#Action-adventure Game (Media Genre)

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

MASTER LIST OF INSTRUMENTAL PLAYLISTS FOR WRITING (OR FOR STUDYING, MAKING ART, ETC.)

I find that the perfect writing playlist can GREATLY enhance the writing experience. Even if it doesn't make your writing "better" (which it can, since it helps writers with visualization, tone, and mood), it can definitely make your writing flow easier!

Personally, words distract me when I'm writing, either by breaking my train of thought or by getting me too into the music so that I'm jamming out to my favorite tunes instead of writing.

Therefore, I've amassed a vast knowledge of instrumental music across a variety of media over a course of many years. Now here I am, deciding to share all of them with you!

Maddy’s Favorite Instrumental Songs

Just like the title says. All of the best pieces of instrumental music I've ever heard, compiled together with no regard for genre. It can be a bit of a whiplash playlist, but some amazing recs in there that I just like listening to in my free time, not just for writing.

Maddy’s Ultimate Instrumental Playlist

A mega compilation of 550+ fantastic instrumental music from a variety of media and genres. Kind of a whiplash playlist if you put it on shuffle, but is a great start for anyone looking to find what kind of instrumental music they like! Playlist Groupings in Order: Independent instrumental songs, live action movies, animated movies, animated tv shows, live action tv shows, video games.

Maddy's Instrumental for Sleep

Some more chill vibe instrumental for people who either A) want to sleep or B) want a relaxed playlist that won't distract you with loud volume and sudden changes in tempo or melody.

MISC PLAYLISTS:

you're a haggard adventurer discovering worlds beyond your wildest dreams

Music to inspire wonder and wanderlust, the kind of feeling you get when you finally reach the end of a mountain hike and see the world stretching out before you.

you're a hero who's just lost everything

Basically the most sad instrumental music I could find. A playlist for grief and revenge.

more beneath the cut :)

you're a cowboy in the great American West

Cowboy instrumental for all of your ambient and writing needs. Or if you just really want to feel like a cowboy.

you're a divine witness

Epic choir music (no English). Most religious, some not, but all kind of have that eerie sacred vibe. I listen to this while writing my book about angels and demons.

you’re a scholar uncovering the secrets of the universe

Great chill study playlist! Has the kind of same exploratory/discovery type feel as the haggard adventurer playlist, but more dark academia.

you’re a villain plotting to take over the world

Villain-coded instrumental! Sinister, dark, and/or unsettling.

you're an academic weapon

HIGH BPM STUDY PLAYLIST! Keeps me focused, hyped, and helps me work faster!

you're an ancient god

Playlist that gives an ancient/eerie vibe. But some ancient gods are merciful- so there are some upbeat songs for wonder and awe!

you're falling in love

Music that encapsulates what I think falling in love feels like. Very beautiful, tender, and uplifting instrumental.

you're fighting the final battle

Intense and epic battle music for all of your fight-scene-writing needs! Good for getting shit done, but isn't necessarily restricted to high BPM like the academic weapon playlist.

you're having a tea party

Refined instrumental for a tea party, including classical, big band, and some miscellaneous goodies.

you're in a chase scene

Music for writing chase scenes. Pretty good hype music, too. Includes soundtracks from classic chase scenes in popular media!

you're in the medieval times

Medieval-sounding music for all of your ambient and/or writing needs.

you’re in your childhood room. the door is open a crack. people talk softly downstairs.

A playlist dedicated to nostalgia, to the feeling of lying in bed with your nightlight on after being too tired to stay awake at your family get-together. Could either make your day or break your heart lmao

you're the happiest you've ever been

Lighthearted instrumental meant to lift your spirits! A playlist dedicated to the joys of the little things.

[lonelypuppet404]

So if you're a fan of Needy Streamer Overload, you may like to know that the developers of NSO, WSS Playground, are also working on other games! Specifically, YunYun Denpa Syndrome, or YunYun Syndrome?! Rhythym Psychosis! [WARNING: LONG POST APPROACHING, DO YOU WISH TO ENTER?]

The English Trailer

Now, the games overview is that you play as a Hikikomori or a shut in who has severe brainrot over Denpa Songs. It's also advertised as a rythym adventure game coming out later this year! The written overview on the trailer and the steam page is "This is a rhythm-adventure game where you play as a hikikomori (shut-in) girl who’s high on denpa songs. Become Yunyun-brained and lose all self-control to anonymously post on social media and destroy the world with your Yunyun brain rot."

Now, if that sounds interesting, let's talk about the characters! First of all, who we are, aka the player insert, Qtie!

Qtie is our player character, and the Shut-In in question. From the trailer, we can infer that she got into listening to Denpa Music from Yunyun, who we'll briefly talk about in a moment. She is a shut in who gets high on denpa music, and is an anonymous poster online, shouting out her love for Yunyun. Now, we can infer a few things here. First of all, the game, like NSO has a wide variety of endings. With the snippets we see in the game trailer, we can infer that Qtie will have a HUGE impact on the internet/yunyun fandom (i'll be calling them the yundom for the rest of this post) , as we see news articles that roughly describe a 'yunyun addiction' and the title even says 'yun yun syndrome'. We can infer then that she could have a huge affect on the fandom, and the real world because of her actions. According to the Steam Page, apparently she had some traumatic events that happened in real life, that she has become a shut in and has become 'fuzzy in the head'. I don't want to refer to her as psychotic throughout this post, since I feel like that is offesive and giving her a diagnosis without even having the game yet seems wrong. Next, let's briefly go over Yun Yun.

According to the Steam Page and trailer, Yunyun is a fictional character that Qtie may or may not be hallucinating talking to her through the screen. She is described as 'an angelic devil' which could have many implications. It is also said that 'Whilst the truth is unknown, most likely, she is just a figment of Qtie's imagination. It's joever for her.'

First of all, to the translation/writing team, hats off to you for including the words 'rizz' and 'joever' into this already. Oh god. Now...an angelic devil...she will more than likely have a huge effect on Qtie, and the endings will probably envolve her and the yundom in some way. So far the media she is from is unknown, but based on her design, it's probably an anime or manga of some sort.

Now, a brief overview of the songs! Aka, a crash course in Denpa!

Now what is 'Denpa'? Well, Denpa is a music genre described by their steam page and google as a catchy, strange sound. Think of the NSO soundtrack and its respective insert song(s), Internet Overdose and Yamero. It usually has a high female voice behind the songs too! A spotify playlist by the sounds of spotify is linked here if you would like to listen to it yourself! I would reccomend checking out the fandom page on denpa if you want to see more.

Now the songs! On steam it says there more than 30 songs, and in the trailer we hear: - Sakuranbo Kiss / it’s a cherry kissing explosion - Kotoko - princess bride - Kotoko -Change my Style 〜あなた好みの私に〜 - KOTOKO -夏はマシンガン - 懐フラ -Miko Miko Nurse ~ Theme of Love - Kiss! い・も・��・と Club -だっこしてぎゅっ! ～汝、隣の枕（よめ）を愛せ - 民安ともえ -Cirno's Perfect Math Class - IOSYS -Overdrive - IOSYS

First of all, thanks to the youtube user who found all these in the comments of the trailer oh g o d. All these songs are great in their own ways, so go listen to them if you want to train for the yunyun overdose! Now let's look at...the gameplay! And also why nso players will love this game!

So far, we know this is a game where you post online about yunyun and her greatness, and this is where NSO comes into full effect. We have stats, different abilities, and other such things just like NSO! The rythym part in of itself is us posting on our sns of choice (presumabably twitter??? maybe 4-chan?? unsure. probably twitter.) as we, the yunyun-pilled, make other yunyun-pilled. mm. cult.

Overall, the gameplay is NSO, but also...a RHYTHYM GAME. This is very big!

time for end notes!!

Overall, I'm very excited for this game, and I want others to be too, so here I am posting about it, in my own Qtie like way. wow. she like me frfr.

The game seems to be very interesting and awesome, so please check it out on steam and see how it progresses, this seems so interesting,,,oh my god,,,,check it out,,,for yunyun...hehehe

Anyways gay rant over!

TLDR: Yun Yun Syndrome?! Rythym Psycosis is a game a lot like NSO but also a rhythym game at the same time, so you should check it out!

[theresattrpgforthat]

Is there a TTRPG that allows for the “Youths Having Fun Being Fantastic” “genre” of works like Persona 5 and Codename: Kids Next Door combined with the aesthetic of Digimon: Cyber Sleuth and early Bakugan? I’m sorry if I sent this one before, I forgor :(

THEME: Fun, Fantastic Youths.

Hello there, so I had to do a little bit of research to see what kind of tied these pieces of media together. What I looked for was games about kids with something special about them, a lighthearted tone, and an anime art style. I tried to focus on games that were set in the modern day, but not everything in this list matches that qualification.

Shepherds, by AirkSeablade.

Shepherds is a tabletop RPG about young members of a League of professional do-gooders, who strive to protect the peace and safety of ordinary people.  These young Shepherds will forge bonds of trust with each other, grow and mature as people, and possibly foil some evil plots along the way.

Shepherds puts us into a fantasy history where technology is starting to change the world around you. Your characters are young members of a special organization, with special training or abilities to help them protect the people around them. The author describes the genre as “hopeful fantasy”, inspired by the “Tales of _” video games and the Trails/Kiseki video game line.

System-wise, the game is Powered by the Apocalypse, which means that you only need 2d6 to play, and your characters will draw from a series of Moves in order to find out what happens next, with various categories for action scenes, relationship-building, moving through various in-game processes, and using magic.

The Magical Land of Yeld, by Yeldstuff.

Somewhere there is a door to a magical land. A land of secrets and treasure. Of exploration and adventure. Where children can become heroes, discover their inner strength and stand against monsters and magic. And once you enter, the only thing you have to fear is that you can never go home!

The Magical Land of Yeld is a multi-session tabletop roleplaying game focusing on adventure, hero building and shared storytelling. Like the classic console games we love, adventures in Yeld are designed to allow you to explore colorful and strange lands, seek out secret dungeons and temples and challenge powerful boss monsters as your characters grow to unlock new skills and discover more powerful weapons and treasure.

The main features of The Magical Land of Yeld that I think connect to your request is the fact that you are playing children, and that your children have magical abilities. However, the setting is decidedly fantastic, rather than taking place in the modern day - although if you like the secret worlds of Persona, you might find the isekai themes in this game to be adjacent to what you’re looking for. Similar to Kids Next Door, there’s always a threat of no longer being a child - although instead of turning into an adult, you’re in danger of turning into a monster. If you want a game with cartoon-ish threats but high stakes, you might like The Magical Land of Yeld.

Oddity High, by Derek Ehlmann.

You're a high school student that's probably nowhere close to being ordinary. Whether you’re dealing with aliens, psychics, ghosts, demons, eldritch gods or sentient cats is up to you - but whatever it is, you’re in the thick of it. Fortunately, by happenstance or by design, you’ve got a gang of like-minded, equally-abnormal friends at your side - and with their help, you’ve got a fighting chance at surviving it. Just don’t forget that you’re also going to need to survive high school, as well.

Oddity High is powered by the Apocalypse Engine, the system used by legendary and award-winning games such as Dungeon World, Monster of the Week, The Sprawl, Urban Shadows, Fellowship, and many, many more.

The Persona games are one of the many inspirations behind this game, about teenagers with abnormal powers. You combine your high-school type playbook with another, stranger playbook called your Other-Life playbook. Many of these playbooks are nods to various tropes in anime, such as masked superheroes, kids with the ability to re-write reality, or someone in control of another entity that is vastly more powerful than any human being.

Judging by the references for this game, Oddity High might lean a little more to the serious side than the goofy side, but if you want really larger-than-life anime hi-jinx, you might want to check out this game.

Clash! Shounen Battle Roleplay, by Sabrina Hawthorne.

CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game about dramatic fights and the dramatic emotions those fights represent. It’s a game inspired by classic anime & manga like One Piece, Bleach and Naruto. Play as big, bombastic characters with all sorts of cool powers, facing off against pirates, monsters, and other powerful people just like you.

Shounen manga feels very fitting for games and media like Bakugan, Digimon, and Persona 5, which is why CLASH might have something of what you’re looking for. Your characters will all have cool powers and you’ll be constantly jumping into fight scenes, sinking your emotions and beliefs into the conflict. This is a game meant to be colourful and bold, with an emphasis on teamwork and being heroic.

Right now the game is in play-test, so there isn’t really any art to accompany the game. However, the game is pay-what-you-want while it’s in play-test, so you can check it out for free to see if the themes of the game resonate with what you’re looking for.

Cosmic Ray Kids, by Hedgemaze Press.

Cosmic Ray Kids is a single-page (front and back) atomic-age adventure roleplaying game for all ages. Play as superpowered youngsters who fight the forces of evil with heroics and heart! If you like The Powerpuff Girls, Fantastic Four, or Teen Titans Go!, you’ll love Cosmic Ray Kids!

Cosmic Ray Kids emulates the goofy, over-the-top mood of Saturday morning cartoons, with simple rules and a push-your-luck system that always has you trying to balance how much you want to risk. This is a great game for villains as goofy and gonzo as Father or The Delightful Kids From Down The Lane from Kids Next Door. It’s not necessarily styled in the same way as Persona 5 or Bakugan as - written, but I think it’s a light enough game that you could create your own setting that matches closer to what you’re looking for.

You might also want to check out….

Vibe Check, by Ostrichmonkey Games.

Powered by Cereal, by bismuth.

Teenagers with Attitude, by CardboardHyperfix.

Under the Neighbourhood, by Quest Friends.

[y2klostandfound]

Review - Jet Set Radio Future on Evolution Magazine Vol.3 (Videogame Magazine) (Italy, 2002)

Translation in English:

(Page 54-55)

DISTRIBUTION - INFOGRAMES

GENRE: ACTION PLAYERS: 1-4 MANUFACTURER: SEGA DEVELOPER: SMILEBIT FORMAT:XBOX MEDIA: DVD-ROM

The concept of love, roller skates and a can of spray paint...

Almost two years ago, Jet Set Radio for the Dreamcast revolutionized the concept of modern video games. It wasn't a sequel, it wasn't a third-person adventure, it couldn't benefit from a character of attraction like Sonic but, despite everything, we were facing a great game. To tell the truth, it wasn't even easy to classify it in a precise genre; Jet Set Radio was an action game, but it had one feature that was increasingly difficult to find in this industry; the originality. Too bad that for most everything has gone unnoticed for the simple fact of running on Dreamcast. Fortunately, the European launch of the Xbox has resurrected a franchise deserving of the attention of the mass (yes: I said mass) of gamers.

The scenario of the action is a futuristic Tokyo of 2024, in which we will dart around with our "fireblade" model skates at high speed, drawing graffiti on the walls and performing acrobatic evolutions on all plausible and "grindable" surfaces. The aim of the mission, in the role of the young skater Yoyo, will be to recruit new members for our gang (after having regularly defeated them) and fight the terrible Rokkaku, a corporation that keeps the city on fire and acts with the complicity of the police local. This will chase us with any means, including tanks and helicopters! The whole adventure will be narrated by Professor K, a rebel DJ at the head of the transgressive private radio Jet Set. After passing the tutorial, disguised as the first level of the game, and having made the acquaintance of Gum and Corn (already present in the Dreamcast version ) we will be ready to dive into the most eclectic and fun challenge of our new career as writers: painting the walls of the city! And it's a real blast running around Tokyo, especially thanks to the beauty of the levels, some of which are truly jaw-dropping. Local traffic, crows perched on the roofs of houses, people in modern clothes who run away when they see us, everything has been created with particular attention to the refinement of detail. Unlike the first episode, in which the graffiti was created through complex rotations of the analog stick, now it is sufficient to press the R key (or the X and Y keys if you are in the air); understandable choice, if you take into account the fact that most of the graffiti you will have to do during the race. Jet Set Radio Future, in fact, is faster and more adrenaline-pumping than the prequel, and the emphasis was placed by Smilebit more on the stunts to be performed with skates than on the drawing of the graffiti. Precisely for this reason, to try to reach the most hidden areas to paint, we will have to learn how best to exploit the livery of our skates to slide (grind) on the most unusual surfaces (telephone wires, railings, stairs and lamp posts) and increase the thrust of our jumps. Furthermore, after collecting ten cans of spray paint, we will be able to activate the turbo boost, useful for having a greater thrust during the stunt phase. This effect is emphasized by the Xbox hardware through a spectacular screen deformation, which lets the gamer's jaw sink a few feet.

If all this were not enough, know that by continuing in the missions we will be able to select new characters, each with their own personal characteristics, from a rich roster that includes twenty-one skaters. JSRF is not only great playability: the originality and immediacy of the gameplay are accompanied by an equally valid technical realization. Graphically, Jet Set is one of the best titles to appear on Xbox so far, if not the best. The three-dimensional engine behind the Sega production is entirely in cel shading: although the environment is entirely polygonal, the less trained eye has the impression of watching and playing a real cartoon. The large number of moving objects on the screen at the same time immediately catches the eye; but the much-discussed slowdowns are very few and, certainly, not such as to negatively affect the gameplay.

The richness of details is astonishing: not only will you be "inundated" by polygons wherever you turn, but also the variety and resolution of the textures are incredible. The whole game is full of touches of class: lighting effects, lens flare used at best, stylistic traits designed to give greater dynamism and speed to the evolution of the characters, very vast and decidedly "alive" environments. And all of this shoots at an almost constant 60fps! Fortunately, Xbox Pai owners weren't penalized by the conversion: JSRF makes use of the 60 hertz mode, the image is full screen, without annoying black bars, and all the dialogues have been subtitled in Italian.

The audio part is no less impressive, with a soundtrack that mixes songs from the Japan and U.S.A versions of Jet Set Radio and adds new ones. The opening track made by Hideki Naganuma (The Concept Of Love) is already an editorial catchphrase, and we wouldn't be surprised if you started humming it habitually, too. If you own a Hi-Fi system with Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding, be sure to plug in Xbox and savor the sweet panning of Jet Set Radio Future. If you do not yet own it, you may be satisfied with the more classic stereo mode.

“...the originality and immediacy of the gameplay are accompanied by an equally valid technical realization.”

Some elements of the three-dimensional environments can be destroyed.

The characters are made up of polygons in Cel Shading and animated in a fluid way.

(Page 56)

THREE CHEERFUL GUYS OUT OF THEIR MINDS

JET SET RADIO FUTURE SOUNDTRACK

The Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack includes a tracklist created by artists from the American hip hop scene. The Latch Brothers, a group formed by three nice composers (Mike D, Tick and Wag), wrote and composed five tracks of the soundtrack of the title Smilebit. The chosen style varies from rock to hip hop, passing through electronic music that gives the title a greater futuristic atmosphere. In addition, the Latch Brothers have remixed the songs from the prequel (which we recall were played by the likes of Bran Van 3000, The Prunes and BS 2000), resulting in an almost unprecedented musical accompaniment. To top it all off, there are some "extended versions" by other musicians on the defunct Grand Royal label: Bis, Cibo Matto, Scapegoat Wax and Russel Simins. WaveMaster's Hideki has also left his mark on the Xbox version of JSR: by him the opening track "The Concept Of Love". A track that has already entered the Evolution charts ...

The Latch Brothers discuss with Smilebit the possibility of composing some tracks of the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack.

After an elaborate discussion, the proposal is accepted! In exchange for three copies of the game, the Latch Brothers will produce five unreleased tracks and the remix of those from the last edition. Of course, the final compensation was quite different....

(Page 57)

On the longevity side, Jet Set Radio has some ups and downs: although finishing the game the first time will not engage you for more than 10-15 hours in total, the Sega title is not the classic product that, once completed, you abandon altogether. In addition to the aforementioned characters to unlock, we will have the opportunity to "learn" new graffiti as well as to create new and customized ones. In this way, we will be able to unleash our artistic talent and daub virtual walls with only the limit of our creativity. In addition, multiplayer ensures (if you have friends to play with) a good number of additional hours of gameplay. There are five modes available, supporting up to four players: City Rush, a real speed race; Tagger's Tag, in which the goal is to "tag" your opponent first with spray paint; Graffiti Wars, the "graffiti war," in fact, where the winner will be the player who manages to cover as many walls as possible with their graffiti (you can even draw over each other's graffiti), Flag, a nice variation of the "capture the flag" seen in titles with pronounced shoot-em-up ambitions, and, finally, Ball Hog, a race through the chosen level in the company of a ball that we won't have to let get out of our hands.

The latter mode is even more fun when played "cooperatively" together with a partner to whom you can pass the sphere!

Looking for flaws in a title like Jet Set Radio Future leads one to first analyze the framing system: often, in fact, the virtual camera, in the grip of the speed at which your "skater" travels, tends to lose sight of the centrality of the scene. Other times you will have to move on very narrow surfaces, and, at times, the too-close view will be the cause of easy and deleterious falls. Although in the long run this slight flaw can be frustrating, it will be possible, at any point in the game, to bring the virtual camera view back perfectly behind our backs by simply squeezing the left trigger of the pad (somewhat as happens in Capcom's Maximo). It is actually likely that you will still make it through all the levels without too much trouble.

The difficulty, on the other hand, could and should have been calibrated in a more thoughtful way: overall, Jet Set Radio Future is quite simple to complete and, in some points, it is boring having to repeat the same situation too many times; just think of the fight with the boss of the last level: to get to the platform where he awaits you and to be able to face him, we could take more time than the actual fight requires. Also, the streamlined nature of the graffiti certainly doesn't add to the hostility of the missions. In any case, these are minor flaws, which in no way affect Jet Set Radio Future as a must for anyone with an Xbox and looking for a fast-paced and fun game, but also exceptional to watch and... to listen to! And if you loved the prequel on Dreamcast, you really can't miss it: JSRF is worth at least double its parent! - Ornella Lepre 

“... the Sega title is not the classic product that, once completed, is completely abandoned.”

This is the amazing screen warping effect you will witness when you activate the turbo charge

The dialogues are all subtitled in Italian and help to better understand the story.

CONTROL BOX - XBOX

PLUS:

- Breathtaking graphics that are smooth and full of classy touches - Original and funny - Excellent Pal conversion - Numerous multiplayer modes

MINUS:

- Framing system not always perfect - Simplified graffiti system - Long-lived but not infinite

GRAPHICS - 9

PLAYABILITY - 9

LONGEVITY - 7

SOUND - 8

GLOBAL - 8

An original title, fun to play, beautiful to look at and full of touches of class. A must for new Xbox owners

[lowpolynpixelated]

So, you don't wanna play Nintendo games

As I'm sure a lot of you lovely folks out there have seen, Nintendo recently did its most recent act of evil by suing the dev team behind both the Citra and Yuzu emulators. While I won't get into how I feel about it as a fan of media archival work and a massively passionate fan of video game history, this is despicable to say the least. What I WILL do, is get straight to the point the title says! So, you don't wanna play Nintendo games? Well do I have some games for you! I've seen a few posts like this floating around, and I absolutely adored the concept of talking about niche/lesser known titles that get overshadowed in their genre by bigger names, such as Nintendo. As an avid player of weird and wonderful games throughout my life I think I've got some good ones that I've slotted into some neat categories below. I hope you enjoy this post! And I hope you take a new favourite away as well!

(Note: All of the games listed below are available to play on very easily accessible emulators.)

So, you like 3D platformers do ya?

-My first and foremost suggestion is always the woefully underappreciated game Taz Wanted.

This wacky platformer sees you in the role of the one and only Taz, or the Tazmanian Devil for long, from the Looney Toons property. The game revolves around you entering large colourful levels filled with goofy enemies and a lovely cell shaded art style to mimic that classic cartoon look. Within those levels your job is to find and destroy a certain number of wanted posters which can take the form of just about anything. From standing signs to blimps your goal is to solve various platforming challenges, puzzles, and minigames to destroy these posters and secure an item that will assist you in getting to the next hub world. With 4 worlds to explore and each world with 3 levels and a boss fight game at the end, I'm sure any fan of 3D platforming will have a blast.

-Next up is a package deal, the first of which is a 3D platformer predating Mario64! These games are none other than the Jumping Flash! games.

The two games play identically, and are both a seriously good time. Taking place entirely in first person you take up the mantle of intergalactic space hero robot Robbit tasked with collecting a certain number of items in large playground-like levels made with tons of verticality in mind. Why you may ask? Because much like the name suggests Robbit can JUMP. The game employs a fantastically implemented camera system which forces you to look down at Robbit's feet when you use your double/tripple jump, ensuring you can see where you're landing. On top of this, the game's level design feels like a never ending barrage of jungle gyms and challenging boss fights all set to a cartoonish story with bright poppy visuals, and not to mention a soundtrack of absolute bangers

Okay, but what about the Zelda fans?

-I assure you I haven't forgotten, and my first pick here is an all time favourite of mine ever since I played it when I was like, 8 years old. Sphinx and the cursed mummy is a 3D adventure action game where you play as both the titular Sphinx and the cursed pharaoh to be, Tutankhamen .

The game is heavily inspired by Egyptian mythology and sees you battling and puzzling your way through a world of mysteries and great evils lurking just beneath the surface. Exciting battles, puzzle platforming, monster collecting, and so so much more are all front and center in this game, and I really cannot recommend it enough to anyone who wants a different adventuring experience in their life.

-The second and last one in this category I PROMISE a lot of you have heard of but I really want to drive home just HOW GOOD it is. Okami stands tall as one of the best examples of non-Zelda 3D action adventuring.

Taking place in a GORGEOUSLY rendered fantasy rendition of classical Japan, the adventures of the sun goddess Amaterasu are yours to control. I really cannot stress HOW GOOD this game still looks today, even without the HD remasters its been given. The entire game is rendered in a cell-shaded art style reminiscent of classical Japanese paintings, giving the whole world a vibrant painted aesthetic that never EVER gets old. On top of this the game provides a truly unique combat and interaction system, seeing you use a paintbrush to paint your attacks and spells into reality. There isn't much I can say about this game that hasn't been said already, and it's certainly the least niche game on this list. Go give it a shot! You won't regret it.

So we did 3D platformers, but what about 2D?

-Fear not! I've got some solid suggestions for those too! Our first one here is another bundle of 2, those being the Klonoa games.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and its sequel, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, are two of the best 2D platformers I've ever played. Releasing on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 respectively, these games utilize a 2.5D perspective to let you run back and forth through revolving dioramas of platforming goodness. With a cheery, almost circus-like soundtrack and an adorably charming artstyle to match, I have such fond memories of discovering these games for the first time. The 3D nature of the game's assets allow for some truly impressive setpieces and boss battles, along with the aforementioned circular scrolling you partake in. Bubbling and tossing enemies at each other never seems to get old, or using the same bubbled enemies to get just a little more height to reach a secret. Definitely give these ones a shot if you're a fan of fun 2D playgrounds.

-Here's a real weird one to cap this category off (and another two pack to boot!) Loco Roco 1 and 2 are a set of puzzle platformers with a bit of an unorthodox control scheme.

Coming out on the PSP these are some WILD experiences. In the games you control a horde of blobs that sing with childrens voices to some rather catchy tunes, and tilt the entire world around them with the left and right triggers to get them over under and anything in between, and then to the exit. Did I say you play as the blobs? I meant you play as THE PLANET the blobs are on! See what I mean? These games are absolutely a delightful time though. And with such poppy mid 2000s soundtracks I can't help but love them. The tilting gameplay is tough as nails to master, and getting through a level with all your little Rocos AND the collectibles is no easy task. Give these ones a look! Or at least listen to the soundtrack.

And at last we arrive at the one's I couldn't think of more for, or couldn't think of where to place.

The next two games are just rapid fire ones that are personal non-nintendo favourites of mine, covering a variety of genres.

Ribbit King is my favourite wacky sports game ever. You play Frolf instead of Golf, Frolf being Golf but with frogs, get it? Send your frog around the bright colourful stages to gather points and be the first one to sink your frog to get the full 1000 available from the hole. Alternatively go for a FROG-IN-ONE to get 1500,

Wipeout is a series of tough as nails futuristic hover-racing games a la F-Zero. The soundtracks boast an inumerable amount of Drum and Bass/Electronic jams and the gameplay is lightning fast and smooth as all hell. Not to mention the games are just SO stylish. I'd recommend Wipeout Pure on the PSP, but all of the PlayStation consoles before the PS3 have at least one Wipeout game. Highly recommend checking them out.

SO obviously I couldn't put EVERY game I'd recommend in one post. But I really do hope this list gives you something new to play. Gaming history is so monumentally important to me, and what happened to Citra and Yuzu is nothing short of a tragedy. Always remember folks, play new games! Play old games! Hack your old hardware! Pirate new software! EMULATION IS FREE, LEGAL, AND FOR EVERYONE!

[temporalhiccup]

I'm trying to write about this without getting emotional, but it's pretty hard! Hah!

But it's been officially announced so I can finally talk about it! I'm the Lead Designer (damn) on the official Tomb Raider TTRPG (double damn). Shadows of Truth has a public playtest coming up soon, and I'm excited for folks to see what we've been working on!

It's been a wild ride and a fun time, but this is also the biggest challenge I've had to face as a ttrpg designer. Like many indie folks I've drawn inspiration from the media we love (Apocalypse Keys is proudly Hellboy-inspired, among other things!) while still making it our own unique thing.

Tomb Raider has been completely different, in that I have to do my best to translate some awesome video game history into a ttrpg experience. And I gotta be as true to the source material and experience as possible, while still centering what makes ttrpgs great!

Tomb Raider is also a franchise that's been around for almost 30 years and is a HUGE DEAL. It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's made on action-adventure video games, repeatedly! Lara Croft is easily one of the most iconic characters in video games and the genre, and her Adventures include (several) dinosaurs, wild transhuman demonic Atlantean stuff, and apocalypse-inducing artifacts.

But Lara to me, especially since the 2013 game, has been a truly amazing and conflicted heroine. The last three games that grounded her and made her vulnerable, while still creating intense experiences, really hooked me. I really wanted to honor the journey of Tomb Raider and make a really fun and thrilling ttrpg for folks.

But anyone who knows me, knows that anti-colonial design is in all my games. It's just who I am, and it's not something I consciously did at first. It wasn't even until I started designing ttrpgs, in my 30s, that I realized how important my personal decolonization process was, and a lot of that has helped me discover new aspects of my identity (including being a transmasculine person).

So, I don't need to tell you that a franchise called Tomb Raider has some colonial implications, right?

As development goes on, folks have asked me "How is the game anti-colonial?" or "How are you addressing the colonialism?" I want to start off by saying as a team we conceptualized what that could mean while still being true to the franchise. But since then, as Lead Designer, I've had to make hundreds of decisions that are reflected in countless design and structural choices. I can point to dozens of mechanics and things and describe how this is my personal attempt to present anti-colonial gaming, and I'm grateful for the help our team of consultants and playtesters in guiding me.

It's kind of wild, but in chasing after and reaching for anti-colonial design, I've had to figure out how to implement great tech from other designers, but also come up with lots of new stuff too. There's some really cool Adventure design stuff that is really hard to pull off in a PbtA framework where you play to find out. (Arguably, PbtA itself has a lot of anti-colonial play about it compared to mainstream ttrpgs and it's one of the reasons we used PbtA as a design framework but that's a whole other conversation)

I'm really so grateful for the support from the team! It's hard to feel like I'm good enough and can measure up to Evil Hat's faith in me, but they've been incredibly supportive and open, and it's been stellar. Crystal Dynamics has also been amazing to work with, especially because it was important to me that while we honor how awesome Tomb Raider is, we don't downplay the difficult truths of colonialism and its ongoing effects. And they were so incredibly on board for that! It's so rare for a marginalized person like me to be granted an opportunity like this, and I am determined to give it my all.

We've built a team that's been amazing to collaborate with, and @ostrichmonkey-games has been doing incredible work alongside me. I'm really proud of what we're doing as a team! I can't wait for folks to see it come together.

You can also check out the Polygon (!!!) article about the game, which gives you a sense of some of the cool mechanics at play!

I know it's easy to write off an IP ttrpg based on a really big franchise (and for good reasons, unfortunately). But I really do think we're doing something special here! I hope y'all will give the game a chance and check it out when the public playtest starts up!

[warsamongthestars]

Emerie was (one of many) wasted original characters for TBBshow, y'know?

Like...

... I don't feel for her. Yeah, it seems like she's set up to be Omega's parallel, and yeah, there was lead up to her declaration of being a clone (more so than whatever fucking lead up S1 had for its finale).

But uh...

What, exactly, is special about her as a character?

Significant personality? No. Even TBBshow's variant of the BBs had Personality for Days. She's got the Overlogical Persona, and only when the Camera was on her for an episode did she decide that she needed the morals of Omega... Frankly, she would've done better being kept an antagonist. ... Hemlock has personality, Rampart has Personality--though I'd argue that they both have the SAME Personality, just in Different Roles (Talk about copypasting your own stuff). ... Infact, she's practically a Tech Copy, that's how little personality they bothered to give her.

Aesthetic? Pff. No. She's caught the Star Wars (and let's face it, most Sci-fantasy shows, video games, media, most of the action genre... most of the adventure genre... you fuckin name it) "Pretty Woman Disease". She's meant to look sexy with very minimum masculine traits. ... Which means she's dull as hell to look at, because there's nothing to catch the eye beyond Barbie Doll. Personally, if I want a barbie doll character, I can just go out and buy Barbie. She's got no freckles, no scars, no significant body phenotype, she only partially looks like a clone (and frankly if they had given her more of a Fett Clone appearance, so like muscles and tallness and strong jaw, that would've given her a damn good eye-catching appearance. ) ( Plus, I like a lady who looks like she can turn my spine into a pretzel. ) She's got no significant armor (Personally I would've loved if she was CX02, because that would've given her Something. )

Her name is Mando'a. "Emuurir'Kar" probably means "Joy" (Emuurir means Enjoyment so...) Which, is a start... But uh, name how many old OCs we all have out there, whose names ended up being Nightshade or Twilight or Rei. You can have a good name, but if there's nothing to back it up... well, its just a title.

I don't see any fanart running around about her... Do you? No fan headcannons, no significant fanfics... That pretty much tells us how the audience thought of her. Which means, it Didn't. Even my headcanons don't really include her, because she's just, not, impactful. At all.

Plot Impact? None that couldn't be done by anyone else. Which isn't just her fault, its one of the many faults of the show itself.

She's just... Not.

Now.

How would I fix her, with the TBBshow plot as it stands?

Easy.

First Draft... Replace Hemlock with Emerie. Make her the fifth enhanced clone, and the missing CT-9902, and make her the CX-02 clone. She didn't just serve the Empire, she served the Republic doing the same thing. She's named joy both out of irony and out of the fact that she "does her duty with fulfillment".

She stayed as Nala Se's former assistant, but when the opportunity came to become the master, she took it. She was the head of project Necromancer, up until Hunter put a spear into her gut.

This Emerie gets S1 foreshadowing with the dead and experimentation on clones.

The mention of the fifth enhanced clone gets small beats of silent drama, which will tell the audience that meeting this character would not be a good thing.

Second Draft. Emerie is an entirely new character placement, and actually gets placed on Crosshair's elite squad in S1. He has no idea who the fuck this is, as they never sleep in the same quarters.

She has the same armor type, though not coloring, as CX-02.

Come S1 Finale, she picks Crosshair up from the platform, and finally removes her helmet, showing her off to be a Lady and a Medic.

S2, they're kept apart, until the end, where Emerie shows how tired she is of serving the "greater good", and being the Medic in a meta-narrative sense, allows her to save Tech as well.

S3, and the Bad Batch are eventually united by the end as a complete Squad.

Third Draft She's actually been with Clone Force 99 all along, but has to stay on Kamino for half the missions because she's Nala Se's main assistant. This would go on to be the reason why she wouldn't have appeared in TCWshow during main scenes with Nala Se (such as the Conspiracy Arc), but also why she wouldn't have appeared on Anaxes.

And she just follows the adventures as a brand new character, with her own set of armor and abilities.

As for personality quirks... Think, exaggerated Mad Scientist with Supervillian attachment--after all, she's been around too many Kaminonians, but she's also apart of the Super Duper Awesome Squad. You think, at first, she's going to be like Tech... but instead she's more emotive, more prone to supervillian-like behavior (maniacal laughter, dramatic scenes, chewing the scenary), sometimes even overhonesty. She's the Stan to Tech's Ford, the Doofensmirtz's to Hunter's platypus, the giggly bitch to Wrecker's rambunctious laughter. She absolutely delights in small torments, (provided it doesn't actually hurt anyone--she is still a medic after all), and she has a loud aggravated sigh when she isn't allowed to handle the rocket launcher.

( ... I may or may not have thought about this a bit. )

She's only called Emerie by the RCs because she once had a mission with Boss's crew.

What her new name would be, I have no fuckin idea, but it will not be Patches. (I have run into too many medic OCs called Patches, Patches is a dull name now to me. )

Anyway.

I don't like how TBBshow handles Emerie Karr. Frankly, its also pretty indicative on how Star Wars, post OG, handles a lot of its women characters... But my rage is pretty centered on TBBshow right now.

So, Emerie.

[dirtyoldmanhole]

YRMR cover progress for the curious!

before drawing, there were a few things i knew that the cover had to have/show:

critically, had to have vibes of an enemies-to-lovers dynamic in the sense of ... the power tilt? even though that's not "technically" the true nature of their dynamic. gunter's not a nice guy in this fic, even aside from the possession, and i also didn't want anybody to run into this unsuspecting the darker parts to the fic. him more looming/threatening than you'd expect in base game, etc.

wanted to emulate kozaki's style through the whole cover in line qualitty, coloring, and composition. thankfully he gives a few tips over on his twitter. it's both a neat little nod at the source material, and also as a style experiment.

a big theme in this fic is gunter being made of so many masks/shells (there's a perfect blue cover, see below, that specifically made me think this composition could work.)

learning that kozaki hews pretty close to grids + the golden ratio was another big lightbulb moment, here's a drawing yoinked from his twitter where he shows it himself.

after scraping/studying from kozaki's twitter, i made one or two thumbnail doodles below. you can see the solid one had a golden ratio + general line dynamic check squiggled to the side. there's room for the title, the focus is on corrin, it'll work both in a horizontal and vertical crop, looking good so far.

you can see how pretty tightly to the thumbnail i kept, other than moving the vertical text to the top since i didn't have as much room there. i'm a little worried about the different line quality between how big the face is vs corrin but we'll see.

something i also realized i like about the composition is corrin "could" look like she's attacking the viewer, but she also looks like she could be guarding him with her back to him, which.... heh. comes up in some interesting ways in the last third of the fic (possession wise).

bunch of cleaning up.

as I suspected since this is 11x17in (much bigger than what i normally draw) i had to grab a different brush for gunter since thin lines were not going to work as they did for corrin. i think kozaki's real genius is how he treats texture with his linework; where he does thin lines, where he puts the thick ones, etc.

corrin's coming along great but there's a spirit to the first face on the left i think i'm missing now, so i'll probably re-insert that. (also decided to at least draw in his face there even though the masks/slices will distort that). i think what also helps is gunter's face is very low contrast and needs to remain low contrast, to help corrin pop out in front.

then i started thinking about typography. a lot of the fonts i had were either way too masculine/bland/modern, or way too feminine/curvy. this title needs a hint of masculinity to nod at FE's general action-adventure RPG roots, but it's also very distinctly the kind of erotica that doesn't easily lend itself to a genre. it's tender horror, it's daddy kink, it's vicious romance, it's ... a lot of things.

here's another thing: when thinking about title typography, another consideration is genre. briefly i considered something like lovecraftian covers; my doujin circle and i had been sharing pictures of old pulp covers. i also noticed a lot of my favorite JP erotic horror doujin have very spiky titles. this title also needs to be scrunched up in a tight space so it's not like we got a sprawl of acreage here either.

what doesn't help is enemies to lovers doesn't really have a visual language in mainstream media.

it's a staple of Ao3 (written) genres, but the closest you'd get otherwise would be romantic horror (kind of says a lot about who makes what huh?). for example, the shape of water (movie) isn't a 1:1, but it's pretty damn close -- unfortunately that poster dodged the question by using an art deco-inspired font typeface that was more about the setting than the genre.

and then i had an epiphany. maybe i was approaching this from the wrong direction: it's the knight/liege romance that's the heartbeat to YRMR.

think more old dragonlance novels. old medieval/fantasy pulp novels; plenty of kinky sex and ass in there, and still close enough to FE. remember everyone and their mamma having a bi ass crush for bad boy raistlin? that's the vibe i want.

this kind of glorious deranged shit. you're not gonna be surprised at possessed grandpa whip kink if you read these on the regular.

after ~*arcane designer magic*~ (I do this for a living) bolton and magiona display were the two fonts that were gonna work just fine together.

god that looks so much better. this looks believable now.

the thin/thick line weight contrast in magiona display is going to accentuate the lineart in a way that might be tricky with other fonts that work better on painted covers. bolton's "squished" vertically enough it doesn't compete with the other one, and makes for a good secondary/tertiary font.

few other things happened.

i shrunk gunter's face because not being able to see his jawline (sex appeal u see) was bothering me from a composition standpoint. it's the same reason frank frazetta didn't censor his glorious asses.

(said seriously, by the way. so many people don't give their lust in art enough credit.)

i also needed more room for the title to show, and the line quality/scale difference between his face was also bugging me. does this mess up the golden ratio composition? sure, temporarily, but his armor's weirdly flexible that we can adapt it pretty easily.

it's about this time i'm also looking through my hydrus network stash of favorite covers for what color palette and contrast to use. kozaki tends to skew purple/cooler hues for nohr characters, and that'd go well with these two.

purple/green hues that play well with light purple and the yellow from those old covers i love so much, low contrast midground, and something that'd contrast well with text above. dark/black background for the gothic vibes, and the text will probably need to be white or some sort of light-warm hue for that "pop".

doing color tests is more of a leap of faith and intuition than an exact science, but damn it is it satisfying when you nail it in one go and go 'holy shit i want to read this. :D

(green/gold for the hint of anankos' mask, also matching the yato and her warmer skin tone. purple flames for him, but the high contrast armor to separate her from his larger shapes. we've got the dragonstone and the yato as flexibility for lighting and emphasizing contrast with her. )

i kind of like how i accidentally made the mask shards reflect(?) a bit of his own face. hell yeah throw it in. this is something that's more likely to work than not. this is something that has that mix of id and horror i've been going after.

here's another version with references to the side and the golden ratio laid on again.

honestly a lot of it at this step is going 'dude you know what would be SO DOPE.... PURPLE FIRE...' 'dude..... fuck yes....' 'what about some sick ass sword effects?' 'YEAH....' and saving a bunch of backups in case of the idea didn't work out.

(am i going so much harder on a literal gilf porn fanfic cover than i need to? hell yeah. gunterfuckers deserve better. :D )

anyway here is when i start questioning everything, so i'll take a break from the colors to tighten up the lineart. now that the composition's settling in much tighter, i'm also thinking about how the two shapes interact with each other and if there's any potential issues with tangent points (where two lines intersect each other in a way that makes an optical illusion.)

that said i love how his jawline "points" at her face, that kind of line you want.

grinding away on corrin's lineart. also double checking that the shapes/colors/forms for her "make sense" both standalone and with the composition too. what's nice is she's at the point where i can just turn off my brain and polish up.

naturally couldn't resist poking at it more and this is when the rest of it clicked after figuring out which bit was anankos' mask, which bit was possessed!gunter vs himself (polished up the armor a bit too. at this point i'm pretty confident that it'll stay "set"; the biggest thing i'm likely to change is the blue silohuette to the dragonstone side for corrin.

here's the last true screenshot before cleaning up the last 2% of the lines. added the pulp cover texture around the border, switched the colors of the text so the cream would stand out more, cleaned up gunter's face and also increased the darkness of corrin's body so it'd contrast more with him behind.

thanks for reading. :D

[toomanylegos]

MAG Episode 200

I decided to write down my thoughts on the final episode in a completely separate post. I felt like I would have lot to say and analyze after the episode was done and it would've been too much for the reblog chain I made.

I was right.

So, I started listening to this podcast ages ago. Like I mean sometime early last year and then stopped; forgot everything that happened and restarted from the beginning then proceeded to take long breaks in-between more upsetting episodes to keep me sane.

I went into this as someone who doesn't really listen to podcasts and doesn't have much interest in tragedies. I'm more likely to pick an animated film or an action anime or a fantasy novel or a short hurt/comfort fic than a 200 episode horror tragedy podcast.

Buuuuuuut my dearest Eggo had introduced me to the characters and the story. They talked about how much they loved the horror elements, the characters, the world; she encouraged me to give it a listen and reassured me that it was completely worth it. Obviously, she convinced me.

Despite the fact that my soul is shattered due to the emotional series finale, I'm so glad I gave this podcast a chance and I'm glad Eggo rambled about it to me. If they didn't, I wouldn't have come to a wonderful realization...

Tragedies are heartbreakingly beautiful.

I loved learning about these characters and seeing how they dealt with these horrible situations and impossible odds; I had to take so many breaks because if I binged MAG for too long I would become completely miserable due to the pure agony that Jon and everyone around him goes through.

However, there were always these little moments in between the agony. These small conversations between characters; a private reflection; a light joke. A pressure release for the audience that reminded me what, I believe, tragedies are meant to do -- highlight the beauty in the painful and be a cathartic outlet as well as a lesson.

I still don't like angst very much. I don't see the appeal of going into a piece of media that has no sense of comfort in it. Funnily enough, despite the genre space it sits in, MAG is comforting to me.

It brought me the love story of Jon and Martin -- together til the very end and learning to communicate and be with each other. Something that came to me at a point where I am considering pursuing a relationship myself and fear the hurdles I may face. Their story put my own worries just a tad at ease. The way I related to them and the way their fears are handled in the story helped -- are still helping me -- handle my own.

It brought me themes of humanity and monstrosity and how thin of line that can be. It brought me into worlds of flesh, and dark, and sky, and twisting corridors that made my head spin and my heart race.

Most of all, it brought me hope -- something I only realized in episode 199. The hope that even when your world is ending there is something that can be done. The faith in a chance that things can be better if you decide to take that leap.

That good old saying...

"It's always darkest before the dawn."

Now, after finishing The Magnus Archives, I can move on.

So, as I type this with teary eyes and a scattered brain, I would like to say that I loved The Magnus Archives; I have a better appreciation for the tragic and horrible.

I can seek out The Mechanisms and experience more of Jonny Sims' wonderful work.

I can start listening to Rusty Quill Gaming and listen to Alex's DM style and all of the team's adventures.

I can seek out more works produced by the wonderful people over at Rusty Quill.

And most of all, I can catch up with The Magnus Protocol and I can finally say...

They put my bois in the fuckin' 'puter

[bookmothic-dyke]

A short and non comprehensive list of things I learned about myself in the last two or so since my egg cracking and then starting my transition. Because wow was I a stranger to myself.

- I LOVE action and horror movies. They’re probably my favorite genres. Still love romcoms though.

- Also love body horror. Reading and writing it mostly.

- My favorite food is dim sum.

- I’m kinky. Fuck was I repressed and innocent. I read smut, even wrote it once.

- My favorite colors are green and pink. Not blue. What?

- I love the smell/tingle of alcohol and have an impulse for games of chance. And there’s a mild history of addiction on my father’s side. So, no drinks or gambling for this dyke.

- My favorite music is sapphic alt music, filk, and folk punk.

- My thing for goth and alt girls in 2000/2010s media as a kid and teen wasn’t just because I’m a lesbian. Gender envy and attraction are a tangled web.

- I love moths, bees, and rabbits. Not just birds.

- My favorite fruit is the strawberry.

- I have a morbid curiosity with death and disasters.

- I do in fact suffer a smidge from mental illness. Huh. Neat.

- My favorite ship dynamic is enemies to lovers. Not best friends to lovers.

- I’m not bad at drawing if I put in the time to work on it. Same with writing.

- I can actually sing, just only sea shanties.

- I love going on random day adventures places.

- I like walking and running.

- I want piercings and maybe tattoos.

- My favorite drink is a pumpkin spice chai latte.

- I have a habit of accidentally growling when I’m angry.

- I’m a vampire girlie.

- I cry when I laugh.

[roads-of-elysium]

Fangame: Lupin III: Roads of Elysium

This is a Fangame, meaning it is the fictional work of the creator. Fangames do not exist as real games, mods or extensions for already existing games Developer(s): Goldhawk Studios Producer(s): Goldenhawk Studios   Publisher(s): World Anvil co.   Artist(s) and Designer(s): John Hawkens   Writer(s): Earl Prime   Genre(s): Action role-playing ______________________________________________________________

Lupin III: Road’s of Elysium is a Fictional action-adventure fangame developed and published by Goldhawk Studios. The game is set in a fantasy-themed world parallel to Earth, where players must survive being stranded in the strange lands of Elysium, filled to the brim with roaming dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players. The player explores the world they live in, taking on quests, and fighting monsters, while being caught up in a geopolitical conflict between two kingdoms that threatens to spread a deadly infection known as the Esugrað Plague.   Inspired by open world survival games like Rockstars Red Dead Redemption series, as well as Bethesda’s Skyrim series, the game is presented through first- and third-person perspectives, and the player may freely roam in its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include shootouts, robberies, hunting, mount riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by the player.

Story

A Japanese media franchise created by Monkey Punch, Lupin III is a series that follows the endeavors of master thief Lupin III and his Gang. Lupin III, the grandson of the fictional gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, is considered the world's greatest thief, known for announcing his intentions to steal valuable objects by sending a calling card to their owners. Lupin and his gang are constantly chased by Interpol Inspector Zenigata, who has made it his life's work to arrest them, stating that he would never stop pursuing Lupin across the globe and to the ends of the earth.   Lupin is both the world’s greatest and most wanted gentleman thief. He can steal anything with fantastic ideas and fearless techniques. Though he sometimes steals for financial gain, he mostly does it for the thrill. Hence the beginning of our tale. The beginning of this story finds our protagonists in the midst of another one of Lupin's daring heists; Lupin, Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko have just stolen an ancient, and (allegedly) supernatural, and incredibly valuable artifact from a high-security museum vault. However, after the heist goes belly-up, Lupin and his gang along with Inspector Zenigata are accidentally transported to the planet known as Elysium. Elysium, as they soon find out, is an alternate-reality version of earth. However it is a strange planet where Dinosaurs roar, Dragons soar and seemingly multiple time-periods appear co-exist with one another . . and then there's that issue with the magic. . .   Separated upon landing on the planet in the continent of Ar'kael, the gang, now endowed with new powers, must maneuver their way through creatures, spellcasters, regency drama and geopolitics in a effort to find their way home. But when they get caught up in a plot involving government coupes and lunatic cultists, getting home might be easier said than done.

Voice Cast

Lupin III: Tony Oliver

Diasuke Jigen: Dan Worren

Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Lex Lang

Fujiko Mine: Toni Barry

Inspector Zenigata: Doug Erholtz

Gameplay

Lupin III: Road’s of Elysium, is a fantasy action role-playing game, playable from either a first or third-person perspective. The player may freely roam over the land of Elysium, an open world environment consisting of wilderness expanses, dungeons, caves, cities, towns, fortresses, and villages. Players may navigate the game world more quickly by riding horses or other mounts, paying for a ride from a city's stable, or utilizing a fast-travel system that allows them to move their character immediately to a previously discovered location. Outside of missions, players can freely roam the interactive world. They may engage in combat with enemies using melee attacks, firearms, bow and arrow, throwables, or dynamite, and can dual wield weapons. Non-player characters (NPCs) populate the world; the player may engage them in conversation (potentially leading to new quests or map locations), or engage them in lethal or nonlethal combat. As in previous games in the series, killing certain individuals can make some quests or items unobtainable. Certain NPCs essential to the narrative cannot be killed by the player, and will survive attacks of any magnitude.   Committing a crime like murder or theft accrues the player a bounty if the crime is witnessed, leading to confrontations with guards. Depending on some factors, including how serious the crime was, the player can choose to go to jail, pay the guard off, persuade the witness to forget about it, declare that one is a thane of a certain hold (which leads the guard to pardon the player), 'pacify' the guard or silence witnesses through killing them.   The world features different landscapes with occasional travelers, bandits, and wildlife, and urban settlements ranging from farmhouses to towns and cities. Hunting animals provides food, income, and materials for crafting items. The choice of weapon and shot placement affect the quality and value of meat and pelt, and the player can skin the animal or carry the carcass, which will rot over time, decrease its value, and attract predators.

CHARACTER CONTROL

RoE is a turn-based tactical RPG with heavy emphasis on free-roaming roleplay elements utilizing strong and diverse characters alongside a combat style that each player can pick and choose their main role to fit their own playstyle, while also choosing how much control they would like with the other party members. Different game modes further support how difficult and complex they can engage with the world and their foes or if they would prefer a more casual, story-based game. Outside of combat, the player may chose who they wish to control, while the rest of their party joins them. Depending on who you chose to engage with others, you may receive different opportunities and dialogue choices that could help or hinder your progress or even unlock special rewards! Other characters may get an opportunity to chime in or have opinions depending on who is at the helm while critical main story based dialogues and cutscenes feature the entire cast interacting together, sometimes changing based on the player's choices and decisions prior to each major checkpoint.   Inside combat, the player can chose which available party member they want to play at depending on their personal preference in play style. Do you want to play in melee or ranged? Do you prefer spells, raw might, or trickery? Each character has a unique specialization and can be selected as your main character in battle. From there each player can choose just how much control they want with the other characters. Do you like complete control? Pick each character's specific talents, skills, specializations, their gear, and control every move they make to create the perfect synergy as a tactical master in every situation. Do you want to just focus on yourself? Let the game handle suggestions for gears, talents, and skills for others characters to help you out or go completely hands off and let their AI support you while you master yourself!

Additional Content: DLC

The main two DLC, Hyakki Yagyo and The Dark Lost Veil and the Song of Sleep, are two large-scale major expansions, behaving more like two new games then normal DLC expansions, similar in matter to Fromsoftware DLC expansions for games like Bloodborne and Elden Ring.

Roads of Elysium: Hyakki Yagyo is set in the fictional area of Senko, a region inspired by a dark fantasy version of late Sengoku period Japan right on the cusp of entering its own Edo-Period but still thrown into madness by the constant warring going on. With inspirations pulled from various other East Asian cultures as well as a medieval Japanese/Far Eastern aesthetic, Senko is a region full of majesty and wonder as well as terror. Terror in the form of gods and demon's made real in the form of living-breathing Yokai (Youkai/Yokai/Yōkai)— demons and spirits believed to be responsible for natural phenomenon of all kinds.   This expansion centers around Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a renegade samurai and a thirteenth descendant of the historical figure and thief Ishikawa Goemon. In the Eastern Senko region of the continent, Goemon finds familiarity in the Edo-Japan style. However, in a world where the magical can be made reality, it isn't long before chaos erupts. Upon landing in Senko, Goemon is alerted about the pending signs of a Hyakki Yagyo, a mysterious phenomenon that once occurred some 60 years ago following a deadly storm. Armed with his faithful blade Zantetsuken, Goemon is tasked with protecting the surrounding villages and towns, an effort complicated by the emergence of numerous deadly and all too real yōkaithat are flourishing in the chaos. Roads of Elysium: The Dark Lost Veil and the Song of Sleep, introduces the area known as The Dark Veil of Doroan. This addition of the AU centers around Jigen Daisuke, a former Mafia hitman and world-renowned marksman. Taking place in the world of Elysium, this DLC introduced the continent of Gudeth, an area reminiscent of the continent of Ancient Europe on Earth. Here, Jigen learns just how much of a mirror of Earth this planet is, when familiarity strikes in the strangest of places. Seeing it as his second chance to fix a past mistake, Jigen tasks himself with keeping the ruler of the land safe while things start to unravel around them and the citizens of the desolate city start to go mad and missing.

[megamagimugi]

now here’s where we ✨uno reverse✨and you get a question and some praise.

What got you into the Mario fandom? And also!! Your bio says your a fan of TMNT, but which version do you like the most? The 2003 and 2012 version are pretty nostalgic to me, but I loved the 2012 one the most, their designs are personally my most favorite! ROTTMNT I know is a really good one; I started binging it last summer but never got around to finishing it :(

Now praise! I know I’ve said this in your ask for me, but I just REALLY love your art. Your redraws are on another level, you effortlessly nail the M&L style— seriously, why is it so hard for me?? I’m too perfectionist when it comes to them. 😂 I knew once I saw your drawings of Zahra’s amazing Anything for Him story that I’d be hooked. And your attention to detail is just 🤌🏾🤌🏾🤌🏾 like that water from your beach redraw I’m still not over.

And you’re always so supportive of my art, and it means more than words 🥹 especially with the anticipation of my upcoming animation, my motivation fluctuates. I want to pick up my Apple Pencil and just do it, but it’s like something holds me back. Honestly just talking about my art with people is a good source of drive for me, and you’re definitely one of the best sources of motivation ♥️ thank you for being so kind, and thank you for being you! You’re so loved 🫂

Okay, storytime it is! (This is most definitely going to be my longest answer to date; hope you don't mind).

Let me give you some background first. Unlike most people I didn't get into gaming as a little kid. My household was basically video game-free - my father wasn't into gaming, neither was my older sister and my mother was even somewhat against video games. Under these circumstances the first video game I ever played was the Sims, as my sister had a short-lived phase when she liked it. I found it incredibly boring. Sometimes I'd watch my cousins or friends play other games when I visited, but they'd never let me play xD Still, that made me realize that I enjoyed (=wanted to try) racing and action/adventure games.

At one point, when I was a little older, my still humble gaming experience led me to finally playing my first Mario game: Mario Kart. I look back at that experience fondly as I also won against my friend at the time on my first try. He wasn't particularly great at gaming either but hey, a win is a win.

Anyway, I got curious about these characters and started searching for more info, and for more games to try out. I finally got to the Super Mario Bros. series, discovering my love of 2D platformers along the way. There's a retro gaming museum in my area where you can play on old computers and systems so you bet I spent some time there playing the oldest of Mario games, which was a big step in me getting into this genre as a whole and this series in particular.

I also tend to gravitate towards brothers in media and well, Mario and Luigi are obviously brothers so I guess I got curious about their relationship and how it plays into the lore of the games. Which brought me to the Mario & Luigi RPGs, which I loved. I guess you could say I got Hooked On The Brothers™ But honestly, the carefree and fun atmosphere as well as the sort of wacky fairy tale setting were very appealing to me too.

I started slowly but surely collecting whatever Nintendo game consoles and games I could find and afford, and watching playthroughs of those I couldn't. I even played a couple fan games, such as (Mario) The Music Box - despite it being so very different from the source material LOL

And of course, the 2023 movie got me to appreciate the franchise even more and be more active in the fandom, reading more fanfics etc. Which eventually brought me here. I started reading Luigi's Escape Plan by jelly-fish-wishes and some other comics on Tumblr and the site tried to force me to register so often that I eventually gave in, annoyed. I definitely don't regret that decision though!

And look at me now, creating my own content - well, only fanart really - for this lovely fandom. And interacting more and more with other fans.

Now for the Turtles. I've been a fan since I was like 11 and first started watching the 2003 series (only the first 3 seasons were available in my country at the time, but a few years later I found the rest on YouTube). I've watched all versions other than the 1987 series and Michael Bay movies, and read some of the comics (I really love the original Mirage comics!), yet that first series still remains my favorite. My favorite animated show of all time even. You could chalk it up to nostalgia, but it's definitely more than that as nostalgia is rarely a big factor for me when it comes to genuinely enjoying things. I just really like this version of all of the major characters the most, as well as the humor, the dialogue and the action scenes (those fight choreographies were amazing tbh), and the plot overall. As well as the art style in the first 5 seasons. Sure, the show wasn't perfect due to the frequent animation mistakes and the painfully bad Japanese (the fake kanji were bad enough but the horrible pronunciation, man... the pronunciation...), but everything else more than makes up for it.

In case you're curious, overall I did enjoy the 2012 series too. Really, I enjoyed most of the Turtle media. Tbh I have a bit of a weird love-hate relationship with RotTMNT though.

And last but not least, thank you so much for your kind words! It's so interesting that some people here praise my style while it was something my old professor criticized as too generic in my digital art and animation when I was applying to college. And people like you saying I pay a lot of attention to detail when my art teachers and professors criticized me for going too abstract in my paintings and not precise enough in my drawings. It's been healing some of these old art related insecurities stashed away somewhere in my brain, ngl.

I totally get your struggle with perfectionism. It's my old frenemy that to this day rears its ugly head more often than I care to admit, especially when it comes to art. It's important to relax and do your thing anyway. I'm sure you'll make some sick animations and I'll be here cheering you on along the way. You got this, girl!

And I appreciate what you said about me at the end. If there's anyone in this world who makes me feel loved and like I'm actually worth something, it's you and other amazing people in this community. Thank you so much :))

[satoshi-mochida]

BOKURA sequel BOKURA: planet announced for PC - Gematsu

Publisher Kodansha and developer Tokoronyori have announced two-player puzzle action adventure game BOKURA: planet, a sequel to February 2023-released BOKURA. It will launch for PC via Steam in early 2025.

Here is an overview of the game, via Kodansha:

About

Platform: PC (Steam)

Supported Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Korean, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain)

Genre: Two-Player Action Puzzle Adventure

Release Date: Early 2025

Suggested Retail Price: Unconfirmed

Players: Two

Developer: Tokoronyori

Publisher: Kodansha

BOKURA: planet must be played with two people on different devices. This puzzle adventure game requires the two players to communicate and work together to solve the puzzles. A new story unfolds in BOKURA: planet’s new setting. Newly added actions and puzzles will be added.

Progress Through Stages Through Two-Player Cooperation and Puzzle-Solving

BOKURA: planet requires two players using two machines to communicate to play this two-player puzzle adventure game. The two players must convey what they each are seeing to their partner and work together to solve the puzzles in each stage, but a new “push” action has been added to BOKURA: planet! Players can send each other flying as they play the game… …which means that players can push each other off cliffs if one is in the other’s way. Cooperation alone might not be enough this time! Players must not only work together, but anxiously navigate the possibility of confrontation.

Story

The earth was destroyed, and the few survivors began anew from the Stone Age, and a new civilization was built. Eventually, they were able to journey into space, and so they planned to investigate faraway planets. However, the distance between the earth and those planets was great, and it would take several hundred years to complete the journey. Therefore, those condemned to death row were chosen to carry out the investigation. On the journey, the research ship breaks down and two crew members must make an emergency escape. They make an emergency landing on an unknown red planet, and they both have their own reason why they must return to Earth. Will they be able to return safely?

The Newest Work from Tokoronyori (Planet of the Lonely, BOKURA) Tokoronyori has continually created mysterious works brimming with originality with his unique worldview and artistic sense. In 2016, Planet of the Lonely became a hot topic on social media. BOKURA was released in February 2023 as a member Kodansha Game Creators’ Lab Vol. 1, and has sold more than 600,000 copies. It garnered attention from streamers and VTubers in Japan and around the world. His specialty is creating experiences that can only be lived in games by incorporating unique settings in his games.

Message from the Creator BOKURA: planet is based on ideas from the planning stages of BOKURA. At the time, I was able to expand ideas that were antithetical to BOKURA, but I chose to bring various ideas into equilibrium to create BOKURA. I am confident that I made the right decision, but at the same time, I often wondered what would have happened if I had pursued some of those other ideas. Eventually, I couldn’t stand wondering what might have been and created BOKURA: planet. It has turned out wonderfully.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

English

Japanese

Korean

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

[theresattrpgforthat]

I’m probably gonna sound very disjointed. But I have an idea for a superhero campaign where all the P.Cs are kids cause all adults have disappeared.

I thought MASKS would be a good system for this but my friend informed me that in order for MASKS to work you kinda need mentor characters.

So in your opinion, what would be a good, easy to learn superhero based system to run this game.

THEME: Superheros, Kids - Only

Henshin, by Cave of Monsters Games.

Henshin A Sentai RPG is a storytelling tabletop game about young heroes with transformative powers who battle both monsters and personal problems. It borrows from a Japanese superhero culture of color-coded masked teams, giant robots, and over-the-top special effects. Anyone can tell fun, collaborative stories in Henshin!, regardless of familiarity with the tropes, and the game showcases a diversity of settings and characters for every player.

This book includes instructions and actual play examples for everything needed to start playing Henshin! right away. Also included are the eleven Color playbooks, seven ready-to-play settings, original exclusive art, and references to digital downloads. Resources and information can be found at henshingame.com. Let’s Henshin!

Henshin is inspired by the Tokusatsu genre of superhero media, and reminds me intensely of Power Rangers. Your characters will wrestle with personal obstacles such as dealing with their temper, their failures, and the way they are seen by their peers. The system is inspired by No Dice, No Masters but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily GM-less, just that it doesn’t use dice. Henshin’s settings are also very flexible, so you should be able to write your own custom setting in which the kids have taken on super-powered relics in order to survive in a world without adults.

Masks: Retconned, by Sam Roberts.

You’re like most teenagers, with one small difference: You’re a superhero. Fight villains, be part of a team, save the day, and maybe, slowly figure out who you are.

Masks: Retconned is a game of teen superhero adventures, designed for 3+ players. Most of the players will take on the role of individual Heroes on a Team. Imagine these as the protagonists of your new comic book series. One player takes on the role of GM, embodying the superheroic setting, supporting characters, and villains.

If you like the basic premise of Masks but you don’t want to deal with the adult entanglements, you might want to take a look at Masks: Retconned. The game is very bare-bones, and only has the basic mechanics - your stats, your emotions, and the graded success scale and what it means for moves. The rest is meant to be designed as you need it. So if you don’t mind doing a little bit of game design before you sit down to play, you might want to check this out!

Powered by Cereal, by bismuth.

Become the Teen With Attitude you always wanted to be Inspired by tokusatsu hero teams and magical girl squads, PbC is a game about building a brightly-coloured Hero team and playing their adventures across a Series, fighting to save the world from evil!

PbC brings all players together to collaborate on crafting a Series, with its own aesthetics for heroes and villains, its own setting, and unique qualities for each hero. Play comprises the Episodes of the Series: both the Heroes' lives, and fights against Boss characters. It uses a relatively straightforward d6 system and encourages the Hero players to think about how their individual actions work towards a team strategy, bolstering allies and keeping momentum!

Characters in PbC are embodiments of different virtues, and these virtues will define your personal strengths, as represented in the Verbs and Adjectives assigned to your character. Relationships are also important in this game, and this is represented by connections that each player will have with side characters, whether that be positive or negative. Overall the game is still very lighthearted, as it’s inspired by Saturday morning cartoons.

When you try to do something in PbC, you roll a number of d6’s, and check to see how many results were unique. The more unique results you have, the more successes! This means that there’s a cap on how successful your character ca be, but I think the fact that any roll is going to have at least one success really communicates the tone of this game. This another game where the setting is build-your-own, and I don’t see any mechanics that require adults to be part of the setting.

Teens With Powers, by Unknown Dungeon.

Teens with Powers is a one-page roleplaying game about extraordinary young people, inspired by TV shows like Teen Titans and Avatar the Last Airbender, and shonen manga.  As a group, the players and GM come up with the setting, themes, and age-range of the characters. Then each player creates a character with a singular power that they can use to help solve problems and fight evil, while also traversing the trials of being young adults.

Teens with Powers uses a dice-pool system to resolve risky actions, and a back-and-forth combat system to allow of maximum expression and excitement. Also included is a back-page with GM advice and rules.

Teens with Power is a stripped-down Forged in the Dark game. There isn’t much of a setting involved in the first place, so you should be able to build your own setting to fit your preferences. The downside is that there isn’t much guidance or inspiration for powers, so it might be worth it to check out something like Supertables to help you come up with your powers.

This ruleset has a mechanic called Limit, which tracks how close your character is coming to breaking down - push too far, and you lose control of your powers, likely causing damage and hurting something or someone you care about. This might be also good for a high-tension game where the disappearance of adults is the cause of a lot of stress and fear for your characters.

Super City, by David Garrett.

One in every one hundred children in Super City is born with super powers. You are one of those children. Together with your classmates at Super City Elementary, you save helpless citizens, rescue lost pets, and eat delicious ice cream.

Utilizing the ultralight VRBS system, Super City is easy enough for a six year-old to master, but also provides the structure for anyone to generate a superhero story of their own.

Super City was designed to be able to run for small kids, so the rule-set is definitely very light. Your powers will be represented as verbs, and you’ll gain better control over your powers as you progress. The game is organized over a series of scenes, which will present you with a number of problems that you’ll have to solve. You also have a collective pool of Energy, which is meant to track how close your characters are to running out of steam. The goal is to get through the mission without running out of Energy, which depletes when you fail a roll.

This is a game without a setting or history, which means you can backfill whatever lore makes sense for your characters.

Cosmic Ray Kids, by Hedgemaze Press.

Cosmic Ray Kids is a single-page (front and back) atomic-age adventure roleplaying game for all ages. Play as superpowered youngsters who fight the forces of evil with heroics and heart!

Cosmic Ray Kids uses a push-your-luck style of gameplay, that looks very much like the PUSH system by Cezar Capacle. Rolling a 6 is the best possible result. If you roll a 4 or lower, you can choose to roll again - but roll higher than a 7 and you’ve gone too far!

This game also has a Boost resource that is communal, and can be spent to improve a roll up to a certain point. This gives the players an option in case there is something that they can’t risk a re-roll for but still need a success, and also encourages the group to work together to figure out how to solve problems. If you want a game that has a retro-cartoon feel that encourages the characters to work together, Cosmic Ray Kids might be worth checking out!

A Special Extra:

It’s not a superhero game, but Children of the Fall is a GM-less game that takes place in an apocalypse that has turned adults into bloodthirsty monsters. It’s very gritty and dark, but an interesting premise.

[todayisafridaynight]

What exactly ARE the Yakuza games?

Yakuza, also known as Like a Dragon, is a Japanese video game franchise created, owned and published by Sega. The franchise incorporates elements of the action-adventure, beat 'em up, and role-playing genres.

The storyline premise for each franchise installment is typically a crime drama, with plot lines inspired by yakuza films and pre-millennial Japanese crime dramas. The most frequently featured protagonist is Kazuma Kiryu, a reformed yakuza associated with the Kanto-based Tojo Clan. While Kiryu often finds himself working with the leaders of the Tojo Clan to thwart conspiracies aimed against them, the primary theme of the series is his desire to leave the yakuza for good and start over by raising orphans and trying to assimilate into civilian life. The gameplay of Yakuza / Like a Dragon has the player controlling Kiryu (or another character, depending on the title) in an open world where he can fight random groups of punks and gangsters, take on side missions and activities to earn experience and money, learn new moves from non-player characters (NPCs), eat and drink at various restaurants, visit hostess and cabaret clubs, craft items, and engage in a variety of mini games such as golfing, bowling, batting cages, video arcades, karaoke, and gambling games including poker, blackjack, Cee-lo, and Koi-Koi.

The franchise has become a commercial and critical success, and as of 2021, Sega has reported that the video game series has sold a combined total of 19.8 million units in physical and digital sales since its debut in 2005. Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise's expansion to other media, including film adaptations.

The Yakuza / Like a Dragon game series is set primarily in the fictional district of Kamurochō (神室町), which is based on Kabukichō, an actual red-light distri

[paulagnewart]

Sonic the Oz-Hog Act 4/12: Knux Readux!

Knuckles the Echidna Volume 2 issue 1 AU Publication Date: 14th April 1997 Price: $2.70

Spinoffs. No self-respecting media can live with them. No self-aggrandising media can live without them. And for those of us who lived through the space year that was 1997, corporations were chomping at the bit for a slice of those sweet spinoff dollarydoos.

Best place to start and witness such influence would be, arguably, the cinema. After Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster remake Romeo + Juliet spent weeks atop the box office, the majority of March was a bitter struggle between Wes Craven's thriller Scream and Cameron Crowe's football drama Jerry Maguire. A fascinating if ultimately pointless grudge match between two distinct genres. For all their efforts, neither claimed victory when by month's end, a film 20 years their senior blasted both off the map. The Star Wars Special Editions had arrived.

The promotion (and merchandise deals) was huge. A New Hope proved an instant hit, swiftly followed on 10th April by The Empire Strikes Back. Everything old was new again, and the re-hits just kept coming. Audiences pounded the pavements, eager to revisit Jurassic Park when its sequel The Lost World saw release on 29th May (only a week after its US premiere, a then-impressive feat). Superhero buffs ignored the winter freeze to watch Batman and Robin on 26th June, a film often lauded yet pulled respectable numbers and local reviews at the time.

Speaking of space, following a successful campaign through latter 1996, the Oddbodz were back. Smith's Chips and Glow Zone launched their second series of 61 collectable glow-in-the-dark cards featuring a myriad of wacky, wicked and occasionally controversial space-themed characters. If gross-out humour wasn't your speed, ripping into packs of Thins, Ruffles, Cheetos or Doritos chips instead offered adventures in a galaxy far far away with official Star Wars 3D Magic Motion and Techno Tazos.

After the toyline's initial launch in January, Beast Wars had successfully put Transformers back on the map, though kids would have to wait at least three more months to see their favourite characters in animated action. To Channel 7's credit, they at least gave the program a decent timeslot. More than can be said for Channel 9's decision that April to broadcast the all-new Star Trek: Voyager season 2 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 at the ghastly time of 11pm weeknights.

In spite of the former losing 30 minutes off its timeslot, the rivalry between weekday morning children's entertainment continued between Agro's Cartoon Connection and Cheez TV. Both were banking on the spinoff craze, and viewers waking up 14th April could choose between the premiere of Power Rangers Zeo episode 'Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise', or the premiere of Earthworm Jim episode 'Darwin's Nightmare'. For the musically inclined, American rockers No Doubt had enjoyed 8 weeks atop the music charts with the third single on their third album, 'Don't Speak'. At least until April saw them bumped off by Aussie pop prodigy Savage Garden and their third single 'Truly Madly Deeply'.

But of all the spinoffs to arise and bedazzle locals, after three years of development and an exclusive preview party the night prior, SEGA World Sydney opened its doors at 4pm on Saturday 22nd March 1997. Touted in print and on TV as "Australia's Largest Indoor Theme Park!", it offered hours of unrivalled entertainment and programs for Sydneysiders and visitors alike. Anyone who could afford its hefty entry fee lost themselves in all the games and rides they could handle (except Mortal Kombat, which was pulled last-minute). An escape into pixilated fantasy guaranteed to forget their real-world troubles for several hours. Mundane adult things like Victoria and Western Australia's brief yet brutal summer bushfire seasons where 3 lives and some 59 homes were lost. Or how after one year into the top job, captain conservative John Howard faced international anger over comments at the United Nations General Assembly, and local anger over casual dismissing threats by extreme right-wing rival Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

Be it stage shows, costumed cameos and all types of merchandise featuring their antics, fans of Sonic, Tails, Sally and Robotnik were in paradise. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for a fifth member of the cast. For someone who enjoyed strong popularity and a species originating right there, SEGA World put the bare minimum effort into giving Knuckles the Echidna his own time to shine. A remarkable oversight undoubtedly leaving young fans wondering where that embattled echidna was hiding. As luck would soon have it, they needn't look far.

Nestled comfortably among the shelves between Sonic issues 45 and 46 came Knuckles: The Dark Legion. Sales had proven strong enough (or at least stronger than Tails and Sally's comics) to warrant the development of a second miniseries. Exciting in its own right, only amplified when exclusively announced through AOL in January 1997 it would evolve to a fully-fledged ongoing spinoff. No longer was trotting off to the newsagents exclusively a Friday end-of-month treat. Knuckles' arrival meant a mandatory Monday mid-month booster for us deprived of Mobian adventures.

Over the course of its 32 issue run, Knuckles the Echidna was, much like Endgame two months later, once praised as a pinnacle of Archie Sonic. Fans adored the series, giving ol' Rad Red his own unique mythos and adventures. While Sonic naffed around aimlessly in a post-Robotnik world, we saw Knuckles as the cool, 'mature' comic. He had stakes. He had drama. Quite a turnaround after the heavy criticism its writer took in late 1996 over Sally's leaked demise. Within months he was described as "a kewl writer!", or "one of the ONLY "good" and "balanced" writers Archie has", or how they're "so much better then sonic comics now its not funny." with "all the good villains and family members." Fans swarmed en mass to his WWWBoard, creating their own stories, characters and entire websites tied to the Brotherhood and Dark Legion. Not everyone agreed on the book's mission statement "Why does everybody liek it so much? All it is really is a bunch of Penders' characters running around with slight appearacnes by Chaotix and occasionally knuckles himself.", but it made a lot of other people happy. Enough for both The Dark Legion and Lost Paradise reissued as 'back catalogue' orders to selected comic book stores in late 2004.

And just like Endgame, those nostalgic memories have since dissipated when adults reflected on his tales with matured, scrutinous eyes. We grow. We learn. We reevaluate on what was once adored as adolescents, realising perhaps those good times weren't all that good. Maybe the series and characters were fine in concept but lacked competent execution. Maybe our childish expectations meant they were never good to begin with and the critics were right all along.

The youthful, creative glory days from the late-90's to mid-2000's of Knuckles of an Echidna, Kragok Comics, Echidna Gals, Dark Legion HQ, Echidnapolis, Knux Redux, Tisha-Li's Dark Legion Camp, Kensuke Aida's Julie-Su Shrine, Echidnoyle, Shattered Moonlight, Knuckles 9000, Kiri Megami's Chaotix Hideout, Darkest Mysteries, and of course True Red's mighty Knuckles Haven have long passed.

It's from learning said past our futures are forged, but do any of these characters have a future? Do they even deserve a future?

Or maybe it's just best they're all forever banished to the Twilight Zone of cultural irrelevance.

Next Time: For years I said it wouldn't be done. Yet promises, like the hearts and cheekbones of fictitious rodents, were made to be broken. Will May's hedgie rectrospect-y truly be worthy of such hate? Or have revisionists painted a far worse picture over the past two decades?

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