--angel]

what did the anon mean by "comments about the NSO angel ?" /genq

i'm not aware of such comments /srs

i had seen a post a bit back that i think could have been partially about me (though it was not explicitly saying it was about me or anything!!) about how unoriginal some people on here were and how you'll never be kangel. though obviously not confirmed it was about me!! there are many kangel-kin accounts so it could be any number of them i just know my account does get a bit more traction than others do

the other incident was i had created a poll asking what people thought about my blog, the one option was "cute but cringe" and someone had commented "not cute, just cringe" under it. someone ended up sending them an anon about it, they thought it was me, i tried defending myself, they were honestly rude about it, whole thing.

but those are in the past now! i don't have malice for those people or anything because i really do believe they are entitled to their opinions but it would be a lie if i said it hadn't hurt a bit! but that hurt motivated me to start over and do better in the end!!

[kafus]

okay well i guess i didn’t need my alarms cause i can’t seem to sleep more lmao. it’s 5 am

soooo pokemon presents in a little less than 4 hrs huh? realistically i’m expecting something either johto or unova related and since they’re apparently lighting up NYC today, which is not usual for pokemon day, i’m kind of leaning unova. i have mixed feelings about this since as much as i actually did enjoy my time with BDSP, i was dually disappointed by them and i’m still sad that sinnoh isn’t going to get the HGSS or ORAS treatment ever - if unova remakes were to be of a similar caliber of bdsp, i’d rather them just not exist at all frankly. nostalgia bias and my immense love for sinnoh aside, i think the unova games, especially bw2, are some of the best games in the entire franchise, and if they are remade, or get bw3 sequels, or whatever, i want them to be GOOD. lets not spit on the legacy of gen 5 now!! but. i remain cautiously optimistic. i’m not a super cynical pokemon fan and like i said i did enjoy bdsp despite everything. also a legends kyurem or whatever would be awesome btw i wanna see the og dragon lol. johto would also be cool but i’m having a lot less thoughts on it for some reason. i’m sure if they announce anything johto ayano will have incredibly passionate thoughts about it

now i’m not really one for predictions, the above talk is maybe the most obvious outcome since they usually do remakes mid-gen. instead i’ll just talk about some things i would WANT even if they’re a pipe dream and i don’t necessarily expect them:

a new PMD. not an explorers remake, a new PMD with a fresh story and everything. we haven’t had a proper new PMD story since 2015 and i MISS IT. i’d also enjoy explorers remakes but frankly i want a new game the most and i wanna play as sprigatito SOBS THE PALDEA STARTERS WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR PMD

gen 3 on NSO with full online capabilities and also connectivity to NSO ports of colosseum and gale of darkness. i 100% do not think this is happening but it would blow me away if it did. the amount of gen 3 that so many people were never able to experience as children, especially me… could finally be done online!!! it’d be cool if they removed all the dumb trading restrictions too but unlikely. (as an aside if they released gen 1/2 VC again with stadium compatibility that’d be epic but i somehow expect that even less)

some sort of new stadium-type game with home compatibility that provides single player trials similar to that of the old gen battle frontiers. i just REALLY really miss old singleplayer battle challenges. i want a new one to spend a bazillion years on making wacky teams and winning w them. i enjoy VGC but sometimes that singleplayer experience hits different

i really am a spinoff enjoyer. surprise me with something new! that isn’t a mobile game with gacha elements! just a whole new standalone pokemon idea. no idea what genre just excite me

MAKE A COMFY FRIENDS SPRIGATITO PLUSH OR SO HELP ME GOD (this is barely related to the presents im just thinking about it i want one soo bad 😭)

and those r all my thoughts i think. these presentations r always a treat because i wake up early and watch them with my friends. i probably won’t be liveposting it on tumblr bc i will be lost in the sauce of discord w the besties. i’ll provide my thoughts later though!

[bluesdesk]

People. 50.6% of 87 votes are exactly 44 votes. And 49.4% is 43 votes. Tears of the Kingdom lost to Alttp for ONE VOTE

Anyway, I decided to yeet both off the poll! Let the 9th round begin! There are 8 games left, and these are really the best. I still have one game I want to vote but then the choice will be harder!

As I've written many things about totk but I don't want to give unwanted spoilers, this time the rankings are here and my opinions on the games are under the cut!

<< Previous round

The CDIs

Triforce Heroes

Zelda 2

Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive

Cadence of Hyrule

Zelda 1

Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords

Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Age of Calamity

Phantom Hourglass

Link's awakening/LANS

Spirit Tracks

Tears of the Kingdom

A link to the Past

Soo! TotK and AlttP. I played AlttP shortly after BotW on nso, when TotK still wasn't out. I liked it a lot at first, but I have to say I didn't complete it. It was technologically advanced for that time for sure, but I don't think it aged well. The dungeons didn't leave me anything valuable to remember, like other games did, the items weren't equipped easily and the story was too simple and banal.

As for TotK. Oh TotK. I got to play botw another bit before returning it (I had borrowed it from a friend), after quitting alttp. And I still liked it! Then I bought TotK and at the beginning I was extremely surprised, it looked so great. I thought Rauru was the same first sage from OoT and he had a "goat disguise" to not be recognized, like his owl form. Of course I was wrong and then I was so disappointed, i left it almost one year ago and don't have any urge to play it again, I probably will though and give it another chance because something was really good like seeing grown up characters or finding those "Zeldas" or building things or finding amiibo costumes. - the story is great for a standalone game, but for zelda? The zonai make no sense to me and contradicted everything we knew. In the past right after sksw the gerudo weren't known, the zora and rito didn't exist, the gorons weren't on death mountain. They should have made another antagonist and not Ganondorf. Zelda's sacrifice was honestly a so great part, but the ending was awful. - the "dungeons" were copies of each other. And short and banal as heck, and the dialogues after each one were always the same. - People didn't remember Link. Only some of the major characters did but the majority of the npcs didn't know him. And Link didn't have the majority of his clothes. I know the outfits weren't mandatory to get in botw (nothing was mandatory tho) but at least the most known could have been left. The gerudo outfit, the climber set, the hylian set, the luminous stone set! They made up a story for the zora tunic and that's a good thing. - The depths were empty and too dark, even after the light roots were lighted. It was too easy to get lost. - the ultrahand and fuse mechanics are amazing as well as the ascend, but they should have made them mandatory at least for some parts of the game, to give them more spotlight. - I would have loved to have way more sksw references, this isn't a flaw of course but a personal preference! Also I would have loved to have Wolf Link as an ally again, instead of the spirits of the sages. - personal experience: the game crashed after I defeated Ganondorf for the last time. I was about to see the final cutscene when the screen went black and it never played (I saw it on youtube). Everything else on the swotch worked perfectly so it was just the game. Of course it doesn't autosave or let people save the game after entering the zone before the first fight with Ganondorf so I'm back there. I hated it.

[choutenyuki-chan]

INTRO!!!

This will hopefully be the first and last time I break character on either of my NSO blogs, but I felt it was necessary to post a real intro considering the things that will be posted on this account.

(TL;DR @ the bottom)

DISCLAIMER!!!

These blogs were created with the purpose of being a creative outlet for my trauma and mental illness. This means that some of the content on this page might be unpleasant for some people. If that's the case, don't view my blog.

To start things off...

16+ only, please. I want to create a safe space for as many people as I can, but I don't want to be responsible for influencing any kids into doing any of the things I speak about.

For anonymity, I'm not going to tell you my actual name, so please just call me Kangel or Ame, depending on the blog you are viewing.

I will do my best to always tag any possible triggers on my heavier posts, so please correct me if I miss a tag or incorrectly tag something.

TRIGGER WARNINGS!!

As I just mentioned, there will be a lot of triggering things posted on both of these blogs. Because of that, I'd like to compile what will be the most common trigger warnings to look out for on this page (will be updated as I post to remain accurate)

Mentions of grooming

Mentions of past trauma

Neglect

Fear of abandonment

Long rambles during panic attacks

Addiction

Abuse/toxic relationships

Intrusive thoughts

Self-harm

Mentions of suicidality

A Bit About Me

I like Jirai and the message it sends as it's something I heavily relate to. I don't have any jirai clothing yet, but I'm saving to buy my first item asap! I also really like vocaloid, visual kei, breakcore, and honestly most kinds of music haha.

If you couldn't guess, I really like NSO. The kind of person Ame-chan is really spoke to me. I've always wanted to take on a new persona online, and what better way than a Kangel blog! I'll speak a little more on the roles of each blog later, tho <3

I really like RPGs like Persona and Final Fantasy as I grew up playing both. They're both really comforting games for me.

I suspect I have Autism and either BPD or bipolar. I'm in the process of trying to find a psychologist to get an assessment and confirm my suspicions, but it's hard to find anyone where I live.

The Kangel blog!

This blog is where I'll post my lighter content. It's my distraction from my actual life and is mainly here for me to pretend I'm someone else. This means that while I'm on the Kangel blog, I'll do things like write in American-English as it's another layer of disconnect from my real life.

There will be much less triggering content on this blog, but there will be an occasional vent post, but that will likely be written in the style of the in-game vent streams and tweets. That means it will likely be a bit dramatised to sound entertaining. Those posts will still have tagged TWs regardless.

The Ame-Chan blog!

This blog is like the priv Twitter account that Ame has in-game. Darker posts will go here, and almost everything will be a vent of some kind. If I feel it's necessary, I will also add a 'check the tags' disclaimer at the beginning of the post so you can decide whether you're in the right headspace to read that post. This is essentially my diary tho and sometimes I just might not add tags. I'll always do my best tho.

This blog is essentially a public diary, which means there will be a lot of in-depth description of my current state and any retelling of past trauma. "Traumadumping" about my childhood will be kept at a minimum though.

This also means that I will occasionally post about dreams I have. I rarely have good dreams, and they're almost always some kind of dream relating to trauma. These normally have a different list of TWs to look out for (including the original list).

I will list those below:

Kidnapping

SA (sometimes explicit, but I will likely never go into those details unless I found it particularly distressing. Those will always be under different tags, though)

Running away/homelessness

Survival game type plot

Physical abandonment

Murder

There will likely be more added as this account develops.

Both blogs, but primarily the Ame one, will occasionally mention a P-Chan. This refers to two different people, but I'll never disclose which is which. This is mostly for privacy.

P-Chan 1 refers to a real-life person I know and have a semi-toxic friendship with. If I succumb to the BPD allegations, I'd assume they're my 'favourite person'.

P-Chan 2 is fake. They don't exist. They're a character in my head who is my ideal person. They exist so that I have someone to project my unhealthy obsession onto instead of the real P-Chan. This often also means posting the intrusive thoughts I have around P-Chan.

OUTRO!!!

I tried to keep this short while having as much info about this page as needed. I hope this can be a safe space for anyone who relates to me and wants to get to know me. I'm always open to making new friends <33

TL;DR

Mentally ill girl creates blogs to ignore her problems and vent while staying as anonymous as she can. Triggering posts galore, but it will be tagged to the best of her ability.

[justletmemakeapage]

Introducing!

WARNING: my English is awful and practicing it is one of the reasons why I registered. Sorry :_. Please don't criticize me for this or anything else.

Hi. I am Bridgett/Bridge(or Vess for headmates), she/it, 16 y.o(25.05), UTC+7. Host of system, in front 90% of the time. I registered because I liked plural community here. This is my personal blog, but it is possible if others will write here. I will post my thoughts, about plurality or not, and resources like userboxes. Requests are open

DNI (thin ice)

Anti endos(!), any radical opinion, support any discrimination, very religious. You still can interact and use my works(if they exist), but if you want to conflict, it would be more comfortable for all of us if you leave now.

I need TW on religion and caffeine. I also can get triggered by better artists than me. And I don't want to talk about politics.

About system

Name - Sick Fantasy, no collective pronounse but statistically more she/her. Paragenic, neurotraumagenic, sepagenic, misaconscious, co-con flux. I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE PLURAL. Languages - russian(native), ±English, learning Japanese. Simply plural work in progress

5 headmates front regularly, somehow appear about 15, I won’t headcount all. I mostly use “we” to the entire system, but not always. I can call headmates headmates, alters, characters, or just fools and assholes. I am in an in-system relationship. We are only trying to self-accept

About me

INFP, 4w5 so946, melancholic, chaotic good, sociophobic extravert. Neutralship. Pro- to many things if it's doesn't involve harming and conflicts. I have chronic depression, get therapy, promote support and research for MADD, was practically diagnosed with ADHD as a child. Omni, demiromantic, bellussexual, gendercura, genderfloret, ambiamorous.

I live to create an animated series based on daydreaming, and the alters came from it. I'm a member in many fandoms. Very many. I can't list them, but these are mainly popular or completely unknown games and cartoons. Now I have hyperfix on genshin and "jellyfish can't swim in the night". Listen any music, genre and language don't matter.

Blurred kinnlist(I have problems with self-awareness, sorry): Mahiru [Jellyfish...], Kanade and Ena [PJSekai], Mr Jewel Box [THHK songs], Ame [NSO], Pomni and Gangle [TADC], Moxxie and Fizz [HB(yes...)]; Noelle, Fischl, Chiori, Kachina and Citlali [Genshin]; Huohuo and Firefly [HSR]; Fluttershy, Scootaloo and Luna [MLP]; Corin, Seth and Caesar [ZZZ]; Horuda [Yansim], Abby [FNAF movie], Sybilla [Spyroom], Fuuko [UDUL], Darwin [TAWOG], Jack [Beastars](I haven’t read it yet, but my friend says so)

And a lot of songs, but I won't put them all here :_. Ok, take this (twcw, in short listen carefully) ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♪ ☆ ☆ ☆

Some about headmates...

🧿 Wallery/Var/Валера/ワレル (he/don't care) - co-host, janusian, psychodemon, japanese, queerphob, aggressive beast but protects me. 7000+ y.o(11.10). Associations - red, green, hallucinations, betrayal; Tail from HSR, Princess from THHK songs, two-faced chaotic villains(Bill Cipher, Discord, Alastor, Kinito, Yellow's Flowey ect) and song あきらめよう by tsumikusa.

🎆 NNico (it/its > neo) - socializor, procomship, radqueer, radincluse, cute overtolerant ect but really cool person, puts its own comfort high, but someone else’s even higher. In dreams plays the role of a butler(?). 17 y.o. Associations - purple, night, internet; KAngel from NSO, Charlie from HH and Hai Yorokonde by Kocchi No Kento

🌫️ Exy/S.A. (he/him) - protector, anxiety holder, poor boy who always screams and catches panic attacks if something doesn’t happen according to his plan :_. 14 y.o. Associations - scary derealization pictures, investigation board from movies, anchan; Tweek from South Park, I haven't watched yet but maybe Anxiety from Inside Out

🍫 Choco(-retta Firsot) (she/her) - little, innocence holder, silly childish child who loves the whole world. Don't hurt her, others defend her. 8 y.o. Represents inspiration. Associations - sweets, sun, plushies, bright accessories; Olya from Tiny Bunny, Hook from HSR, a lot of cartoon songs

These were the main ones, now let’s quickly talk about the rest important

🎧 Kari (she/any) - Choco's babysitter and janusmate, music holder, chill teenager(13 y.o.) who doesn't care about anything. Kinns Ellen from ZZZ

🔏 Marya/Meirine Firsot (she/her) - gate keeper, order keeper, Choco's sister, strict, rude, constantly watches everyone and is tired of it.

🩸 Director (she/her, на Вы on russian--) - berserk, inadequate theater owner, performs gore on stage, if she will front, we will be imprisoned. Signature song

❤️‍🔥 Javello (she/he) - arsonist, cartoon's main antihero who wants save(???) the world, in system we have crazy pyromaniac, but good companion. Choco's evolution lol, 16 y.o. Signature Songs

🕳️ Aice (he/him) - shock absorber, owner of cats collection, blind aggressive guy who will swear on you

👄 Okufano (she/her) - oikeian, hypersexual mommy who will flirt with you

💡 Uni (she/her) - antidepressant, comforter, my girlfriend, romantic, humanization of aristocratic floor lamp, speaks pre-revolutionary russian--. Signature Songs

Well, i think, that's all. I’ll add more later x). I always have trouble with goodbyes, so I'll just give you this and go, ok?

Pfp made in this maker. I use dividers by @cafekitsune, @saradika-graphics and @thecutestgrotto. IT'S VERY CRINGE FOR ME TO POST THIS, PLEASE SORRY THOSE WHO HAVE READ.

[blazehedgehog]

Thoughts on the Last Nintendo Direct for the Switch?

It was alright. A lot of people are very excited by what was shown but, I dunno.

A lot of modern Mario RPGs are pretty hit-or-miss, so Brothership isn't necessarily an instant win for me.

Nintendo World Championship could be interesting. It's probably a better take on the NES Remix idea than previous games, and the way they're doing online multiplayer could prove to be pretty cool. It's a shame it isn't live, but I suppose racing against ghosts means you don't have to worry about latency.

The thing is, with both NES Remix and this, I also want the option to just... play the full versions of these games. No timers, no competitions, just the raw games. But Nintendo's not going to do that. They'd also rather have you subscribe to their NSO service, too.

Fantasian is mostly interesting to me for the fact that a lot of the backgrounds are effectively pre-rendered -- but not using CGI. They apparently made realworld dioramas using actual model making material and photographed them. That's cool. The rest of the game seems like generic JRPG fluff.

I've tried over and over to like Donkey Kong Country Returns, both on the Wii and the 3DS, and it just rubs me the wrong way. I've said it's something weird with the controls feeling sluggish, but I think it's also the level design. It feels like it stretches some of its ideas pretty thin. Like we did not need a whole world dedicated to minecart levels. I'd hope the DKCR remaster is the version I'd finally enjoy, but I don't have my hopes up.

It's cool to see the "HD-2D" Dragon Quest games, at last. Those old phone versions they have on the Switch are awful. But also the only DQ game I've ever connected with was the demo for DQ8, so I dunno how much this tickles my fancy. But I've also never given a real one of these games a chance.

Hearing "timed exclusive for the Nintendo Switch" for Denpa Men is weird, given that was a 3DS game. I always thought it was first party. Is this also coming out on PS4? PC? Very strange.

Glad to hear about the Marvel Vs. Collection. I was just scrolling through my XBLA library on my 360 a few days ago and lamenting how I only own MvC2 and not MvC1, even though I like MvC1 better. Weird it's apparently only coming out for last gen; there aren't native PS5/SX versions of this or the Ace Attorney Collection. Just PS4/Xbone/Switch. With backwards compatibility I guess they don't have to bother with a native version, but still. Weird.

Zelda looks good and is a long time coming but I wish it wasn't so different. Like I have faith it'll be interesting but it does disappoint me it's going to be more puzzle-y and not an action game. After so many years of asking for the ability to play as Zelda, for them to say "well she CAN'T swing a sword like Link!" feels a little compromise-y. I'm sure it'll be fine.

That was not enough Metroid Prime 4. They picked the most unceremonious, least exciting way to show it, too. I actually thought it was them announcing remasters of Prime 2 + 3 like they did with Metroid Prime 1, because it's just generic "shooting nameless space pirates to metroid prime music" footage until the end.

Rewatching it, I can definitely see how people are saying it's a Switch 2 game, though. Like that Metroid Prime remaster seemed like it looked really pretty, but this feels like a step above what the Switch is normally capable of, at least as far as 60fps goes. Like compare for yourself. Prime remastered on the left, Prime 4 on the right.

Look at the ridges in her shoulder panels, and how they're a 3D modeled groove with inset detail in Prime 4. That detail is probably just a texture in the Prime remaster. And just, like, how much better the material work is overall.

I could see this being 1080p 60 on Switch 2 but only 30 on the OG Switch.

Also please show me new guns or mechanics or something next time.

[the-larxist-manifesto]

Whatnot ~ The long road to Saffron

Welcome to Whatnot, where I just kinda talk about random thoughts I'm having at the moment. Irl I say the phrase "... and whatnot" a lot—but do you ever wonder what exactly the whatnot is? That's what this blog will be.

I love me a good, long journey. I don't always know what decisions will lead me to a worthwhile journey, but the best ones tend to arise from spur-of-the-moment ideas and just saying "sure, let's give it a try." For example, this whole GameGirl31 project. Nintendo added GameBoy games to NSO, I noticed how few of the titles I recognized, and I decided it could be a unique challenge to play them. It is now setting in exactly how much time this will take me.

Pokémon Yellow, for instance. I don't know this particular generation super well, but I understand the Pokémon formula well enough. Despite this, more than 20 hours have been dedicated to this playthrough so far. I've only earned four gym badges (five if you count the one I skipped, accidentally?), meaning I'm about halfway through the experience. Just stating the facts here. We can imagine what the timer will read by the end.

I'm actually playing a session right now, taking a break in the middle to write this entry. I left off in the middle of route 14. In-game, I've been really wanting to return to Vermillion City because, about five hours back, I managed to completely avoid fighting Lt. Surge and then leave without the badge I need. That being said... five hours later, I couldn't be stuck on the more opposite side of the Kanto region. There is no quick way back to Vermillion from Fuchsia. I can only press forward. And the next leg of the journey is... the long, long road to Saffron City.

So, I packed as many hyper potions and ultra balls as I could into my trainer bag, and then started on the road. The journey is so long that it's actually made up of 5 separate routes.

Map; for reference, the path between any two cities in the Kanto region averages 1 to 2 routes

I can feel the length of the journey as I begin dismissing the possibility of travelling back to Fuchsia City for the Pokécenter. I'll just have to rely on the resources I've got. The only things to be found along these routes are other traveling trainers and the occasional patch of grass.

I've complained in the past about this game looking kinda ugly, in the graphics department. The overworld sprites are quite simplistic. The colors are limited. Often, it feels like I'm just staring at pencil lines etched in a white void. Yet somehow, the simplicity of the landscape around me as I bike the miles of this road... a true sense of distance sets in. DUCKIE is so far away from home. She's so far from anything that even resembles home. Only passing blades of grass, bushes, a small forest, abandoned fence posts... lines etched into the world by nature itself.

And then I read a sign.

Route 14 / West to Fuchsia City

There's something very haunting about a sign that only points you in one direction. Dead end. One way. Do not enter. Or maybe a highway sign that names a city you've never heard of about 50 miles away. This sign didn't tell me I was going anywhere. It only told me the quickest way back to civilization.

For those who don't know, in my actual life, I recently drove over 3,000 miles across the United States—nonstop except to sleep and eat, over the course of 6 days. It was another one of those decisions that felt so much smaller when it was just an idea in my head. Then I got into the car and drove away from my house, for once with no intentions of coming back. Then I crossed my first state border. Then I passed one last small town. Then, only the lines of rock and shrubs etched in the world around me.

I saw a lot of signs like this one on the long drive. Route 14 / West to Fuchsia City. It's just a practical sign to put up. A statement of fact as to where the nearest market would be, for instance. Yet something about it ineffably reads like a warning.

Subtle game design choices like this leave an impression on me like nothing else. The developers could have written "Road connecting to Saffron City," like they did with every other sign in the game. They could have put up no sign at all. But they chose this sign. I don't know; that made this world feel so much more real to me. And once again, for the first time ever, I think the simplicity of the graphics in this game do a great service to the tone and worldbuilding at this leg of the game. The same scenery passing you by over and over again. Eventually blurring into abstract lines etched in the void. You have grown so much as a trainer, to make it this far all by yourself. This is what it feels like to be far from home. It feels sickeningly lucid to become so aware of the bigness of the world.

That's a feeling only video games can give you, baby! And that's why video games are art, as if I even had to argue that. But who knew such strong emotions could come from a game that looks like... this?

Go on, guess which Pokémon that is. I bet you can't.

And so, I'm actually pretty excited for the long journey to Saffron City. It is, after all, just a small part of the long journey to beating Pokémon Yellow. Which is, of course, only a small part of the long journey to play 31 GameBoy games!

Well, at least for these journeys, I don't have to sleep in my car. :p

That's it for this edition of Whatnot! Too niche for GameGirl, but stuck out too much in my mind not to write about. I hope to do a lot more of these in the future (including non-video game stuff, ideally). Ta-ta for now~

[necroangelz]

HIA YOU SEEM SO NICE JAJAAHDHEJWV- I remember following you from one of my Tumblr accounts (I have like 4 and have forgotten about the passwords of most of them)- So you may know me from there ig!!

Actually I came back here because I wanted to ask something- What is "Needy Streamer Overload" about?? I keep finding the game pretty intriguing and since you had it on your layout I thought I could ask you- (I also felt that it was a perfect opportunity to try to socialize a bit and meet more people on Tumblr-) Sorry if I'm bothering you! ^^

@.mistysaur

AWWW THANKIEEE 🥹🥹 and yeah I'm pretty sure i know uu from there!!

oh boy. let me see if i can explain NSO without dropping 19 paragraphs LOL

also, don't worry, uur not bothering me at all!! i love when ppl send me asks bc i have a hard time talking to ppl first, so this is also a good time for me to socialize!

ramble under the cut >:3

anyway, at its core, NSO is a game about managing the streamer career of a very mentally ill girl. the player is p-chan, the manager of their ' girlfriend ' Ame or k-angel/omgkawaiiangel, and they basically tell Ame what to do throughout the day. they can hang out, spend time together, play games, go on the internet, go outside etc. doing certain actions gives Ame ideas fur streams. there are many types of streams uu can do, each streaming category has level 1 up to level 5 streams, streaming is what gets uu followers. certain streams can get uu more followers but they would also increase ame's stress...

the player also has to manager her stats, her affection, stress, follower count and mental darkness. there's not much story because the whole game is centered around the players actions if ya get what i mean. the endings center around the effects of ame's stats if that makes sense.

NSO is a very fun game (i guess it's obvious that i love it lmao) the gameplay could get a little repetitive bc it's all the same but the graphics and music are so so cool. the interface is like this little computer and stuff and uu see Ame through the webcam screen and uu select her daily activities through app icons. the music is so catchy and perfectly fits the vibe of the game.

NSO is also a good portrayal of the toxic side of the internet—during some of the worst endings, ame spirals in front of the camera during a stream, and instead of having sympathy for her, her fans are quick to turn on her and dogpile on her instead. laughing at her misery as if she wasn't a person at all. they spread rumors, talk about how they always hated her from the start, doxx her, and then move on to the next entertaining internet personality with no loyalty to ame at all. it shows how people online can become cruel to each other because, well, it's all online, so they believe nothing is important or significant. NSO also depicts parasocial relationships, internet addiction, and wanting to get attention, love, and gratification from the internet. in general i love how NSO portrays the internet because everything feels so... real. the stream chats, the comments under ame's tweets, even Ame's texts to the player, they all feel so natural. like they're all actually said by people who spend way too much time on the internet and hence use slang and ways of speech that are common online. i always felt really bothered that mainstream media, especially those made by adults, SUCKED at portraying the internet. NSO isn't like that

so ya that's nso :3 if one thinks that NSO is something one is interested in, and one is sure they won't be triggered by it (bc yeah this game is super heavy) please by all means check it out!! i don't have any playthroughs to recommend since i don't watch playthroughs, but there's def some fun ones on yt! or buy it!

[alienwaspbee]

I was thinking about what I would like to write about. I have so many ideas and maybe I shouldn’t single out one of them right now. Just use this as something I myself would like to read. The ideas that pop up from my brain can just end up here.

I been thinking of a guide on how to travel as an autistic person. Cause I’m one and I do travel a lot. How I do it and how I make my travels easier for me. Still figuring it out as I go along.

And also an idea on how to be an NSO in roller derby. From my point of view as a new member in this universe, and as an autistic person as well.

These two things is what takes up most of my time and energy and therefore they’re both my special interests right now.

Hopefully my thoughts can help someone else.

[totallynotthecrystalskull]

(Kinda Late) Nintendo Direct thoughts (2/8/23)

Teensy bit late on this one due to being at work all day, but I wanted to capture my thoughts on the latest nintendo direct (since we hadn’t had one in months and who knows when the next one is). Go over the highlights, the cool, the meh, and everything that I thought was interesting. Not gonna cover absolutely EVERYTHING, just the things that caught my attention (sorry Samba de Amigo and Fashion Dreamer, I’m sure you’re fun games and all, I just have other things I wanna talk about)Pikmin 4: Looks neat, that’s kinda all I’ve got on it. Visually it’s beautiful for a Switch game, but it’s not a franchise I’ve really cared about, so I’m pretty indifferent on it. Pretty happy for the Pikmin fans though, I know you guys have REAAAALLY been waiting on this one, so good to see it’s finally getting shown off. The dog thing Oatchi feels a little... weird though. Kinda like Pikmin’s version of Poochy or some other example of added dog-like companion getting added to a series, they always feel a little funky when added in my opinion. I dunno though, maybe it fits right in with the rest of Pikmin, I’m not exactly super knowledgeable on the series anyways. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC: That’s neat for Xenoblade fans. I only ever played X on the Wii U, so I don’t have much of a connection to the series, but hope fans of the game are hyped (also, was that Shulk and an older Rex? That was kind of a surprise to see). Who knows though, maybe I’ll try the series out again sometime in the future (probs not though, they seem too big for me) Dead Cells DLC: Ok, with every update this game seems to get, the more tempted I am to get into the game. Actually, why haven’t I gotten it yet?! It looks fun as hell, and it’s got a ton of fun crossovers with Shovel Knight, Katana Zero, Castlevania, and so so so many more games. I Really gotta give it a go at this point. Ghost Trick port: oh HELL yeah, I’ve been wanting to play this one for ages now! The Ace Attorney Trilogy has been a fun way for me to get into those original DS games, and I’m hoping this Ghost Trick port will accomplish the same thing! Bayonetta Origins: It looks ok. That’s about all I’ve got for it. It’s style is pretty different from the other Bayo games which I really like, but this one’s just not really speaking to me as much. Splatoon 3 DLC: Ok, first we’re gonna get Inkopolis as a DLC... Hub? Ok, that’s a bit odd in my opinion. Like, it’ll be nice to revisit Inkopolis after ALL these years, but at the same time it’s like... it’s just a hub... DLC just for an different hub area? Feels kinda... underwhelming I guess? I dunno, just feels like a weird thing to add. As for the Side Order DLC, now THAT ONE’S catching my eyes! More Pearl and Marina, and Splat 2′s hub being completely white and covered in Coral is so mysterious, I love this!! Fire Emblem Engage DLC: I don’t care who you add, I’m not playing this FE Game! Omega Strikers: Honestly, I’ll probs forget about this game in a bit, but I do like the character designs. I dunno, looks fun enough, a neat take on Air Hockey. Might pick it up as a Multiplayer game when I have friends over (ya know, if that ever happens). Etrian Odyssey Collection: Oooooooo, ok, I’m down for this. Only ever played a bit of EOU2: The Fafnir Knight, but the mechanics of it’s dungeon crawling and custom map making was a lot of fun!! Might pick this collection up! Advance Wars 1+2 ReBoot Camp: Hell yeah! I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since it was announced!! It’s also a series I haven’t played before, but it looks so charming and fun, happy it finally has a release date! NSO GameBoy Advanced: Didn’t care much about the GB additions, but the GBA being added?! YEAAAAAH!!! I mean I wish it wasn’t a part of the Expansion pass, but also, YEAAAAAAH!!! I love the sprite work on so many GBA games, and plenty of them I’ve wanted to play myself, so I’m really happy they’re being added (especially both Superstar Saga and The Minish Cap, I fucking love the sprite work in those games so god damn much, AAAAAHHHHH!!!) Metroid Prime Remake: Hell yeah (again)! I’ve always wanted to try the Prime games, so this should be a fun way to get into the series! And available today too?!?! Mario Kart DLC: I’m liking the look of this new course, and getting Birdo in any Mario game is always awesome!! Hoping they’ll add more characters now too since we know that’s not off the table anymore. I’d love Fawful or Starlow to appear in a MK game, but let’s be realistic, that’s not happening Extras: Magalor mode in Kirby seems alright I guess, looks a little forgettable though. That Detective Danganronpa game looks weird. New Fantasy life is neat, first game was enjoyable enough, but I’ll probs pass on this new one. Neat that there’s gonna be a new Professor Layton game. The DecaPolice game looks like it could be fun, but at this point I’m hesitant on any game where you play as cops (though at the same time, it looks to be more Detective than Police, and it’s probs based more on the Japanese police rather than western police. Still hesitant though) And last, but ABSOLUTELY not least

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: This section’s probably going to get pretty long since I am a huge Zelda fan, but first, let me just say, HOLY SHIT WAS THAT MATTHEW MERCER IN ZELDA!?!?!! FUUUCK YEAAAAH!!! Ok, all of my hype aside though, I am actually a little mixed on him being in it. Not cause there’s anything wrong with Matt’s performance (dude always kills it in his roles!), but because now when I’m playing the game, I’ll just hearing him as Matthew Mercer instead of whoever he’s playing (though, that’s not bad either. Hearing Mercer playing any role is always a very enjoyable experience, dude’s got a magic voice and I love every bit of it). And better yet, was he playing mother-fuckin’ GANONDORF?!?! I mean, he’s not immediately who I would’ve imagined for Ganondorf’s voice, but god damn am I always down for some more wonderful Matthew Mercer villain dialogue, especially for my favorite Villain!! But that said though... there’s also the possibility that the trailer mislead us and he’s NOT going to be Ganondorf, but instead playing the role of a new hidden villain instead (another Zant, Ghirahim, Astor, ect., an evil minion type character). I thought it was a little odd that there weren’t any shots of Ganondorf actually speaking, and Mercer’s voice feels a little mismatched for the (currently) dried up and mummified corpse of the Gerudo King, so that makes me wonder if we’re actually hearing dialogue from an unrevealed new villain (though alternatively it could just be dialogue from a... *ahem*,Rehydrated Ganondorf, but we don’t know if that’s going to actually happen or not). I’m not entirely sold on this theory myself (as I could very easily just be looking too far into some small details), but it is a theory I did want to bring up. The Dialogue and framing certainly point to him possibly being the King of all Evil, but those little things... it just feels... a little suspicious is all. As for everything else in the trailer though, OH MY GOD AM I HYPED!!! More Zonai stuff, plenty more enemy varieties, it looks like we’re getting both some sky islands AND underground stuff, there looks to be a ton of interesting changes to hyrule itself, and I CAN’T TELL IF THAT WAS A REDEAD OR A STALFOS BUT OH MY GOD AM I HAPPY THEY’RE BACK!! Looks like we’re getting some new Shiekah stuff, lots of new Zonai stuff, and Link’s new arm looks so interesting!! God am I hyped for this SO GOD DAMN MUCH!!! May can’t come soon enough!!

[bahamutgames]

AFTERTHOUGHTS - ROUNDUP ROUND 3

April 2023

Nintendo Switch Online Edition!!

HELLO EVERYONE! Yes, you right that right, NSO Edition. This time I'm gonna split the round up into 2 different posts. In April I spent most of the month moving. It was a particularly hard move but we managed to make it through. And some days I wouldn't have a car so I would just be sitting around with my Switch, and even after the move was done I did a lot of just sitting around cause I injured my feet during the move! So, I found myself playing a TON of Nintendo Switch Online games. I've mentioned before that I can't afford the expansion pass, but I was actually able to get 8 people who could all send me $10 each, so we were able to finally afford the $80 family plan!

As such, I've been finally getting to sink my teeth into those other emulators and try out stuff that isn't just on the default version. So get ready for a lot of N64 and Genesis stuff haha

As always, these aren't reviews just thoughts yadda yadda yadda. If you wanna play any of these play them. They're all easy to emulate (I think? Idk how good N64 emulation is atm). Anyway enjoy.

Kuru Kuru Kururin (March 21, 2001) - Gameboy Advance

Of course, we start with GBA first. I'm obsessed with this console and it's actually insane how few games on this console is available on Switch! But one of them is Kuru Kuru Kururin! Which is a game I've actually wanted to play for YEARS cause it's an assist in Brawl. But it never made its way over here (but I found out the day I played it that it WAS released in the UK so... I could have been playing it the whole time. Oops.)

But yeah now that's I've played it, I think this game is pretty cute! It's short and sweet, only having around 30 levels or something around that range. But it can be TOUGH to make it through! The game is all about patience so if you're like me, it's tough to make it through. And if you're like me, you'll use rewinds a LOT to make it through this cause you suck at waiting. Regardless, yeah, this game is fun! Cute music, cute visuals, and you can customize your ship!

Only real complaints is that some of the levels are like straight up mazes, so they can be really hard to navigate. And also in general the game is a little frustrating but I think generally people will find it very easy. Again I'm just not patient. Glad I finally got to try this one out! Would have loved to see this get a sequel on DS or 3DS or something. Oh well. Look at my custom ship! The red parts blink on and off like a warning light :)

Yoshi's Story (December 21, 1997) - N64

And here we go with some games I replayed! Recently I said in my first attempt to do a podcast (shameless plug) that I don't have a lot of memories with the N64. But getting NSO just totally brought everything back. I never forgot how much I loved Starfox 64, Paper Mario, ect ect. But I completely forgot about just how many games on this console I ADORE! One of which being Yoshi's Story!

I was OBSESSED with this game as a kid, I played every level in the game and this also spawned my love for the Black and White Yoshi! And I'm happy to say that, yeah, this game still holds up. I see SO many people say this game sucks. But honestly, I don't agree. Maybe if you payed $60 for it back in the day it'd be disappointing. And while it is easy there's a lot of levels to play and trying to get the high score can be really really tough in certain stages like the piranha plant level or the level with the big fishes.

Regardless, I still think this game is incredibly charming and fun! Great music, great visuals, i ADORE the characterization of the Baby Yoshis. This game really makes them feel like puppies? They growl and act so much like little dogs and I LOVE it. The story book aesthetic rules. I think the gameplay is great. And honestly, this might still be my favorite Yoshi game if you can believe it! My only major complaint when coming back to it is that the switch version makes a lot of the graphics look REALLY odd. This game gets the 2D stuff messed up more than anything else on the service. Very odd.

Starfox 64 (April 27, 1997) - N64

Here we go! Here is one of my all time favorite games EVER! Honestly... I don't even really think I need to write up my thoughts on it as I'm fairly certain the last time I beat this game and talked about it was just last year aha. Without a doubt, Starfox 64 is one of my all time favorites and is easily the game I have played to completion the most. I ADORE this game. So, yknow a quick run of it again wouldn't hurt right? I have NSO now anyway so I might as well...

And now we're here. Yeah, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. This game still absolutely RULES! It's such an amazing game and shmup (do on rail shooters count as shmups? I think they should... 3D Shmups). Even all this time later and after so many playthroughs the game never fails to scratch that itch. Great music, great levels, great characters, great gameplay. And that ending. Augh, gets me every time.

If anyone is curious my favorite route is

Corneria > Meteor Herd > Starwolf > Solar > Macbeth > Area 6 > Venom. Always my favorite set of levels to run through!

Pokemon Snap (March 21, 1999) - N64

Another all time favorite! I mean... This is basically an on rails shooter, if you think about it. Just with VERY different objectives and the bullets are, yknow, photos. So it's only natural I would love this Shmup classic! For real though, if you know me you know I LOVE taking pictures in game, so I love games all about taking pictures!

I used to play Snap a TON back in the day. And after I was absolutely madly in love with the sequel that took way too long to come out, I was interested in revisit the original for a bit now. I will come out of the gate and say it, New Pokemon Snap is better by leaps and bounds. It's got tons more content and things to do. But this only speaks to how good New Pokemon Snap is, because the original still holds up great! It feels fantastic to play, it's super cute, great music, lots of lovely scenarios to take pictures of. And it's made at that cute time period where the Pokemon brand was still figuring itself out. Honestly I think seeing Pokemon just living in nature is one of my favorite ways to see them and now I REALLY wanna play more NPS!

My only real complaints outside of just, not as much to do as the sequel that came out YEARS later is that the stages are SO short! I forgot how insanely short they are! I would love them to be a little longer with more Pokemon, but again that's what the sequel is for I suppose!

I had a bunch of really nice photos I wanted to show off but I deleted my save data before the final boss so I had to play the game a second time and didn't really feel so intense to take many pictures. eh.

F-ZERO X (July 14, 1998) - N64

I feel like I NEVER get to talk about it but I LOVE FZero! It's a series I totally adore and find super fun to play! And with the small amount of games in the series (crying and dying and coping and seething) it's also not very often I get to play a game in the series I've just NEVER played before! But here we are!

I've wanted to try this game for ages but just never could really get my hands on it for one reason or another. But now I didn't really have any reason not to try it! I'd still say it's not as good as GX, but it's still REALLY good! And it's crazy to me that they were so close to the insanity of GX on the N64. Game feels AMAZING to play and has TONS of characters, alt colors for each of them, and lots of tracks! And of course the OST is SUPER GOOD but that's not surprising for FZERO. I'm not a music guy but the guitars in this game sound really good and cool. And it has the fantastic cover of Rainbow Road if you've never heard that.

Off the top of my head the only issue I really have are kinda nitpicky. it's not amazing looking, but I totally understand that it just kinda can't look crazy good on N64, it's a big game with a lot going on and it's not gonna look as good as GX I'm not stupid. But a larger problem I had is that there are SO MANY KILL PLANES! I was trying to jump around the track and kept dying super high up or the collision for the road wouldn't load in cause I guess I skipped checkpoints. Frustrating. LET ME GO NUTS!!

But yeah, good game. I played as Pico and did every track in the Novice Class cause I suck

Dr. Mario 64 (April 8, 2001) - N64

Another game I've been interested in for a while but never got to play before. This one is very odd. it's Dr. Mario so of course it's good but it actually has a story mode with 2 very slightly different stories between Dr. Mario himself and Wario! Yeah this game actually features TONS of Wario Land 3 characters which is so weird and was a big reason I wanted to check it out.

Not much to say on this one. It's Dr. Mario so it's good. But it's just Dr. Mario. Story is cute. Although I didn't have the energy to play through both stories on higher difficulties so I didn't see the true final bosses. It plays fine, looks cool, has a good amount to do. I think the game is a little brutal though. I've never played VS Dr. Mario believe it or not. And I actually think trash blocks in this game are totally detrimental to you if you're not the best at it (like me) so the enemies had a pretty easy time just filling my board with garbage. Ah well. Still neat. Wouldn't mind a new Dr. Mario with a Story Mode and maybe more stuff like Miracle Cures from Miracle Cure on 3DS.

Kirby's Dreamland 2 (March 21, 1995) - Gameboy

Random Gameboy Jumpscare! Yeah last time I played Dreamland 1 so... Why not run through Dreamland 2? Yeah, this one is a LOT better than Dreamland 1. It's got copy abilities, and a whole game set up more similar to Adventure (or Nightmare in Dreamland if you're like me aha) and it has some animal buddies from Dreamland 3! Who, of course, all have different ways of using the copy abilities so there's LOTS to see and experiment with!

Cute sprites, some really honestly very cute and nice looking environments. Good soundtrack. It's honestly pretty dang good feeling and looking for a Gameboy game! I think something that really surprised me with this one is that there's a LOT of unique and cool boss battles in this that I've never really seen before as a casual kirby fan? Nruff, Sweet Stuff, and Ice Dragon are monsters I've seen before but never as bosses. It was neat and actually surprising to not only fight whispy and stuff. I know a lot of Kirby games have new bosses. But still!

Only complaints are stuff like. Ah not enough copy abilities or animal friends. But it's still gameboy there's only so much you can jam pack into it. No, my biggest issue is easily the final boss. Which, if you've played this game you might see the screenshot and realize I didn't fight! Every game in the Dark Matter saga (DL2, DL3, 64 as far as I'm aware?) all do this annoying thing where you can only challenge the final boss after 100% completing the game. This doesn't bug me all the time as I did this for Super Princess Peach and Demon's Crest, but I wasn't like ecstatic to do it in those even though I adore those games. And while I really like these Kirby games. I'm just not crazy enough about it to sit down and try to do EVERYTHING in them at the moment. But that's just me I'm sure Kirby fans could probably 100% this with their eyes closed. And if I ever do sit down to play the entire franchise, I will make an effort to try and grab everything and finally fight the true final bosses to these games.

Pokemon Stadium (April 30, 1999) - N64

Ah now here's a game I have a lot of nostalgia for! Despite not ever doing a full playthrough of the original RBY until last year, I played Stadium a BUNCH growing up! The minigames of course, everyone did, but I actually played Free Battle with Rental Pokemon a LOT for some reason. I was really into it and I remember really wanting Stadium 2 and whatever the GC and Wii ones were called but I never got them.

And something I tried as a child but never managed to do was beat Gym Leader Castle! And now I'm happy to say I did! Did it all with Rental Pokemon of course because they... dont have RBY on Gameboy Online for some reason which is a HUGE mistake by the way. I'll just come out and say it. With your own team I feel like this game would be REALLY exciting. But looking back, with Rental Pokemon. It's REALLY boring. It feels so slow to get through and I totally understand why I just didnt have the energy without save states as a kid.

BUT this game is still nice in a lot of ways. Very charming little title and I ADORE the animations made for all 150 Pokemon. They all have tons of personality, are fun to watch, and are just plain cute. I know Pokemon Company has said there's no reason to make a game like this now that Pokemon main series games are 3D but I disagree because a game like this really allows them to showcase unique emotions and quirks in the personalities of the different species. If that makes sense. Game looks good, music is nice, and of course the announcer is LEGENDARY.

No I am not unlocking Mewtwo, I thought you got him for clearing Gym Leader castle. You do not. I looked it up, you have to do EVERYTHING. I am not doing that.

Also if you wanna see the team I took on Gym Leader Castle with. All rental Pokemon of course. But still neat! (x)

Pokemon Puzzle League (September 25, 2000) - N64

Gosh now here's a REALLY weird game. For years I've seen people say this game is absolutely awful and... honestly it's not. It's just Panel De Pon so it's good objectively. But it still sucks but like, in other ways? Like. I don't know how to describe it the game is just really weird. It's fully based around the anime, which is rare. It has one or two original animations made just for the game (I think they're made just for it)? Which is neat. And it has covers of music from the anime which is neat! I was particularly blown away by the inclusion of Catch Me If You Can from the first movie which is a song I liked a lot in highschool lol. (no Free Up Your Mind or Brother My Brother though 0/10)

But I'dunno even though it plays fine and it has a lot of stuff to do including making your own boards for people to solve which is neat. The game just feels so lame? It looks like a PowerPoint presentation and while you can pick a Pokemon to bring into battle as far as I can tell it has 0 impact on the actual battles which is a HUGE waste because the blocks have type icons on them so I feel like there's a huge missed opportunity for a Panel De Pon game with like elemental weaknesses? Idk how to describe it but it really feels fake, or maybe like a flash game you would have played on the official Pokemon website back in the day. It's not bad but even playing it for free, I'd rather just play Panel de Pon lmao. Sorry Puzzle League.

THAT BEING SAID, I did randomly beat it twice so I could get the better ending. Which I didn't bother doing for Dr. Mario 64, so that's gotta be worth something.

Pulseman (July 22, 1994) - Genesis

Speaking of Pulseman, here's a game with no Pokemon in it! I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone this at this point but Pulseman was made by Gamefreak and even has a lot of the art done by Ken Sugimori which is very neat! This is a game I've actually enjoyed for a bit as I bought it on Wii Virtual console a loooong time ago. But I could never beat it sadly. Thankfully I finally managed to get through it!

Pulseman is VERY cool! I like the character designs of Pulseman and his sidekick girl a LOT. Pulseman also has a lot of really interesting abilities, I think the ability to run fast and build up static to super charge your moves is SUPER cool! There's even some voice acting which is REALLY neat. The game feels very advanced in a lot of parts. And the game has a lot of impressive visuals and looks very good for the most part!

For the most part though. I honestly can't help but feel a little disappointed in Pulseman now that I've played it? I think a lot of the levels don't play to Pulseman's cool abilities enough, I think a lot of the levels in general kinda suck. A lot of the game looks kinda headache inducing with tons of flashing lights instead of focusing on the REALLY nice sprite art if that makes sense. I don't really remember most of the enemies and bosses. And I don't recall any of the music. Idk I hate to say it cause I love Pulseman's design and a lot about the game. But I can't help but feel like this game didn't bring out the concept's full potential.

PERSONALLY I think Pulseman REALLY could use a sequel and honestly, it's not too late. I know Gamefreak is kinda eh on not doing Pokemon every year or so but I really think Pulseman is a game that could go SO nuts nowadays with some cooler levels and expansions on Pulseman's abilities and giving him new tools he can use and upgrade using the static electricity stuff. Ah well, it's still worth playing as an interesting piece of history!

Street Fighter II - Championship Edition (March 18, 1992) - Genesis

Can you believe I've never beaten this game before? Yeah despite how much I love fighting games I only really got into Street Fighter during covid when I played Street Fighter 4 and really found myself loving Juri Han. And while I've been REALLY wanting to get the Capcom Fighting Collection, which includes this, I've just been kinda strapped for cash so I'll have to go with the NSO for Street Fighter II!

Yeah it's fine. Not mind blowing but it is REALLY interesting to go back and play this and see how much of it is still accurate to modern day fighting games? Either the genre hasn't changed much or this game just hit the nail on the head so well (probably a bit of both) but yeah it's neat that it has a lot of modern day fighting game trappings and while it feels outdated, it doesn't feel as outdated as you would expect such an old console port fighting game to feel? Idk how SF2 feels in general though cause I've barely played it. But yeah it's neat. Looks good, has good music, stuff you would expect for Street Fighter. I played as Blanka cause Cammy isn't in this version. Neat :)

Super Fantasy Zone (January 14, 1992) - Genesis

Ah never a bad time for Shmups! I have a little bit of history with Fantasy Zone as I used to LOVE playing my bootleg NES cartridge of it as a kid! Fantasy Zone is very reminiscent of Twinbee with its cute bullet hell stuff and also having a living ship. I love OpaOpa.

This game pretty good, feels great to play, looks adorable, has great boss fights, nice music. And I especially LOVE how many upgrades you can buy for OpaOpa! I just wish they were all permanent or at least lasted longer? I also appreciate that it had a kind of out of nowhere ending with a really cool and edgy dark matter concept and villain, I guess I need to research more Fantasy Zone lore!

My only problem with this game, and while this may feel stupid, I think it's fair to bring up. This game feels like it would be impossible without rewinding? It's 1 hit and you're dead, and it's a bullet hell where it can be really hard to tell where everything is including your ship (which is REALLY important to tell where that thing is during bullet hells aha). With rewinds it wasn't a problem, but I genuinely don't know if it would be possible without them. Still, it's fun so if you have NSO (or an emulator which is free btw) it's a great time!

Ristar (February 16, 1995) - Genesis

Last, but absolutely NOT least, is Ristar! HEY!! RISTAR ROCKS!? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS GAME RULES ACTUALLY!?!? I've seen it around a lot but idk the game just never really looked like something I'd enjoy. But I figured, why not? Let's give it a go. And I can safely say I was WRONG! Ristar is a FANTASTIC platformer I'm sad I never sunk my teeth into before (well, I never owned it I dont think. But still)

First off, Ristar is ADORABLE. I didn't like how he looked on the boxart but he looks GREAT in game and has some lovely animations (him making snowmen in the ice world killed me.) The music is also fantastic, the bosses are cool, and the whole game is full of really cool ideas! It's even got a neat albeit small story. But particularly, the visuals. Oh my god. This game is GORGEOUS! Ristar has such AMAZING sprite art I was honestly totally blown away by every part of the game's visuals! A part that really made my jaw drop when I first saw it is when you beat a world, the cutscene that plays when Ristar flies to the next planet looks AMAZING and also has some really beautiful music! Honestly, Ristar looks like an indie game trying to look like a Genesis game, but massively overshooting what the Genesis could actually do. And I mean that in the best way possible!

I have some nitpicks with it, I think the final boss had some attacks that were really stupid to dodge? And there were some stages that just... Weren't hitting. But I think my biggest issue with the game is similar to Pulseman's issue. Ristar has cool abilities. He can stretch his arms out and launch things around by bouncing into them like a sling shot. But, this just kind of never gets used? You use it for the spinny things but that's it? I feel like I should be able to angle enemies when I grab them to sling them into eachother, or just be using these abilities in ANY additional ways. Also the game is SLOOOOW, it's REALLY slow game. I think Ristar is another game that REALLY could use a second go around. Ristar 2 could really add to Ristar's abilities and turn up the speed! I think there's so much you could do with grappling and slinging with this character that hasn't been explored yet. PLEASE GIVE US RISTAR 2!!

[transgirl-gaming-thoughts]

My Thoughts On: Virtual Console

I don't think I've done this yet?

Hey there, it's Alex! Wow, seems like all my blog posts are about a decade late to the discussion? I mean, even the whole idea of a blog like I'm running feels dated in a bygone era. Oh well, i don't really care, this is fun!

I love Virtual Console! The idea of playing all your favorite older games digitally on a more modern console at a fraction of the original price is revolutionary! The Virtual Console brand started with the Wii Shop Channel where you could purchase them using Wii Points (that's a whole topic unto itself) for previous Nintendo platforms, such as the NES, SNES, and N64, but some third-party support came in the form of Sega's Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, SNK, and even Commodore 64, what? They had some pretty niche games on here, but also many of the biggest titles like all the 2D Mario games, Metroid, Zelda, pretty much anything you could ask for! They were missing some classic N64 games like Banjo-Kazooie for obvious licensing reasons with developer Rare's acquisition by Microsoft, and GoldenEye 007 which recieved a Wii remake. Other games like Earthbound or Panel de Pon weren't available because they hadn't yet reached the level of popularity they hold now (especially in Earthbound's case).

Quick tangent here, but I still think the DSi should have gotten Virtual Consoles. I mean, it already had an eShop! There were DSiWare games being developed just like WiiWare games! Plus, they removed the famous Gameboy Advance slot (or "Slot 2" as it's officially called), so this would be the perfect opportunity to make users repurchase their favorite GBA games, and maybe GB/GBC games that were previously unplayable on the DS, and install them on the DSi! They probably could have squeezed NES and maybe SNES VCs on there too if they tried. This was such a huge missed opportunity that would've added validity to the DSi, and could've truly pushed the DS to being one of the best consoles ever, even more so than it is now. But I digress, moving on!

After the Wii came the 3DS, sporting the 3DS eShop and, you guessed it, portable Virtual Console! Yes, finally, handheld VC titles! The 3DS ended up having Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance (exclusive to Ambassador Program), NES, SNES (New 3DS only), Sega Master System, and Sega GameGear.

The GBA Virtual Consoles only had a small handful of titles released alongside the eShop, and were only available to download for free by members of the Ambassador Program, users who bought their 3DS systems before the price was cut a few months after release. They later introduced SNES Virtual Console, which is amazing! But instead of putting in effort, they said "Oh, uh, the old 3DS isn't strong enough to run SNES games, you need a NEW 3DS" and really? Is it too weak? You mean if I open my original model 3DS right now I won't see a fully functional homebrew SNES Virtual Console collection? Really? Moving on...

After the 3DS, Nintendo quickly released the WiiU as their new home console! This too featured an eShop, and Virtual Console! This time, GBA was available to everyone! They also added DS Virtual Console, which is very cool in my opinion! From what I hear it wasn't executed very well, but that's such a unique idea! They also added certain Wii titles to be downloaded and installed, sort of like a VC, but not part of that brand. Those will forever be in a state of purgatory...

And finally, we come to the Nintendo Switch, and... nothing. Nintendo has completely done away with the Virtual Console brand, and broken my heart. Instead, if you sign up for Nintendo Switch Online, their online gaming service, you get access to NES and SNES apps loaded with a bunch of retro games, but most of them are just random things most people don't care about. If you upgrade to the NSO Expansion you get N64 and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis apps, but again, so far there's just not enough games to warrant the huge price jump of the Expansion. So far there's not a whole lot of value to the service, and we're still waiting on more to justify it. Personally, I'm thinking GameCube would be good candidates for this line, and a GC app would make me instantly upgrade!

As a more recent update, Gameboy was added to NSO, and Gameboy Advance as a part of the Expansion! This is a great step forward, but its not everything they need to add value to the Expansion. Still, good job, Nintendo!

The Virtual Console name has a lot of history to it, and a lot of fond memories from gamers such as myself who remember downlaoding and playing all sorts of games on Wii and 3DS from older consoles. Today, as the brand has been done away with on Switch, and the 3DS/WiiU eShops closing, it seems that era is ending... but don't forget! With homebrew you cans till find the installable files online and put them on your console! There's also tools to make your own custom injects for the 3DS! We can still enjoy new VC for many years to come with these wonderful tools from dedicated developers.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to ask questions and suggest new post ideas in my ask box! Stay safe, stay hydrated, and God bless! Happy gaming to ya!

~ Alex

[wh4t-d0-y0u-w4nt]

A bit about me in recent years...? Where I am now...? And the seasons coming up?

Well... I know a guy who'd love a Switch. So I had some money... Instead of just spending it all on myself I figured this guy is deserving. So I got a Switch and a "Pro" Controller for him because let's be honest, not many people want to expect joy-cons to function properly for long. The console comes with eShop codes for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a year's subscription of NSO. This friend has a Xbox already, he enjoys Halo... So the CONSOLE is officially coming from Ghost. :P The "pro" controller is officially coming from a friend who's too lazy and cheap to REALLY spend money on others, so his freakin' gift this year is a gift of giving... Then officially from ME is a Switch carry case thing and a Switch cartridge case that's a bit more of a wallet. It comes with a 2 micro SD holder that fits into the cartridge things. The only thing it's missing is a decent micro. But I can get that to him later. Plus right now he'll only have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

"Ghost" is the call sign, moniker, nom de geure, etcetera of a character in the collection of animated shorts Halo: Legends. I believe his episode is called "Prototype" due to the honking mecha in it.

Then if someone else I know starts acting right... I may wind up getting them the same. <.< He's an old childhood friend of a friend, but he's also... Just a BIT of a problem. Still... Why did we create the fictional Santa Claus? What is Christmas kind of used for when it comes to children at least?

Christmas is generally a season of giving... Putting others before yourself and showing kindness, that's what it is for us adults here in the West.

(In Japan it is more of a dating season apparently...?)

So... Yeah, I've dealt with a lot over the years from... "people" who act more like monsters for one reason or another. I should HATE the idea of giving to other people, right?

What does that make me? What am I if I can't spend on others who deserve gifts this time of year if I have the capability? Sure, it's my choice to do so. Yeah, it's still a bit off... But I can plan ahead. And I WANT to plan ahead.

I'm no saint, I'm certainly not claiming to be. I'm a terrible person. But that's partially due to people I've known, it's made me... I want to say "cynical"? But a selective mute for sure.

What's something that used to be one of the number one rules growing up? If your answer is "Golden Rule" then you are correct.

Other people who are good people or who are trying to make the effort to be better people should be thought of around this time. So it just feels right to me, that's all.

The SECOND package will have a letter that will look like it was written by a Palico... Yes, the cat creatures from Monster Hunter. This character I have dubbed... Santa Paws. It would have been Santa CLAWS, but as I may have said, it sounds more like a horror movie thing. So Santa Paws it is.

Anyway, that's all I got for now.

Considering TRYING to install almost all 200+ Switch digital games to my new 1T micro SD now. But... Hm... Is 1T enough? e.e I'll find out. Right now what I DO have on it is BoTW which I have a physical of and then some other fantasy setting stuff... Yet I still have hundreds of gigs left free. x.x

[game-boy-pocket]

Nintendo Direct Thoughts

I just woke up and had a look, not expecting much given this is one of those "we're at the end of the Switch's life" Directs but honestly I was surprised.

We start with a brand new Mario and Luigi game... we've been getting lots of remakes for Mario RPGs but this is a new one and honestly was the one I expected to get a new game the least out of all of them. To tell the truth I would have preferred a continuation of SMRPG or a new traditional Paper Mario over this, cuz a party made up of just Mario and Luigi was novel when Luigi wasn't appearing in as many games but now it feels boring by comparison. I wish they would do more with the idea of adding on surprise guest party members, like how the 2nd game had the Baby Bros and the Third game had Bowser, then Paper Mario, but after that it just a weird version of Luigi? idk man. This looks neat, I'm glad the franchise isn't dead. I'll think about picking it up. Probably not a day 1 purchase. I do hope other Mario RPGs have a chance at continuing too though.

I still think the Nintendo World Championships is pointless.

Not interested in Fairy Tail, I only ever read a bit of the Manga, I'd like to check out the anime but lisenced anime games are a hard sell for me. Wish they'd just make another One Piece Grand Battle style game.

Don't care about Fantasian, Nintendo Switch Sports has a bad reputation and I don't care about sports anyway so that's a pass, pass on Mio, pass on Disney, pass on Hello Kitty, give me a sequel to the Keroppi platformer for the NES and then we'll talk, It's weird to see Loney Tunes in a video game. That Porky Pig voice was rough. I don't have hopes for it, Don't care about Among Us or Farmagia...

Donkey Kong Country Returns... not a new game, and they didn't announce any new playable characters or features aside from levels from the 3DS version, and I wish they gave DK and Diddy more of a facelift, but i'll take it, a way to play DKCR on the big screen, hopefully without the motion controls, is a win... but please Nintendo.... give us a new DK game...

Dragon Quest III 2DHD. I am very mixed about the whole 2D HD thing, I don't think it looks good. Never have. This looks a lot better than Octopath to me but I still don't like it. Also, I respectfully disagree with Mr. Horii. Playing the games in chronological order is not the best way to experience the Erdrick Trilogy, and that's a pretty dumb thing to say. That's like telling someone to read a Murder Mystery but start with the final chapter. The big twist in DQ3 will be meaningless to those who haven't played, at the very least, DQ1... I'm glad all 3 games are getting the treatment. I am a big fan of the trilogy so even though I don't care for the whole 2D HD thing, I'll pick it up, and who knows, maybe the style will grow on me.

Funko is a fucking joke. I'm ehh about Luigi's Mansion 2 but I might pick it up anyway if I have extra cash burning a hole in my pocket and I really want a new game. Don't care about Denpa Men, Would prefer Traditional Metal Slug, Don't care about Darkest Dungeon, Don't care about NSO but it's nice that those games are now available for people, Phantom Braves has a cute art style but i'm not interested in the gameplay, Marvsl and Capcom arcade collection might be worth a look but idk, I'm no good at fighting games, so i'd only be in it for the beat em ups.

I tried to like Mario Party but I just can't get into that style of game. I want to like it because I love the Mario series but it's just not fun for me, either with friends or going it alone, I hate board games irl, making them video games doesn't actually help, and I think the minigames are just not fun and over too quickly.

I wish I was excited about our first new 2D Zelda in a long time. But Link has always been...ugh... I guess you could call him a "comfort character" for me. I never liked Princess Zelda that much, and I enjoy the combat in Zelda games a lot, so a game without Link and without Combat.... I am apprehensive. The one thing that might save this game for me is that it has hints of monster taming. Not like... real monster taming, you're creating copies, so it's not like your bonding with monster companions, but it's still monster vs monster, and that's something I'd love to see expanded on. Give me a full on Zelda monster tamer.... I hope this isn't "The new direction for 2D Zelda" the way BOTW is for 3D Zelda though. I was kinda hoping 2D Zelda would keep traditional Zelda alive while 3D Zelda continued being open air.

More headlines, I don't care about just dance, never was a fan of legos, stray was interesting when it was first announced but the novelty wore off after watching ppl play it, there's a lot of games like lately. Don't care about the Hobbit, and i'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know I don't care about a lot of things and I know t he franchise has a lot of fans but I just don't care about Ace Attourney. And don't care about Hunted Line, looks edgy. I know SaGa has a legacy, but I'd prefer to try an older game before thinking about checking out a new one.

Metroid Prime 4 looks interesting. We have Sylux with some Metroids following him around. We have orchestral sounding music. It's definitely Metroid Prime alright. Can't wait to play it for myself.

Despite how often I said "don't care" I'd call this a good direct.

TLDR, Metroid is the most exciting thing there, I'm happy for the DKCR remake, I'm apprehensive about Zelda but I'm gonna try it. Mario and Luigi i'll probably pick up some day.