#【☆】Jack talks ★ THREAD

[scrunkore]

Scunkore Media "Thread" 2023: Part 4

welcome back to the scrunko core

38) Miitopia (Switch, 2021)

Mii games are a dying breed, and honestly I'm not sure why they put this game on Switch when they did, but that's whatever really. It definitely has its fair share of improvements from the 3DS original, with a bit more content and an absolutely fantastic custom makeup tool that lets you make every Mii that much more unique, being put to great use by a whole bunch of creators. The game itself, though... it's still not anything special aside from that, and also its cute story bits and Mii interactions, but those get old well before you actually finish the game. And the game takes a while to get through, too, feeling very repetitive and grindy even while you constantly make progress. Basically, the game does some fun things, but it's not nearly enough to make the whole experience remain interesting throughout. It's just painfully average as an actual game, and I'd really rather have a new Tomodachi Life game, but that seems unlikely at this point. [2.5★]

39) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Movie, 2023)

I'll never get over the reaction to the casting announcement for this movie, that was the funniest shit to come from that one Nintendo Direct presentation and unfortunately it might be more memorable than the actual movie itself. Chris Pratt Mario is the least of its issues (actually the voice acting is fine) - the plot and indeed most of the characters are pretty half-baked and it feels like they rushed the story through basic plot points between various action pieces, but at the very least that does mean it's never boring. Trouble is, that does mean I can't say the movie is good, despite the really nice-looking visuals and great soundtrack (when it's not using corporate-mandated licensed songs), both clearly made with a lot of love for the series. Sure, it was an entertaining movie, with some fun elements like Jack Black Bowser banging out the tunes, but realistically I think it's pretty average when I'm not giggling at the references - the critics were in fact correct, who knew. Still, does give me some hope for future Nintendo movies, because it was well-made. [3★]

40) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch, 2023)

Breath of the Wild, one of the biggest and most popular games Nintendo has ever put out, finally got its sequel, and it somehow makes that game look like a demo. Everything new that they added results in Tears of the Kingdom blowing Breath of the Wild out of the water - the world map is about three times the size due to the added cave systems and whole new areas above and below Hyrule, the abilities Link gets to use are so much more complex and fun to use (especially the building mechanics), the enemies/bosses and side quests are more interesting, the list really does go on. It even has an excellent story that, while still unfortunately leaning back into "rescue the princess", delivers a really enjoyable narrative only marred by the fact that you can kind of ruin it by viewing it outside of the intended order, but I guess for an open-world game that's fine. I held off on writing this bit because I didn't really know what to say other than "game good", and now I don't want it to go on too long because I'll start rambling. The game is just really fucking good, man. Sometimes things in it are annoying, but I say that about every game, including Breath of the Wild - it may not be a particularly interesting opinion, but I think this game has just about perfected what it wants to be, and I have no idea what the Zelda team is going to do next. [5★]

41) Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast/PC, 1999/2011)

Next time someone tries to tell me that Sonic "had a rough transition to 3D" and it's clear they're talking about this game specifically, I think I might push them out of the nearest window, because that lie has gone on for far too long, though admittedly the ports of this thing have a couple unique issues and that's kinda why I modded the Steam port to be more in line with the Dreamcast version. But regardless, yes, this game is really good fun. It's a pretty unique 3D platformer with an excellent hub world and several different gameplay styles that each offer something fresh - from speeding through levels to fishing for a kind of annoying frog, I do rather like them all to varying degrees. The general vibes of the game as a whole (mainly down to the locales but also things like the incredible music) are pretty cool too, and the solidly enjoyable story - especially the parts with Gamma - is told in cutscenes that may look a bit awkward now but still have a lot of charm to them. Everything culminates in the classic final fight against Chaos, and that will always be really cool despite the actual gameplay of that fight being a bit of a pain. If you haven't played a "good" 3D Sonic game, open your heart up to this one - but do grab the mod loader if you're playing the Steam release. [4★]

42) Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast/PC, 2001/2012)

The sequel to Sonic Adventure is kind of a few steps forward and a few steps back, and production-wise we know it was a bit rushed, which does explain some issues, but thankfully the subsequent ports ended up having less issues than the prior game's. Adventure 2 takes a hit in not having a cool hub world to explore and instead opting for typical menus separating the two routes that include most of the different level types introduced in the first game, and one of those level types (the emerald hunts) is designed so much worse this time around for god knows what reason. In fact, the game can be a bit more annoying to play in a lot of areas, although plenty of the time it's just because it's deliberately more challenging and not actual bad design. But it makes up for anything that might be worse than in the first game by having even cooler presentation, with a stronger storyline featuring everyone's favourite grumpy hedgehog Shadow and better cutscenes, more banger music, and going right up into space for the supersonic finale. So generally it's both better and worse than the first game, but hey, you live and learn. [4★]

43) Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit (PC, 2022)

With the upcoming Sonic Superstars set to feature Fang for the first time since the original Triple Trouple, now's as good a time as any to check out the stellar fan remake that turns it into an awesome 16-bit style game mechanically rather similar to Sonic 3, like the more traditional Sonic 4 that we never got. It's a lovingly crafted game that perfectly re-imagines the zones from the original with much cleaner graphics and refreshed music accurate to the hardware it's trying to replicate, and more spectacular setpieces that give it a whole new burst of character, plus it's full of its own fun original gimmicks and surprises too. A full run of the game getting all Chaos Emeralds and defeating the incredibly cool true final boss won't take you very long, but if you're a fan of the classic games you're bound to enjoy the ride and want to replay it with the unlockable characters too. Definitely a really cool fangame that's worth checking out. [4.5★]

44) Pokémon Infinite Fusion V5.X (PC, 2022)

It's the Pokémon fangame that got all the content creators posting YouTube shorts of the funny things they made in it, and of course, it's easy to see why a game with a fusion gimmick would have so much mass appeal - it's a massive undertaking from the people working on the thousands of different sprites required, and the idea of fusing Pokémon together has been popular for over a decade at this point. And that's a gimmick that the game handles really well, every battle presents you with some new cute combination or hybrid abomination and you never know what's coming up next, plus you'll always be mixing and matching with your own stuff to see what happens and if you can make something completely overpowered (I recommend Shedinja + Absol for maximum cheese). Though, I'm not that big on the core adventure itself, because it's just Kanto again with some Johto and the Sevii Islands tacked onto it, along with more Pokémon of course, and the new story elements are just kind of whatever unfortunately. It's also an RPG Maker game, so there's some jank to be seen, but I'm used to that considering the other things I've played. So all in all, it's hard carried by the fusion mechanic, but at least it manages to nail that, and it's still being updated constantly with new sprites to check out. [3.5★]

45) Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! (Switch, 2023)

I don't feel much for this game, so I'll keep it short. I've only really dabbled in Puzzle Bobble once or twice, and so I figured I'd give this one a whirl, but it wasn't that good all things considered. Sure, it gets the core gameplay right, as it should, and the online multiplayer works pretty well, but what I found pretty annoying was the story mode - a lot of the levels are just stupid and a pain in the ass, at least for me, so maybe I'm not a hardcore Bobble-head after all. The characters are rather annoying too, but maybe that's just in this entry, who knows? If there are better iterations of this series then I'd be down to play those as well, I just didn't like this one that much outside of dicking around with non-story mode content, which was decent enough. [2.5★]

46) Nimona (Movie, 2023)

The once-cancelled Blue Sky adaptation of a comic from ND Stevenson, showrunner of that very queer She-Ra series, actually got rescued by Annapurna and actually came out this year, and boy am I glad it did, not least because of how poorly animation tends to get treated by so many of the large corporations. The movie is an incredibly fun and deeply heartfelt story of people society was all too keen to paint as monsters because of an authoritarian regime, and it's definitely pretty clear about its messages in a way that pretty much anyone can understand. It's also quite well-animated and put together really nicely, and although I have heard that it goes for a more family-friendly angle than the original comic did, it still manages to get everything across effectively and hit the right emotional beats, and it uses its runtime as well as one could expect from it. Also, I gotta say, this one's also very queer - the two most important male characters in the story are gay and get to kiss on-screen which is awesome, and I definitely get gender vibes from the titular Nimona, the awesome transforming girl who gets the most action in the movie. Maybe it's a good thing someone other than Disney released it, because I'm not sure how keen they are about gay people and anti-establishment messaging (this isn't even really a joke unfortunately). But anyway, this movie was awesome, and I hope we do see more projects like it. [4.5★]

47) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Switch, 2023)

Ghost Trick has always been one of those really cool and unique DS puzzle games that people have been demanding everyone play for years, and in this case it's easy to see why that's all they were saying about it (in a good way). The story of this game is frankly too good to spoil, with some pretty great twists and turns that it takes, and I highly doubt anyone will be able to predict quite how it ends because that truly blindsided me and I loved it. The excellent cast of characters kind of helped with that too, especially the best boy of all time Missile; it's just very well-written as a whole. Now in terms of gameplay it's no slouch either, delivering some honestly genius puzzles revolving around setting up Rube Goldberg-esque series of movements with various objects that you, a ghost, can take control to prevent people from dying. Some of these puzzles are real head-scratchers, but I think anyone can get through them with enough trial and error, and it is immensely satisfying when you do, so it's a damn good puzzle game. Also worth mentioning, though it goes without saying if you've seen the game before, is that it has a really slick visual style with character designs that pop, and an excellent soundtrack that is very much welcome. Genuinely an incredible game, and I think they should let Shu Takumi do more original projects if this is what he can cook up. [5★]

48-49) Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (Switch, 2017)

Had to check out some of Inti Creates' flagship titles when I saw they were doing a Love Live game in a similar style, and yeah, this is a fun type of game that feels inspired by certain Mega Man spinoffs. Both games in this pack have cool run-and-gun gameplay where you can "tag" enemies do deal more damage to them, and of course you kind of have to balance that with avoiding taking damage yourself. Not a problem in the levels themselves, but taking on bosses is where it can get super tricky, especially towards the end of the first game which is just way harder than the rest for some reason (so the first game does seem to require grinding for levels and equipment). So the core gamplay is something I quite like, but I'm not a fan of how it often presents the story as text boxes appearing during the action where you're not going to be paying attention to them because you're busy, and honestly I don't much care for the story and characters anyway (and honestly why are there so many little girls in these games, they even turn characters into them in the second one). I do also enjoy the little gimmick of having straight-up idol music playing at certain times when you're powered up, and the music is just kinda good in general, so there is that. Decently fun games overall, there's not that much left to say about them. [3.5★]

Finally, I'm done catching up on this, future entries will just have their own posts. Hope you enjoy these poorly-made stream-of-consciousness mini-reviews!

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[totouchthcstars]

@jasperheartx​ || Jack for Silver

.｡.:*☆ Fighting a hangover while having to work a shift in a bar was not exactly an ideal setting. But, it was as it was. Drinking some water and gulping down some painkillers, Jack turned when hearing the door being opened. Damn…. obviously he had forgotten to lock it earlier. Good that his boss was not around. He would for sure give him a talk for being so careless yet again. It had not been the first time this happened, after all.

“Watcha want?” he called, frowning. “We are technically still closed, ya know?”

[ofxscavengcrs]

@recklcssabandon​  Jack for  Hughie

.｡.:*☆ “Do you even still have money to participate?”

Jack looked nhis own card before glancing at the other. It was always good when new people would join the game. But only if they had something to offer he did desire. It was a thing that had not changed. Even when everything else had.

“Just because…. wouldn’t want to have to take away your precious clothes. Or car.” Truth was, Jack would not complain about such things, either. At least when it came from people who had more than enough, anyay. But, he was also clever enought to not announce that out loud.

[lcnelyxheroes]

@stcpwatchs​ || closed

.｡.:*☆ “There is a mistletoe. I fear you’ll have to kiss me now.” Of course, it was something Jack had arranged, cheesy as he was. But, it was Christmas, and there was a party, so being a little cheesy could not be too wrong, after all.

[ofcelestialstories]

.｡.:*☆ tag dump Jack!

[spiritcfthcstars]

@livetoloveandfight || closed for Will

*· ☆,.- “Aye, Will, I am having a brilliant idea!” Jack jumped up from the couch when he heard the other coming home, a large, bright grin glowing on his face. “And the idea is - let us open a bar here in town!”

[totouchthcstars]

“i think i’m losing myself again.” - Corey @ anyone

.｡.:*☆ "Aye.... and watcha want me to do now?" Jack took a swig from his bottle and eyed the other. He was slightly drunk, and it was clear that he was not dealing well with the fact that Silver had just left the city like this. Leaving him behind.

"People lose all the time. Their ship.... their life.... the person they fell for.... it's the endless story of the fuckinh life." Another swig of rum. "Ya better get used to it. Makes it easier next time shit breaks lose again. That, or ya come here and join me." He waved with the bottle. "There is still more in the place were this one came from...."

@lcnelylcves

[totouchthcstars]

@lcnelylcves​  || Jack for anyone

.｡.:*☆ “Aye.... say, is a captain without a ship still a captain?” Jack took a drink from his rum before looking at the other.

“Or is he more.... like a fish on dry land. Because, that is how I feel currently. And, it is no good feeling, that I can tell you. And not even rum can make it better again....”

[totouchthcstars]

@virtuousouls​ || Jack for anyone

.｡.:*☆ “Aye, mate, really don’t want to bother, but is there any chance ya’ve seen my ship, maybe?” It was half meant as a joke. Jack was pretty aware that his ship was not in Sydney. However, the looks people would give him for asking were pretty amusing. Not to mention, he was a little too drunk to stay all serious tonight.

“It’s the Black Pearl. The best ship you’re going to find in the whole world.”

[totouchthcstars]

.｡.:*☆ Jack Sparrow tag drop!

[totouchthcstars]

@allxthingsxglxtter​ || Jack H for anyone

.｡.:*☆ “What are you doing if you can’t sleep?” Jack thought he would be used to it, by now. However, since his meeting with the boggart, it had only gotten worse. He was having flashbacks whenever he was trying to close his eyes.

“Like, you maybe know anything strong enough to knock me out for a day, or two?”

[totouchthcstars]

@inxthexhallofxfame​ || Jack for Ianto

.｡.:*☆ It couldn’t be, could it? Jack had thought his demons were under control now. Not that they wouldn’t always hunt him. No. He knew that was too much to ask for. But this.... he was seeing them all. His friends and companions. Dead. Maybe it meant he was slowly turning insane. Maybe it was some sort of punishment. But, he would be able to deal with it. Until.... until he saw Ianto lying dead on the floor of their apartment.

Jack broke down to his knees, tears streaming down his face espite him not even noticing it. “Ianto....!” The word was nothing but a sob Jack suddenly felt all broken. Like all the will to live had left him again. “No..... no.... no..... ot you.... why....”

[totouchthcstars]

@inxthexhallofxfame​ || Jack for Ianto

.｡.:*☆ “So, seeing things calmed down now - you and I should go onto a date, don't you think?” Jack smirked up at Ianto as he spoke. “Because I feel like our last real date had been ages ago. Either that, or it had been interrupted by something, in the end.”

[totouchthcstars]

@allxthingsxglxtter​ || Jack for anyone

.｡.:*☆ “You see, thing is, I obviously lost my jacket and shit somewhere.” Jack himself did not mind to show what he got, but he had already experienced some people could feel offended because of it. And being kicked out could possibly result in him freezing his ass off in the snow.

“Any chance you could help me out here somehow, maybe?”  

[totouchthcstars]

❝ Stars! They’re just like us… Fixed points of light against the void, arranged in contrived constellations of long-dead gods! ❞ (Rose to Jack)

.｡.:*☆ “is that so?” Jack had to chuckle as he looked up into the nightsky. Watching the stars dancing over them in the eternity of space. “Mean, the idea sounds pretty romantic, that I’ll give you. And, they most likely live longer than any ordinary human or alien. Most of the time, at least.”

@galaxydrcaming

[totouchthcstars]

“I want an alien friend, ya know?” (Gabriel to anyone)

.｡.:*☆ Jack looked at the other and arched a brow. “Really?” He asked, chuckling as he did. “Don’t you think that trend is a little overrated, maybe? Like, everyone seems to want an alien friend these days.”

@inxthexhallofxfame